2005's 1997's Oscar Nominees

Did you mean 1997?

Oops.

L.A. Confidential. One of the easiest Oscar races in recent memory, and it reminded me that Daisy Kenyon, Out of the Past, and The Big Sleep weren't nominated for Best Picture.

I wouldn't vote for any of these.

L.A. Confidential no worries. Though I haven't seen As Good as It Gets.

One of the easiest Oscar races in recent memory

Ditto, though I'm voting for the big dumb movie rather than the pastiche.

Titanic woulda been my number two.

Every film except my pick was a huge box office hit, which I guess explains why this telecast was the highest rated in years.

I keep forgetting that As Good As It Gets somehow made more than $100 mil.

Actually I can never forget that. It's like a box-office 9/11.

iirc theres a lot of hate for la confidential on this board and i cant remember why? its easily my favorite from these but i have a lot of nostalgic love for good will hunting

I remember looking at the box office charts in that period between January and March '98 and the top three films every week were Titanic, As Good As It Gets, and Good Will Hunting.

Me too. I was obsessed with Titanic's rampage toward Star Wars' record. Because I was lame.

I don't really like any of these that much, I guess LA Confidential wins by default

Remember when everyone thought Titanic would be a massive flop?

Yes, I also remember being horrified that everyone loved the movie and then everyone hated it.

(Horrified because I was looking forward to it for over a year before it arrived, being a disaster movie buff.)

LA Conf, preferably with the last 12 minutes lopped off.

Wrote this when I was 18, lol:

1997 IN FILM: THE CRITICS SPEAK

End-of-the-year “best of” lists seem to increase in ubiquity with every passing year. Some may view the trend as an excuse for incessant rehashing, but I’m a sucker for lists and always like to pore over the critics’ choices. I’m so into it, in fact, every year I try to assemble as many film critics’ top ten lists as I can find and then determine which movies had the greatest overall critical support. (Hey, don’t knock it -- former Index critic Br1an Tall3r1c0 once confessed to me he does the same thing. Then again, his post-graduation life has amounted to working at a suburban Planet Video.)

Anyway, since I use this yearly compilation as a guide to what films are worth seeing, I thought the least I could do would be to share the results with my reading public. Out of twenty lists I found, ranging from Siskel & Ebert to The New York Times, here are the top five films of 1997 (along with my own commentary):

1. L.A. Confidential (on 19 of 20 lists)
A stylish piece about corruption in the 1950's-era LAPD, it’s been winning nearly every pre-Oscar prize so far. Wonderful performances throughout, including Kevin Spacey and Guy Pearce, but I felt the story got muddled in the final act and subsequently find it overrated.

2. The Sweet Hereafter (17)
A beautifully filmed portrait of a very small Canadian town coping with the loss of its children in a bus accident. In attempting to give a voice to every single townsperson, the tale gains depth but also sometimes loses focus. See it instead for the somber performances and haunting snow-filled images.

3. Titanic (13)
It’s captured the country’s heart (and wallets), and with good reason. James Cameron’s epic is visually stunning and emotionally appealing, even as we know the outcome. I only wish the hero and villain hadn’t fallen so neatly into such cliche roles (is anyone really that heroic?), but in this blockbuster, does that really matter?

4. Boogie Nights (11)
Mark Wahlberg stars as a young actor who charms his way to the top of the porn industry, then must deal with his success. Boogie’s winning ensemble cast and epic scope work completely to its benefit; it is a rich depiction of American excess. In fact, there’s so much here, I feel any further critique requires a second viewing.

5. In the Company of Men (9)
An alarming tale of an office prank gone much too far. There are a few interesting twists, but I felt like my knowing the premise beforehand didn’t leave for enough suspense in the actual viewing. And while I appreciated the movie’s cold anonymity as an attempt to convey universality, it also left me longing for details.

While Boogie Nights is probably my favorite movie on the above list, I’d like to suggest an additional five films I feel are just as deserving, if not more so, of critical praise.

For starters, Shall We Dance? won my heart with its honest story about a Japanese businessman who secretly takes ballroom dancing classes. I enjoyed the touching and often funny moments while appreciating the ambiguity of the characters’ relationships. It’s subtitled but surprisingly accessible.

Mike Leigh’s Career Girls paints an intimate portrait of former college roommates reuniting for a quiet weekend. Although less acclaimed, it’s just as emotionally rewarding as his previous Secrets and Lies. The deep sense of familiarity I felt with these women after leaving the theater was more gratifying than any intricate film plot I followed last year.

For pure laughs, I recommend Waiting for Guffman, a mockumentary about community theatre from the makers of Spinal Tap. Christopher Guest, who also directed, is hilarious as the director of a musical to be performed at a fictional Missouri town’s bicentennial celebration. It pokes fun at both theatre and small-town life with much relish.

Not just another Generation X tale of angst, Chasing Amy presents the complex relationship between a straight man and a lesbian in perhaps 1997's freshest script. Writer/director Kevin Smith captures the nuances of modern-day relationships with a keen eye and a sharp tongue.

And finally, The Ice Storm visits an affluent Connecticut town in 1973, as the sexual revolution affects two sets of parents and their teenagers. The performances are perfectly subtle in a movie a friend of mine summed up as “beautiful and disturbing.” And I’ll agree.

LAC did at least remind me how much I dislike cops.

xp (College newspaper, if that wasn't obvious.)

a keen eye and a sharp tongue.

2. The Sweet Hereafter (17)

????

xp The only Kevin Smith movie I've ever stanned for. I'm sure I'd cringe if I saw it today.

Ditto and ditto

i've seen all of these. easy easy choice.

I'm thankful the release of Titanic came during the lull between my writing about movies for my H.S. paper and my writing about movies for my college paper.

1997's freshest script!

I keep forgetting that As Good As It Gets somehow made more than $100 mil.

― Xiffy Pup (Eric H.), Wednesday, November 18, 2009 8:41 AM (16 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Actually I can never forget that. It's like a box-office 9/11.

― Xiffy Pup (Eric H.), Wednesday, November 18, 2009 8:41 AM (16 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

way to keep your perspective

This year was, I think, the first year I saw all five nominees before the awards ceremony.

I like many of the films on jaymc's list -- esp. Boogie Nights, Shall We Dance?, Chasing Amy (the fist scene is gold), and the Ice Storm -- better than any of the Oscar Noms. but I'll vote LA Confidential.

jaymc, you make me want to dig up some of my old articles now

The Sweet Hereafter DID get a Best Director nod.

former Index critic Br1an Tall3r1c0 once confessed to me he does the same thing. Then again, his post-graduation life has amounted to working at a suburban Planet Video

o_0 at publishing this in a college newspaper

LA>>Good Will>>>Full Monty>>>As Good>>>Titanic

o_0 at publishing this in a college newspaper

Ha, it was actually edited out.

Fortunately I do not have access to my college review of Tootsie.

Remember when everyone thought Titanic would be a massive flop?

― I am flesh and blood. You are software and circuitry. (chap), Wednesday, November 18, 2009 9:46 AM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

2 years after Waterworld, a movie being shot mostly on water going hugely over budget just seemed like a bad omen.

this was the only year that I actually saw almost every BP nominee in the theater (all but Titanic, which I still haven't seen). I dunno why, I was 16 and wasn't going on any dates, I think maybe my family was really into going to the movies for a while there?

i'd vote for l.a. confidential if i could work up the enthusiasm to vote for any of them. saw titanic about 10 months after its release in a second-run dollar theater, which seemed exactly the right place to see it and i got at least a dollar's worth of entertainment out of it. as good as it gets is so off on so many levels -- the only scene that works at all is the one where nicholson actually says the title, and it made me think that the whole movie was jerrybuilt around exactly that moment, like the writers had that one idea ("a guy in a shrink's office says...") and then had to construct a story and characters to go with it. i have no particular hate for monty or good will and no interest in ever seeing them again.

Good Will Hunting was about 10 times as shameless as Titanic in emotional manipulative-ness.

yeah and also a lot better at it

It's not your fault, Will It's not your fault, Will It's not your fault, Will It's not your fault, Will It's not your fault, Will It's not your fault, Will It's not your fault, Will It's not your fault, Will It's not your fault, Will It's not your fault, Will It's not your fault, Will It's not your fault, Will It's not your fault, Will It's not your fault, Will It's not your fault, Will It's not your fault, Will It's not your fault, Will It's not your fault, Will It's not your fault, Will It's not your fault, Will It's not your fault, Will

(ie, mundane fairytale)

good will hunting definitely suffered for its lack of killer icebergs.

on balance, I liked all 5 of these films, including the two sitcommy ones. Aside from L.A. Confidential, tho, I can't imagine watching them again.

I heard someone who watched GWH on a plane w/ no sound say it was obv Stellan Skarsgard was mega-gay for Will Hunting.

(has anyone ever met anyone w/ the surname Hunting btw?)

According to census data, there are approx. 870 Huntings in the U.S. </jaymc>

i voted for gwh, even though lac is prob better. gwh is just so fuckin funny - it's not ur fault!!!! this is easy for me!!!!! *burns proof, stellan skarsgard almost weeps*

LA Confidential easy - I totally forgot it was even nominated.

Danny DeVito cracks me up in it

oic unintent funny counts (u a Medved brother?)

xp

i'm not convinced that it was unintentional

needed more moments like in saving private ryan when damon, fighting back tears, recounts the story of how he and his bros triple teamed a retarded girl in a barn

lollll

I heard someone who watched GWH on a plane w/ no sound say it was obv Stellan Skarsgard was mega-gay for Will Hunting.

this is obvious! What about the shots of Skarsgard's lover jealously glowering whenever Skarsgard lays a hand on Will's shoulders?

"how do you liek them apples' is so lol!

Only seen GWH, and I think I'm comfortable with that.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

LA Confidential ffs

As Good as It Gets - crap
The Full Monty - zzzzzzzzzzzzz
Good Will Hunting - apple sauce, bitch
Titanic - won't lie, i cried at this movie HARD. like for an hour afterwards.

ha ha, i just voted for the one i hated most to ruin this awful year of oscars. no boogie nights on the list = no credibility. i remember when it came out and i blurted 'HOW THE FUCK IS BOOGIE NIGHTS NOT ON THE LIST' and my parents looked at me all funny, cuz i was 13. (snuck into it with a friend).

tho LA Confidential was pretty good, i also haven't seen it in years.

At the time, Boogie Nights probably was the only movie that year that I'd say legitimately rivaled Titanic. But I didn't really like most of the movies I saw that year much.

Boogie Nights isn't very great either.

It sort of is if you're a teen and want to see monster dong.

la confidential is garbage imo

what a weird roster of mostly horrible movies.

It's right up there with the worst BP slates in my Oscar-following lifetime.

Lots of non-teen critics loved Boogie Nights though, and it's understandable: the "sordid" subject matter lovingly treated, the Burt Reynolds comeback hook, the fantastic cast of up-and-comers, the heavy aroma of Scorsese that makes Ebert types go gaga.

xpost Well, that and 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004 and 2006.

I dunno -- this is typically average to me, i.e. good to awful.

xpost

i'd rather watch boogie nights again than ANY of the movies on this list.

Boogie Nights doesn't do much for me anymore. To make matters worse, I know I shouldn't, but I really do like Magnolia.

i KNEW there was someone on ilx who i liked who hated la confidential

What's there to hate about L.A. Confidential? A competent, sometimes excellent genre pic of the kind Warner Bros churned out regularly in the forties. If I'm feeling churlish, I might feel queasy about how the last twenty minutes turn into Mississippi Burning: the heroes use vigilante methods (which Curtis Hanson, with the audience in mind, is all too willing to exploit) to get what they need. I'm not too bothered because Russell Crowe's character carries himself (pudgy body, etc) as if these spiritual surrenders were killing him, bit by bit -- and Crowe really blew me away when I first saw him. I still think it's his best performance.

It's not the vigilantism that bugs people about the end of LAC, I'm guessing, so much as the very anti-noir resolution that sees all the good guys rewarded and all the bad ones dead.

I'll say something nice about it. Jerry Goldsmith's music is pretty good in it, iirc. And Guy Pearce was never hotter.

Yeah, but you don't know if Crowe is handicapped for life! He looks immobile in that car -- and spending my life with hooded Kim Basinger is not my idea of happiness.

Plus, the suggestion that Pearce will become Palpatine (or at least James Cromwell) is pretty obvious to me.

xpost First idea there takes a radical leap of interpretation, and the second doesn't jibe with how the director, cinematographer and characters all treat Basinger.

And of all the good guys, Pearce was the least good.

He was shot repeatedly and can't talk -- we don't know if he suffered permanent neurological damage.

(The second point is my projection)

for some reason now Titanic seems like the obvious classic in this bunch even though I thought it was stupid at the time.

What this boils down to for me is that there are four movies in this line-up that there are dozens and dozens of better versions of. There are many better romantic comedies, male weepies, film noirs and cheeky gay porn. There are only one or two better versions of the Titanic story.

or three or four

Haha, Alfred, I missed this the first time...

A competent, sometimes excellent genre pic of the kind Warner Bros churned out regularly in the forties.

Precisely why I don't like LAC.

Too bad I couldn't use Eric-bait like "A competent, sometimes excellent screwball of the kind Leo McCarey churned out regularly in the thirties."

thinking back on it, i probably would have voted titanic in 1997, but only because leo made me really excited. (keep in mind, i was 13).

In 1997 as in 2009, it's the spectacle of a big fucking boat standing on end and ripping in half that had/has me really excited. I guess I'm weird like that.

I bait myself, Alfred.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

didn't expect that kind of runaway

haha i only saw it when it first dropped. is the fully monty that bad?

Using "dropped" around a movie like The Full Monty?

not terrible, but mostly a victim of its success i.e. every awful subsequent 'working class britishers do funny things' movies

Not surprising. I guess if something had to beat Titanic, I'd rather it be the OK noir instead of the not OK GvS.