[Population: One] <A HREF="http://popone.innocence.com/ar

[bryant]

A while ago, some of my friends were bandying around the idea that 1999 was the best year for movies in our generation. Others agree.

Comments

[mgrasso.livejournal.com]

Damn skippy. I forgot about Iron Giant. Good to see someone else sees it this way too.

[kniedzw.livejournal.com]

I loved the last scene. It warmed the cockles of my heart.

[jeregenest.livejournal.com]

I should try that movie with Harrison again. Last time we didn't make it 10 minutes.

[telepresence.livejournal.com]

Iron Giant pretty much reduces me to big ridiculous pile of tears every time I see it. Not the bit right at the end. The slightly earlier thing. I lose it every time.

Soooooperman

[jeffwik.livejournal.com]

It's a very sweet movie.

Counter-argument

[carneggy.livejournal.com]

I'll make a bare-bones case for 1988 instead:

Fish Called Wanda
Die Hard
Akira
Bull Durham
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Last Temptation of Christ

Plus a bunch of not-as-well-known movies that certain people value extremely highly or think of as very important:

Beetlejuice
Willow
Stand and Deliver
Eight Men Out
Unbearable Lightness of Being
They Live
Young Guns
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Adventures of Baron Munchausen
Naked Gun
Midnight Run

----------------------

Basically, I think that for most years you could come up with 10-20 quality movies that people think stand the test of time and/or have cultural importance.

Re: Counter-argument

[robotnik.livejournal.com]

OK, all this is totally subjective, obviously. There are way too many movies in a year to make this any more than a fun exercise in pattern recognition. And you are free to like the movies you like, and I salute you for it.

All that said: Wow. That's a case for 1988 over 1999? If I was making up a case against 1988, I would put about half of those movies on my list.

Re: Counter-argument

[bryant]

The day Eggy says "I agree with this post 100%" will be the day I faint dead away.

But Unbearable Lightness of Being better not be on the case against list.

Re: Counter-argument

[carneggy.livejournal.com]

If I agree with a post 100%, I am loathe to waste bandwidth on rubber-stamping it.

Re: Counter-argument

[carneggy.livejournal.com]

Heck, _I_ don't agree with them all - just as I don't agree with all the ones Bryant linked to.

I merely offered them as ones that people in general could/would make an opinionated case for.

Re: Counter-argument

[carneggy.livejournal.com]

So out of curiousity, what would go on your case against?

Re: Counter-argument

[robotnik.livejournal.com]

Well, OK, I suppose I was exaggerating for effect. One can't really prove a year isn't a good year for movies by listing mediocre movies from that year, since every year has a virtually inexhaustible supply of mediocre films and genuine stinkers. I do think you can make a case for some years over others by looking at the number of "wow, that's what I go to the movies for" movies, and subjectively, 1999 had a lot of those for me.

Now all THAT said, I don't think having Beetlejuice, They Live, Young Guns, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, or Naked Gun make the Top 17 does a lot for 1988's case to movie greatness.

Re: Counter-argument

[carneggy.livejournal.com]

Sure, I'd personally agree with the ones you disdain.

But then, some of the ones on that 1999 list are equally iffy in my eyes - Fight Club, Eyes Wide Shut and Blair Witch Project were/are horribly, horribly overrated. Good, but not great.

Personally, in a lot of ways I'd prefer 1987: Princess Bride, The Last Emperor, Wings of Desire, Near Dark, Full Metal Jacket, Raising Arizona, Wall Street, House of Games, Empire of the Sun, etc etc.

Re: Counter-argument

[robotnik.livejournal.com]

That works for me. Though '87 isn't a multiple of eleven, so we can't attribute the flourishing of creativity that year to the mystical eleven-year sunspot cycle.

Re: Counter-argument

[carneggy.livejournal.com]

Well, it was GOING to be 11, but then the focus groups indicated it would be better if we made it even bigger.

[ronebofh.livejournal.com]

Eyes Wide Shut wasn't merely overrated, it was execrable.