Oscar Nominee
Boogie Nights 1997
First overall. Paul Thomas Anderson's second film; Sean and Chris spent 13-plus hours on it on another podcast, and Sean calls it one-in-one-A with Jackie Brown for best of the year.
The Big Picture · Draft
The 1997 Movie Draft
November 15, 2022/ 88 min/ Sean Fennessey · Amanda Dobbins · Chris Ryan
Sean, Amanda, and Chris Ryan snake-draft 1997, a year with Boogie Nights, Jackie Brown, Titanic, Good Will Hunting, and L.A. Confidential all up top and a long tail of B-movies and near-misses behind them.
18 films across 1 segment.
AI-generated This episode was transcribed and analyzed with AI models. The matches aren't perfect — expect the occasional misheard title or a link to the wrong film.
The teams drafting the movies of 1997
Sean Fennessey
Drama
The Game 1997
David Fincher's paranoia thriller with Michael Douglas. Sean argues it's the most underrated Fincher, an homage to '70s Pakula conspiracy movies.
Blockbuster
Face/Off 1997
John Woo's face-swap actioner. Not Sean's favorite on the board, but it was an event, and Chris calls it Woo's best American film.
Comedy
Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery 1997
Didn't do much at the box office in '97 but became a Halloween-costume, DVD-sales cult hit. Sean saw it before he'd seen more than two Bond movies.
Action / Horror / Thriller
Event Horizon 1997
Paul W.S. Anderson's spaceship-in-hell horror movie, with Sam Neill, Laurence Fishburne, and Kathleen Quinlan. Sean thinks its reputation has only grown since.
Wild Card
The Devil's Advocate 1997
Taylor Hackford directs a Tony Gilroy script; Al Pacino and Keanu Reeves square off. Sean's personal all-timer, taken over Contact.
Chris Ryan
Oscar Nominee
Jackie Brown 1997
Chris's adaptation of Elmore Leonard's Rum Punch, with Pam Grier back in a lead role after 15 years and Robert Forster after 25. Sam Jackson, Robert De Niro, Bridget Fonda, and Chris Tucker round out the cast.
Drama
L.A. Confidential 1997
Curtis Hanson's James Ellroy adaptation, and a star-making turn for Russell Crowe. Chris saw it multiple times in theaters.
Action / Horror / Thriller
Starship Troopers 1997
Paul Verhoeven's satire, which Chris takes as a genuine essay on fascism and also just a really entertaining movie.
Blockbuster
Con Air 1997
Steve Buscemi, John Malkovich, Ving Rhames, and Danny Trejo as villains on a prison transport plane. Chris calls it stupid and silly, and likes it anyway.
Comedy
Grosse Pointe Blank 1997
John Cusack as a hitman at his high school reunion, with Minnie Driver and a Jeremy Piven cameo. Went under the radar in '97 and became a rewatch favorite.
Wild Card
The Boxer 1997
Daniel Day-Lewis and Jim Sheridan's overlooked follow-up to In the Name of the Father, with Emily Watson and Brian Cox. An ex-IRA boxer trying to build a nonsectarian gym in Belfast.
Amanda Dobbins
Drama
Good Will Hunting 1997
Amanda's third pick, protected from Sean by their pre-draft dinner. A Gus Van Sant movie that doesn't feel like one, with Matt Damon front and center.
Oscar Nominee
Titanic 1997
Amanda's fourth pick. The runaway box-office champ people paid to see three, four, five times in theaters.
Comedy
Men in Black 1997
Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones's chemistry, plus Vincent D'Onofrio as the alien bug. Amanda has long argued he deserved a supporting-actor nomination for it.
Action / Horror / Thriller
Air Force One 1997
Harrison Ford as the president, Gary Oldman as the hijacker, Glenn Close and William H. Macy in support, Wolfgang Petersen directing. Amanda's birthday-party movie that summer.
Blockbuster
My Best Friend's Wedding 1997
Julia Roberts and Cameron Diaz. A movie Amanda has already given a full Hall of Fame episode to; she argues nothing quite like it clears $150 million anymore.
Wild Card
Love Jones 1997
Larenz Tate and Nia Long in a grown-up romantic drama rather than a comedy. Director Theodore Witcher barely worked again; the film later joined the Criterion Collection.
On the board, undrafted honorable mentions
I Know What You Did Last SummerScream 2Cop LandWag the DogGattacaBatman & RobinGeorge of the JungleAnastasiaThe RainmakerChasing AmyContactLost HighwayU-TurnThe Fifth ElementHerculesA Life Less OrdinaryMidnight in the Garden of Good and EvilThe Full Monty
Also mentioned raised along the way
Also mentioned Romeo + JulietStar WarsThe Lost World: Jurassic ParkLiar LiarDumb and DumberHappy GilmoreMallratsSay Anything...High Fidelity
Not films filtered out: TV, games, ads
TV Monday Night RawMr. Robot
Video games GoldenEye 007
Music Ready to DieLife After DeathWu-Tang Forever
Books Cinema Speculation
Ads Boar's HeadUberFIFA World Cup (Netflix)