Now that the cat is out of the bag...and we had seen Res Dogs (as some online bloggers like to call it)...we now, and by "WE" I mean the real Generation Xers...we are looking for THE Independent hit...we want to be a part of telling all our friends to see this real cool movie that only we know about...of course, that film was Clerks and came out in 1994 and, of course, I was not hip to it till after Mallrats was already on video...for me I had to wait till 1996 to jump on the "COOL" bandwagon first for an Independent film...more on that later.
This was a tough year...the films I have highlighted all are good, however after 17 years I rarely come back to any of them and maybe have seen 1 more then 2 times...so I gotta go with gut here and pick the one that lasts the longest and the one I would recommend first to a Martian from another planet who wanted to know what great 1993 cinema had to offer. The Nominees are:
Schindler's List, Dazed and Confused, Groundhog Day, Carlito's Way, and True Romance
WINNER: GROUNDHOG DAY
Literally, I could watch this in an eternal loop just like the film, it's funny and new and fresh and Bill Murray at his best...when he is the star and he is great the film just flies by...not to mention great roles by Chris Elliot and Steven Tobolowsky. This film is great as a straight comedy, great as a love story, a slapstick comedy at times, and a way to teach karma and reincarnation and nirvana and Buddhism. No other film in this year does all this and is entertaining years later.
Other films and thoughts:
Schindler's List: great film...but not very funny...I don't mean to be cruel, it's just that it's a downer and rightfully so.
Carlito's Way: Sean Penn's greatest role easily and one of the last great Al Pacino roles
Dazed and Confused: maybe in hindsight this film is not as good as I remember...what really has this guy (Director Linklater) done?...not much for me...oh wait there's that film with Ethan Hawke that he has filmed for 12 years...can't wait till that one done.
Judgement Night: great great soundtrack...the film is terrible but the infusion of great rock and rap was genius.
Rudy: almost made it to the number one spot for me..its just that they set Rudy up as retarded...maybe a trip to the showers would be in store for Rudy at Amon Goeth's little work camp
So I Married an Axe Murderer: very underrated film...this I wish would have been bigger then Wayne's World and those godawful Spy Movies by Mike Myers...real funny film and has a heart to match.
True Romance: another one I could have made number one pretty easily...great script by Tarantino, great acting and the first on screen Gandolfini moment of my life.
There it goes...we all looked for that Indie hit, in 1994 the Tarantino Train keeps rolling...I want to hate him but he keeps making great films...too bad he hasn't written any more scripts like he did for 1993 and 1994...all his movies I think with the exception of One will make this list.
The best Sean Penn role? Cannot disagree about the film, but there is at least one I like better.
ReplyDeleteummm?...Were he plays the retard?...how about best Sean Penn side character role?...or the Gay guy?...seriously I look at his roles and I only like him in At Close Range as a lead...maybe Dead Man Walking...but for me the wrong Penn brother died
ReplyDeleteGroundhog day, really? Ok, I love Bill Murray and Chris Elliott and I even can stand that big haired lady with a dude's name, but this movie makes me uncomfortable. My mom, loves it, but it's just so frustrating for me. The only Bill Murray movie that makes me more uncomfortable is What About Bob. I really hate that one, I hope nobody picks it.
ReplyDeleteHere's something else you may find interesting about me. I can't watch house bands. I feel embarrassed for them. Don't ask me why, I have a hard time explaining it, but I just start getting really anxious and uncomfortable watching them.
I really liked So I Married An Axe Murderer, that one I could watch many times over. My favorite line from the movie is Woman...woah-man...she was a thief, you gotta believe, she stole my heart and my cat...that's deep.
I'm not a big Penn fan. Oddly, mentioning his name makes me think of the movie Toys because of Robin Wright Penn...I liked that movie.
Well, la di da, look who crawled back out.
ReplyDeleteStay tuned for my Penn pick.