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21 Apr. 2000: the Hugo nominees have been announced, and The Phantom Menace didn't make the cut:
Buffy didn't make it, but it's still a respectable list. The rest of this page is obsolete, but may be of historical interest.
This year, at Chicon 2000 (the 58th Worldcon), the Hugo awards will be awarded for work released during the year 1999. One of the categories is Best Dramatic Presentation, which includes both movies and TV shows (as well as theatrical performances). I think 1999 was a spectacular year for SF/fantasy on television and especially in the movies, and I think it would be a shame if a mediocrity like The Phantom Menace got the award in the face of such splendid competition. I think it would be a great success for those of us who care about quality in storytelling if it didn't even get nominated. While I don't expect that to happen, I figure maybe I can influence things a bit by reminding everyone of the many, many other wonderful things they can vote for instead.
This is definitely going to get a nomination from me. This was the episode that dealt with violence against students, and had the misfortune to be scheduled to air the week after the Columbine High massacre. It would actually have been a perfect thing to show in its originally scheduled time. It switches brilliantly and effortlessly between comedy and drama, and climaxes with a concise statement of the high school experience.
The second half of this episode was also delayed as a reaction to Columbine, by Fox network executives who feared to inspire a nation-wide outbreak of students taking up arms against giant serpent-demons. Not as good as "Earshot" in my opinion, but a satisfying end to the season.
One of the few movies that can compete with The Phantom Menace at the level of special effects and visual style. As stupid as parts of the premise were, it's still a fascinating and stylish movie.
Another special effects triumph, this is one of those few sequels that surpass the original. The plot flows perfectly from the fantastic conceits, and the heroes and villains all make perfect sense within the context of those conceits. And the level of visual artistry is just stunning.
An offbeat, unsettling movie about celebrity and identity. Very Phil-Dickian, much more so than The Matrix.
A movie in which Satan rises up from Hell to bring on the Apocalypse must surely classify as fantasy; a movie in which he sings a ballad about how he dreams of living "up there ... where babies burp and flowers bloom" deserves awards. In addition to being one of the best musicals of recent years, South Park: Bigger, Longer, Uncut is also one of the most passionate anti-censorship statements I've ever seen. And it made me laugh so hard my stomach hurt.
Kevin Smith's latest, in addition to being fall-down funny and a criticism of the Catholic Church, is also a profound and touching statement of religious faith. And I say that as a life-long atheist.
Some people argue over whether this film had any fantasy content. Others over whether it has any merit. I think it has both, and wouldn't it be a hoot for Lucas's mega-million-dollar spectacular to be shown up by a shoe-string production?
This may be the best supernatural thriller I've ever seen, though ideally you should see it knowing absolutely nothing about it. (Even the commercial contains a spoiler.)
The problem with nominating Futurama is that we'd have to get a large group to agree on which episode to nominate, and I don't remember the titles. A shame, since even the mediocre episodes are better SF than The Phantom Menace.
Possibly the best live-action superhero movie ever made.
Though this was released in 1997 in Japan, the American release was in 1999, which I think makes it eligible.
Just watched this on rented video (10 Jan). Comparisons to The Matrix are inevitable, since both movies deal with virtual reality, but eXistenZ goes to a lot more trouble to play with the viewer's head.
I just saw this one (15 Jan). Very, very funny. And in some ways truer to the ideals of Star Trek than most actual Star Trek movies have been.
I can't believe it took me so long to remember this one. A beautiful movie, and truly the inspirational movie for kids that Lucas claims he wanted The Phantom Menace to be.
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