Worst Ten movies I personally saw in 1997

1.A Life Less Ordinary
2.Night Falls on Manhattan
3.Lost Highway
4.Crash
5.The Sweet Hereafter
6.The Fifth Element
7.Hercules
8.Con Air
9.In & Out
10.Cop Land


Terminal Essay

The one overarching theme of this year's list is Timeliness, not
a new problem, but a worsening one: "Several people in the
industry said there were more late releases this year than they
could recall in previous ones." -The New York Times, 12/19/97
     Already, last year was so bad that critics' top ten lists
looked like they came from a parallel universe, they were so full
of unreleased movies.  Here are some examples from this year:

-According to the Internet Movie Database, the most popular movie
of 1997 was The Castle, which will be released on January 15,
1998.
-the following "1996" movies made the "1997" top ten lists of
three Chronicle reviewers: Kolya, When We Were Kings, Hamlet.
-Roger Ebert also put Hamlet on his list, as well as Maborosi
(released Nov. 96).
-The "Best Films of 1997 Critical Consensus" listed the following
1996 films: When We Were Kings, Kolya, Prisoner of the Mountains,
Hamlet, Waiting For Guffman.

     I realize that Hollywood has never been known for its
wisdom, and since this trend can only worsen, this year I have
disqualified all movies released after December 25 from the list. 
Look on their sheer number, ye moviegoers, and despair!

1.Good Will Hunting (Dec. 25)
2.The Sweet Hereafter (Dec. 25)
3.Jackie Brown (Dec. 25)
4.As Good as it Gets (Dec. 25)
5.Deconstructing Harry (Dec. 25)
6.The Tango Lesson (Dec. 25)
7.Ma Vie En Rose (Dec. 26)
8.Kundun (opened in NY and LA only)
9.Oscar & Lucinda (Dec. 31 extremely limited release)
10.The Boxer (opened in NY and LA only; on Dec. 31)
11.Great Expectations (opened in NY and LA only; on Dec. 31)
12.Afterglow (opened in NY and LA only)
13.The Winter Guest (opened in NY and LA only)
14.Wag the Dog (opens Jan. 2)
15.The Apostle ("exclusive one-week Academy engagement!")
16.The Hanging Garden (opens... MAY 29!)
17.The Wind in the Willows (not released at all officially)