The Big Lebowski (1998)

The Big Lebowski

Sometimes an event is so preposterous, so peculiar, so strange or so downright gob-smacking weird, that all you can do is sit there with your eyes popping and your mouth agape. The sight of Maude Lebowski (Julianne Moore) swinging naked on a trapeze with a slight, clench-teethed English accent is just such an event.


Director:  Joel Coen
Writer:  Ethan Coen; Joel Coen
Cast:
Jeff Bridges -  The Dude
John Goodman -  Walter Sobchak
Julianne Moore -  Maude Lebowski
Steve Buscemi -  Donny
David Huddleston -  The Big Lebowski
Philip Seymour Hoffman -  Brandt
Tara Reid -  Bunny Lebowski
Philip Moon -  Woo, Treehorn Thug
Mark Pellegrino -  Blond Treehorn Thug
Peter Stormare -  Nihilist #1, Uli Kunkel/’Karl Hungus’
Flea -  Nihilist #2, Kieffer
Torsten Voges -  Nihilist #3, Franz
Jimmie Dale Gilmore -  Smokey
Jack Kehler -  Marty, The Dude’s Landlord
John Turturro -  Jesus Quintana
James G. Hoosier -  Quintana’s Partner









Out of Sight (1998)

Out of Sight

Charm can go a long way. Even in the most serious situation, the presence of a charmer can ease the tension and make things better. So thinks the bank teller when Jack Foley (George Clooney) bluffs a robbery by saying that another customer has a gun and will shoot the assistant manager (who is actually discussing a bank loan). With a small smile, he whispers to the teller that she is doing fine after asking if it her first robbery. She is terrified but is gamely playing along.


Director:  Steven Soderbergh; Charles Kiselyak
Writer:  Elmore Leonard; Scott Frank
Cast:
George Clooney -  Jack Foley
Jennifer Lopez -  Karen Sisco
Ving Rhames -  Buddy Bragg
Don Cheadle -  Maurice ‘Snoopy’ Miller
Dennis Farina -  Marshall Sisco
Albert Brooks -  Richard Ripley
Nancy Allen -  Midge
Catherine Keener -  Adele Delisi
Isaiah Washington -  Kenneth ‘Kenny’
Steve Zahn -  Glenn Michaels
Luis Guzmán -  Jose Portencio ‘Chino’ Chirino
Keith Loneker -  White Boy Bob
Jim Robinson -  Mr. Gwendon
Elgin Marlow -  Bank Customer
Donna Frenzel -  Loretta Randall
Manny Suárez -  Cop #1/Bank









Playing by Heart (1998)

Playing by Heart

If there are cooler guys that Sean Connery, I’m not sure who they are. If you can think of whom they might be, send an email. But seeing him as a happy puppy in his role as Paul, panting and prancing about, as his wife Mildred (Gena Rowlands) orders him off to bed shouldn’t be missed by any of his fans.


Director:  Willard Carroll
Writer:  Willard Carroll
Cast:
Gillian Anderson -  Meredith
Ellen Burstyn -  Mildred
Sean Connery -  Paul
Anthony Edwards -  Roger
Angelina Jolie -  Joan
Jay Mohr -  Mark
Ryan Phillippe -  Keenan
Dennis Quaid -  Hugh
Gena Rowlands -  Hannah
Jon Stewart -  Trent
Madeleine Stowe -  Gracie
Matt Malloy -  Desk Clerk
Christian Mills -  Phillip
Kellie Waymire -  Jane
Patricia Clarkson -  Allison
April Grace -  Valery









Wild Things (1998)

Wild Things

Suzie Toller (Neve Campbell) and Kelly Van Ryan (Denise Richards) concoct abuse by their guidance counselor Sam Lombardo (Matt Dillon). In court, they sabotage one another’s story when Suzie claims it was a setup. Kelly started it when she was spurned by Sam who was making the moves on her mom, Sandra (Theresa Russell). But that is only part of the plan. To what lengths would you go to get your hands on millions of dollars?


Director:  John McNaughton
Writer:  Stephen Peters
Cast:
Matt Dillon -  Sam Lombardo
Kevin Bacon -  Sgt. Ray Duquette
Neve Campbell -  Suzie Marie Toller
Denise Richards -  Kelly Lanier Van Ryan
Daphne Rubin-Vega -  Det. Gloria Perez
Bill Murray -  Kenneth Bowden
Theresa Russell -  Sandra Van Ryan
Robert Wagner -  Tom Baxter
Carrie Snodgress -  Ruby
Jeff Perry -  Det. Bryce Hunter
Cory Pendergast -  Jimmy ‘Jimbo’ Leach
Marc Macaulay -  Walter
Toi Svane -  Nicole Beach
Dennis Neal -  Art Maddox
Eduardo Yáñez -  Frankie Condo
Paulo Benedeti -  Kirk









Waking Ned Devine (1998)

Waking Ned Devine

The death of a friend always provokes a gamut of emotions, particularly if you’re the one who discovers the body. All of this runs through Jackie O’Shea (Ian Bannen) when he finds the corpse of his friend Ned Devine (Jimmy Keough) with a massive grin on his face. It appears that he died of shock after learning that he won the lottery. Now Jackie is exasperated to think that nobody can claim the winnings since it must be claimed by the purchaser, according to Irish lottery rules. But then maybe there is something that can be done.


Director:  Kirk Jones; Kirk Jones (III)
Writer:  Kirk Jones
Cast:
Ian Bannen -  Jackie O’Shea
David Kelly -  Michael O’Sullivan
Fionnula Flanagan -  Annie O’Shea
Susan Lynch -  Maggie O’Toole
James Nesbitt -  Pig Finn
Paul Vaughan -  Narrator (voice)
Adrian Robinson -  Lotto Observer
Maura O’Malley -  Mrs. Kennedy
Robert Hickey -  Maurice O’Toole
Paddy Ward -  Brendy O’Toole
James Ryland -  Dennis Fitzgerald
Fintan McKeown -  Pat Mulligan
Eileen Dromey -  Lizzy Quinn
Kitty Fitzgerald -  Kitty
Dermot Kerrigan -  Father Patrick
Jimmy Keogh -  Ned Devine









Can’t Hardly Wait (1998)

Can't Hardly Wait

Morality tales masquerading as teen comedies. Can happen, eh? High school graduation sees the jocks as having their last hurrah (especially if they don’t have an athletic scholarship), keen vixens trolling for that one who’ll set them up for life, geeks hoping to lose their virginity any way possible and wasters hoping to last the night until tomorrow when they can do it all again. So it goes at the party when Amanda Beckett (Jennifer Love Hewitt) shows up. She’s blossoming into the woman she hopes to be, Mike Dexter (Peter Facinelli) is hoping he can shed the rep he has spent years cultivating, Kenny Fisher (Seth Green) is trying to be anyone but whom he is, Denise Fleming (Lauren Ambrose) is trying to knock some sense into anyone who’ll listen.


Director:  Harry Elfont; Deborah Kaplan
Writer:  Deborah Kaplan; Harry Elfont
Cast:
Jennifer Love Hewitt -  Amanda Beckett
Ethan Embry -  Preston Meyers
Charlie Korsmo -  William Lichter
Lauren Ambrose -  Denise Fleming
Peter Facinelli -  Mike Dexter
Seth Green -  Kenny Fisher
Michelle Brookhurst -  Molly, Girl Whose Party It Is
Alexander Martin -  Olaf, Exchange Student
Erik Palladino -  Cousin Ron
Channon Roe -  Jake, Jock #1
Sean Patrick Thomas -  Ben, Jock #2
Freddy Rodríguez -  T.J., Jock #3
Joel Michaely -  Geoff, X-Phile #1
Jay Paulson -  Murphy, X-Phile #2
Brian Hall -  Real Homeboy
Brandon Williams -  DJ Sammy, Homeboy #1









Very Bad Things (1998)

Very Bad Things

How do you know if you’ve made the wrong decision? Most likely, it will be evident in what happens as a result. What do you do if you can’t back out of the choice made? Compound it with another choice that could go wrong too? Sure, why not? It can’t get much worse, can it? Yup, it can. Just ask Kyle Fisher (Jon Favreau) who is about to marry Laura Garrity (Cameron Diaz). His buddy Robert Boyd (Christian Slater) has organized a bachelor party for him in Las Vegas, replete with recreational drugs, gallons of booze and a stripper. The stripper winds up dead through some rather over-enthusiastic sex with Michael Berkow (Jeremy Piven). Robert convinces the others that the best thing to do is not dial 911, but to bury her out in the desert. When a hotel security guard investigates the hubbub, Robert deliberately murders him and convinces the others to bury both of the bodies in the desert and head home. Dear, dear…


Director:  Peter Berg
Writer:  Peter Berg
Cast:
Jon Favreau -  Kyle Fisher
Leland Orser -  Charles Moore
Cameron Diaz -  Laura Garrity
Christian Slater -  Robert Boyd
Rob Brownstein -  Man
Jeremy Piven -  Michael Berkow
Daniel Stern -  Adam Berkow
Jeanne Tripplehorn -  Lois Berkow
Joey Zimmerman -  Adam Berkow Jr.
Tyler Malinger -  Timmy Berkow
Carla Scott -  Tina
Russell B. McKenzie -  Security Guard
Pancho Demmings -  Cop
Blake Gibbons -  Suit
Angelo Di Mascio Jr. -  Clerk
Lawrence Pressman -  Mr. Fisher









Rush Hour (1998)

Rush Hour

City traffic can make you scream. The lights change too soon, other drivers are distracted by cell phones, dining and personal grooming. What can you do? Well one thing is to have a singalong. Soo Yung (Julia Hsu) may not be a teenager yet but she knows how to have a good time. All you need to do is sing and with a back seat all to herself, she’s finding it a grand endeavour. However, Soo Yung’s bodyguard (Roger Fan) isn’t so lucky since he has a job to do. Neither is Soo Yung’s driver (George Cheung) as he has to keep his mind on the road.


Director:  Brett Ratner
Writer:  Ross LaManna; Jim Kouf
Cast:
Ken Leung -  Sang
Jackie Chan -  Chief Inspector Lee
Tom Wilkinson -  Thomas Griffin/Juntao
Tzi Ma -  Consul Han
Robert Littman -  First Caucasian
Michael Chow -  Diner Guest
Julia Hsu -  Soo Yung
Chris Tucker -  Detective James Carter
Chris Penn -  Clive Cod
Kai Lennox -  Cop at Diner
Larry Sullivan Jr. -  Cop at Diner
Yan Ling -  Consul Secretary
Roger Fan -  Soo Yung’s Bodyguard
George Cheung -  Soo Yung’s Driver
Lucy Lin -  Exposition Official
Rex Linn -  FBI Agent Dan Whitney









U.S. Marshals (1998)

U.S. Marshals

I don’t know how many days it took to film, how many people were involved, what sort of complexity it took to place the cameras, how often they had to do it to get it right or who did the actual stunt. I just sit there open-mouthed when United States Marshall Sam Gerard (Tommy Lee Jones) opens that roof door to see Mark Roberts/Mark Warren/Mark Sheridan (Wesley Snipes) standing on the edge of the roof facing towards the street and says he can’t be arrested because of what he knows. Mark Whatever then leans out, tumbles off the edge of the roof, swings down attached to some rope and swings out and over the street to the rail yards and lands on the roof of the station and leaps onto a train car leaving for elsewhere. My little heart goes pitty-pat every time.


Director:  Stuart Baird
Writer:  Roy Huggins; John Pogue
Cast:
Tommy Lee Jones -  Samuel Gerard
Wesley Snipes -  Mark J. Sheridan/Mark Warren/Mark Roberts
Robert Downey Jr. -  John Royce
Joe Pantoliano -  Cosmo Renfro
Daniel Roebuck -  Bobby Biggs
Tom Wood -  Noah Woodrow Newman
LaTanya Richardson -  Savannah Cooper
Irène Jacob -  Marie Bineaux
Kate Nelligan -  Catherine Walsh
Patrick Malahide -  Bertram Lamb
Rick Snyder -  Frank Barrows
Michael Paul Chan -  Xian Chen
Johnny Lee Davenport -  Marshal Henry
Donald Li -  Det. Kim