Best Movies Of The 1990s

Absolutely spectacular. No words can describe it.

Touching, and one of Fiennes' best performances.

Three hours are worth it.

Without a doubt one of the most powerful dramas to have ever existed, and István Szabó's best picture by a long shot.

Yet another triumph for the incomparable Ralph Fiennes. This love story breaches the boundaries of allegiance and honor, and reveals human attraction for what it truly is, an entirely personal, and desperate fact of life, that must be fulfilled. Fiennes proves why he is the most human performer that ever was, is, and ever will be. Astoundingly perfect in every way.

Sets the standard for political-paranoia films and executes its propaganda well. It may not be entirely factual, but Oliver Stone never meant it to be. Costner plays Garrison with a reliability on what is happening around him, and he does it well. This is one of the scarier films about, not for its shock-horror-boo-scares, because it contains none, but because it effectively tackles a single event and appropriately bloats it to a level where we can all question it maturely. It reminds us who we are as human beings, and who we are as citizens, not necessarily of the United States, but of the democracy that we rely on. This film leaves us with one question strongly etching at our innards: "Could democracy betray the people who built it?"

What a depressing feature. And yet, through all this well-paced (yet over three hours long...) dramatic chaos... we are given a smile.

And that, dear ladies and gentlemen, is what convinces me that "everything's just going to be alright."

Heart-wrenchingly powerful. In contrast, this is not a conventional film. Very much an artpiece. But it is an astounding artpiece, and without a doubt Nicolas Cage's greatest performance, and perhaps a display of acting ability that ranks up there with Fiennes' Amon Goeth and Burstyn's Emma Goldfarb. Speaking of Goldfarb, by comparison, this is very much an alcoholic equivilent of Requiem For A Dream, only even more effective. Considering the power of RFAD, this is a brilliant achievement in itself. I thoroughly recommend.

Fiennes achieves the near-impossible, he outmatches Peter O'Toole's depiction of T.E. Lawrence and goes beyond.

The opening staredown is an anti-ultimatum of shattering power, his words emanating with the clear booming of Fiennes' distinct voice.

What we have, instead of glorious sands, is a battle of politics inside the labyrinth of council chambers as Lawrence battles for Arabia's ownership of Syria. The villains are distinct, yet they follow the law better than Lawrence could ever hope.

What we are left with is a cold, hard, lawless man whose ambitions are nobler than that of those politicians aiming for a future after WWI.

Don't pass it up. It neither rises nor lowers away from the quality of the original Lawrence Of Arabia, but in all honesty, that is a good thing.

In some ways, a disgusting attempt to rewrite history, but in others, painfully disturbing, and quite easily deserving of its awards not for its story, but for Ralph Fiennes' brilliantly complex and well performed Amon Goeth, whose inner demons haunt the viewer far more than any of the horrific killings that he personally carries out. If you see "Schindler's List" for one reason alone, you don't see it for Spielberg's attempt to re-enact something that occurred very differently from his depiction... you see it for the greatest performance of the 90s, Ralph Fiennes, in a role that isn't just a villain... but a spirit of its own.

Another New Zealand triumph. Nothing not to recommend, it caters for nearly every coherent genre and pulls off an absolutely explosive finalé while along the way teaching us of the family values and culture that is at stake as Temuera Morrison's character threatens to destroy it all. See it now.

With some editing issues aside, this is Kosminsky's masterpiece. Though Binoche tends to dwell into the realm of naïve acting, which doesn't all account well for her dual performance... it is Ralph Fiennes, in his first major motion picture part, that completely steals the show. Hailed as the performance that made him into the Amon Goeth of Schindler's List, Ralph Fiennes takes hold of Heathcliff with a deep complexity interwoven with the all-too-familiar desperation that love can bring him. Born for the roles of The Engish Patient's Count Almásy; Onegin's Evgeny Onegin; and Sunshine's three Sonnenschein generations, this is another crowning achievement, with an unrivalled intensity, and a revelation break-down at the end of the second act that will leave you completely breathless. Once again, or should one say, for the first time, he proves to all that he truly is the most human, and quite possibly the greatest actor, to have ever graced the earth. And I mean this, because however much you despise Binoche for her lackluster performance here, you just won't care when Fiennes comes onto the screen.

What a year. I was disturbed when Ralph Fiennes didn't win Best Lead Actor for The English Patient that year, but when I see Rush in action with this film, I see why Rush won. Fiennes is still a superior actor on all levels, but Rush outclassed him this year with an astounding... absolutely breathtaking performance as Helfgott.

Scorsese's best, yet sadly his most under-rated film, is indeed a colossal achievement that ranks among the spiritual leader that this film revolves around.

Robert Lin is, without a doubt, the executor of the best performance here, as the nasty and vindictive Chairman Mao.

His political seduction of the Dalai Lama remains one of the most sinister displays of rampant corruption ever to grace a Scorsese picture.

Yet as the final credits roll, it becomes apparent that this was far too political, far too controversial in its wonderful execution to be accepted by the powerful Chinese. Hence its bomb at the box office.

Brilliantly powerful. A study of racism on a far gorier and even more shocking scale than even the Academy Award Winning "Crash". But this is no crashing of tales, it's one tale, and the finale will be burnt into your memory for the rest of your humanly cinematic experience. Norton deserves an Oscar.

Magnificent. Fiennes steals the show. From a thunderously powerful opening, through an explosive climax, to the clichéd, though nonetheless wonderfully fulfilling ending. The chemistry here more than makes up for Ralph's horrific near-career-ending stunt in The Avengers.

Without a doubt one of the most intriguing and fulfilled action films that I have laid eyes on, perhaps in my entire life.

A heartfelt goodbye from Brandon Lee, who had left us with one of the greatest cinematic achievements in history.

Beyond all shadow of a doubt, a surreal film. Completely spell-binding, but otherwise creative, this is a very powerful movie that takes "seeing things through another person's eyes" to the next level.

The birth of Jay and Silent Bob, and easily one of the best comedies I have ever seen. Being that I work at a video store, it becomes apparent that I can relate to these characters. Nothing about it is unbelievable. Crude and at times outrageous, but not unbelievable. And how is it that Randal is a carbon copy of myself? Is it that he works at a shitty video store? Or is it simply that he hates everyone who walks into his store? Could be both, but I'm not quite so vocal about it. It's true, just because we serve you... doesn't mean we like you. In fact, we hate you. Unless you love us.

Spacey is hilarious and Benning having completely outdone herself. This is a flawless look at modern suburbia, though in a less graphic way (ala Happiness).

Brilliant stuff. The story, the characters, the twists, the God damn film as a whole is fantastic.

Keyser Soze is one awesome motherfucker!

Solondz's best. Humourously confrontational and at times entirely offensive, Happiness is the epitomé of controversial cinema, attacking some of the most touchy subjects in modern day society, whilst drawing some impressive performances out of the likes of Philip Seymour Hoffman.