Jurassic Park (1993) - The ultimate theme park ride movie

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The spine-tingling title graphic and the sensational tagline effectively builds amazing anticipation on this poster for Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park

Wealthy businessman John Hammond invites his grandchildren, a mathematician and two eminent paleontologists to Isla Nublar, a private Costa Rican island where through cutting edge DNA technology, he has created the world's first dinosaur park...

 

Jurassic Park is written by David Koepp (Panic Room (2002)) and Michael Crichton (The Terminal Man (1972)), based on his same-titled 1990 novel, and directed by Ohioan master filmmaker Steven Spielberg (Firelight (1964)), whose 14th film it is.

As a kid of the 90s, I love this film like few others. It is the incarnation of Hollywood at its best, when the greatest, towering machinery there works, and magic results. Technically the film is out of this world extraordinary and a trailblazer for CG visual effects. But the story also continues to fascinate, a surprisingly good adventure story for all ages, with incredible high points of amazement, shocks and nerve-racking thrills.

Laura Dern (Mask (1985)) is lovely and cool, and Jeff Goldblum (Hotel Artemis (2018)) is fun as the chaos theorist. There's a great mix of characters; some cartoonish; the despicable, overweight fool Nedric (a terrific performance from Wayne Knight (Black Cloud (2004))) and Samuel L. Jackson's (Shaft (2000)) character; and a realistic anchor in Richard Attenborough's (Hamlet (1996)) Hammond, - along with Dern and Sam Neill's (Rams (2020)) dino expert heroes and a pair of terrific child stars: Joseph Mazzello (The Social Network (2010)) and Ariana Richards (Angus (1995)).

John Williams' (Jaws (1975)) music sets the wonderful pace and is an unmissable part of the thrilling ride status that few films achieve as perfectly as Spielberg's masterpiece. It is a wild classic.

 

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Band of Brothers - TV mini-series (2001) - WWII-sacrifice and -comradeship portrayed with skill and integrity (producer) 

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Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 63 mil. $

Box office: 1,104.3 mil. $

= Blockbuster (returned 17.52 times the cost)

[Jurassic Park premiered 9 June (Washington DC) and runs 127 minutes. Spielberg and Universal Pictures bought the novel rights for 1.5 mil. $ and paid Crichton another 500k $ to write a first draft. A Universal CEO greenlit Spielberg's Holocaust epic Schindler's List on the condition that he make Jurassic Park first. Shooting took place from August - November 1992 in California, including Los Angeles, and in Hawaii. The film was completed under-budget and before schedule. Spielberg oversaw post production from Poland, where he was busy shooting Schindler's List. The film's marketing campaign cost 65 mil. $, based on partnerships with 100 companies that pushed 1,000 Jurassic Park-themed products. It opened #1 to a 47 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it stayed #1 for another 2 weekends and spent another 8 in the top 5, grossing 357 mil. $ and 914 mil. $ worldwide in its original run. It was the highest-grossing film ever until Titanic (1997). The film has been re-released many times since, with the 2013 3D re-release being the most significant, adding 118 mil. $ to the film's total gross. Spielberg's ingenious profit participation deal means that he has made approximately 250 mil. $ from the film personally. It was nominated for and won 3 Oscars: Best Sound, Sound Effects and Visual Effects. It also won 2/3 BAFTA nominations and was nominated for a Grammy, among many other honors. Roger Ebert gave the film a 3/4 review, translating to 2 notches under this one. The film spun an explosive new interest in paleontology and a franchise with 2 direct sequels (The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) and Jurassic Park III (2001) by Spielberg) and a reboot film series (2015; 2018; 2022; 2025...). IMDb's users have rated the film in at #141 on the site's Top 250 list, sitting between All About Eve (1950) and There Will Be Blood (2007). Spielberg returned with Schindler's List (1993). Neill returned in The Simpsons (1994, TV-series) and theatrically in Sirens (1994); Dern in Fallen Angels (1993, TV-series) and theatrically in A Perfect World (1993). Jurassic Park is certified fresh at 83 % at Rotten Tomatoes.]

 

What do you think of Jurassic Park?

The 13th Warrior (1999) - McTiernan and Co. sink with oversized Muslim hero adventure

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+ Biggest Career-Killer of the Year: John McTiernan + Costliest Flop of the Year: 95.36 mil. $ range

Star Antonio Banderas look hostile under an iron shirt on this menacing poster for John McTiernan's The 13th Warrior

An 11th century Arab becomes the 13th warrior in a Viking's raid North, where among other things they are faced with a man-eating tribe...

 

The 13th Warrior is written by William Wisher (Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)) and Warren Lewis (Black Rain (1989)), adapting the novel Eaters of the Dead (1976) by Michael Crichton (Prey (2002)), and directed by New-Yorker master filmmaker John McTiernan (Nomads (1985)), whose 9th feature it is, with Crichton directing uncredited re-shoots.

The film features impressive sets and props and good practical effects, but they cannot salvage a fundamentally unexciting film. Antonio Banderas' (Of Love and Shadows (1994)) lead character never means a thing to us as audiences, - and one wonders how on earth the executives backing the film could bet this big on an Arab hero, who time and again praises Allah and the prophet Muhammed?

The Vikings never become more than raw, granite-cut he-men, who often laugh good-spiritedly together without apparent reason. The 13th Warrior is a sad chapter in McTiernan's career.

 
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Watch a 2-minute clip from the film here

 

Cost: Reported 160 mil. $ - including marketing however

Box office: 61.6 mil. $

= Some uncertainty; at least a huge flop and possibly even a mega-flop (returned between 0.38 - 0.56 times its cost)

[The 13th Warrior was released 13 August (Portugal) and runs 103 minutes. Shooting took place from June - November 1997 in British Columbia, including Vancouver, with re-shoots in 1998. Test screenings were disastrous, and the film was deemed 'unwatchable'. A new score and new shoots were planned. The budget had gone from 85 mil. $ to 100 mil. during principal photography and would now rocket up to 160 mil. $. - Though this is a figure that reportedly includes the film's unknown marketing budget, normally not included in a film's cost figure. The final cost for the film could very well be 'just' 110-120 mil. $. The film opened #2, behind holdover hit The Sixth Sense, to a 10.2 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent another 2 weekends in the top 3 (#3-#3) and grossed 32.6 mil. $ (52.9 % of the total gross). Roger Ebert gave the film a 1.5/4 star review, translating to a notch under this one. Financially it was the biggest flop of 1999, losing upwards of 129 mil. $. Veteran star Omar Sharif, who plays a part in the film, in 2003 called the experience "humiliating" and called the final film "so bad that it is not even worth exploring." McTiernan returned with Rollerball (2002). Banderas returned in The White River Kid (1999). The 13th Warrior is rotten at 33 % with a 4.70/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The 13th Warrior?

Congo (1995) - Popcorn and Coke advised for this corny, fun killer gorilla rampage

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A cool, well-composed poster for Frank Marshall's Congo

QUICK REVIEW:

A diamond mission disappears in the Congo, and the greedy father of its leader sends a new mission off, which partners up with a scientist with a talking gorilla. ... - But the jungle keeps a murderous secret: SPOILER Grey killer gorillas!

Congo is an adaptation of a Michael Crichton (Jurassic Park (1990)) novel. It is essentially a trashy lowbrow story (that, as is often the case with such fare, also contains a super laser!), but this one is lavishly produced by Kathleen Kennedy (Lincoln (2012)) and Sam Mercer (Things We Lost in the Fire (2007)).
Congo features enormous sets, set pieces that wooed me, impressive gorillas by effects and creature whiz Stan Winston (Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)) as well as a killer cast:
Laura Linney (Hyde Park on Hudson (2012)), Delroy Lindo (The Cider House Rules (1999)), Joe Pantoliano (The Sopranos (2001-04)), Joe Don Baker (The Living Daylights (1987)), a screaming Bruce Campbell (Evil Dead II (1987)), Grant Heslov (Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005)), who is funny as a slacker American with no real purpose in the film, and finally Tim Curry (It (1990), TV miniseries) as a Romanian diamond maniac. - Yes...!
Congo is one of the four films directed by 5-time Oscar-nominated producer Frank Marshall (Arachnophobia (1990)). It is written by John Patrick Shanley (Doubt (2008)), who has supplied it with lots of goofy lines, - but what of it? - They seem entirely appropriate here in Congo, a highly entertaining, amusing, wacky 90s ride of a movie.

Tim Curry has a loony part in Frank Marshall's Congo

SPOILER (sorry...) - This happens! In Frank Marshall's Congo

Watch the corny trailer for the film here

Cost: 50 mil. $
Box office: 152 mil. $
= Box office success
[Congo was a summer release, fresh in the tracks of the spectacular and spectacularly successful Jurassic Park (1993). It opened #1 in the US with 24.6 mil. $. It ended up making 81 mil. $ domestically (53 % of the total gross). The gorillas were not CGI, because hair could not be rendered credibly artificially yet, which reportedly disappointed some of the fans of the book, (although it was a good job and undoubtedly the right thing to do.) Congo received generally negative reviews, but Roger Ebert got it and gave the film 3 out of 4 stars (equal to Film Excess' 4 heart rating here) and called it 'hilarious'.]

What do you think of Congo?