The 100 Project: The Top 10 Movies of 1997

1997 was a surprise for me. I just didn't realize how many of these movies came out in the same year. There are a number of films I've returned to over and over in the 23 years that have passed. There are another set of movies that I haven't watched as often, maybe only once, that are masterpieces. It's a tough year to rank. Let's see how it shakes out.

My Top 10 Movies of 1997

• According to my Letterboxd account I've watched 78 movies that were released in 1997. 
• I ventured out to the theater 11 times. 3 made my top 10, 1 is an honorable mention.
• I've seen 4 of the 5 Best Picture nominees. 1 made my top 10, 2 made honorable mention, and the other one is Titanic.
• For the first time, a film directed by an African-American female makes the list.

 

10. Hoodlum

I've long felt that this is a severely underseen/underrated crime drama with dynamite performances across the board from the likes of Andy Garcia, Cicely Tyson, Tim Roth, and Chi McBride. They are all led by an excellent as usual Laurence Fishburne as Depression era gangster Bumpy Johnson. The chemistry between he and McBride, then he and Tyson, helps make the film.

9. L.A. Confidential

Call it film noir, neo-noir, police procedural, crime drama, it doesn't really matter. It's a shining example of any and all of these things. Kim Basinger, Russell Crowe, (the disgraced) Kevin Spacey, James Cromwell, Danny DeVito, and David Strathairn are all outstanding, and Guy Pearce has never been better. All of them are given a boost by writing that sizzles. It's just a magnificent piece of film-making that grabs you and won't let go.

8. Amistad

Before seeing this movie, I was unaware of the story of the Amistad, an overthrown slave ship that arrived on America's shores under the control of the would-be subjugated. In essence, it's a courtroom drama, one that takes on the institution which shouldered an irreplaceable bulk of the weight upon which the foundation of this nation rests. While not perfect, it pulls no punches, and absolutely makes you feel for Cinque, brilliantly portrayed by Djimon Hounsou. Of course, having Anthony Hopkins, Matthew McConaughey, and Nigel Hawthorne in cast helps, too.

7. Eve's Bayou

If Hoodlum is underseen and underrated then Eve's Bayou is even more so. It's an outstanding family drama dealing with lies, infidelity, traumatizing events, and oh yeah, voodoo. It's a strong performance from Samuel L. Jackson that no one talks about. Truthfully, though, he's upstaged by his female co-stars: Lynn Whitfield, Diahann Carroll, Debi Morgan, a young Meagan Good, and most of all, a very young Jurnee Smollett. I'm guessing this is the film on this list the least of you have seen. I hope you give it a go. By the way, this is the film directed by an African-American female, Kasi Lemmons, who recently directed he biopic Harriet.

6. Men in Black

We move from what I think is the least seen movie on this list, to what I think is the most seen. I, myself, have lost track of how many times I've watched it. The chemistry between Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones is fittingly out of this world. The story is creative, and above all, it's just fun. This is comfort food in cinematic form. And I'm more than happy to devour it.

5. Boogie Nights

When it comes to ensemble pieces, this one stands among the very best. Every person that shows up on screen, with the help of a great script, makes you believe that you've wandered into the 1970s and started hanging out with porn stars. And they take you on a roller coaster of emotions. It starts light, gets heavier as it goes, and keeps you with it the entire time.

4. Scream 2

If you checked out my rankings of 1996, you know that my love of the original Scream knows no bounds. The only limit to my love of Scream 2 is that I think it's just a hair below its predecessor. Everything the first film does to and for slasher flicks, this one does to and for slasher sequels. It starts right from the beginning where, yes, Black people are killed first. The brilliance of that scene is that it's not just a cold open. It is where the film's self awareness starts. Then it proceeds to pull the same trick as the first movie, almost as flawlessly.

3. Jackie Brown

With all due respect to The Bride of the Kill Bill movies, Jackie Brown is Quentin Tarantino's most well-rounded character. Pam Grier breathes life into Tarantino's screenplay, and by extension, Elmore Leonard's novel. The story surrounding her and the colorful cast of characters supporting her pulls you to the edge of your seat. Most remarkably, most of them simultaneously fascinate and repulse in the way in which Tarantino has proven to be an expert.

2. Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery

My love of well-done spoofs rears its beautiful head once more. This one takes on spy movies in general and the James Bond franchise, in particular. Even during these, Bond's Pierce Brosnan years, the franchise was hinting that the character was a Cold war relic full of misplaced hypermasculinty fueling a host of dated behaviors. Years later, Daniel Craig's Bond films explore these notions through self-examination. However, it was Austin Powers that brought the problems with him into sharp relief. And made us laugh our asses off at the same time.

1. Love Jones

Mrs. Dell and I went to see this a few months before our eldest was born. By the time we left the theater we knew we had found a movie that suited us as a couple. Representation matters. And this was a good representation of us, and people we know. We were two educated Black people who had a thing for each other. I rolled around with a few other intellectuals and was into poetry, just like the male lead. She had her own thing (marching bands, unlike the female lead) and her own friends. The beginning of our relationship, which we were still in as it turns our, felt like the whirlwind romance we were watching on screen. It's a movie that felt almost as if it were about us. We embraced it, it embraced us back. Even with a cliched finale, it's ours.

Honorable Mentions (alphabetically): Cinderella (TV movie), The Devil's Advocate, Donnie Brasco, Event Horizon, The Fifth Element, The Full Monty, Good Will Hunting, Liar Liar, Princess Mononoke, Rosewood, Selena, Soul in the Hole, Starship Troopers