Jurassic Park (1993)

There are certain movies that when you see them in the theater, the theater experience takes on a life of its own. I've had a handful of memorable theater experiences in my lifetime.

Seeing Freddy vs. Jason on opening night was a theater experience I'll never forget.

Watching The Sixth Sense in a theater full of terrified black people is another.

But my most memorable theater experience was going to see Jurassic Park with my mother when I was 10 years-old. The movie had been out for two or three weeks already but people were still going to see it in droves. My mother and I arrived at the theater late and the theater was packed, forcing us to sit in the only seats available...dead center in the first row. Now the first row usually isn't where you want to sit in a movie theater, but, let me tell you, there wasn't a better seat in the house. I literally felt like I was in the movie, my neck craned, staring up at the T-Rex on the screen, the orchestra music rushing over me. That is an experience I'll never forget...

And yes, looking back almost twenty years later, the script was obviously dumbed down to appeal to a mass audience, but anyone who tells me their jaw didn't hit the theater floor when they first saw that brachiosaurus is a fucking liar. And the T-Rex scene in the rain still gives me goosebumps. I swear, sitting there in that theater, I didn't breathe the entire scene. I'm surprised I didn't pass out. And let's be honest here, people, the movie wasn't about the acting or the script; it was about the fucking dinosaurs and, in that department, Spielberg did exactly what he set out to do: create a fun movie about dinosaurs that would be a box-office giant.

The epicness of the first film has obviously been tainted by the far inferior sequels that would follow, but I still remember sitting in that theater, knowing that I was witnessing not only a great film but experiencing an event that I still remember to this day. That's just good film-making.

Why It's Awesome: Truly awe-inspiring special effects. You felt like those dinosaurs were really there. And you know why? Because Spielberg used a good mix of CGI and puppets! And no one can tell me the puppets didn't look ten times better than the CGI.!George Lucas should have been paying attention instead of beating off to the CGI effects that would ruin his Star Wars prequels.

Best Quote:

Muldoon: Clever girl...(before being ripped to shreds by the raptor, even though the action is conveniently blocked by a well-placed palm frond).