Lifetime Movies: 1995

Winner: The Usual Suspects

Movies with big trick endings run the risk of being forced to stand on their own once the novelty wears off. Whether they do or not is the difference between whether it was conceived gimmick first ("Hey, wouldn't it be cool to end a movie this way?") or if the ending is the organic conclusion to a well-crafted, character-rich story. Obviously, you know how I feel about this. Everything came together here, from the cast led by Oscar-winning Kevin Spacey, to Bryan Singer's direction to Christopher McQuarrie's still amazing Oscar-winning screenplay. It was one of the most rewarding movie watching experiences I can remember having.

Films of Note:

Vin nailed most of the contenders in his post. Heat, Se7en, and Twelve Monkeys are right there at the top this year's heap, which along with 1996 are my two favorite on the list.

Dead Man: Johnny Depp stars as a literal dead man walking in Jim Jarmusch's under seen existential western. Jarmusch is one of those directors "serious" film fans are supposed to like. I think I like him more than his movies, but this one seems to be an artist hitting all his thematic and stylistic marks.  

Dead Man Walking: I was so blown away by the acting that I went to see this twice in the theater. That's just not something I normally do. A powerful movie. And for those of you playing at home, this is my favorite Sean Penn role. Not to mention an incredible soundtrack.

Leaving Las Vegas: Cage and Shue challenged Penn and Sarandon for the tag team belts this year with a pair of career performances (they split the Oscars with Cage and Sarandon winning). It's almost as if Cage decided he had reached his peak because the next year saw him transform into an action star and an acting punch line. And did I mention Elisabeth Shue?

The Quick and the Dead: My friend Pete dragged me to see this since I had not yet fully come to appreciate the directorial wizardry of Sam Raimi. Sharon Stone's the "star" of this film about a quick-draw tournament (single-elimination, of course) but the rest of the cast steals the show: Gene Hackman, Leo DiCaprio, and some unknown as the male lead. I remember being disappointed that with all this talent on screen this guy I never heard of was getting so much face time. It was Russell Crowe.

Babe: Whatever. You don't like this? You're dead inside.