Much like the DNA of those dastardly dinosaurs, Jurassic Park is an amalgam - sci-fi, fantasy, horror, adventure, drama, comedy - it's got it all. That Spielberg managed to blend everything so seamlessly rightfully marks this film as a watershed and a classic, regardless of the superficiality of story. Jaws has been said to have started the blockbuster film movement, and Spielberg returned almost 20 years later to provide us with what could arguably be its zenith. Add to that industry-changing special effects, an iconic score by John Williams (I can't be the only one who still occasionally finds myself humming "Journey to the Island" at the start of a long drive, can I?), and fantastic acting by both adults…

Most film fans will have one film that ignited their love of cinema. For many that movie experience will come at a young age and in a dark theatre where the large screen envelops you in a whole new world you never thought possible. For me, like many of my generation, that film was Jurassic Park. Of course I liked many movies before that point but it opened my eyes to the potential of the medium like no other film, before or since. Scorsese talks about the religious-like experience cinema can create in its audience and watching Spielberg’s classic for the first time I can fully appreciate what he means. It instilled a sense of reverential awe in me and…

Think on this for a second.
1993. Almost twenty years ago. Barely rinsed the cheesy blockbuster entertainment of the eighties out of our mouths. Actually getting used to the so so visuals in most big budget films.

And then Mr. Spielberg comes along and, as he so often does, throws everything on its ass and creates yet another benchmark in the entertainment industry.

I hadn't seen this film in quite some time and I am amazed by how crisp and gorgeous everything still looks. The dinosaur design, the set pieces, everything looks, well, not twenty years old.

Visuals in a film like this are important of course, but here the source material is the real start. Crichton's conceit appeals to…

11-YEAR-OLD
Well, that was extremely terrifying.

DAD
Does "extremely terrifying" mean you didn't like it?

11-YEAR-OLD
...Not so much extremely terrifying as extremely traumatizing.

*And scene*

And that was after having already called mom to come pick up the scared (scarred?) six-year-old halfway through. Dad of the Year, right?

I'm abstaining from bestowing a new star rating at this point considering the multiple distractions kept me from ever really getting to focus on the movie (Holden also had to step out twice because it was just "too intense"). But considering all the listeners I've heard from who are huge fans, and that one guy who listed it as THE BEST FILM OF THE LAST 25 YEARS(!) in Matt Singer's recent…

I find that even with his known greatness, Spielberg remains a filmmaker that isn't as respected as he should be. While his filmography isn't perfect, it contains such wonderful and powerful films that represent filmmaking at its finest. Spielberg is a director that wants to take his audience on a journey. The movies aren't a way to kill time, they're an escape into ideas and emotions, a world reminiscent to ours, and yet so different.

Jurassic Park is quite simply one of his greatest films because it plays on Spielberg's biggest strengths as a director. The film itself is magical as we're transported to a world straight out of a dream any child could have where dinosaurs still roam the…

Holy wow, did this hold up.

I haven't seen this since I saw it as a child, maybe at the drive-in? I actually don't remember a lot about that viewing experience, but I'm pretty sure of two things - I was probably terrified for most of the movie. And little nerdy me was probably annoyed that a lot of the harder science stuff was omitted (I loved dinosaurs, I was really nerdy, and I was a big Michael Crichton fan = I was an annoying child).

Watching it now, almost 20 years later, I see how perfect a Hollywood film it really is. Everything has a reason for being, everyone has pretty clear goals, motivations, and weaknesses, and there are…

Finally got around to seeing it in 3D (and only for $3, too!).

There are points in which the 3D does darken the film beyond comprehension. The first 5 minutes of the movie, I thought I had made a terrible mistake; 3D palm leafs? I had no idea what I was looking at; everything was so dark and muddled. It did get better however, and the 3D managed to create a new, interesting experience that I really enjoyed.

Seriously though... they need to come up with a method of 3D that doesn't involve darkening the film so much. There's one scene where Grant and the kids are resting in a tree; Grant sits on a raptor claw, goes to grab…