Article: Rewind '98

Box office-wise, it was another record year; besting last year, which bested the year before it and so on. The highest grossing film of 1998 was Armageddon (opening with 36M and leading to 201M gross.) In fact Armageddon was the only film to cross the 200M border this year. But, when Saving Pvt. Ryan is re-released next year, it may gross enough to overtake Armageddon and become the highest release of the year.

Here are the top twenty films of the year - (along with my personal ratings out of 10)

Top Twenty of 1998 *-still playing

This year, a record 12 films crossed the $100M mark, and will be joined soon by Patch Adams, You’ve Got Mail, Enemy of the State, and possibly Stepmom, Prince of Egypt, and Rugrats for a possible total of 18 films crossing the century line.

Take a look at the top twenty and you’ll notice the inclusion of some films that probably would have seriously shocked you had you read it in January 1998. You’d probably have asked yourself the following questions -

Q. Why isn’t Godzilla on the top of the list?

A. Simple. The movie was bad, bad, bad. No one wants to see a bad movie, no matter how long the marketing campaign was running.

Q. There’s Something About Mary? I haven’t even heard of that!

A. Very few people had. Until the hilarious ads started showing up in theaters causing amazing word of mouth and longer legs than Cameron Diaz herself.

Q. What are two Adam Sandler films doing in the top twenty. Didn’t his last two movies gross about $50 M or so combined.

A. Yes, but the Wedding Singer wasn’t the usually Sandler flick. It was a decent romantic comedy about the 80’s that connected with many people. The Wedding Singers huge success in theaters and especially on video helped attract huge crowds to The Waterboy. His career is beginning to look like Jim Carrey’s, and he’ll be the new Carrey if his next movie does well. I think it will.

Q. Where are Small Soldiers, The Avengers, Babe 2, and other supposed ’98 blockbusters.

A. Unfortunately, while SS didn’t exactly tank, it didn’t do justice to the film’s hype. The Avengers and Babe 2 however, were dead on arrival. The latter, however, turning up on many critics 10 best of the year lists.

Sequels did poorly this year, with the exception of the fun, yet routine, Lethal Weapon 4 and the absolutely awful Halloween H20. The sequels I Still Know, U.S. Marshals, and Star Trek Insurrection did okay, but not as well as their prior installments. Big sequel flops included The Odd Couple 2, Species 2, Major League 3, Blues Brothers 2000, and, unfortunately Babe 2.

The Studio with the biggest Market Share this year was Buena Vista with over a billion dollars in ticket sales. The Disney company won thanks mainly to Armageddon, The Waterboy, Mulan and many smaller films. Thanks to Titanic, Paramount had the most #1 weekends. But the studio came in second. Next came Warner Bros., which had a much better year than 97’, but it still had it’s share of flops.

You’ve probably heard of Universals long string of flops. It seems like the country just stayed away from anything with a Universal Globe on the poster. Every single film they released that year (Primary Colors, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Out of Sight, BASEketball, Meet Joe Black and Babe 2) was either a big disappointment or a big flop. Their only saving grace (besides the sequel Bride Of Chucky which did respectable biz) is Patch Adams, which was just released and will most definitely cross the $100M mark.

One Studio which did surprisingly well was New Line. With it’s hits Rush Hour, The Wedding Singer, Blade, Lost In Space and Pleasantville - it had a great year. Next year should be another great one, during which it will unveil the highly anticipated sequel to Austin Powers.

What were the most surprising hits of the year? I’d say Rush Hour and The Waterboy. What were the most surprising flops of the year? I’d say Holy Man and BASEketball.

We had some great scores and songs for movies this year.

My Favorite Scores of the Year -

This year produced some very nice scores. Most of my picks are not the usual "best of the year" picks and they are all very different. I suggest picking up one of these albums.

Mouse Hunt - while technically a late 97’ release, it featured a wonderfully hummable score. Very playful, very funny and it had a slight menacing edge - exactly like the film.

The Man who Knew too Little - another late ’97 release, the Bill Murray flop had a retro, snappy score that was also quite memorable - not at all like the film.

Rush Hour - urban version of Enter the Dragon. Very cool and fitting for the fun martial arts film.

Mask of Zorro - a rousing score that featured large orchestral numbers, smaller solo singles and some percussion numbers. The decidedly Latin feel was perfect for the film and enhanced the action.

The Prince of Egypt - a rich, epic score with some surprisingly catchy songs, despite what you may have heard. Still, the songs are no match for the amazing orchestral songs on the score.

Great Expectations - a very strange score that uses Tori Amos’ amazing vocals along with mysterious sound effects and whistling. It is all very romantic and engrossing.

The Truman Show - Anyone who’s seen the film will tell you the music is one of the films biggest strengths. And that is saying a lot for one of the best films of the year. The music is very moving, mysterious and powerful. The music was integral to this film more than any other of the year.

Many of these picks were not written expressly for the film and many of them are remakes. I know that they don’t all qualify as Oscar contenders but they did all appear all appear on their respective film’s soundtrack.

Deliver Us / Prince of Egypt - my favorite song of the film is a bid chorus number that really shows off the movies grandeur and power.

Heroes / Godzilla - a remake of a David Bowie song by a very talented group named The Wallflowers. Some hate this song. I can’t see why. It’s a tuneful, well sung song.

Got You Where I Want You / Disturbing Behavior - one of my favorite songs of the year is performed by The Flys. It’s a rhythmic alternative ballad that is surprisingly addictive.

If You Could Read My Mind / 54 - the catchiest song of the year is a disco remake of a Gordon Lightfoot song. Annoying as hell at first, your toes will soon tap and the rest of your body will follow suit.

Life In Mono / Great Expectations - only one of the amazing songs on this amazing album. This one’s by Mono and it is a delicate French café song. Also check out Sunshower by Chris Cornell and Siren by Tori Amos on the same album.

Leaving on a Jet Plane / Armageddon - by Chantel Kreviasak, this is a beautiful version of the John Denver classic that (god help me) is actually better than the original. It is done in an lovely, smooth, but challenging way.

Another Brick in the Wall / The Faculty - performed by a group of veterans like Layne Staley, Tom Morello, Stephen Perkins and more, this remake of the Pink Floyd classic is perfect for the movie. It’s also more haunting than the original and just as cool. Another great album that is stocked with well-known bands to attract the same audience as the film.

Sometimes the opening credit sequences are the best part of the film. Here are the most fun credit sequences of the year.

The Man Who Knew too Little - a very cute little cartoon man moves around the screen while a bomb is being assembled beneath him. Great music too.

The Avengers - mind blowing graphics make watching names fly by a lot of fun. These are some really cool images that show just how cool the movie could have been. ‘Tis a shame. A real shame.

MouseHunt - after a hilarious funeral scene the credits roll by as we watch chaos ensue at the string factory. Great music too.

Best Action Sequence

This year wasn’t as proficient in the action department as some other years, but it had it’s moments.

Blade - the opening scene at the Blood Rave has fast frenetic movement and gore galore. It also has some laughs and gasps. A great kick-ass scene.

Zorro - the horse chase sequence is thrilling and cool. It’s kind of improbable but it really was fun. Riding horses really isn’t as easy as Banderas makes it looks. An exciting scene.

Lethal Weapon 4 - the car chase was cool. Very cool. Gibson kicked ass on the plastic wrap and it blew me out of my seat when it smashed through the high-rise. OOPS! I hope I didn’t spoil anything.

The Faculty - the final confrontation is truly wild. Bigger than anything you’d expect the scene simply explodes with special effects and action. Loads of fun.

Funniest Scene

The big winner this year is obvious. But the runners up may surprise you.

There’s Something about Mary - the two scenes that made me chortle the most this year was the Frank and Beans scene and the Binoculars scene.

BASEketball - the opening scene is a hilarious satire of the diminishment of professional sports. First a football jig than some really funny stadium names. Also the hospital scene.

Dirty Work - a really stupid movie that has one incredibly funny hallucination scene. It’s a cameo from the years #1 comedian in a "hot" role.

Pleasantville - the "flaming tree" scene. Not quite as <<funny>> as the other scene, but an amazing scene that had to be mentioned somewhere.

Sexiest Scene

Hands Down. I’m only going to mention one scene. See it and you’ll know why.

Out of Sight- Damn that was hot! Not even barely revealing, but strangely it was incredibly sexy. The snow falling outside was the perfect touch. And when she takes off the sweater…

Scariest Scene

This year was NOT a good year for real horror. But still, I’d have to mention these creepy scenes:

Fallen - two scenes, in fact the only worthwhile scenes in the film, the "game of tag on the street" scene and the ending.

The Faculty - the "get out of town scene". Paranoid fun.

Spice World - the scene when Meatloaf says "I’d do anything for those girls, but I won’t do that". Ahhhhhh! Who writes this stuff?

Most Romantic Scene

What Dreams May Come - the least corny part of the film was the gorgeous opening scene. "When I was young, I met a girl by the lake."

BASEketball - the ‘best friend" scene between Matt and Trey. Well, it’s not really romantic but…

Definitely not Godzilla. It’s effects were disappointing, to say the least. The best effects award would have to go to…

What Dreams May Come - more art design than special effects, one must admit that the scenery was truly cool. The story on the other hand…

Small Soldiers - there really wasn’t a lot of quality effects work this year. But if I’m going to nominate one CGI creature movies, this one had the best effects of all. Stan Winston did it again with these very cool, toy-like warriors.

Pleasantville - the colorizing effect was really cool. Very pretty, the screen and theater just glowed. Apparently, this movie had more effects than any other film in history, even Lost in Space. That reminds me…

Lost In Space - granted, some of the effects were cool, but there were so many effects that they all just started to look corny and certain effects (space monkey) were awful. The monkey looked like it was just flat animation! Some of the ship stuff was Wing Commander CD-ROM quality too. Pretty Lame.

Deep Rising - bad effects, but to good use. The awful effects were part of what made this movie fun.

Best Druggie Effects

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - this almost unwatchable movie did have some pretty watchable effects. Enhanced all the more by watching with your friend Mary Jane.

Worst Druggie Effects

Half Baked - the floaty thing is so lame. Come on! Get some better ideas.

Best Smack

Meet Joe Black - Brad Pitt getting hit by a car. Obviously, the best part of the film.

Best Trailer for Worst Movie

The Avengers - the trailer was so cool. The Avengers became my most anticipated movie of the summer.

The Big Hit - a fun, fast paced trailer that used a cool Wyclef Jean rap song that matched the action perfectly.

The Faculty - what a snoozer trailer. I realize they didn’t want to blow the movie, but a few effects shots would be better.

Shakespeare In Love - made it look slow, boring and unfunny. None of which it is.

Home Fries - this is NOT a light romantic comedy about burgers. It is a black comedy about crazy mothers.

Deep Rising - Corny, cheesy, but a hell of a lot of fun! Imagine, if you will, a fake looking cartoon octopus rises from the deep to invoke gory, gory mayhem. What a great blast of pure Cheddar!

The Avengers - how hard could it have been to make a cool, comprehensible movie out of such an awesome franchise. I don’t even know what happened in the last hour!

Best Male Performance of the year

Jim Carrey/ The Truman Show - This was a hard one to pick. Really, it was. There has been a lot of acclaim this year for both Ian McKellan (Gods and Monsters) and Bill Murray (Rushmore) but neither film has yet to open near me. In this case, I’ll choose a performance that seems to me, to be the most challenging one of the year. How did Jim Carrey make us forget he was Jim Carrey? Perhaps the script helped, but no one can deny that Jim’s performance in The Truman Show wasn’t a breakthrough one, especially for a comedian. Let’s hope for more of this from the man with the rubber face.

Best Female Performance of the year

There were a lot of great acting this year, but if I had to pick one than I’d go with:

Gwyneth Paltrow / Shakespeare in Love - okay, I know that this is sort of a surprise. I chose her for several reasons. First off, she is not British, yet she does perhaps the best British accent on film. She is absolutely radiant and passionate in this film. When she’s not doing tripe like Hush, she really shines.

Breakout Actor of the Year

Adam Sandler of course. He finally achieved superstar status with his two smash hits. Kudos, Adam! While none of his films have been as funny as his CDs, they are still very amusing.

Breakout Actress of the Year

There’s a tie. Cameron Diaz is now a household name thanks to her role as Mary. She even one the New York critics prize as best actress. Another actress becoming a household name is Christina Ricci who really shined in The Opposite of Sex doing a very funny adult role.

Lyle Lovett / The Opposite of Sex - I honestly don’t know why this character was needed. I love the film, but Lyle just isn’t an actor. On the other hand, maybe his failure enhanced Christina Ricci’s and Lisa Kudrow’s triumphs.

She stole my heart, and more, in the Mask of Zorro. She is Catherine Zeta Jones, the most attractive women in Hollywood. Not only that but she can act. Very sexy, frisky, and very spicy she will be big soon. Next year she stars with Sean Connery in the promising Entrapment. Expect big things from CZJ.

That’s it for now. I think ’98 was a good year but it could have been better. 99’ looks even more promising. Can anyone say Star Wars? Austin Powers 2? Wild Wild West? End of Days? Chicken Run? Matrix? The Mummy? South Park? WOW!

But this is just the first part of Rewind ’98. Rewind again soon.

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