90s rankings:
Preamble: I cannot promise that I am the greatest at knowing the greatest of movies (in contrast to my truly greatest ever sports knowledge), but I did choose categories I do believe I can do a decent job. Movies are difficult because, aside from maybe awards, they are so very subjective and not as easily comparable. I find the decades categories to be extremely difficult because there are varying genres. And, as to be expected, a significant number of 90s movies that would have easily scored high on or at least likely made these rankings were picked elsewhere (e.g. Hoop Dreams, Goodfellas, Toy Story, Schindler’s List, Unforgiven, Saving Private Ryan, Titanic, Dances with Wolves, Fargo, Se7en, Reservoir Dogs, Groundhog Day, Jurassic Park, Forrest Gump, American History X, and Fight Club). Holy crap. I just realized in typing that out that movies put into other categories could have punted all but the movies in my top tier and maybe a couple in tier 2 from this list. Great decade for movies when one considers the sheer amount of comedies and other dramas/indie films that shaped people of my generation that still wouldn't sniff this list.
Criteria:
Significant weight – RT scores, metacritic score, academy awards and nominations, etc. I don’t know of a more objective metric.
Significant weight – Critical reviews. I tried to find some reputable critics and review their rankings and input. Looked particularly at Rolling Stone and a few others.
Medium weight – Online rankings. Looked at several and roughly averaged them out.
Medium weight – staying power. Put differently, if I showed the movie to a teenager right now what would he or she think?
Little weight – notoriety (i.e. has somebody like my father-in-law – a fairly big movie fan but more casual in his choices - likely seen it?).
Little weight – my own opinion. By that I mean my life experience and watchability for somebody growing up in the 90s. For example, I actually can’t stress the impact that movies like Billy Madison, Tommy Boy, Ace Ventura, Dumb and Dumber, Office Space, American Pie, Chasing Amy, Boondock Saints, Clerks, and Friday had on me as a kid and young adult but I recognize that I shouldn’t force feed a mid-30s perspective on this.
Little weight – the drafters’ comments (of which I’ve only seen two).
Glaring omissions: Chungking Express, American Beauty, and Close-up.
Somewhat surprising omissions (probably wouldn’t have ranked last of the 16 picked): Being John Malkovich, Hunt for Red October, Kids, Before Sunrise, Quiz Show, Princess Mononoke, Sling Blade, and Eyes Wide Shut.
Tier 1 – Genre makers or changers (note: Goodfellas, Schindler’s List, and Hoop Dreams would have made this tier and possibly been tops for the category):
1. (16 points) Pulp Fiction – Tarantino at his best. Consistently rated the top of most online rankings for the 90s (others were Goodfellas, Schindler’s List, Toy Story, and Close-up) Tarantino basically took the art of storytelling and just messed with it by re-arranging the chronology of the movie and including some far over the top violence and gore. No ride quite like this movie and certainly nothing seen previously. Oddly, not my favorite Tarantino film (I liked Reservoir Dogs and Inglorious Basterds better) but it’s definitely his best movie and tops the decade.
2. (15 points) Silence of the Lambs – Only Oscar Winner for best picture drafted in the category, the movie basically revolutionized the suspense + horror genre and created a top 3 villain of all-time.
Tier 2 – Really, really ####### cool movies:
3. (14 points) The Usual Suspects – Great story-telling and acting culminating in a memorable twist that makes the viewer question what he or she just saw. Just ####### cool.
4. (13 points) The Matrix – Turned sci-fi on its head with new, ultra-cool graphics and included, in true 90s fashion, a surprising and satisfying twist.
5. (12 points) Boogie Nights – Superb acting and storytelling. Also brought legitimacy to Mark Wahlberg and, to some extent, the porn industry. Plus, the coolness of Burt Reynolds and, you know, Roller Girl.
6. (11 points) The Big Lebowski – Maybe a tad high of a ranking here, and maybe I’m a bit biased because I’ve been quoting it with friends for years and have seen it dozens of times, but dammit this movie is just so good. I apologize for and admit to an extent that this ranking doesn’t totally fit by criteria laid out above
Tier 3 –Just good drama and suspense:
7. (10 points) LA Confidential – Originally outside the top ten for me, as I researched and applied the criteria above it rose up the rankings. 90 score on Metacritic, won some Oscars, and was a good movie that stands up all right today.
8. (9 points) Glengarry Glen Ross – Really impressive cast. Respectable Metacritic score and up for several notable awards. Not sure if it totally holds up today, and I juggled this one around the rankings a bit, but it seemed to compare most with the other movies in this tier.
9. (8 points) Good Will Hunting – A personal favorite of mine, it scored out well with critics and I actually recall my parents talking about how good it was. Williams is fantastic. Damon and Afleck make essentially their debuts. And I still think it holds up well. I’m very glad they didn’t go the “codebreaking” direction originally intended and stuck with the genius kid who can’t handle life motif.
10. (7 points) The Green Mile – Struggled with this movie a bit too but it scores out well based on the criteria and it was a very good movie. Frankly, one of the best book to screen adaptations of a King novel. Great cast. And Mr. Bojangles.
Tier 4 – Movies that are foreign to me:
11. (6 points) Raise the Red Lantern – Really glad I got to see this movie as I didn’t even know it existed before I opted to judge this category. Loved the use of colors and that they never showed the Master’s face. The descent into madness is believable and well-acted. Thanks to whoever drafted this.
12. (5 points) Life is Beautiful – Just not my thing – I don’t find the comedy to be funny and the substance matter (which takes a bit to get into) was a tough watch. Nonetheless, I recognize the critical reception and awards this movie one and I can’t justify putting this lower.
13. (4 points) The Nightmare Before Christmas – visually-stunning and the animation was great for its time. Admittedly, I don’t really like the movie, but
Tier 5 – The re-watchables (frankly, I love the movies in this tier but they didn’t score out that well)
14. (3 points) Trainspotting – a fun, well-shot ride. One of the few movies I’ve seen where it just seemed “different.”
15. (2 points) Boyz n the Hood – pretty groundbreaking for its time; I think it still holds up well today. Obviously incredibly well-casted, it was nominated for two Oscars and won a several other awards. Good, gritty movie with a compelling story and characters. Iconic. Maybe could have been ranked higher.
16. (1 point) Rounders – Amazingly, I’m ranking my favorite and most-watched movie of the decade last in the category. My roommate and I in college must have watched this movie every night for several months nearly straight. I thought I was Mike McD and this movie is probably a huge reason why I spent a large chunk of time at a poker table. But, using my criteria, it just doesn’t add up to the other movies on this list despite it being my favorite. I sort of broke my rules ranking the Big Lebowski so high but I can't justify it here.
