Reel Critics: ‘Love and Mercy’ picking up good vibrations

Sometimes genius has its downside, and nowhere is this more poignantly illustrated than in “Love and Mercy,” an unusually constructed biopic of the Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson.

John Cusack gives a sweet, vulnerable performance as the reclusive Wilson of the 1980s. After breakdowns, substance abuse and depression, his every move is under the strict control of psychotherapist Dr. Eugene Landy (Paul Giamatti, just oozing with smiling menace).

Paul Dano (“There Will Be Blood”) is also excellent as Brian Wilson during the Beach Boys’ 1960s heyday, when the strain of touring and performing began to take a toll on his fragile psyche.

Throughout, we see and hear the brilliance in Wilson’s writing, arranging and producing in songs so familiar but perhaps under-appreciated for their beauty of vocal harmonies and musical elegance. The studio sessions of Wilson’s meticulous creation of unique sounds as they play in his head (sleigh bells, theremin, piano wires plucked with bobby pins) is as eloquent as anything you can ever say about the man.

Cusack’s Wilson meets pretty car saleswoman Melinda Ledbetter (Elizabeth Banks, never better) who sees him as a harmless eccentric but then comes to enjoy the company of this sensitive, damaged man. Ultimately, she helps him turn his life around for the better.

This is a touching, remarkable story that now makes me want to take out my dusty copy of “Pet Sounds” and all the Beach Boys’ catalogue and take a deeper listen. Be sure to stay for the ending credits when the real, current-day Wilson sings in the title tune, “Love and mercy, that’s what you need tonight.”

—Susanne Perez

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‘Jurassic World’ is missing the greatness gene

You can’t expect anything truly original in the fourth installment of a monster-movie franchise. With that in mind, “Jurassic World” succeeds in delivering exactly what you expect, nothing more and nothing less.

Steven Spielberg is executive producer but did not direct the film or write the script.

Of course the special effects are still spectacular. There’s a petting zoo of baby dinosaurs for the kids. But the new and improved prehistoric theme park also features genetically altered dinosaurs. More ferocious than ever, they eventually break security and threaten the lives of the park’s visitors. A flock of carnivorous flying pterodactyls join in the chaotic hunt.

Gigantic flesh-eating reptiles growl, drool and chomp as they chase after damsels in distress and children in peril. The youngsters engage in brave heroics in the face of mortal danger. But slower-running humans suffer sudden death, PG-13 style — little blood and even a touch of humor during their demise.

The new alpha dinosaur may be bigger, meaner and louder than the T-Rex from “Jurassic Park.” It’s sure to bring in mega dollars at the box office. But more teeth can’t create more meaning for this expensive retread.

—John Depko

JOHN DEPKO is a retired senior investigator for the Orange County public defender’s office. He lives in Costa Mesa and works as a licensed private investigator. SUSANNE PEREZ lives in Costa Mesa and is an executive assistant for a company in Irvine.