Pic of the Day: “This horse has got a leg like iron; he’s gonna be all right, son.” (40th Anniversary)
Mike’s Top Ten of 1999
In my mind, 1999 is one of the golden years of cinema. There are so many amazing movies that came out this year. And while it’s probably not all-time historically one of cinema’s absolute best years (though time is really the only judge of that), it’s the fact that it’s bolstered by a lot of movies from my childhood that makes me consider it as such.
This is also one of those years where I feel like most of us have at least 3-5 movies exactly the same on all of our top ten lists. Though I will also say, the other 3-5 are ones that feel hyper-specific to me and me alone. I doubt anyone but me would have this particular list as my top ten. Especially since you could go like 30 deep this year and get an amazing list out of it.
This is also one of the landmark years for a lot of reasons, most notably because the action genre was completely revolutionized this year and special effects took a giant leap forward. We also got a groundbreaking horror film, Star Wars came back, and, if you’re my age, there’s like 20 movies this year that you specifically remember from growing up that, in some way, had huge impacts on your life. It’s a really great way to end a decade/millennium. (more…)
Pic of the Day: ♫ “When destiny calls you / You must be strong / I may not be with you / But you’ve got to hold on / They’ll see in time / I know / We’ll show them together / ‘Cause you’ll be in my heart / Believe me, you’ll be in my heart / I’ll be there from this day on, / Now and forever more” ♫ (20th Anniversary)
Mike’s Top Ten of 1998
This is such a great year. This year is right around when I started getting into step with movies and seeing stuff as it came out rather than later on. 1998-1999 are those years I culturally came into my own. So there’s stuff here I remember seeing at the time that… okay, maybe as a 10 year old I probably shouldn’t have been watching, but it helped turn me into the person I am today in regard to watching stuff. So there’s that.
There’s also some real heavy hitters this year. And a few that I just adore from having grew up with them that might not be consensus choices for “best films of 1998.” But that’s what makes the 90s so good. That’s the decade that’s most personal to me. 1995-2004 is probably the ten year stretch that’s most influenced by my growing up and most personal to me in terms of the choices.
This is also, now that I look at it, kind of a weird year. There’s a lot of mainstream studio stuff here that other people might not think is particularly good. So maybe it really isn’t that strong a year and just feels that way because it’s such a big part of my youth. Whatever. I love it, and that’s all that really matters. (more…)
Pic of the Day: ♫ “Can’t buy me love, love / Can’t buy me love / I’ll buy you a diamond ring my friend if it makes you feel alright / I’ll get you anything my friend if it makes you feel alright / Cos I don’t care too much for money, and money can’t buy me love.” ♫ (55th Anniversary)
Mike’s Top Ten of 1997
Love me some 1997. This is a year where I was old enough to start seeing some of these films on my own for the first time, rather than seeing them as I got older. For some reason I don’t consider this that strong a year, but look at the movies that are here… it’s really strong. The late 90s was a pretty great time to be making movies. Good stuff happened here.
This year has some of my all-time favorite movies, and some others that are embedded into my personality forever. I have so many reference points from this list.
This year also has the added notoriety of having had, for a time, the biggest movie ever made, which kind of dwarfs everything else. I guess some of that is really 1998, since the movie came out in late December and was huge all through the first part of 1998. But man, does anyone else miss walking into literally any public place and hearing “My Heart Will Go On” playing on the speakers? I mean, I don’t, but someone might. (more…)
Pic of the Day: “When the sunshine don’t work, the good Lord bring the rain in.” (20th Anniversary)
Mike’s Top Ten of 1996
1996 feels like the peak year of “these are the movies of my childhood.” And that’s not just because of Space Jam. But a lot of it is because of Space Jam.
This year… maybe it’s because I was 7, going on 8 and this is the year stuff tends to stick with you more, maybe it’s because we moved this year to a place that was much closer to a movie theater and started going more (mainly because my sister was now old enough to go consistently and we could all go to basically the same movies and enjoy ourselves), or maybe it’s because this is the year we first got our illegal cable hookup and got all the PPV movie channels for free. More than likely it’s a combination of all of those things.
But on top of all of that, there’s a lot of really awesome stuff this year. It feels like the year that’s more “stuff I like” more than “a lot of this stuff is some of the best ever made.” This is the year I’m most willing to say is closer to my sensibility than objectively what most people would say are the best movies. That said, a lot of this stuff is really great and we all probably really like it.
And there’s Space Jam too. Never count out Space Jam. (more…)
Mike’s Top Ten of 1995
1995 feels like the year where the decade in film starts to shift gears and become something else. There’s a weird sort of half-decade thing going on with the 90s. The early 90s feels like it’s half-getting over the 80s and half-burgeoning independent cinema. Then the last half feels sort of like they took independent cinema and made it part of the mainstream so it sort of… it’s like how the 70s was a whole decade of auteur directors making all these great movies. And then Hollywood took them in and the 80s happened. (The 80s is much more than that, but you know what I mean.) It feels like that happened mid-decade and then the late 90s is just all just kind of a big mess of whatever the byproduct of that is.
But in terms of this particular year… it feels like one of the weaker ones of the decade. There’s stuff I really like here, but not a whole lot I love. Aside from the first handful of movies, everything else would be #8 or lower most other years this decade. Which happens. Not every year can have your favorite movies of all time. Even the lower tiers feel kind of ho hum as compared to what some of the other years have.
Though, just glancing at what’s to come, this year is responsible for a few of cinema’s most iconic and recognizable moments. So there’s that. (more…)
Pic of the Day: “Why are you doing this for us?” “Because I knew someone like you once and there was no one there to help.” (55th Anniversary)
Mike’s Top Ten of 1994
1994. This year almost contained the single greatest crop of Best Pictures in Oscar history. (For starters, my #1, #2 and #3 are in there. So that’ll tell you something.) Still, it’s an incredible year. There’s not a weak movie in the entire top ten. And I feel like, were you to give most people a top ten list from this year, I feel like at least 7 or 8 of my list would be on almost everyone’s list. It’s that strong a year at the top.
This year helped revolutionize cinema, in a way. Pulp Fiction really put independent cinema on the mainstream map. It’s kind of like how, in the 70s, the director/auteur movies became the norm, and the “Hollywood” stuff was secondary to those. Because of that film, independent-style movies really became A-level movies, alongside the big blockbuster stuff. And it stayed that way for a little while. Of course, until all (or most) of those filmmakers became homogenized into the system and we moved on to the next thing.
Still, I can’t get over how amazing this top ten is. Pound for pound, it may be the strongest set of ten this decade. (more…)
Mike’s Top Ten of 1993
A lot of people would call 1993 the strongest year of the 90s, and it’s hard to argue that fact. There are a lot of amazing movies that came out this year, along with what is probably one of the consensus “best” and most important movies of the decade. And Schindler’s List came out too.
Groundhog Day, was what I was referring to.
Anyway, I don’t have a whole lot to add about this year. It’s the first year we start to run three tiers deep on a consistent basis, and a lot of that is gonna be stuff I grew up with, because I turned 5 this year and there’s a bunch of stuff that catered to me as a young child that I still hold very dearly.
And also Groundhog Day. (more…)
Pic of the Day: “Perhaps, on your way home, someone will pass you in the dark, and you will never know it… for they will be from outer space.” (60th Anniversary)
Mike’s Top Ten of 1992
Look at the quality of content for this year. This top ten is one banger after another. Every one you get to, it’s like, “Oh man, that’s my movie!” But also, like much of the early 90s… not particularly amazing outside of the very top. Still, there are some cool hidden gems to be found in this year too.
I feel like the one overarching thing I see about the films on this list is that there are some great gems to be found. The top ten is flashy and will garner a lot of the attention but if you look at some of the stuff below it, you might find some good movies you may not know about.
Also, just looking at this top ten, this year gave us, without even thinking about it, four of the most iconic moments in the history of cinema. So there’s that too. (more…)
Mike’s Top Ten of 1991
One of the stronger years of the decade. This one’s got some heavy hitters. The second tier stuff isn’t as strong as some other 90s years, but at the top, it’s hard to do better than the stuff that’s here.
I guess the thing to note about this year is that it marks the rise of home video. This is when VHS started to happen and movies started being readily available for people to purchase at affordable prices.
Otherwise, not a whole lot to add except some of my all time favorite movies came out this year, including one top ten movie that I’m certain almost no one has heard of. (more…)
Pic of the Day: “I can’t stop Andy from growing up… but I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” (20th Anniversary)
Mike’s Top Ten of 1990
I call 1990 a “spottily strong” year. It’s got high points, but they’re here and there. And some of the highs aren’t as high as other years, but it’s definitely got a lot to like in there. You just have to sift through some standard stuff before you find it, is all. Most of the time you can tell a strong year based on how strong the Oscars are. And this is one of the notoriously boring Oscar years (overall).
My one caution for this year is to pay attention among the “yeah, sure” stuff. There are a couple of nice gems in there if you care to look at them.
Otherwise, we do get one of the all-time classics this year, so 1990 is always gonna have that going for it. (I’m talking about Kindergarten Cop, of course.) (more…)
Pic of the Day: “This story’s gonna grab people. It’s about this guy, he’s crazy about this girl, but he likes to wear dresses. Should he tell her? Should he not tell her? He’s torn, Georgie. This is drama.” (25th Anniversary)
Pic of the Day: “Jack Philips, manager for Kingby Electronics.” “No, you’re not, you’re Roger Thornhill of Madison Avenue, and you’re wanted for murder on every front page in America. Don’t be modest.” (60th Anniversary)
Pic of the Day: “Has he always had a history of mental illness?” “For as long as I’ve known him.” (25th Anniversary)
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