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Post by Slam_Bradley on Jul 6, 2023 14:33:31 GMT -5
What??!!! No one even mentions Freejack?!!! I'm done with this thread.... I've never seen Freejack. I don't forsee that changing in my lifetime. |
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Post by arfetto on Jul 6, 2023 14:36:24 GMT -5
Oh, I remembered a very important movie from 1992.
Godzilla vs. Mothra.
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Post by berkley on Jul 6, 2023 18:51:30 GMT -5
Oh, I remembered a very important movie from 1992.
Godzilla vs. Mothra. What do you think of the Japanese monster movies of the 1990s in general? I haven't seen any of them but recently added KIng Ghidorah to my list after seeing it listed for 1990 or 1991, maybe I'll try to get to this one too. I've been watching some of the 1950s ones the last few months and enjoying those. |
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Post by commond on Jul 9, 2023 17:50:47 GMT -5
For 1992, I'm going with Claude Sautet's A Heart in Winter, which is a masterpiece and reminds me of the days when I would rent random foreign films from the video store. The Crying Game would be a close second. I quite like Altman's The Player, as well. Lessons in Darkness is a quintessential Herzog documentary complete with the now infamous Herzog narration. Porco Rosso isn't Miyazaki's best film, but I had a grin from ear to ear when I saw it.
I remember the grownups wouldn't stop talking about Basic Instinct at the time.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Jul 13, 2023 11:36:12 GMT -5
It's 1993 kids. Schindler's List - I've only seen Schindler's List once. I think it's a testament to the power of the film that I remember it quite well. I just never felt like I could summon the will to watch it again. Just an amazingly made and powerfully acted movie that you need to watch at least once. Groundhog Day - A fun movie with a great performance by Bill Murray. Murray has just enough edge to keep the movie from becoming saccharine, a major danger in a movie of this type. Stephen Tobolowsky is excellent as Ned Ryerson, the pest. I'd say this is pretty easily Harold Ramis' best film as a director. It's just a fun movie that I'm pretty much always willing to watch. The Fugitive - The big screen adaptation of the television show is far better than you'd expect for that kind of thing. I don't think it's a great film. But it's slick and stylish and any faults are easily made up for by the heft of Harrison Ford and, especially, Tommy Lee Jones. Another fun action film with a little more gravitas than is usual for the genre. Tombstone - Yeah...believe me...I know that this plays so loose with history that it's ludicrous (though the props and the clothing are pretty authentic). I honestly don't care. This is just a great western. So many amazing performances in a movie that had so much drama on the set it's amazing it got made at all. Val Kilmer is brilliant as Doc Holiday. Michael Biehn may give his best performance ever. Powers Boothe is excellent as Curly Bill. Kurt Russell solidly anchors the film and Sam Elliott adds his customary gravitas. And a super quotable movie. I'll watch it every time I can. Dazed and Confused - Box office disappointment (it didn't outright bomb because of the small budget) that became a cult hit on video. Just an outstanding look at American culture and a pretty solidly faithful look at high school in the time period represented. The setting was smack dab when my older siblings were in high school and I remember a ton of what is represented here. Solid young cast and a whip-smart script with great direction by Richard Linklater. Batman: Mask of the Phantasm - I'd be hard-pressed to argue that this isn't the best Batman movie ever. That said...I just kind of like it rather than love it. To me it isn't as good as the best episodes of Batman: The Animated Series. Mark Hamill is absolute gold as the Joker, though. The Wrong Trousers - The second Wallace and Gromit film is a tour de force of stop-motion animation. That evil penguin deserves a place in the villain hall of fame. It's a perfect film to sit down and watch with a nice plate of cheese. El Mariachi - This is one of those movies it's hard to figure out what year to put it in. So it landed here based on its Sundance premiere in January of '93. Another one of those super important films that helped usher in the independent film movement in the early 90s. Robert Rodriguez made this on a budget of just $7,000 (about $15,000 today). Just a brilliant example of guerilla film-making. As usual there are many films I've either not seen or not seen in far too long. Including; Jurassic Park (I really haven't watched this in a long time so I don't know how it would hold up); True Romance (not seen in eons); In the Name of the Father (not seen forever); A Bronx Tale (ditto); In the Line of Fire (soooo long); three comedies I liked at the time but would like to re-watch, Dave, So I Married an Axe Murderer, and Matinee; So what's my favorite film of 1993? It's Tombstone. A solid modern western with a number of stand-out performances. I do really like both Dazed and Confused and Groundhog Day a lot though. And 1993 in film for those as need a look. |
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Post by arfetto on Jul 13, 2023 11:39:29 GMT -5
What do you think of the Japanese monster movies of the 1990s in general? I haven't seen any of them but recently added KIng Ghidorah to my list after seeing it listed for 1990 or 1991, maybe I'll try to get to this one too. I've been watching some of the 1950s ones the last few months and enjoying those. Oh, I like most monster movies from all decades generally, but I do think the '90s Godzilla and (Rebirth of) Mothra movies are my favorites (well, including the late '80s for the Godzilla movies). I just usually enjoy the aesthetic of that era, the rubber suits and monster designs. |
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Post by arfetto on Jul 13, 2023 12:06:15 GMT -5
I think I will go with Green Snake (Tsui Hark) as my number one for '93.
2. Ninja Scroll
3. Patlabor 2
4. Moving (Shinji Somai)
5. Sonatine
Others I enjoy a lot off the top of my head:
Tombstone
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
The Nightmare Before Christmas
Gettysburg
Three Colors: Blue
and of course
Future Cops:
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Post by berkley on Jul 13, 2023 12:38:34 GMT -5
After a quick scan, my 1993 pick would probably be one I didn't see myself until early 1994: Altman's Short Cuts
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Post by EdoBosnar on Jul 13, 2023 13:51:25 GMT -5
Don't really have any standout favorites here, although there's quite a few films you mentioned that I quite like, including Groundhog Day and Dazed and Confused - I was also a teen in the '80s, but thanks to older siblings, I similarly recall much of teen behavior in the '70s (and I also grew up in a pretty rural area, so lots of similarities to the small town depicted in the movie).
And yes, Schindler's List is excellent and hard to watch - my partner really likes it and we have the DVD, so I have seen it all the way through at least twice and then parts of it more than that.
Otherwise, looking over the list, I'm surprised that so many of these movies came out in 1993. I only saw about 90 percent of the ones I have seen only years later (I had other things going on '93 and movie watching was a low priority).
A few others that I think are quite good include The Crying Game and Last Action Hero - a really underrated film.
Another personal favorite is So I Married an Axe Murderer.
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Post by commond on Jul 13, 2023 18:27:39 GMT -5
My favorite film from 1993 is probably Ang Lee's The Wedding Banquet. I really like Ang Lee's early Taiwanese films. Sonatine is another favorite. It's not as amazing as Hana-bi, but it proved that Kitano could do the whole art house thing. There are other great films from Asia like Farewell My Concubine, The Blue Kite, and The Puppet Master. Manhattan Murder Mystery is one of my favorite Woody Allen films and super underrated. Three Colors: Blue is a beautiful film.
On a personal note, this was the year where I first started watching serious films in the cinema like Schindler's List and Philadelphia. I also went to see the New Zealand film, The Piano, which had a lot of press due to Anna Paquin's performance and Oscar nomination. I did some some lighter fare like Mrs. Doubtfire, but I was starting to get fairly serious about cinema at this time.
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Post by badwolf on Jul 21, 2023 9:40:40 GMT -5
1993:
Jurassic Park
The Secret Garden
Much Ado About Nothing
Farewell My Concubine
The Scent of Green Papaya
Manhattan Murder Mystery
The Wedding Banquet
Love & Human Remains
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Jul 21, 2023 10:38:32 GMT -5
Onward to 1994. Honestly from around this point forward, other than kids movies, there aren't a lot of films I've seen more than once or twice. And that's going to become even moreso as we move closer to the present. Just putting that out there. Oh...and let's just get this out of the way...I hate Forrest Gump. Pulp Fiction - I talked about my love for Tarantino's work in 1992. This is my middle son's favorite movie. And I really love it, just not quite as much as Reservoir Dogs. The film caused a sensation at Cannes, winning the Palme d'Or. It was the first "indie" film to do over $100 million in domestic box office. Just a huge commercial and critical success. Tarantino brilliantly uses his non-linear storyline to weave together the disparate storylines. The film was a career revitalization for John Travolta and signaled that Bruce Willis really could act (not that he followed up on it very well). It was Samuel L. Jackson's true break-out as Jules Winnfield. Just an amazing film. Shawshank Redemption - I like, but probably don't love this movie. Morgan Freeman is great as Red. And I can't really fault either the script nor the direction from Frank Darabont. I just have a really hard time connecting with Tim Robbins as Andy Dufresne. Good film that certainly became a phenomenon on home viewing. The Lion King - Another one that I like more than I love. Mostly it's that there's a lot of absolutely superb animation here, but I don't care much for the story. It's a gorgeous movie though. Clerks - I remember first seeing this and it was a revelation. Here were guys just a couple years younger than me making a movie with a very authentic depiction of working/middle-class life as seen through the lens of twentysomethings who were promised a lot and then had the economic legs pulled out from under them. Kevin Smith's dialogue is just spot-on brilliant. I'm not sure that Smith ever topped this film. Ed Wood - It's actually been a fair while since I've seen this one. My late brother-in-law loved Ed Wood's movies so I had seen a lot of them by the time this film came out. Burton walks a fine line because Wood was eminently mockable, but you have to admire someone who pursues their passion, no matter how poorly they manage to do so. Martin Landau really gives a great performance, whether it was true to Lugosi or not. As usual there are many films I've either not seen or not seen in far too long. Including; Léon: The Professional (I haven't seen it in eons); Chungking Express; The Hudsucker Proxy (I owe this a re-watch); Heavenly Creatures; Crumb (I've only seen half of it); The Legend of Drunken Master; Once Were Warriors So what's my favorite film of 1994? It's Pulp Fiction and it's really not all that close. Just a landmark film and one that holds up to repeated viewings. And 1994 in film for those as need a look. |
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Post by berkley on Jul 21, 2023 12:03:31 GMT -5
I'll have to go through the list later but most likely it's going to be Pulp Fiction for me as well.
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Post by Hoosier X on Jul 22, 2023 1:14:59 GMT -5
I saw Ed Wood the day it opened at the Los Feliz Theatre in Hollywood. Conrad Brooks was in the lobby walking up to people and selling autographed pictures of himself. I loved the movie. I would’ve seen it in the theater a bunch of times if it hadn’t been gone so fast.
It was one of the last movies I bought on VHS. And then I got it on DVD. And I watched it over and over again for the next 10 or 15 years.
And then I loaned it out to somebody and never got it back.
Ed Wood is my favorite movie for 1994.
I’m gonna have to see if I can get it from the library. I would really love to see it again.
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Post by commond on Jul 23, 2023 18:05:23 GMT -5
I have this image of 1994 being a huge year and a quick glance at the films released that year bears that thought out. So many great films to choose from outside of standard fare like Pulp Fiction or The Shawshank Redemption. Chungking Express took the cinema world by storm with its incredible cinematography and editing. I still watch the Faye Wong scenes every now and again, and can't think of California Dreaming or the Cranberries without thinking of the film. Three Colors: Red is a masterpiece. Bela Tarr's Satantango is a masterpiece, though at 7 hours and 18 minutes one of the longest films I've ever watched. Not for the faint-hearted. Ashes of Time is another great Wong Kar Wai film. Crumb and Hoops Dreams are great documentaries. Bullets over Broadway is a great script from Woody. The New Zealand film industry was cranking out great films like Once Were Warriors and Heavenly Creatures, and Australia was going strong as well with Muriel's Wedding and Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. There are a ton of great foreign films from this year -- Burnt by the Sun, Through the Olive Trees, To live, and my favorite film from 1994, Eat, Drink, Man, Woman. One of my all-time favorite films. I love that film like nobody's business.
I could easily get lost in this year. I've never seen The Kingdom mini-series for starters.
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