Lifetime Movies: 1998

Winner: Dark City

I had no idea I was going with this until I typed it a few seconds ago. A lot of solid contenders this year, but nothing that really stands out from the pack. Vin's write-up definitely helped sway me.

Whatever happened to director Alex Proyas? After The Crow and this, I thought we had a new visionary director to follow. In the past 12 years he's only made 4 movies, only one of which is worth noting, I, Robot. And it's only worth noting for how good it looked and how disappointing everything else about it was. The thing that impresses me most about Dark City is that it's an original sci-fi story. For a genre based on imagination, that's actually a rarity. At least in Hollywood. It's also similar in a way to Blade Runner. Neither did much at the box office, but both had a huge influence on the design and tone of science fiction films for years to follow (including Inception). Now, sleeeeeeeeeep.

Films of Note:

American History X: All the behind the scenes drama between Edward Norton and "director" Tony Kaye overshadowed the film. What it didn't hide was the most disturbingly violent scene I've ever seen in a movie. Put your mouth on the curb!

Apt Pupil: Speaking of Nazis, how about a real one? Bryan Singer's follow-up to The Usual Suspects was based on a Stephen King novella and introduced me to the great Ian McKellen. One of the most overlooked films of the decade.

The Big Lebowski: Probably the runner-up for the year. Jeff Bridges gives us an all-time great character and the Coen Brothers are at their comedic best. Thinking about it, this should probably have won. But would The Dude really want me to rewrite this whole post?

Elizabeth: Cate Blanchett's performance in the title role is still the best I've seen by an actress. I remember being blown away. Unfortunately, this was the year Miramax bought the Oscars for Shakespeare in Love and Cate lost Best Actress to Gwyneth. Ridiculous.

Saving Private Ryan: And speaking of getting screwed with an Oscar (still more comfortable than an Emmy), this was easily the "best" film of the year. For the sake of this list, though, the rewatchability just isn't there. Too serious, too tough to watch at times. That's not a knock, it's how it was intended. Know what I remember most about this film? No, not the incredibly orchestrated opening beach invasion scene. It was that Craig Kilborn spoiled the ending during "The Daily Show" right before I saw it. Well, who's laughing now, you snarky bastard?

Ok, now Vin can finally unleash his thoughts about 1999.

Lifetime Movies: 1997

Winner: L.A. Confidential

Film nerds always talk about how Chinatown is the perfect screenplay. For me, this is the new Chinatown. Director Curtis Hanson and Brian Helgeland's script (based on the James Ellroy novel) is a beautifully complex noir perfectly brought to life by a great ensemble cast, including Guy Pearce and Russell Crowe (who I didn't even know were Australian at the time), Kevin Spacey, Danny DeVito, and Best Supporting Actress Oscar winner Kim Basinger.

Hanson took two successful ecclectic directorial turns after this with The Wonder Boys and 8 Mile, but  seems to have hit a wall. Helgeland looked like a writing superstar in the making, but as was the case with a lot of the brilliant screenplays around this time, he never hit the bullseye again. (Strange phenomenom we should look into.) Pearce also looked like a future star, but while he's proven to be a helluva actor, he's never broken through to the acclaim he deserves. Crowe and Spacey, obviously, went on to bigger things (I love cusp of stardom Crowe. All that raw energy without the gigantic ego). Just a perfect confluence of talent.

I have to mention Boogie Nights here, too. It's a brilliant film and one of my favorites. But...there's this scene. This one scene that bothered me when I first saw it and every time since. It's early on and features Mark Wahlberg arguing in his room with his mother. And it's horrible. The acting. Horrible. Even when I know it's coming, it takes me out of the movie. Fair? Nothing about my brain is fair.

Films of Note: (Vin took care of most of the big ones)

Anaconda: One of the top entries in one of my favorite subgenres: Giant Killer Animals. So much better than it should have been, which is pretty much true of any halfway decent Giant Killer Animal movie. Or Killer Animal movie, for that matter.

Cube: SMC favorite and one of the top sci-fi movies of the decade. We're still waiting for Vincenzo Natali to break through. Maybe Splice is the start.

Donnie Brasco: The movie that gave the rest of the world fuhgedaboudit. Really, this is when everyone started saying it. Pacino is actually underrated in this. So many great jobs by veteran actors this year (see below. Also, see above for Jon Voight's awesomely cheesy turn as snake food.)

Eve's Bayou: Movies like this always get lost and we always think that it's a shame. It is. Just saying. This is a powerful little Souther Gothic film starring Sam Jackson and a terrific little girl named Jurnee Smollett. See it.

Ulee's Gold: Peter Fonda gave one of my all-time favorite performances. A quietly powerful, dignified job. Should have won the Oscar. Or at least Robert Duvall in The Apostle. But Nicholson was way too over the top in As Good as It Gets not to get handed the award.

Lifetime Movies: 1994

Winner: Pulp Fiction

It's hard to realize how much Tarantino changed the film landscape with a decade and a half of hack copycat movies blocking the rearview. But there really wasn't anything that looked like this at the time and definitely nothing that felt like it. Yes, he again gathered up all his favorite cinematic themes and images, all his fanboy crushes, but, also again, he repackaged them in a fresh and undeniably cool way. And, yes, that is basically what I said about Reservoir Dogs. That's a helluva one-two punch out of the gate. Actually, these may be the best first two films of any director ever.

The other remarkable thing about Pulp is that every time you watch it, it becomes a different movie. It's about two hitmen collecting a mysterious suitcase. It's about a hold-up in a diner. It's about a boxer on the run from a mob boss. A dance contest. An overdose. A motherf''n gimp.

Films of Note: (I'll leave The Shawshank Redemption and Natural Born Killers for the V-Man.)

Cabin Boy: If I had one DVD wish it would be to have the complete series of Chris Elliott’s “Get a Life.” That’s not asking for much, is it? Apparently, “legalities” have kept me from being happy. And not in the usual restraining order way. Anyway, GaL, which lasted 2 seasons (!) on Fox despite execs thinking it was “too disturbing and that Elliott's character was too insane,” is one of my yardsticks for judging people. Sure, some people use religion or politics. I use Chris Elliott. It is a show Vin and I bonded over in high school and the rest, as you can behold, is Internet history. My point here is that Cabin Boy has never gotten the love it deserves and Chris Elliott should be bigger than Jim Carrey. I hate Jim Carrey.

Clerks: The movie everyone holds up when they say, “I could make a movie.” Kevin Smith filmed guys hanging out and talking about nothing. What an idea! Hey, no one else did it. Unfortunately, he really wants to drive that point home and has continued to make the same movie with bigger budgets. Usually, they’re enjoyable, though I think we all expected his legacy to be a bit more than that.

The Crow: A personal choice as I have a lot of memories associated with this film. I even have a molto cool Italian movie poster (“Il Corvo”) from my short lived hobby of collecting Italian movie posters. And I stand by my opinion that as good as Keanu Reeves was in The Matrix, Lee would have been amazing as Neo.

PCU: Animal House for the 90s…was actually a pretty dead-on (and funny) look at college at the time. At least my college at that time. And, it featured one of my favorite actresses of the time, Megan Ward, or as I liked to call her, My Backup Bridgit Fonda (she hated when I did that).

Loser: Reality Bites (no link)

One of the first movies I hated just for the fact of its existence. And Ethan Hawke. But more for it trying to speak for my generation in the most condescending, face-punchable way possible. Everything this was trying to say, Clerks said better, more authentically, and for less money than it cost to keep Hawke’s sleaze fresh between scenes.

Lifetime Movies: 1993

Winner: Army of Darkness


Groundhog Day was a great film and a great choice by Vin, but I know he's not an Evil Dead fan. His loss. The Internet is stained with geekgasms about this movie, so I won't add to the mess other than to say it is just pure fun to watch. I don't know if Sam Raimi could have made this at another time. It was a perfect creative window for his sensibilities: he had built up enough genre clout to get his vision financed, but free from the corporate web of a billion dollar franchise. Basically, he was given money to intentionally make a cult classic. And he did. AoD is a campy, catchphrase free-for-all. The best film of the year? Of course not. But one I'll keep watching again and again (but not again because that would be a bit much).

Films of Note:

Vin hit on a lot of the high notes including the very underrated So I Married an Axe Murderer and the ground-breaking Judgement Night soundtrack. Overall, though, this was a surprisingly down year considering how the rest of pop culture was blowing up. But it appears the decade was just catching its breath. 1994 has some big films and then we hit what I think is the best 5-year stretch of this whole countdown.

A Bronx Tale: The directorial debut of Robert DeNiro. I'm surprised Vin didn't mention this and that's not just because he is a pillar of the Italian-American community. This is a great father-son story thanks in large part to one of my favorite DeNiro performances as the honest, hard-working dad losing his son to the "glamour" of the neighborhood wiseguy. SMC TRIVIA: we had scouts at our high school during the casting process. Vin turned down the lead to focus on his studies. It's true because it's on the Internet!

The Nightmare Before Christmas: I liked this long before it became Hot Topic chic. It's a dark, anti-Disney Disney musical. And it's a scary Christmas movie. Or is it a happy Halloween movie? Tim Burton at his Gothic peek, when he was still making movies instead of just cashing paychecks. Looking at his upcoming schedule, originality is going to fade even further into the past.

The Sandlot: A family movie that plays the nostalgia card, but doesn't go sappy. Plus, it turns into one of the last good baseball movies.

Lifetime Movies: 1993

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.

Lifetime Movies: 1992

Winner: Reservoir Dogs

The film equivalent of "Smells Like Teen Spirit." Everything changed for me around this time. It was as if a secret door opened and exposed this cultural landscape I never knew existed. There was music beyond the Top 40. There were movies outside the multiplex. It was our 1968 or 1977. 

I can't remember where I first heard about this film. Since it was pre-Internet, it had to be a magazine, but I do remember going out and renting it and not really knowing what to make of it. It was cool, that was obvious. But it was also like nothing I had ever seen before. Of course, Tarantino had seen it before, had culled it together from his favorite films--just like Cobain and his favorite bands--but it was the package, the final presentation that set it apart. Eighteen years (wow) and countless lame imitations later, it's not easy to convey the excitement this first generated, but I hope everyone has a film like this at some point in their life. And I hope that film isn't made by Michael Bay.

Films of Note:

Singles: Speaking of music, Cameron Crowe's prescience in conceiving this film before Seattle broke was an incredible stroke of savvy and synergy. This is one of my favorite films of all time, though I admit I was disappointed when I first saw it. I was expecting something closer to a concert film, but got something closer to a romantic comedy. And one with Kyra Sedgwick in the lead instead of Bridgit Fonda. Now, though, I see how it all works so perfectly, how Crowe knew exactly what he was doing. Well, except for the Bridget thing. (And I'm not just saying that because we were dating at the time.)

El Mariachi: Robert Rodriguez raised most of the crazy low $7000 budget by being a drug testing guinea pig. From this, he built an indie film mini-empire. Not bad. And no extra fingers...yet.

Juice: The success of Boyz N the Hood sparked Whitey to green light a slew of violent inner city stories. This is one of the better ones marked by a strong, crazy performance by Tupac Shakur. Lost in the circus around his untimely death was the fact that he was on the verge of becoming a helluva actor.

Hard Boiled: John Woo's final Hong Kong film and one of the best action movies ever. For whatever reason, Woo has not been able to make a good film since coming to America. Fitting to mention him here since Tarantino has made some good John Woo films.

One False Move: Gene Siskel named this thriller, co-written and starring an unknown Billy Bob Thornton, the film of the year. One of those gems that get lost over the years. Check it out if you can.

Passenger 57: Terrible movie, but it taught me one of life's greatest lessons: Always bet on black.

Lifetime Movies: 1992

Some years it seems are real easy to pick, and others are either some great films or a lot of mediocre stuff. This year for me marks the beginning of independent cinema...sure there were small films before, with low budgets and young directors, but this is the year of Quinten Tarantino...save your Slacker and Soderbergs, and Francois Truffaut references for someone else...this is the year of RESERVOIR DOGS


I saw this early, early 1993 or 1994...it played on my colleges dorm cable...we had someone real hip programing those films in those days...I had just a few friends at the time and a lot of time to kill...so I gave this film a shot...the opening sequence of talk and guys wearing the same outfits, the talk of Madonna and familiar faces like Harvey Keitel just drew me in and I held on the whole time mesmerized.

I had an English writing class where I dissected this films color scene, the names of the men in the gang and what they metaphorically mean to their character...the color orange which in Francis Ford Coppola's world of the Godfather means death...the layers in an orange, the differences in each characters suit, that at first appears identical but in reality all are different, the homage Tarantino gives to other films that at the time were unknown to Americans...has Tarantino changes that much?...no he hasn't...even Death Proof has its moments.

Watching this film now is like walking into a time machine...it is not dated...it could have been filmed in the 1950s, 1970s, etc...but you see where Tarantino will go...he uses names here that have their soul in Pulp Fiction, True Romance, Jackie Brown, etc...these are characters in a play, and the play is totally in the hands of Tarantino...you feel that with all his films. I wish I could go back in time and rewatch this film and rediscover the magic of it...since the film I have 3 different DVDs of it...toys, posters, etc...the characters are like Greek heroes...the lines are poetry...1992 belongs to Reservoir Dogs.

Other films:
Scent of a Women: Pacino deserved an Oscar for like 5 others films before this...but sure he gets this...I would like to say that I was on board the Phillip Seymour Hoffman train starting with this film, check his filmography and see that he really never did anything before and it was years until Boogie Nights

Batman Returns: One of those films (and we have to make a list of this) that takes place during Christmas, and uses Christmas decoration, but is not about or never uses Christmas in the story...brilliant...it's dark, circus-like and I love that Catwoman suit...when you think about the time and the characters, Catwoman and Penguin were perfectly cast.

A Few Good Men: I am a sucker for a good Tom Cruise film..I thought Demi Moore was hot as F*$k..and the Jack Nicholson ending was great...one of my favorite endings.

Glengary Glen Ross: The acting is some of the best ever by an ensemble cast...each one if perfect...I could name them and say why they are great..but whatever...the Baldwin scene alone is one of the best monologues of all time...Mamet got alot of credit here for this film...I was on his bandwagon for years based on this film...I guess I was wrong...never really liked anything else he has done...I could watch this film over and over and just be in awe...I guess 1992 should be remembered by the perfect casting

1993 will be a tough one..for me there is no clear winner...even I may be surprised with what I pick...there are many good films...none that I think are GREAT...so maybe and just maybe Judgement Night has a chance.

Lifetime Movies: 1991

No debate right? 1991 belonged to The Silence of the Lambs...I mean, my recollection was that this film was released in real early 1991. I got to see it in the theater, same theater I saw Terminator 2 in with your very own Frank...This film blew me away, and still does, I own the Criterion Collection which I recommend, it has great commentary by the real life director of Behavioral Science at the FBI (now retired John Douglas). Frank was right...what happened to Demme? I really like Something Wild, and I kinda liked Philadelphia...that's it...so maybe it was the screenwriter (Ted Tally he's done nothing), maybe the source material...maybe the acting...sure the acting is outstanding...overall how did this make such a great movie? Thomas Harris the writer has really made just a few books, mostly getting rich over crappy Hannibal Lecter sequels. But I do declare that I still love the BOOK "Hannibal" and see the ending in the book as great, and a cliffhanger...Random House rushed the book out and he gave us a cliffhanger that I believe in my gut will eventually have a sequel to wrap up the Clarice Starling story.

So now what?...it's the best for what reason?...There are other great films...but this one has stuck with me, it scares the life out of me, Hannibal on the loose is not as much fun as Hannibal in the cage...it's an iconic role and a great film.

Others:

T2: Amazing...I remember being disappointed that Arnold would be a "good guy", but it works...the CGI is great,,, but look back at the tin foil looking bullet holes hanging by a thread on the T-1000...doesn't look so good

Barton Fink: Movie about writing...John Goodman is great, the Coens are genius...great companion piece to Se7en...heck I just gave away the ending

JFK: "Back and to the left"...O is that in the film or the political stance of Director Oliver Stone? Great film

See you suckas again when I graduate in the year 1992

Lifetime Movies: 1991

Winner: The Silence of the Lambs

A box-officee smash and a sweep at the Oscars leaves no doubt about the defining film of this year. While the character of Hannibal Lecter was created by author Thomas Harris, it was Anthony Hopkins' performance that elevated "The Cannibal" to the top tier of all-time great villains. Hopkins has said he was inspired by the cool, calculating homicidal computer HAL from 2001. All that's great, but he wasn't the first choice to play Lecter. Who was, you ask? Sean Connery. Think of that film.

And whatever happened to director Jonathan Demme? He's still making movies, but he obviously peaked here.

Films of Note:

Boyz N the Hood: A great film and a great example of a director (John Singleton) bursting on the scene with an emotional, personal story and then having nowhere to go but down. The scene set to The Five Stairsteps' "Ooh Child" is still one of best uses of a song I've seen.

Cape Fear: DeNiro chews his lines up and lets them drip from that wicked Southern drawl. Amazingly, the best scene in the film--DeNiro and Juliette Lewis in the school auditorium--was ad-libbed and nailed in one take. And in more alternate casting world news, Spielberg was originally set to direct this, not Scorsese, and he wanted Bill Murray to play DeNiro's role.  Something tells me he wouldn't have gotten down to 3& body fat.

Showdown in Little Tokyo: My favorite late night cable action movie. From Dolph Lundgren leaping over a moving car to the naked sushi to the emergence of Brandon Lee as a future superstar. Bittersweet now, of course.

Terminator 2: Judgment Day: A huge James Cameron spectacle, bigger than the original in every way. Robert Patrick steals the show as the relentless new liquid metal Terminator. One of the greatest action movies of all time. And that G n' R song still rocks.

Lifetime Movies: 1990

Ok so start here...this is my new obsession and if you watch more than 2 of this guys video's your going to hell...I feel that I am usually 2 years behind the times so you may have seen this guy before.

Now we can start:
Interesting picture...this is what comes to mind when I think of this film...there is never in the whole film a guy that wears a hat and is shot under an elevated train/highway...not to mention the cars in the photo are like from the 1930's and the film spans 1960's-1980's.

I came across this after it was in theaters, it was released in September of 1990 and I saw it the beginning of 1991...a friend from High school who knows nothing of movies turned me on to it...since watching this movie when I was 16 I have been a movie snob...sure I saw the Godfather and Scarface...but I watched this and was blown away...it was a real look at these guys...these fringe mafia organized crime guys...not that I know anything about that lifestyle...but up until this time the Godfather was a center piece...and that was our bible as film fans as to what a mafia person was like...no one could conceive of a simple person..like your father being connected with these types of people...but Goodfellas shows the very nature of these everyday people in extreme situations.

I then bought the book and the book was the real Henry Hills account of his life...the book is more expansive then the film, but both are excellent companion pieces...the same could not be said for the Godfather...
The team of Robert DeNiro and Joe Pesci is gold...Raging Bull, Casino, A Bronx Tale and this film are a dynamic duo of an Italians wet dream...throw in Marty as Director, the fast cuts, long single take shots, and of Course Vincent Gallo...and you have a masterpiece.

I have to say when normal people...you know those of us in a society that just watch films for entertainment and not art...when these people talk about the best films and specifically crime/mafia films...they always talk about the Godfather...but very rarely have those people ever even heard about Goodfellas...in that regard I think this film is something people heard of or saw, but it never stuck with them because they can not connect with the characters...it may take a special person who has witnessed these types of people to truly appreciate this film...or maybe its still a lost treasure...but ask someone that you know if they saw this film and I bet they never have or only saw it once.

This was an easy pick for me...this is my favorite film of all time...believe me I rank films...and this one is always number 1...number 2 is usually always the same and then the list just jumbles...but Goodfellas has been number 1 since I saw it for the first time. Also look for all the people in the background...chances are that most of them were eventually cast in The Sopranos

Here's a classic cut

Rest of that year:

Total Recall: The story holds up...maybe not the effects...but this story can be seen over and over again in different ways...I wish Verhoven would have made more Sci-Fi

Godfather III: The weakest of the bunch sure...but its Al as Micheal Corleone...enough already

Wild at Heart: Gotta be one of my favorite Lynch films...and the parallel with the Wizard of Oz is a level that most directors would never take and can't take...Nick Cage at his over the top best, and I Love it "Texas Style"

Joe Versus the Volcano: Steven Spielberg produced, Meg Ryan plays 3 characters...Tom Hanks lives on Staten Island...the Director, John Patrick Shanley also wrote Moonstruck and Doubt...how could this not be a winner...its heartfelt...funny, dark...and that's the problem..it's dark...Tom Hanks thinks he's dying and is supposed to jump into a volcano...funny funny movie

see ya in 1991

Lifetime Movies: 1990

Winner: Goodfellas

This needs no explanation and I know Vin will have more to say in his post. What separates this from so many of the other elite films of all time is that it's just so much damn fun. Dances with Wolves? Really?

Films of Note:

The Adventures of Ford Fairlaine: The most disappointing movie ever. Phantom Menace? Ok, maybe, but...this was Andrew Dice Clay. The Diceman. Teenage Me was expecting Caligula in a leather jacket (not that I knew what Caligula was at the time). What I got was, my god, I still don't know what I got. No nudity, for one. No nudity! How was that possible. And am I remembering a koala?

Edward Scissorhands: When people talk about what a visionary Tim Burton is they're thinking about this magical modern fairy tale. This twenty year old magical not-so-modern-anymore fairy tale. Is it that he won't or that he can't make original stories like this anymore? Long sigh.

The Grifters: An absolutely underrated noir gem (produced by Martin Scorsese). Annette Bening gives one of my favorite performances ever.

Miller's Crossing: I remember hearing about this Coen Brothers film a few years later when I got to college. Particularly how it was a precursor to the Tarantino-led indie cool scene. I know I felt hipper once I saw it.

Side Out: Still the best beach volleyball movie in the history of cinema.

Tremors: One of the best "B" monster movies ever. One of those movies that just exceeds all expectations despite there being no reason that it should. Plus, my favorite sitcom dad, Michael Gross from "Family Ties", as a right-wing gun nut.

Lifetime Movies: 1989

June 23, 1989...like it was yesterday I remember this date...I know the time and place...I know what I wore...and its the first time I picked something that matched the film to wear at the theater...I remember the strangers that sat next to me...I remember who I went with...I remember the ride home from the theater..no garbage smell from the Staten Island Dump to stop me from thinking about the film I had seen. That film was Tim Burton's "BATMAN"

I guess you have to get in first to write about all the best movies of the year...Frank already hit most of them...the list I am working from is not long...their were some good movies...some memorable bad ones...and only one great film for me.

The anticipation for this film was unbearable...its the first time I cared about a film being made...its the first time I remember trying to learn information about the production of a film...and this is before the Internet!!!

The first image was the logo which was great...batman, even though I am and never really was big into comics was and is my favorite super hero...cause he can really happen..he is just a man that is driven to fight crime even if he is the cause of some of the crime (as we see in this new Chris Nolan Era)...The TV show Batman from the 60's hooked me first...I had the toys, the posters...all of it..the Underoos ( the red dye in a pair of Robin underoos once gave me a rash on my chest and crotch...red crotch is tough to get out)

As I got older I was still naive as a freshman in high school...and so the magic of a batman movie was giant for me...its the first time I ever used the word "trailer" in a conversation..the kid I said it to (Charley Piazza) had no idea what I was talking about...but by the end of freshman year the first trailers were coming out and this was going to be the best summer ever...I even bought the novelization of the film before the films release...it was great and was the first book I read in ONE day...the book matched the film...but did have a few scenes that were never filmed...

On opening day...the first time I ever saw a film on opening day I wore my new Batman t-shirt...I also had some boot-leg Joker shirt that I got off Arthur Kill Road out in Sho-Lin...

As we watched the film some black gentlemen with a bucket of KFC yells "get him batman...kill that Muther F$%ker"...I may be embellishing the language but not the KFC...

Keaton as Batman?...I was originally kinda weirded out by this...I even saw the film "The Dream Team" which came out in April of the same year...to support his entrance as the Batman...the Dream Team is not an official film for "Best film of 1989"...Keaton was good...funny enough he was a better Batman then Bruce Wayne

Jack Nicholson?...can you pick a better Joker?...people cried foul and wanted Robin Williams...what crap that would have been...its funny because at the time people thought this film was supposed to be campy...but then thought it was very dark...when watching it now and comparing it to say The dark Knight...this film is a camp fest...not as crazy as the comic delight of the Adam West film...but not-grounded in reality at all...watch in 20 years we will have a Batman film where he tears peoples heads off in deluxe 3D or something

The film was a dark Noir, Gothic tale as only Burton can do...the suit was great, the car he nailed, the Joker was great...IMDB list Nicholson's take as 6 million...but I have seen reports that he also demanded a percentage of the next film as well...and that netted him up to 70 million

other films?

Cinema Paradiso: saw this in Italian class, I think it was our Junior year...this film won the Jury Grande Prize at Cannes...never came out in America till a year later...but I wanted to mention it here...this was a film about film lovers and the ways in which film brings people together...these films may be a dime a dozen...but it is great...warms your heart and needed to be added to this list. Ciao

Lifetime Movies: 1989

Winner: Field of Dreams

What, you didn't believe me when I said this was the golden age of baseball films? For me, this is the top of the list. I can't argue it's not sentimental, but why is that a bad thing? Baseball. Family. The American Dream. God, I feel like putting one of those little flags on my car and driving down to buy some meat. Hot dogs. And eating them with a cranky old black man.

Now, I'm not going to say this movie makes me cry, but when Ray's dad comes out of the cornfield to play catch with him, I always seem to get something in my eye. Just a coincidence. And dust mites.

This is my second straight pick featuring Shoeless Joe Jackson. And my second straight pick featuring Shoeless Joe Jackson batting the wrong way. (Seriously, he was a lefty. Don't exactly need CGI for that one.)

Films of Note:

Born on the Fourth of July: After this Tom Cruise should have had two Oscars (Best Supporting for Rain Man). Yes, I know how that sounds, but it's true.

Do the Right Thing: I still get angry every time I watch this. Why the hell does Mookie throw that trash can? I get the socio-economic explanations, but it still ticks me off. Though the first thing I think about when this film comes up is watching it on regular TV and Radio Raheem demanding, "Twenty D batteries, mickeyfickey!" from the Korean shop owners. And check this out.

Drugstore Cowboy: I am not as big a fan of director Gus Van Sant as Vin, a big reason being that I keep waiting for him to make a film as good as this. *Frank Trivia*: this was the first film I watched on an iPod. (That tidbit will win you a few bar bets down the line.)

Heathers & Say Anything...: the last two great teen films of the decade. And how fitting that one has Winona Ryder and the other John Cusack? Say Anything... is the directorial debut of one of my favorite filmmakers, Cameron Crowe. And Heathers features a high school named after Paul Westerberg. Who would go on to have two songs featured on the soundtrack to Singles...directed by Cameron Crowe. The circle of cool.

Indiana Jones and the last Crusade: I've heard people claim this is the best of the Indy movies. I don't agree, but it's really good and a lot of fun. I'm so glad they ended the series here instead of waiting 20 years and dusting off Harrison Ford to make the movie equivalent of disemboweling Santa Claus.

Major League: I remember having so much fun watching this in the theater. When "Wild Thing" kicked in and Ricky Vaughn emerged from the bullpen I didn't even care that I was cheering against the Yankees.

Skin Deep: Bought a ticket for some PG crap and snuck in to see what I thought was going to be the dirtiest movie ever. It wasn't. But it had nudity, so no one complained. Don't judge me.

UHF: Went to see this the day after it was released and it was already not playing. Saw Lethal Weapon 2 instead, which was good, but c'mon. I say this with no irony whatsoever: "Weird Al" is a genius.

Weekend at Bernie's: You couldn't get stupider than this. But it works. It's not "good," but it works. That Andrew McCarthy is magic.

Lifetime Movies: 1988

Winner: Eight Men Out

Thus begins the golden age of baseball films. This is one of the best--an historical account of the 1919 Chicago Black Sox World Series-fixing scandal that still reverberates in the sports world today. Solid all the way through with a terrific ensemble cast and a great feel for the time period. No clear-cut front runner this year, so if you wanted to talk me into something else, I’d listen. (And, yes, I know Shoeless Joe batted left-handed, but what can you do. Watch the film in a mirror if it’s that big a deal.)

Fun fact about director John Sayles: he wrote an unproduced screenplay called Night Skies that Spielberg would later turn into a little something called E.T.

Films of Note:

There were a lot of good films this year, but overall, a little light on the great. Vin mentioned a bunch, so I won’t regurgitate those. (Funny, how we both picked period pieces, though.)

Beetlejuice: Tim Burton when his imagination was still working in original mode. My favorite director at the time. Michael Keaton at his best. And I love seeing the young Winona Ryder and Alec Baldwin. Plus, we might not have this without it.

Bull Durham: Wait, isn’t this better than Eight Men Out? Eh...I don’t think so. Maybe. Maybe I just never got the whole Susan Sarandon thing. Still a fun movie, though.

Cocktail: Wait, what? Ludicrous movie, but I remember being mesmerized by Tom Cruise flipping bottles.

I’m Gonna Git You Sucka: For a small window, the Wayans Brothers were the funniest people out there. This and the first 2 seasons of In Living Color were comedy gold. (Jim Carrey was on that show? I don't know what you're talking about.)

Scrooged: Not sure why this doesn’t get more play around the holidays. Maybe we can try only 22 hrs. of A Christmas Story this year?

And finally...

The Last Temptation of Christ: Still not sure how Vin did not even mention this. I'm holding onto this with an asterisk since I haven't seen it in a long time. It's definitely one of the most important films of the decade, if not all time. Like I said above, go ahead and change my mind.

Lifetime Movies: 1988

1988...my favorite film from this year...I will give you some hints...I saw this film the summer after 8th grade with a bunch of Junior High School friends that I never saw again....I hated the film as soon as we left the theater, probably during the first few scenes...I have seen this film many many more times after that day, but my appreciation took probably 10 years to really come to a head...I hate...I mean HATE ever other film this director made (except his second film which was genius--Ed. Note: Mike Nichols)...the film also is David Schwimmer's movie debut.

There is not a GREAT film here in this year...this is probably the year I started to go see a lot of films by myself...or at least films I chose to go see...when I look at lists of films from this year I see a lot of comedies like Coming to America, Big, Naked Gun, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Twins, etc...and films like Die Hard, A Fish Called Wanda...films I like...but only 3 stand the test of time to be nominated for me.

Rain Man, Biloxi Blues, The Chocolate War

The winner this year is Biloxi Blues

As I got older I started to appreciate the subtle humor of everyday life and events, this film was a true enough life story which continued the story of Neil Simon from Brighton Beach Memoirs...I mean I am not Jewish so why should I "get this"...I just never gave it a chance...these days my wife and I quote this film all the time...especially living in Florida...

"Man i'ts hot, It's like Africa Hot, Tarzan couldn't take this kinda hot...it ain't this hot in Brooklyn"

It's just written perfectly...and I give no credit to the director...this is all Neil Simon's brilliance...the casting of Christopher Walken as the Drill Sargent...for me starts him as a comic genius...look on IMDB...every film before this was Walken as a serious actor...a drama actor...maybe points of Annie Hall and the Deer Hunter (kinda a joke)...are funny...but this was a new level for Walken. The film has great timeless lines...a great true to life feel, and to me the best film of the year.

Others of note:

Rain Man is a close second here...its got everything you need...but even Dustin would not go "Full Retard"...Tom Cruise is great..its heartfelt and a fun film.

The Chocolate War...directed by Arnie from Christine (Keith Gordon)...maybe its the fact that I went to an all boys catholic school...maybe its that I too was ridiculed in Mr Gatti's class for not selling any Super Dance tickets...but this to me ends the era of "80's" films...it had great 80's music, great acting, IIan Micheal-Smith is now a Professor at like Texas University (kid opposite Anthony Micheal Hall in Weird Science)....It's a great film

Midnight Run: haven't seen this one in a while...but I remember watching it over and over again...Walken had Biloxi Blues the same year DeNiro had this...his first Comedy? Too bad for DeNiro it was down hill from here on the comedy front.

Thats it...1988

Boom

Lifetime Movies: 1987

Gotta keep up with Frank here. 1987 was clearly a great year for film according to Frank...and why should I argue...but I just dont have that many films here...alot of what Frank wrote I sadly havent even seen...and many are also on my list...let me just say I think its freaking cool that Franks Grandpa brought him to see Full Metal Jacket...sadly I just saw 1 of Kubricks films in theaters. Heres my list of Films I considered to be the best Nominees and then some thoughts on others:

Angel Heart, Full Metal Jacket, Robocop

The winner for me was clear and not a tough decision: ROBOCOP

I had this poster hanging in my room for years. I remember buying it from Select Video in Staten Island on Hylan Blvd...and being so proud that I got to buy the very same movie poster that was hanging in the store front a few months earlier...(I also bought a Commando and The Golden Child poster but thats a different story. This film was originally an X rating for violence..the directors cut that is on Criterion is brutal. From the design to the violence to the glory of DR. Peter Wellers performance I just love this film...my hopes were that Darren Aronofsky would find it in his busy schedule of artsy fartsy films to do this remake some justice...but the original film stands the test of time...they just dont make great films with action and violence as visceral as this anymore...not with all this CGI fake blood.

Angel Heart: another possible X rating...Mickey Rourke continues to fascinate me...I have an interview on the dvd for this film where he just flat out states that he doesnt remember most of the filming of this movie...

Full Metal Jacket: Franks said it best...the dvd commentary to the new Kurick collection is great...its got D'Onofrio and some great stories.

Untouchables: Just saw an interview with an author that states that Capone never would have known Elliot Ness's name..great another way that Hollywood fucks up history...great film but historically inaccurate..for accuracy see Public Enemy's by a much better director Micheal Mann

Raising Arizona: funny funny funny...the Coens are great...but sometimes they fall flat also...looking forward to True Grit

Who's That Girl: I saw this in the theater...I had a fascination and love affair with this woman for years...she looks best in this film towards the end in a stunning dress...I was in love

Lifetime Movies: 1987

Winner: Full Metal Jacket

For the simple reason that the first half of Stanley Kubrick's Vietnam War film contains some of the most powerful images ever shot (no pun intended)(really). The rawness of the fear and hate and pain between R. Lee Ermey's Gunnery Sergeant Hartman and Vincent D'Onofrio's Private Pyle left an incredible impression on me when I saw this at a too young age. (I was into war movies at the time and had my grandpa take me to see this. Poor guy. If only there were informative movie blogs back then to help guide him.) 

Films of Note:

Angel Heart / Barfly: Double-barreled Mickey Rourke. Was he as good as anyone in his prime?

Can't Buy Me Love / Some Kind of Wonderful: Two of the last great 80s teen movies. Some might argue SKoW may be the best. (Here's another: Adventures in Babysitting. Elizabeth Shue...sigh...and I still regret going to see Jaws IV instead of this.)

Evil Dead II: Not much more to be said about this. Its cult classic status is platinum, as is its place as the prototype slapstick horror film. Its everything that's great about Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell. And that's a lot of everything.

Lethal Weapon: Back when Mel Gibson was just playing crazy. Still the best buddy-cop movie, though points deducted for giving us 25 years and counting of...more buddy-cop movies.

The Lost Boys / Near Dark: Great year for vampires.And Coreys.

The Princess Bride: What's your favorite quote from this? If you don't have one, you probably have two. "Why won't my arms move? You've been mostly-dead all day."

Raising Arizona: The Coen Bros. second film and first comedy. Amazing how well they understood the types of movies they wanted to make right from the start...and were able to pull them off so masterfully.

RoboCop: Nihilistic, right wing vigilante fantasy? Satiric skewering of the decline of western civilization? Badass robot violence? Yep, yep, and hell yep.

Spaceballs: I couldn't imagine anything ever being as funny when I first saw this. Now? Not so much.

Summer School: All hail the great Dean Cameron! Very underrated movie.

The Untouchables: Say what you want about director Brian De Palma (buy Vin a drink and he'll say plenty), but this is a terrific film. Screenplay by David Mamet. Music by Ennio Morricone. Ok, maybe it's not so much De Palma.

Lifetime Movies: 1986

When I think of the 80's...for some reason 1986 seems like a great year...Frank and I turned 12 this year...the prime of our childhood. 86..just like the great 86th street in Brooklyn New York...86 like the Challenger explosion...86 like the great Watchmen Graphic Novel...and Platoon won the Oscar...here are my Nominee's

At Close Range , Blue Velvet, Big Trouble In Little China , Wise Guys

I gotta say this is a tough one. Do I pick the artsy film and be called a snob again like with Eraserhead?...do I pick the little Gem that is At Close Range with both Penn boys, Chris Walken and my favorite Madonna song of all time, do I choose the crazy go nuts Big Trouble which perfectly balances action, kung fu, comedy, and sci-fi horror?...or do I go with a film I could watch a thousand times and always laugh knowing its glorious and no one has seen it in Wiseguys (picking this will make it the second Brian DePalma film...what?...me pick DePalma twice over Scorsese?..What a Disgrace I would be.

Enough pick I know: I just feel this is so important I must go with my gut:

BLUE VELVET by David Lynch

Its just THE best film of 1986...it is the best filmed and most beautiful of the films listed, it is a true American Nightmare, Dreamscape, Fim Noir, Scary film....not in the horror sense but in the David Lynch sense...this is the film I would recommend to someone who wanted to see their first David Lynch Film. Maybe I'm feeling nostalgic but the late Dennis Hopper was amazing and scary and fun fun fun to watch. On a personal note the film was filmed in North Carolina...it is set in the fictional town of Lumberton...but in North Carolina there really is a Lumberton...and I ate at a Cracker Barrel in Lumberton...

Others of note that need to be recognized:

WiseGuys:...this film is great...probably in a toss up with Blue Velvet...but I HAD to pick one which are the rules...Wise guys has the best Captain Lou Albano ever and the first "Italo-Judeo Deli"

Cobra : What a crazy film...watch this one with some friends now and realize how stupid the 80's was...the product placement is great and Director Sylvester Stallone lets us all know he is the star.

of course : Stand By Me, Top Gun and Ferris Bueller..all equally wonderful to watch on the USA network during July 4th or some shit.

BOOM BITCHES (for Brattsley...our late great reader)

Lifetime Movies: 1986

Changing up the format a bit. All apologies to you SMC purists.

Winner: Aliens: This is how it's supposed to work--young director proves himself on a low budget and is given the chance to play around with some bigger bucks. James Cameron's follow-up to Ridley Scott's Alien is a sci-fi action masterpiece that isn't so much a sequel as a roided out version of the original. Like the kid in high school who left in June looking like Yakov Smirnoff and came back looking like Ivan Drago. Timely 80s references--mint! Sigourney Weaver was even nominated for a Best Actress Oscar for kicking so much ass, which really should be its own category.

Films of Note:
Back to School: I can't not watch this when it's on TV. Rodney Dangerfield is hilarious. Plus, there's a Kurt Vonnegut cameo!

Big Trouble in Little China: Director John Carpenter and Kurt Russell at the top of their games. Another movie that's just so much fun to watch.

Ferris Bueller's Day Off: Who didn't want to be Ferris? Actually, I think more people just wanted to hang out with him. Seeing Matthew Broderick now, it's almost hard to believe he was once the epitome of cool.

Hoosiers: In the running for best sports movie ever. Hackman and Hopper's powerful performances are just running up the score.

Pretty in Pink: More John Hughes! And this one may be his best overall film. Spader!

River's Edge / Sid and Nancy: Ah, the underbelly of the most superficial of decades. Gritty, indie films that presaged the coming darker, alterna-90s. At least the early 90s.

Stand By Me: Coming-of-age film that actually surpasses the Stephen King novella on which it was based. People tend to make fun of a lot of these 80s kid actors today because, well, people are dicks. But take Corey Feldman...please. Seriously, though, he's very good in this, and a lot of his other roles. It's a shame sometimes that we're all so cool.

Top Gun: Iceman would have crushed Maverick.

*Before Vin says anything, I'd like to point out that Blue Velvet is not mentioned. Honestly, I haven't seen it in some time and don't really feel comfortable judging it here. (And Vin, if you love David Lynch so much, why don't you marry him?)

Lifetime Movies: 1985

Name me another film like this...do it I dare you. Brazil is the best film of 1985. No other film deserves to be mentioned, there is no other nominations for 1985. Gilliam's problems with making films started here, we all know his history with films...and this was the start. If possible and you are a collector of films I recommend the Criterion Collection of this film, it comes with 3 discs, 2 versions of the film, plenty of really good extras and interviews, especially over the history of making this film. No one wanted the "Gilliam" version, the studio wanted a happy ending and Gilliam even gave them one, but he also made his own version. The best of Gilliam is here:
1. Futuristic city
2. Nightmarish State Run Country
3. Dreams
4. Unhappy ending
5. Absurd comedy
I wish Gilliam would make something from his roots again...Parnassus was close but not quite there, maybe it was Heath's death, maybe it was the CGI...but Brazil is a masterpiece.

Others of note:
Back to The Future: Like I said..the best time travel movie ever

Rocky 4: Wyoming takes the place of Russia...training in Russia is apparently medieval...and the whole of Cold War relations can be summed up in this film...say what you will..Drago was a great bad guy.

Breakfast Club: classic 80's comedy..last time I counted 11 people in this film

Goonies: I am still pissed that when I bought the Goonies cards...there was a scene of an octopus on the card..I have never yet seen that scene..its an extra I am still waiting for

Legend: R Scott was distilled..this film is good...the character of DARKNESS is awesome and scary

Real Genius: classic again...and I still can not hammer a spike into a piece of wood with my penis

Year of the Dragon: Mickey Rourke and Micheal Cimino at it again..look for the scene where Rourke is in the apartment and the background is the NY skyline with the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridge...they just could have filmed that background...but no ...Cimino is so good he built that set on a roof of a building between those two bridges...amazing.

Till 1986...BOOM