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.

 

Related posts:

Steven Spielberg: The Fabelmans (2022) or, My Wonderful Upbringing

2017 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
The Post (2017) - Spielberg returns to mastery with a thrilling salute to the virtues of real, critical, brave journalism
2012 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED V]
Lincoln (2012) - Spielberg's inspiring presidential portrait stands tall 
War Horse (2011) - Spielberg visits WWI with problematic horse drama  
The Adventures of Tintin/The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn (2011) - Affinities for Tintin, earlier Spielberg and film will decide your experience of this 3D mo-cap adventure
Super 8 (2011) - Abrams' nostalgic family crowdpleaser (producer)

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) - Lucas, Spielberg and Ford go grave-digging

The 2000s in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess 

2005 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I] 

2005 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess 

Munich (2005) - Spielberg wrings a brilliant spy thriller from fraught real-life massacre and its aftermath

Top 10: Best HBO titles 

2001 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess 
Band of Brothers - TV mini-series (2001) - WWII-sacrifice and -comradeship portrayed with skill and integrity (producer) 

Top 10: Best future-set movies 
A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001) - A robot fairy tale with both heart and mind
Amistad (1997) or, Must... Free... Slaves! 

Hook (1991) - Arr, Spielbergian folly 

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) - The nostalgic last of the 'original' Indy movies 
Empire of the Sun (1987) - Spielberg's grand production of boy-in-China-during-WWII is a misfire

The Goonies (1985) - Sweet child performances drive Donner's beloved, uneven adventure (story)  

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) - The ultimate thrill ride for a child (and many adults too!)
Twilight Zone The Movie (1983) - Fear takes many forms in tragedy-struck anthology

Top 10: Best family movies reviewed by Film Excess to date 
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) - Spielberg's greatest accomplishment

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) - Spielberg reasserts himself with tremendous boyish adventure 
1941 (1979) - Spielberg's bizarre 'comedy spectacular' sinks like a rock  
Top 10: Best car chases in movies reviewed by Film Excess to date
Duel (1971) - Spielberg's truck terror is ideal afternoon fare

 

 

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 Purge (2013) - or, Depressive Violence in America

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A sinister mask in a murky darkness makes up this ill-boding poster for James DeMonaco's The Purge

 

In 2022 the US enjoys almost no unemployment or crime, because on one day of the year, all citizens are allowed to 'purge' all of their illegal tendencies unpunished.

 

The Purge is written and directed by James DeMonaco (Little New York (2009)).

If The Purge is built on deeper thoughts or insights into the human condition then the film doesn't reveal it. It drops us within a family who are in favor of the 'purge' ritual, but who get into trouble as a homeless person in danger is given shelter during the purge, and soon also a rich kind of fascist attack.

The concept here seems like something from a dubious 1970s exploitation flick, and DeMonaco has forgotten to add some fun or colors to the proceedings. The Purge is instead an endlessly murky ride into dour, violent ugliness, unmitigated aesthetically.

 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 3 mil. $

Box office: 91.2 mil. $

= Mega-hit (returned 30.4 times its cost)

[The Purge premiered 2 May (Stanley Film Festival, US) and runs 85 minutes. Ethan Hawke (Training Day (2001)) reportedly accepted the role for just 10k $ and slept on co-producer Jason Blum's couch during filming, later receiving 2 mil. $ in back-end compensation pay. Shooting took place around February 2012 in Los Angeles, California. The film opened #1 to a 34 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent one more weekend in the top 5 (#5), grossing 64.4 mil. $ (70.6 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest market was the UK with 5.3 mil. $ (5.8 %) and Germany with 2.9 mil. $ (3.2 %). The film additionally made estimated 12.9 mil. $ on the North-American home video market alone. It spurred a franchise with 4 sequels and a 2 season (2018-19) TV-series. DeMonaco returned with the first sequel, The Purge: Anarchy (2014). Hawke returned in Getaway (2013). The Purge is rotten at 40 % with a 5.20/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Purge?

Highlander (1986) - A campy and entertaining minor 1980s highlight

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Vivid colors and fantastic elements attract on this poster for Russell Mulcahy's Highlander

Immortal Scotsman MacLeod - the Highlander - has fought adversaries and refused himself love for centuries, but now he is tempted and hunted anew, in New York, by a vile Russian!

 

Highlander is written by Gregory Widen (Backdraft (1991)), Peter Bellwood (St. Helens (1981)) and Larry Ferguson (The Hunt for Red October (1990)) and directed by Russell Mulcahy (Derek and Clive Get the Horn (1979)).

Christopher Lambert (Subway (1985)) and Clancy Brown (The Dukes of Hazzard (1983, TV-series)) act out their ancient characters with a strange, masculine, - primitive, - stamp, a bit as if the performance was one for small children, which is a part of the film's incredibly corny, silly magic. Showy music video inspired photography, - including some shots that seem ahead of their time, - can't disguise that this is a cheap The Terminator (1984) inspired movie, which never reaches the heights of James Cameron's sci-fi action classic. Among the reasons for this is that the robot here is instead a long-haired Scotsman. Sean Connery (Playing by Heart (1998)) livens up matters in a part as a mentor, which is made funnier due to his performance. 

 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 19 mil. $

Box office: 12.9 mil. $

= Huge flop (returned 0.67 times its cost)

[Highlander premiered in January (Avoriaz Fantastic Film Festival, France) and runs 111 minutes. Connery was paid 1 mil. $ for his performance, which was shot in a week. Shooting took place from April - August 1985 in England, including in London, Scotland and in New York. The film opened #7 to a 2.4 mil. $ first weekend in North America, its peak there, where it grossed 5.9 mil. $ (45.7 % of the total gross). Despite its huge flop status, the film gained cult status and has so far let to a franchise with 4 sequels, an animated series and an animated film. The first sequel with returning stars Lambert and Connery and director Mulcahy is Highlander II: The Quickening (1991), which was Mulcahy's return, (he directed 16 music videos between the two films.) A remake starring Henry Cavill is presently in the works. Lambert first returned in Queen: Princes of the Universe (1986, music video) and theatrically in The Sicilian (1987). Highlander is fresh at 71 % with a 6.30/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Highlander?

Olympus Has Fallen (2013) - Fuqua's rough and unrefined actioner

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Not a still from the actual, real-life, presidentially commanded storm on the Washington D.C. Capitol Building of January 6 2022, this is instead an explosive poster for Antoine Fuqua's Olympus Has Fallen

Mike Banning was a Secret Service agent who was close with the US President, until he was involved in the accident that cost the first lady her life. Now the White House comes under attack by North-Korean terrorists, and Banning decides to return!

Olympus Has Fallen is written by Creighton Rothenberger and Katrin Benedikt (The Expendables 3 (2014), both) and co-produced and directed by Pennsylvanian master filmmaker Antoine Fuqua (Bait (2000)), whose 7th feature it is.

The film attempts to marry In the Line of Fire (1993) with 24 (2001-10) but doesn't get anywhere near the quality of either of these thrillers. It is a shame, because Olympus Has Fallen has so many of the right ingredients. But although Fuqua is good, he is no John McTiernan here, and Olympus Has Fallen fails first and foremost because it is lacking suspenseful scenes.

Instead there is sketchy CGI by the barrel load, and scores of scenes of co-producer/co-star Gerard Butler's (Dracula 2000 (2000)) Banning torturing and punishing bad-guys. (You'll also get Melissa Leo (Bottled Up (2013)) as Secretary of Defense getting beaten up at length and forced to walk on shattered glass.) Without the necessary suspense one mostly just thinks 'yikes' at this and other unpleasantness - and the preposterous plot, which involves a bomb program in the basement of the White House that no-one at the Pentagon has contact to ... Olympus Has Fallen is also souped up in more than enough jingoistic prattle and possibly more presidentially sounding drums than in any film ever before. 

 

Related posts:

 

Has Fallen franchise: London Has Fallen (2016) - Jingoistic and irrelevant actioner that passes the time

Antoine Fuqua: The Magnificent Seven (2016) - Fuqua makes a noisy party trick out of the western

2014 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess 

The Equalizer (2014) or, Mr. Swift Justice

 

 

Watch a 2-minute clip from the film here

 

Cost: 70 mil. $

Box office: 170.2 mil. $

=  Minor flop (returned 2.43 times its cost)

[Olympus Has Fallen premiered 18 March (Los Angeles) and runs 119 minutes. Shooting took place from July - September 2012 in Louisiana, including in New Orleans, and in New York. Production scrambled through to be the first of 2013's two big White House attack action movies, beating White House Down to the punch by around 3 months. The film opened #2, behind fellow new release The Croods, to a 30.3 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent another 3 weekends in the top 5 (#4-#4-#5), grossing 98.9 mil. $ (58.1 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 9.5 mil. $ (5.6 %) and China with 5.8 mil. $ (3.4 %). Rothenberger was sued by a John S. Green over authorship of the script with Rothenberger winning 175k $. Butler sued Nu Image/Millennium Films for 10 mil. $ over perceived unreported profits and failure to pay him according to a 10 % net profit participation deal. The conclusion of that suit has been kept under wraps. The film spun two sequels with Butler but not Fuqua returning; London Has Fallen (2016) and Angel Has Fallen (2019), with a third sequel entitled Night Has Fallen currently in production. The film additionally earned more than 38.2 mil. $ on the domestic home video market. Fuqua returned with The Equalizer (2014). Butler returned with a voice performance in How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014) and physically in Gods of Egypt (2016); Aaron Eckhart (Thursday (1998)) in I, Frankenstein (2014); and Morgan Freeman (Edison (2005)) in Oblivion (2013). Olympus Has Fallen is rotten at 50 % with a 5.40/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Olympus Has Fallen?

Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior/องค์บาก (2003) - The acrobatic martial arts breakthrough

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+ Best $ Return of the Year: 18.3 times its cost + Best Martial Arts Movie of the Year + Best Thai Movie of the Year

 

Star Tony Jaa's muscular back in warm, earthy tones makes up this poster for Prachya Pinkaew's Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior

When a Thai village have the head of their protective Ong-Bak Buddha statue stolen, a young, virile man gets chosen to head out on the dangerous journey to the big city (Bangkok) to repossess the holy artifact.

 

Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior is written by Suphachai Sittiaumponpan (Thai Theeb (2006)), with Panna Rittikrai (Black Goblins (1990)) and co-writer/co-producer/director Prachya Pinkaew (Rawng tah laep plaep (1992)) contributing story elements.

Young Ting (Tony Jaa (Monster Hunter (2020))), the brave young man in question, beats up and suffers beatings from a fantastic amount of people, and the fighting scenes take up most of the film's running time. And here are very cool and acrobatic choreography to admire.

Aside from this significant quality, Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior is overlong and, outside of its action, amateurish.

 

Related post:

 

2003 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II] 

 

Watch a 3-minute clip from the film here

 

Cost: 1.1 mil. $

Box office: 20.2 mil. $

= Mega-hit (returned 18.3 times its cost)

[Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior premiered 21 January (Bangkok International Film Festival) and runs 108-105 minutes (Thai version/international version). Shooting took place in Thailand, including in Bangkok. The film opened #17 to a 1.3 mil. $ first weekend in 387 theaters in North America, its 2nd biggest market, where it grossed 4.5 mil. $ (22.3 of the total gross). The biggest market was France with 6.4 mil. $ (31.7 %), and 3rd biggest was Thailand with 2.5 mil. $ (12.4 %). The success resulted in 2 sequels; Ong-Bak 2 (2008) and Ong-Bak 3 (2010), with Jaa and Pinkaew returning. Pinkaew first returned with The Protector/Tom yum goong (2005), which was also Jaa's next movie. Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior is certified fresh at 85 % with a 7/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior?

The Howling (1981) - Colorful escapade from Dante, Sayles et al.

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Wallpaper is ripped violently open on this terror-promising poster for Joe Dante's The Howling

A TV hostess goes undercover in an adult theater to find a perverted psychopath, when she needs saving from something howling - and sustains a memory loss..!

 

The Howling is written by John Sayles (Piranha (1978)) and Terence H. Winkless (Private Offerings (1970)), adapting the same-titled 1977 novel by Gary Brandner (The Brain Eaters (1985)), and directed by great New Jerseyite filmmaker Joe Dante (Hollywood Boulevard (1976)).

The circumstances concerning the hostess' initial experience gets lost in favor of a new development, where she - now traumatized - gets sent to a strange barbecue 'colony', SPOILER which turns out to be run by a group of aging werewolves!

Dick Miller (Explorers (1985)) has a good side part as a bookseller, but Patrick Macnee (Super Force (1990-92)) and John Carradine (The Shootist (1976)) are odd as colony people and later werewolves in a horror flick without a frightening core. It has a series of colorful incidents and transformation scenes, which are spectacular and impressive, even if they end up being a bit tasteless in length.

The Howling is entertaining if obscure and far from a good film.

 

Related posts:

Joe Dante: Corman's World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel (2011) - Stapleton's Corman doc. is among the year's best films (interview subject)

Gremlins (1984) - Dante's 1980s puppetry classic 
Twilight Zone The Movie (1983) - Fear takes many forms in tragedy-struck anthology (segment director) 

Watch a 1-minute clip from the film here

 

Cost: 1.5 mil. $

Box office: 17.8 mil. $ (North America alone)

= Mega-hit (returned 11.86 times its cost domestically alone)

[The Howling premiered 12 January (Avoriaz Fantastic Film Festival, France) and runs 91 minutes. Shooting took place from May - June 1980 in California, including in Los Angeles. The film opened to a 1.1 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it grossed 17.8 mil. $ in a year that saw the release of 2 other major werewolf movies: An American Werewolf in London and Wolfen. The film's international gross numbers are regrettably not reported online. The success prompted a franchise of 7 sequels so far, none of them by the original's filmmakers or with its cast. The first one is Howling II: Your Sister Is a Werewolf (1985). Dante returned with Police Squad! (1982, TV-series), Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983, segment) and theatrically on his own with Gremlins (1984). Dee Wallace (The Nest (2021)) returned in 4 TV credits prior to her theatrical return in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982); Macnee in Dick Turpin (1981, TV-series), Comedy of Horrors (1981, TV movie) and theatrically in The Hot Touch (1981). The Howling is fresh at 73 % with a 6.40/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Howling?

Home Alone (1990) - Columbus, Hughes, Culkin and co. take Christmas and home defense to the next level

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The charm and instant likability of Macauley Culkin sells the whole movie on this poster for Chris Columbus' Home Alone

Kevin McCallister's monstrously large family forget him in Chicago, when they head off for Christmas in Paris; meanwhile two mean crooks plan a mass-burglary scheme in their neighborhood!

 

Home Alone is written by John Hughes (Pretty in Pink (1986)) and directed by great Pennsylvanian filmmaker Chris Columbus (Adventures in Babysitting (1987)).

Macauley Culkin's (Richie Rich (1994)) charm and talent as a performer makes this otherwise somewhat grotesque film a celebration of entertainment for all ages, and particularly for the young. The slapstick humor that becomes dark comedy strikes some, but it is funny!

Joe Pesci (Raging Bull (1980)), Daniel Stern (Viva Las Nowhere (2001)), John Candy (Splash (1984)) (hilarious as the leader of a polka band that Kevin's mother comes into contact with) and Roberts Blossom (Always (1989)) as Marley, the old next-door neighbor are also terrific. Probably unintentionally the Home Alone films also show that meaning is best found outside of the family bonds, a point which I rather like. This is especially because Kevin's family is so awful, and his parents so negligent and stressed out as to virtually prick adult viewers in their eyes.

Home Alone is wildly unrealistic. - But jump on anyway. This wacky contraption is a ball!

 

Related posts:

 

Home Alone franchise: Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) - The coolest kid in the world incites kiddie bellylaughs once again

Chris Columbus: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) - Potter and Co. return for handsome if overlong first sequel

Top 10: Best family movies reviewed by Film Excess to date

Top 10: Best dramedies reviewed by Film Excess to date 
Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) - Columbus and Robin Williams score with a truly great family jewel

Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) - The coolest kid in the world incites kiddie bellylaughs once again 

The Goonies (1985) - Sweet child performances drive Donner's beloved, uneven adventure (writer)
Gremlins (1984) - Dante's 1980s puppetry classic (writer)

 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 18 mil. $

Box office: 476.6 mil. $

= Blockbuster (returned 26.47 times its cost)

[Home Alone premiered 10 November (Chicago) and runs 103 minutes. Hughes had promised Warner Bros. that he could make the film for 10 mil. $. When it turned out to be impossible, he had made a secret deal with Fox already, and they went in and paid for finishing the film - and thereby snatched the extremely lucrative distribution rights for the Home Alone franchise before a competing studio that must have regretted their refusal to pay up for years after. Culkin was paid 110k $ for his performance. Shooting took place from February - May 1990 in Paris, France and in Illinois, including in Chicago. Candy did his cameo as a favor to Hughes and shot his scenes in one 23 hour-long day for just 414 $. The film opened #1 to a 17 mil. $ first weekend in America, where it remained #1 for 11 consecutive weekends and then stayed in the top 5 for another 4 weekends (#3-#4-#4-#5), grossing 285.7 mil. $ (59.9 % of the total gross). It was the highest-grossing film of the year in North America, where it sold 67.7 mil. tickets, and the 3rd highest-grossing of all time (at the time), after E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and Star Wars. It was also the highest-grossing live-action comedy until The Hangover Part II (2011) and highest-grossing Christmas movie until Dr. Seuss' The Grinch (2018). It was nominated for 2 Oscars: Best Score (John Williams), lost to John Barry for Dances with Wolves, and Song (Somewhere in My Memory, Williams and Leslie Bricusse), lost to Sooner or Later (I Always Get My Man) by Stephen Sondheim from Dick Tracy. It was also nominated for 2 Golden Globes and a Grammy, among other honors. Roger Ebert gave it a 2.5/4 star review, translating to a notch under this one. It also made 150 mil. $ on video sales in North America initially. The film spun a franchise which continued with the same filmmakers and cast in Home Alone 2: Alone in New York (1992). Columbus returned first with Only the Lonely (1991). Culkin returned first in Only the Lonely; Pesci in The Super (1991)); and Stern in The Simpsons (1991, TV-series)) and theatrically in City Slickers (1991). Home Alone fresh at 67 % with a 5.80/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

 

What do you think of Home Alone?