Lifetime Movies: 1998

Nominees:

Dark City, Pi, Rushmore

Lets face it, I am running through these years just to get to the incredible, life altering year of 1999. But as I look upon 1998 I see more of the beginnings of some great directors...and at least one director that had a great year and then just crapped out on us...that person is Alex Proyas who created my favorite film of 1998

Dark City

I remember seeing the trailer and being bold enough to plunk down some money and see it with some friends...expecting to see some cool graphics and sci fi fun...what I got was something completely different...it was mesmerizing...it was a puzzle...it was Chris Nolan before Chris Nolan...it was the Matrix before The Matrix...it was Jennifer Connolly at the end of a beach pier before Jennifer Connolly in Requiem...it was a fallen shell of a man Keifer Sutherland before Jack Bauer...it was a Director who made a great great film...Roger Ebert called this the film of the year...and I had agreed with him 100% then and now. The graphics are CGI and maybe not CGI...the script is multi-level in meaning and a puzzle to solve...the ending is a great classic twist ending and the acting and secrets of this film dare you to see it 2 and 3 times more.
The film mergers ideas of film noir, and scifi punk...in the recent days of Nolans Inception...that film was compared to Dark City...and even though I think Inception so far is the best of 2010...this film towers over Nolan's. I can only hope that Proyas goes back to making good films...The Crow was good, I-Robot was bad...so was Knowing (but I did like the ideas in it...the guy can fins good ideas)




PI- You may be surprised this is not first...with my obsession with Aronofsky..I do love it and saw it at the Tampa Theater...but lets face the facts that I saw it for one reason...the poster was cool...it had the Pi math symbol and numbers all over it...I liked it alot...it was shot all guerrilla style and in my hometown of Brooklyn so I identified with that. The acting is ok...Sean Guillette who used to be in Aronofsky's films was a good lead...the ideas are great sci fi fun with a bit of passover thrown in. I great first film for Aronofsky.

Rushmore- "These are O.R. scrubs"...."O.....ARE THEY?"...what a great line...a great sophmore film for Wes Anderson...I mean with his films you would think he was a rich snob from Westchester NY or something...he just films such crazy, as if it were normal, semi-absurd things...but Jason Swartzman (Coppola Connection)...is just great in this and plays a kid you want to smack and hug at the same time...Bill Murray is great too...it makes you look back at this film and try to forget Andersons other films which have started to feel "THE SAME"...but I gotta say Fantastic Mr Fox cured that for me...that was a great film...and so is this...so enough with the nominees...here are thoughts on other films I thought were worthy of this list.

Saving Private Ryan- I get pissed off every time I think of all the other guys who dies and this prick who turns out to be none other then Freaking Matt Damon gets to live and Hanks has to die...that first 40 minutes though was better then 2 Star Wars Prequels put together.

Buffalo 66- Of course Vinny Gallo gets a spot here...I have been watching alot of his films from Netfilx recently...why?...because his films dont make it to the theater and they are never on tv...he is in a lot of non-comedies...this film is a comedy...and he is freaking awesome in it...very funny...not to mention Mickey Rourke is in it and the sadness of Buffalo..and the Joy of seeing the Giants win that Superbowl over and over is a joy to this NY City Boys life.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas- for about 2 weeks after this film can out I only spoke like Johnny Depp as his character in the film..its good enough to be on this list...but I gotta say I think I only have rewatched it 1 time since the theater.