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my favorite films of the year
in order of personal preference:

1. The Iron Giant - Brad Bird has made the closest thing to a "classic" of any animated motion picture of the 90s; this simple tale of a boy who befriends a lonely robot emphasizes the wide-eyed wonder of youth, and the dangers of living by suspicion and violence, while keeping us focussed on a relationship, so that the film never gets reduced to being a Message movie.  Glorious animation, both digital and traditional; strong characterization and dialogue; an engaging but not anxious pace... this is a movie that should make Disney look closely and learn.

2. Toy Story 2  - Disney and Pixar joined forces again and created an even better "Toy Story" than the first one.  And while it rushes forward at a breakneck pace from the opening frame to the end, the characters develop more depth than most live-action characters on the big screen today. 

3. The Insider - A powerful morality play ripped from yesterday's headlines.   A man who knows to much finds the courage to blow the whistle on his rich and powerful former employers, knowing full well that telling the truth may cost him everything he holds dear... and it does.  The journalist that believes in him takes similar risks, and they find in each other a kinship that sees them through a hellish trial, a tragedy that reveals just how the American legal system has come to make it nearly impossible to stand up for the truth.

4. The Dreamlife of Angels - A more accomplished first film you will not find.   Eric Zonca proves to be an insightful and attentive student of the human spirit as he brings his camera to the story of two young ladies who work lousy day jobs and spend their off-time very differently.  One walks wide-eyed through life, investigating mysteries and lending what kindness she can to others; the other is drawn to danger and recklessness in a search for status and acceptance and love.  Where they are led, and what happens to their friendship, is brutally true to life and unsentimental.  This is the most underappreciated film of the year.

5. Three Kings - In the tense and complicated mess of the Gulf War, David O. Russell tells an imaginative, unpredictable, and compelling war story of American soldiers who get a chance to steal some of Saddam's wealth.  What seems like a simple opportunity to rob from the rich and the evil turns into a complicated moral dilemma, and would-be crooks instead find themselves challenged to act in a morally responsible fashion, laying down their lives for foreign strangers.  Violent, yes, but appropriately so, and what is more... it's memorable, moving, and exhilarating.

6. Princess Mononoke - The forest is important.  It is alive.  It is powerful.  We need it.  And it is dying because of our selfish ambition.   Princess Mononoke is an ambitious, complicated, and awe-inspiring fantasy of Japanese mythology, in which the spirits of the forest try and defend themselves against the destructive progress of humankind.  This is not Disney.  There are selfish human beings on all sides, some of whom rise to the occasion of nobility, heroism, and conscience.  The forest creatures themselves are not Bambi; they have their own selfishness, their own confusion and ignorance.  Human beings have through their foolishness awakened demons in the forest.  The demons are coming to punish them for cutting down the trees and ruining their beautiful homes.  They are fearsome: This is not an animated film for small children. These demons can only be exorcised through sacrifice, through humility, and through peace.  No, this is not a Christian mythology in its specifics, but at heart, love is still the answer, and only through sacrifice can peace be achieved.  Yes, the world portrayed here exhibits a belief in pantheism.  But it does honestly represent the moral conflicts we face every day in our interactions with each other and with nature, and in doing so it is far more relevant than the moral oversimplifications prevalent in "Christian" storytelling, or Disney for that matter.  There is a lot of truth here, for those with eyes to see and ears to hear.  There is also a lot of love for the beauty of God's creation, a lot of respect for the divine, and a lot of compassion for even heartless human beings.  And did I mention the glorious animation?  The enchanting characters?  The wonders of a vivid imagination painted on a large canvas?  This is a classic animated work of art.

7. Limbo - John Sayles comes up with another original - a powerful exploration of solitary lives in Alaska, where everyone seems paraylzed by emotional baggage.   Just as the tourist industry tries to keep Alaska looking unspoiled, so each character puts up a front to hide their pain.  Only when our three central characters--a moody ex-fisherman, a nightclub songbird, and her angry rebellious teenage daughter--are trapped in desperate circumstances in the wilderness are they forced to face their fears, begin living honestly, and learn the importance of sticking together no matter what the cost.  A beautiful and unnerving work with an audacious final scene.   One of Sayles' very best.

8. Star Wars, Episode One: The Phantom Menace - While the heroes of this film lack the exuberance and humor of those in the original trilogy, the enthralling and imaginative environments here are as brilliantly realized as any silver screen fantasy has ever given us.  New action sequences match and sometimes surpass those we've seen before as well.  The further explorations of the nature of the Force and the origins of Anakin Skywalker and ObiWan Kenobi are as good enough an excuse as any to revisit our favorite galaxy far far away.  In my opinion, it's better than "Return of the Jedi", but inferior to "A New Hope" and "The Empire Strikes Back". Why is a film so widely despised so high on my list? Because I still love trips of pure imagination into surprising worlds. I love the giddy pleasure Luas and Co. take in creating creatures just for the fun of it. And I love the way he continues to fill in the gaps in the Star Wars saga.  It all depends on what you expect and what you anticipate from Star Wars. You can focus on Jar Jar and the acting and be unhappy, or you can get past them to enjoy the dazzling animation, the complex developing story, the music, the metaphors, the parables, and the echoes of great mythology.

9. Magnolia - Powerful, effective storytelling about grace and forgiveness, told vividly and elaborately, in a tapestry of many different lives.  Even if its screenplay is overly ambitious and sometimes clumsy, director P. T. Anderson provides memorable surprises.  And the large cast delivers memorable performances, a gallery of portraits of people in crises. Not only that, but any movie that lets God step in and dominate the final act... well, that's worth seeing.

10. Mansfield Park - This is one of the finest of the Austen adaptations, with a sensational performance by Frances O'Connor, who is becoming one of my favorite actresses.Like Juliette Binoche and Irene Jacob, she has a face that communicates with great subtlety, complexity, and beauty. With strong supporting work from Alessandro Nivolo and Embeth Davidtz, "Mansfield Park" deserves the same level of acclaim that has been heaped upon Ang Lee's "Sense and Sensibility". Well worth seeing.

11. The Straight Story - David Lynch's best film since "Blue Velvet" is also one that the whole family can enjoy. A 72 year-old man who can't walk without the help of two canes sets out on a long journey to visit his ailing brother in hopes of resolving a longstanding conflict. Because the journey is made on a riding lawn mower... well... the movie is a slow and steady excursion, filled with delightful surprises, the kindnesses of strangers, and wonderful sightseeing. Richard Farnsworth won't win an Oscar, but his performance will stick with me more than any other this year.

12. Fight Club -   A violent satire about young men rising up to protest the rat race that has become their inheritance.  The problem is, their aggressive and mean-spirited uprising only serves to replace the reality they don't want with one that is far far worse.  In an effort to make a statement about all that has been kept from them, they end up destroying what opportunities for love and understanding they actually have.  An important but bleak motion picture, with enthusiastic performances from Brad Pitt and Edward Norton.

13. The Sixth Sense - The cleverest ghost story I've ever been told.  A young boy who can "see dead people" confides in a therapist who has a few issues of his own to settle.  Who is helping who here?  Haley Joel Osment gives an Oscar-worthy performance as the young boy, and Bruce Willis wisely gives him the spotlight.  Wonderful. 

14. Ride with the Devil  The OTHER great movie made about the Civil War ("Glory" being the first.)  Ang Lee's outsider's view of our own terrible national divide is aan enligtening examination of freedom and responsibility. And a great war film. It never oversimplifies the conflict, it treats characters on both sides of the war with dignity, and presents the hell of war convincingly but never indulgently. 

15. Eyes Wide Shut - Tragically misunderstood and unapreciated, this is Kubrick's most intensely moral tale about how our fantasies guide us away from all that is good for us, how they bind us and chain us, how they drain all life from our relationships and all vitality from our promises.  In the end, there is hope, through love and forgiveness, but those are the hardest charges of all.  Kubrick unleashes perhaps the most fearsome monsters of his whole career...jealousy and lust.  People who rushed to see erotic fireworks between Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman were devastated...probably because they were given the truth instead...the long slow deterioration of human dignity that comes with unfaithfulness of the mind, not to mention what would happen were unfaithfulness to get any farther than that.  In that it's his most controlled and patient performance, this is Cruise's best work, and Kidman's as well.

16. The Color of Paradise - Director Majid Majidi offers a deeply moving parable about a blind boy who sees so much more than his father and his friends. It's a simple film, but heartbreaking in its power and truth-telling, with an astonishing performance by young

17. Man on the Moon - Most critics, in my opinion, missed the point.  They wanted to be drawn closer the person of Andy Kaufmann.  But Andy Kaufmann's art was to live his life in a way that was a work of art.  Perhaps it was an irresponsible work at times, but he preferred to challenge those that encountered him, onstage and off, to think and to engage him imaginatively. Director Milos Forman makes this something of a thematic sequel to Amadeus, focusing on a misundertsood genius whose commitment to his artistic vision comes before acceptance, popularity, and even his loved ones. Watching Jim Carrey's brilliant performance as an enigma with a concealed but wounded heart is unforgettable, and the questions the film raises about the value of art and the difference between it and entertainment are important.

18. Autumn Tale - Eric Rohmer's graceful, beautiful, patient storytelling makes its central characters easy to believe in.  She's out there, somewhere, aging gracefully, tending to her vineyard, smiling as she thinks back on this Shakespearean-style comedy in which her freinds conspired to guide a man into her arms, a man who would appreciate what a jewel she is.  This is a romantic movie to melt the most cynical hearts with its near-documentary realism and its relentless country beauty.

The Talented Mr. Ripley - The consequences for evil does not need to be delivered in a violent fashion, or in a courtroom, or even by the hand of God.  Sometimes, evil deeds leave us hollow, empty, despairing, and that in itself is the punishment.  That is the principle portrayed brilliantly in this film, as an insecure young man tries to become what he envies in others by erasing them and then taking up their identities.  Matt Damon proves here that he is capable of playing more than just the smart-aleck; he stands out in a cast full of stand-outs. This is a much better film than Anthony Minghella's Oscar-winning celebration of infidelity "The English Patient".

Being John Malkovich - The most inventive premise of the decade.  It powerfully illustrates just where our selfish libidos will lead us if we act on our sinful desires.   The grass is always greener, and when given a chance to 'be someone else' and steal off-limits pleasures while incognito, these fools give us clear examples of the wages of sin.  God doesn't squash us like flies; he lets us wallow in our sings, starving ourselves, blinding ourselves, miserable.  The only thing that bugs me about this film is how it plays these things for laughs, and never considers that there might be rewards in faithfulness and perservering love.  At the end, we're empty, exhausted, and hopeless.

The Winslow Boy - Mamet's tight, clever dialogue invigorates a context that the movies have otherwise exhausted.  This is a period piece with energy, ideas, and a winning cast of characters brought to life by a brilliant cast.  Kudos especially to Rebecca Pidgeon, who is so odd and seemingly out of place, yet strangely beautiful, that we can't take our eyes off her.

Cradle Will Rock - Too many "main" characters keep this dramatic web of politics and drama from being as engaging as it should have een.  But as a snapshot of a specific time and place, and as an exploration of the importance of artistic freedom, this is an important and and ambitious film.  In a strong cast, John Turturro stands out.

The General - A master thief plays with the police, revels in his brilliance with his clever cronies, and develops an interesting and tense relationshiop with a police chief (Jon Voight).  Brendan Gleeson gives an unforgettable performance as the burglar with a heart.  While one might complain that it glorifies the crimes, the conclusion certainly shows that crime doesn't ultimately pay.  The film's tricky balance between farce and historical realism keeps us guessings...did this really happen like this? 

The Limey - Terrance Stamp owns this movie as much as an actor can.  You can't take your eyes off him as his quirky, violent temper and his steely intent cut through the Hollywood community that he doesn't understand to avenge the injustices done his daughter.  Steven Soderbergh again proves he can make a low-budget, character-driven film as intense and watchable as any special-effects blockbuster.

Snow Falling On Cedars - A lyrical, gorgeously filmed telling of the popular novel, which captures the mysterious beauty of the islands of Puget Sound, while raising spectres from World War II that we aren't used to seeing on the big screen.  Ethan Hawke may look a little too brooding and haunted, but the rest of the cast is note-perfect, especially Sam Shephard as the ghostly father in a troubled son's memory.

The Book of Life - Hal Hartley's funny comedy about the Second Coming makes us think, how can we expect the Jesus of the gospels to deliver the kind of bloody vengeance that the American Fundamentalist Church preaches?  Martin Donovan makes a perfect suit-and-tie Jesus, and P.J. Harvey is the perfect sidekick.

The Matrix - The world's gone bonkers for this clever, stylish, spiritual action flick.  While I recognize that there's a lot of great good-versus-evil, religious-archetype stuff woven all through it, I found it stiflingly dark.  Am I supposed to cheer for a messiah whose answer consists of "guns... lots of guns..." and who proceeds to gun down a lot of the very people he supposedy has come to save?  (Watch it again.  He's shooting the agents, but he's also shooting innocent Matrix-prisoners in their jobs as security guards.)  Plus, a last minute "love-will-save-the-day" solution doesn't make any sense to me.  Shouldn't true love be a two-way thing, not just a girl's crush on a boy?  And the soundtrack is tiringly, relentlessly caustic. Still, the special effects are outstanding, and the mythic backbone and religious parallels are not to be ignored.

Cookie's Fortune - A warm-hearted, small scale, old-fashioned comedy of errors, well acted, with the winning Charles S. Dutton  in the lead.

Sleepy Hollow - Beautiful to look at, but hollow in its sloppy storytelling and disappointing last-act "Here's how I did it and why?" confession by the villain.

Run Lola Run - Pure eye-candy.  Thank goodness for filmmakers like Tom Tykwer who remind us that something as simple as a character running for her life can be the most arresting imagery of all.

My Life So Far - Simply put...it does everything right.  A coming of age story with good performances, a solid script, a story that tells the truth, and a context that you'll want to visit when it's over.  And it's nice to see something so small scale yet surprising from the team that did "Chariots of Fire."

Sweet and Lowdown - A lesser Woody Allen film, but the performance given by Sean Penn may be one of the most accomplished in the whole Woody catalogue.  He's incredible.

1999 Looking Closer Awards

for excellence in artistry:
(tie)
Toy Story 2
and
The Iron Giant
and
The Insider

runners up:
The Dreamlife of Angels
The Color of Paradise
Three Kings
Limbo
Eyes Wide Shut

for relevance and resonance:
The Insider

runners up:
The Dreamlife of Angels
Three Kings
Limbo
The Color of Paradise
Eyes Wide Shut

for creativity and invention:
Star Wars - Episode One: The Phantom Menace
Toy Story 2

runners-up:
Being John Malkovich
The Iron Giant

for providing excellent family entertainment:
Toy Story 2
The Iron Giant

runners-up:
Star Wars - Episode One: The Phantom Menace

for excellence in screenwriting:
The Insider

runners-up:
Three Kings
Being John Malkovich
Limbo

for excellence in direction:
Michael Mann for The Insider

runners up: 
Stanley Kubrick - Eyes Wide Shut
Erick Zonka - The Dreamlife of Angels
Brad Bird - The Iron Giant
Paul Thomas Anderson - Magnolia

for excellence in acting:
Russell Crowe for The Insider
and
Elodie Bouchez  &  Natacha Regnier for
The Dreamlife of Angels

runners-up:
Jim Carrey - Man on the Moon
Christopher Plummer - The Insider
Jim Broadbent - Topsy-Turvy
Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio - Limbo
Sean Penn - Sweet and Lowdown
Richard Farnsworth - The Straight Story
Haley Osment - The Sixth Sense
Nicole Kidman - Eyes Wide Shut
Samantha Morton - Sweet and Lowdown
the ensemble cast of Magnolia

favorite line:

"I've packed you an extra pair of shoes...
and your ANGRY eyes,  just in case..."

--Mrs. Potato Head to Mr. Potato Head
as he runs off to rescue Woody in Toy Story 2

my favorite films of the year
in order of personal preference:

1. Out of Sight - Steven Soderbergh creates a flawless cops’n’robbers picture. The acting is all first-rate. The music is not distracting, entirely enhancing each segue and scene. Soderbergh puts the camera in the most interesting places to offer attractive angles on every scene. It’s a classy, stylish action comedy with a charming romance, vivid characters, an unpredictable script that makes you work to fill in the missing pieces. There are no clear-cut good guys and bad guys. As in real life, there are characters that capitalize on their faults, others on their strengths; we care about all of the characters, even the crooks, and hope they will see the light and improve their ways. George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez create the most romantic couple in years, and the director had enough integrity to show us that romance is more about relationship, conversation, and subtlety than just jumping into bed. (And, as a matter of fact, here’s a movie that shows you jumping into bed is not always the best idea; in fact, the next morning can be a bitter thing to face.) Unfortunately, the film ends with a scene that seems to find lawbreaking rather amusing and sentimental rather than another wrongful act on the central character’s part. Still, one of the most solid films to come out of Hollywood in a long time. (CAUTION: Characters have foul mouths, act inappropriately in their sex lives, and shoot people.)

2. Saving Private Ryan - I am reluctant to call this the best film of the year because it has some major flaws, worst of all the opening and closing scenes that are so stylistically inconsistent and sentimental that they probably should have been dropped entirely. But this film has brought to my mind and heart and understanding of the cost of my freedom. (A fellow in an Internet discussion group I visited this year summed it up nicely—"We are all Private Ryan.") Lectures and books do not have the power to make us so painfully aware of what we're doing when we go to war. Things that seem simple when presented by the evening news become frighteningly uncertain and downright nonsensical out on the battlefield. And with actors as strong as Tom Hanks and Jeremy Davies bringing us personalities and faces that reflect fear and vulnerability rather than bravado, the film's realism achieves a documentary-like quality. Jeremy Davies earns my Best Supporting Actor vote (edging out Billy Bob Thornton in A Simple Plan) and Spielberg earns my Best Director vote (edging out Peter Weir and Steven Soderbergh.). (CAUTION: Soldiers have foul language; there is, naturally, a lot of graphic bloodshed and violence.)

3. The Celebration - A family reunion turns into a most unpleasant affair when a son toasts his father at the dinner table and goes on to reveal deep dark family secrets.  Tempers flare as sins are brought out into the open and the truth, while ugly and painful, overcomes the lies.  Thomas Vinterberg's refusal to indulge in expensive special effects or a traditional soundtrack makes this an intimate and enlightening experience.

4. The Thin Red Line - This film is not so much a story as it is a philosophical contemplation.  Terrence Malick’s eye for natural beauty emphasizes these questions.  Even as we brace ourselves for scenes of war and bloodshed in the battle for Guadalcanal, we are given visions of the startling grandeur of nature; in fact, even in scenes of violence, the light of explosions and the power of the weapons take on a beauty that is unsettling in view of what they are accomplishing.  We drift from one soldier’s persepctive to another, seeing the struggle for hope, the surrender to hopelessness, the fear and the courage, the way one man endures the trials by looking for the good in the hearts of the men around him. The crucible of war brings out the best in some, the worst in others, and a mix in others. Some critics have complained that the device doesn’t work because these internal monologues are rather simplistic and crude. I would argue that to have raised them to a higher level of poetry would have been inconsistent with the characters through whom we are encountering these moral and philophical quandries. These are simple men, some of them confronting life’s biggest questions for the first time.

5. The Last Days of Disco - A very moral film about a bunch of hopelessly lost young adults looking for love and grace in a brutal singles scene. Each one struggles with loneliness, yearns for connection and acceptance, and tries to feel better about themselves by classifying others with terms like "yuppie", "scorpio", "gay", etc.  Ironically, they often end up embracing those labels if it means peace, acceptance, and the realization of self-confidence.   In the end, it is those who defy peer pressure and make decisions based on wisdom and admission of their own weakness that have the hope of finding grace and overcoming their weakneses.  Incredible, the way director Whit Stillman raises what seems a story of a pop culture trend into a powerful and important morality play pointing to our embarrassing tendencies to disgrace ourselves as we avoid the path of humility and integrity that leads to grace.  Even as one character scorns the intellectually-empty world of comic-books, the film's most revealing and profound conversations may well be the arguments over the social agendas of Walt Disney movies, and whether or not "Lady and the Tramp" is a film that glamorizing a gigolo or about each individual's responsibility to better themselves.  "Disco" also contains the best use of "Amazing Grace" in a film perhaps ever…. (At least since L.A. Story.)

6. The Prince of Egypt - Katzenberg has created one of the finest animated films of all-time in that he has pushed the technology to an astonishing new level and defended the art of storytelling. His actors—all in impressive form—give perfect voice matches to exquisitely designed characters. And his adaptation of the Moses story, while taking drastic shortcuts (like the elimination of the role of Moses’ brother Aaron), is an admirable attempt to glorify humility, courage, and faith in the face of adversity. The Moses story is, after all, another great little-guy vs. big-guy story in which the hero turns out to be God rather than the little guy, and the little guy's admirable trait is that he opens himself to be a vessel for God's "wonders" in spite of his own fears and doubts. That stuff is intact here, making the most important points of the movie quite powerful and moving. Alas, DreamWorks did not work hard enough to make it an original movie: they still felt compelled to include a very silly and unnecessary song, and, at a few points, the old-style animation clashes noticeably with the new. Overall, though, "The Prince of Egypt" is a transitional film that, in spite of its disappointing box office performance, will make Disney and other animation studios work all the harder to match them stylistically. For that, audiences will reap wonderful rewards.

7. The Truman Show - Peter Weir's flashiest film is also a paraphrase of all of his past films… the story of a man submerged in a world in which he is the outsider, the alien, the prisoner. Unfortunately, where Weir's other films questioned the responsibility upon the character's shoulders when he escapes his boundaries, this one seems bent only on escape and nothing else. Still, it's brilliantly crafted, and Carrey is very good, with the strong support of Ed Harris at his best.

8. Henry Fool - Henry, a devilish manipulator (who believes his own journals are a masterpiece of American literature) inspires a garbage man named Simon to write a poetic masterpiece that makes Simon an overnight celebrity. Meanwhile, Henry’s own writing aspirations fail miserably as he moves from relationship to relationship wreaking havoc and reaping despair. Excellent dialogue and solid performances make the film fascinating, funny, and thought-provoking, but let the viewer beware: there are graphic and disturbing scenes of several kinds of abuse.

9. Antz - The best all-computer-animation film yet made. People thought it was too adult, too monochromatic. I thought it a relief that the adults had plenty to enjoy, and that the dark colors were used to brilliant effect, rather than distracting us from the story, which was very strong. It's far far better than the unoriginal cheap-joke-filled A Bug's Life, which boasted brilliant end credits but few memorable characters. Woody Allen, Dan Akroyd, Jane Curtin, Sharon Stone, Sylvester Stallone, Christopher Walken, and Gene Hackman were all perfectly cast as distinct engaging personalities that make this, inadvertently, the best Woody Allen movie since Bullets Over Broadway.

10. Babe: Pig in the City - Am I nuts?  The SEQUEL to a talking pig movie?  No, I'm not nuts.   After the initial reviews came out, warning parents that this was a terrible, dark, bleak, violent, ridiculous sequel to the family classic, Critic Roger Ebert stood up and said 'HOLD IT!"  He defended the film as perhaps the best commercial film of the year, an art film with boundless imagination and visionary genius.  Other critics (like Ebert's "two-thumbs-up" buddy Gene Siskel") began lining up to agree with him.  So I finally marched out, saw the film, and fell in love with it.  Indeed, it is darker, like The Empire Strikes Back is darker than Star Wars, but it is filled with hope, and actually tells, at heart, a Christ tale.  Babe the pig, with his innocence and his belief in the value of all individuals (no matter how ugly, or vicious), must travel into the city to help Mrs. Hoggett save the farm.  Along the way, he finds shelter in a hotel for all manner of beasts (an "Animal House", if you will.  There, he teaches them the value of love, humility, forgiveness, and servanthood.  There's even a sort of "communion" scene where each starving animal lines up, partakes of food that Babe made possible, and religiously thanks him.  I was blown away, both by the playfulness, the delightful mishmash of styles (everything from Brazil to Edward Scissorhands to The Great Muppet Caper), and the powerful story that was told inside the confines of such a simple outline.  Sure, some of the wild spectacles get a little out of hand (Remember, Babe films come from the director of Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome) and turn self-indulgent with their hilarity and abundant slapstick antics, but that is a minor glitch in a relentlessly surprising and enjoyable film. 

11. Fast, Cheap and Out of Control - Errol Morris may have invented a new genre--"the documentary poem."  A series of interviews with a lion-tamer, an expert on the life of mole-rats, a topiary artist, and a robot builder are juxtaposed, mixed up, overlaid, and fused into an astounding whole that explores how humans are unique in a world of wild and varied life forms.  While his interviewees lead us into their own secret worlds of unusual vocation and obsession, they themselves are under the microscope, their personalities and perspectives as different as their jobs.  Their visions range from the simple and humble dedication of the gardener to the scientist who eagerly contemplates the possibility of creating entities that will outlive or "replace" humankind on Planet Earth.  Hilarious, fascinating, horrifying, and unsettling, this is a film to be seen more than once for all of its subtle complexity and structural beauty.

12. Life is Beautiful - Benigni's bittersweet comedy is filled with Chaplinesque genius and it beats with a heart as profoundly affected by the Holocaust as Spielberg's was in Schindler's List. Roberto Benigni earns my Best Actor vote for 1998.

13. Dark City - The first time I watched it, I didn't care for it. The second time, I was totally enthralled. Why? Maybe I just needed to get used to its breakneck pace and consider the questions about freewill and identity at its heart. Dark City is the most beautifully designed sci-fi film since Blade Runner, and features Rufus Sewell lost in a maze of amnesia and alien conspiracy as he tries to find his way out of a Twilight-Zone city in which the sun never rises and no one knows the way to the beach. Philosophical and courageously relentless in its pace and presentation, Dark City is one to watch more than once.

14. Shakespeare in Love - It's a delicious romantic comedy about Shakespeare himself that is just as well-written as a movie about Shakespeare deserves to be. And Gwyneth Paltrow is absolutely radiant in it. It's a little too earnest about praising infatuation over responsibility, but there are far more pleasures and virtues in the film than faults.

15. The Butcher Boy - The story of what happens when a child is given no good role models in his life and is allowed to develop a cruel heart unchecked. This stands next to The Crying Game as Neil Jordan's… and Steven Rea's… best work. Deeply troubling, and yet not without compassion and hope.

16. The Big Lebowski - Prepare for a tidal wave of losers, their bad language, and their stupid decisions. While there are no heroes here (and that seems to be the point), there is plenty of human folly for us to laugh about, even if we sometimes see ourselves in the well-meaning foolishness of the film's central character… "The Dude". The Coen Brothers kick back and goof around, giving Jeff Bridges all the room he needs to craft another classic Coen Brothers hero. The most zany fun I've had since Raising Arizona. John Turturro is unforgettable as the arrogant, slimy, and hilarious sleazeball ever to grace the screen.

RUNNERS UP:

Rushmore - A subtle and innovative comedy about coming-of-age.  Max Fischer is a boy who believes his calling in life is to be a high-school student. That is, until he falls for a teacher whose heart he can only win by venturing forward into the world of maturity and grown-up behavior.  Unfortunately, he finds that grown-up behavior is in many ways more immature than that of high-schoolers, and he finds himself sparring for the woman's heart with one of his only true friends, Herman Blume, a down-and-out millionaire disillusioned with marriage and longing for understanding.   With a note-perfect cast that features Bill Murray in a remarkably reserved and effective performance; Bryan Cox as the school principal exasperated at the one student who eludes graduation; and Jason Schwartzman as that student, Max, the president of every school club imaginable, and a genius in every subject but love.  Schartzman is a remarkable new talent from the legendary Coppola family (of Francis Ford Coppola and Nicolas Cage fame.) While many critics are overstating Rushmore's greatness, it is one of the most intelligent comedies in recent years, striking a tone that will remind audiences of The Graduate and, perhaps, the more recent sleeper film The Pallbearer.  It may even be a better film than either of those in that it tells a story that finishes with more than just an acknowledgement of loneliness and life's struggles;  it goes a step further to give the dark cloud a silver lining; there is hope found in reconciliation, forgiveness, and humility.  Too bad it came out too late for Oscar voters to give it any credit; it deserves honor for its brilliant script and cinematography. And the sequences in which we are treated to scenes from the school plays Max directed are unforgettably over-the-top.

The Spanish Prisoner- As always, David Mamet's script is the highlight of his movies.   But credit should be given to Campbell Scott, for proving again he's an unerrated actor.  And Steve Martin is excellent in an uncharacteristically chilly role.   Bood brainy fun.

Central Station   - A hot, dusy journey with a desperate, hard-hearted woman who has just enough of a glimmer of compassion left in her tired heart to help a young boy find his home.

A Simple Plan - A "Fargo-esque" morality play, more mature and subtle than any of Sam Raimi's other work, featuring a fantastic performance by the amazing Billy Bob Thornton.

Smoke Signals   - A touching, small-scale story about a young Native American living under the shadow of an alcoholic father, and how his good-natured friend guides him to healing and hope.

1998 Looking Closer Awards

for excellence in artistry:
Out of Sight

runners up:
Saving Private Ryan
The Dreamlife of Angels
The Thin Red Line
Fast, Cheap and Out of Control

for relevance and resonance:
Saving Private Ryan
The Thin Red Line

runners up:
The Dreamlife of Angels
Fast, Cheap and Out of Control 

for creativity and invention:
The Prince of Egypt

runners up:
Fast, Cheap and Out of Control

for providing excellent family entertainment:
The Prince of Egypt

for excellence in screenwriting:
Tom Stoppard for Shakespeare in Love

runners-up:
Scott Frank for Out of Sight

for excellence in direction:
Steven Spielberg for Saving Private Ryan
and
Terrence Malick for The Thin Red Line

runner-up: 
Steven Soderbergh for Out of Sight
Thomas Vinterberg for The Celebration

for excellence in acting:
Gwyneth Paltrow - Shakespeare in Love
Roberto Benigni - Life is Beautiful

runners up: 
Jeff Bridges - The Big Lebowski
Billy Bob Thornton - A Simple Plan
Johnny Depp - Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Benicio Del Toro - Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
John Turturro - The Big Lebowski
Jeremy Davies - Saving Private Ryan
Billy Murray - Rushmore

favorite line:

-Des to Jimmy as he runs from the law in The Last Days of Disco

my favorite films of the year
in order of personal preference:

1. The Apostle

2. The Ice Storm

3. Good Will Hunting

4. Chasing Amy

5. L.A. Confidential

6. Grosse Point Blank

7. The Fifth Element

8. The Boxer

9. The Sweet Hereafter

10. Gattaca

11. Mrs. Brown

12. Ulee's Gold

13. Men With Guns

14. Titanic

15. Face/Off

16. Men In Black

runners up:
Fairy Tale: A True Story
Donnie Brasco
Amistad

1997 Looking Closer Awards

for excellence in artistry:
The Apostle

runners up:
The Ice Storm
The Sweet Hereafter

for relevance and resonance:
The Apostle

runner up:
The Ice Storm

for creativity and invention:
The Fifth Element

for providing excellent family entertainment:

for excellence in screenwriting:
Rick Moody for
The Ice Storm

runners-up:
Kevin Smith for Chasing Amy

for excellence in direction:
(tie)
Robert Duvall for
The Ice Storm
and
Ang Lee for
The Ice Storm

runners up: 
Atom Egoyan for The Sweet Hereafter

for excellence in acting:
Robert Duvall For The Apostle

runner up: 
Daniel Day-Lewis for The Boxer
Judy Dench for Mrs. Brown

my favorite films of the year
in order of personal preference:

1. Secrets and Lies

2. Fargo

3. Ponette

4. Flirting with Disaster

5. Trainspotting

6. Lone Star

7. Waiting for Guffman

8. Breaking the Waves

9. Sling Blade

10. Emma

runners-up:
The English Patient
James and the Giant Peach
William Shakespeare's Hamlet
Big Night
Shine

1996 Looking Closer Awards

for excellence in artistry:
Secrets and Lies

runners up:
Fargo

for relevance and resonance:
Secrets and Lies

runners up:
Ponette
Lone Star 

for creativity and invention:
James and the Giant Peach

for providing excellent family entertainment:
James and the Giant Peach

for excellence in screenwriting:
Mike Leigh for
Secrets and Lies

runners-up:
Joel and Ethan Coen for Fargo

for excellence in direction:
Mike Leigh for
Secrets and Lies

runners up: 
Joel Coen for Fargo

for excellence in acting:
Emily Watson for
Breaking the Waves

runners-up:
Frances McDormand for Fargo
William H. Macy for Fargo
Billy Bob Thornton for Sling Blade

my favorite films of the year
in order of personal preference:

1. Dead Man Walking

2. Toy Story

3. Babe

4. Sense and Sensibility

5. The City of Lost Children

6. Se7en

7. Rob Roy

8. A Little Princess

9. The Usual Suspects

10. Twelve Monkeys

11. Heat

12. Dead Man

13. Safe

14. Before Sunrise

15. Casino

runners up:
Clockers
Get Shorty
Nixon
Il Postino
Devil in a Blue Dress
Kicking and Screaming

1995 Looking Closer Awards

for excellence in artistry:
Dead Man Walking

runners up:
Toy Story
Babe

for relevance and resonance:
Dead Man Walking

runners up:
Safe

for creativity and invention:
The City of Lost Children

runners up:
Toy Story
Babe

for providing excellent family entertainment:
(tie)
Toy Story
Babe

runners up:
A Little Princess

for excellence in screenwriting:
Toy Story

runners-up:
Safe
Dead Man Walking
The Usual Suspects

for excellence in direction:
Tim Robbins for
Dead Man Walking

runners up:
Ang Lee for Sense and Sensibility
George Miller for Babe 
John Lasseter for Toy Story

for excellence in acting:
Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn for
Dead Man Walking

runners-up:
Jessica Lange for Rob Roy
Emma Thompson for Sense and Sensibility
Julianne Moore for Safe
Morgan Freeman for Seven
Al Pacino for Heat

my favorite films of the year
in order of personal preference:

1. Pulp Fiction

2. Three Colors: Red

3. The Hudsucker Proxy

4. Vanya on 42nd St

5. Quiz Show

6. The Shawshank Redemption

7. Exotica

8. Bullets Over Broadway

9. Three Colors: White

10. Nobody's Fool

11. Hoop Dreams

12. Chungking Express

13. Ed Wood

14. The Secret of Roan Innish

15. Death and the Maiden

16. Before the Rain

runners up:
Crumb
Heavenly Creatures
Natural Born Killers
The Lion King
The Madness of King George
Shallow Grave
Speed
What Happened Was...

1994 Looking Closer Awards

for excellence in artistry:
Pulp Fiction

runners up:
Quiz Show
Three Colors: Red
The Hudsucker Proxy
Hoop Dreams
Chungking Express
Exotica

for relevance and resonance:
Three Colors: Red

runners up: 
Hoop Dreams
Natural Born Killers
Quiz Show
Pulp Fiction
Exotica

for creativity and invention:
The Hudsucker Proxy
runners up:
Pulp Fiction
Chungking Express
Natural Born Killers

for providing excellent family entertainment:
(tie)
The Secret of Roan Inish
The Hudsucker Proxy

for excellence in screenwriting:
Joel and Ethan Coen and Sam Raimi for
The Hudsucker Proxy

runners-up:
Krzysztov Kieslowski for Three Colors: Red
Quentin Tarantino for Pulp Fiction
Robert Redford for Quiz Show

for excellence in direction:
Quentin Tarantino for
Pulp Fiction
and Atom Egoyan for
Exotica

runners up: 
Joel Cohen for The Hudsucker Proxy
Krystov Kieslowski for Three Colors: Red
Robert Redford for Quiz Show
Wong Kar-wai for Chungking Express

for excellence in acting:
Samuel Jackson for Pulp Fiction
Paul Newman for Nobody's Fool

runners-up:
Paul Newman for The Hudsucker Proxy
Tim Robbins for The Husucker Proxy
Jennifer Jason Leigh for The Hudsucker Proxy
Brooke Smith for Vanya on 42nd Street
Christopher Walken for Pulp Fiction
Irene Jacob for Three Colors: Red

my favorite films of the year
in order of personal preference:

1. Three Colors: Blue

2. In the Name of the Father

3. Schindler's List

4. What's Eating Gilbert Grape?

5. The Piano

6. Naked

7. Fearless

8. The Fugitive

9. The Remains of the Day

10. The Age of Innocence

11. Smoke

12. Jurassic Park

13. The Nightmare Before Christmas

14. Searching for Bobby Fischer

15. Mad Dog and Glory

16. Menace II Society*

runners-up:
Ruby in Paradise
King of the Hill
Groundhog Day
A Bronx Tale

1993 Looking Closer Awards

for excellence in artistry:
Three Colors - Blue
runners-up :
Schindler's List
The Piano
What's Eating Gilbert Grape?
Naked
The Remains of the Day
The Age of Innocence
Smoke

for relevance and resonance:
In the Name of the Father
Schindler's List
runners-up :
Fearless
Naked
Smoke
Searching for Bobby Fischer
The Age of Innocence

for creativity and invention:
Three Colors: Blue
runners-up :
The Nightmare Before Christmas

for providing excellent family entertainment:
(tie)
What's Eating Gilbert Grape?
runners-up :
The Secret Garden

for excellence in screenwriting:
(tie)
What's Eating Gilbert Grape?
runners-up :
The Remains of the Day
The Age of Innocence

for excellence in direction:
Krsyzstof Kieslowski
for Three Colors: Blue

for excellence in acting:
(tie)
Juliet Binoche for
Three Colors: Blue
David Thewlis for
Naked
Holly Hunter for
The Piano
Anthony Hopkins for
The Remains of the Day
Daniel Day-Lewis for
In the Name of the Father
and
Leonardo DiCaprio for
What's Eating Gilbert Grape?

runners-up:
Harvey Keitel for The Piano
Pete Postlethwhaite for In the Name of the Father
Harrison Ford for The Fugitive
Liam Neeson for Schindler's List
Ralph Fiennes for Shindler's List
Tommy Lee Jones for The Fugitive

my favorite films of the year
in order of personal preference:

1. The Crying Game

2. A River Runs Through It

3. Into the West

4. Strictly Ballroom

5. Bram Stoker's Dracula

6. Bob Roberts

7. Unforgiven

8. Brother's Keeper

9. Husbands and Wives

10. The Player

11. Passion Fish

12. Map of the Human Heart

13. Gas Food Lodging

14. Like Water for Chocolate

15. Howard’s End

16. Leap of Faith

17. American Heart

18. Glengarry Glenn Ross

runners up:
Bad Lieutenant
Batman Returns
The Last of the Mohicans
Lorenzo's Oil
Malcolm X
Of Mice and Men
Simple Men
Visions of Light: The Art of Cinematography

1992 Looking Closer Awards

for excellence in artistry:
A River Runs Through It

for relevance and resonance:
The Crying Game
runners-up :
Bob Roberts
Passion Fish
Brother's Keeper

for creativity and invention:
Bram Stoker's Dracula

for providing excellent family entertainment:
(tie)
Into the West
Strictly Ballroom

for excellence in screenwriting:
(tie)
A River Runs Through It
The Crying Game
runners-up :
The Player

for excellence in direction:
Baz Luhrmann
for Strictly Ballroom

for excellence in acting:
Steven Rea and Forrest Whitaker for
The Crying Game
runners-up:
Michelle Pfeiffer for Batman Returns
Gary Oldman for Bram Stoker's Dracula

my favorite films of the year
in order of personal preference:

1. The Double Life of Veronique

2. The Fisher King

3. Barton Fink

4. 35 Up

5. JFK

6. Beauty and the Beast

7. Delicatessen

8. Terminator 2: Judgment Day

9. Flirting

10. The Silence Of The Lambs

11. Grand Canyon

12. LA Story

13. Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse

14. Frankie and Johnny

15. A Midnight Clear

16. Monster in a Box
    

runners up:
Prospero's Books
Proof
Impromptu
Cape Fear
The Addams Family
The Commitments
My Own Private Idaho 

the 1991 Looking Closer Awards

for excellence in artistry:
(tie)
The Double Life of Veronique
The Fisher King
runners-up:
Barton Fink, The Silence of the Lambs

for relevance and resonance:
35 Up
runners-up:
JFK

for creativity and invention:
Delicatessan

for providing excellent family entertainment:
Beauty and the Beast

for excellence in screenwriting:
Joel and Ethan Coen for
Barton Fink
runner-up:
Richard Lagravense for The Fisher King

for excellence in direction:
Krystov Kieslowski for
The Double Life of Veronique

runners up:
Terry Gilliam - The Fisher King
Joel Coen   - Barton Fink
Jonathan Demme - The Silence of the Lambs

for excellence in acting:
(multi-tie)
Anthony Hopkins for
The Silence Of The Lambs
and
the ensemble cast of The Fisher King:
Jeff Bridges
Robin Williams
Amanda Plummer
Mercedes Ruehl

1. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead

2. The Unbelievable Truth

3. Jesus of Montreal

4. Miller's Crossing

5. Edward Scissorhands

6. GoodFellas*

7. Vincent and Theo

8. Cry-baby

9. Dances with Wolves

10. Jacob's Lader

runners-up:
Presumed Innocent
After Dark, My Sweet
La Femme Nikita
Trust
Reversal of Fortune
Wild At Heart
Cyrano de Bergerac
Dick Tracy
Mr. and Mrs. Bridge
Awakenings
The Grifters
The Hairdresser's Husband

for excellence in artistry:
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead

for relevance and resonance:
Jesus of Montreal
runner-up : Vincent and Theo

for creativity and invention:
Edward Scissorhands

for providing excellent family entertainment:
Edward Scissorhands

for excellence in screenwriting:
Tom Stoppard for
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead

for excellence in direction:
Hal Hartley
for The Unbelievable Truth

for excellence in acting:
Dianne Wiest for
Edward Scissorhands