WHEN: 1:00pm EST, May 1, 2013 (give or take some trailers)

WHERE: A completely empty theater at the Cinemagic Grand in South Portland, Maine

FORMAT:  3D digital projection.

COMPANY: None.

PHYSICAL AND MENTAL STATE: Somewhat glad to be done with all this.

ONE LAST TIME:

It was an odd experience sitting in the empty theater on the next to last day of Jurassic Park‘s 3D run. It has been great having the opportunity to see a film I love so much up on the big screen, even if there is a distracting extra dimension in the mix. But it’s over now. The film, though briefly brought back from cinematic extinction, is now returning to the realm of home video. I have now seen Jurassic Park in theaters more times than any other movie. The charm of having it encompass nearly my entire field of vision has not yet worn off, though paying $10 or more each week for it has.

But, judging by the completely empty theater, the appeal to people who don’t have to watch the movie every week has faded completely.  Even the man responsible for collecting the 3D glasses seemed to have forgotten about this showing. I had to seek him out, behind the concession counter, after the movie. He took them with a scowl, and I was not thanked for visiting his cinema. The meteor had hit, the sun had been blocked out. All that was left was for JP3D to curl up and die. By attending this showing, I felt as though I was only prolonging the inevitable.

Like this Triceratops, Jurassic Park was brought back from the dead, but didn’t stay healthy for long.

After over a month watching this film in theaters, I occasionally catch myself asking: was it worth re-releasing Jurassic Park in theaters? The following are some thoughts, which may or may not be relevant.

A MONTH AT THE THEATER:

Without question, the Jurassic Park event that defined my April was the 3D re-release. At no point this month did I watch my movie outside of a cineplex. It meant no notepad, no distractedly checking my phone, just two hours and ten minutes of dinosaurs popping out at me in 3D. But, aside from the obvious draining of my wallet, what effects might this have had on my life? 

Second Iteration

“With subsequent drawings of the fractal curve, sudden changes may appear.”

-Ian Malcolm

Continuous and inherently unpredictable changes will arise in any complex system; so Crichton’s fictional chaos expert continually insists. While the actual science of the matter is much more complicated, this makes for a useful signpost while watching Jurassic Park every week for a year. Without going into details, life threw me a bit of a curve-ball in February, and much of March was spent putting my day-to-day life back in order. The unexpected had arisen, and while not a cause, Jurassic Park‘s prominent presence in my life was unquestionably a factor in my reactions and responses. Having been shaken up, and in the process of settling back down, is it possible that Jurassic Park will have a major effect on where I land?

WHEN: 3:30pm EST, April 24, 2013 (give or take some trailers)

WHERE: The Cinemagic in Westbrook, Maine

FORMAT:  3D digital projection.

COMPANY: My friend Phil, and two other theatergoers.

PHYSICAL AND MENTAL STATE:  Went in tired of Jurassic Park in 3D, but ended up thoroughly enjoying myself.

RICHARD KILEY:

The late Richard Kiley was a respected Broadway actor, known for his rich sonorous voice. But in the fictional world of Jurassic Park, he is also one of the privileged few who know about a secret island of dinosaurs. Is this a face you can trust?

“Don’t worry, I didn’t win two Tonys for being a blabbermouth.”

I bring this up because the months leading up to the opening of the park are a sensitive time, and secrecy is key. Government interference, industrial espionage, and poorly timed media buzz could all result from an information leak. How well is InGen hiding their tremendous achievement?

WHEN: 3:30pm EST, April 17, 2013 (give or take some trailers)

WHERE: The Cinemagic in Westbrook, Maine

FORMAT:  3D digital projection.

COMPANY: My brother Matt, about 6 other theatergoers.

PHYSICAL AND MENTAL STATE:  A little worn out.

Watching Jurassic Park in 3D is a bit of a novelty, but after three viewings in this format, its effect is wearing off. After critiquing the 3D and having some fun dressing up, I’m ready to get away from  discussing the viewing format, and get back to the film. It’s a good thing too, because I just noticed that Muldoon got left behind, and no one seems to care.

“They left me behind? Clever assholes.”

WHEN: 12:00pm EST, April 7, 2013 (give or take some trailers)

WHERE: The Cinemagic in Saco, Maine

FORMAT:  IMAX 3D

COMPANY: A crowd of excited fans.

PHYSICAL AND MENTAL STATE: Excited, but bladder unfortunately full.

COSPLAY:

With Jurassic Park in theaters, there was no way I was going to pass up the opportunity to get some of my cooler friends together and dress up like iconic characters.  We spent an afternoon gathering supplies, and met up before the show. So without further ado, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to dressing up like characters from Jurassic Park!

Also, my kitchen, apparently.

WHEN: 3:50pm EST, April 5, 2013 (give or take some trailers)

WHERE: The Cinemagic Grand in South Portland, Maine

FORMAT:  3D digital projection. “No, I don’t know what the dimensions of the screen are.” – Middle-aged man collecting the 3D glasses

COMPANY: Three chatty elderly couples, and one young couple (who may have been making out).

PHYSICAL AND MENTAL STATE: Downright excited.

JURASSIC PARK 3D:

When you volunteer to watch a film once a week for a year, having that film re-released in theaters is a dream come true. As such, it was with great excitement that I headed down to the cinema to experience the glory of Jurassic Park in one more dimension than usual.

WHEN: 8:40pm EST, March 30th, 2013

WHERE: My parents’ house in western Maine

FORMAT:  Digital download on my iPhone 3

COMPANY: None

PHYSICAL AND MENTAL STATE: Very sleepy.

POOR PATHETIC GENNARO:

There is no sadder, more wretched character in Jurassic Park than Donald Gennaro. He is a sniveling toady at his best, and a feckless coward at his worst, with a little bit of greedy price-gouger in between. From superficial foibles to deep personality flaws the movie gives us many reasons to dislike him. For example:

He doesn’t want the poor to be able to visit his theme park.

“Cooooooooupon Day!”

WHEN: 7:45am EST, March 23rd, 2013

WHERE: In my apartment in Portland, ME

FORMAT:  DVD on a 24” Philips CRT television

COMPANY: None

PHYSICAL AND MENTAL STATE: Groggy, had just woken up.

DOCTORS IN LOVE:

As I watched the first several minutes of Jurassic Park unfold before me early on this Saturday morning, I took note of the relationship between Doctors Grant and Sattler. Grant was bumbling around, messing up computers, and threatening kids with sharp objects. Sattler just looked on with loving amusement, and maybe a little embarrassment. Grant may be a dusty mean grump, but he’s her dusty mean grump.

What a cozy little relationship they have. They share a love of paleontology, a cute little trailer, and a cardboard cutout of a cat.

He’s curmudgeonly. She’s bubbly. The cat’s two-dimensional. They’re all adorable.

But might there be a problem here that we’re overlooking? Something just waiting to come between them. Something disastrous lurking in their hearts…

WHEN: 9:10pm EST, March 16th, 2013

WHERE: In my apartment in Portland, ME

FORMAT:  Blu-Ray on a Vizio 47″ LCD HDTV

COMPANY: Adam Ferguson and my roommate Ben

PHYSICAL AND MENTAL STATE: Tired out from watching movies all day. Little desire to take notes of any kind.

A MORE EFFICIENT METHOD:

This week I had the opportunity of viewing the film with the illustrious Adam Ferguson, and he made an interesting point regarding Jurassic Park’s feeding methods. You see, when the raptors are fed, a cow is lowered down into their enclosure using a complex crane-and-harness system.

One of Jurassic Park’s few bovine rides.