43 - "Jurassic Park" (1993)

     I mentioned previously on my list that 1993 was the highlight year in movies, in my opinion. Nine films from that year have made my top 100 list. Some were under-the-radar sleepers and others were giant box office successes. Jurassic Park would definitely fall in the latter category. 1993 will always be known as the year dinosaurs came back to roam the Earth. Steven Spielberg directed this cinematic masterpiece which ushered in a new age of special effects. Prior to the movie opening, we heard previews on how realistic the dinosaurs appear to be, but until that first time they popped on screen you couldn't quite comprehend how "real" they were. Even as a huge Star Wars fan growing up, I realized I was watching the best special effects ever put on the big screen. With all the visual success of the film, the most surprising thing to me is the fact the acting is not only passable, but it's actually darn good. Sam Neill, Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum lead the way as a trio of doctors who are bought to an island which has been made to be an amusement park for the dinosaurs. Richard Attenborough is the rich man who has developed the project after his team was able to extract dinosaur DNA from a mosquito that had been preserved in sap for billions of years. All 4 actors give very respectable performances, especially Goldblum as a mathematician/theorist who believes from the get go that this is a terrible idea. He ends up being right of course. It isn't long before some bad weather, and a sabotage by a greedy employee, has the dinosaurs roaming the same areas as our human guests. There are scenes in Jurassic Park that are scarier and more intense than anything you will see in a horror film. Being chased by a T-Rex would be right up there in the scariest moments of my life I would think. All that being said, Jurassic Park is appropriate for families and all but the youngest kids will have a great time with it. To this day Jurassic Park remains one of the biggest summer popcorn hits of all-time and its success is well-deserved.
(I also recommend both sequels. Neither are as good as the original, but both hold up well)