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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
This book suffers from false advertising and a poorly chosen marketing angle. If you're in the market for a summary of 'some' of the years best remembered movies with added 'how we made it' flavour from the people involved this is a fine read. Raftery has a talent for phrasing and writes well.
However, this book is not a critical analysis of why one could claim that 1999 might be the best movie year ever. There is no structured argument. Raftery never states a thesis or explains how he's going to go about proving this claim. In fact, early on he comments that any year could be dubbed 'best movie year ever'. Right.
No thorough overview of 1999 movies is included, nor does the author clarify why he's chosen to focus on the films included in the book and leave others out.
There is no sense of the personal, of why Raftery has come to the conclusion that this more than any other year is The Best.
So, not a bad read, but definitely not a resounding and well-researched and argued case as to why 1999 is such a special movie year. Perhaps I should have a go myself...Raftery has certainly made me think about how I would approach such a task. 2.5 stars if Goodreads would've let me.
However, this book is not a critical analysis of why one could claim that 1999 might be the best movie year ever. There is no structured argument. Raftery never states a thesis or explains how he's going to go about proving this claim. In fact, early on he comments that any year could be dubbed 'best movie year ever'. Right.
No thorough overview of 1999 movies is included, nor does the author clarify why he's chosen to focus on the films included in the book and leave others out.
There is no sense of the personal, of why Raftery has come to the conclusion that this more than any other year is The Best.
So, not a bad read, but definitely not a resounding and well-researched and argued case as to why 1999 is such a special movie year. Perhaps I should have a go myself...Raftery has certainly made me think about how I would approach such a task. 2.5 stars if Goodreads would've let me.
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
I really struggled with this book. I like the premise behind it, analyzing how movies have impacted society and culture, but the writing in it felt slightly choppy, and I didn't like all the swear words.
BUT, if you are a movie buff, and really enjoy analyzing pop-culture, then I think you would enjoy it. Once I could get past the swearing and into the writing I did enjoy how it talked about film festivals and how a lot of them got their jump-start there. Many of the films the book discusses are lower budget films, so it was neat to see that you don't have to be made of money to make a movie if you're passionate about it.
BUT, if you are a movie buff, and really enjoy analyzing pop-culture, then I think you would enjoy it. Once I could get past the swearing and into the writing I did enjoy how it talked about film festivals and how a lot of them got their jump-start there. Many of the films the book discusses are lower budget films, so it was neat to see that you don't have to be made of money to make a movie if you're passionate about it.
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
In the endlessly readable Best. Movie. Year. Ever., Brian Raftery explores the production, distribution, and reception of many of 1999's best films, but Best. Movie. Year. Ever. is not a book of criticism or analysis. It is a self-identified piece of journalism that, to my surprise, delivers a smart and bold take on 1999: the year itself was a pivot point in Western culture. In 1999 a United States president was impeached, Netflix emerged as a legitimate competitor to chain video stores, and, of course, Y2K. In film, for example, the Wachowski siblings introduced "bullet time," David Fincher's Fight Club gave a generation of disaffected young men a potentially misguided sense of anti-consumerist purpose, and the producers of The Blair Witch Project experienced what one might argue was the first case of Internet celebrity. Furthermore, 1999 gave many of today's most influential filmmakers the chance to do smart, provocative, and experimental work for the first time. Raftery suggests we were blissfully unaware of 1999's significance when it occurred, but by studying its shapes and contours, we may see and understand the next 1999 before it passes by us.
Best. Movie. Year. Ever. accomplishes something that few books of its kind can; it remains compelling and thought-provoking without overindulging in nostalgia. An analytical companion to Best. Movie. Year. Ever. would be interesting, but I cannot imagine Raftery's doing this. Best. Movie. Year. Ever. argues the whole of 1999 in film is greater than the sum of its parts, and after reading it, I hesitate to disagree.
Best. Movie. Year. Ever. accomplishes something that few books of its kind can; it remains compelling and thought-provoking without overindulging in nostalgia. An analytical companion to Best. Movie. Year. Ever. would be interesting, but I cannot imagine Raftery's doing this. Best. Movie. Year. Ever. argues the whole of 1999 in film is greater than the sum of its parts, and after reading it, I hesitate to disagree.
I rate it big dumb. Without invoking my personal list of movies I think should or should not have made the cut, Raftery still manages to place a microscope on the year’s headlines and movie industry, itself, to provide deeper insight on what is ultimately a fantastic nostalgiafest. Buuuut he’s a terrible writer and delivers fade-out wraps to each segment instead of a memorable punch so I absorbed next to nothing and will continue to surf Wikipedia/IMDB wormholes from now on. #readingrainbow
informative
medium-paced
informative
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
informative
medium-paced
I kind of didn’t expect this to be as good as everyone says, purely because of the cringey Gen X-on-tumblr title but it’s actually stunningly well researched and thorough and well reported. I don’t think 99 is necessarily the best movie year of all time but it was a helluva year and Raftery does a really incredible job of telling the story.