Titanic was good, but not this good

Rating: 8/10 (25 April 1999)

Okay, I all ready wrote a 21/2 page review for this, but it had profanity and gave away basically the whole entire plot. I don't think they'll post it, so I'm writing this one. I'll refrain from cursing and revealing too much. L.A. Confidential was the best movie made last year, no matter what the good folks at the Academy say. As is the case this year(Saving Private Ryan the best movie made this year), the Academy gives the award to the wrong movie. Oh well. There's nothing you can really do. Am I ranking on Titanic? No. Titanic was an unbelievable movie. It was spectacular. But you have to remember that it's not necessarily cinema. More than half of the time, those actors and actresses were imagining that the ship was sinking and looking down at a blue screen. Are there any blue screens in this one? None that I can think of. It's filmaking at its best. It's a classic. Film noir reborn really. You've got all the classic elements of film noir. The doomed heros who struggle with inner and outer demons, the femme fatale who knows more than you'd think, a corrupt system, interesting camera angles(like the one used when Bud goes to Patch Pierce's home. The camera focused on Pierce, looking upward while in the backround is Bud, out of focus. All of that good stuff. I think that Kevin Spacey is great in the film, as is Guy Pearce and I have now forgiven the actor who played Bud White (can't remember his name) for the horrible sci-fi thriller Virtuosity. Basinger, who won her first career Oscar, is...good? I'm not sure on this one. She does a good job. Especially in her scene with Guy Pearce. If you've seen it, you know what scene I'm talking about. I just didn't get her motivation on things though. She was the hooker with the heart of gold. How stereotypical is that? But that's what film noir gave us in the end. Stereotypes. The hooker with the heart of gold was made a stereotype because it was made popular by film noir. Did she deserve the Oscar? This is a great movie. Watch it. The ending might surprise you and also upset you, but it's a great movie. It will probably be like Chinatown and last the test of time. It was the best movie made last year, all though I liked Chasing Amy and Good Will Hunting the most.