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Top 101 Movies of the 90s. We are done. If I knock out Amadeus/Brazil/Ran, We get to have an 80s countdown!! (2 Viewers)

I cannot get down with The Matrix outside top 10…I say nay-nay!

The 90s thrived on summer blockbusters and there’s only one other movie from this decade that just changed what we thought was capable on screen.  It’s in the pantheon of have-to-see-in-theater movies

The Big Lebowski is probably right where it belongs.  For me it’s top 5 all-time comedy, perfect in nearly every way

Speaking of comedies, there are comedy franchise headliners glaringly not present as far as I’m concerned.  I didn’t expect them to be seriously high, but I’d expect at least one to crack top 100

 
One of the two movies that I have rewatched the most. The other is also from the '90s and hasn't appeared yet. 

Pretty much every frame of this is brilliant, and every scene has so much going on. Pretty much everything that comes out of Walter's mouth makes me laugh hysterically, even to this day. 

Many years ago, I did a movie-scene draft on another board. This was my first round pick.
I think Walter is one of the best characters ever. John Goodman just absolutely knocked it out of the park.

As The Dude said, "Everything is a ******* travesty with you man!"

 
top 10 hopefuls: Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Unforgiven, Goodfellas

would have thought these would be in the list but probably not in the top 10: Natural Born Killers, Friday, Fight Club

Office Space was decade defining I thought, but guess it's not artsy enough.

titles that i forgot about but saw researching 90s movies and deserve credit for some memorable performances: Clerks, Wayne's World, Boogie Nights, Gross Pointe Blank

 
top 10 hopefuls: Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Unforgiven, Goodfellas

would have thought these would be in the list but probably not in the top 10: Natural Born Killers, Friday, Fight Club

Office Space was decade defining I thought, but guess it's not artsy enough.

titles that i forgot about but saw researching 90s movies and deserve credit for some memorable performances: Clerks, Wayne's World, Boogie Nights, Gross Pointe Blank
Fight Club was 50 on our list 

 
I have never seen Hoop Dreams and hasn't been nary a person that knew me back when not recommended it. I think I'd find it too painful. That's why I've never watched it. 

 
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Oh, since you put it that way..  


it's a flick worthy of a higher ranking, imo - couldn't stand the Bridges hippie schtick at first, but this one keeps getting better and better upon rewatch - now i LOVE the Dude, brilliant performance - a hippie i'd pound libations with 😎

and Goodman, who is the great unsung stalwart of the Coen canon, takes an already great flick and elevates it to legendary. 

 
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it's a flick worthy of a higher ranking, imo - couldn't stand the Bridges hippie schtick at first, but this one keeps getting better and better upon rewatch - now i LOVE the Dude, brilliant performance - a hippie i'd pound libations with 😎

and Goodman, who is the great unsung stalwart of the Coen canon, takes an already great flick and elevates it to legendary. 
It might get there for me, but who knows.  I popped it on last night and it's what I was saying with rock - the stuff that lands for me really hits (which is why it's climbing the ranks in the first place), but there is still a bit that I find quite unfunny and it goes back an forth.   Plus I feel the run time a tad.  Again, nit picks.  

 
One of my biases that I had to knock down was growing up I felt like there were movies that normal people liked and movies that snobs and people who think they are smarter than everybody else like.   Now, of course that's a dumb way to view things, and people like what they like and bring their own personal baggage to the table.   Where I am going with this is when I think about that I 100% would put stuff like Coen comedies, Wes Anderson, Being John Malkovich, etc in that second category and when I get too much of a whiff of that air of pretention, it keeps me at arms length a bit.    Obviously looking at the dramas I gravitate to, I got over this bias in one category of movie, but I think I still struggle with that in comedies.   It's also a reason that I am surprised that these comedies are rated so highly by the people who hate the dramas that I was categorizing that way too.  

 
One of my biases that I had to knock down was growing up I felt like there were movies that normal people liked and movies that snobs and people who think they are smarter than everybody else like.   Now, of course that's a dumb way to view things, and people like what they like and bring their own personal baggage to the table.   Where I am going with this is when I think about that I 100% would put stuff like Coen comedies, Wes Anderson, Being John Malkovich, etc in that second category and when I get too much of a whiff of that air of pretention, it keeps me at arms length a bit.    Obviously looking at the dramas I gravitate to, I got over this bias in one category of movie, but I think I still struggle with that in comedies.   It's also a reason that I am surprised that these comedies are rated so highly by the people who hate the dramas that I was categorizing that way too.  
I don't mind the pretense. If you strive to dumb it down, chances are you've lost me as a viewer. I have no time for #### that considers the taste and IQ of the mass audience and adjusts for it. Or worse yet, is made by people with the taste and IQ of the mass audience. If that is pretentious, make the most of it! 

 
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 A guy told me one time, "Don't let yourself get attached to anything you are not willing to walk out on in 30 seconds flat if you feel the heat around the corner." 

#10:  HEAT

The next 4 are going to be odd rankings.   The reason is our format, and the closest we are in the ratings for any of them is 21 points.   This was my #5, and 80s' #31 movie.  I think it was his first time watching, and it was probably my 100th time watching.   Love this movie and get sucked in every time.  I can admit it's flaws - still don't love the Portman plot, and Pacino is really dialing it up sometimes, but it's still great.   Never gets old.  

 
I don't mind the pretense. If you strive to dumb it down, chances are you've lost me as a viewer. I have no time for #### that considers the taste and IQ of the mass audience and adjusts for it. Or worse yet, is made by people with the taste and IQ of the mass audience. If that is pretentious, make the most of it! 
Like I said, it was a dumb way to look at things - just attempting to relay my thought process.   I get it 100% with the bolded, and that is my position with every other genre.  I am slower to come around on comedies it seems I think partly because at my core I am immature so I like the #### and fart jokes, and if it's not that it's more the dark, sarcastic, uncomfortable humor that I lean into.  

 
 A guy told me one time, "Don't let yourself get attached to anything you are not willing to walk out on in 30 seconds flat if you feel the heat around the corner." 

#10:  HEAT

The next 4 are going to be odd rankings.   The reason is our format, and the closest we are in the ratings for any of them is 21 points.   This was my #5, and 80s' #31 movie.  I think it was his first time watching, and it was probably my 100th time watching.   Love this movie and get sucked in every time.  I can admit it's flaws - still don't love the Portman plot, and Pacino is really dialing it up sometimes, but it's still great.   Never gets old.  


big action ain't my bag ... this does have a few great non action scenes, tho.

and Pacino is a Ham sandwich with ham on a roll wrapped in ham and slathered in ham. 

waayyy too long, to boot. 

i'd have it much lower. 

:unsure:

 
Pacino is really dialing it up sometimes
Glad you caught that and I'm not the only one.

Very un-even performance within the same movie really threw me and kills suspended animation needed to get lost in a story. 

I would have made him reshoot a few of the interrogation scenes where Al 'acted' because they just don't work and grinds the picture to a halt for me.

 
Glad you caught that and I'm not the only one.

Very un-even performance within the same movie really threw me and kills suspended animation needed to get lost in a story. 

I would have made him reshoot a few of the interrogation scenes where Al 'acted' because they just don't work and grinds the picture to a halt for me.
I was listening to a podcast and there was a storyline that Pacino was a cokehead and was stealing drugs from the evidence locker. That storyline got taken out but the Pacino coke head energy is still there and I guess it’s implied he’s out of his mind. 

 
I was listening to a podcast and there was a storyline that Pacino was a cokehead and was stealing drugs from the evidence locker. That storyline got taken out but the Pacino coke head energy is still there and I guess it’s implied he’s out of his mind. 


yes, Hanna had to be compromised in more ways than just a ####ty personal life - he was the loosest cannon in the flick ... please flesh out as to why, at least through some exposition, if nothing else. 

 
I was listening to a podcast and there was a storyline that Pacino was a cokehead and was stealing drugs from the evidence locker. That storyline got taken out but the Pacino coke head energy is still there and I guess it’s implied he’s out of his mind. 
There was stuff that was cut like you said (Waingro being a serial killer story line was another).   I think we also have to admit this is what Pacino morphed into around this time.  Between this, Scent of a Woman, Devil's Advocate -  long gone are the days of subtle Godfather acting for our boy Al.  

 
I was listening to a podcast and there was a storyline that Pacino was a cokehead and was stealing drugs from the evidence locker. That storyline got taken out but the Pacino coke head energy is still there and I guess it’s implied he’s out of his mind. 
Ahhh, ok.  THAT helps because, honestly what is left on-screen doesn't fit.  Also, the 'story-line' with his wife slows everything down and doesn't add much.  

The movie is too long so the last thing it needed was a side-story of Pacino stealing coke but it does explain what looks like awful acting.

 
One of my biases that I had to knock down was growing up I felt like there were movies that normal people liked and movies that snobs and people who think they are smarter than everybody else like.   Now, of course that's a dumb way to view things, and people like what they like and bring their own personal baggage to the table.   Where I am going with this is when I think about that I 100% would put stuff like Coen comedies, Wes Anderson, Being John Malkovich, etc in that second category and when I get too much of a whiff of that air of pretention, it keeps me at arms length a bit.    Obviously looking at the dramas I gravitate to, I got over this bias in one category of movie, but I think I still struggle with that in comedies.   It's also a reason that I am surprised that these comedies are rated so highly by the people who hate the dramas that I was categorizing that way too.  
It’s easier to get rid of those kinds of barriers if something is funny.

 
There was stuff that was cut like you said (Waingro being a serial killer story line was another).   I think we also have to admit this is what Pacino morphed into around this time.  Between this, Scent of a Woman, Devil's Advocate -  long gone are the days of subtle Godfather acting for our boy Al.  
There were entire memes devoted to this back when I frequented The AV Club.

 
Heat is definitely good, I’d say closer to 20-30 for me than 10 - it definitely suffers from length and Pacino’s over the top stuff.  
 

 
 A guy told me one time, "Don't let yourself get attached to anything you are not willing to walk out on in 30 seconds flat if you feel the heat around the corner." 

#10:  HEAT

The next 4 are going to be odd rankings.   The reason is our format, and the closest we are in the ratings for any of them is 21 points.   This was my #5, and 80s' #31 movie.  I think it was his first time watching, and it was probably my 100th time watching.   Love this movie and get sucked in every time.  I can admit it's flaws - still don't love the Portman plot, and Pacino is really dialing it up sometimes, but it's still great.   Never gets old.  
I love this movie so hard - party because of the Pacino overacting rather than in spite of it.  Sure, the whole "Frank Costanza w/ roid rage"  continues to pop up out of nowhere, but the reactions from the other people in the scene (did they know this was coming?) make it even better.  

ETA - I had a boss that would sometimes scream nutty things at us, so maybe I just relate to Vincent a little too much.  But the boss was more Pesci than Pacino.

 
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I was listening to a podcast and there was a storyline that Pacino was a cokehead and was stealing drugs from the evidence locker. That storyline got taken out but the Pacino coke head energy is still there and I guess it’s implied he’s out of his mind. 
That's a good explanation, but without it being shown in the actual movie, it's a hinderance

 
I love this movie so hard - party because of the Pacino overacting rather than in spite of it.  Sure, the whole "Frank Costanza w/ roid rage"  continues to pop up out of nowhere, but the reactions from the other people in the scene (did they know this was coming?) make it even better.  


AND YOU GOT YOUR HEAD ALL THE WAY UP IT!

🍑

FEROCIOUS, AREN'T I?!?

... Azaria looked like he didn't know whether to #### or shine shoes  :lol:

 
I’m funny how?  Funny, like, I’m a clown?  I amuse you?

#9:  GOODFELLAS

I know the masses won't care, and people in the movie thread probably knew this was coming, but this is 100% the movie that I had in mind that would not have shown up on my list about 4 years ago when I was thinking about doing my countdown like the 00s and 10s.   I was going start the damn thread by saying something like -" let's get this out of the way, there is going to be no Goodfellas, Glengarry, Wes Anderson, or Coen comedies on my list"...    Obviously, I have come around on the movie now and can appreciate Scorsese more, but unlike the others, I don't see this one climbing much higher than 30 for the 90s - mostly because of the v.o (I turn on the movie a bit when Karen's voiceover kicks in),  and my general dislike of Joe Pesci.    It was my #33, and 80s' #1 movie.   

 
re: Lebowski... I met some friends at the movie theater to see it in the original release. knowing it was Coens, knowing it was a comedy (Raising Arizona one of my all-time faves) and knowing there would be nowhere on the sidewalk immediately in front of the theater where we were meeting to do it... I got high at home solo prior to coming. new ####, that ended up being either laced or just super potent. 

by the time I met my friends on the sidewalk in front, I knew things were going... elsewhere. and last thing I remember was the look on their faces seeing me as I stumbled by, but enthralled with the movie posters in the lobby... having to drag me past them to get the seats. I honestly don't remember a thing from that point on... maybe just the dream sequence. 

I didn't try to see it again for a loooong time, and kind of missed the joy of it that time around. and like KP, I've never been a big Goodman fan, so much of his work was lost on me that time. but since then... rewatches have pulled me in- love it.

 
I’m funny how?  Funny, like, I’m a clown?  I amuse you?

#9:  GOODFELLAS

I know the masses won't care, and people in the movie thread probably knew this was coming, but this is 100% the movie that I had in mind that would not have shown up on my list about 4 years ago when I was thinking about doing my countdown like the 00s and 10s.   I was going start the damn thread by saying something like -" let's get this out of the way, there is going to be no Goodfellas, Glengarry, Wes Anderson, or Coen comedies on my list"...    Obviously, I have come around on the movie now and can appreciate Scorsese more, but unlike the others, I don't see this one climbing much higher than 30 for the 90s - mostly because of the v.o (I turn on the movie a bit when Karen's voiceover kicks in),  and my general dislike of Joe Pesci.    It was my #33, and 80s' #1 movie.   


it also took a ton of liberties with the actual events ... Hill's embellishments, with dubious assists from the overly complicit Marty & Pileggi, glamorized Henry into a much bigger player than he actually was. 

biggest omission, imo, was the fact that the real life Paulie Vairo was banging Henry's wife - oooops!

they also botched the Tommy DeSimone portrayal bigly ... real life Tommy was in his early 20s when the Bats killing went down - plus he was a giant dude, 6'4" and built to spill - i am no great fan of Pesci, either, and let's just say the portrayal of Tommy here is pure ####### fiction ... perhaps they melded a few also-ran mobsters to bind into that one character, but it's a big miss for me. 

that being said, on it's own merit - totally severed from the real life events - it's a spectacular flick - can't knock the work in that sense ... but it left me a bit underwhelmed.  

"Donnie Brasco" took a few liberties as well, but, for my money, it's a better portrayal of the day to day, unglamorous side of that life.  

Scorsese nailed it in "Mean Streets", but kinda lost that true life grit and edge as the budgets and accolades grew.  

PS - they definitely got Jimmy Burke (Conway in the flick) pretty spot on ... real life Jimmy the Gent was the most feared non-Italian mobster of that era ... he was much more ruthless than depicted, but i think they gave him a fair enough shake. 

 

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