October Anniversary Film Club - Nominations

Gattaca

Rules of Attraction


I think these two would lead to the most interesting discussion, and they are rarely discussed.

Boogie Nights - 1997, free on Amazon Prime
The story sucks them in.

Now, Voyager - 1942, for rent on Amazon Prime
The epitome of the sort of Bette Davis drama your grandmothers probably loved (or at least mine did); Davis was particularly excited by this one because a chunk of the photography was done in her hometown of Boston, and given that Boston was in an economic slump for much of the early twentieth century this offers a glimpse into Old Brahmanic Boston, where the Lloyds only talked to the Cabots and the Cabots only talked to God (I assume based on wikipedia—never actually seen it)

Wait Until Dark (1967) : Panic Room 35 years before, and 35 times better

Does 2012 count ? if so : Holy Motors (2012), featuring the best actor's performance of the century.

The X-Ray Fiend (1897)

It was a very hard omission, okay!? It was number 3 for me. Now if it had been the sequel.......

How long does a thing have to be to be eligible? What arbitrary number of minutes counts as a movie?

October is prime season for films that looked like potential Oscar bait that ended up...not, so I'll submit two.

Hero (1992)--Dustin Hoffman, Geena Davis (only a couple months removed from A League of Their Own), Andy Garcia, directed by Stephen Frears, who had gotten nominated two years prior for directing The Grifters, in a Capra-esque comedy about a scuzzbag who saves a bunch of people from a crashed plane and then watches someone else take the credit. It opened to mediocre reviews and poor box office (spending opening weekend not only looking up at The Last of the Mohicans and The Mighty Ducks, but at Mr. Baseball, a largely forgotten Tom Selleck vehicle).

A Life Less Ordinary (1997)--Director Danny Boyle had a cult hit with Shallow Grave before breaking out with Trainspotting, so there was a lot of anticpation for his first American film, starring his usual star Ewan McGregor and Cameron Diaz, with support from Oscar winner Holly Hunter, and Delroy Lindo, during that brief period when he was a name supporting actor. Alas, critics completely dismissed the oddball tale of a janitor who kidnaps his boss's daughter, only for them to fall in love, with the help of two angels. Audiences ignored it, as it opened in 9th place, under both In & Out, then in its 6th weekend, but also below the 3rd weekend of juvenile Disney comedy Rocket Man.