Hercules (1997) - ★★★★

Director: Ron Clements, John Musker
Voice Actors: Tate Donovan, Susan Egan, Danny DeVito, James Woods, Rip Torn

It's official! Even after 10 years, Hercules is still one of my all time favourite animated movies! Visually and musically, Hercules is just so different to all the other films Disney has ever made, sporting a great use of 3D monsters, and also wonderfully catchy soul-music. I was pleasantly surprised at just how emotional the film made me. It doesn't quite reach the same league as Beauty and the Beast or The Lion King though, due to its lack of beautiful dialogue, powerful scenes, and most importantly, originality. Some of the jokes are a bit too cheesy and childlike for me, but I used to find them hilarious when I was younger, so I can forgive that. As a child, Hercules would have been one of my top 10 favourite movies to watch over and over on video-tape. To this day, the powerful wave of nostalgia makes me love it all the more.

Jackie Brown (1997) - ★★★★

Director: Quentin Tarantino
Writers: Elmore Leonard (Novel), Quentin Tarantino (Screenplay)
Stars: Pam Grier, Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Forster, Robert De Niro, Michael Keaton, Bridget Fonda

Jackie Brown is one funky, sassy, entertaining film! It has such an old-school 1970s feel to it. I just adored the soundtrack, cinematography, dialogue, and performances by Pam Grier and Robert Forster. This definitely has a Tarantino-esque feel to it, but in my opinion, it's the most unique film he has ever made when compared to his body of work. One thing I respect about Tarantino's film-making is that you can tell he puts so much thought and planning into each scene. This is what makes his movies consistently entertaining the whole way through. However, with Jackie Brown, I personally felt that there were too many scenes, and that some of the scenes were too long. The storyline is simple, too simple for a 154 minute runtime. Despite this, I found it to be a very entertaining movie.

Perfect Blue (1997) - ★★★½

Director: Satoshi Kon
Writers: Sadayuki Murai (Screenplay), Yoshikazu Takeuchi (Novel)

Perfect Blue is one of the creepiest animated movies I've ever seen. It's pretty run-of-the-mill stuff for the most part. Well, up until the end anyway. This isn't a movie I'll ever want to watch again, but I respect the cool twists and beautiful animation. At times it was boring, and other times it was very thrilling. The deal-breaker for me was the amazing psychological twist at the end, which left me shocked and pleasantly surprised at how exciting it all was. It's rude, it's disturbing, and it's nightmarish... but it's also very interesting.

Bent (1997) - ★★★½

Director: Sean Mathias
Writers: Martin Sherman (Screenplay and Play)
Stars: Clive Owen, Lothaire Bluteau, Brian Webber, Mick Jagger, Ian McKellen, Rupert Graves, Jude Law, Paul Bettany

I look back on Bent with a heavy heart. I'm sadder now than I was at the end of this movie. That's because the thought of the story is sadder than the actual movie itself. For the most part, it's a highly effective and powerful film that shows us the struggles of homosexuals in a Nazi-run Berlin. Then it sort of degenerates into an unconvincing ending, which left me wanting more. Even though the movie isn't fantastic, I will never forget it.

Happy Together, ‘Chun gwong cha sit’ (1997) – ★★★★

Director: Kar Wai Wong
Writer: Kar Wai Wong
Stars: Leslie Cheung, Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Chen Chang

Happy Together is a great film that has a story with substance. It’s like watching a documentary, where the subject is ‘the most dysfunctional Chinese same-sex couple in history.’ If you’ve ever seen the movie ‘Taxi Driver’ by Martin Scorsese, you’ll see that this movie has a similar atmosphere and darkness. The story isn’t beautiful, but in the end it felt like I’d seen something beautiful.

Titanic (1997) - ★★★★★

Director: James Cameron
Writer: James Cameron
Stars: Leonardo Dicaprio, Kate Winslet, Gloria Stuart, Billy Zane, Kathy Bates, Frances Fisher, Bill Paxton

Titanic is a movie that has been described by many people as an epic, heart-wrenching, beautiful masterpiece. I for one absolutely agree with them. This movie is one of the finest crafted cinematic experiences that has ever been created.

The film starts with a shot of the ocean swaying in the moonlight to the beautiful theme of the movie. We then see the real Titanic submerged underwater which is an experience worth the price of a movie ticket in itself. The eerie yet beautiful shots of the halls and bedrooms of the former passengers are a sight to behold.

Throughout the movie we follow a young woman named Rose and a young man named Jack. Rose looks like a refined woman yet she's not afraid to ask questions or get her hands dirty. She's engaged to Caledon Hockley, a chauvinistic, snobby heir to a steel fortune that at first seems to try to love Rose. Jack is a man that Rose describes as having "limited means." He travels with his friend Fabrizio from country to country, barely scraping by. He has an impeccable talent for drawing and an admirable outlook on life.

The story turns into a classic forbidden love triangle between Jack, Rose and Cal which while it may not be an original plot, it is acted with such purity and fluidity that it's as if we're sucked right into the situation with them. With incredible CGI affects of the ship and outstanding hand built replicates of parts of the ship, The Titanic is recreated breathtakingly. Iconic moments such as the 'flying' scene during a pink and orange sunset with Jack and Rose are upon the most recognizable scenes in movie history, and arguably the most beautiful.

When the ship hits the ice-berg and begins to sink, Cameron's true genius shines as the panic sets in among the passengers. The most incredible thing about the sinking scene is that they actually built half of the ship so it could be used for the part when the ships rises and falls. Seeing all of the passengers, some we've seen throughout the movie, run for their lives to the railings of the ship as it starts tilting truly make your heart race.

It is scenes like these that make this movie saw raw and powerful. There have been previous movies made about the Titanic, all legendary in their own right, but none of them displayed the panic of the sinking as honestly and brutally as James Cameron's version of events. Once the ship has been submerged and the screams of the those freezing have all but died, Jack and Rose's love affair is over, and we are all left gutted even though we knew that the story ends with tragedy.

However that is not how the story ends for Jack and Rose, for the true end to their story can only be described as one of the most divine movie endings I have ever seen. Truly, this movie had me fascinated from start to finish. With brilliant performances from Kate Winslet, Leonardo Dicaprio, Billy Zane and Gloria Stuart, Titanic is a movie for the ages and will forever be one of the all time greatest movies ever made. Let's face it, this movie is almost guaranteed to make anyone tear up.