Best. Movie. Year. Ever.

March 15, 2019
An exploration of a significant year in late-20th-century film.In a year shrouded in worldwide concerns over Y2K, filmmakers "shared one unspoken trait," writes Raftery (High-Status Characters: How the Upright Citizens Brigade Stormed a City, Started a Scene, and Changed Comedy Forever, 2013, etc.): the "ambition to make something no one had seen before." Whether it was the greatest year ever is highly debatable (likely not), but the author, thanks to more than 100 interviews with key players, offers a spirited celebration of the year's movies. As Sam Mendes, creator of the "dark, suburban fantasy" American Beauty, told Raftery, "it's astonishing how many different genres were being redefined." The author examines more than 30 films, mostly American, from January's "jumpy, star-free vomit comet," The Blair WitchProject, to December's "movie-ist movie of the year," Magnolia. He does a fine job taking us behind the scenes to reveal how the films were made, actors chosen, and film scores written. In addition to the blockbusters--Star Wars: Episode One--The Phantom Menace, The Sixth Sense, Three Kings--the author discusses smaller films, including Iron Giant, The Best Man, and The Wood. Tom Twyker said his German film, Run Lola Run, was about "breaking the chains of our existence." The Matrix, Raftery writes, tried "to make sense of the confusion and unease that were beginning to take hold in the late nineties." Office Space "was intended to reflect the new decade's collective middle-class malaise" and had a "lucrative afterlife" in DVD sales. Though he doesn't make a fully convincing case for the importance of 1999 in film history, Raftery offers plenty of interesting trivia--e.g., Brad Pitt's then-girlfriend, Jennifer Aniston, shaved his head for Fight Club. Other interviewees include Edward Norton, Reese Witherspoon, Kirsten Dunst, Steven Soderbergh, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Taye Diggs, and "the man who played Jar Jar Binks."Fun, light entertainment for devoted moviegoers.

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April 1, 2019

Part film history, part pop culture analysis, this entertaining work by former Wired journalist Raftery puts the 1990s, especially the year 1999, in context. Tackling everything from unexpected successes (The Matrix, The Mummy, The Best Man) to box office bombs that later achieved cult status (Fight Club, Office Space, Election) to movies that narrowly avoided an NC-17 rating (Eyes Wide Shut, Boys Don't Cry), Raftery describes the films released in 1999 as theatrically undefinable. But he sees a common thread: Who can I be? Who do I want to be? The highest-grossing film of the year, The Sixth Sense, is given consideration, as is the one that swept the Academy Awards: American Beauty. Raftery also dedicates space to the rise of teen movies, as Varsity Blues, Cruel Intentions, and American Pie competed for attention. In setting the movies in context, Raftery relates them to the social and political tumult of the 1990s and the uncertainty surrounding Y2K. Of note are chapters on the success and backlash against The Blair Witch Project, and the continued prominence of the Sundance Film Festival. VERDICT A fun read for fans of 1990s nostalgia; Raftery's conversational tone reads like reminiscing about favorite movies with an old friend.--Stephanie Sendaula, Library Journal

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