Jurassic Park (1993) Revisit [Alamo Rant]

 

I have written about "Jurassic Park" on many previous posts. (Here, Here, and Here), so there is plenty of content on the site to cover the film I saw again on the big screen last weekend. 

Instead of elaborating ore on a film you all know, I want to take this opportunity to vent. I am frustrated to no end by a decision made by one of my beloved movie chains.

Alamo Drafthouse popularized the idea of theater dining and drinking. Those have never been my favorite part of going to an Alamo Presentation, but the experience has been less intrusive than I feared when the whole thing began. (Disclosure: The first in theater Dining Experience I had was at an AMC) The idea of waiters delivering food and taking orders while a movie was playing seems antithetical to me. The process is disruptive to the viewing experience. 

Alamo had managed it as well as could be expected, but they have suddenly stepped into their own trap. For years, the thing that was unique about the Alamo Drafthouse Experience was the forcefulness of their no phone policy. 

Last year they introduced an option to use your phone before the movie, as a way to order. This year, it has become mandatory. If you want any concession, food order or assistance, you have to use your phone. This was our first time under the new exclusive ordering system, and it was not a pleasant experience. Everyone in our row was grouching about the idea that to get concession items, you have to violate the long time "No Phones" policy. When the No Phone Slide shows up on screen before the film starts, it has a disclaimer now, excluding their own app. You could hear derisive laughter throughout the theater. 

As long as this new policy stays in place, I will be resisting it the best way that I can. The Alamo Experience had two things going for it, They have the best programming and they had the no phones policy. To me, the food and drink service was always secondary at best.  We did often order food and we enjoyed it, but it is not special enough to continue if this intrusive Phone approach is going to stay in place. So, AMC and Cinemark, you will see me more often. I'm not canceling my Alamo Movie Pass, I'm just not going to order anything when I go to a film that I can only find at the Drafthouse. Local eating establishments will be getting my business if I am hungry. #sneekinginmyjuniormints. 

Scream 7 (2026)

 

The movie is largely disappearing, so my motivation to write something unique is low. Most of my thoughts on the film can be found in the LAMBcast Episode devoted to it. Above is the Illustrated podcast.

Below is the audio version.

Good Luck Have Fun Don't Die (2026)

Gore Verbinski  has created a lot of films that I've enjoyed , most of which have a strange twist or odd angle to them. One of my favorites is Rango, the animated film that earned him a very deserved Academy Award, because let's face it no one is going to give him an award for overseeing the chaos that is the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, regardless of how much he managed to make sense of it all.

In anticipating “Good Luck Have Fun Don't Die”, I was expecting the usual degree of visual insanity and quirky characters that have characterized much of his previous work. To be honest a lot of it is here, but somewhere the funny got lost and instead of having a light touch with a serious subject, this movie feels as if it has a heavy thumb on the scale of sadness. 

I can't fault Sam Rockwell as the star of the film because he does exactly what he's supposed to be doing. He is maniacal, controlling, and at the center of all of the chaos. It's just that the chaos doesn't feel quite as chaotic as it should, and even though the premise is off center, it just doesn't feel off center enough. To me, the best section of the film is the opening where his character shows up and appears to be recruiting a team from the patrons of the diner that he's in.  We are led to believe that he's done this over 100 times before and is simply looking for the right combination of customers to get into his desired objective. The way in which he rejects or demands participation is truly amusing. Unfortunately once they escape the diner, what follows is a rather mundane Quest picture where the quest is just not as interesting as it should be.

The last half hour of the film does attempt to reinvigorate the crazy sensibility of the story. The fact that it is so dominated by visual effects that probably use the same kind of computer technology that the story is ultimately about, feels like it is undercutting the goal. I appreciate the characters of the company that Rockwell takes on his mission, and as we lose a couple on the way I was sad because they provided some of the best moments of the film.  

It's hard to understand what's going on from the very beginning, but as we get closer to the climax we do get a sense of what it all means. I'm not going to spoil it for you, but there is  another twist at the end, and although I could see it coming, that doesn't mean that I thought it was appropriate. Let's just say if we take the film at face value we are only watching a single chapter in a book that is not going to be completed. If there was hope that this could be a continuing series that has probably been dashed by the lack of box office, not to mention the less than enthusiastic reviews.

I'm glad I saw the movie, and I would certainly recommend it to fans of Sam Rockwell, because after all everything is better because he's in it. Since his failure with the Lone Ranger a dozen years ago, Verbenski has not been able to get a movie made on the scale of his previous dozen years. I'm afraid this movie is not going to change his situation. He has a great visual eye, but his storytelling chops seem to be muted at least for the moment. So let me finish by saying good luck, trying to figure out how this all works, have fun, watching the Clockwork Orange turn, and don't die from your bloated expectations.