Having just returned from watching the newest entry into the Jurassic Park franchise, it got me thinking about the earlier movies. That got me going down a rabbit hole on movies and my ever-present love for them.

Do you recall what movie made you fall in love with the movie-going experience? It was a simple answer for me. Jurassic Park.

In the summer of 1993, my mother took my brother and I to see the blockbuster Stephen Spielberg movie, Jurassic Park. This was by no means the first movie I had gone to see in the theatre, that role is occupied by E.T., the Extraterrestrial some 11 years earlier. (Though I have no recollection of going to see the movie, I do still remember meeting my friend Jean-Marc for the first time and playing in his kitchen with dinky cars and toy dinosaurs before the movie. But that’s another story.) Jurassic Park is the movie that made me fall in love with seeing movies on the big screen.

I can still remember sitting in the middle of the theatre, the smell and taste of the popcorn. But most of all, I remember feeling the movie. The speakers were turned up to 11 to fully immerse the audience in that beautiful DTS sound. When the T-Rex roared, I literally felt it in my chest. It’s an experience and a high that I have been continuously chasing ever since.

After that, I was hooked. I have been going to the movies regularly ever since. That love of movies lead to me working in a video store (still the best job I will likely ever have in my life). The video store lead me to meet Isabelle, whom I eventually married. I’m not saying I owe it all to a dinosaur roaring, but that unquestionably put me on that path.

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What are your most memorable movie moments? Do you recall the first movie you saw in a theatre? Share your stories!