A Decade of Violence - Best Movies of the 90's
Jun 10 '01 (Updated Jul 09 '01)
The Bottom Line The 90's were the time of the ultra-violent crime dramas.
Here are my choices for the Best Movies of the 1990’s. I have listed them by year and at the end of each review is my ranking (1-10).
Thelma & Louise (1991)
Oh, how I loved the reaction to this controversial movie. Some people hated it, citing its depiction of gun-toting women breaking society’s rules. After all, women should always be obedient and docile. Where is the uproar when in every other movie a woman is raped and/or killed? Only one man is killed in Thelma & Louise and it’s to stop him from raping.
Thelma & Louise depicts women abused and humiliated one too many times and who rise up in a most unladylike criminal tirade across the southwest desert landscape. In one scene, Thelma makes a call to her chauvinistic husband to learn if the cops are tracking her and Louise. With the FBI listening in, the husband picks up the phone and sweetly asks how she is doing. She quickly hangs up. She knows the feds are with her husband – he’s being too nice.
Thelma & Louise however, is not a man-hating affair. The women hate how some men treat women including an obscene truck driver. Two characters played by Harvey Keitel and Michael Madsen, try to help the women out of their destructive ways. Thelma & Louise partly deals with the over-compensation and price of breaking out of oppression.(7)
Reservoir Dogs (1992)
The breakout film for Quentin Taratino, Reservior Dogs is not as stylistically hip as Pulp Fiction, but has its own air of criminal coolness while showing the downfalls of a criminal lifestyle. From almost the first moment, Reservoir Dogs thrusts the viewer into frenetic, ultra-violent action. Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Steve Buscemi and Lawrence Tierney play men brought together to pull off a jewelry heist. Most of the film takes place in the warehouse after police botch the heist and mortally injure one member of their gang. The scene where Roth as Mr. Orange tells the story of his encounter with cops in a bathroom is captivating. Mr. Blonde played by Madsen reminds the viewer that underneath the cool exterior of movie conmen lays a sadistic soul. Steve Buscemi as Mr. Pink supplies some comedy and criminal logic to this darkly fierce movie. (3)
Shawshank Redemption (1994)
The movie runs through the life of a man in prison, and concludes with an amazing and inspirational turn of events. The performances by Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman are incredible. It’s the type of movie that for all the depressive elements that the viewer endures throughout the film, we along with the lead characters emerge redeemed and fulfilled.
There are several emotionally absorbing scenes that I don’t want to ruin in case you have missed this film, but I love the quiet scene near the end with Freeman walking in a field along the stonewall. The movie, directed by Frank Darabont (The Green Mile) and based on a short story by Stephen King, subtly stirs the emotions without getting sappy. The Shawshank Redemption is a tale of the courage and strength of the human spirit. (2)
The Professional (1994)
Directed by Luc Besson (La Femme Nikita), The Professional is about a freelance mob assassin, Leon (Jean Reno), who takes in Mathilda, a desperate young girl (Natalie Portman) whose family has been murdered by a corrupt DEA agent (Gary Oldman). Through her persistence, Leon reluctantly agrees to teach Mathilda his trade unaware that she plans on using the knowledge to avenge her family’s murder.
Something of a father-daughter relationship between Leon and Mathilda forms, he becoming her protector and she, in return, caring for him domestically and emotionally. The two characters, embittered by the tough streets of New York, bring out the human essence in each other from vulnerability to strength and (an innocent) love. Although Leon’s appears to be harmless simpleton with a quiet manner and droopy eyes, we see his expertise as an assassin in one exciting apartment scene. Portman was convincing as the streetwise, but vulnerable Mathilda. (10)
Usual Suspects (1995)
Usual Suspects, about five cons blackmailed to execute a suicidal mission for Keiser Souze, a mysterious underworld boss, is filled with memorable scenes. The introductions of the cons at the precinct to the appearance of Kobayashi to the explosive ending, Usual Suspects delivers action, suspense and drama.
The casting is superb, each character illustrating a different, often quirky personality. The quiet intelligence of Gabriel Byrne, Benicio Del Toro’s mumbling hustler, Stephen Baldwin’s off balance sniper, the rabidly Machiavellian Kevin Pollack, and Kevin Spacey’s the Gimp. Which character do you identify with? Every time I watchUsual Suspects I discover a little more about the characters and the hidden signals to the film’s finale. (1)
Fargo (1996)
When I watch the TV show Cops, the police officers are always these buffed out white guys with flat top hairdos. In the dark comedy-drama Fargo, the police chief is the very pregnant, Marge, a “nice lady” as one unusual character describes her. Though her investigative instincts are “terrific”, Marge gets help from the dim-witted criminals.
The writer/director team of Joel and Ethan Coen weaves a thrilling and amusing tale of crime in Middle America with memorable scenes and scenery. In one shot, Jerry (William H. Macy) a car salesman dejected after a failed business deal trudges out to his lone car in a snow-covered parking lot. We see Jerry, usually pasted with that buy-a-car smile, temporarily lose his cool when he scrapes the ice off his windshield. Another character that brought a smile to my face was Marge’s stay-at-home husband who makes her breakfast when she gets called into the station at 3:00 am. “You gotta eat a breakfast,” he sleepily insists. (6)
L.A. Confidential (1997)
Another phenomenal cast with Kevin Spacey (Usual Suspects, Swimming with the Sharks), Guy Pearce (Memento, Ravenous), Russell “I won an Oscar for wielding a big sword” Crowe, Richard Cromwell (Babe, Star Trek: First Contact) and Kim “I won an Oscar playing a hooker” Basinger. Set in Los Angeles during the forties, L.A. Confidential is an intriguing crime drama of corruption and seedy political maneuverings. Exley (Pearce), the do-good glasses-wearing detective who is fully aware of how to get ahead, bumps heads with fellow cop, White (Crowe), a muscled henchmen with more brains than he lets on. On their own, they investigate an unusual murder of two former police officers, believing that the other is somehow involved. In a climatic scene, they join forces to fight with smarts and strength the high-level corruption pervading the city’s political system. Similar to Kiaser Souze in Usual Suspects, the mysterious Rolo Tomasi plays a key role in uncovering the mole. (4)
Run Lola Run (1998)
This German film is an inventive action film with nothing exploding except Lola’s temper. Throughout the film, we see Lola (exceptionally played Franke Potente) running, unbridled and without restraint, trying to acquire a large sum of cash in twenty minutes to save her boyfriend from a street gang.
Not knowing what to expect, I was surprised when very early in the film a main character dies. Suddenly the film flips back to the beginning and Lola has a chance to choose another course of action. Run Lola Run’s unusual branching of story lines may jar some viewers but there is a reason. The film attempts to showcase an early 1960’s theory developed by Edward Lorenz. Michael Crichton explains this theory in his book, Jurassic Park: “Chaos Theory says …that simple systems can produce complex behavior.” In Run Lola Run, a simple occurrence like bumping into a person while she is running creates a chain of action. In another scenario, where Lola avoids that same person, a completely different yet complex chain of action is created although the matter of bumping or avoiding the person appears slight and insignificant. The film shows, using a quick photographic medley, what the minor event caused in a given person’s life. It makes me consider what different outcomes my actions and decisions may have. (8)
Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
At the time, I was not a fan of Matt Damon due to his self-indulgent role in Good Will Hunting. Then he dropped the pretty boy act for Talented Mr. Ripley, boldly playing a rejected bisexual killer with a knack for impersonations and forgery. What was really bold was the Speedo scene on the beach where he literally paled in comparison to sun-kissed Jude Law. The gorgeous Italian and Parisian backdrops gave this film an exotic ambience contrasting the suburbs and cities of America. Gwenyth Paltrow did a fine job as Marge Sherwood, one of the few characters suspicious of Tom Ripley’s (Damon) friendship with her fiancé, Dickie Greenleaf (Law). The sinister character of Freddie Miles was an interesting portrayal of the arrogance associated with wealth and class. (9)
The Sixth Sense (1999)
Without Haley Joel Osmont as Cole, Sixth Sense could have fallen flat. His performance as a boy visited by ghosts was incredibly realistic. Bruce Willis did an admirable, and convincing job as the boy’s psychologist, but other actors could have pulled off the performance. When I first saw this in the theaters, I didn’t realize I was tightly gripping my boyfriend’s hand, I was completely absorbed in the dark plot. The scene that sticks in my mind is when Cole is playing with a cardboard sword along stained glass windows and he’s smiling, finally acting like a child. Throughout the film, the hauntings keep him in a state of fear. The DVD version has many special features including a plot outline on how they kept the story consistent, the purposeful use of colors, and director’s commentary. (5)
Barely Missing the Top Ten:
Goodfellas (1990)
Philadelphia (1993)
Searching for Bobby Fisher (1993)
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