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)
Pic of the Day: “I used to think the most terrifying thing in life is death. Now I know the most terrifying thing in life is life.” (55th Anniversary)
Pic of the Day: “You do know Elvis is dead, right?” “No, Elvis is not dead. He just went home.”
Pic of the Day: “You know, you’re beginning to fascinate me, and I resent that in any man.” (85th Anniversary)
Pic of the Day: “Thank you Sergeant.” “That’s P.F.C. to you, major, as in ‘Praying for Civilian’.” (70th Anniversary)
Pic of the Day: “The numbers all go to eleven. Look, right across the board, eleven, eleven, eleven and…” “Oh, I see. And most amps go up to ten?” “Exactly.” “Does that mean it’s louder? Is it any louder?” “Well, it’s one louder, isn’t it? It’s not ten. You see, most blokes, you know, will be playing at ten. You’re on ten here, all the way up, all the way up, all the way up, you’re on ten on your guitar. Where can you go from there? Where?” “I don’t know.” “Nowhere. Exactly. What we do is, if we need that extra push over the cliff, you know what we do?” “Put it up to eleven.” “Eleven. Exactly. One louder.” “Why don’t you just make ten louder and make ten be the top number and make that a little louder?” “These go to eleven.” (35th Anniversary)
Pic of the Day: “You think water moves fast? You should see ice. It moves like it has a mind. Like it knows it killed the world once and got a taste for murder. After the avalanche, it took us a week to climb out. Now, I don’t know exactly when we turned on each other, but I know that seven of us survived the slide… and only five made it out. Now we took an oath, that I’m breaking now. We said we’d say it was the snow that killed the other two, but it wasn’t. Nature is lethal but it doesn’t hold a candle to man. Now, you’ve seen how bad things can get and how quickly they can get that way. Well, they can get a whole lot worse. So, we’re not gonna fight anymore. We’re going to pull together and find a way to get out of here. First we’re going to seal out this…” (20th Anniversary)
Pic of the Day: “The past: a new and uncertain world. A world of endless possibilities and infinite outcomes. Countless choices define our fate: each choice, each moment, a moment in the ripple of time. Enough ripple, and you change the tide… for the future is never truly set.” (5th Anniversary)
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