Tuesday, November 07, 2017

10 Off My Head: Siri Says 1997

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It's time for our weekly (when I feel like it) extravaganza "Siri Says When" wherein I ask my phone to pick a number between 1 and 100 and then name my favorite movies of the year that corresponds to whatever that robot voice from the future tells me. Today she gave me "97" and so it's The Movies of 1997 (which are all turning 20 this year, of course) that we're talking. And per my usual schtick with the 90s I have way too many favorites and I couldn't narrow it down easily, so instead of just 5 favorites I'm expanding it to 10. I don't have to make it hard for myself if I don't want to, dammit.

But I was seeing absolutely everything that came out at this time (I was in film school and I worked at both a video-store and an art house movie theater) and a lot of it left a mark. That said some of these I also haven't seen in many years, so it could be nostalgia I'm still feeling more than a recognition of actual quality? Whatever. That's why I say "favorite" and not necessarily "best."

My 10 Favorite Movies of 1997

(dir. Paul Thomas Anderson)
-- released on October 31st 1997 --

(dir. Paul Verhoeven)
-- released on November 7th 1997 --

(dir. PJ Hogan)
-- released on June 20th 1997 --

(dir. Christopher Guest)
-- released on January 31st 1997 --

(dir. Ang Lee)
-- released on November 26th 1997 --

(dir. Atom Egoyan)
-- released on November 21st 1997 --

(dir. Gregg Araki)
-- released on May 9th 1997 --

(dir. David Lynch)
-- released on February 21st 1997 --

(dir. Quentin Tarantino)
-- released on December 25th 1997 --

(dir. Michael Haneke)
-- released on May 14th 1997 --

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Runners-up: L.A. Confidential (dir. Curtis Hanson), As Good As It Gets (dir. James L. Brooks), The Lost World: Jurassic Park (dir. Spielberg), Cube (dir. Vincenzo Natali), Live Flesh (dir. Pedro Almodovar), The Spanish Prisoner (dir. Mamet), Scream 2 (dir. Craven), Mimic (dir. Del Toro), Gattaca (dir. Andrew Niccol)...

... Romy & Michelle's High School Reunion (dir. David Mirkin), I Know What You Did Last Summer (dir. Jim Gillespie), Anaconda (dir. Luis Llosa), In & Out (dir. Frank Oz), Dante's Peak (dir. Roger Donaldson), Eve's Bayou (dir. Kasi Lemmons), Bent (dir. Sean Mathias), Event Horizon (dir. Paul WS Anderson), The Game (dir. Fincher), The Butcher Boy (dir. Jordan) Titanic (dir. Cameron)

Never seen: Donnie Brasco (dir. Newell), 
The Apostle (dir. Robert Duvall), SubUrbia (dir. Linklater)

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What are your favorite movies of 1997?
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14 comments:

Kevin said...

Shout out to Austin Powers tho

Anonymous said...

Where is spice world? Oh wait. It was released in 1998 in the states...

Anonymous said...

Unrelated but what happened to your tumblr boo? Used to check it weekly

Jason Adams said...

For some reason Tumblr deleted it - I started another one right here, although it's obviously playing catch up after several years were lost :(

par3182 said...

boogie nights
*the ice storm*
jackie brown
l.a. confidential
ponette

runners-up:
waiting for guffman
romy and michelle's high school reunion
donnie brasco
gattaca
my best friend's wedding

joel65913 said...

Some very good cinema but I absolutely detested The Ice Storm. One of my most disappointing movie going experiences since my hopes were so high going in. Love the entire main cast and Ang Lee but I was tempted to walk out it was so awful. I felt very similarly about As Good As It Gets which didn't even have the advantage of a cast that I liked outside of Greg Kinnear.

My top 10:

L.A. Confidential-My easy favorite of the year
My Best Friend's Wedding-Julia Roberts best performance, Rupert Everett is colossal! Oh the Susan Hayward of it All!
The Rainmaker-Coppola leads a great cast through an entertaining journey.
Picture Perfect-It's a silly rom-com but for some reason I've always had a particular soft spot for it.
Albino Alligator-Wonderfully tense crime drama with terrific work by Matt Dillon and Faye Dunaway.
Breakdown
Wings of the Dove
Liar Liar
Wag the Dog
That Old Feeling

Runner-ups:
The Full Monty
The Game
Jackie Brown
The Spanish Prisoner
Afterglow
Mrs. Brown


I don't know quite what to do about Titanic. From a technical standout it's an awesome achievement and I admire it for that and I loved Gloria Stuart in it. Kate Winslet and Frances Fisher as well but the love story is so much inaccurate hogwash that until the ship hits the berg I find the film pretty hard to take.

remy said...

1. Boogie Nights
2. The Ice Storm
3. Jackie Brown
4. Lost Highway
5. L.A. Confidential
6. Gattaca
7. Contact
8. Gummo
9. Chasing Amy
10. My Best Friend's Wedding

Runner-ups:
Titanic
Grosse Pointe Blank
The Sweet Hereafter
Hard Eight
Starship Troopers

Guilty pleasures:
Scream 2
Austin Powers
The Fifth Element
A Life Less Ordinary
The Full Monty

Anonymous said...

Oh, you have to see Donnie Brasco - really wonderful writing and direction, Depp and Pacino are both great in it (it's a low-key, natural Depp performance before he just went big and weird all the time), and Anne Heche is marvelous as Depp's wife. Gangster movies is one of my least favorite genres but this one holds up.

And Duvall gives just a tremendous performance in The Apostle. I remember when it came out Ebert said it threatened to crack his top 10 movie performances of all time.

Pierce said...

" As Good as it Gets. Never seen the whole thing at one time. In bits and pieces.
" Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery. Silly fun.
" Batman & Robin, a huge disappointment
" Bent. Clive Owen! Woof!
" Boogie Nights, Fascinating, well made movie.
" Career Girls. I love Mike Leigh's films.
" Flubber. Not bad, but not The Absent-Minded Professor
" The Full Monty. Good movie, better stage musical.
" George of the Jungle. Disappointing
" Good Will Hunting. Best movie of the year
" Gross Pointe Blank, Terrific script, terrific movie.
" Hercules. Clever and fun.
" In and Out. Not the screwball comedy it was advertised as.
" Love and Death on Long Island, sweet little movie
" Ma Vie en Rose. Lovely little movie.
" Men in Black. Clever sci fi movie
" Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Based on the book. Marvelous
" Mrs. Brown. Superb
" Mrs. Dalloway. Vanessa Redgrave!
" Orgasmo, a silly movie, is it a remake of The Missionary?
" Tomorrow Never Dies. Mediocre Bond.
" Waiting for Guffman. Anyone who does community theater understands.
" Wings of the Dove, a terrible disappointment.
Worst movie of the year: Titanic. I was so bored, if it hadn't been raining, I'd have walked out.
Best reissue of the year: Hitchcock's Vertigo. On the big screen, it's even better!

Roark said...

What a blessing late-90s Ryan Phillippe was...

Bill Carter said...

Tied for first: "LA Confidential" and "Boogie Nights".

3 - 10 Other stuff.

SveN said...

Definitely The Ice Storm!!

Anonymous said...

One of the greatest years ever for movies.
A break-out year for so many new comers: PS Hoffman, Guy Pearce, R Crowe, PT Anderson, Minnie Driver, Damon, Affleck, Kinear, John C Reilly, Don Cheadle,Julliane Moore...
and so many veterans giving career bests: Burt Reynolds, Pam Greer, Robin Williams, James Cromwell, Robert Forster, Julie Christie, Atom Egoyan, James Brooks, Robert Duvall, Rupert Everett, Peter Fonda, and Kim Bassinger; or almost best Dame Judy, Nicholson, Luc Besson, Jerry Goldsmith

why isn't there more love for Fifth Element?

dre said...

GOD, that was a good year for movies. Soundtracks too.