30. Gattaca (1997)
Directed by Andrew Niccol
Starring Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman, Jude Law, Loren Dean, and Alan Arkin
Jay: Socio-economic discrimination and genetic bias are at the core of Andrew Niccol's excellent sci-fi drama about a future where parents pre-select their children's DNA make-up in order to make them more perfect. Ethan Hawke stars as a young man named Vincent, born the old-fashioned, natural way, who dreams of becoming an astronaut. But, due to defects in his biology, he will never be accepted into the training program. He is able, though, through black market connections, to connect with a man named Jerome Morrow (Jude Law) who is been paralyzed following a car accident. Jerome has the perfect DNA, so Vincent assumes his identity to forge his way into the space program. Smart and in many ways prescient, Gattaca was a sci-fi film that ignored the stereotypical action and excitement of most of the genre and chose instead to tell a compelling story about the pitfalls of the human race's pursuit of perfection and celebration of the flaws that don't define what we are capable of.
Matt: This sci-fi drama from the writer of The Truman Show revolves around themes of class warfare, as the film's protagonist Vincent Freeman (Hawke) is born with the wrong "genetic makeup," making him -- under government law -- only suitable for menial jobs and unqualified for a journey to space. However, with the assistance of a man (Law) who does have the correct "genetic makeup" -- paraplegic due to a car accident -- Freeman is able to fool the authorities so that he may make the trip. When Freeman's program director is murdered, the investigation threatens to expose his secret. This film is one of the very few morally-important sci-fi films of the 1990s, and it exposes the viewer to concepts such as a society ruled by a particular class -- mirroring the race equality struggle of the 1960s, as well as the wealth oligarchy currently in U.S. government. But the best message of the entire film is that no one should be discounted because of something they cannot control. It's a message that, sadly, society has still not fully embraced. And that is what makes this not just an effective sci-fi movie, but also an effective story. Gattaca perfectly visually conveys the best themes of a truly powerful, effective science fiction story.
29. The Crow (1994)
Directed by Alex Proyas
Starring Brandon Lee, Michael Wincott, Rochelle Davis and Ernie Hudson
Jay: Matt and I both picked this one for our "Best Revenge Films" list. I have a lot of fond memories of this movie, mostly due to how awesome we both thought it was when we first saw it in high school. Also, Matt did an awesome rendering of the title character once and gave it to me, so there's sentiment there. For this list though I tried to divorce myself from that bias and look at the movie objectively and I don't think it belongs on this list. Sorry, Matt! It was pretty high on his list so that's why it is placed here. I think it is a great revenge/comic/action flick with a dark, industrial style with a charismatic leading man. It really falls apart at the end, though, and gets a bit hokey. But Proyas proved he was a good filmmaker with this one, and, despite my reservations, it does make me think fondly of good friends and good times.
Matt: I know Jay does not consider this film worthy of the Top 50, but I have to disagree. The Crow -- based on James O'Barr's 1989 comic series -- is a monumental film in '90s cinema merely for the fact that the "comic book film" was pretty pitiful during this decade. Batman Returns was released in 1992, and was considered OK at the time (even though it has ranked considerably well as of late), and there were those other Batman films too horrid to mention. Otherwise, though, there wasn't really anything noteworthy. Except The Crow. Director Alex Proyas and the visual effects and production design teams helped to shape the look and style for most of the darker comic book movie adaptations seen today; plus, O'Barr's character helped to perfectly capture the new age of "dark comics" that came about in the '90s, as well as capture the angst-ridden, moody feel of the young generation. The story is one of the best revenge films, and the soundtrack was the first featured as a part of the TV spot trailer commercial for a film. This character, writing and design of the film helped pave the way for future comic book films.
28. Heat (1995)
Directed by Michael Mann
Starring Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Val Kilmer, Tom Sizemore and Jon Voight
Jay: One of the most accomplished crime dramas of all time, Michael Mann's masterpiece, Heat, is a brilliantly composed film. Released with minimal fanfare in 1995, its biggest selling point was that it paired acting powerhouses Al Pacino and Robert De Niro for the first time. It wasn't until afterwards that film enthusiasts began to sing its praises. A rich character study, Heat, switches back and forth between the gang of professional thieves, led by De Niro's Neil McCauley, and the LAPD task force put together to capture them, led by Pacino's Lt. Vincent Hanna. This is effective in making the viewer identify with the motives and morals of both the criminals and the cops. The lines between good guys and bad guys are muddled as sympathy is built for people on both sides of the law. Everything collides in one of the most expertly staged action sequences ever put on film: a climactic bank heist in broad daylight that spills over to a firefight on the streets of L.A. Mann's movie has gone onto become pretty inspiring to later filmmakers like Christopher Nolan who told interviewers that Heat was a primary inspiration for his superhero epic, The Dark Knight. I had it ranked much higher on my list, but since Matt did not select it at all, it lands here in the middle.
Matt: Miami Vice executive producer Michael Mann was responsible for one of the biggest acting titans team-up when he brought together Pacino and De Niro; sure, they technically were both in The Godfather: Part II, but they never actually shared any screen time together in that film. And while some were a little disappointed in the toned-down-yet-realistic action of the film, others marveled at a crime story with some memorable moments; the civil confrontation between career criminal Neil McCauley (De Niro) and LAPD Lt. Vincent Hanna (Pacino) is wonderfully acted and written! And while the action is not plentiful, when it does hit, it's explosive. The film is based on the true-life pursuit by Detective Chuck Adamson of serial criminal Neil McCauley in the 1960s and is basically a remake of a former Mann-directed 1989 made-for-TV-movie L.A. Takedown. Director Christopher Nolan admitted that the opening sequence to 2008's The Dark Knight was inspired by the action sequences of Heat; and the film's number of admirers have only grown over the years. I do like this film, but would not have maybe placed it as high as it got on this list. Nevertheless, one of the best of decade.
27. Philadelphia (1993)
Directed by Jonathan Demme
Starring Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington, Antonio Banderas and Jason Robards
Jay: I agree that Philadelphia is an important film for its time. Homosexuality and the topic of AIDS had not been tackled in such a forthright manner. The biggest revelation was Tom Hanks' metamorphosis from comedic "everyman" to dramatic Oscar winner. This role would catapult him into being one of Hollywood's biggest leading men and other Oscar wins and nominations. I think he is brilliant in the movie, but it is not my favorite of his performances. I loved his comedic work, and there are times I yearn for a Tom Hanks of the 80's. His role in Big (1988) remains one of my favorites of his as well as his work in both Saving Private Ryan (1998) and Road to Perdition (2002). Denzel Washington is also very good in Philadephia. He has the tough job of portraying lawyer, Joe Miller, as a flawed human, capable of prejudice, who must reconcile his feelings about homosexuals with doing what's right by the law. While this movie did not make my list, I understand why Matt chose it and I recognize why it should be considered.
Matt: Sadly, there were not many -- if any -- mainstream, big box-office films featuring a homosexual protagonist before this film was released in 1993. Especially a homosexual that was actually portrayed in an honest, non-caricature-like light. Fortunately, the same year this film came out, HBO released its docudrama movie And the Band Played On, based on the 1987 non-fiction book And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic by Randy Shilts. The writing and acting in this film are stellar, mesmerizing! This was the film that started Tom Hanks' back-to-back Best Actor Oscar wins (the next would be for Forrest Gump), and it is definitely well-deserved; the scene in which Hanks' Andrew Beckett narrates the aria "La mamma morta" from the opera Andrea Chenier, to his lawyer Joe Miller (Washington) is one of the most powerful acting scenes I've ever seen. What's more sad is that one would think views on equality for gays and lesbians has excelled greatly since this film was released 21 years ago, but, unfortunately, they haven't. Don't get me wrong, there have been a few advances in LGBT equality, but cases such as the one featured in this film still happen today. But this film is more than just a courtroom drama. It's about tolerance and the beauty of humanity within everyone.
26. Magnolia (1999)
Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson
Starring Tom Cruise, Jason Robards, Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffman, William H. Macy, John C. Reilly, Philip Baker Hall and Melora Walters
Jay: Channeling the great ensemble films of Robert Altman, like Nashville (1975) and Short Cuts (1993), Paul Thomas Anderson delivered, what I believe, to be his best film, Magnolia. With no main plot line to speak of, the movie takes us through one day and night in the lives of a group of interconnected people, living their mostly unhappy lives in L.A. County. The cast is a director's dream to be sure, but the real star who is often overlooked is songwriter and musician, Aimee Mann whose music is the soundtrack for the entire picture. Not since Simon and Garfunkel's work on The Graduate has an artist's songs been so entwined with what is happening on the screen. Anderson's decision to make her a major element of the finished work is probably the most critical he made. The other great decision was to cast Tom Cruise in a role that, for the most part, is entirely unlikeable until faced with his estranged father's (Jason Robards) death. For me, it is still Cruise's best role. Magnolia is an audacious film that moves along your favorite song on the radio. It's filled with tales of regret, missed opportunities, and desperation all set to a brilliant soundtrack.
Matt: Anderson's second film on this list is his epic story of interconnectedness. I like to think of it as Anderson's "Robert Altman film" -- only, without the type of humorous wit which imbues most of Altman's actual films. The performances are all great (Tom Cruise's best, by far!), and even though I have not been the biggest fan of Anderson's films, I have to give credit where credit is due: the writing is captivating! Although, this is one of those films I feel you have to watch more than once to truly absorb it all and truly like it. There's so much going on with the characters that it would behoove the viewer to watch again in order to get why it's on this list. Either way, it was one of the best of the '90s.
25. Edward Scissorhands (1990)
Directed by Tim Burton
Starring Johnny Depp, Winona Ryder, Dianne Wiest, Anthony Michael Hall, Alan Arkin and Kathy Baker
Jay: Along with Ed Wood, this is my favorite Tim Burton movie. His best films tend to be his most whimsical and Edward Scissorhands has tons of that. Kind of a modern-day Frankenstein, Johnny Depp left the bad-boy image he'd cultivated with 21 Jump Street behind for the first of which would be a career filled with unique and eccentric characters. Edward is one of cinema's great paradoxes. A man, who just by looking at him should instil fear and revulsion, instead has a gentle nature and a yearning for love. He is adopted by a sweet and caring Avon lady (Dianne Wiest, who if you read our Mothers Day column, you'd know she is one of film's best moms) who welcomes him into her family with a naïve warmth. But it is the people of the neighborhood who turn out to be the villains of this modern-day fairy-tale, when Edward's strangeness and difficulty in assimilating into society cause them to turn on him. A moving love story and fable about looking past the outside of a person to see the true heart inside, Edward Scissorhands is Burton at his best.
Matt: Between his work on Batman and his work on Batman Returns, director Tim Burton brought his fairy-tale creation to life on screen with the help of Johnny Depp -- thus cementing a future cinematic partnership. Sure, the character of Scissorhands looks dark, emo, and goth, but he is neither of these ... but rather just a visual representation of the new era of cinema in which he was "born." In the story, Edward is a creation of a scientist who dies before he can give his creation human hands, and so Edward is left to take care of himself, with scissors as hands ... until he is found by a determined Avon saleswoman (Wiest), who takes Edward home to her family. What ensues is a humorous-yet-poignant view on an outsider's experience of trying to fit somewhere he doesn't belong. While this movie is often dismissed for its seemingly simply storyline and goofy physical comedy, Scissorhands has some pretty serious themes throughout. It all culminates in the heartbreaking conclusion, which involves the lesson of "you can't change who you truly are" and "sometimes you won't fit in, but that's OK, because, somewhere out there, there is someone -- or some people -- who believe in you."
24. Goodfellas (1990)
Directed by Martin Scorsese
Starring Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Lorraine Bracco and Paul Sorvino
Jay: The gangster movie has a long tradition in cinema. Many consider 1972's The Godfather to be the pinnacle of that genre. I cannot really argue with that assertion, but I do believe that Coppola's epic feels more Shakespearean and grandiose than realistic. It is family drama of the highest order - a king, his sons and the tragedies that befall them - think King Lear. If you want to see what it was really like to be a gangster, you watch Martin's Scorsese's Goodfellas. Based on the book Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi, it tells the true story of Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) and his life as a career thief for the mob. We see Hill seduced by the allure of a life in crime as a teenager. He befriends Jimmy Conway (Robert De Niro) and Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci in an Oscar winning role) and together they rob, cheat and steel their way into a life of excess that is devoid of moral obligation. Like last year's The Wolf of Wall Street, Goodfellas gives us a protagonist that is difficult to identify with. Even when Henry turns over a new leaf, it is only because he has been caught by the Feds and his former friends want to whack him before he can rat them out. Even at the end of the film, he laments this new life he has been forced to live and is nostalgic for the old days. I like that Scorsese gives a story that has no sentimentality. To me, life is often this way and the men who choose to live this life usually have no ability -- or desire -- to change. Critics of this movie and Wolf get hung up on that fact. Unfortunately, sometimes the bad guys win and get away with awful things and, to me, that feels real and vital to understand. Matt will most likely say he doesn't like Goodfellas because Henry Hill is a bad man whose character arc refrains from redeeming him in any way. He cannot root for a guy like this. That is fine, but, for me, I do not need to root for anyone in a picture in order to recognize what a movie is trying to say or to love it for how it is made. Matt thinks Casino is a better movie, and I won't argue with him on his choice. I do disagree with it because I feel that later film suffers from a script that drags in a couple of places where Goodfellas feels tight and razor-sharp. I did place this movie in my top ten, but because Matt did not pick it at all, it falls to this spot.
Matt: For many, this is the quintessential gangster -- and some may say, Scorsese -- movie! Now, I know I'm not in the "mainstream" when I admit to this. But ... I liked Scorsese's 1995 film Casino much better than this one. Jay could easily tell why I like that film better than this one, but I'll briefly explain. Basically, the protagonist -- based on real-life mobster-turned-FBI-informant Henry Hill -- is a scumbag. Sure, you can be on the edge of your seat when he has close calls with the law, but, when it all comes down to it, he asked for it. He admits at the beginning of the film: "For as long as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster." The film has lots of great lines and dialogue (i.e., the "you think I'm funny?" scene, the inner explanations of the mob narrated by Liotta's Hill, etc.), and no one can undermine Scorcese's directing; that long Steadicam shot throughout the nightclub kitchen and masterfully set to The Crystals' "Then He Kissed Me" is legendary! However, the decline which inevitably comes to Hill and his friends is neither surprising or noteworthy ... except the way in which it is filmed: set to Derek & The Dominos' "Layla." Every time I watch this film, it's like I'm watching a legendary director trying his best to make his version of The Godfather ... only to fail. The greatness in Coppola's epic film is that it's about the downfall of a once-good man with good intentions. This film, on the other hand, is merely about the downfall of a man who is not good nor coerced nor innocently tempted into the mob. He chose the life from a very early age. Nevertheless, this aspect does not overall diminish Scorcese's film; I'm merely explaining why I don't care for it so much. I think it definitely deserves a place on this list as Goodfellas was a paramount film to begin the decade.
23. American Beauty (1999)
Directed by Sam Mendes
Starring Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Thora Birch, Wes Bently, Chris Cooper and Mena Suvari
Jay: Working from a fantastic script from Alan Ball (creator of HBO's Six Feet Under and True Blood) Sam Mendes broke through with this Oscar winner for Best Picture in 1999. It was a huge year for movies and I guess it fell out of my esteem because there are multiple movies that came out that year which I thought were better. Kevin Spacey's performance is great, though. Without him the film would have fallen flat on its face. Annette Bening is a picture-perfect representation of an upper middle-class white woman who is obsessed with materialism and her own desperate need for attention. American Beauty is a very good movie that, for me, has kind of aged poorly a bit over the years, but I'm not unhappy Matt chose it for this list.
Matt: Upon first viewing, I thought this film was a bit pretentious. But then, a funny thing happened. I had a daughter and re-watched the film again ... from the perspective of a father. And that opened up a whole new way of viewing this film. Kevin Spacey's role as Lester Burnham is a sad role -- he's a man in a loveless marriage; a dead-end, demeaning job; and not respected by many ... especially by his daughter. He's a loser who jerks off in the shower and sexually fantasizes of his daughter's best friend. But that all changes when Lester loses his job and decides he's done with being a victim. From this point on, all of those around Lester are changed in drastic ways which make the viewer feel like they are watching a book adaptation (it could almost be an Ernest Hemingway story) rather than an original film (written by Alan Ball). The film deals with conformity, what is true beauty, imprisonment, institutionalization, redemption, sexuality, repression, and family life. But the best part of the film is Lester's narration at the end -- when he tells the viewer how beautiful life is. The film has an unshakable, lasting effect on the viewer, and it helped close out a great decade of cinema, which changed from the materialistic, "me generation" of the 1980s to the alternative, moody, more cerebral feel of the 1990s.
22. Fargo (1996)
Directed by The Coen Brothers
Starring Frances McDormand, William H. Macy, Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormare
Jay: Fargo is one of the very best films of the 1990's and deserves to be on a best films of all-time list. I placed it very high on my individual list, but again Matt does not believe it is very good, so it falls to 22 on our combined list. The Coen Brothers had already made several great movies before Fargo. Blood Simple, Raising Arizona and Miller's Crossing are all brilliant, but Fargo was the one where they broke through to become critical darlings and the guys any actor or actress would kill to work with. This "Homespun Murder Story" is perfectly executed on so many levels, I don't even know where to begin. The script, like most of the Coens' work, is filled with some of the best dialogue you can find. Roger Deakins' cinematography dynamically captures the stark, white background of the Minnesota environs, giving the picture a blinding garishness that offsets the violence that dots the landscape. Like most of their movies, the Coens like to make the location of their films a character as much as anyone else. The quirks and peculiarities of these places are front and center but never used for cheap laughs. Carter Burwell's score is magnificent, giving the film an epic feel but also creating foreboding as well. The performances are all career achievements, especially Frances McDormand as pregnant police officer, Marge Gunderson (Oscar winner for Best Actress) and William H. Macy as inept criminal mastermind, Jerry Lundegaard (nominated for Best Supporting Actor for this role). What is simply a tale of a kidnapping gone wrong becomes something deeper and more effective in the Coen Brothers' hands. The violence is more shocking and cathartic in a place where one assumes these kind of things don't happen often. Like Marge says at the end of the movie, "There's more to life than money, you know. Don'tcha know that? And here ya are, and it's a beautiful day. Well, I just don't understand it."
Matt: This was Jay's pick and I can say that I don't agree with its numbered placement on this list ... or that it should even be on this list. Fargo is one of my least favorite Coen Brothers films. Despite McDormand's mastering of the "Minnesota accent," I didn't find the writing funny, but the performances were good. The story is an interesting murder tale but it simply didn't catch my interest.
21. The Thin Red Line (1998)
Directed by Terrence Malick
Starring Jim Caviezel, Sean Penn, Nick Nolte, Elias Koteas, Ben Chaplin, John Cusack and Adrien Brody
Jay: Terrence Malick's The Thin Red Line is one of the very best war films ever made and was my number two pick on my individual 90's list. Yes, I think it is that good and I'll explain why. No other movie about combat captures so eloquently the psychological effects of battle. The Pacific Theater of World War II was one of the most bloody campaigns that the United States ever engaged in. Malick's film takes place during the Battle of Guadacanal. It follows several marines during the battle, most notably Private Witt (Jim Caviezel) who begins the picture on AWOL, having escaped from his regiment and joined with a tribal village. Witt is an inherently spiritual man whose voiceovers give us insight into his thoughts on war and its relationship to nature. Opposite him is 1st Sergant Welsh (Sean Penn), a seemingly secular man whose arguments with Witt show his agnostic and practical personality. There are many other notable characters, many whose thoughts we hear throughout the conflict. Their words serve as a poem about warfare that meshes flawlessly with John Toll's astounding images of the island around the soldiers. Hans Zimmer creates one of my very favorite scores of all time that can still be heard on television and other movie trailers quite a lot. The real star, though, is Malick of course who returned to filmmaking after teaching philosophy in France for nearly 20 years . His 1978 masterpiece, Days of Heaven may still be my favorite of his work (Matt is right, though, Badlands is not to be missed either), but The Thin Red Line is a towering achievement for one of cinema's true artists.
Matt: This is a perfect example of a film that has to be revisited years after first watching it in order to like it. When I first viewed this film when it was released in theaters, it was too "all over the place" for me in terms of story and trying to understand what is going on. The film's protagonist Private Witt (Jim Caviezel) is stationed over in the Pacific Theater during WWII, and the film follows him as he encounters many C.O.s of Company C, some which are effective and some not-so-much. The film captures the dark psychological effects men faced during the war when facing the Japanese -- a formidable enemy that was our country's first encounter with an enemy who did not fear death. Like most Malick films, this one is beautifully shot, and the actors are all great at their portrayals. Malick comes from the famous rebel "New Filmmakers" of the 1970s (which includes Steven Spielberg, Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas, John Milius, Brian De Palma and Martin Scorsese), and my favorite film of his is the 1973 film Badlands. What is first viewed as a mess of a plot eventually comes to be viewed as a somewhat poetic "war is hell" storyline. Unpredictable and unnerving, The Thin Red Line may not be for everyone, but it captures the unfinished and confusion of war -- an event which does not always end the way one would expect or, for some, internally does not end at all.
No comments:
Post a Comment