I went yesterday too and that was the best movie I’ve seen in a LOOOONG time. Even taking Godzilla out of it, it would still be great. I’m not a movie clapper but if I was going to start that would have been the one to do it.
It’s hard to describe what it was like seeing Jurassic Park in the theater for the first time as a kid.
Picture this… You’re a teenager going to see that big blockbuster everyone’s been talking about, but it’s 1993. There is no YouTube. There’s basically no internet. No spoilers. You’ve seen the trailers, and they’re carefully done so as not to give away the big reveals. So you know this is some kind of dinosaur movie, but you don’t know much else.
And then the dinosaurs show up. And they look 100% fucking real.
Even today, that movie’s special effects hold up, and that’s for three reasons:
They had CGI, but used it sparingly because it wasn’t ready to be all the effects in a movie yet. Where they could use practical effects, they did. And they did an astonishingly good job with them.
The dinosaurs are shown sparingly until the audience is practically begging for the various “money” shots - which are then provided, with perfect timing. It’s like cinematographic edging.
Spielberg was at the absolute top of his game. Scenes were thoughtfully executed and beautifully shot. The water in the glass scene? People in the audience were dead silent, holding their breath. Then the T-motherfucking-rex appears, and it’s glorious. Everyone screaming and shouting, half-thrilled and half-terrified.
Jurassic Park is the only movie I saw where people clapped at the end. And that was during a screening in 2018. There was no reason, no one was there related to the movie, it was just that good.
Caught a sneak peek the week before it opened. As soon as Will Smith punched the alien and said, "Welcome to Earth," everyone cheered and it was a nonstop thrill ride that had the entire audience engaged.
When the credits rolled, there was a legit standing ovation. It was the single best crowd I've ever watched movie with.
Same for me, went to watch it on Independence Day and it was a wild ride! Some guy jumped up and yelled “FUCK YEAH, GET SOME!” when Will punched that alien. By far the greatest movie experience I’ve ever had.
The Passion of the Christ. I was very confused that people thought it was a good film. And in my specific case, confused about why my school thought it was a good idea to take a bunch of minors to see a very gory R-rated film. That was the most violent movie I had seen up to that point. The whole experience was surreal, and not in a good way.
The midnight premiere of Star Wars Episode 1. That was the same year I graduated highschool and I had never seen such an event at a movie theater! There were fat middle aged guys wearing the same Star Wars tshirts they bought in the 80s, now 2 sizes too small. There were people waiving plastic lightsabers. It was glorious…
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