For further background on the year in film please refer to the Some Other Movies From 1997 entry.
The following things happened in 1997:
- Bill Clinton was sworn in for a second term as President of the United States.
- Scientists in Scotland cloned a sheep named Dolly.
- The U.S. government banned funding for research on human cloning.
- In Sri Lanka the Tamil Tigers overran a military base and killed over 100 people.
- The English Patient won Best Picture at the Oscars.
- The DVD format was launched in the U.S.
- Pokemon debuted in Japan.
- IBM's Deep Blue computer beat chess champion Gary Kasparov.
- The first Harry Potter book was published.
- Diana, princess of Wales, was killed in a car accident.
- Titanic appeared in theaters and made A LOT of money.
Excellent
1. The Edge
If you ask me it's the best screenplay David Mamet ever wrote, and also the best movie Lee Tamahori ever directed. Add to this a wonderfully studied performance by Anthony Hopkins and Alec Baldwin and you've got a winner. In The Edge Hopkins and Baldwin star as two guys lost in the Alaskan wilderness. It's more than a story of survival, it's about individual worth and the nature of power.
Fun Fact: The bear that appeared in this movie also appeared in Legends of the Fall, a movie in which Anthony Hopkins was also a cast member.
2. Happy Together
Two men from Hong Kong fall in and out of love in Argentina. I'm not a huge fan of director Wong Kar-wai's earlier films (stylistically impressive yet very disjointed), but Happy Together really worked for me. The ending, by the way, is bittersweet for those who remember how close Taiwan and Hong Kong used to be.
Fun Fact: Tony Leung is better known to Western audiences, but his costar in this movie, Leslie Cheung, was a major star in his own right. He may be recognizable from his starring role in Farewell My Concubine.
Classic
1. Starship Troopers
Never mind that most of the actors in this movie can't act worth a damn. Never mind that they manage to outrun a nuclear weapon near the end. In Starship Troopers director Paul Verhoeven managed to blow up the world he created in RoboCop and Total Recall to galaxy-size proportions, and the result is a glorious mix of fascist dystopia, outright propaganda, and commentary on war films in general. Definitely one of the most entertaining films - if not THE most entertaining film - of 1997. It's also far superior to the book that inspired it.
Fun Fact: The first scene in this film was adapted shot-for-shot from Triumph of the Will.
A Weird and Uncomfortable 1.5 Hours
1. Gummo
Life on the wrong side of the tracks in Ohio - at least until the twister hits. Parts of this movie are really hard to sit through, but I can't say it was boring.
Some Good Ones
1. Cube
On the one hand, a genius idea. They must have raked in MILLIONS from a movie revolving around a group of theater actors and a single set. On the other hand, watching Cube is like watching a sketch performed in drama class. Would you REALLY get into those kinds of conversations as you're trying to escape a death machine? I seriously doubt it.
Its cheesiness aside, anyone confessing a love of horror should watch Cube. It might not have been an immediate hit, but it casts a long, long shadow over subsequent horror films. Any movie featuring characters who have to advance through a space room by room probably owes something to Cube.
2. Princess Mononoke
It's Man vs. Nature in this Studio Ghibli production. As the Studio Ghibli films go this is one of my favorites. It's in some ways reminiscent of the much earlier Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, though this one is fantasy where Nausicaa is science fiction. The human subplots at work in this film are also a lot more nuanced.
3. Selena
Life imitates art. Long before anyone knew who she was, Jennifer Lopez starred as the famous Latina songstress. It's a good movie, even if it strays into soap opera territory.
4. The Odyssey
It's good even if the special effects aren't. Armand Assante stars as the hero of Homer's epic, with occasional appearances by Eric Roberts, Isabella Rossellini and others.
5. Perfect Blue
A Japanese pop start turned actress finds out she has a stalker. Or does she? This movie doubles and triples back on itself so many times you might not be so sure.
Fun Fact: American director Darren Aronofsky duplicated a scene from this movie in Requiem for a Dream. There are also many similarities between this movie and Aronofsky's Black Swan.
6. Anaconda
The snake looks stupid but if you can overlook that Anaconda ain't bad. Jennifer Lopez stars with Ice Cube, Eric Stolz and a delightfully cartoonish Jon Voight.
7. I Know What You Did Last Summer
Damn Jennifer Love Hewitt had an impressive set of... nominations for various awards. NOT breasts. I'm definitely not talking about breasts.
In this well constructed slasher pic four high school friends share a terrible secret. The screenplay was excellent, the direction was tightly paced, and the actors were perfectly cast.
Not Able To Get Into It, Read Too Much Russian History.
1. Anastasia
Don Bluth-produced animated film about the famous missing princess. It follows the blueprint laid down by Disney, with my only real complaint being the cgi-rendered vehicles, all of which look out of place in the film.
But yeah, I've read too much about the Romanovs. Of course every girl wants to be a princess, but how much human suffering purchased those fancy dresses? Those idyllic exiles in Paris? Those splendid balls? While I was watching Anastasia I couldn't help but think about the average Russian peasant at the time, and how his or her ancestors had all suffered to pay for those dresses, vacations and balls.
Fun Fact 1: In researching this film Don Bluth consulted former CIA agents who'd been stationed in Moscow.
Fun Fact 2: Carrie Fisher rewrote parts of the script, a work for which she went uncredited.
Grim Fact: In real life Anastasia was assassinated alongside her relatives in 1916. This was conclusively proven in 2007.
Some Bad Ones
1. Home Alone 3
Yet another precocious child of irresponsible parents sets traps for unintelligent robbers. I laughed exactly once. And hey, isn't that Scarlett Johanssen as his older sister?
2. Flubber
I was with this movie in the beginning, but about halfway through it gets so random that I lost interest altogether. It's like the movie sets certain rules for itself, and then halfway through decides "Fuck it, this is for kids." It's fashionable to mourn the passing of Robin Williams - and I agree that he was a talented actor and comedian - but he was in a ton of bad movies.
Fun Fact: Robin Williams and Christopher Reeve were classmates at Julliard. They remained lifelong friends until Reeve's death.
3. Volcano
Yawn. Tommy Lee Jones tries to save Los Angeles from a volcano. There are some memorably cheesy moments but overall it's very boring.
One So Bad It's Almost Good
1. Speed 2: Cruise Control
A horribly miscast Jason Patric stars as an LAPD detective who's NOT (don't even think it!) the same character Keanu Reeves played in the first installment. And opposing him? Willem Dafoe, who spends most of this movie mouthing ridiculous bits of dialogue. The lion's share of this debacle masquerading as a movie resembles The Poseidon Adventure, with an ending that seems more like a checklist of vehicle-related stunts than the conclusion to a coherent story.
Fun Fact 1: Temuera Morrison, last seen in Once Were Warriors, is in this.
Fun Fact 2: Star Jason Patric's salary was about half that of costar Sandra Bullock.
One So Bad It Really Is Good
1. Mortal Kombat: Annihilation
Right from the start this movie's writing checks the budget can't cash, and the cgi near the end has definitely not aged well. In its defense it knows exactly who its audience is (14 year old boys), and despite lame fight choreography many of the female cast members are smokin' hot. Several scenes feel like setups for porn but of course that never happens.
Fun Fact: Tony Jaa served as Robin Shou's stunt double for much of this film.
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