The Best of the 1990's

Umm. Wow. This is a shocker. I would have never thought that a movie with John Cusack and Anjelica Huston could be this well acted. I like them both, but wow. Anyways, Stephen Frears is a great director and he brought his own special touch to this movie. Annette Bening had an awesome supporting role which earned her an Oscar nomination. Anjelica Huston also received one. This was a great con-artist movie and there is a slight twist ending. I recommend this to anyone who likes suspense-filled endings. There is one shot, too, at the end of the film of Anjelica Huston in an elevator, which has to be one of my favourite and best photographed scenes ever. Well done.

The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
director: Jonathan Demme
starring: Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Scott Glenn, Ted Levine, Anthony Heald, Brooke Smith, Kasi Lemmons

Horror films have forever been popular in movie-going society, but not until The Silence of the Lambs was released did the genre take a drastic turn. Not only does this film excel at frightening its viewers and giving them nightmares about cannibalistic serial killers, more importantly, it breaks the the old horror film stereotypes and introduces fresh and very brave new film conventions. Horror films have almost always portrayed women as weak and helpless characters. They're always either the damsel in distress, being rescued one way or another by a man or the promiscuous teenager who is naked for half of the film. The Silence of the Lambs takes the weak female character stereotype and completely reverses it. In this film, the main character, Clarice Starling, is a strong, independent woman who holds her own in a male-dominated workplace and solves the mystery without any help from men. This may sound like a feminist rant, but this is a groundbreaking film in terms of female liberation and deserves high recognition.

This film is hardly geared toward women, but it does directly deal with the role of a strong woman in a male-dominated society. This political statement propels the main character into the history books as one of the most important heroines of all-time. However, Clarice Starling isn't the first female heroine in a horror film (even though she may be the most popular). Ellen Ripley from the Alien films made her debut in 1979 in the horror franchise and not only kicked alien ass, but film stereotype's ass into the history books as a strong female heroine in a horror film. Starling is played flawlessly by Jodie Foster, a role she was born to play. Foster shines in all of the scenes, but most evidently in the scenes with Anthony Hopkins. She is brilliant and their eerie chemistry is almost pleasing to watch. Foster was lucky enough to take home the Oscar for her portrayal of Clarice Starling which is, undoubtedly, one of the most deserved Oscars in recent memory.

Aside from the feminism, this film has other groundbreaking elements to it as well. The film's main male character is Dr. Hannibal "The Cannibal" Lecter. Dr. Lecter was once a psychiatrist, but was arrested for murder and found to be a serial killing cannibal, hence the nickname he acquired. What's shocking about Lecter is his tone and diction. He's a very intelligent man, but uses his wisdom and serenity in a way that draws you in as he fools with your mind. What's groundbreaking about this character is that he is a villain, but he isn't the villain the protagonist is looking for. He actually aids the Clarice into finding the "bad guy" from behind his bars. Lecter is portrayed by the fantastic Anthony Hopkins, who also took home an Oscar for his 17-minute performance. Hopkins' performance is the shortest to win an Oscar for Best Actor, but it is far from small in power. Although given such a short amount of screen time, Hopkins steals the film as Hannibal Lecter and creates what has become one of the most popular and recognizable film characters of all time. He is frighteningly chilling and evokes such evil in his eyes that he becomes the character.

In the scene where Starling visits Lecter in prison for the first time and for most of the thrilling conclusion, the cinematography stood out as brilliant and I could not get it out of my mind. Cinematographer Tak Fujimoto has worked on many films (Badlands, Philadelphia and The Sixth Sense to name a few) and has been recognized by many critics and film institutions to be one of the best cinematographers out there. Fujimoto worked with director Jonathan Demme on The Silence of the Lambs so wonderfully and produced some of the most frightening scenes in film history. Fujimoto utilizes so many different camera angles in this film that intensify the scenes and generate such great suspense. He is a master of his craft and he proves this to us through his excellent work in this film.

Recognized as one of the greatest films of all-time by many sources, The Silence of the Lambs was a huge success when it was released in 1991 and has endured time and is still a huge success now. Creating two legendary film characters, one who is one of the most recognized villains of all time and the other who is one of the greatest heroines of all time, staying true to the novel which the film was based on and winning five Oscars in the major categories is only a few of this films' achievements. It's an iconic thriller and has gone down as one of the best. If you have been living under a rock and haven't seen this film, I cannot recommend it more. See it, you won't regret it.

One of the most perfect films I've ever seen. Masterfully written and directed by Gus Van Sant, My Own Private Idaho is one of the most essential films from early 90s. It's a film about hope, friendship, longing and heartbreak. All credit for the success of this film goes to not only Van Sant, but to star River Phoenix, also. He's the perfect actor for this film and he proves this in many scenes.

Van Sant used many different filming techniques for this film and blended them all together to create a brilliant collage of realism. Documentary styles, dream sequences, wide-angled track shots and a standout soundtrack contribute to this film's visual appeal and narrative. The narrative, which is completely seen through Mike's (Phoenix) narcoleptic consciousness, is what makes this film so unique. Mike is a troubled person who has a bad past and isn't currently looking forward to a good future either. The film's sharp editing makes Mike's confusion of past from present and dreams from reality evident and important in the progression of the film.

Filled with symbolism and metaphorical meanings (the falling barn, the salmon, the tableau sex scene, the smiling road, etc.) this film can be hard to dissect, but when understood it's such a beautiful film that you can fall in love with very easily. Phoenix's performance is true and very strong. He evokes emotions that an actor can only dream of. When confessing his feelings for Scott at the campfire, the mixture of hope and fright that you hear in his voice is saddening. He's a character you can't help but feel bad for and watching his heartbreaking journey for the rest of the film makes it that much harder to let go of his character.

It's with the last scene of the film where Mike is alone in the desert on the same road as the beginning of the film where the emotional impact finally hit me. Scott is gone, living a life of his own and Mike is in the middle of a empty street staring at the horizon, abandoned. He falls to the road in another bout of narcolepsy. A car drives up to his body and stops. Two people get out and walk over to his body to only steal the shoes off of his feet. They drive away. A next car drives up and stops. A person gets out and picks up Mike placing him in the back seat of his car. The car drives off into the distance and this is the last we see of Mike. The sad part is that Mike was alone, abandoned and weak. He's picked up by a stranger and taken away. What faces his character is what's left up to the viewer to determine for themselves. Seeing as how Mike's luck kept wearing out through the film and he kept plunging into worse and worse situations, I can only imagine what might become of him.

A film that has more important meanings in its narration and character analysis than any other film I've seen in a long time, My Own Private Idaho is a disturbing tale, but is also a tale that inspires and brings out hope. I love this film and I think everyone should see it for themselves to generate their own interpretation of the events. One of my new personal favourites of all-time.

This is one of the most talked about movies of the 90s. It shouldn't be popular for it's action/sex scenes, but for its groundbreaking screenplay that took two women and placed them in male roles. The stereotypical housewife would not rob a bank or kill people. These two women have been placed in the roles of males which was something new to cinema. No longer were women portrayed as housewives or vulnerable sex slaves after this film came out because women understood that they have to be strong independent individuals. Although these women look happy and stable, under their core they are hurt. Hurt by the disrespectful men in the film and have had enough of it. Even though they are fleeing after murdering a man, they are still strong women and all they want is their freedom back and a chance to live a life where no one, especially a man, can tell them how to live. Another reason this film was groundbreaking was because the director was a man. Ridley Scott, the director of such films like [i]Alien[/i] and [i]Gladiator[/i]. Such a masculine man came along and made a film about two female buddies who go on an anti-male adventure to escape their decrepit lives. Sarandon and Davis are perfect in this film and both are deserving of their Best Actress nominations. Perfect acting and a perfect screenplay are two major components that lead to this perfect film.

This is one sequel that completely demolishes the original in almost every aspect. I only liked the original and I wasn't really excited to see this one, but when I watched it in my film class I was so surprised. This one is so amazing. The story is great and the effects are so much better. I guess becasue the original had a budget of $6.5 million and this one had a budget of $100 million... that can really make or break an action movie. Arnold Schwarzenegger is so great as the Terminator. He was made to play this role. Linda Hamilton is awesome, too. She really got in shape for this movie, I was impressed. Furlong was good, but this and American History X are the only 2 movies I really remember him from. Can't say he made a good career for himself. Robert Patrick is an awesome villain; probably one of the best and most remembered to this day. The whole conversion from 'bad' to 'good' by Arnold is great and the way James Cameron directs this movie is stunning, also. I have never been a huge fan of the sci-fi / action blockbusters, but this movie has a lot of meaning and cultural tone to it and I really, really liked it. This has to be one of the most entertaining and one of the best movies I have seen. I highly recommend this movie to everyone. Not a movie to be missed!

Just from watching most of the scenes in this film (ex. the burning red knight) you can tell that this is a Terry Gilliam film. Gilliam's style is quite evident in all of his films and this one is no exception. The funny thing is, Gilliam didn't write the screenplay or story for this film, Richard LaGravenese did. LaGravenese used to be a stand-up comedian and shares the same sense of humour and style as Gilliam, so fortunately it worked out for both of them. They make a terrific pair combining one's screenplay and the other's style to make this wonderfully vivid and original movie.

Just looking at the movie and its wonderful art direction and costume design is enough to make me love this film, but it doesn't stop there. The performances are top-notch especially from Robin Williams and Mercedes Ruehl. Jeff Bridges gives one of the best performances of his career, too.

Gilliam proves his directorial capabilities with this film not only bringing the style of the story to the screen but directing his actors in amazing performances. It's probably very hard to control Robin Williams on screen and usually the director that works with him in a comedy has a rough time since Williams seems to direct himself, but here, Gilliam (being a man of strange comedy himself [see Monty Python]) works quite well with the cast. If it wasn't for the other tremendous directing that occurred that year, Gilliam would have, without a doubt, been nominated for the Oscar.

In my opinion, Gilliam works better on films like these (director-wise) than with films like Brazil. There's no doubt about it that Gilliam has a fresh and unique imagination, which can be confused with corrupt and disturbing (see Tideland), but when given another person's screenplay he can do wonders with imagery and other forms of visual artistry.

With The Fisher King, Gilliam and LaGravenese's vision is put on the screen quite visually especially through production designer Mel Bourne's work. He transforms the low parts of New York into a beautiful place and through a homeless person's point of view, this is their kingdom.

Robin Williams is absolutely perfect in this role. He plays Parry, a homeless man who believes he is a knight in search of the Holy Grail. When he meets Jack Lucas (Bridges), he is told by his miniature imaginary friends that Jack is "the one", the one to retrieve the Grail from a rich man's home on Fifth Avenue. Lucas, a man already in shambles, befriends the bum and soon learns that when he was a talk DJ his crooked advice to one listener caused him to go on a shooting spree that coincidentally killed Parry's wife. Jack now feels indebted to Parry and will do anything to help him restore his life. With the help of Jack's girlfriend, Anne (Ruehl, in an Oscar winning role), he guides Parry in the right directions to get the girl of his dreams, Lydia (Plummer), who he has been following for months.

A wonderful screenplay and very interesting characters makes this film a true gem. Mercedes Ruehl was very deserving of her Oscar and gave one of the best supporting performances of the 90s. She epitomizes the trashy, yet sexy woman in this film and in one of the film's best scenes, she cuts right into your heart and makes you sympathize for her.

So with a wonderful combination of brilliant screenwriter, ever-so visionary director and amazing actors, this film launches itself into the memory as one of those movies that you will remember.

I highly recommend this movie to everyone who breathes and has a soul. If you have a chance before you see this, look up the fable of 'The Fisher King' and read it prior to watching the movie. It may provide some insight into the characters and situations. It's funny, it's sad and it's really, really original.

One word... "WOW". This was amazing.

The cast is perfect. PERFECT. Al Pacino is so raw and real. Jack Lemmon is surprising, yet terrific. Ed Harris is sensational. Kevin Spacey is great. Alan Arkin and Alec Baldwin are awesome. What's not to like about this movie? The plot is amazing, the director is great and the whole movie just makes you want to watch it over and over again!

Review coming soon (06/27/07)

Chung Hing sam lam [Chungking Express] (1994)
director: Wong Kar-wai
starring: Tony Leung, Faye Wong, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Brigitte Lin

Review coming soon .

Okay. So either you can love this or you can hate it. This isn't a movie where you are just satisfied. I can safely say that it was probably one of the funniest films of the 90s. Even today, this film still resonates among audiences. It will forever be remembered. A cult classic. This is Kevin Smith's brainchild. His first film which started off a chain of many terrific films following this.

Kevin Smith has become a cultural icon across the world with his young adult-oriented films. [i]Clerks.[/i] started his brilliance in 1994. It was wildly acclaimed and even recognized at the Sundance and Cannes film festivals, winning top prizes. It isn't necessarily a top-notch film, but a good one, for sure. The use of dialogue is brilliant and Kevin Smith is known for that. He is a master, like Quentin Tarantino, with catchy dialogue that might be about nothing in particular, but makes the greatest scenes and is told in a way that will capture the viewers.

The plot is basically this: A day in the lives of Dante (O'Halloran) and Randal (Anderson) who are both convenience clerks. They annoy customers, play hockey on the roof, knock caskets over and talk about movies. Dante isn't even supposed to be at work. He was called in when his co-worker took a trip and he is angry because he has a hockey game at 2 o'clock. At work, his girlfriend, Veronica (Ghigliotti), is pestering him about going back to school and asking him about his past sexual partners. He gets even more angry when he learns his ex-girlfriend, Caitlin (Spoonhauer), is engaged to an Asian design major. With only his co-worker Randal at his side, he has no choice but to bend the rules a little bit at work and see if he can get away with it all.

I'll put it this way... this is not as good as Smith's [i]Chasing Amy[/i], but it can easily take down [i]Dogma[/i] and [i]Mallrats[/i] in a match. I think that the sequel to this film might be a little more enjoyable. When it comes down to filmmaking though, this movie takes the cake. Classic independent film with an unknown cast makes for a great experience.

One of the best comedies of the past two decades. Thanks to Kevin Smith, we are able to laugh at material one wouldn't normally find in any other film. Because of this film's NC-17 rating most people weren't lucky enough to see this in theaters, but now there is a Special Edition 3-Disc DVD that you can view which will have you laughing like you never laughed before.

Se7en (1995)
director: David Fincher
starring: Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Spacey, Gwyneth Paltrow, R. Lee Ermey, Richard Roundtree

When I first watched this film four years ago, it was the most thrilling and exhilarating film I had ever seen. Nothing compared to it in terms of suspense and thrills. When I watched this film recently, I realized why this film had such an impact on me four years ago. This film is by far the most suspenseful film I've seen and it plays with your fears like they are toys. The direction is impeccable; David Fincher is highly aware of this film's genre and uses it to the best of his ability. He bides his time and keeps all of the thrills contained until the climax and definitely unleashes them in the conclusion. Comparing Se7en to thrillers released after 1995 is difficult because none of them hold a candle to this masterpiece. The only films of this genre who are anywhere near the quality of Se7en are The Descent, 28 Days Later and Zodiac (which was also directed by Fincher). Through examining the film's genre and visual style, it is easy for me to say that Se7en is one of the best films I have ever seen.

When thinking of the horror genre, the first thing that usually comes to mind is monsters, zombies, ghosts or some other fictitious creature that we normally see attacking people in films. When The Silence of the Lambs was released, it re-introduced the idea of realism in horror films. Realism had not been popular in the horror genre for decades; in the 1950s, most of the thrillers were in the film noir style where the villain was not a monster, but rather an insane human who was battling himself as well as others. The duality of the characters was what made them frightening. For example, Harry Powell (played to perfection by Robert Mitchum) from The Night of the Hunter was one of the most frightening antagonists from the '50s. But the idea of realism was lost until 1991, when it became more popular.

In 1995, Se7en introduced what would become one of the iconic villains of the 1990s: John Doe. He was a human. He was evil. He was real. He murdered people, but added a twist to his killings: he murdered them based on their sins, one death for every one of the seven deadly sins. The one difference between Se7en and other horror films incorporating realism is the fact that the villain doesn't have an inner battle with himself. Usually we know the villain's past and usually this past is what causes the villain to become villainous in the first place. With John Doe, we don't know his past, he doesn't have fingerprints and he is nameless. The fact that he has no identity is one of the most important bits of this film. Having the villain appear half way through the film and giving him no identity gives the evil deeds in the film much more ambiguity in terms of whose fault they were. The evilness ultimately lies in the victims. Yes, murder is a sin, and we see what becomes of John Doe in the conclusion, but his victims died because of the evil he saw in them. In terms of film history, Se7en is groundbreaking in the originality department. It establishes new takes on both the villain and on realist horror conventions. It's brilliance should be remembered for it brought around a totally new type of psychological thriller.

Se7en was not only revolutionary in what was aforementioned, it also exuded mastery in the editing department. The opening credits of this film are almost as intense as the film itself. They display graphic images of grisly murders, mutilated bodies and bloody jars. What we are watching is John Doe at work in his scrapbook where he keeps pictures of his killings. The sharp and jolting editing mixed with the also gruesome song "Closer" by Nine Inch Nails gives the opening credits an extremely eerie feeling. This is a perfect introduction for it establishes what we can expect from the film itself. Stylistically, this film is excellent. The editing, music, cinematography and art direction are used perfectly in accordance to the thematic elements. The dark look this film has diminishes hope and the dirty city gives the feeling of unease not only for the characters, but for the viewers, too.

Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman both give deep performances. The two characters they play each have their gloomy, secretive sides, but are likable characters nonetheless. Kevin Spacey gives yet another astonishing performance as the villain in this film, John Doe. Unfortunately, he goes uncredited on the film's posters and opening credits, but for good reason: shock value. His monologue in the police car as Brad Pitt interrogates and mocks him is amazing and proves why he is such a fantastic actor.

Se7en is one of the essential films of the 1990s. It redefined the horror genre and established new techniques and conventions that shocked the viewing public. It's a disturbing film which has poignancy in its core, but I wouldn't recommend it to the faint of heart. It's grisly and graphic, but the gore is necessary for such a film. It instantly became one of my favourite films and I think it could easily pass as my favourite film of al