BOT Revisiting: The Top 25 Movies of 1998 || Closed For Entries || "This will be the BEST LIST EVER!!" - me || Results on Page Seven

[Jake Gittes]

1.    The Big Lebowski
2.    Rushmore
3.    Out of Sight
4.    The Last Days of Disco
5.    Happiness
6.    Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
7.    The Thin Red Line
8.    Shakespeare in Love
9.    The Butcher Boy
10.    The Celebration
11.    There’s Something About Mary
12.    Saving Private Ryan
13.    Deep Rising
14.    Pi
15.    Zero Effect
16.    Halloween H20: 20 Years Later
17.    Wild Things
18.    A Bug’s Life
19.    The Mask of Zorro
20.    Deep Impact
 

[WrathOfHan]

14 hours ago, Jake Gittes said:

1.    The Big Lebowski
2.    Rushmore
3.    Out of Sight
4.    The Last Days of Disco
5.    Happiness
6.    Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
7.    The Thin Red Line
8.    Shakespeare in Love
9.    The Butcher Boy
10.    The Celebration
11.    There’s Something About Mary
12.    Saving Private Ryan
13.    Deep Rising
14.    Pi
15.    Zero Effect
16.    Halloween H20: 20 Years Later
17.    Wild Things
18.    A Bug’s Life
19.    The Mask of Zorro
20.    Deep Impact
 

omg jake where have you been

[SLAM!]

So this is my list:

 

1. The Prince of Egypt
2. The Celebration
3. The Truman Show
4. The Big Lebowski
5. Saving Private Ryan
6. Ronin
7. Mulan
8. Run Lola Run
9. Pi
10. Rush Hour

 

I didn't get the chance to watch as many movies as I wanted to; in fact, I was actually commissioned to handle the catering for a short film that was shooting in the woods over the coutse of three consecutive nights. I delayed the deadline of the list for a different reason entirely, so it's funny how God works in the little things!

 

Anyways, I will be compiling all of the lists in an excel spreadsheet tonight...

 

And sometime tomorrow, I'll officially begin the list! And it'll be presented in this thread, because I'm a rebel, and I don't want to add more clutter to the discussion forum. An organization-rebel, to be precise.

 

Thank you to everyone who sent in a list!

[dxmatrixdt]

1. Saving Private Ryan

2. The Thin Red Line

3. Halloween H20

4. The Faculty

5. The X-Files

6. Bride of Chucky

7. Urban Legend

8. Dark City

 

9. I Still Know What You Did Last Summer

10. Blade

11. American History X

12. Pi

13. The Truman Show

14. Deep Impact

 

15. Ronin

16. Rush Hour

17. Lethal Weapon 4

 

18. There's Something About Mary

19. The Big Lebowski

20. Shakespeare in Love

21. Rushmore

22. Wild Things

23. Gods and Monsters

24. Godzilla

25. Bulworth

 

Just missed: 

1. Armageddon

2. Elizabeth

3. What Dreams May Come

4. Pleasantville

5. Mulan

6. Enemy of the State

7. Star Trek: Insurrection

8. Out of Sight

9. The Waterboy

10. Patch Adams

11. Rounders

12. Primary Colors

Edited December 19, 2018 by nature league

[SLAM!]

So I just put the results into an excel spreadsheet... and there are some very interesting results. Can't wait to start the countdown tomorrow!

[SLAM!]

THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR PATIENCE! THE COUNTDOWN STARTS NOW!

[SLAM!]

#25: Gods and Monsters (17 pts, 6 lists)

dir. Bill Condon

Awards: Winner of the Academy for Best Adapted Screenplay

 

This film, which details the last days of Frankenstein director James Whale, is about a lot of things; war, loyalty, and homosexuality are just a few of the themes. This is just one of the films from 1998 that truly show just how varied dramatic filmmaking has become up to this point. Of course, Sir Ian McKellan, Brendan Fraser, and Lynn Redgrave all contributed to the memorability of this forgotten film.

 

Two other films got 17 points according to my method of scoring; however, those films were on a lesser amount of lists.

 

(By the way, there were 19 lists scored, and 87 films mentioned!)

[SLAM!]

#24: He Got Game (18 pts, 5 lists)

dir. Spike Lee

Awards: no major nominations

 

Leave it to the persistent outlier of a filmmaker Spike Lee to find a place on a list such as this! He Got Game might be just another basketball film on the surface, but when you look underneath the iceberg, you can see that, truthfully, it's much more; it is about a father seeking forgiveness and redemption.

 

And, yes, Denzel Washington being the lead actor is almost always a sign of a film's strength.

Edited December 20, 2018 by Slambros

[SLAM!]

#23: The Mask of Zorro (19 pts, 6 lists)

dir. Martin Campbell

Awards: Nominated for Two Academy Awards (both for Sound)

 

I actually sieged the chance to watch about the first hour of this film; I have to say that, while it's very interesting to see how far action films have come in twenty years, it's still very interesting to know how the gap between the old filmmaking techniques and the modern filmmaking techniques affected this film. But two things are for sure: it's cool to note that this is how Anthony Hopkins was following up on his landmark Oscar win seven years prior, and it's cool to note that, twenty years ago, Hollywood was still interested in spotlighting countries such as Spain as the location for an action/adventure film.

Edited December 20, 2018 by Slambros

[SLAM!]

#22: Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (20 pts, 3 lists)

dir. Steve Miner

Awards: no major nominations

 

So to research this entry in the Halloween franchise, I decided to look up list rankings of all of the films in the Halloween franchise. Variety's most recent ranking has it at #5, just below the first three and the new reboot. Collider's most recent has it at #4. And Time Magazine's most recent has it at #2. So it sounds like this is quite a well-received Halloween film! And not only that, but this film not only has an impressive cast featuring the likes of Michelle Williams, Josh Hartnett, Joseph Gordon Levitt, and Alan Arkin... It also has the scream queen that started it all, JANET LEIGH, from Psycho! What's not to love for a horror buff?

 

(This was 1st place on one list and 3rd place on another list!)

[SLAM!]

This is my last one for the night.

 

#21: Pi (20 pts, 9 lists)

dir. Darren Aronofsky

Awards: Winner of the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay

 

There is no film quite like Pi. Of course, uniqueness is one of the things that's permeated director Darren Aronofsky's career, as he would go on to make highly revered films such as Requiem for a Dream and Black Swan. But it says a lot that this black-and-white film, about a mathematician obsessed with a dangerous number, is almost as harrowing as the films preceding it.

 

As a film about math, it's only fitting to see this film sneak its way onto the list by way of a myriad of lower placements.

[Ethan Hunt]

Out of curiosity, how many lists were submitted?

Edited December 20, 2018 by Ethan Hunt

[Tower]

3 hours ago, Ethan Hunt said:

Out of curiosity, how many lists were submitted?

 

5 hours ago, Slambros said:

#25: Gods and Monsters (17 pts, 6 lists)

 

dir. Bill Condon

Awards: Winner of the Academy for Best Adapted Screenplay

 

This film, which details the last days of Frankenstein director James Whale, is about a lot of things; war, loyalty, and homosexuality are just a few of the themes. This is just one of the films from 1998 that truly show just how varied dramatic filmmaking has become up to this point. Of course, Sir Ian McKellan, Brendan Fraser, and Lynn Redgrave all contributed to the memorability of this forgotten film.

 

Two other films got 17 points according to my method of scoring; however, those films were on a lesser amount of lists.

 

(By the way, there were 19 lists scored, and 87 films mentioned!)

 

[Tower]

Haven't seen the first 4, Pi was good.

[TalismanRing]

6 hours ago, Slambros said:

#23: The Mask of Zorro (19 pts, 6 lists)

dir. Martin Campbell

Awards: Nominated for Two Academy Awards (both for Sound)

 

I actually sieged the chance to watch about the first hour of this film; I have to say that, while it's very interesting to see how far action films have come in twenty years, it's still very interesting to know how the gap between the old filmmaking techniques and the modern filmmaking techniques affected this film. But two things are for sure: it's cool to note that this is how Anthony Hopkins was following up on his landmark Oscar win seven years prior, and it's cool to note that, twenty years ago, Hollywood was still interested in spotlighting countries such as Spain as the location for an action/adventure film.

Zorro takes place in California. 

 

This version takes place during the Spanish Colonial period and Mexico period (after Mexico gained it's independence from Spain in 1821). 

 

[SLAM!]

5 hours ago, TalismanRing said:

Zorro takes place in California. 

 

This version takes place during the Spanish Colonial period and Mexico period (after Mexico gained it's independence from Spain in 1821). 

 

 

 

Guess I didn't watch the film all that closely...

[SLAM!]

#20: Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels (21 pts, 4 lists, highest placement: 5th)

dir. Guy Ritchie

Awards: Winner of the BAFTA Audience Award

 

This was Guy Ritchie's directorial debut! And quite a well-received one, too! It's about how quickly a life of crime can escalate, as it does for the main characters of this film. This film also introduced Jason Statham, who would go on to star in many mega-hit films!

 

[SLAM!]

#19: The Faculty (21 pts, 4 lists, highest placement: 2nd)

dir. Robert Rodriguez

Awards: no major nominations

 

A film about high school teachers and the idea that their teachers might be aliens would always have its fans! This film is definitely interesting, because it blends in mystery and science fiction with its horror elements! This film features Josh Hartnett (who was apparently a common face in these times), Jordana Brewster, a pre-Frodo Elijah Wood... even Usher was in it as one of the high-schoolers!

[SLAM!]

#18: Enemy of the State (24 pts, 7 lists)

dir. Tony Scott (the director of Top Gun)

Awards: no major nominations

 

To research more about this film, I decided to look at Will Smith's career history. This was one year after Men In Black. Two years after Independence Day and the final season of Fresh Prince of Bel Air. And this was three years after the first Bad Boys. So it may not be a surprise to know that this film made $111M domestically; that's $214M when adjusted. Therefore, Will Smith's star power was truly in motion at the time of this gritty action thriller's release. And Smith was not the only star: Gene Hackman, Regina King, and Jon Voight also have important roles.

[SLAM!]

#17: Dark City (27 pts, 7 lists)

dir. Alex Proyas

Awards: no major nominations

 

Earlier in this thread, the forum member @Kalo described Dark City as a "more sci-fi, darker, weirder version of The Truman Show". And that description looks to be spot on from what I can tell, with its gloomy atmosphere and its setting in a world without a sun. The dystopian thriller stars Rufus Sewell, Keifer Sutherland, Jennifer Connelly, and William Hurt as Secretary of State Thaddeus 'Thunderbolt' Ross.