Saturday, February 05, 2005

The Best of the 1990s: 1 - 10

1) SCHINDLER'S LIST
Director: Steven Spielberg
Yes, yes, if I wanted to be hip about this list I wouldn't dare put this popular choice as the best film of the nineties. I'd rather put some arthouse counter culture experiment. Unfortunately, I'd be wrong to do so. This really is the best film of the 1990s, and one of the best of all time. Never have I seen a film that rises so high to take on a subject so important. Every facet of this gem was nearly perfect:

Acting - Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes and Ben Kingsley were simply extraordinary in their roles. In fact, Fiennes created one of the most horrific creations the screen has ever seen. That's true evil on the screen. It's human evil, not Hannibal Lector or Dracula.

Direction - Spielberg knows a little something about magnifying emotion in the cinema, but he's never magnified more intensely than in this film. It's usually easier to make an audience cry than lift them up, but this was a weeper film to the maximum. In terms of design, the visuals were extraordinary. All other reasons to use black and white aside, I believe that the faces of the actors were more telling than they could have been in color. And tell me that the the hazy red halo around the single child lost in the sea of human destruction was anything other than genius.

Story - A very good story, although perhaps not a great script. I've heard some reviews denegrating stories of this type for taking a complicated issue (like Nazi Germany for instance) and turning it into one person's story. Well, considering this was the story of one man simply learning what was wrong within that complicated framework and then taking action to fix it, I think it's obvious why that works as a script. As long as we learn something, what we do to fix the problem is up to us.

A great, great film that's strong enough to affect nearly every viewer. Some films will affect only a small segment (see Pulp Fiction below), this film can affect everyone deeply, and for many it already has.

2) HOWARDS END
Director: Merchant - Ivory
Simply, this is the best period film ever. Nearly every character is a pitch perfect creation, and nearly ever actor succeeds in bringing their character to life. Often great films have a dichotomy of tones, playing Vietnam battles to Opera for instance. This film blended gender roles and the plight of the poor with the happy notes flowing through the sweet springtime of English grand Victorianism. It might just be that being rich in that time and place was the best life that a person could ever have led. Why do you think they keep making these frilly little Anglophillic stories?

3) BOOGIE NIGHTS
Director: Paul T. Anderson
An operatic tour de force that helped launch the careers of a half dozen actors. This film came out of nowhere to redefine the bounds of an acceptable story. The acting was superb across the board. Marky Mark simply was the stupid kid on screen (of course he might not have been acting ...), but it was the supporting cast that made this film. Don Cheadle, William H Macy, Burt Reynolds, Heather Graham, Julianne Moore, John C Reilley and others all hit home runs in their roles.

4) GOODFELLAS
Director: Martin Scorsese
There's no denying that this was a great film. It's been gone over and over and over again, and I doubt anyone doesn't know it by now. From the famous fluid single shot entering the Copacabana to Joe Pesci's "I'm funny how? Like I'm a clown?" line, this film is filled to the brim with great moments. In fact, nearly every single line of dialog and narration is great. Heck I can probably quote 2 dozen from memory right now. I think the real success of this film is owed to the to Ray Liotta and Lorraine Bracco, however. These two gave a couple of the best performances in recent memory. It's hard to fault DeNiro and Pesci and Sorvino and many others in their supporting roles, but you get the idea. Simply a great film.

5) LEAVING LAS VEGAS
Director: Mike Figgis
The saddest movie I've ever seen. The amazing performances by Nicholas Cage and Elizabeth Shue, and Figgis' great direction somehow overcome the cliches peppered throughout the script. I mean Shue managed to turn the "hooker wiht the heart of gold" away from a pitiful script device and toward an engaging, broken woman struggling to complete herself. Cage gave one of the most notable performances ever, absolutely capturing the soul of a drunk.

6) THE AGE OF INNOCENCE
Director: Martin Scorsese
In my mind, this is one of the most underrated movies ever. It might just be Scorsese's best. Scorsese has done a whole lot of gangster films, and they are to some degree about people born into a life that they didn't choose themselves. The difference between those gangster films and this period romance, however, is that here we finally have some characters struggling to break free from the constraints of their society. The gangsters all loved the life. They may have paid for it in the end, but they loved it. These aristocrats hate the life, but they just can't get away. See how Scorsese lingers over the food and the settings and the clothes and the homes in the visuals and the narration. Everything had to be just so, and that's what was driving the characters mad.

7) THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS
Director: Jonathan Demme
Another film that's hardly worth talking more about. It's been loaded with enough praise to sink a ship. We all know Hannibal Lector and Jodie Foster and "It rubs the lotion on its skin, or it gets the hose again". Films don't get much creepier and well made than this. Anthony Hopkins pops up again in an amazing role. What a great actor.

8) PULP FICTION
Director: Quenton Tarrentino
Love it or hate it, this film turned cinema on its head. Like Boogie Nights (and made well before Boogie Nights I'll add) this film shows how art can hide in the strangest places. It's far more unique than Boogie Nights, and in many ways better. The dialog was extraordinary, the scenes powerful. My only complaint is: "Where did this film take us"? To this day I still don't find a meaningful landing spot. It's artistry of the highest order, and beauty can definitely be its own reward. Sometimes a sugary dessert like this is great, but usually I want something with a little more to my cinematic meal.

9) DANCES WITH WOLVES
Director: Kevin Costner
I hate to admit it, but this was just a great, epic movie filled with sweeping vistas, a strong script, and a Buffalo hunt scene that still amazes me. There are a lot of similarities with Lawrence of Arabia here, from the epic story, to the epic expanse of the visuals, to the misunderstood and noble natives. It's too bad I had to see Kevin Costner's butt to get all of that though.

10) BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
Director: Trousdale + Wise
The best animated movie ever, singing furniture aside. One of the sweetest, best made movies you can show your kids. It's also beautifully drawn. Easily one of the more visually lovely films ever made.

12/06/2005

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The Best of the 1990s: 11 - 20

11) JFK
Director: Oliver Stone
Considering that 75% of this movie is devoted to conspiracy theories so insane that they'd make Charles Manson blush, it's hard to imagine this is the 11th best film of the nineties. Well, luckily for my list the specifics of those theories aren't the point of this movie. Oh, it's in the foreground of nearly every aspect of the film, but way in the back this film is about a people's relationship with their governance. Each of those crazy theories is nothing more than a question asked. Most of them may be absurd, but one or two may just hit the mark. This film asks us to question the rulers, and THAT is bar none, without a doubt, no mistaking, the most important thing a citizen of a democracy can do. Beyond this thematic material, this was one of the best constructed films in a great while. The editing, the visuals, the pacing, the direction as a whole was simply astounding.

12) NIXON
Director: Oliver Stone
Another Stone masterpiece that's highly underappreciated. This is great, classic ironic tragedy in the highest form. The king has fallen, but there's nothing to blame but his own weaknesses. Great tragedy, plus great political discourse, plus great direction and exceedingly great acting equals a great, great film. Anthony Hopkins and Joan Allen are both exceptional in this movie. It might just be Hopkins' best, although he has a lot of contenders for that distinction.

13) BABE
Director: Chris Noonan
This will be a children's classic for years to come. Wonderful on every level. That'll do pig.

14) FARGO
Director: Coen Bros
The Coen brothers are immensely talented. They create unique, engrossing fantasy worlds that are very difficult to dislike. This film was a great foray into something that more closely resembled reality. A wondeful mix of painful truths and whimsy.

15) SAVING PRIVATE RYAN
Director: Steven Spielberg
Parts of this film were just good Hollywood fare, but the visuals and construction of the battle sequences were utterly extraordinary. Never before had a moving picture gotten the reality of battle so right. This was a new high tide mark in certain technical and artistic constructions of film.

16) THE PIANO
Director: Jane Campion
A flawless little gem of a movie. Great acting across the board from Holly Hunter, Harvey Keitel, Sam Neil and little Anna Paquin.

17) HAMLET
Director: Kenneth Branaugh
One of the better Shakespeare productions ever. Huge and ambitious, it takes the weary Dane out of the dim depths we're he's usually found wallowing, and shows that this is a real Prince we're talking about. Gorgeous, lush visuals.

18) REMAINS OF THE DAY
Director: Merchant - Ivory
With Howard's End, the Merchant-Ivory team found a success of magnificent proportions. With that success in hand, they followed the same formula again, with many of the same actors. And again, Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson show why they're such greats. Just watch Hopkins performance and see how there is a psychological base for every action he makes, from a raised hand to a step backwards. Incredible acting.

19) THE PEOPLE VS LARRY FLYNT
Director: Milos Forman
About as good as topical films can get, this is a radical, fun and intelligent look at our first amendment to the constitution. We often forget just how much this short paragraph changed the world for the better. To see its bounds challanged by pornographers and right wing nutjobs is a great reminder of this fact.

20) TRAINSPOTTING
Director: Danny Boyle
I've always been astounded by the dweebs who love the movie Wall Street because they adore Gordan Gecko and his "Greed is good" credo. They've utterly misunderstood the film, Gecko's the bad guy and he loses big time in the end. Similarly, Trainspotting is a powerful anti-drug movie and yet all I ever hear is druggies promoting it, and the uptight reviling it. Sad and scary, because this is a really unique film with an important anti-drug message. Choose life, you hosers.

12/05/2005

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The Best of the 1990s: 21 - 30

21) EVE'S BAYOU
Director: Kasi Lemmons
Another unappreciated gem. A little voodoo, some cheatin' hearts and child's eyes on the world make a pretty darn good movie. One of the only movies around to see black characters as more than just a means to discuss black issues.

22) TOY STORY
Director: John Lasseter
A seminal piece of work. The digital revolution starts now. It's hilarious and entertaining and simply impressive to watch.

23) THE PLAYER
Director: Robert Altman
A fun little throwaway from Altman. Man, he's good. An homage to Hollywood for the ages.

24) GROUNDHOG DAY
Director: Harold Ramis
Comedy meets a real message. I think that this is Bill Murrays best acting job, much better than the expressionless sack that shows up on Lost in Translation, and The Life Aquatic, and Broken Flowers.

25) GOOD WILL HUNTING
Director: Gus Van Sant
Extremely well written. Bright and to the point. Robin Williams usually comes across as mopey and a little annoying in his downer roles, but here he hits all the right notes.

26) EYES WIDE SHUT
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Highly flawed, but so unique and brave and (frankly) well crafted that it deserves attention.

27) DEAD MAN WALKING
Director: Tim Robbins
One of the great topical movies of the nineties. Here we're talking Death penalty. At least for me, it prompted enough contemplation to change my views.

28) UNFORGIVEN
Director: Clint Eastwood
This western's all "real" and "gritty". It's also entertaining and extremely well acted. Gene Hackman and Richard Harris are all time greats.

29) THE MATRIX
Director: Wachowski Bros
One of those rare movies that become an event. They come out of nowhere to really delight. Too bad its sequels fell way short.

30) BRAVEHEART
Director: Mel Gibson
This was a real crowd-pleaser if ever there was one. Grand, epic, patriotic. Awash in battles, love triangles ... naked butts for the ladies - all the pieces for a winning film. (See Dances with Wolves for similar formula.)

12/02/2005

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The Best of the 1990s: 31 - 40

31) FORREST GUMP
Director: Robert Zemeckis
I'm not supposed to like this in our age of irony. I've never really heard an argument against the quality of this movie that that boiled down to more than "it's not cool. I hope we can agree that that's not the greatest of arguments. Personally, I think it's a touching, heartfelt, engrossing and enjoyable film. Enough said.

32) GODS AND MONSTERS
Director: Bill Condon
A really good movie about a lot more than just homosexuality. Ian McKellen fits this character like a glove.

33) TITANIC
Director: James Cameron
I'm still up in the air on this one. Pros: Gorgeous spectacle, sweet love story, grand backdrop. Cons: I didn't really like Leonardo very much in the film. I don't care whether the story was cheesy or not. I do care whether I found the characters appealing and I don't know if I did. About a billion people disagree with me however. I'll accept that that makes me wrong. Very wrong.

34) THE INSIDER
Director: Michael Mann
A great topical movie. Perhaps Russel Crowe's best acting job, and that's saying a lot as he's currently one of the best out there.

35) THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION
Director: Frank Darabont
Very much in the Forrest Gumpian tradition: Simple, sweet, straightforward. It's also engrossing and incredibly enjoyable to watch and those are the absolute keys to a good flick.

36) GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS
Director: James Foley
The best dialog in years was a combination of David Mamet's extraordinary screenplay and some absoutely marvelous acting. It's all in the words, the whole story.

37) THE BIRDCAGE
Director: Mike Nichols
Funniest movie of the decade, bar none. This is comedic genius on all levels.

38) THE ENGLISH PATIENT
Director: Anthony Minghella
Lush and sweeping (whatever that might mean), this epic love story (I have no idea what that means) is a great one.

39) JERRY MAGUIRE
Director: Cameron Crowe
There simply aren't many films as uplifting as this. You can always tell a story that's heartfelt from one filled with lies, and this one was straight from the heart.

40) LONE STAR
Director: John Sayles
Chris Cooper is a great actor and this is one of Sayles best films, if not the best. I tend to vote Matewan in that regard, but hey, whatever floats your boat.

11/30/2005

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The Best of the 1990s: 41 -50

41) MILLER'S CROSSING
Director: Coen Bros
A fun, magical, twisted gangster film. Filled with rich, gorgeous visuals, and incredibly entertaining.

42) HOOP DREAMS
Director: Steve James
One of the best documentaries ever, showing young inner city boys groomed for athletic stardom.

43) SHORT CUTS
Director: Robert Altman
A wonderful Altman film about how we affect those around us even as become more and more disconnected from one another. Lives are are lived only in the present, and randomly, and quickly. And the worst is we seem intent to help all of those things along.

44) BEING JOHN MALKOVICH
Director: Spike Jonze
Post modernism hits the land of film. This script is one of the more unique ever filmed.

45) AMERICAN BEAUTY
Director: Sam Mendes
Although I find this film important, and entertaining, and well done throughout, I really do wonder if it will work on repeated viewings. Rather it might have been best seen in the days when it was shown.

46) THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY
Director: Farrelly Bros
The 2nd funniest movie of the decade. How many really great laugh-out-loud moments did this flick have? More than I care to count.

47) ELIZABETH
Director: Shekhar Kupar
An operatic period piece that was much darker than I expected. I found the tone of this work to be highly original and the film to be extremely well acted.

48) JACKIE BROWN
Director: Quenton Tarrentino
I was amazed that Tarrentino had this film in him. It was Pulp Fiction for adults.

49) THE TALENTED MR RIPLEY
Director: Anthony Minghella
I loved this rich, exquisite film. Everything fell into place just so, with the gorgeous European settings, and aristocratic characters. So far the only serial killer on screen I've felt empathy for.

50) THE SIXTH SENSE
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Led some to dub Shyamalan the new Hitchcock. Well, not quite. There's no denying that it was almost an event watching this movie.

11/29/2005

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The Best of the 1990s: 51 - 60

51) IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER
Director: Jim Sheridan
Daniel Day Lewis and others give powerful performances in this enraging story of fathers, sons, and the conflict in Northern Ireland.


52) ALADDIN
Director: Clements + Musker
Another of Disney's massive animated successes in the nineties. This film was fun fun fun all the way through. This string of movies was superior in many, if not most ways to the "classic" disney films. Robin Williams at his best.


53) MALCOM X
Director: Spike Lee
A marvelous epic. It's a real shame the Spike Lee portrayed the jackass in a positive light. Ethically, logically and historically Spike got it wrong, but cinematically he got it oh so right.


54) FIGHT CLUB
Director: David Fincher
I include this film mostly because so many people swear to me it's a great movie. Whenever I hear people laud this film, I can't help but think of all of those who consistently vote for Shawshank Redemption as the best film of all time. I will admit that it's a well done movie, and quite entertaining. I also like any use of Pixies songs while cities crumble in the background. Thematically, I think the story is just plain adolescent tho.


55) THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS
Director: Henry Selick
This is one of the most creative films of the nineties. A claymation kids film that mostly appealed to 20-somethings. I don't really know to what degree Tim Burton was creatively involved in the film, but you can't help but see his stamp on every facet.


56) CRUMB
Director: Terry Zwigoff
The nineties seem to be the launching point for documentary film making. Prior there was an occasional great non fiction film, but now it seems like there's one or more a year. This was a great one.


57) MIGHTY APHRODITE
Director: Woody Allen
I think this is perhaps the most underated Woody Allen film. Classic Greek comedy tumbled with classic Greek tragedy. Wonderful.


58) MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO
Director: Gus Van Sant
Overwrought and silly in places, you still won't see anything else like it on the screen. It's gay prostitution and Shakespeare, and that's notable, even if it's only mostly successful.


59) THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER
Director: John McTiernan
Frankly, this was a great political adventure flick. It's by far the best of the Tom Clancy films, filled with Cold war political intrigue and rousing submarine adventure. It's a great mixture of Clancy's almost creepy infatuation with all things military, excellent movie production, and thoroughly compelling movie stars.


60) RICHARD III
Director: Richard Loncraine
To mix a metaphor, Ian McKellen's Richard hit almost all of the right notes for this black sheep of the British royal line. One of the best Shakespeare productions of the nineties.

11/28/2005

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The Best of the 1990s: 61 - 70

61) RESEVOIR DOGS
Director: Quenton Tarrentino
Love him or hate him, Quenton really was a seminal director. No doubt about it

62) FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL
Director: Mike Newell
Romantic comedies are rarely more romantically comedic than this.

63) THE RED VIOLIN
Director: Francois Gerard
A great little independent film with the span of time and a work of art as the background.

64) THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT
Director: Myrick + Sanchez
Okay, so the filmakers were not especially talented, but they lucked into one of the scariest things ever projected on the screen.

65) JURASSIC PARK
Director: Steven Spielberg
Like Terminator 2, this ushered in the age of digitization. It's also an homage to imagination.

66) WAITING FOR GUFFMAN
Director: Christopher Guest
Guest has made a career out of this style of comedy. They've all been good so far, so I sure don't fault him for it.

67) APOLLO 13
Director: Ron Howard
How many great adventure tales involve 3 guys in a 10' X 10' metal capsule? Tough to do.

68) BEFORE SUNRISE
Director: Richart Linklater
I can't admit to being an enormous fan of romantic film, but I can admit that this is a great one.

69) A FEW GOOD MEN
Director: Ron Howard
You can't handle the truth. It really is an entertaining and well-crafted flick.

70) THE LION KING
Director: Allers + Minkoff
Disney had a streak of successes in the 90s that has rarely been matched. They found a formula that worked and milked it dry. This was one of the least successful, but it's still a very good movie.

11/23/2005

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The Best of the 1990s: 71 - 80

71) GET SHORTY
Director: Bary Sonnenfeld
Put simply, this is one of the most fun movies of all time. Not quite Singin' in the Rain ecstatic, but you get the picture.

72) THE SPANISH PRISONER
Director: David Mamet
Twisted and incredibly smart, like a lot of good art it's about lies and how we deal with them.

73) ED WOOD
Director: Tim Burton
Immensely creative and fun flick. Martin Landau brings some of the few moments of real pathos that Burton has ever had the fortune to film.

74) THE BIG LEBOWSKI
Director: Coen Bros
I thought this movie was crap after the first viewing. Then I realized that the Coens just create escapist fantasy. They're just like Tolkein. No really.

75) PHILADELPHIA
Director: Jonathan Demme
Sad, sad, sad. And now Tom Hanks is a major movie star.

76) THELMA AND LOUISE
Director: Ridley Scott
Too bad feminism really started dying around the time of this picture. I doubt it's related though.

77) LA CONFIDENTIAL
Director: Curtis Hanson
Not as good as the classic film noirs, but pretty darn solid. Brought Russell Crowe and Guy Pierce to Hollywood prominance.

78) HEAVENLY CREATURES
Director: Peter Jackson
A surprising little flick. Utterly unique and imaginative.

79) SENSE AND SENSIBILITY
Director: Ang Lee
Ang Lee is a really good director and in many differnet ways. I think he's going the Kubrick route of trying to direct as many different genres as possible before he dies.

80) CASINO
Director: Martin Scorsese
Not one of my favorite, or the best Scorsese films, but that's like saying Roberto Clemente wasn't one of the best baseball players. He wasn't. But he's still in the Hall of Fame.

11/25/2005

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The Best of the 1990s: 81 - 90

81) SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE
Director: John Madden
Another film magnetic to estrogen. A sweet love story, well written and witty.

82) AS GOOD AS IT GETS
Director: James Brooks
The ironists probably hate this film. Screw them. It's sweet and straightforward and well done throughout.

83) MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE
Director: Brian DePalma
I'm probably in a minority loving this action adventure film, but I did nonetheless. It's one of the few spy stories to even come close to the early Bond films.

84) THE GODFATHER III
Director: Francis Ford Copolla
Yes, this movie was really awful in places (Sophia Coppolla was embarassingly bad as an actress), but it was really great in others.

85) CONTACT
Director: Robert Zemeckis
A late addition to the list for me. I realized just how rare it is for film to applaud science, and how truly important. I guess it's easier to sell the Passion of the Christ than astrophysics.

86) NATURAL BORN KILLERS
Director: Oliver Stone
A near work of genius. Too bad that when it sucked, it REALLY sucked. I really, really wish this would have been a better movie, if only to contradict those who hate it.

87) THE ICE STORM
Director: Ang Lee
A great little Ang Lee film about the bored and successful.

88) QUIZ SHOW
Director: Robert Redford
A really good little film that came in under the radar. Like The Winslow Boy, this is a subject that I find surprising how well it worked.

89) EDWARD SCISSORHANDS
Director: Tim Burton
Nothing like it on film. Absolutely nothing.

90) CLUELESS
Director: Amy Heckerling
The best teenage movie of the decade. Maybe not Fast Times at Ridgemont High, or Ferris Bueller good, but still a quality flick.

11/22/2005

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The Best of the 1990s: 91 - 100

91) ELECTION
Director: Alexander Payne
The best 90s movie for 20-somethings looking back at their teenage years.

92) PRETTY WOMAN
Director: Frank Marshall
Chicks REALLY dig it. Do all women secretly want to be princesses rescued by handsome, super-rich suave-meisters. Okay, strike that from the record. Duh.

93) RUSHMORE
Director: Wes Anderson
I liked this movie while many others loved it. Almost all of the real arguments I've gotten into over film involve FIGHT CLUB, or Wes Anderson. I think they're both good, just adolescent.

94) AMERICAN HISTORY X
Director: Tony Kaye
Its message is about as subtle as a ton of bricks. Still a good flick.

95) THE FUGITIVE
Director: Andrew Davis
A rousing adventurous crime tale. I think that Harrison Ford guy might be movie star material. What do you think?

96) OUT OF SIGHT
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Nothing too special except everything is very well done. Alas this helped create the "J-Lo" phenomenon. Funny how every silver-lining has a cloud.

97) BOYS DON'T CRY
Director: Kimberly Pierce
I'm not sure if this is a great film or not, but it seems like it should be. It's certainly dramatic and all. And there's no doubt Hillary Swank is impressive.

98) WELCOME TO THE DOLLHOUSE
Director: Todd Solontz
Intriguing and useful look at one unpopular little girl.

99) SLING BLADE
Director: Billy Bob Thornton
See Boys Don’t Cry.

100) HAPPINESS
Director: Todd Solontz
I didn't love this film, but I can admit its creativity.

11/21/2005

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The Best of the 1990s: The Overlooked Films

Seeing as how I barely have time, or the inclination, to keep up with my postcard reviews, I'm frankly a little proud that I managed to put together a top 100 list (plus 10) of what I rate the best films of the 1990s.

Why the 1990s? Put simply, it's the only decade I've thoroughly experienced cinematically. My girlfriend recently joined me on a quest to see the "classics" of film, but it's going to be some time before I consider myself worthy to even talk about the oldies. So, I'll just start with the 1990s. Kay?

I begin outside of the top 100 even, with my 10 most overlooked films of the 1990s. These are movies that didn't crack my top 100, and haven't really gotten as much attention as I think they deserve. They're all good films, usually low-budget, poorly promoted films, but there are a couple of exceptions. These aren't really #s 101 through 110 on my list. They're films that just aren't talked about as much as they should be.


THE APOSTLE
Director: Robert Duvall
Robert Duvall is a great character actor. Perhaps the best ever. There are few films where an actor so fully embodies their character as this one.

COOKIE'S FORTUNE
Director: Robert Altman
I think this is a great little film, fun and funny, well acted and uplifting. Charles Dutton gives an excellent performance.

THE WINSLOW BOY
Director: David Mamet
I never would imagine that an English period story about a boy who may have stolen 5 pounds could work. It did work, and worked well.

OCTOBER SKY
Director: Joe Johnson
This is as sweet and reaffirming as stories can get. It's a little movie about not particularly exciting people.

MIDNIGHT IN THE GARDEN OF GOOD AND EVIL
Director: Clint Eastwood
Pure fun. Characters so off the wall and entrancing, you can't help but want to head down to old timie Savannah.

LA STORY
Director: Mik Jackson
A really sweet and unusual comedy. Perhaps Steve Martin's best film work.

THE STRAIGHT STORY
Director: David Lynch
Like The Winslow Boy, this is another story I never thought could work. David Lynch, the king of weird dreamscapes gives us the simple story of an old guy and his lawnmower.

AFFLICTION
Director: Paul Schrader
One of those good movies you don't think about for long as you should. Really good performances by James Coburne and Nick Nolte.

A CIVIL ACTION
Director: Steven Zaillian
Maybe not really overlooked (big budget and all) but I liked this film a lot. John Travolta is a movie star, and this legal drama shows us why.

RAVENOUS
Director: Antonia Bird
I loved this gory yet hilarious romp. Banjos and cannibals. Shit yeah.

11/21/2005

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