Sunday, May 29, 2011

Joel's Top 50 Films Of All Time: 50 1/2 (Honorable Mention)

This film is one that doesn't deserve a spot on the lower or upper half of my 'Top' films list. It's kind of in its own category, in my opinion. I'll explain more below, but without further adieu:

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# 50 1/2: 'Jurassic Park'

I know there are a TON of you out there that probably love this film! It was every kids wet dream, when it came to dinosaurs. It was the first film of my generation that brought these extinct creatures to life in a very realistic and fun way. This film is just pure fun and enjoyment. This is the only film in my entire list of films I've ever seen that I saw in the theater 3 times in 3 different states in the United States. I loved this film from the first time I saw it and have never fallen out of love with it. I have since passed my love of it along to my son. He watches all three of the 'Jurassic Park' films anytime I'll let him borrow the box set. He's as much of a dinosaur freak as I was. I couldn't believe the special effects in this film. It made me that much more of a freak to see what I'd only seen in books before, coming to life. It was mind blowing. The amazing thing is that the special effects still hold up today! I will watch this film anytime and anywhere. In hindsight it's kind of a kids film, but it satisfied all the dreams of the adults who saw it too. There must have been an incredible amount of time and planning put into making this, as it is just put together so well. Everything about it is spot on. I am not entirely sure why it didn't launch the careers of the two kids in it or expand the careers of the adults in it. I'm not really fond of the sequels, but I've seen them and own them all and I'll admit, they're pretty fun.... they're just not on par with the original.

The storyline involves a group taking the DNA from a mosquito trapped in amber and using it to create clones of all the major dinosaurs. They then build a park to put all of the dinosaurs in and ask some experts to come out and preview it before it opens. While on the tour, things go straight to hell as everything begins to shut down or stop and soon the dinosaurs have escaped and begin attacking the workers in the park. Everyone fights to survive and make it out alive. That's about it.

I know it's probably a little unpopular for me to say that I love a Spielberg film, but the man must be doing something right. He's won countless awards and been making popular films for decades. I like quite a few of his films and they're very re-watchable. This is just another one to add to that list. I guess I have to admit outloud that I like Spielberg films, plain and simple. Not all of them, but quite a few. This one is yet another 5 star entry for him and one that brings back fond memories everytime I see it. Not just of when I saw it in the theaters, but of my love of the prehistoric era and how cool it was to have my imagination brought to life on the screen. There have been countless knockoffs and attempts at recapturing the same magic as in this original film, but I have not seen anyone accomplish it yet. I hear rumor of a 4th one in the works, I don't know where else they could go with the storyline, perhaps if Spielberg was back on board? I kind of doubt he'd want to take a step back into that world. I think he said everything he wanted to say with it the first time around. He said it and he said it well.

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