The Best
1.L.A. Confidential
A perfect film. 2. La Promesse
I have yet to see another coming-of-age story as potent as this one. A significant contribution to the "gritty realism" genre, this film is honest, moving and impeccably cast. An honor to both cinema verité and the power of human potential, La Promesse is raw and beautiful. 3. Face/Off
Like Walter Hill, John Woo is about as close to Sam Peckinpah (though with a much softer heart) as we are likely to get, not simply in ballistics, but in taking the action genre seriously. Woo will raise the standard. 4. The Ice Storm/Boogie Nights (tie)
The only thing these films really have in common is that they both take place in the '70s and are far from perfect. Still, there was enough in each to make them top films. The Ice Storm boasted a flawless cast of adult and child actors and had a cold, ethereal power rare in cinema's 1970's bell-bottom nostalgia. Boogie Nights was inconsistent, a bit too Good Fellas-derivative and definitely too nostalgic, but was saved by individual scenes that, on their own, topped most of this year's films in their entirety. 5. Titanic
So many people have said that they will not see this film on principle: "It cost too much." Why do they care? Would they rather see money spent on another Chasing Amy or Feeling Minnesota, films less clever and thought-provoking? Like Gone with the Wind or Raiders of the Lost Ark, this picture was a movie movie--in other words, something Hollywood has a hard time perfecting and therefore worth every penny.
The Most Underrated 1. Rough Magic
This film was, for the most part, skewered by critics as too magical, corny and Brigitte Fonda-ish. Actually, it was a charming picture reminiscent of screwballs from the '30s and '40s. Had this movie starred a young Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy we would probably regard it as some kind of classic, but since it was released in 1997, we would rather slobber all over other pseudo-screwballs, like the insipid My Best Friend's Wedding. Crowe and Fonda have wonderful chemistry, and their banter is unforced and snappy. Ridiculous mysticism and all, this film should have been appreciated. 2. Double Team
Tsui Hark's American feature starred two of the most annoying people in the world: Dennis Rodman and Jean Claude van Damme. Somehow, this made it even more effectively bizarre. An entertaining spectacle of hallucinatory absurdity, this movie was a work of art. 3. Starship Troopers
From the man who brought us the similarly underrated masterpiece Showgirls, this film is more than just a bug fest starring the plastic cast rejects from 90210. It's an entertaining and fascinating satire that pokes fun at its frightening source material: Robert Heinlein's 1950s novel. Colorfully cartoonish and quickly paced, Paul Verhoeven's picture is also unsettling--which was the point. 4. Lost Highway
David Lynch's film is creepy, enigmatic and slow-moving for a purpose (hasn't anyone seen Persona?)--we just don't know what purpose. Which is just fine. Like Patricia Arquette (who is either the most sexually mysterious or vapidly erotic actress alive), it is intriguing to just stare at the beauty and wonder. 5. Crash
This film did get its share of good reviews, but it really wasn't lauded enough for its contribution to cinema. Criticized for being either too kinky or simply kinky for kinky's sake, the film was neither. Based on the brilliant J.G. Ballard novel (which was written well before the whole modern-primitive cult became mainstream), this is one of the best movies of the year. |
