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The good, bad and the ugly of 1998
By JOSH MASSEY
Tut Rid a Black
“Out of
Sight,"
-one of
" the
; best
; efforts
•of
I 1998.
A Ralph Fiennes and lima Thurman starred in “The
Avengers,” one of the more disappointing films of 1998.
Hollywood once again owe* a
debt of gratitude to Steven
Spielberg And while they're at It.
Jim Carrey deserve* a pat on the
back, too Out of 122 release* I
saw this year, only two were truly
memorable Spielberg’s "Saving
Private Ryan" and Carrey's “The
Truman Show " In fact, a 10-best
list Is almost pointless Of the top
10. only the first eight would have
stood a chance of making the list
any other year One can only put
faith In such unseen heavy hitters
like The Thin Red Line" and "A
Civil Action" to possibly save
1008
The 10 Bast
1. Saving Private Ryan —
Steven Spielberg's war drama
had Its flaws (Ted Danson?), but
It was still one of the most power
ful films of the decade
2. The Truman Show — Oscar
nominee Jim Carrey? It's looking
that way. at least If there’s Justice
in the world. Director Peter Weir's
heavy comedy-drama was the
most thought-provoking film of
the year.
3. Primary Colors — Real life
was too politically charged this
year for the public to care about
this loosely-based-on-Clinton
drama. They missed out.
4. Vary Bad Things — If you
hated "Saving Private Ryan" or
"The Truman Show.” there's
something wrong. If you hated
"Very Bad Things," no problem.
This Is one movie that's not made
for everybody (but It's an abso
lute riot).
5. Out of Sight — George
Clooney finally found a perfect
movie role, and nobody showed
up Plus, this had the year's best
all-around cast, with Clooney,
Don Cheadle, Ving Rhames,
Jennifer Lopez, Albert Brooks.
Dennis Farina and an unbilled
Michael Keaton.
6. Dark CRy — It's not fair.
Director Alex Proyas' "The Crow"
was way overrated, but his follow
up. “Dark City," was way over
looked The freakishly original
story, mixed with the year's best
special effects (take that,
"Godzilla"), made for a disturbing
and draining film experience.
7. The Prince of Egypt — The
story of Moses comes to glorious
life in this thoughtful and
astounding animated drama.
Disney hasn't been this good In
years. Opens Dec. 18.
8. Vow Friends and Neighbors
— This never made it to Athens,
and that’s an injustice Jason
Patrlc, Ben Stiller and Nastassja
Kinski star In this hilariously bit
ter comedy about relationships
from writer-director Nell LaBute
(“In the Company of Men"). The
Oscars should remember Patrlc's
performance, but they won't
9. The Big Lebowski — The
Coen brothers didn't hit "Fargo"
heights with this one. but In a dull
year, wacky originality made it
stand out.
10. Deep Impact — Though it
had Its faults, the year’s first
comet movie was exciting, well-
acted and. most of all, had char
acters we cared about (not like
that other meteor flick).
Honorable mention: “Antz," “A
Bug’s Life," “The Spanish
Prisoner"
The 10 Worst
1. Psycho — There was no way
a shot-by-shot remake of Alfred
Hitchcock's classic could have
worked. But director Gus Van
Sant screwed things up even
worse than he could have. At the
very least, he could have axed
Hitch's own lame ending, a redun
dant speech by a psychiatrist.
2. Two Girts and a Guy — The
most overrated film of the year.
Robert Downey Jr. and director
James Toback are making anoth
er film together; thank God I
won't be a movie critic when it
comes out.
3. Mr. Nice Guy — Before
Jackie Chan hit a home run with
“Rush Hour." this garbage made
his American action career
almost fade to black.
4. Desperate Measures —
Andy Garcia hunts for escaped
con Michael Keaton. A great cast
is wasted in this Instantly forget
table dud.
5. The Avengers — Speaking
of instantly forgettable, this
action-comedy came and went in
August, and nobody remembers
what it was about.
6. Ever After — And ever and
ever and ever. Drew Barrymore
starred In this updated rehash of
Cinderhell ... er, Cinderella. Some
girls actually fell for this crap, so I
won t feel bad enjoying the next
mindless guy flick I see
7. Soldier — Expendable. Kurt
Russell plays the futuristic one-
note loner Kevin Costner role In
this action-adventure that never
takes off.
8. What Dreams May Come —
Robin Williams usually gets on
my 10 Worst list, but it's usually
via a dumb comedy (“Flubber,”
"Jack”).This spiritual hokum was
a rare dramatic misstep.
9. Species 2 — Not enough
nudity. I mean plot!
10. Lost in Space — Believe it
or not, but the year's worst outer
space adventure wasn't
"Armageddon."
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