Has It Been Twenty Years?

Ah, 1998.  Y2K was in sight.  Seemed like we were coming to some turning point.  Were we?  Probably not. (Bill Clinton was at the height of his popularity then...and he was impeached.  I wonder if he could have guessed that today he--and Hillary--would be wishing for the good old days of 1998. But enough about politics, this is about movies, which are more fun.)

Anyway, Jesse Walker has come up with his top ten film list for that year.  Here it is:

1. The Big Lebowski
2. Happiness
3. After Life
4. Rushmore
5. The Celebration
6. Oz 2
7. A Simple Plan
8. Out Of Sight
9. Velvet Goldmine
10. High Art

The Big Lebowski is a lot of fun (I much preferred it to the Coen Brother's previous, Fargo--unlike film critics of the day, who generally found it a letdown), and it has become one of the biggest cult films of all time.  But it's still a mess--a shaggy dog of a movie.  Top ten material?  If it is, it's on the lower half of the list.

Happiness should be here--it may be the best film in Todd Solondz fascinating filmography.

After Life is pretty good. Probably should be here.

Rushmore is the beginning of Wes Anderson's precious period (i.e., every film he's made after his first, Bottle Rocket).  It's got its moments, but I've never quite understood what everyone sees in it.

The Celebration is pretty good, despite the crass promotional tool of Dogme 95 behind it.

Oz is a TV show (not one that I really cared for) and so shouldn't be on this list.

I agree with Jesse that A Simple Plan is Sam Raimi's best movie.  That doesn't make it great, but good enough for the list.

Out Of Sight may be Soderbergh's best, and should probably be higher.

Velvet Goldmine, on the other hand, I find a glittery, pretentious mess.

High Art I like.

11. Pi
12. Buffy the Vampire Slayer 2
13. O Night Without Objects
14. There's Something About Mary
15. Buffalo '66
16. Dark City
17. Billy's Balloon
18. The Truman Show
19. The Last Days of Disco
20. Babe: Pig in the City

#11 established Aronofsky, but I think it's kind of dreary.  #12 is a TV show.  Haven't seen #13.  #14 is the best film of the year, and the best comedy of the past quarter century.  #15 sounds horrible on paper, but somehow works--should be top ten.  #16 was Roger Ebert's film of the year--it's not bad, but it wouldn't make my top twenty.  #17 is the short that established Hertzfeldt.  I remember reading the screenplay for #18 when it was the hottest script in town, and later remember pitching at Scott Rudin's shop at Paramount when they made a deal for the movie and excitement was in the air.  I didn't find the film that resulted too impressive, and the third act problems are so severe I don't think it even works.  I'm not going to comment on #19 since I know the director.  Everyone agrees #20 wasn't as good as the original, but I'm not even sure it's any good at all.

Other Films That Might Make My Top Ten

Saving Private Ryan

Run Lola Run

Rounders

Other film I like:

Antz, A Bug's Life, The Decline Of Western Civilization III, Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas, Gods And Monsters, The Life And Times Of Hank Greenberg, Mulan, Next Stop Wonderland, The Opposite Of Sex, The Parent Trap, Small Soldiers, Smoke Signals, Zero Effect

Other films of note:

Addams Family Reunion, Almost Heroes, American History X, An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn, The Apple, Apt Pupil, Armageddon, The Avengers, BASEketball, Beloved, The Big Hit, Billy’s Hollywood Screen Kiss, Blade, Blues Brothers 2000, Bride Of Chucky, Bulworth, Can’t Hardly Wait, Celebrity, Central Station, Chairman Of The Board, City Of Angels, A Civil Action, Clay Pigeons, Cousin Bette, Dance With Me, Dancing At Lughnasa, Dangerous Beauty, Dead Man On Campus, Deep Impact, Desperate Measures, Dirty Work, Doctor Dolittle, Down In The Delta, Ever After, The Faculty, Fallen, The Farm: Angola USA, Finding Graceland, The Gingerbread Man, Godzilla, Goodbye Lover, Great Expectations, Half Baked, Halloween H2O, Hard Rain,

He Got Game, The Hi-Lo Country, Holy Man (a fascinating flop), Home Fries, Homegrown, Hope Floats, The Horse Whisperer, How Stella Got Her Groove Back, Hurlyburly, Hush, I Still Know What You Did Last Summer, The Impostors, Jack Frost, Jane Austen’s Mafia!, Judas Kiss, Kissing A Fool, Knock Off, Krippendorf’s Tribe, Kurt & Courtney, Lenny Bruce: Swear To Tell The Truth, Les Miserables, Lethal Weapon 4, Living Out Loud, Lost In Space, Madeline, The Man In The Iron Mask, The Mask Of Zorro, Meet Joe Black (a fascinating flop), Meet The Deedles, Mercury Rising, Might Joe Young, The Mighty, Monument Ave., Music From Another Room, My Giant, The Negotiator, New Rose Hotel, The Newton Boys, A Night At The Roxbury, No Looking Back, The Object Of My Affection, The Odd Couple II, One True Thing, Overnight Delivery, Palmetto, Patch Adams, Pecker, The Pentagon Wars, A Perfect Murder, Permanent Midnight, Phantoms, Phoenix, Playing By Heart, Pleasantville, Polish Wedding, Poodle Springs, A Price Above Rubies, Primary Colors, The Prince Of Egypt, Quest For Camelot, The Replacement Killers, Restaurant, Return To Paradise, Ringmaster, Ronin, Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer, Rush Hour, Safe Men, Senseless, Shakespeare In Love (Best Picture Oscar Winner), The Siege, Simon Birch, Since You’ve Been Gone, Six Days Seven Nights, Slums Of Beverly Hills, Snake Eyes (amazing opening shot), Soldier, Sour Grapes, Species II, Sphere, Spice World, Star Trek: Insurrection, Stepmom, Suicide Kings, Tarzan And The Lost City, The Thin Red Line, Twilight, Urban Legend, U.S. Marshals, Vampires, Very Bad Things, The Waterboy, The Wedding Singer, What Dreams May Come, Why Do Fools Fall In Love, Wide Awake, Wild Things, Without Limits, Woo, Wrongfully Accused, The X-Files, Your Friends & Neighbors, You’ve Got Mail