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Best 10 films of the 90sAug 25 '02 (Updated Aug 30 '02) Write an essay on this topic.The Bottom Line The title is self-explanatory. Just read it. A good movie is simply one of the most magical things you can experience and the love for cinema is universal. You can have weirdos that don’t listen to music, or hate reading, or detest technology, but everyone loves a good movie. So it’s no wonder so many Epinionators have chosen to do a top ten movies list. My initial plan was to do a “Best Ten Movies Ever” list but that would’ve looked remarkably similar to a “Best Ten Movies of the 90s” list because the 90s is the only complete decade I’ve lived through. I cannot pretend that I enjoyed a classic such as Citizen Kane just to appear precocious to old people or whatnot – it’s a black-and-white film about a sled and that’s my final opinion on it. The point is that these ten movies are probably the best ten movies I’ve ever seen; there may have been a couple of good flicks released this millennium that could’ve squeezed into the bottom half of this list, but I doubt it – the magic of cinema is dying for me and it seems like it’s already time for me to hold on to the past as if I were a dibbling senile moron like how the real dribbling senile morons hold on to Casablanca and all other soporific “classics” I cannot stand. Before we start, I’ll just apologize to my elders now: I’m sorry. #10: Groundhog Day - 1993 “Well what if there is no tomorrow; there wasn’t one today.” This is a film that has no right being on this list. It is here by virtue of the fact that knocking it off is akin to lynching a baby; I just didn’t have the heart to do it. Groundhog Day is a delightfully simple romantic-comedy that uses just one implausible gimmick: a weatherman, Phil (Bill Murray), who relives his most hated day (Groundhog Day) over and over. Other than that, this is a perfectly believable movie. To be sure, Bill Murray is an asshole and that means he’s perfect for his role in Groundhog Day. As Phil has to endure a sort of Sisyphusian torture, he becomes depressed and suicidal and this is when the comedic portion of this film goes full-swing. However, Phil eventually sees a blessing in his curse and tries to win over his romantic-interest, Rita (Andie MacDowell). Eventually Phil transforms himself from a grumpy loner into a loved philanthropist and you get something like a Dickens’ Christmas Carol only better. The humor in Groundhog Day is rarely crude and is mostly based on the bizarre predicament Phil finds himself in; meanwhile, the romance is always appreciatively low-key. But the true value of Groundhog Day comes from the feel-good message it brings: Regardless of external circumstances, real change comes from within. It was either this or Tin Cup for the best romantic-comedy of the 90s and the fact that Kevin Costner starred in latter automatically eliminates Tin Cup. #9: Microcosmos: Le peuple de l'herbe - 1996 I know you may be saying to yourself now, “This kid’s dumb.” But hear me out: Microcosmos was an utterly engrossing trek into a magical yet completely non-fictional world. I love the surprise “something new” gives you and this is exactly what Microcosmos offers. I won’t suggest that this is anything more than just a documentary about bugs, only that you’d be surprised to see just how beautiful, fascinating, and dramatic a documentary about bugs can be. Using technology that is just beyond my imagination, Microcosmos captures intimate sex scenes, fierce battles, and mass suicides, yet it is completely suitable for children. There is very little narration and very little is needed, the lush images speak for themselves. The insects, with their intriguing array of chirps and buzzes, speak for themselves. With help from an excellent musical score, Microcosmos offers adventure and even laughs. But the uniqueness and beauty of the experience that is Microcosmos should be the ultimate justification of why it belongs on a top ten movies list and, if nothing else, this film will have you looking at the little critters in your backyard in a whole new light. #8: Hoop Dreams - 1994 You do not have to be a fan of basketball to like Hoop Dreams; you just have to be a fan of life. Hoop Dreams is long; Hoop Dreams is boring; but it is about as real as you can get as director Steve James follows the lives of two aspiring basketball players, Arthur Agee and William Gates. Like all good documentaries, Hoop Dreams only shows you a story and it is up to you to interpret a message. I often wonder how Hoop Dreams was pulled off; how Steven James kept the impartial camera on these kids for so long during their ups and downs. Throughout their teenage years, Arthur and William face a myriad of challenges that end in grief and sometimes hope; and like 99.9% of the time in real life, they neither completely succeed nor fail. Thus, they must struggle on and on. Through their struggles the audience will gain a true sense of how inner-city life works in South Chicago and there are two ways you can interpret it: You may think that these kids are stupid (no wonder they’re in poverty) for pursuing “hoop dreams” rather than good ol’ academics. Or you may think there are injustices in the social system and find Arthur and William to be real modern-day heroes. Either way, you’d have to be inhuman to not find the determination of these two kids poignant. Yes, you will be consciously thinking, “this movie is too long,” while watching Hoop Dreams but I wouldn’t have it any other way. Enduring the raw drama that Hoop Dreams offers enriched my life in so many ways. #7: Out of Sight - 1998 ”You'd be surprised about what you can get, if you ask for it the right way.” I suppose this can be considered a romantic comedy, but I generally think of romantic comedies as movies that are cute and Out of Sight is not cute. It is a very artistic and satirical film with suave dialogue and it isn’t presented chronologically. In a sense, Out of Sight is like Pulp Fiction and is probably responsible for knocking Pulp Fiction off this top ten list simply because it isn’t as pretentious as Quarantino’s films. No discussion of Out of Sight would be complete without mentioning the trunk scene where bank-robber Jack Foley (George Clooney) and U.S. Marshall Karen Sisco (Jennifer Lopez) instantly find chemistry; this is one of the most memorable scenes in cinematic history and it almost completely relies on dialogue. The sparks that fly between Jack and Karen are amazing. Not to be outdone is the supporting cast, which all play characters with a great level of depth. On the first viewing, Out of Sight appears to be just a sexy, witty, simple flick, but it is worthwhile to watch a few times more to just concentrate on one character at a time; this is very much a character movie. Director Steven Soderbergh is, however, ultimately the one that brings the Elmore Leonard novel to life and he does a wonderful job of adding his own artistic touch. Thanks to moody color palettes, Miami has never felt more like Miami, and Detroit has never felt more like Detroit. Out of Sight is a very enjoyable movie with many subtleties that can only be appreciated through numerous viewings. #6: Dead Man Walking - 1995 ”Ain’t nobody with money on death row.” Thanks to Dead Man Walking, there can be no other credible death penalty movie; Tim Robbins covers all the bases with a level of maturity that I imagine cannot be matched. The capital punishment debate is a very serious one with fervent believers on both sides of the fence; Dead Man Walking is a very serious film that offers the views of those two sides. What really makes Dead Man Walking a worthwhile film is that it does not try to force anything on you for almost the entire length of the movie. It is an emotionally devastating two hours for the viewer, who is put into the shoes of kindhearted Sister Helen (Susan Sarandon) and, like her, must face the daunting task of picking sides. On one side you have a rapist/murderer in Matthew Poncelet, played by Sean Penn who does an incredible job of portraying an atrocious human being – not an atrocious monster. The other side has the distraught and rightfully bitter parents of the victims. With whom will Helen ultimately empathize with? With whom will you? Dead Man Walking takes you on a moral seesaw that is never a comfortable ride. Unfortunately, at the end, Tim Robbins could not resist desecrating the objectivity of his film and makes the decision for the audience that capital punishment is wrong by making an outrageous visual analogy between Matthew and Jesus Christ. Nonetheless this is a gut-wrenching film with brilliant acting that will have any former firm advocates of either side of the debate feel like they’re standing on shaky foundations. #5: Menace II Society - 1995 ”Now O-Dog was the craziest nigger alive. America's nightmare. Young, black, and didn't give a fuck.” This is the mandatory urban drama on my list. It was between this, Boyz N the Hood, and Dead Presidents and Menace II Society easily wins as the most visceral, over-the-top, motherfucker of a film that will have your head (and stomach) spinning. While traditional war movies find at least some glory in a different kind of violence, the violence in this war, happening at a metropolis near you, has no glory in it whatsoever. Menace II Society is the kind of movie that some people will definitely think shouldn’t have been made. It’s a painful dose of hyper-reality that comes with ultra-violence and cuss words flying around like bullets in an Inglewood gang war. O-Dog (Larenz Tate), as the apotheosis of a parent's worst nightmare, is one of the most unforgettable characters in cinematic history. Please, please don’t let my little Billy run into this thug. From the memorable opening scene, Menace II Society will transport you to a world as alien as Mars (at least, I am hoping this is the case) but as close as an hour drive from your happy home in the suburbs. Like this type of film or not, Menace II Society will be something that will haunt your conscience forever. #4: Gridlock’d - 1997 ”When getting high turns into a job, what's the point?” I love Girdlock’d. Other idiots love The Rocky Horror Picture Show. You’ve probably never seen Gridlock’d and to be perfectly honest I don’t think you’ll particularly enjoy it if you go see it. I don’t particularly care for celebrities; they’re usually rich assholes with obnoxious personalities. But two famous personalities I do admire are those of Tupac Shakur and Lucy Liu and both are in Gridlock’d. Gridlock’d is a darkly humorous satire that viciously attacks bureaucracy; I love darkly humorous satires that viciously attack bureaucracy. Thus you have the personal justifications for my strange liking towards this flick. But seriously Tupac (as drug addict, Spoon) is much more at home in a role portraying a humble nobody than some pimped-out, shot-calling gangsta. Tupac also finds some unlikely chemistry with Tim Roth (as drug addict, Stretch) as the two of them go on a hilarious and wild adventure to get themselves rehabilitated. The comedy in Gridlock’d is all about the dialogue and wacky situations while the direction is very low key and simply allows the plot to run its outrageous course without any artistic pretentiousness. #3: Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl (Tian Yu) - 1998 If you are allowed to call a film a director’s labor of love than Tian Yu is Joan Chen’s labor of love. Unfortunately, Tian Yu will never be shown in China for as long as it is Communist. For the explicit sexuality and anti-Cultural Revolution sentiments depicted in this movie, both Tian Yu and Joan Chen were banned from China. Tian Yu is a heartbreaking film about the corruption of an innocent teenage girl, Xiu Xiu (played by Lu Lu – don’t laugh), who is desperate to go back home after being forced to the countryside by her government during the Cultural Revolution. The Cultural Revolution, referred to some Chinese as “ten years of disaster” is one of the most important events in my country’s history. My parents suffered the fate of many young people during that period and were sent to the countryside to do manual labor; their generation has been called “the lost generation”. So this film, aside from being emotionally riveting in general, also has great personal significance. But it is important to understand that Tian Yu is not an attack on China. This is what the Chinese government cannot understand. Tian Yu portrays the beauty of the Chinese countryside and its people as much as it does negativity. Never does the movie force the idea of a “bad guy” as Hollywood flicks so often do. In the end, this film is a tale of tragedy in a slice of history so “rich” with tales of tragedy and the moment of catharsis in Tian Yu is almost unbearably sad. #2: The Sweet Hereafter - 1997 ”I can help you.” “Not unless you can raise the dead.” It is practically impossible to describe The Sweet Hereafter; it is a biatch of a film that will haunt your soul even after death – it is that powerful. And it is all because director Atom Egoyen never directly manipulates our emotions and, in fact, this probably won’t be a film that’ll make you want to cry, only make you feel a tinge of discomfort that will not go away long after your done watching this movie. The central event in The Sweet Hereafter is a tragic school bus accident that kills fourteen children and injures many others. The cataclysmic scene is disturbingly unusual for cinema because it is not accompanied by sudden music or purposely unsteady camerawork for dramatic impact. The school bus simply slides off an icy road on to a frozen pond and sinks without fanfare. It’s amazing how such a simple scene can leave an everlasting impression while the dynamic scenes of Bruce Willis’s character’s death, fully backed by Aerosmith’s screeching, in Armageddon fails. The Sweet Hereafter is about the barren world left for the survivors and families of the victims. Ian Holm gives what is perhaps the performance of the decade as the lawyer, Mitch Stephens, who is on a mission for a lawsuit. Mitch is not a bloodsucker, but instead one of the most multifaceted characters ever offered on film, who must suffer the subplot of a drug-addict daughter on the road of self-destruction. The Sweet Hereafter asks important but subtle questions that are, after much personal thought, probably impossible to answer. #1: Schindler’s List - 1993 ”How much would you pay for a person?” This is the kind of movie that forces a reviewer to bust out a thesaurus and go hunting for the perfect adjective to describe the cinematic masterpiece. And I think I’ve just found it: sublime. Wow, I just fell in love with a new word. sublime sublime sublime. I love Schindler’s List and it is sublime. You may notice that this film is the only one on my list that has won an Academy Award for Best Picture; Schindler’s List was simply too easy of a choice for number one and I always take the easy way out. The fact that a couple of teens who had desecrated a synagogue got sentenced by a Canadian judge to watch Schindler’s List is impressive. Now you’re either thinking, “Wow, this really is a powerful film,” or “Canadians? Go figure.” But let me tell you that those two youngsters came out of the three plus hours of film-watching changed people. Schindler’s List is an excruciating movie that ends in joy and it needs no plot summary. Like The Diary of Anne Frank, it is a tale from the Holocaust that everyone should know. But unlike Anne Frank, Schindler’s List does not portray its protagonist, Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson), as some annoying incarnation of moral perfection, but rather as a man who is not always admirable. Even the revolting antagonist, the monstrous, murderous Amon Goeth (Ralph Fiennes) is not always detestable. It’s incredible and a little disturbing how real a cold-blooded, racist and murderer can feel with all his own pitiful insecurities. For me, Amon was a character I did not want to see die, but be reformed instead; but, of course, this turned out to be impossible. Yet, there is a moment when Amon changes his ways and it provides the most interesting point in the film that gives us the line “Power is when we have every justification to kill, but don’t.” The fact that Schindler’s List was shot in black-and-white is essential. I often felt a monochrome photo was less lively but bolder than color ones. It somehow feels more real than real. Schindler’s List is a bold film that gives you the black-and-white, raw emotions of the most hopeless of times; yet there is hope, and this is represented by color. The instances of color are rare but they leave an indelible mark in your memory as will the catharsis that asks the perturbing question, “What’s the monetary value of human life?” Schindler’s List is a film created to provoke deep emotions and it succeeds in every way. Honorable Mentions: Honorable Mentions are for weaklings. They say, “Second place is just the first loser,” and that means there are already nine losers on this list. I will not laud any more movies. If something like Saving Private Ryan or Fargo is not on here, it’s because it did not deserve to be here. Or perhaps it’s because I haven’t seen your favorite movie yet. If that is the case then maybe if I watched it, it would be in fact better than some of the ten greats on here… but I doubt it. I seriously do. But feel free to give me your worst “dastardly omission” comment because I am more than ready to launch myself into defend mode :)  |
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