Posted by
Marc Benoza
(t5!) Movies Of The 1990s
Remember that one time when we biked to Blockbuster to rent that movie? That was great.
Alright, alright, alright. Letterboxd says I watched 656 movies from the 1990s. 100 movies in this list, 1999 have the most entries with 20 and 1990 have the least with three. If you want to get specific with genres, there are 37 laugh-out-loud comedies, 34 dramatic tear-jerkers, 25 edge-of-your-seat action movies, and four nightmare-inducing horror movies. There are four animated films in here, as well as ten science fiction films, one documentary, and one mockumentary. I think there are six sequels and one prequel. There are only four foreign films here: one from France, one from Germany, one from England, and one from Austria. Directors David Fincher, Paul Thomas Anderson, Quentin Tarantino, and Steven Spielberg are represented well here with three movies each. Four of these movies won Academy Award for Best Picture, while eleven got nominated and got beat. There are four acting performances in here that won Best Actor, two that won Best Actress, six that won Best Supporting Actor, and one that won Best Supporting Actress.
I am Jack's eagerness to begin!
#100: Bottle Rocket
1996
Directed by Wes Anderson
Starring Luke Wilson, Owen Wilson, Lumi Cavazos
THEY'RE NOT REALLY CRIMINALS, BUT EVERYONE'S GOT TO HAVE A DREAM
Upon his release from a mental hospital following a nervous breakdown, the directionless Anthony joins his friend Dignan, who seems far less sane than the former. Dignan has hatched a hair-brained scheme for an as-yet-unspecified crime spree that somehow involves his former boss, the (supposedly) legendary Mr. Henry.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"A confident, eccentric debut about a trio of shambling and guileless friends who become the Candides of crime, Rocket feels particularly refreshing because it never compromises on its delicate deadpan sensibility."
-- Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
"This is a movie about friendship, about foolhardy endeavors that get your adrenaline going and make you feel life buzzing in your toes. Written with wit and concision and remarkable confidence, Bottle Rocket is a joyride worth taking."
-- Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer
"Bottle Rocket does so much with so little."
-- Todd Gaines, Letterboxd
#099: Aladdin
1992
Directed by Ron Clements and John Musker
Starring Robin Williams, Scott Weinger
WISH GRANTED!
Princess Jasmine grows tired of being forced to remain in the palace and she sneaks out into the marketplace in disguise where she meets street-urchin Aladdin and the two fall in love, although she may only marry a prince. After being thrown in jail, Aladdin and becomes embroiled in a plot to find a mysterious lamp with which the evil Jafar hopes to rule the land.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"Aladdin is a film of wonders. To see it is to be the smallest child, open-mouthed at the screen's sense of magic, as well as the most knowing adult, eager to laugh at some surprisingly sly humor."
-- Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
"What makes this animated feature such intense, giddy fun is the eruption of uninhibited parody that Robin Williams provides as the voice of the Genie in Aladdin's lamp."
-- Michael Sragow, New Yorker
"Does Robin Williams save a sinking ship here, doing his stand-up routine in the guise of the all-powerful Genie, or does he intrude upon an otherwise earnest Disney fairy tale that would have been better off without him? I change my mind every time I see Aladdin."
-- Josh Larsen, Letterboxd
#098: Point Break
1991
Directed by Kathryn Bigelow
Starring Patrick Swayze, Keanu Reeves, Gary Busey
TWENTY-SEVEN BANKS IN THREE YEARS. ANYTHING TO CATCH THE PERFECT WAVE
In the coastal town of Los Angeles, a gang of bank robbers call themselves The Ex-Presidents commit their crimes while wearing masks of Reagan, Carter, Nixon and Johnson. The F.B.I. believes that the members of the gang could be surfers and send young agent Johnny Utah undercover at the beach to mix with the surfers and gather information.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"We might as well be watching a blissed-out Bill and Ted caper."
-- Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
"A nearly flawless marriage of the genre clichés of the classic '80s-model cop action picture with the elevated physicality of the '90s action films to come."
-- Tim Brayton, Antagony & Ecstasy
"Yes, it positively reeks of cheese, has been justly parodied and has dated worse than most but I just don’t care because I am unapologetic in my love for, Point Break."
-- Adam Cook, Letterboxd
#097: Cruel Intentions
1999
Directed by Roger Krumble
Starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, Reese Witherspoon, Selma Blair
IN THE GAME OF SEDUCTION, THERE IS ONLY ONE RULE: NEVER FALL IN LOVE.
Slaking a thirst for dangerous games, Kathryn challenges her stepbrother, Sebastian, to deflower their headmaster's daughter before the summer ends. If he succeeds, the prize is the chance to bed Kathryn. But if he loses, Kathryn will claim his most prized possession.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"Lascivious blackmailers and inveterate immoralists, these characters behave despicably, but the movie affects a tone of urbane detachment which puts sex in its proper perspective."
-- Time Out
"Cruel Intentions is the dirtiest-minded American movie in recent memory -- and an honestly corrupt entertaining picture is never anything to sneeze at."
-- Charles Taylor, Salon
"If you don't remember… High School was a complete mess, and Cruel Intentions takes that concept to whole 'nother level."
-- Simone, Letterboxd
#096: Donnie Brasco
1997
Directed by Roger Krumble
Starring Johnny Depp, Al Pacino
DONNIE BRASCO. BASED ON A TRUE STORY
An FBI undercover agent infilitrates the mob and finds himself identifying more with the mafia life at the expense of his regular one.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"A tense, sharp and compelling character study, Newell's film is a worthy addition to the Mob-movie canon."
-- Time Out
"Pacino and Depp are a match made in acting heaven, riffing off each other with astonishing subtlety and wit."
-- Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
"This was a crime drama in its purest form without ridiculous set pieces that we see today. Now this one was about tension and I loved it."
-- Joe Hastings, Letterboxd
#095: Primal Fear
1996
Directed by Gregory Hoblit
Starring Richard Gere, Edward Norton, Laura Linney
SOONER OR LATER, A MAN WHO WEARS TWO FACES FORGETS WHICH ONE IS REAL
An arrogant, high-powered attorney takes on the case of a poor altar boy found running away from the scene of the grisly murder of the bishop who has taken him in. The case gets a lot more complex when the accused reveals that there may or may not have been a 3rd person in the room. The intensity builds when a surprise twist alters everyone's perception of the crime and what happens next...
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"...a solid drama that's elevated on an all-too-consistent basis by Norton's impressively hypnotic work."
-- David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews
"An unfolding mystery in which truth is elusive, and twists are the order of the day...gives Norton a career-making opportunity to strut his stuff."
-- Peter Canavese, Groucho Reviews
"Edward Norton. This was his film debut. I will let that sentence sink in."
-- David Topper, Letterboxd
#094: Forrest Gump
1994
Directed by Robert Zemeckis
Starring Tom Hanks, Sally Field, Robin Wright
THE WORLD WILL NEVER BE THE SAME, ONCE YOU'VE SEEN IT THROUGH THE EYES OF FORREST GUMP
A man with a low IQ has accomplished great things in his life and been present during significant historic events - in each case, far exceeding what anyone imagined he could do. Yet, despite all the things he has attained, his one true love eludes him. 'Forrest Gump' is the story of a man who rose above his challenges, and who proved that determination, courage, and love are more important than ability.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"This isn't the meaningful movie it pretends to be. But as a goofy entertainment that speeds through the latter half of the 20th century, stopping here and there to snap a photo or two, Forrest Gump does just fine."
-- Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer
"The movie's technical tricks are great fun, as is its musical soundtrack, which captures the essences of the eras it traverses. But when you come right down to it, it's the oddly magnetic personality of Forrest himself that is the biggest draw."
-- Jay Boyar, Orlando Sentinel
"Sometimes, the best thing you could possibly do is to watch a sunset with someone important to you, and if that is the message of your film, then you can't be doing too much wrong."
-- Devon Seltzer, Letterboxd
#093: Varsity Blues
1999
Directed by Brian Robbins
Starring James Van Der Beek, Jon Voight
IT TAKES A HERO TO KNOW WHAT'S WORTH WINNING
In small-town Texas, high school football is a religion, 17-year-old schoolboys carry the hopes of an entire community onto the gridiron every Friday night. When star quarterback Lance Harbor suffers an injury, the Coyotes are forced to regroup under the questionable leadership of John Moxon, a second-string quarterback with a slightly irreverent approach to the game.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"Cliches withstanding, Varsity Blues can be enjoyable if you check your brain at the popcorn stand."
-- Thom Bennett, Film Journal International
"The football scenes are involving, the acting is up to snuff, and there is something about those last days of high school that remains a solid background for even the most familiar of stories."
-- John Petrakis, Chicago Tribune
"This movie makes me actually miss the days of playing. Also, reminds me how awesome a whipped cream bikini is."
-- zacsanders, Letterboxd
#092: Leaving Las Vegas
1995
Directed by Mike Figgis
Starring Nicolas Cage, Elisabeth Shue
I LOVE YOU... THE WAY YOU ARE
Ben Sanderson, an alcoholic Hollywood screenwriter who lost everything because of his drinking, arrives in Las Vegas to drink himself to death. There, he meets and forms an uneasy friendship and non-interference pact with prostitute Sera.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"Dark and giddy at the same time, Leaving Las Vegas takes us into dreamy, intoxicated places no movie about an alcoholic has gone before."
-- Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly
"The film pulls no punches, takes no prisoners and flies in the face of feel-good pictures."
-- Leonard Klady, Variety
"This film kicks my teeth in in the most beautiful way every time I watch it."
-- DirkH, Letterboxd
#091: Funny Games
1997
Directed by Michael Haneke
Starring Ulrich Mühe, Susanne Lothar, Arno Frisch, Frank Giering
Two psychotic young men take a mother, father, and son hostage in their vacation cabin and force them to play sadistic "games" with one another for their own amusement.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"Brilliant, radical, provocative, it's a masterpiece that is at times barely watchable."
-- Geoff Andrew, Time Out
"What Haneke has actually done is to satirize the complex relationship between the story and the audience. On that level it's a triumph."
-- Rob Gonsalves, eFilmCritic.com
"It all started with the eggs.... Oh god, the egg scene. How painfully awkward. How painfully ominous. How painfully nerve wracking.
Note to self: If a young blonde man with a Hitler youth haircut comes into my home wearing white gloves asking to borrow eggs, lock all the doors and windows. Or get the hell out while you still can."
-- PinHeadLarry, Letterboxd
#090: Run Lola Run
1998
Directed by Tom Tykwer
Starring Franka Potente, Moritz Bleibtreu
EVERY SECOND OF EVERY DAY YOU'RE FACED WITH A DECISION THAT CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE
Lola receives a phone call from her boyfriend Manny. He lost 100,000 DM in a subway train that belongs to a very bad guy. She has 20 minutes to raise this amount and meet Manny. Otherwise, he will rob a store to get the money. Three different alternatives may happen depending on some minor event along Lola's run.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"Run Lola Run is fun, fun, fun."
-- Rick Groen, Globe and Mail
"Cleverly juggling the elements and encounters of a simple thriller scenario by using multiple viewpoints and a domino effect to create different destinies..."
-- David Rooney, Variety
"How this film plays itself is the same way how you play a video game. You have to reach a goal point in a limited time. You start the game, overcome each n every obstacle, almost make it to the final mark but either the time is over or you're dead. So what do you do when it's already game-over? You restart. And continue doing that until you finally make it through."
-- CinemaClown, Letterboxd
#089: Mars Attacks!
1996
Directed by Tim Burton
Starring Jack Nicholson, Natalie Portman, Pierce Brosnan
NICE PLANET. WE'LL TAKE IT!
'We come in peace' is not what those green men from Mars mean when they invade our planet, armed with irresistible weapons and a cruel sense of humor. This star studded cast must play victim to the alien’s fun and games in this comedy homage to science fiction films of the '50s and '60s.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"Loaded with wit, nifty little ideas and an extraordinary sense of design, but its allure is of quite a particular nature, much closer to that of Ed Wood than of Burton's earlier, and far more commercially successful, works."
-- Todd McCarthy, Variety
"...a sadistically silly spoof that uses a cheesy ray gun to blow away the tropes of science-fiction past."
-- Josh Larsen, LarsenOnFilm
"It's like Independence Day if it shit itself."
-- Liam Barrett, Letterboxd
#088: The Last Seduction
1994
Directed by John Dahl
Starring Linda Fiorentino, Bill Pullman
SHE WANTS IT ALL...
Looking to escape her unhappy marriage, villainous femme fatale Bridget Gregory (Linda Fiorentino) convinces her husband, Clay (Bill Pullman), to sell cocaine, then steals the profits and runs out on him. She stops in a small town en route to Chicago, where she ensnares her next conquest, insurance man Mike Swale (Peter Berg). After getting a job at his insurance company, Bridget convinces Mike to run a scam -- but things take a deadly turn when she recruits him to help get rid of her husband.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"What Sharon Stone did for the ice pick, Linda Fiorentino does for the ice princess."
-- Rita Kempley, Washington Post
"It's an entertaining and caustically humorous thriller if you like that sort of thing."
-- Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
"Bitches don't come much better and sharper than Linda Fiorentino's "Bridget". A classic "femme-fatale "this is a woman who takes what she wants and knows how to get it."
-- Andy Summers, Letterboxd
#087: Dumb And Dumber
1994
Directed by Peter Farrelly, Bobby Farrelly
Starring Jim Carrey, Jeff Daniels, Lauren Holly
WHAT THE ONE DOESN'T HAVE, THE OTHER IS MISSING
Lloyd and Harry are two men whose stupidity is really indescribable. When Mary, a beautiful woman, loses an important suitcase with money before she leaves for Aspen, the two friends (who have found the suitcase) decide to return it to her. After some "adventures" they finally get to Aspen where, using the lost money they live it up and fight for Mary's heart.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"The plot, of course, is merely an excuse for an endless series of gags, and the percentage of them that score is fairly high."
-- Frank Scheck, Hollywood Reporter
"The wholeheartedness of this descent into crude and rude humor is so good-natured and precise that it's hard not to partake in the guilty pleasures of the exercise."
-- Variety Staff, Variety
"Every line in this film can be classified as this: Brilliantly stupid."
-- SilentDawn, Letterboxd
#086: Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me
1992
Directed by David Lynch
Starring Sheryl Lee, Ray Wise, Mädchen Amick
MEET LAURA PALMER... IN A TOWN WHERE NOTHING IS AS IT SEEMS... AND EVERYONE HAS SOMETHING TO HIDE
In the questionable town of Deer Meadow, Washington, FBI Agent Desmond (Chris Isaak) inexplicably disappears while hunting for the man who murdered a teen girl. The killer is never apprehended, and, after experiencing dark visions and supernatural encounters, Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) chillingly predicts that the culprit will claim another life. Meanwhile, in the more cozy town of Twin Peaks, hedonistic beauty Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee) hangs with lowlifes and seems destined for a grisly fate.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"At its best, it's a dream within a dream, a nightmare in endlessly reflecting pop mirrors, a screen full of TV-movie sex and horror kitsch blowing up right in our faces."
-- Michael Wilmington, Los Angeles Times
"A horrible masterpiece. Ugly, abstract and unrelenting, it's like having someone else's nightmare."
-- Sean Burns, The ARTery
"Fire Walk with Me is not a typical serial killer film, instead of focusing on the killer or the detective it chooses to direct its attention toward the victim."
-- Dragonknight, Letterboxd
#085: Edward Scissorhands
1990
Directed by Tim Burton
Starring Johnny Depp, Winona Ryder, Dianne Wiest
HIS SCARS RUN DEEP
Edward Scissorhands is a classic Tim Burton and Johnny Depp film about a small suburban town that receives a visit from a castaway unfinished science experiment named Edward. A satire on the normality of Middle-America and their fear of outsiders. A magical fairytale story of loneliness, learning, and love; that will make you laugh, curse, and cry.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"Burton's modern fairytale has an almost palpably personal feel: it is told gently, subtly and with infinite sympathy for an outsider who charms the locals but then inadvertently arouses their baser instincts."
-- Marc Lee, Daily Telegraph
"...perhaps the cinema's most enchanting parable about the misunderstood and alienated artist."
-- Josh Larsen, LarsenOnFilm
"But, Burton brings this magic to the screen and Elfman brings the magic to your ears..."
-- Hollie Horror, Letterboxd
#084: Happy Gilmore
1996
Directed by Dennis Dugan
Starring Adam Sandler, Christopher McDonald, Julie Bowen
HE DOESN'T PLAY GOLF... HE DESTROYS IT
Failed hockey player-turned-golf whiz Happy Gilmore -- whose unconventional approach and antics on the grass courts the ire of rival Shooter McGavin -- is determined to win a PGA tournament so he can save his granny's house with the prize money. Meanwhile, an attractive tour publicist tries to soften Happy's image.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"Adolescent humor at its best/worst. Lots of profanity."
-- Alex Orner, Common Sense Media
"From beginning to end, there's not a slow moment in "Happy Gilmore," the Tiger Woods of gleefully idiotic comedy."
-- Phil Villarreal, Arizona Daily Star
"There is no movie I quote more, no movie I've watched more, and no movie I love more. In fact, when my three brothers and I shared a room, we watched a Happy Gilmore VHS every night for roughly a year until it was ruined. I can recite nearly every line and when I'm bored, I can close my eyes and I have the option of watching this movie in my head."
-- Rocco, Letterboxd
#083: From Dusk Till Dawn
1996
Directed by Robert Rodriguez
Starring George Clooney, Quentin Tarantino, Harvey Keitel, Juliette Lewis
ONE NIGHT IS ALL THAT STANDS BETWEEN THEM AND FREEDOM. BUT IT'S GOING TO BE A HELL OF A NIGHT.
Seth Gecko and his younger brother Richard are on the run after a bloody bank robbery in Texas. They escape across the border into Mexico and will be home-free the next morning, when they pay off the local kingpin. They just have to survive 'from dusk till dawn' at the rendezvous point, which turns out to be a Hell of a strip joint.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"A deliriously trashy, exuberantly vulgar, lavishly appointed exploitation picture, this weird combo of road-kill movie and martial-arts vampire gorefest is made to order for the stimulation of teenage boys."
-- Todd McCarthy, Variety
"Rodriguez has a lot of fun dreaming up cool ways to kill people (he's making this his life's work), but he also gets something resembling a performance from Tarantino and transforms Clooney into a full-fledged movie star."
-- Time Out
"I have a feeling the entire reason this film exists is so Quentin could drink from the foot of Salma Hayek."
-- Jackson Tyler, Letterboxd
#082: Babe
1995
Directed by Chris Noonan
Starring Christine Cavanaugh, James Cromwell
A LITTLE PIG GOES A LONG WAY
Babe is a little pig who doesn't quite know his place in the world. With a bunch of odd friends, like Ferdinand the duck who thinks he is a rooster and Fly the dog he calls mom, Babe realizes that he has the makings to become the greatest sheep pig of all time, and Farmer Hogget knows it. With the help of the sheep dogs Babe learns that a pig can be anything that he wants to be.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"Much to my surprise, I found Babe charming in an eccentric, oddly tough-minded sort of way. And if it isn't quite good enough to change my mind about the entire critter-chat genre, it is certainly good enough to recommend."
-- Jay Boyar, Orlando Sentinel
"He's brave and bright, good-natured and ambitious, naive and vulnerable. All in all, he's probably the most winsome orphan to appear on the screen since Freddie Bartholomew impersonated David Copperfield 60 years ago."
-- Richard Schickel, Time Magazine
"Is it wrong that I always crave bacon after seeing this?"
-- DirkH, Letterboxd
#081: Gattaca
1997
Directed by Andrew Niccol
Starring Ethan Hawke, Jude Law, Gore Vidal, Uma Thurman
THERE IS NO GENE FOR THE HUMAN SPIRIT.
Science fiction drama about a future society in the era of indefinite eugenics where humans are set on a life course depending on their DNA. The young Vincent Freeman is born with a condition that would prevent him from space travel, yet he is determined to infiltrate the GATTACA space program.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"This stately, stunningly beautiful picture evokes a future in which present-day prejudices and neuroses have been taken to new, insidious scientifically rationalized heights."
-- Maitland McDonagh, TV Guide's Movie Guide
"There's a window on a possible future, a warning about the wages of sin, and enough beauty to make this a lasting classic of modern science fiction."
-- Jeffrey Overstreet, Looking Closer
"I have been in multi-year relationships with women who weren't half as good looking as this film."
-- Jedrek Kostecki, Letterboxd
#080: Jackie Brown
1997
Directed by Quentin Tarantino
Starring Pam Grier, Samuel L. Jackson, Robert De Niro, Robert Forster
SIX PLAYERS ON THE TRAIL OF A HALF A MILLION IN CASH. THERE'S ONLY ONE QUESTION... WHO'S PLAYING WHO?
Jackie Brown is a flight attendant who gets caught in the middle of smuggling cash into the country for her gunrunner boss. When the cops try to use Jackie to get to her boss, she hatches a plan—with help from a bail bondsman—to keep the money for herself. Based on Elmore Leonard's novel “Rum Punch”.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"The tale is filled with funny, gritty Tarantino lowlife gab and a respectable body count, but what is most striking is the film's gallantry and sweetness."
-- David Ansen, Newsweek
"Quentin Tarantino puts together a fairly intricate and relatively uninvolving money-smuggling plot, but his cast is so good that you probably won't feel cheated."
-- Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
"The Tragedy Of Jackie Brown: Tarantino directs a nuanced, nostalgic masterpiece about romance, aging and responsibility. Audience disappointed by lack of Hitmen discussing cheeseburgers."
-- Jackson Tyler, Letterboxd
#079: Pleasantville
1998
Directed by Gary Ross
Starring Jack Nicholson, Natalie Portman, Pierce Brosnan
NOTHING IS AS SIMPLE AS BLACK AND WHITE
Geeky teenager David and his popular twin sister, Jennifer, get sucked into the black-and-white world of a 1950s TV sitcom called "Pleasantville," and find a world where everything is peachy keen all the time. But when Jennifer's modern attitude disrupts Pleasantville's peaceful but boring routine, she literally brings color into its life.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"Ingeniously conceived and impressively executed, Pleasantville is a provocative, complex and surprisingly anti-nostalgic parable wrapped in the beguiling guise of a commercial high-concept comedy."
-- Joe Leydon, Variety
"An ingenious fable, screenwriter Ross's directorial debut playfully spoofs the small-minded lifestyle idealised by 'family values' advocates, and the intolerance and insecurity underlying that ideal."
-- Derek Adams, Time Out
"This movie is an exploration of passion, change, society, and the evolution of people. Riffing on everything from race relations, censorship, gender roles, and sex, It makes the case that life is inherently unpredictable, and that once change starts, it is impossible to stop. And that's usually a good thing."
-- Paul Donovan, Letterboxd
#078: Glengarry Glen Ross
1992
Directed by John Dahl
Starring Linda Fiorentino, Bill Pullman
LIE. CHEAT. STEAL. ALL IN A DAY’S WORK
Glengarry Glen Ross, follows the lives of four unethical Chicago real estate agents who are prepared to go to any lengths (legal or illegal) to unload undesirable real estate on unwilling prospective buyers.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"As an expression of a great script, it really can't be beat."
-- Tim Brayton, Antagony & Ecstasy
"The overall film, writing and acting are so darn good that I watched it and then immediately started it over again."
-- Kevin McCarthy, WJFK-FM (CBS Radio)
"A - Alec
B - Baldwin
C - Convinces"
-- Mark C, Letterboxd
#077: Desperado
1995
Directed by Robert Rodriguez
Starring Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek
WHEN THE SMOKE CLEARS, IT JUST MEANS HE'S RELOADING
A gunslinger is embroiled in a war with a local drug runner.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"Within Rodriguez' pulp formula stories are little pockets of ingenuity."
-- Rob Gonsalves, eFilmCritic.com
"Rodriguez's second feature may be a rambling, derivative exercise in gratuitous violence, but its determination to proceed as if the word 'restraint' never existed makes for gleeful entertainment."
-- Geoff Andrew, Time Out
"Two things though:
- Tarantino telling that joke.
- Salma Hayek crossing the street.
Two very legitimate reasons to rewatch this when you get the chance."
-- DirkH, Letterboxd
#076: Austin Powers: International Man Of Mystery
1997
Directed by Jay Roach
Starring Mike Myers, Elizabeth Hurley
IF HE WERE ANY COOLER, HE'D STILL BE FROZEN, BABY!
As a swingin' fashion photographer by day and a groovy British superagent by night, Austin Powers is the '60s' most shagadelic spy, baby! But can he stop megalomaniac Dr. Evil after the bald villain freezes himself and unthaws in the '90s? With the help of sexy sidekick Vanessa Kensington, he just might.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"There's nothing malevolent about Austin Powers, he's clearly more Clouseau than Dr. Strangelove, and he is born out of affection, for both the period he's from and for a sense of humour that is peculiarly British."
-- Film4
"A loving paean to Bond, Flint, Helm and their ilk (as well as a myriad of outlandish villains), the film knows its turf and only missteps when it ventures into more contemporary territory."
-- Leonard Klady, Variety
"Groovy, baby, yeah."
-- PRY, Letterboxd
#075: Unforgiven
1992
Directed by Clint Eastwood
Starring Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman
SOME LEGENDS WILL NEVER BE FORGOTTEN. SOME WRONGS CAN NEVER BE FORGIVEN
William Munny is a retired, once-ruthless killer turned gentle widower and hog farmer. To help support his two motherless children, he accepts one last bounty-hunter mission to find the men who brutalized a prostitute. Joined by his former partner and a cocky greenhorn, he takes on a corrupt sheriff.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"Realistic and thoughtful, Unforgiven has the pictorial sweep we've come to expect from the genre and the intelligence too long missing from it."
-- Candice Russell, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
"Eastwood deliberately upends the conventions of the western, subverting his own image in the process."
-- Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer
"A chilling tale about how being too tough can take its toll on a man."
-- Parker, Letterboxd
#074: The Player
1992
Directed by Robert Altman
Starring Tim Robbins, Greta Scacchi
EVERYTHING YOU'VE HEARD IS TRUE!
A Hollywood studio executive is being sent death threats by a writer whose script he rejected - but which one?
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"Mercilessly satiric yet good-natured, this enormously entertaining slam dunk quite possibly is the most resonant Hollywood saga since the days of Sunset Blvd. and The Bad and the Beautiful."
-- Variety Staff, Variety
"A movie about today's Hollywood -- hilarious and heartless in about equal measure, and often at the same time."
-- Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
"Takes down the movie biz smartly without being weighed down by heavy resentment or pettiness."
-- Keith, Letterboxd
#073: Waiting For Guffman
1996
Directed by Christopher Guest
Starring Christopher Guest, Eugene Levy, Fred Willard, Catherine O'Hara
THERE ARE REASONS SOME TALENT REMAINS UNDISCOVERED.
Corky St. Clair is a director, actor and dancer in Blaine, Missouri. When it comes time to celebrate Blaine's 150th anniversary, Corky resolves to bring down the house in Broadway style in this hilarious mockumentary from the people who brought you "This is Spinal Tap!"
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"The comedy has the slow burn of a richly nuanced and non-judgmental character study.."
-- Time Out
"One of the funniest movies ever made, 'Waiting for Guffman' spoofs everything from documentaries and talent shows to local politics and alien abductions."
-- Betty Jo Tucker
"Boasting the best laugh-to-runtime ratio in my library, a heartwarming story, and some of the best improvisation and improv actors I've ever had the pleasure of watching, there is nothing I don't love about Waiting for Guffman."
-- PTAbro, Letterboxd
#072: Go
1999
Directed by Doug Liman
Starring Christine Cavanaugh, James Cromwell
A WEEKEND WASTED IS NEVER A WASTED WEEKEND
Told from three perspectives, a story of a bunch of young Californians trying to get some cash, do and deal some drugs, score money and sex in Las Vegas, and generally experience the rush of life.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"The writing is go. The performances are go. The film flows like greased go. You don't watch the movie; you go with it. Go, go, go, go and go."
-- Phil Villarreal, Arizona Daily Star
"An original and funny movie that leaves us marvelling at the weak sense of right and wrong each character possesses."
-- Brian Webster, Apollo Guide
"Consisting of three violent, funny, wildly entertaining storylines that criss-cross in clever and unpredictable ways over the course of one berserk Christmas Eve night, GO is a perfect combination of script, cast, and direction. It's one of my favorite films, period."
-- Jason Alley, Letterboxd
#071: Bad Boys
1995
Directed by Michael Bay
Starring Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Téa Leoni
WHATCHA GONNA DO?
Marcus Burnett is a hen-pecked family man. Mike Lowry is a foot-loose and fancy free ladies' man. Both are Miami policemen, and both have 72 hours to reclaim a consignment of drugs stolen from under their station's nose. To complicate matters, in order to get the assistance of the sole witness to a murder, they have to pretend to be each other.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"Even when it's not particularly funny, their interplay is engaging, and their lively, raucous personalities keep the proceedings punchy and watchable for the slightly overlong running time."
-- Todd McCarthy, Variety
"The movie that unleashed Michael Bay upon the world, for better and worse. Mostly better in this case."
-- Luke Y. Thompson, New Times
"This film was made in an ancient, forgotten time, where Will Smith was credited after Martin Lawrence."
-- Jackson Tyler, Letterboxd
#070: Blue Chips
1994
Directed by William Friedkin
Starring Nick Nolte, Shaquille O'Neal, Mary McDonnell
Pete Bell, a college basketball coach is under a lot of pressure. His team aren't winning and he cannot attract new players. The stars of the future are secretly being paid by boosters. This practice is forbidden in the college game, but Pete is desperate and has pressures from all around.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"Worth seeing for Nolte's force-of-nature performance and the novelty of Shaq "emoting.""
-- Scott Weinberg, eFilmCritic.com
"What Friedkin brings to the story is a tone that feels completely accurate; the movie is a morality play, told in the realistic, sometimes cynical terms of modern high-pressure college sports."
-- Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
"Seeing Nick Nolte lose his shit is a thing of beauty."
-- Sven Rump, Letterboxd
#069: Ghost Dog: The Way Of The Samurai
1999
Directed by Jim Jarmusch
Starring Forest Whitaker
ALL ASSASSINS LIVE BEYOND THE LAW … ONLY ONE FOLLOWS THE CODE
An African American mafia hit man who models himself after the samurai of old finds himself targeted for death by the mob.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"At once a tribute to traditional notions of honour, loyalty, friendship and professionalism, and a stylish, ironic pastiche inspired by the likes of Melville and Suzuki, it's very funny, insightful, and highly original."
-- Geoff Andrew, Time Out
"Jarmusch's original film, which deconstructs the mobster genre as seen through the eyes of a Samurai, is by turn eccentric, mysterious, and mythical, defying viewers expectations"
-- Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.com
"A perfect commentary on culture, the clashing thereof, class, race, philosophy, destiny, and everything to do with life."
-- James Haves, Letterboxd
#068: Office Space
1999
Directed by Mike Judge
Starring Ron Livingston, Jennifer Aniston
WORK SUCKS
Three office workers strike back at their evil employers by hatching a hapless attempt to embezzle money.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"Office Space, a knowing, somewhat slight, often hilarious sendup of cubicle culture, exploits the yuks in the chronic misery of those routinely exposed to the monotonous gray of corporate minds and company decor."
-- Rita Kempley, Washington Post
"The more you peer beneath the surface humor of Office Space the scarier and more serious its vision of contemporary existence becomes."
-- Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times
"Of all the comedies out there that I love, this one is by far the most depressing. The jokes, juvenile as they may be, make me laugh, but the fact that I am the real life incarnation of pre-hypnosis Peter Gibbons makes me sad. Very, very sad.
And I just loaded another ream of paper into my printer here at work. *sigh*."
-- Len Fearnside, Letterboxd
#067: He Got Game
1998
Directed by Spike Lee
Starring Denzel Washington, Ray Allen, Rosario Dawson
THE FATHER, THE SON AND THE HOLY GAME
A basketball player's father must try to convince him to go to a college so he can get a shorter sentence.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"Lee's attack on how big business is not only ruining the game he loves but also playing with people's lives is direct and brave, while his passion, insight and intelligence are evident and admirable."
-- Film4
"As usual, Lee tries many kinds of stylistic effects and uses wall-to-wall music (by Aaron Copland and Public Enemy); what's different this time is how personally driven the story feels."
-- Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
"Spike Lee's love letter to basketball, featuring a ball player (Ray Allen) who can actually act."
-- Sam Fragoso, Letterboxd
#066: Home Alone
1990
Directed by Chris Columbus
Starring Macaulay Caulkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern
A FAMILY COMEDY WITHOUT THE FAMILY.
Eight-year-old Kevin McCallister makes the most of the situation after his family unwittingly leaves him behind when they go on Christmas vacation. But when a pair of bungling burglars set their sights on Kevin's house, the plucky kid stands ready to defend his territory. By planting booby traps galore, adorably mischievous Kevin stands his ground as his frantic mother attempts to race home before.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"A hilarious comedy (although not a very believable one -- there can be no eight-year-olds this ingenious) that kids will love and adults won't mind sitting through either."
-- Ian Nathan, Empire Magazine
"The movie is quite enjoyable as long as it explores the fantasy of a neglected little boy having an entire house of his own to explore and play in, and it still manages to be fun when he exhibits superhuman ingenuity and resourcefulness."
-- Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
"A psychotic child tortures two mentally retarded burglars in this hard hitting Jigsaw killer origin story."
-- dㅌㄴ, Letterboxd
#065: Men In Black
1997
Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld
Starring Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith, Linda Fiorentino
PROTECTING THE EARTH FROM THE SCUM OF THE UNIVERSE
Men in Black follows the exploits of agents Kay and Jay, members of a top-secret organization established to monitor and police alien activity on Earth. The two Men in Black find themselves in the middle of the deadly plot by an intergalactic terrorist who has arrived on Earth to assassinate two ambassadors from opposing galaxies. In order to prevent worlds from colliding, the MiB must track down the terrorist and prevent the destruction of Earth. It's just another typical day for the Men in Black.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"Men in Black is the wryest, sharpest, most entertaining special effects film in recent memory, a simultaneous participant and mocking parody of the more-bang-for-your-buck behemoth genre."
-- Paul Tatara, CNN
"What makes this wildly imaginative setup so much fun is the contrast between the deadpan gruffness of Jones and Torn, and the spectacularly strange environment in which they work."
-- Rod Dreher, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
"Practical effects, awesome leads, I forgot that I love this film, forget the sequels."
-- KMOKLER, Letterboxd
#064: Get Shorty
1995
Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld
Starring John Travolta, Gene Hackman, Rene Russo, Danny DeVito
THE MOB IS TOUGH, BUT IT’S NOTHING LIKE SHOW BUSINESS.
A mobster travels to Hollywood to collect a debt and discovers that the movie business is much the same as his current job.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"Hollywood has been in love with mobsters since the beginning of movies. But the other side of the equation has seldom been considered. That is, until now."
-- David Ansen, Newsweek
"A drolly offbeat look at Hollywood mores dedicated to the proposition that the best preparation for becoming a film producer is a stint in the criminal underworld."
-- Variety Staff, Variety
"The film whistles along mightily, the jokes fly as fast as the bullets, and the experience of witnessing "Get Shorty" makes you realize why you love Hollywood so much."
-- Dave, Letterboxd
#063: Toy Story 2
1999
Directed by John Lasseter
Starring Tom Hanks, Tim Allen
THE TOYS ARE BACK!
During a garage sale Andy’s mother sells some of Andy’s old things including his favorite toy Woody to a collector. Buzz Lightyear and the other toys begin a reckless mission to save their friend. The sequel to the revolutionary computer animated feature film Toy Story.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"No parent who's been roped into leading the troops to a matinee need fear being bored: gags are, Simpsons-like, conceived to tickle several generations at once."
-- F.X. Feeney, L.A. Weekly
"Filmgoers will need to remind themselves that [the characters were] created by a computer -- not exactly a medium we associate with this kind of love, tenderness and care."
-- Ann Hornaday, Baltimore sun
"I hope I've never let my toys down. I hope they still think of me, wherever they are now."
-- YI JIAN, Letterboxd
#062: The Truman Show
1998
Directed by Peter Weir
Starring Jim Carrey, Laura Linney, Ed Harris
A WEEKEND WASTED IS NEVER A WASTED WEEKEND
Truman Burbank is the star of "The Truman Show", a 24-hour-a-day "reality" TV show that broadcasts every aspect of his life -- live and in color -- without his knowledge. His entire life has been an unending soap opera for consumption by the rest of the world. And everyone he knows--including his wife and his best friend -- is really an actor, paid to be part of his life.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"One of the smartest, most inventive movies in memory, it manages to be as endearing as it is provocative."
-- Rita Kempley, Washington Post
"Most movies are lucky to have one idea rattling around inside. The unusually resonant Truman positively vibrates with themes."
-- Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer
"If ever a satirical comment was made about what we are as human beings without being vaguely poetic or annoyingly crass about it, it is to be found in The Truman Show."
-- DirkH, Letterboxd
#061: Eyes Wide Shut
1999
Directed by Michael Bay
Starring Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Téa Leoni
CRUISE. KIDMAN. KUBRICK.
After Dr. Bill Hartford's wife, Alice, admits to having sexual fantasies about a man she met, Bill becomes obsessed with having a sexual encounter. He discovers an underground sexual group and attends one of their meetings -- and quickly discovers that he is in over his head.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"This is finally a film that is better at mood than substance, that has its strongest hold on you when it's making the least amount of sense."
-- Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
"Trust Stanley Kubrick to make a sex movie with absolutely no sexual heat but instead with ideas that haunt you."
-- Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune
"Stanley Kubrick’s final film is a misunderstood masterpiece."
-- Adam Cook, Letterboxd
#060: Hard Eight
1996
Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson
Starring Philip Baker Hall, Gwyneth Paltrow, John C. Reilly, Samuel L. Jackson
WHEN GOOD LUCK IS A LONG SHOT, YOU HAVE TO HEDGE YOUR BETS.
A stranger mentors a young Reno gambler who weds a hooker and befriends a vulgar casino regular.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"This minor Vegas-set drama, about a loser and his older mentor, shows the features that will mark Anderson's better films: love for his characters, taut dialogue at the expense of plot, and fascination with the possibilities of the film medium."
-- Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.com
"Best of all is Anderson's sense of character, expressed in dialogue that never strains for effect and in his expert handling of a first-rate quartet of actors."
-- John Hartl, Film.com
"This is the start. The start of one of the greatest track-records of any filmmaker."
-- SilentDawn, Letterboxd
#059: Big Night
1996
Directed by Stanley Tucci, Campbell Scott
Starring Stanley Tucci, Tony Shalhoub
IN LOVE AND LIFE, ONE BIG NIGHT CAN CHANGE EVERYTHING.
Primo & Secondo, two immigrant brothers, pin their hopes on a banquet honoring Louis Prima to save their struggling restaurant.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"A lyrical love poem to food and family (or is it family or food?)"
-- Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.com
"It will be near-impossible not to stop at an Italian restaurant on the way home from this deliciously funny and insightful film."
-- Louis B. Hobson, Jam! Movies
"Just everything in its right place, from the food to the booze to the Shaloub."
-- Timcop, Letterboxd
#058: True Romance
1993
Directed by Tony Scott
Starring Christian Slater, Patricia Arquette
STEALING, CHEATING, KILLING. WHO SAID ROMANCE WAS DEAD?
Clarence marries hooker Alabama, steals cocaine from her pimp, and tries to sell it in Hollywood, while the owners of the coke try to reclaim it.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"...[a] violently funny genre mishmash that gave Tony Scott's new life, and also transmitted Quentin Tarantino's vision more credibly than the screenwriter and then-novice director could have done himself."
-- Chris Barsanti, PopMatters
"A hip, clever and irreverent high-voltage thriller with nary a dull moment."
-- Chuck O'Leary, Fantastica Daily
"A BONNIE & CLYDE for Generation X, Tarantino's script is a great exploration of romance as artifice and posturing."
-- Jeremiah Dollins, Letterboxd
#057: Chasing Amy
1997
Directed by Kevin Smith
Starring Ben Affleck, Joey Lauren Adams, Jason Lee
IT'S NOT WHO YOU LOVE. IT'S HOW.
Holden and Banky are comic book artists. Everything is going good for them until they meet Alyssa, also a comic book artist. Holden falls for her, but his hopes are crushed when he finds out she's a lesbian.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"With their matching hipster goatees and deadpan cynicism, Affleck and Lee evince the easy rapport of old buds."
-- Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer
"Chasing Amy represents a change in direction for Smith, with drama before gags. A chick flick for blokes."
-- Total Film
"Not quite what I was expecting, but this romantic comedy uses this to its advantage. Never is the film predictable, even if it all feels somewhat familiar."
-- Austin Gorski, Letterboxd
#056: Dogma
1999
Directed by Kevin Smith
Starring Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Linda Fiorentino
IT CAN BE HELL GETTING INTO HEAVEN
The latest battle in the eternal war between Good and Evil has come to New Jersey in the late, late 20th Century. Angels, demons, apostles and prophets (of a sort) walk among the cynics and innocents of America and duke it out for the fate of humankind.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"What you hear throughout Dogma, liberally peppered with the usual prankish profanities, is Kevin Smith having a conversation with himself about his faith."
-- Rob Gonsalves, eFilmCritic.com
"It's push-the-envelope coarse, thematically ambitious, and -- most dangerously -- self-consciously respectful and thoughtful on matters of faith and religion."
-- Mark Bourne, DVDJournal.com
"Yeah, if I was God, I'd make sure Alan Rickman was in charge of my messages to mankind as well."
-- Toby Dennison, Letterboxd
#055: Good Will Hunting
1997
Directed by Gus Van Sant
Starring Matt Damon, Robin Williams, Ben Affleck, Minnie Driver
SOME PEOPLE CAN NEVER BELIEVE IN THEMSELVES, UNTIL SOMEONE BELIEVES IN THEM.
Will Hunting, a janitor at MIT, has a gift for mathematics but needs help from a psychologist to find direction in his life.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"Most movies about troubled individuals are insulting in the way in which they suddenly wrap things up with insipid developments that cause tumultuous, positive transformations in the protagonist; this film avoids that pitfall."
-- Matt Brunson, Creative Loafing
"Towering performance by Matt Damon as a troubled working class who needs to address his creative genius elevates this drama way above its therapeutic approach, resulting in a zeitgeist film that may touch chord with young viewers the way The Graduate did"
-- Emanuel Levy, Variety
"If ever there was an example of a comedy great stretching themselves with a dramatic role, then Robin Williams's Oscar winning turn in Good Will Hunting fits the bill."
-- Andy Summers, Letterboxd
#054: Apollo 13
1995
Directed by Ron Howard
Starring Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton, Kevin Bacon, Gary Sinise
HOUSTON, WE HAVE A PROBLEM.
Technical troubles scuttle the Apollo 13 lunar mission in 1971, risking the lives of astronaut Jim Lovell and his crew in director Ron Howard's chronicle of this true-life story, which turns a failed journey into a thrilling saga of heroism. Drifting more than 200,000 miles from Earth, the astronauts work furiously with the ground crew to avert tragedy.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"Even if you know how it all turned out (and you should), this amazing journey is harrowing and exhilarating."
-- Joe Brown, Washington Post
"The film succeeds brilliantly at organizing great gobs of information into powerful drama."
-- Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal
"Epic acting combines with an epic real life story, a story so great that Howard, wisely doesn't feel the need to tamper with it."
-- Daryl, Letterboxd
#053: Three Kings
1999
Directed by David O. Russell
Starring George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, Ice Cube
IT'S GOOD TO BE KING.
A group of American soldiers stationed in Iraq at the end of the Gulf War find a map they believe will take them to a huge cache of stolen Kuwaiti gold hidden near their base, and they embark on a secret mission that's destined to change everything.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"It's amazing how much action can be crammed into a movie about a war where most soldiers didn't actually see any action. Three Kings has its fair share of shootouts, none that are merely squeezed in for guilty pleasures."
-- Radheyan Simonpillai, AskMen.com
"Far more intelligent and perceptive than most actioners, yet with enough thrills and spills to satisfy adrenaline junkies."
-- Film4
"War. What is it good for?
Well, movies. Actually."
-- Daryl, Letterboxd
#052: The Big Lebowski
1998
Directed by Joel Coen
Starring Jeff Bridges, John Goodman
THEY FIGURED HE WAS A LAZY TIME WASTING SLACKER. THEY WERE RIGHT.
Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski, a Los Angeles slacker who only wants to bowl and drink white Russians, is mistaken for another Jeffrey Lebowski, a wheelchair-bound millionaire, and finds himself dragged into a strange series of events involving nihilists, adult film producers, ferrets, errant toes, and large sums of money.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"On one hand, it has many layers, but on the other hand, it's just about a dude who wants his rug back."
-- Kevin Carr, 7M Pictures
"Stylish and wickedly funny black comedy illuminated by a great performance from Jeff Bridges, and loaded with all the Coen brothers' trademark wit and flair."
-- Film4
"This is the film that taught a whole generation how to use the infamous "F" word, as a noun, verb, adverb, and adjective with lots of good examples of each. 'Shut the F**k up; Donnie'"
-- ShowBill, Letterboxd
#051: American Pie
1999
Directed by Paul Weitz, Chris Weitz
Starring Jason Biggs, Chris Klein, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Eddie Kaye Thomas
THERE'S NOTHING LIKE YOUR FIRST PIECE.
At a high-school party, four friends find that losing their collective virginity isn't as easy as they had thought. But they still believe that they need to do so before college. To motivate themselves, they enter a pact to try to be the first to "score." And of course, the senior prom is their last best chance. As the fateful date draws near, the boys wonder who among them will get lucky.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"Another giggly gross-out comedy for teenagers, this one somewhat better than most by virtue of a more satisfying ending."
-- Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
"It works as well as it does because the central cast - equal parts male and female, lest we forget - are all so uniformly endearing."
-- Charlie Lyne, Ultra Culture
"I always crack up that the 'Book of Love' can be found under 'Fluid Dynamics' in the library."
-- Erin Harrington, Letterboxd
#050: Iron Giant
1999
Directed by Brad Bird
Starring Vin Diesel, Jennifer Aniston, Harry Connick Jr.
IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE!
A giant metal machine falls to Earth and frightens the residents of a small town in Maine in 1958, until it befriends a nine-year-old boy named Hogarth and ultimately finds its humanity by unselfishly saving people from their own fears and prejudices.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"While youngsters will enjoy the film on one level, it reaches out to adults on a completely different plane. They will see an allegory about power and politics and the danger of allowing either to run roughshod over humanity."
-- Jeff Strickler, Minneapolis Star Tribune
"This is sharp, sophisticated stuff, appreciated on different levels by both parents and children, and even those who are neither. The film has impish humor, great adventure and more than a few thrills."
-- Matt Soergel, Florida Times-Union
"Watched it with my 6-year old. Movie ends. Total silence. He whispers, 'That was awesome.'"
-- bmerry, Letterboxd
#049: The Usual Suspects
1995
Directed by Bryan Singer
Starring Kevin Spacey, Stephen Baldwin, Gabriel Byrne, Benicio del Toro, Kevin Pollak
FIVE CRIMINALS. ONE LINE UP. NO COINCIDENCE.
Following a truck hijack in New York, five conmen are arrested and brought together for questioning. As none of them is guilty, they plan a revenge operation against the police. The operation goes well, but then the influence of a legendary mastermind criminal called Keyser Söze is felt. It becomes clear that each one of them has wronged Söze at some point and must pay back now. The payback job leaves 27 men dead in a boat explosion, but the real question arises now: Who actually is Keyser Söze?
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"It stands up brilliantly to repeat viewing, to the extent that you may never fully solve the riddle. But don't let that put you off; it's the ultimate whodunit."
-- Sky Movies
"Metaphysical mumbo-jumbo? Of course -- but the thrill of The Usual Suspects is that, after years of movie demythologising, it re-mythologises the crime movie."
-- Quentin Curtis, Independent
"The greatest trick The Usual Suspects ever pulled was to convince its audience that it's just another crime thriller. "
-- CinemaClown, Letterboxd
#048: Jerry Maguire
1996
Directed by Cameron Crowe
Starring Tom Cruise, Cuba Gooding Jr., Renée Zellweger
EVERYBODY LOVED HIM... EVERYBODY DISAPPEARED.
Jerry Maguire used to be a typical sports agent: willing to do just about anything he could to get the biggest possible contracts for his clients, plus a nice commission for himself. Then, one day, he suddenly has second thoughts about what he's really doing. When he voices these doubts, he ends up losing his job and all of his clients, save Rod Tidwell, an egomaniacal football player.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"Cruise seems to have grown as much as Jerry, for he brings gentleness, warmth and lightheartedness to this role, qualities that we haven't seen since he played air guitar in his underpants in Risky Business 13 years ago."
-- Rita Kempley, Washington Post
"Both sides of the story, the sports and the romance, mesh well."
-- Michael Dequina, TheMovieReport.com
"Is it a sports movie with a romantic twist or a Rom-Com with a helping of sport? Either way I know I think it's brilliant."
-- nicktday, Letterboxd
#047: White Men Can't Jump
1992
Directed by Ron Shelton
Starring Wesley Snipes, Woody Harrelson
IT AIN'T EASY BEING THIS GOOD.
Billy Hoyle (Woody Harrelson) and Sidney Deane (Wesley Snipes) are an unlikely pair of basketball hustlers. They team up to con their way across the courts of Los Angeles, playing a game that's fast dangerous - and funny.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"A fresh and exuberant romantic comedy that is as smart about playground basketball as Bull Durham was about minor league baseball."
-- Gene Siskel, Chicago Tribune
"Harrelson's performance is rich, subtle, and delicately funny. And Snipes is just amazing: everything he does seems to leap off the screen."
-- Terrence Rafferty, New Yorker
"The movie that started the "Your Mama" craze. Shortly after this film's release in the early 90's, "Your Mama" jokes were spoken around schoolyards everywhere. And the rest is history."
-- Matthew Blah-blah, Letterboxd
#046: The Limey
1999
Directed by Steven Soderbergh
Starring Terence Stamp, Lesley Ann Warren, Luis Guzman
VENGEANCE KNOWS NO BOUNDARIES
The Limey follows Wilson (Terence Stamp), a tough English ex-con who travels to Los Angeles to avenge his daughter's death. Upon arrival, Wilson goes to task battling Valentine (Peter Fonda) and an army of L.A.'s toughest criminals, hoping to find clues and piece together what happened. After surviving a near-death beating, getting thrown from a building and being chased down a dangerous mountain road, the Englishman decides to dole out some bodily harm of his own.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"A first-rate crime thriller and further proof that director Stephen Soderbergh is one of our great contemporary film stylists."
-- Edward Guthmann, San Francisco Chronicle
"Soderbergh's brilliant non-linear storytelling keeps us asking questions about this gunslinging Brit right to the end."
-- Jeffrey Overstreet, Looking Closer
"Revenge is a dish best served really, really British."
-- ROCCO, Letterboxd
#045: Any Given Sunday
1999
Directed by Oliver Stone
Starring Al Pacino, Jamie Foxx
PLAY OR BE PLAYED.
A star quarterback gets knocked out of the game and an unknown third stringer is called in to replace him. The unknown gives a stunning performance and forces the aging coach to reevaluate his game plans and life. A new co-owner/president adds to the pressure of winning. The new owner must prove her self in a male dominated world.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"Stone's blend of mayhem and sensuality-which doesn't shy away from the eroticism of athletes-is a refreshing alternative to the solemnity of most sports dramas."
-- Sam Adams, The Dissolve
"...the movie remains watchable if only for Pacino's amazing performance and the action-packed football sequences."
-- David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews
"BETTER THAN 10,000 SUPER BOWLS!"
-- Chris Davies-Rowan, Letterboxd
#044: My Cousin Vinny
1992
Directed by Jonathan Lynn
Starring Joe Pesci, Marisa Tomei
TRUTH, JUSTICE AND THE GAMBINI WAY
Two carefree pals traveling through Alabama are mistakenly arrested, and charged with murder. Fortunately, one of them has a cousin who's a lawyer - Vincent Gambini, a former auto mechanic from Brooklyn who just passed his bar exam after his sixth try. When he arrives with his leather-clad girlfriend , to try his first case, it's a real shock - for him and the Deep South!
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"The undercurrent of fish-out-of-water silliness goes a long way towards perpetuating the affable atmosphere..."
-- David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews
"As Vincent Gambini, a swaggering pint-sized New York lawyer who only recently passed the bar on his sixth try, Pesci modulates his usual psycho-nuttiness and gives it some recognizably human, even melancholy, undertones."
-- Peter Rainer, Los Angeles Times
"Marisa Tomei has to be one of the most cruelly underrated of America's actors."
-- Chris, Letterboxd
#043: Magnolia
1999
Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson
Starring Julianne Moore, John C. Reilly, Tom Cruise
THINGS FALL DOWN. PEOPLE LOOK UP. AND WHEN IT RAINS, IT POURS.
An epic mosaic of many interrelated characters in search of happiness, forgiveness, and meaning in the San Fernando Valley.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"Just as something so reliably surprising as the weather can modify people's behavior, "Magnolia" encompasses an inter-connective human bond that accepts reality's blind spots."
-- Cole Smithey, ColeSmithey.com
"Undeniably one of the most emotionally-draining films ever made..."
-- David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews
"if this lasted for 657,450 hours (assuming that i live to 75 lol) i'd watch it, no regrets"
-- weak lungs, Letterboxd
#042: Wild Things
1998
Directed by John McNaughton
Starring Matt Dillon, Denise Richards, neve Campbell
THEY'RE DYING TO PLAY WITH YOU.
When teen-socialite Kelly Van Ryan (Richards) and troubled bad girl Suzie Toller (Campbell) accuse guidance counselor Sam Lombardo (Dillon) of rape, he's suspended by the school, rejected by the town, and fighting to get his life back. One cop (Bacon) suspects conspiracy, but nothing is what it seems...
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"The movie is as tawdry as someone else's lingerie, yet not without a certain prurient watchability"
-- Stephen Hunter, Washington Post
"A sleazy, seamy, flashy, steamy, vulgar exploitation thriller that revels in every minute of its own trashiness and delivers some pretty solid -- if prurient -- entertainment."
-- Maitland McDonagh, TV Guide's Movie Guide
"I have genuinely never been this shocked by that many plot twists."
-- Laura Raud, Letterboxd
#041: Saving Private Ryan
1998
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Starring Tom Hanks, Matt Damon
THE MISSION IS A MAN.
As U.S. troops storm the beaches of Normandy, three brothers lie dead on the battlefield, with a fourth trapped behind enemy lines. Ranger captain John Miller and seven men are tasked with penetrating German-held territory and bringing the boy home.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"The film is directed by Steven Spielberg, and breaks new ground in content and style. It merges some of the most realistically disturbing battle footage ever included in a feature film with a touching human story."
-- Jeff Stickler, Minneapolis Star Tribune
"Spielberg puts us through the hair-trigger terrors of combat in a way no other filmmaker has ever dared, and yet there's a gentleness to his enterprise. He's interested in the humaneness that comes through the horror."
-- Peter Rainer, New Times
"A film so visceral in it's depiction of battle that it brought actual veterans of D-Day to tears at it's premiere."
-- Andy Summers, Letterboxd
#040: Face/Off
1997
Directed by John Woo
Starring John Travolta, Nicolas Cage
IN ORDER TO CATCH HIM, HE MUST BECOME HIM.
An antiterrorism agent goes under the knife to acquire the likeness of a terrorist and gather details about a bombing plot. When the terrorist escapes custody, he undergoes surgery to look like the agent so he can get close to the agent's family.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"An engaging and at times sophisticated story of identity and behavior, wearing the leering face of a farcical action cartoon."
-- Gary Thompson, Philadelphia Daily News
"What really makes Face/Off tick, what sells the movie more than anything else, are the dazzling performances from the two leading men."
-- Total Film
"Walk into this expecting subtlety and you're in trouble. Walk into this expecting cheesy, retarded fun and you'll be just fine."
-- DirkH, Letterboxd
#039: The Game
1997
Directed by David Fincher
Starring Michael Douglas, Sean Penn
WHAT DO YOU GET FOR THE MAN WHO HAS EVERYTHING?
In honor of his birthday, San Francisco banker Nicholas Van Orton, a financial genius and a coldhearted loner, receives an unusual present from his younger brother, Conrad -- a gift certificate to play a unique kind of game. In nary a nanosecond, Nicholas finds himself consumed by a dangerous set of ever-changing rules, unable to distinguish where the charade ends and reality begins.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"Well-written, expertly paced, and undeniably riveting, The Game is perhaps most impressive in the way it strips down the Nicholas Van Orton character. The whole process is very layered and each layer breaks down Nicholas even more than the last."
-- Chris Sawin, Examiner.com
"Regardless of how far one chooses to buy into The Game -- and the ending ambiguously suggests that it could go on and on -- there is no doubt as to Fincher's staggering expertise as a director and his almost clinical sense of precision."
-- Todd McCarthy, Variety
"The Game is a movie so dark that it feels like an actual nightmare."
-- themis1994, Letterboxd
#038: Rushmore
1998
Directed by Wes Anderson
Starring Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Olivia Williams
LOVE. EXPULSION. REVOLUTION.
Max Fischer, a precocious and eccentric 15 year-old, who is both Rushmore's most extracurricular and least scholarly student; Herman Blume, a disillusioned industrialist who comes to admire Max; and Rosemary Cross, a widowed first grade teacher who becomes the object of both Max's and Herman's affection.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"Schwartzman is cautious but stubbornly optimistic, while Murray is possessed by the mania of near-despair... They make the best and most disconcerting odd couple that American movies have produced in a long while."
-- Anthony Lane, New Yorker
"Rushmore offers more than simply a series of high-grade yuks; it's a finely-judged parable on the line between self-delusion and reality."
-- Andrew Pulver, Guardian
"Somehow [Wes Anderson] has the ability to make you feel as if these are the same sorts of people that you see every day, that you live with and care about, while at the very same time making you feel as if you've just visited some sort of alternate universe."
-- Bob Hovey, Letterboxd
#037: The Fugitive
1993
Directed by Andrew Davis
Starring Harrison Ford, Tommy Lee Jones
A MURDERED WIFE. A ONE-ARMED MAN. AN OBSESSED DETECTIVE. THE CHASE BEGINS.
Dr. Richard Kimble, unjustly accused of murdering his wife, must find the real killer while being the target of a nationwide manhunt.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"In many ways The Fugitive represents the pinnacle of a genre not much in style any more: the suspense/action picture."
-- Bill Clark, FromTheBalcony
"Directed for maximum impact by Andrew Davis, this contains enough suspenseful set-pieces, clever red herrings and spectacular stuntwork to satisfy most thriller aficionados, yet what really makes the movie work are the performances by Ford and Jones."
-- Matt Brunson, Creative Loading
"As thrillers go, they don't get much tighter than this!"
-- Aaron Allard, Letterboxd
#036: Clueless
1995
Directed by Amy Heckerling
Starring Alicia Silverstone, Stacey Dash, Brittany Murphy
SEX. CLOTHES. POPULARITY. IS THERE A PROBLEM HERE?
Shallow, rich and socially successful Cher is at the top of her Beverly Hills high school's pecking scale. Seeing herself as a matchmaker, Cher first coaxes two teachers into dating each other. Emboldened by her success, she decides to give hopelessly klutzy new student Tai a makeover. When Tai becomes more popular than she is, Cher realizes that her disapproving ex-stepbrother was right about how misguided she was -- and falls for him.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"Woffers some of the best humor, entertainment, and social insight the teen comedy genre has to offer"
-- James Kendrick, Q Network Film Desk
"Clueless is a sweet, comical, satiric, knowing film, and it's anything but clueless."
-- John J. Puccio, Movie Metropolis
"An ultimate in 1990's time capsule, or just simply a well made and utterly timeless comedy? The answer... Yes."
-- The Spork Guy, Letterboxd
#035: Dazed And Confused
1993
Directed by Richard Linklater
Starring Jason London, Rory Cochrane, Parker Posey, Ben Affleck
SEE IT WITH A BUD.
A look at some Texas teens on their last day of school in 1976, centering on student Randall Floyd, who moves easily among stoners, jocks and geeks. Floyd is a star athlete, but he also likes smoking weed, which presents a conundrum when his football coach demands he sign a "no drugs" pledge.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"The teenage wasteland, 1976-style, of Dazed and Confused is smack-dab between The Brady Bunch and Children of the Damned , and it's a scary, if sometimes giddily amusing, place to visit."
-- Variety Staff, Variety
"Despite some gags which use the benefit of hindsight too much for their own good, this is a smart piece of filmmaking which suggests Linklater is already one of the more formidable talents of the 90s."
-- Steve Beard, Empire Magazine
"Is it normal to feel nostalgic about a time & place I didn't even exist in?"
-- Ed Glendenning, Letterboxd
#034: Before Sunrise
1995
Directed by Richard Linklater
Starring Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy
CAN THE GREATEST MOMENT OF YOUR LIFE LAST ONLY ONE NIGHT?
A dialogue marathon of a film, this fairytale love story of an American boy and French girl. During a day and a night together in Vienna their two hearts collide.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"There's a vulnerable undercurrent beneath this film, one that beats and throbs with the stolen looks, brief touches and romantic under-the-stars kisses."
-- Allyson Johnson, The Young Folks
"Linklater captures romance at the sunset of gadget-free existence ... holy moments when no gadget or lens comes between us and our immediate company and surroundings."
-- Jeffrey Overstreet, Looking Closer
"All I got to say is thank God for that bickering German couple. Celine and Jesse forever."
-- jvince, Letterboxd
#033: The Fifth Element
1997
Directed by Luc Besson
Starring Bruce Willis, Milla Jovovich, Gary Oldman
THERE IS NO FUTURE WITHOUT IT.
It’s the year 2257 and a taxi driver has been unintentionally given the task of saving a young girl who is part of the key that will ensure the survival of humanity. The Fifth Element takes place in a futuristic metropolitan city and is filmed in a French comic book aesthetic by a British, French and American lineup.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"A jaw-dropping, mind-blowing pop epic that gives you everything from the slam-bang sci-fi fantasy of Star Wars to the inspired slapstick lunacy of The Marx Brothers"
-- Joe Leydon, The Moving Picture Show
"This gonzo sci-fi outing proves to be a messy amalgam -- a motion picture with the body of a mainstream blockbuster but the spirit of a trendy cult flick. And yet, for all its narrative incoherencies, visual excesses and shifting moods, the movie works."
-- Matt Brunson, Creative Loafing
"It weaves silliness and strangeness into a finely woven dress that Chris Tucker wears. This movie could have been disastrous if it didn't get just the right uh... elements into the stew."
-- Sozoka, Letterboxd
#032: Schindler's List
1993
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Starring Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley
WHOEVER SAVES ONE LIFE, SAVES THE WORLD ENTIRE.
Told from the perspective of businessman Oskar Schindler who saved over a thousand Jewish lives from the Nazis while they worked as slaves in his factory. Schindler’s List is based on a true story, illustrated in black and white and controversially filmed in many original locations.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"Spielberg uses stark, brutal realism to put over his powerful points about racism and ethnic cleansing, and the use of stunning black-and-white photography and gritty hand-held camera footage give the film a potent documentary style."
-- Alan Jones, Radio Times
"Spielberg never solves the Schindler riddle, which keeps this from being a truly great picture. He does bring to Schindler's List the technical skill and dazzling smoothness of a movie-making natural."
-- Gary Thompson, Philadelphia Daily News
"Schindler's List is a film that can leave one so depressed that such a thing could ever occur, but hopeful that the human race has learned enough from the experience to not repeat it in the future."
-- bulletproofQpid, Letterboxd
#031: Trainspotting
1996
Directed by Danny Boyle
Starring Ewan McGregor, Ewen Bremner
CHOOSE LIFE.
Renton is living the dream and that dream is Heroin. As Renton struggles with the agony and ecstasy of his life we follow him and his increasingly unstable mates. Drinking, fighting, drugs, sex and the most disgusting toilet in Scotland. Choose Trainspotting.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"By turns cheeky, surreal, exhilarating and stomach-churning."
-- TV Guide's Movie Guide
"Trainspotting, buoyed by a great Brit Pop soundtrack and Brian Tufano's agile cinematography, captures the stoned-out, gut-churning experience of hardcore addiction with hallucinogenic acuity."
-- Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer
"You know those films which deal with undeniably bleak subject matter and somehow manage to seamlessly blend that with some (very) black comedy? I think I may have just found the perfect example."
-- Toby Dennison, Letterboxd
#030: Rounders
1998
Directed by John Dahl
Starring Matt Damon, Gretchen Mol, Edward Norton
TRUST EVERYONE... BUT ALWAYS CUT THE CARDS.
A young man is a reformed gambler who must return to playing big stakes poker to help a friend pay off loan sharks.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"Rounders makes you feel the suspense and thrive in the thrill of the moment, always coming up aces."
-- Phil Villarreal, Arizona Daily Star
"Damon proves once again that he's not just a face, and he does wonders with his inner and outer conflicts. Norton is wickedly sleazy as a barely-in-control low life who will undoubtedly end up back in the slammer."
-- Jeanne Aufmuth, Palo Alto Weekly
"So wait, does high stakes poker ruin your life or is it the best thing ever? I'm confused."
-- Jackson Tyler, Letterboxd
#029: The Blair Witch Project
1999
Directed by Daniel Myrick, Eduardo Sánchez
Starring Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard, Michael C. Williams
WHAT DO YOU GET FOR THE MAN WHO HAS EVERYTHING?
In honor of his birthday, San Francisco banker Nicholas Van Orton, a financial genius and a coldhearted loner, receives an unusual present from his younger brother, Conrad -- a gift certificate to play a unique kind of game. In nary a nanosecond, Nicholas finds himself consumed by a dangerous set of ever-changing rules, unable to distinguish where the charade ends and reality begins.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"The scariest shots, from someone's little Hi-8 camcorder, document the students losing their bearings, giving way to panic and finally falling victim, though off screen, to some ineffably, unphotographably evil presence."
-- Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal
"Whenever night falls, the movie takes off, but in a slow creep, with all your childhood fears of the dark suddenly revealing themselves as absolutely reasonable."
-- Paul Tatara, CNN.com
"Unusually for a horror, It shows you nothing. There is no blood, there is no violence, and it explains absolutely nothing. It's a brilliant watch. A proper psychological horror."
-- Daryl, Letterboxd
#028: There's Something About Mary
1998
Directed by Bobby Farrelly, Peter Farrelly
Starring Cameron Diaz, Ben Stiller
LOVE IS IN THE HAIR.
Having never fully recovered from a prom date that became a total disaster, a man finally gets a chance to reunite with his old prom date, only to run up against other suitors including the sleazy detective he hired to find her.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"The movie managed to walk a line between raunchy, gross-out comedy and a romantic comedy."
-- Kevin Carr, 7M Pictures
"Gauche, garish, and gross, a prime example of the coarsening of our culture and of the art of comedy in film. It's also pretty darn funny."
-- Peter Canavese, Groucho Reviews
"When something is funny, it really doesn't matter how dumb it is. And this is DUMB. Penis jokes, retard jokes, sexist jokes, and animal jokes."
-- Daryl, Letterboxd
#027: Heat
1995
Directed by Michael Mann
Starring Harrison Ford, Tommy Lee Jones
A LOS ANGELES CRIME SAGA
Obsessive master thief Neil McCauley leads a top-notch crew on various daring heists throughout Los Angeles while determined detective Vincent Hanna pursues him without rest. Each man recognizes and respects the ability and the dedication of the other even though they are aware their cat-and-mouse game may end in violence.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"When Pacino's loud, bruised cop and De Niro's canny crook stare at each other, you can read something spent and weary in their eyes and voices. The heat is hell. So are their jobs -- but somebody's got to do them."
-- Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune
"Just when it seemed that the only hope for crime movies lay in the postmodernist artifice of films like Pulp Fiction, Mann reinvests the genre with brooding, modernist conviction. This one sticks to your gut."
-- David Ansen, Newsweek
"Pacino. DeNiro. Two men connected by their respective damning devotion to what they do. It's brilliantly constructed, the way the stories of their lives run parallel to one another as they're both destroyed by their unwillingness to change. By itself, the scene where they meet in the diner makes the movie worth watching. "
-- Dirk Diggler, Letterboxd
#026: Toy Story
1995
Directed by John Lasseter
Starring Tom Hanks, Tim Allen
THE ADVENTURE TAKES OFF!
Woody the cowboy is young Andy’s favorite toy. Yet this changes when Andy get the new super toy Buzz Lightyear for his birthday. Now that Woody is no longer number one he plans his revenge on Buzz. Toy Story is a milestone in film history for being the first feature film to use entirely computer animation.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"When Woody perks up in the opening scene, it's not only the toy cowboy who comes alive - we're watching the rebirth of an art form."
-- Josh Larsen, LarsenOnFilm
"So ingenious in concept, design and execution that you could watch it on a postage stamp-sized screen and still be engulfed by its charm."
-- Derek Adams, Time Out
"TOY STORY literally saved my life.
People often ask me "Why do you love that movie so much?" My answer is usually "Because Buzz is funny." And, while Buzz is hilarious, that is not why I love this movie and the trilogy. I love it because it did what no amount of counseling or medication could do; it made me happy. It gave me a reason to wake up every morning. It showed me that even in the darkest times, friendship and love conquers all. It doesn't matter if you're an actual legit space ranger. All that matters is that you have people in your life who can make you feel like one. Jealousy, anger, vengefulness; it's all just bile, dissolving your happiness with a caustic fury. TOY STORY, while being a landmark in animation and family entertainment, gave me a reason to live. And if that isn't grounds for nine rewatches every month, I don't know what is."
-- Forrest Ellsworth™, Letterboxd
#025: Fight Club
1999
Directed by David Fincher
Starring Edward Norton, Brad Pitt, Helena Bonham Carter
HOW MUCH CAN YOU KNOW ABOUT YOURSELF IF YOU'VE NEVER BEEN IN A FIGHT?
A ticking-time-bomb insomniac and a slippery soap salesman channel primal male aggression into a shocking new form of therapy. Their concept catches on, with underground "fight clubs" forming in every town, until an eccentric gets in the way and ignites an out-of-control spiral toward oblivion.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"Wildly inventive, exceptionally cast and undeniably controversial, there's an endless list of subtexts and viewpoints which will fuel student pub debates for years."
-- Total Film
"Blistering, hallucinatory, often brilliant, the film by David Fincher is a combination punch of social satire and sociopathology."
-- Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer
"I look around, I look around, I see a lot of reviews for this classic. Which means a lot of people have been breaking the first two rules of Fight Club."
-- CinemaClown, Letterboxd
#024: Die Hard: With A Vengeance
1995
Directed by John McTiernan
Starring Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Irons
CAN THE GREATEST MOMENT OF YOUR LIFE LAST ONLY ONE NIGHT?
A dialogue marathon of a film, this fairytale love story of an American boy and French girl. During a day and a night together in Vienna their two hearts collide.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"... Highlighted by Irons, whose slick and sinister Simon is second only to Alan Rickman's Hans Gruber in the pantheon of "Die Hard" villains."
-- Greg Maki, Star-Democrat
"It's a tense, terrifically funny action dazzler with a wow level in special effects that will be hard to top."
-- Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
"I've said it before, and I'll say it again, Die Hard: With a Vengeance may just be one of the greatest action films ever made, with it's cleverly claustrophobic cinematography, sinisterly suspenseful soundtrack and pitch perfect performances, this is a rare case of a threequel being almost as good as the original."
-- Peter Pibson, Letterboxd
#023: Leon: The Professional
1994
Directed by Luc Besson
Starring Jean Reno, Natalie Portman, Gary Oldman
IF YOU WANT A JOB DONE WELL, HIRE A PROFESSIONAL.
Leon, the top hit man in New York, has earned a rep as an effective "cleaner". But when his next-door neighbors are wiped out by a loose-cannon DEA agent, he becomes the unwilling custodian of 12-year-old Mathilda. Before long, Mathilda's thoughts turn to revenge, and she considers following in Leon's footsteps.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"Oozing style, wit and confidence from every sprocket, and offering a dizzyingly, fresh perspective on the Big Apple that only Besson could bring, this is, in a word, wonderful."
-- Mark Salisbury, Empire Magazine
"Having one career highlight performance in a film is a treat. Having three is just spoiling us, and the film is so solidly sold by the actors that it mostly manages to sidestep the potential queasiness in the Léon/Mathilda relationship."
-- Andrew Lowry, Total Film
"The sort of film that you watch when fifteen and think of as awesome because of how calm and cool the protagonist is or cool and tense the villain, only to return to it years later and experience the complexities it has to offer, and then still think it’s awesome."
-- Dirk van Eck, Letterboxd
#022: Speed
1994
Directed by Jan de Bont
Starring Keanu Reeves, Sandra Bullock, Dennis Hopper
GET READY FOR RUSH HOUR
Los Angeles SWAT cop Jack Traven is up against bomb expert Howard Payne, who's after major ransom money. First it's a rigged elevator in a very tall building. Then it's a rigged bus--if it slows, it will blow, bad enough any day, but a nightmare in LA traffic. And that's still not the end.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"De Bont has assembled it with masterly precision. And Speed looks terrific. There are breathtaking aerial shots, mind-boggling stunts, and camera positioning that you just don't expect. It's a rocketing eyeful."
-- Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer
"Speed kills -- it kills wit, character, charm and empathy. But it does go fast. Since that is its sole reason for existence, one must say it achieves its narrow goal brilliantly."
-- Stephen Hunter, Baltimore Sun
"Speed is a coronary-inducing, far-fetched, non-stop, holy-shit, one-liner spewing, adrenaline-boner of an action film."
-- Cinemonster, Letterboxd
#021: Reservoir Dogs
1992
Directed by Quentin Tarantino
Starring Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Chris Penn, Steve Buscemi
CHOOSE LIFE.
Renton is living the dream and that dream is Heroin. As Renton struggles with the agony and ecstasy of his life we follow him and his increasingly unstable mates. Drinking, fighting, drugs, sex and the most disgusting toilet in Scotland. Choose Trainspotting.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"No matter how many times you've freeze-framed the bit at the end, it's still up there with Die Hard and Taxi Driver as one of the great once-a-year indulgences."
-- Total Film
"A superb character study of tough guys turning on each other, it is also an edgy drama about the dissolution of trust."
-- Candice Russell, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
"...how many filmmakers would dare to make a tough guy crime movie with such achingly vulnerable and sensitive protagonists?"
-- Adam Kempenaar, Letterboxd
(t5!) Movies of the 1990s: A Video Countdown!My favorite movies of the 1990s, top 20! at http://letstouchfives.blogspot.ca/…/12/t5-movies-of-1990s.h…but if you'd rather watch than read, here's a video countdown I created! Watch in HD, thanks!
Posted by Marc Benoza on Friday, December 11, 2015
#020: Starship Troopers
1997
Directed by Paul Verhoeven
Starring Casper Van Dien, Dina Meyer, Denise Richards
THE ONLY GOOD BUG IS A DEAD BUG.
Set in the future, the story follows a young soldier named Johnny Rico and his exploits in the Mobile Infantry. Rico's military career progresses from recruit to non-commissioned officer and finally to officer against the backdrop of an interstellar war between mankind and an arachnoid species known as "the Bugs".
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"Massive, hilarious and thrilling. I went to lunch a few times with a girl who despised this movie. I was forced to conclude that she's not very smart."
-- Gregory Weinkauf, ÜberCiné
"It's not rocket science, but its cynicism is simultaneously smarmy and smart, exacting a cost for any pleasure you may take in its nasty-ass violence."
-- Cynthia Fuchs, Philadelphia City Paper
"A bombastic, satirically stlylized, and thoroughly entertaining science fiction epic..."
-- Travis Lytle, Letterboxd
#019: Hoop Dreams
1994
Directed by Steve James
Starring William Gates, Arthur Agee
AN EXTRAORDINARY TRUE STORY.
This documentary follows two inner-city Chicago residents, Arthur Agee and William Gates, as they follow their dreams of becoming basketball superstars. Beginning at the start of their high school years, and ending almost 5 years later, as they start college, we watch the boys mature into men, still retaining their "Hoop Dreams".
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"Epic is a word that suits Hoop Dreams well: The film seems to encompass not just a few individuals' stories, but draw archetypes out of them to personify the larger world around."
-- Christopher Lloyd, Sarasota Herald-Tribune
"Hoop Dreams has shown us that the rules of the game are stacked against kids like Gates and Agee. Even better, it shows us how they fight back, with the inside moves of hope."
-- David Ansen, Newsweek
"The peak inside the lives of these two boys and their families we get is so candid and emotional, it's hard to believe it all wasn't meticulously scripted out."
-- Harry Ridgway, Letterboxd
#018: Scream
1996
Directed by Wes Craven
Starring Neve Campbell, David Arqette, Courteney Cox
SOMEONE HAS TAKEN THEIR LOVE OF SCARY MOVIES ONE STEP TOO FAR.
A killer known as Ghostface begins killing off teenagers, and as the body count begins rising, one girl and her friends find themselves contemplating the "Rules" of horror films as they find themselves living in a real-life one.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"The movie contains the usual stock horror characters, but they are supplied with dialogue, often surprisingly smart and funny, that serves as a running, biting commentary on slasher conventions."
-- Gary Thompson, Philadelphia Daily News
"Maybe not the first metamovie, but certainly the one that popularized the genre."
-- Josh Larsen, LarsenOnFilm
"A delightfully self-referential horror movie, Scream comes with an impeccable balance of hilarious genre parody gags and white-knuckle, high-tension thrills"
-- ScreeningNotes, Letterboxd
#017: Jurassic Park
1993
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Starring Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum
AN ADVENTURE 65 MILLION YEARS IN THE MAKING.
A wealthy entrepreneur secretly creates a theme park featuring living dinosaurs drawn from prehistoric DNA. Before opening day, he invites a team of experts and his two eager grandchildren to experience the park and help calm anxious investors. However, the park is anything but amusing as the security systems go off-line and the dinosaurs escape.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"We ask for two things from big-budget thrillers like this: Make us believe and make us jump. Jurassic Park delivers on both counts."
-- Steve Persall, Tampa Bay Times
"I loved every fascinating, suspenseful, frightening, skilfully calibrated minute of it."
-- Philip French, Observer [UK]
"A masterpiece of imagination, creativity, suspense, science & cinematic magic and a breathtaking sci-fi adventure that you'll want to experience again n again"
-- CinemaClown, Letterboxd
#016: Boyz N The Hood
1991
Directed by John Singleton
Starring Laurence Fishbourne, Cuba Gooding Jr.
ONCE UPON A TIME IN SOUTH CENTRAL L.A... IT AIN'T NO FAIRY TALE.
Boyz n the Hood is the popular and successful film and social criticism from John Singleton about the conditions in South Central Los Angeles where teenagers are involved in gun fights and drug dealing on a daily basis.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"Even in its warmest moments, there is a fearful chill in this hood's air. And on the hearts of its boyz."
-- Richard Schickel, TIME Magazine
"An absorbing, smartly made dramatic encyclopedia of problems and ethics in the black community, 1991."
-- Variety Staff, Variety
"I've known too many people whose eyes roll over on the very thought of a white guy recommending Boyz n the Hood. Those rolling eyes that eventually stop on your own, their massive disinterest burning a hole through your nervous, pleading pupils.
I've been asked, 'Is it all gangsta's and drivebys?' - and i have to say '.......yes....but..'
They ask 'Is it full of rap music and swearing?' and I say '....Yes.....but..'
and a common one. 'is it like that movie Friday?'
A-ha. I've got them, no - it isn't like that fucking movie Friday.
It's about friendship, loyalty and the struggle to survive in South Central. It's about hardship, family and responsibility. It's about childhood, adulthood and bettering yourself as a man, as a human being."
-- Graham J, Letterboxd
#015: The Lion King
1994
Directed by Roger Allers, Rob Minkoff
Starring Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Matthew Broderick, James Earl Jones, Jeremy Irons
LIFE'S GREATEST ADVENTURE IS FINDING YOUR PLACE IN THE CIRCLE OF LIFE.
A young lion cub named Simba can't wait to be king. But his uncle craves the title for himself and will stop at nothing to get it.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"Disney can take pride in this lion of a movie."
-- Dennis King, Tulsa World
"It's perhaps the closest Disney has come to creating a consciously mythical entertainment in the style of Star Wars. Yet like that film it keeps its sense of humor and fun."
-- John Hartl, Seattle Times
"The Lion King plays out as a Shakespearean tragedy as it is loosely based on Hamlet, and I have to admit that this film probably influenced my love for Shakespeare."
-- Esteban Gonzalez, Letterboxd
#014: Out Of Sight
1998
Directed by Steven Soderbergh
Starring George Clooney, Jennifer Lopez
OPPOSITES ATTRACT.
Meet Jack Foley, a smooth criminal who bends the law and is determined to make one last heist. Karen Sisco is a federal marshal who chooses all the right moves … and all the wrong guys. Now they're willing to risk it all to find out if there's more between them than just the law. Variety hails Out of Sight as "a sly, sexy, vastly entertaining film."
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"Clooney is the most impressive he's been on film. Jack Foley feels real, not like some Hollywood improvisation. Foley is charming, handsome, graceful, cultured, energetic and disciplined. He just can't stop committing crimes."
-- Stephen Hunter, Washington Post
"By turns bleak, funny, touching, sexy and poignant, with bursts of violence that rise like sudden geysers from a still pool, Out of Sight is chock-full of dead-on performances."
-- Serena Donadoni, Metro Times
"The sexiest film of the 90's has an edgy cast, witty lines, and the coolest plot of any film this year."
-- Dave, Letterboxd
#013: Election
1999
Directed by Alexander Payne
Starring Matthew Broderick, Reese Witherspoon
READING. WRITING. REVENGE.
A high school teacher's personal life becomes complicated as he works with students during the school elections.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"You've got to laugh at Witherspoon's tightly wound Little Miss Perfect, rising at dawn to do her hair and encase herself in a preppy look before baking cupcakes to pass out at school as vote-getters in her campaign for student council president.."
-- Jay Carr, Boston Globe
"A dark, insidiously funny satire on the self-involved ways otherwise rational people can allow narrow personal agendas to lead them astray to the point of self-destruction."
-- Derek Elley, Variety
"I felt privileged to watch the creation of one of the great movie monsters while watching this."
-- Kevin Wight, Letterboxd
#012: The Sixth Sense
1999
Directed by M. Night Shyamalan
Starring Bruce Willis, Haley Joel Osment
NOT EVERY GIFT IS A BLESSING.
A psychological thriller about an eight year old boy named Cole Sear who believes he can see into the world of the dead. A child psychologist named Malcolm Crowe comes to Cole to help him deal with his problem, learning that he really can see ghosts of dead people.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"You leave slightly asquirm. You know it will linger. It becomes a clammy, chilly movie building toward a revelation that you cannot predict. As I say: I cannot tell you. You'd hate me if I did. I can only say, don't look now, but look sometime."
-- Stephen Hunter, Washington Post
"M Night Shyamalan has fashioned a modern classic here, a chilly, intelligent, emotional ghost story that relies not on the obligatory gore and knifeplay for its many shocks but on glimpses of an afterlife that's anything but angels and harps."
-- Andrew Collins, Radio Times
"It's easy to make this film be about the twist.
Or the fact that there are so many cleverly hidden clues.
Let's not talk about that.
Let's talk about the fact that this is one of the most beautifully constructed and deftly told ghost stories ever made."
-- DirkH, Letterboxd
#011: The Silence Of The Lambs
1991
Directed by Jonathan Demme
Starring Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins
TO ENTER THE MIND OF A KILLER SHE MUST CHALLENGE THE MIND OF A MADMAN.
FBI trainee Clarice Starling ventures into a maximum-security asylum to pick the diseased brain of Hannibal Lecter, a psychiatrist turned homicidal cannibal. Starling needs clues to help her capture a serial killer. Unfortunately, her Faustian relationship with Lecter soon leads to his escape, and now two deranged killers are on the loose.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"Hopkins' cumulative screen image is one of civility and decency, and the association adds to the withering, macabre effect of his murderer. It is a remarkably lucid portrait of lunacy."
-- Desmond Ryan, Philadelphia Inquirer
"The movie, scary and graphic to cause timid souls (such as this writer) to close their eyes at certain points, has a vise-like grip on the audience."
-- Kathleen Carroll, New York Daily News
"16 minutes on screen and he wins the Best Actor Oscar...this performance, as Hannibal Lector, would have to be, not just the best by Anthony Hopkins, but one of the top portrayals of a villain that exists to date on the big screen. "
-- Tarryn-tino, Letterboxd
(t5!) Movies of the 1990s: A Video Countdown!My favorite movies of the 1990s, top 20! at http://letstouchfives.blogspot.ca/…/12/t5-movies-of-1990s.h…but if you'd rather watch than read, here's a video countdown I created! Watch in HD, thanks!
Posted by Marc Benoza on Friday, December 11, 2015
#010: Being John Malkovich
1999
Directed by Spike Jonze
Starring John Malkovich, John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, Catherine Keener
EVER WANTED TO BE SOMEONE ELSE? NOW YOU CAN.
Spike Jonze’s debut feature film is a love story mix of comedy and fantasy. The story is about an unsuccessful puppeteer named Craig, who one day at work finds a portal into the head of actor John Malkovich. The portal soon becomes a passion for anybody who enters it’s mad and controlling world of overtaking another human body.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"There's something fantastically proto-Internet about this romantic-dramedy of flop-sweat desperation, role-playing, simulation and eccentric, niche-culture behaviour-a world of virtual-reality escapes, alter egos, sexual fetishes and rabbit-hole trips."
-- Brian Gibson, Vue Weekly
"An incredibly rich and entertaining (not to say, laudably malevolent) film that far transcends its already way-out title premise ..."
-- Sight And Sound
"Malkovich. Malkovich Malkovich Malkovich, Malkovich. Malkovich? Malkovich, Malkovich Malkovich. Malkovich! Malkovich? Malkovich Malkovich Malkovich. Malkovich, Malkovich, Malkovich, Malkovich... Malkovich. Malkovich Malkovich, Malkovich. Malkovich? Malkovich, Malkovich Malkovich. Malkovich!"
-- Than Tibbetts, Letterboxd
#009: The Shawshank Redemption
1994
Directed by Frank Darabont
Starring Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman
FEAR CAN HOLD YOU PRISONER. HOPE CAN SET YOU FREE.
Framed in the 1940s for the double murder of his wife and her lover, upstanding banker Andy Dufresne begins a new life at the Shawshank prison, where he puts his accounting skills to work for an amoral warden. During his long stretch in prison, Dufresne comes to be admired by the other inmates -- including an older prisoner named Red -- for his integrity and unquenchable sense of hope.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"This is an engagingly simple, good-hearted film, with just enough darkness around the edges to give contrast and relief to its glowingly benign view of human nature."
-- Dave Kehr, New York Daily News
"Top-notch performances, exceptional cinematography, and masterful direction combine to make this film something special indeed."
-- Betty Jo Tucker, ReelTalk Movie Reviews
"If you ever feel down,
If you ever feel like giving up,
If you ever feel like nothing is gonna workout,
If you ever feel hopeless,
If you ever feel like dying,
Watch this film. It is a miraculous medicine. It is a wonderful movie."
-- Peaceful Stoner, Letterboxd
#008: Terminator 2: Judgment Day
1991
Directed by Wes Craven
Starring Neve Campbell, David Arqette, Courteney Cox
SOMEONE HAS TAKEN THEIR LOVE OF SCARY MOVIES ONE STEP TOO FAR.
A killer known as Ghostface begins killing off teenagers, and as the body count begins rising, one girl and her friends find themselves contemplating the "Rules" of horror films as they find themselves living in a real-life one.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
""The Terminator 2" is movie-making on a massive scale, packed dense with spectacular touches that are too many to describe - escape scenes, helicopter stunts and huge explosions."
-- Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle
"It proves that crackingly fast entertainment doesn't have to be mindless, and it manages to do so, with an endearingly cheeky sense of humour."
-- Lynden Barber, Sydney Morning Herald
"I don't think anything compares to Arnold Schwarzenegger shooting a massive magazine of bullets into the T-1000 at point blank range, or the T-1000 walking out of a mirage of fire in his liquid form, or Sarah Connor's nightmare, or that perfect opening sequence, or the Bad to The Bone needle-drop, or that scene where Arnold falls for the "too slow" high-five trick (Arnold's reaction is hysterical), or that scene when THAT THUMB GOES UP. GODDAMMIT CAMERON. THANK YOU FOR THIS."
-- SilentDawn, Letterboxd
#007: Boogie Nights
1997
Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson
Starring Mark Wahlberg, Burt Reynolds, Julianne Moore, Heather Graham
AN ADVENTURE 65 MILLION YEARS IN THE MAKING.
A wealthy entrepreneur secretly creates a theme park featuring living dinosaurs drawn from prehistoric DNA. Before opening day, he invites a team of experts and his two eager grandchildren to experience the park and help calm anxious investors. However, the park is anything but amusing as the security systems go off-line and the dinosaurs escape.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"An epic story of self-delusion with a skill and grace that many more experienced filmmakers would be hard put to match."
-- Maitland McDonagh, TV Guide's Movie Guide
"Boogie Nights, an epic tale of porn, pleasure, and excess, offers a purer hit of exhilaration than any movie this year."
-- Owen Gleiberman
"A huge (no pun intended), sweeping epic about the America dream that brilliantly captures the feel of the 70's."
-- Gustav, Letterboxd
#006: Se7en
1995
Directed by David Fincher
Starring Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman
SEVEN DEADLY SINS. SEVEN WAYS TO DIE.
Two homicide detectives are on a desperate hunt for a serial killer whose crimes are based on the "seven deadly sins" in this dark and haunting film that takes viewers from the tortured remains of one victim to the next. The seasoned Det. Sommerset researches each sin in an effort to get inside the killer's mind, while his novice partner, Mills, scoffs at his efforts to unravel the case.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"After 20 years and countless copycats, hasn't lost any of its unnerving, devastating nihilistic power."
-- tim Brayton, Antagony & Ecstasy
"The reason to see Seven, which is decidedly not for the faint of stomach, is not for the punishment of sin, but the many virtues of Freeman's contribution."
-- Desmond Ryan, Philadelphia Inquirer
"90% of horror films nowadays get no where near as creepy or lurid as even the credit sequence of Seven."
-- Jimbo, Letterboxd
#005: The Matrix
1999
Directed by Andy Wachowski, Lana Wachowski
Starring Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Matthew Broderick, James Earl Jones, Jeremy Irons
LIFE'S GREATEST ADVENTURE IS FINDING YOUR PLACE IN THE CIRCLE OF LIFE.
Thomas A. Anderson is a man living two lives. By day he is an average computer programmer and by night a malevolent hacker known as Neo, who finds himself targeted by the police when he is contacted by Morpheus, a legendary computer hacker, who reveals the shocking truth about our reality.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"Extremely violent, extremely preposterous, extremely entertaining, The Matrix succeeds at two extremely difficult tasks: as a vast, exciting virtual-reality movie and as a defibrillator for Keanu Reeves' big screen career."
-- Keith Simanton, Seattle Times
"The effects are astonishing. It's funny, it's dark, it's smart and it's filled with guns, lots of guns. A landmark film and quite possibly the ultimate expression of cyberpunk."
-- Film4
"Thought-provoking, inventive, influential, stylish & full of philosophical n religious allegories, The Matrix is a groundbreaking cinema that set a new bar for science-fiction filmmaking while also redefining the action genre with its thrilling action sequences & revolutionary visual effects."
-- CinemaClown, Letterboxd
#004: Fargo
1996
Directed by Joel Coen
Starring William H. Macy, Frances McDormand, Steve Buscemi
A LOT CAN HAPPEN IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE.
Jerry, a small-town Minnesota car salesman is bursting at the seams with debt... but he's got a plan. He's going to hire two thugs to kidnap his wife in a scheme to collect a hefty ransom from his wealthy father-in-law. It's going to be a snap and nobody's going to get hurt... until people start dying. Enter Police Chief Marge, a coffee-drinking, parka-wearing - and extremely pregnant - investigator who'll stop at nothing to get her man. And if you think her small-time investigative skills will give the crooks a run for their ransom... you betcha!
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"Fargo, with its grotesque murders and cheery detectives, is a cold gem that takes us to the far north. Its seemingly pitiless light opens up the realms of darkness concealed beneath that world of white."
-- Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune
"It's another daring black comedy by one of the most consistently inventive moviemaking teams of the last decade, brothers Joel and Ethan Coen."
-- Gene Siskel, Chicago Tribune
"So, Fargo, it was a pretty good movie?
Oh yah, you're darned tootin'!
And Steve Buscemi?
Well the little guy was kinda funny looking.
But it was some of the best you've seen from him?
Oh yah, you betcha!"
-- Nicole, Letterboxd
#003: Groundhog Day
1993
Directed by Harold Ramis
Starring Matthew Broderick, Reese Witherspoon
HE'S HAVING THE WORST DAY OF HIS LIFE... OVER, AND OVER...
A narcissistic TV weatherman, along with his attractive-but-distant producer and mawkish cameraman, is sent to report on Groundhog Day in the small town of Punxsutawney, where he finds himself repeating the same day over and over.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"While Murray's deadpan putdowns and dry dismissals of provincial peccadilloes are the comic highlights, Groundhog Day is no supercilious rip of small-town U.S.A."
-- Duane Byrge, Hollywood Reporter
"Groundhog Day may not be the funniest collaboration between Bill Murray and director Harold Ramis... Yet this gentle, small-scale effort is easily the most endearing film of both men's careers, a sweet and amusing surprise package."
-- Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
"The story of a man who thinks he's a god who actually becomes a god and finally learns how to be a man."
-- Matt singer, Letterboxd
#002: Goodfellas
1990
Directed by Martin Scorsese
Starring Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, Jose Pesci
THREE DECADES OF LIFE IN THE MAFIA.
Henry Hill is a small time gangster, who takes part in a robbery with Jimmy Conway and Tommy De Vito, two other gangsters who have set their sights a bit higher. His two partners kill off everyone else involved in the robbery, and slowly start to climb up through the hierarchy of the Mob. Henry, however, is badly affected by his partners success, but will he stoop low enough to bring about the downfall of Jimmy and Tommy?
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"Martin Scorsese's soberest, most vivaciously thrilling vision of how hollow (and short) the fast lives of mafios really are."
-- Jake Cole, Slant Magazine
"GoodFellas, which somehow mixes its horrors with a deep vein of mordant humor, flows with the exuberance of a filmmaker who has every detail nailed and a few new lovely moves he wants to show us."
-- Shiela Benson, Los Angeles Times
"296 f-bombs were dropped in this film. Less than six months later we heard another million fucks when the film lost out to Dances With Wolves for Best Picture at the 63rd Annual Academy Awards. "
-- Andy Summers, Letterboxd
#001: Pulp Fiction
1994
Directed by Quentin Tarantino
Starring John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Uma Thurman, Bruce Willis
JUST BECAUSE YOU ARE A CHARACTER DOESN'T MEAN YOU HAVE CHARACTER.
A burger-loving hit man, his philosophical partner, a drug-addled gangster's moll and a washed-up boxer converge in this sprawling, comedic crime caper. Their adventures unfurl in three stories that ingeniously trip back and forth in time.
Trailer | IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes
"This movie gets its charge not from action pyrotechnics but from its electric barrage of language, wisecracks and dialogue, from the mordant '70s classicism of its long-take camera style and its smart, offbeat, strangely sexy cast."
-- Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune
"It resurrects John Travolta from "Look Who's Talking" hell, it makes Bruce Willis into a serious actor and it honors the power and fancy of intelligent dialogue (written by the director himself)."
-- Jami Bernard, New York Daily News
"Let's keep this one short and simple - quite simply the film that defined a generation."
-- Paul Fleming, Letterboxd
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