Alright, I'm gonna start posting the list. Just like last time, the rankings were achieved via a point averaging system, conducted by the co-runner of this list,
thebtskink. That list, for the 21st Century So Far, can be found in
this thread.All plot summaries are lifted directly from IMDB.
THE CS! AFI TOP 100 MOVIES FROM 1980 - 1999
100. Airplane!
A man afraid to fly must ensure that a plane lands safely after the pilots become sick.
CS! Voice: THIS is how you do good satire, and it's not surprising, considering it comes from the same team who'd go on to do The Naked Gun. I'm sure I prefer that film to this, but Airplane! is still a damn funny movie. -
PhantomKnight99. The Fifth Element
In the colorful future, a cab driver unwittingly becomes the central figure in the search for a legendary cosmic weapon to keep Evil and Mr. Zorg at bay.
CS! Voice: Where to start with the perfect movie? Sci Fi buddy cop brilliance. Ripped off a well known graphic novel, absolutely perfect casting top to bottom, the use of physical effects (when prudent) make this thing age like a fine wine. And don't get me started on the musical number. Who here can't sing that fucking thing right now if I gave you the beat? The rest of the music is no slouch either.
Gimme the friggin heat mon. Fifth element is pure comfort food. -
frankyt98. Tombstone
A successful lawman's plans to retire anonymously in Tombstone, Arizona are disrupted by the kind of outlaws he was famous for eliminating.
CS! Voice: What do you get when you take one of the most famous stories from the old west, craft it in the the style of the classic western and build an almost perfect cast around it? You get Tombstone, one of the most entertaining contemporary westerns post-Unforgiven. What makes Tombstone work though is that it's not trying to break any mold, rather it fits snuggly into it right down to the identifying red sashes that take the place of the standard villain black hats. The action is suspenseful and engaging, the score is top notch but what really helps it stand apart from other westerns released at the time (*cough* Wyatt Earp *cough*) is the cast. Kurt Russell, Sam Elliot and Bill Paxton on one side, Powers Booth and Michael Biehn on the other, they just play off each other so well. The real standout though is Val Kilmer who delivers the best performance of his career as Doc Holliday. The movie came at a time when the western was changing, it HAD to change, but Tombstone decided to embrace the well-worn western themes rather than trying to run from them. It's evidence that no matter how played out something might feel, there's no beating a good script and a great cast. -
Doomsday97. Cinema Paradiso
A filmmaker recalls his childhood when falling in love with the pictures at the cinema of his home village and forms a deep friendship with the cinema's projectionist.
CS! Voice: This is a well beloved film that was an international sensation when it was first released, and I was pretty suspicious when I first saw it. I dismissed the film as sappy nostalgia at first, but watching it now I can set aside some of my snobbery and see the film’s good qualities. The film is actually fairly critical of a lot of the nostalgia that’s on its surface, I think an interesting study could be made comparing it to Peter Bogdonovich’s The Last Picture Show and Federico Fellini’s Amarcord. The film has an excellent score by Ennio Morricone and the acting is also pretty good. -
Dracula96. The Age of Innocence
A tale of nineteenth-century New York high society in which a young lawyer falls in love with a woman separated from her husband, while he is engaged to the woman's cousin.
CS! Voice: The Age of Innocence is one of Martin Scorsese's best movies. A beautifully constructed film about desire and choice which is absorbing, moving, and all too human. That the film has been largely dismissed and underappreciated within Scorsese's body of work is disappointing if not entirely surprising, but its audience seems to be growing. Hopefully those who were dismissive at first brush will revisit the film and find more in it. I certainly did. -
PG Cooper95. Naked
An unemployed Mancunian vents his rage on unsuspecting strangers as he embarks on a nocturnal London odyssey.
CS! Voice: Naked is a two hour movie with almost no plot, consisting mostly of watching a highly misanthropic, cruel, and condescendingly clever young man named Johnny (David Thewlis) wander London while having conversations with a former flame and strangers. It is also some of the most rivetting cinema I've seen recently. The man of the hour is most certainly David Thewlis, who gives an incredible performance. Johnny is on paper an extremely unlikable character. Misogynistic, cruel, and generally just a huge asshole, Thewlis is able to find such humanity in the character without ever being overtly sympathetic. There's so much charisma that it's hard to look away, and it helps that a lot of the guy's nihilistic rants are written to perfection. Mike Leigh and cinematographer Dick Pope also really bring the grimy London streets to life and while the film is often ugly, it's also so watchable. The film thrives as both an excellent character study and a portrait of early 90s, post-Thatcher England. -
PG Cooper94. Man on the Moon
The life and career of legendary comedian Andy Kaufman.
CS! Voice: Man on the Moon is not only a showcase for the antics of Andy Kaufman, but also for Jim Carrey, who channels the man so well, the fact that you’re watching an actor playing the role becomes irrelevant by the five-minute mark; this is Carrey’s best performance, hands down. Not once while watching this film did I see Jim Carrey playing a part; I saw an entirely new person, one who constantly had me enthralled by what he was about to do next. Carrey adopts the mannerisms and quirks of Kaufman in such a way that it’s obvious he has a great deal of respectfor him. Carrey is so convincing, in fact, that right after my first viewing of this movie, I started finding out as much as I could about Kaufman, and that just left me in an even stronger sense of marvel at both the performance and the fact that Carrey wasn’t nominated for an Oscar. Around Carrey are many other seasoned actors, each aware that while they need to be good, they still can’t take the spotlight away from Carrey. DeVito maintains a proper balance between shock at Kaufman’s audacious material and a genuine level of care and concern for him, functioning as something of a father figure. Paul Giamatti also shows up as Bob Zmuda, who was Kaufman’s writer and fellow behind-the-scenes “partner in crime.” And Courtney Love does fine work as Lynne, the woman who caught Andy’s heart and dealt with him with amazing care and integrity. But, as I’ve said, this is Carrey’s movie, and it’s the pinnacle of excellence in a handful of other amazing dramatic works from him, the likes of which include The Truman Show and the underrated The Majestic.
At the end of the day, Jim Carrey is phenomenal, the script is engrossing, Milos Forman’s direction is top-notch and the film itself, just like Andy Kaufman, is something approaching brilliance – if it isn’t there already. -
PhantomKnight93. All About My Mother
Young Esteban wants to become a writer and also to discover the identity of his second mother, a trans woman, carefully concealed by his mother Manuela.
I've seen the most random assortment of Pedro Almodóvar movies - Talk to Her on DVD from my local library back in high school, Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! watched when it played on TCM a couple years ago, and The Skin I Live In on Criterion Channel a year later. I liked most of these movies but all the same I felt like I was flying blind with the director. After finally seeing the man's Oscar winning All About My Mother, I feel like I have a better understanding of Almodóvar's sensibilities. This film is beautifully made, with warm lighting and especially vibrant use of reds. What really impressed me here though is the amazing high-wire tightrope walk Almodóvar pulls off here. All About My Mother is at once an exploration of parental grief, a zany comedy, a backstage drama in vein of All About Eve (referenced very overtly), a cinematic soap opera, and a Sirkian melodrama. And somehow, Almodóvar blends all these disparate tons and styles to the point that the film not only feels a cohesive vision, but emotionally precise. The emotional turmoil at the core of this story is never ignored, but there's also a lot of love and joy and humour which is positively infectious. The whole of the story is touching though, and good-natured despite dealing with a lot of tragedy. -
PG Cooper92. The Double Life of Veronique
Two parallel stories about two identical women; one living in Poland, the other in France. They don't know each other, but their lives are nevertheless profoundly connected.
CS! Voice: The burden of carrying this entire film rests on the shoulders of the French actress Irène Jacob who plays both the Polish singer Weronika and the French singer Véronique. Neither woman knows the other one but they both share an indefinable bond. But the film’s central mystery is not how these women are connected, but what lays in their head. The Veronicas emote a certain state of mind that just makes forces you to examine them, you NEED to know what makes them tick. Jabob clearly deserved the award she won at the Cannes film festival.
What’s more it is a great technical achievement, Sławomir Idziak’s cinematography is among the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. The film looks mostly natural, but it is also drenched in rich beautiful colors. Even the indoor shots look like they were filmed at magic hour.
I cannot articulate the feelings this movie evokes, it just needs to be experienced. This is what “art” movies are supposed to be. -
Dracula
91. Henry V
In the midst of the Hundred Years War, the young King Henry V of England embarks on the conquest of France in 1415.
Kenneth Branagh's first big movie and an adaptation that seemed to launch a new wave of high profile Shakespeare adaptations. I'd previously been exposed to Henry V through the Laurence Olivier version, but my memories of it are fuzzy outside of a general sense of pro-English propaganda aimed for war-time audiences. Branagh's film comes in a radically different socio-political climate and the result is a much more mournful take on Henry's conquest of France. Battle scenes emphasis the ugliness of slaughter, with mass casualties and a generally grimy aesthetic. I definitely prefer this take, both politically, but also sensually. Branagh brings a very modern sense of excitement while still holding the source material with the utmost respect. And in classic Shakespeare fashion, Henry V is an amazing showcase for its actors. The whole cast is aces (loved Ian Holm and Judi Dench) but this is Branagh's movie and he owns every second of it. His Henry is a perfect mix of intelligence while still being brash and young.
Efforts to condense the play into a lean two hour and twenty minute runtime do lead to a bit of a strange pace, particularly when it comes to Catherine's courting which is very romantic and clever following what has been a pretty harsh telling. Even so, this is one of my favourite cinematic takes on the Bard and generally an exhilarating watch. -
PG Cooper
