Back in his heyday as a leading man, Kurt Russell (The Thing, Escape from New York) had many movies that were massive box-office successes. From 1989 through 1996, he received top billing in five films (Backdraft, Unlawful Entry, Tombstone, Stargate, Executive Decision), earning more than $50 million in revenue. He continued that streak in the highly promoted Breakdown, which garnered $50.2 million while earning critical (81%) and audience (67%) acclaim. Breakdown was a movie I saw opening weekend in the movie theater and one that I hadn’t revisited until 2021. I remember loving it in the theaters. Unfortunately, because there have been so many ripoffs of this movie since that have done this premise better, its rewatch left something to be desired. Unlike his other films mentioned above, Breakdown fails to hold, though it is through no fault of Russell who carries it throughout, just like he does with most of his films.
Category Archives: 1997
Good Will Hunting (1997)
The crowning achievement on Robin Williams’ storied career is not the Mork and Mindy sitcom where he was first discovered. It’s not the numerous leading roles for which he was recognized with Best Lead Actor Academy Awards (Good Morning, Vietnam, The Fisher King, Dead Poets Society). It was not in the numerous timeless comedies that we’ll be watching for ages (Mrs. Doubtfire, The Birdcage, Jack, Robots, Night at the Smithsonian, Jumanji). It’s not for his creepingly effective turns in movies like Insomnia, One Hour Photo, The Night Listener, or heartwarming dramas such as Awakenings. Heck, it was not as the voice of The Genie in Aladdin. Instead, it is a community college professor who has not been able to move on from his life after losing his wife to cancer in Gus Van Sant’s (Milk, Drugstore Cowboy) surprise 1997 hit Good Will Hunting. Nevertheless, the film earned Williams the only Oscar of his career. And, you know what…he’s not even the best part of this movie.
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The Game (1997)
1997’s The Game was David Fincher’s film movie as a director, but the first following the highly successful and fan-favorite Se7en. Fincher’s first movie was Alien 3, which had many franchise fans wishing the series had ended with Aliens. With one flop and one success under his belt, Fincher needed to make a statement with his third movie to prove that Se7en was not a fluke. The Game grossed $48 million at the box office, roughly half of what Se7en brought in, but this was still considered a success. Moreover, perhaps more importantly, it was a success with the critics. Following this movie, Fincher became a household name. Still, he has picked his projects carefully. From 1993 to 2010, Fincher has directed just nine movies. However, His most recent films (The Social Network, 2010, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, 2008) garnered him Academy Award nominations for Best Director.