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The Top 10 Movies of the 1990's...Sep 02 '02 Write an essay on this topic.The Bottom Line The 90's were a decade of good and bad movies...and big budget action movies! Only the most expensive, outrageous, and typical movies make it to this list! The 90's were a time of an equal number of good and bad movies. While the "blockbuster" made so popular in the late 70's and 80's became little more than big budgeted cheese fests, and the ever popular teen movies degraded into dirty joke after dirty joke, the 90's still had a share of great, even groundbreaking movies. The 90's were also a time for Spielberg to shine especially, with huge hits in Schindler's List (1993), Jurrasic Park (1994) Saving Private Ryan (1998), and the unworthy, yet very high-grossing sequel to Jurrasic Park. But as you will see here, this list isn't composed of anything the AFI would even consider on their Top 100 of All-Time List. Actually, most are on the AFI's Most Thrilling Movies List, except for the foreign ones, and those that are drama. You see, the 90's were the perfect time for action movies. With Die Hard reinventing action, the 90's became a time for big budgets and loud explosions. Of course, many of these movies fell into the cheese department, but some kept their heads, and became THE movies to watch. Unfortunately, many of these movies may not endure the test of time, due to the ever increasing tehcnology, that will probably render what we consider action useless very soon. After all, which kid growing up in the 90's would consider Bullitt an action movie? Action comes at an expense, as genres like Drama and such can withstand the times easier. Action relies on budget, which will probably steadily increase as time goes on. Then again, we may never get a movie that reinvents action, and so action may just become an unpopular genre, until someone makes a groundbreaking new film to resurrect it. Or maybe I'm just drifting off into useless thoughts about the future. Anyway, what I'm getting at is, that action fans will have their day in this list. I have tried to include a few other genres, but I couldn't escape loving the action movies with brains in the 90's. Some may consider these popcorn flicks, but I consider them movies. I'm the person who'd pick Commando over Memento (okay, maybe not). Now, I hope that the "thinker" fans aren't saying that I'm a brainless movie lover. Anyway, these are the movies I believe I enjoyed the most in the 90's. They may or may not have won Oscars, but they were sure fun. So let's cut the talk and get to it, shall we? Famous action director's American Debut...coming in at #10... Hard Boiled Genre: Action Year Released: 1992 MPAA Rating: R Director: John Woo Starring: Chow-Yun Fat, Tony Leung Overall Critics Rating: N/A Oscars: None John Woo's American debut film was one for the ages. Not only did it wow audiences everywhere, but it beat out almost every action movie to this point, and remains one of the best action movies to this day. While not only featuring gun fights with dead-on timing and precision, but a story and value to back it up, Hard Boiled became a must-see action movie. Hard-Boiled follows two agents trying to infiltrate the arms-smuggling groups in the area. One is a maverick cop, a modern-day Dirty Harry, while the other is an undercover agent. The two soon become unlikely allies, beating the crap out of anyone in their way. The movie has the signature Woo-style action, with a great story, and some funny material as well. 5 minutes into the movie and a gunfight ensues. The ending is a 30 minute hospital action sequence. Between this is full out action as well. What can I say? Hard-Boiled is one tough cop movie, and shouldn't be missed by any action fans. Hitting #9 on the list, this movie is always on the move...literally... Speed Genre: Action Year Released: 1994 MPAA Rating: R Director: Jan De Bont Starring: Keanu Reeves, Sandra Bullock, Dennis Hopper Overall Critics Rating: * * * 1/2 Oscars: Best Sound Effects Editing (Stephen Hunter Flick), Best Sound (Gregg Landaker, Steve Maslow, Bob Beemer, David R.B. MacMillan) A long time sidekick of director Paul Verhoeven, and a temporary sidekick of John McTiernan, it's no surprise why Jan De Bont is one of the most respected cinematographers of the present. But, when he was slated to direct his own movie, doubts began to pile up. With a young lead cast, played by the ever so unliked Keanu Reeves, and the relatively unknown Sandra Bullock, many believed the movie would flop. Even the premise, although original, sounded a bit unusual. And Dennis Hopper's transition from Hoosier to Hater was also somewhat strange. But everything fell together in one of the fastest, and most action packed movies of the 90's....namely Speed. Following a mad bomber, Keanu Reeves soon comes into an ordeal: a bus is loaded with a bomb. Should the bus go under the 50 mph mark, boom! From the taut direction, stunning camerawork, and adrenaline pumped, superfast pacing, Speed again reinvented the action genre, upping the ante in the fields of pacing, camerwork, and premise. It's loads of fun, and even Keanu and Bullock hold their own on a bus. Hitting the 8th spot, from the director of back to the future, but this time it's not about McFly, it's about... Forrest Gump Genre: Drama Year Released: 1994 MPAA Rating: PG-13 Director: Robert Zemeckis Starring: Tom Hanks, Robin Wright Overall Critics Rating: * * * 1/2 Oscars: Best Actor (Tom Hanks),Best Visual Effects (Ken Ralston, George Murphy, Stephen Rosenbaum, Allen Hall), Best Picture, Best Director (Robert Zemeckis), Best Film Editing (Arthur Schmidt), Best Adapted Screenplay (Eric Roth) A quirky, odd, but overall excellent drama/comedy from the director of Back to the Future, Robert Zemeckis's Forrest Gump is a larger-than-life, but uplifting and fascinating coming-of-age movie, if it is that. Told by a man named Forrest Gump with an I.Q. of around 50, his life story is shown through vivid flashbacks. From his beginning as a cripple (he overcomes this), to his football days, following his Vietnam experience, and moving through his life, this wonderful tale is both moving, funny, and entertaining. Tom Hanks is excellent as the dull but loveable Gump. Also, through this whole story is a well acted love story that spans the movie. Even becoming one of the most famous men in America at a time, Gump always looks for his childhood love, Jenny. Although love stories can ruin a movie, this one is done just right, to keep the movie still entertaining without ruining it. The scenes with Gump and the president were technical marvels of the time, and still are quite funny today. Overall, a great feel-good movie, Forrest Gump is one that everyone should see. I am Jack's #7 Pick... Fight Club Genre: Drama, Dark Comedy Year Released: 1999 MPAA Rating: R Director: David Fincher Starring: Edward Norton, Brad Pitt, Helena Bonham Carter Overall Critics Rating: * * * Oscars: None A cold, hard slap in the face to typical movies, Fight Club is as unusual a movie as you can get. It's also a 139 minute movie that's full of raw energy and adrenaline, and always on the move. It's a bold message towards the degradation of human society, and it's both visually and dramatically stunning. Edward Norton is perfect as the unnamed main character of the story, a guy who lives in an apartment, working a desk job to buy Ikea furniture, which is his life. He's also an insomniac, and drifts through life feeling nothing. Our main character begins attending 12-step meetings and help programs, where although not inflicted with anything, begins to let out his feelings, which allows him to get some rest. But, a woman by the name of Marla begins attending these meetings as well, also lying about her inflictions. This ruins the effect of the programs, but confronting Marla, he fixes a schedule. On a business trip, our main character meets a man by the name of Tyler Durden, a soap salesman, a guy who thinks life is nothing, and that we're all just social a*sholes pretending to really be living. Our main guy returns home to find his apartment burned to a crisp, and calls up Durden to stay at his place. But, Durden asks for a favor. "I want you to hit me as hard as you can". And thus begins Fight Club. The movie serves as both a dark comedy, and a movie with undertones and underlying meaning. It does get odd, but is always entertaining, and is an adrenaline rush of a movie, as stated before. Brad Pitt is wonderfully ecstatic as Durden, while Norton's narration is perfectly monotonous. The movie was one of the best of '99, filled with excellent CGI effects, awesome cinematography, and a new take on philosophy. It's therefore a shame that the movie took home no awards, and was only nominated for one Oscar. Still, an amazing movie. It's one cold hard smack in the face, and it's one that you'll enjoy, just like everyone in Fight Club does. #6, from bad guy to good guy, from the director who's formed a nasty habit of turning in better sequels than the original... Terminator 2: Judgement Day Year Released: 1991 MPAA Rating: R Director: James Cameron Starring: Arnold Schwarzenneger, Robert Patrick Overall Critics Rating: * * * Oscars: Best Visual Effects (Dennis Muren, Stan Winston, Gene Warren, Jr., Robert Skotak), Best Sound (Tom Johnson, Gary Rydstrom, Gary Summers, Lee Orloff), Best Makeup (Stan Winston, Jeff Dawn), Best Sound Effects Editing (Gary Rydstrom, Gloria S. Borders) When The Terminator became a sci-fi cult hit in 1984, Arnie became known as one of the greatest movie villains of the decade. So what happens when one of the greatest on-screen villains becomes the sequel's hero? Well, T2: Judgement day that John Connor is born, it seems the world is safe. Wrong! It seems that Arnie's T-800 model failed to kill the mother of John Connor, so now the new, improved T-1000 is sent to 1991 to kill John Connor himself! But, the reprogrammed T-800 model is sent to protect John, at all costs. If you go by the mentality of Terminator on steroids, ysucessfully transverted Arnie from a bad guy into a good guy, and created a sequel that outdid it's predecessor. Directed by the king of sequels better than the originals, James Cameron, the movie is essentially more of the same of what Terminator was. Now you'll get the idea of what T2 is. No longer a low budget film, T2 became a sort of Terminator Redux, as it used over $100 Million dollars, and focused on thrills with loads of action. But, it still somehow keeps it's brains through all this frenzy, and remains one of the classic action movies of the 90's. The smart move was even made for Arnold to talk like a robot (since he fails at trying anything else). While the performances aren't anything amazing, the action and overall fun in the movie are at very high levels, and the movie is a pure adrenaline rush from start to finish. Even today, the scenes hold their own. The movie is packed with surprises, and whatever typical action sequences you think you'll see, well, you won't. Most of these action sequences are quite new, and most of all, very crazy and wild. While not at the level of Hong Kong films, it's still got quite imaginitive action sequences. The movie does have a brain, and remains above those so-called popcorn flicks. A definite must-see for any movielover. At the 5th spot, it's black, white, and read all over, and I'm talking about the tabloids. You know reads them? Of course it's the... Men In Black Genre: Sci-fi, Comedy Year Released: 1997 MPAA Rating: PG-13 Director: Barry Sonnenfeld Starring: Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, Vincent D'Onofrio Overall Critics Rating: * * * Oscars: Best Makeup (Rick Baker, David LeRoy Anderson) The Ghostbusters of it's decade, Barry Sonnenfeld's Men In Black is a sci-fi comedy with the wit, charm, and action to make even the most jaded moviegoer give a slight chuckle, and those like me laugh their brains out. Based on the comic book, Men In Black is mostly original story, with a few drops of satire mixed in for a smart and funny movie. While I won't delve into the plot, the movie focuses and makes fun of our take on aliens. The movie makes aliens what we take for granted, or makes those dirty jokes we wispered about our 3rd grade teachers come true. Yes, they're from another planet. For those not into the satire bit, Men In Black is still hilarious, with Will Smith giving an enthusiastic, albeit loud, performance, and Tommy Lee Jones giving a stern, and for that reason in this movie, funny performance. Full Metal Jacket's Vincent D'Onofrio plays the main villain, with a mixture of grossness and sinister mood to make a great bad guy. Even Linda Fiorentino gives in a good performance. Filled with cool special effects, the Men In Black is a great movie, whether you're in the mood for enjoying, laughing, or maybe even thinking. At #4, I'd like you to meet this guy. He's a good fella, and he's in the movie.... Goodfellas (1990) Dir. Martin Scorsese Genre: Gangster, Crime, Drama Year Released: 1990 MPAA Rating: R Director: Martin Scoresese Starring: Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci Overall Critics Rating: * * * * Oscars: Best Supporting Actor (Joe Pesci) Back in 1990, crime drama movie fans were severely dissapointed when Kevin Costner's Dances With Wolves won Best Picture over what some consider Scorsese's greatest work, Goodfellas. While Dances With Wolves was by no means a bad movie, many felt Goodfellas was a better movie. Goodfellas is based on the story of real life gangster Henry Hill, as it chronicles his life, as an up-and-coming gangster in the 50's to a man living under the Witness Protection Program in the 80's. It also follows the rise and fall of two other gangsters who become close friends with Hill, played by Joe Pesci and Robert De Niro. As usual, Scorsese's favorite duo scores with great chemistry and quick one-liners. A reviewer had said this, so I don't take credit for this line, but one line definitely sums up the movie: Brutally funny and sometimes just plain brutal. That's the jist of Scorsese's gangster epic. The performances alone make this movie a classic, but helping along the way is the period music, and excellent cinematography. The movie is both cool headed when it needs to be, and wildly outrageous just seconds later. With twists and turns at every corner, Goodfellas is a classic piece of cinema that's sure to be remembered for a long time. Now, if only they'd make a better DVD...flipping a movie over in the middle is no way to watch it...especially one of this caliber. Now topping the top 3, we have a movie that starts at the end, but ends at the end...at least we think it's the end. Or is it? When a crime is committed, you blame those who you think did the crime. Of course, in this movie, the perpetrator is anyone but one of... The Usual Suspects Genre: Crime, Mystery Year Released: 1995 MPAA Rating: R Director: Bryan Singer Starring: Gabriel Byrne, Stephen Baldwin, Kevin Pollack Overall Critics Rating: * * * Oscars: Best Original Screenplay (Christopher McQuarrie), Best Supporting Actor (Kevin Spacey) A raw, twisted, and ultimately awesome crime caper, The Usual Suspects is filmmaking like you've never seen it. Following the exploits of 5 crooks, the movie throws more plot twists than a pretzel, and keeps the viewer at the edge of their seats at all time. The ending is a true surprise, a surprise that may just make or break the movie for many, but completely unexpected nonetheless. Both funny and suspenseful, The Usual Suspects lines up a rag-tag cast, a good director, and an oscar winning screenwriter to bring a cinematic experiene like no other. For those who think the movie is too confusing, it's actually completely understandable through the first sitting. You learn something new each time through the movie, but it's not like one of those weird movies you don't understand until about the 50th time watching them. It seems that our favorite critic, Roger Ebert also thinks the movie is confusing. Well, unless your brain has been so demolished by watching movies, rest assured you'll understand everything in this suspenseful and tautly directed movie. For this next movie, it may have taken 8 men to save 1, but this movie is too good to rank at any of those spots. Instead, it's number 2, and it's all about... Saving Private Ryan Genre: War, Drama Year Released: 1998 MPAA Rating: R Director: Steven Spielberg Starring: Tom Hanks, Tom Sizemore, Matt Damon Overall Critics Rating: * * * * Oscars: Best Sound Effects Editing (Gary Rydstrom, Richard Hymns), Best Director (Steven Spielberg), Best Sound (Gary Rydstrom, Gary Summers, Andy Nelson, Ronald Judkins), Best Film Editing (Michael Kahn), Best Cinematography (Janusz Kaminski) When both Terrence Malick's The Thin Red Line and Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan were released the same year, a lot of moviegoers took sides, at a mild taunt war. Thin Red Line fans called Private Ryan a typical, gory war movie, while Ryan fans called The Thin Red Line a boring, brooding movie with no point. Then again, I could be making this all up. But it does seem that you'll either love Saving Private Ryan or you'll hate it. While many call it a typical WWII movie, I call it one of the most realistic, and grittiest war movies ever created. While the story itself is made up, the war scenes and more are enraptured in unbelievable sound, and stunning cinematography, creating some of the most stunning war sequences ever shot. Really, the only movie that surpasses it in the war sequences is Ridley Scott's Black Hawk Down. Private Ryan begins with a bang, as we are first brought into the gory, and bloody D-Day invasion. After this, the movie becomes fictional. A Private Ryan's two brothers have both been killed in the war, and through courtesy, a group of 8 men are ordered to go behind enemy lines and bring him home safely. As the death toll of the group rises, many question this order. But, as the journey continues, the group learns about why this mission is so important, and learns just what the military is about. But, unlike The Thin Red Line, it doesn't completely immerse itself in an almost dreamlike state. In fact, it's quite the opposite, focusing on a realistic war feel. But although Spielberg's Ryan is a visual masterpiece, the performances are just as good. Even the overhyped Vin Diesel gives a good performance, and with an all-star cast, everyone still seems together, as a group, no man outshining the other. This movie both dramatic and action packed, a perfect mix. As you'll see, this movie became one of my all-time favorites, so I was thoroughly enraged when Shakespeare In Love won the 1998 Oscar for Best Picture. I guess I unjustly placed Shakespeare In Love on my Top 10 Worst of the 90's, but then again...I believe that Private Ryan should have won that year. Still, a masterpiece of epic proportions, Saving Private Ryan is movie that shouldn't be missed. And now, ladies and gentleman, here is the number one movie of the 90's. Or is it really the 90's? How do we know it's the 90's? Who told us? How do we know what we're eating is real food? How do we know we're not living in... The Matrix Genre: Sci-fi, Action Year Released: 1999 MPAA Rating: R Directors: The Wachowski Brothers Starring: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss Overall Critics Rating: * * * Oscars: Best Visual Effects (John Gaeta, Janek Sirrs, Steve Courtley, Jon Thum), Best Sound (John Reitz, Gregg Rudloff, David Campbell, David Lee), Best Sound Effects Editing (Dane A. Davis), Best Film Editing (Zach Staenberg) When this movie was being made, I doubt anyone believed it would be the movie it is today. The Wachowski Brothers only had the dismal movie Bound to their account, and with Keanu Reeves at the lead role, many didn't believe the movie would be what it is today. What it is today, though, is The Matrix. Combining a mind-altering story with groundbreaking special effects, The Matrix became not only every sci-fi junkie's dream, but also every action fans dream as well. By day, our hero (Keanu Reeves) is Thomas Anderson, a normal guy working in a cubicle at his office. By night, he is Neo, a computer hacker who has been contacted by Morpheus, a man thought as the most dangerous in the world. Through Morpheus, Anderson learns that the world we know is really an artificial screen, a fake vision. In order to "awaken" people to this elaborate mind program, there must be someone to fight the bad guys...the guys who protect the Matrix. That's where Neo comes in. With a comic-book type feel, great performances, and action that simply can't be beat, The Matrix is definitely on of the best movies of the 90's (and came just in time). And that concludes this action junkie's list of movies. If I've left you dissapointed, feel free to take it out on me. Seriously. This list was thought up in about 2 minutes, and written in about 2 hours. So, if you actually enjoyed it, I highly reccomend getting the movies from this list you haven't seen, although I highly doubt anyone hasn't seen these movies. So good night, and remember, the louder the movie, the better it is! *Speaking of, we need a ME channel. If you've seen The Tonight Show, you'll know what I'm talking about. WE (Women's Entertainment) ME (Men's Entertainment) ME is for me! It's the best channel ever. 24 hours of movies with loud sounds, and hot babes, and more loud sounds! Yes sir, the greatest movies ever!  |
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by dangbro
by George_Chabot
