Nominees: L.A. Confidential, The Sweet Hereafter, As Good as It Gets, Waiting for Guffman, The Game, Hard Eight
Oscars pick: Titanic
Nominees: As Good as It Gets, The Full Monty, Good Will Hunting, L.A. Confidential
This is another superlative year at the movies - From Atom Egoyan's solemn tragedy The Sweet Hereafter to Christopher Guest's classic comedy Waiting for Guffman. Not only that, but James Brooks actually made a movie I liked. While I didn't care his Terms of Endearment and was cool towards Broadcast News, I dug As Good as It Gets, which features a hilarious idiosyncratic performance from Jack Nicholson.
I thought Titanic was a decent flick, not the best of the year, but decent. I see it as the Gone with the Wind of its time and don't have a problem with it winning. Though for me it was a 2-horse race between L.A. Confidential and Princess Mononoke.
I'm a Noir/mystery enthusiast so L.A. Confidential was a guaranteed win for me... though at first viewing I wasn't sure about it. It's different from traditional Noir and that threw me. It's brightly colored and lit, a lot slicker than the down and dirty crime stories I was used to. But once I got used to it I was hooked. The characters were interesting, sharply written and acted -- I especially liked Kevin Spacey as slick narcotics detective Jack Vincennes. The plot is full of knotty twists and turns. Story and setting-wise, it's akin to Chinatown.
It's nature vs. industry, with each fighting for survival in Hayao Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke. This is a near-perfect picture. There's not a missed beat, not a flaw in theme, narrative, or character. Writer-Director Miyazaki delivers his message without getting overly preachy or heavy-handed. And I loved the ambiguity, the way the story offers many shades of gray: For example, Lady Eboshi isn't cut and dried villainy; she does good for her people. On the other hand, nature can be volatile and dangerous (I laughed when the wolf grabs the prince's head and starts shaking it – these ain't Disney's happy, helpful singing animals. They'd just as soon eat you than give you comfort). The ending is epic, truly breathtaking.
The blurb on the DVD case compared Mononoke to Star Wars. I think it's more ambitious than that. Miyazaki's magnum opus is a film filled with imagination and an ending that leaves some viewers scratching their heads (though the Hayao faithful and those familiar with Japanese folklore get it). This isn't easy mind-candy animation. This is a challenging work of beauty and visionary genius -- and while the pull from L.A. Confidential was strong, I just couldn't bypass Mononoke.
Honorable Mentions:
Jack Nicholson, As Good as It Gets * Crowe, Pearce, Cromwell & Spacey, L.A. Confidential * Ian Holm, The Sweet Hereafter * Michael Douglas, The Game * Robert Duvall, The Apostle * Djimon Hounsou, Amistad * Ralph Fiennes, Oscar and Lucinda * Sam Lee, Made in Hong Kong
Honorable Mentions:
Judi Dench, Mrs. Brown * Julie Christie, Afterglow * Helena Bonham Carter, The Wings of the Dove * Sarah Polley, The Sweet Hereafter * Cate Blanchett, Oscar and Lucinda * Molly Parker, Kissed * Susanne Lothar, Funny Games
