The MoFos Top 100 of the 90s Countdown - Redux

Yup some people are very well watched here, that's for sure. Me, I only have evening time during and after dinner to watch a movie and relax a little...and I eat dinner like around 7pm so I don't have time to do more than one movie per day.

I'm guessing about half will make it.

During previous countdowns either 7 or 8 of my picks have made it, so I'm expecting the same kind of result this time too.

Being a teen in the 90's, my favorites are pretty mainstream. I may be overly optimistic here, but I think at least 20-22 will make it.

Im like you, I dont think many of mine will make it.

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90's Redux Seen: 18/34
My List 2/25
#12 The Crow
One Pointer: The Polar Bear King

Lost Highway is good, but I'd rank it near the bottom of Lynch's filmography.

Point Break is a tough film to talk about. Its plot is stupid by every metric and the acting is terrible, but in a strange way, everything somehow works really well. I don't know if I can put my finger on it, but I was strangely moved by all the plot contrivances once I embraced its silliness - I don't think the film is trying to take itself seriously. It didn't make my ballot, but it's still really good.

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Not sure what you meant by plot contrivances, because it was intended to be a philosophical action movie. But this comment DID get me to check the goofs section and I came across one I can't forgive and that I'm ashamed at myself doe missing: a man tackled in the water appears dry in the same fight scene. So I'm very sorry Kathryn, but I'm lowering this from a 100 to a 99.

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Whatevs Dad.


Are either of these on my list? No. Have I seen either of them? No.
Lost Highway must have come after a Lynch film I did not like. That is the only explanation I have for not seeing it. I wasn't much of an action fan in the 90s, but @The Rodent I do approve of muscly surfers.
So far nothing I picked has made it on the board. I wonder if I can go the distance.

Just make sure it's 100% accurate. We don't need those lawyers pulling loopholes out of their sleeves.

Mainly the whole plotline of a FBI agent infiltrating a group of surfers who happen to be bank robbers. It's a ridiculous plot, yet it works in a strange way if you don't take the film seriously. I don't know if I can explain it well, but I found myself strangely moved throughout the film.

Eh, I guess for some reason it could happen, especially if they're giving a new guy his first assignment, but that's all I can really say as far as that goes. But I think the moving moments were all a part of the philosophy that we all seek thrills in one way or another. Swayze translated that very well.

Never heard of Lost Highway.

Now that I know it's directed by David Lynch I'll be sure to make all reasonable efforts to avoid it.

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Top 100 Action Movie Countdown (2015): List | Thread
"Well, at least your intentions behind the UTTERLY DEVASTATING FAULTS IN YOUR LOGIC are good." - Captain Steel

I'm sure it could happen in real life, in the same way that anybody with any job or hobby could be a criminal. It's just an absurd set up. As for the second part of your post though, I agree with it, which is why I said I wasn't bothered by the film's premise. The point I was making was not that the film doesn't work.

I know. I just feel like a new guy being given a smaller assignment that doesn't warrant pro-FBI attention feels like a good enough set up for the action movie we got. But the movie is aura if nothing else.

That's a fine set up on paper. With me, it's more the reality of who the criminals are and what they do for a living, as opposed to the agent being given a small assignment. That was what stood out to me as contrived on the surface level.

I think it's more unique. The thrill of sports wasn't enough for them, so they had to go for something bigger.

You could lose yourself in pleasure til your body's going numb, but will it ever be enough? - Pandora's Box, "Original Sin."

I would say it's unique due to the absurdity and contrivances.

And to clarify, I'm not saying the setup makes the film bad or that it's even a flaw with the film. As you mentioned, it works really well once you delve into the nature of the characters seeking thrills. There's just a strong element of absurdity to the group of people it uses for this commentary. Not bad absurdity by any means. But absurdity nonetheless.

80. Lost Highway (1997) - Lost Highway was the first reveal that I definitely had never seen before - and I say was because after I saw it revealed last night I decided I'd finally watch Lost Highway as I'd been meaning to for so long. It made for a very excellent night's movie-watching (one of those where I was simply excited all the way through because of how much enjoyment I was getting from the movie.) It was stuffed full of David Lynch's idiosyncratic, mind-bending, dream-like surrealism. I don't understand all of it yet, but while I'm usually frustrated by that with this it's a bonus - I watch this guy's movies for the impenetrable mystery. I intend to spend a small portion of my day today watching videos that try to explain what it all means - and thus relive some of Lost Highway's great moments. I loved this, and it seems absurd that it took me this long to finally see it.

79. Point Break (1991) - The last time I watched Point Break I wrote this on letterboxd : "An action film with a philosophy - a classic. Two roles Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze were born to play, and I get the added benefit of Lori Petty and Gary Busey - two favourites (with an extra John C. McGinley helping of crazy.) This is the epitome of the action genre, and is flawless in giving us a strangely authentic masculine vibe - all from a female director. I can't fault it - from a cultural standpoint, or all-round watchability. It's a smart action movie, without any less adrenaline fueled mayhem to show for it. It's the vibe, the beats and the thrill - and that attitude.

PS - After having a moment to think it over, I think Bigelow shows us what masculinity should be, and what an idealised version would be. Real masculinity would probably involve more boobs, booze and idiocy than Swayze's Zen, contemplative, stick-it-to-the-man daredevil persona ultimately serves up." Pretty much sums up what I think the film is about - I ended up rating it 4/5 at the time, so I approve it's inclusion here in 79th spot.

Seen : 22/22

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As to the list so far...

There's a few here I've disliked or were m'eh over; plus, I can see what didn't make it, so I get to silently fume over a few of those, but I figure someone's excited to see a favorite make it, so I'm trying to not turn on the hate machine... though I could gently vent when it's all said and done. Just go

it seems we’ve entered the portion of the list specifically geared towards me. 3 out of the last 4 films were on my list, and the one that wasn’t, point break, is also a great film and would fit comfortably in my top 40.

before sunrise was my #2. at age 13 it totally reshaped my conception of what cinema could be. i had never seen anything that felt so natural, with characters that felt like real people you could just meet somewhere. of course, at that time i had little to no life experience and was merely imagining what it must be like to have adult feelings. now i’m two years older than the characters in the movie and my perspective has shifted somewhat, yet having seen it several times i still find it to be basically the most intoxicatingly romantic movie ever made. the scene in the listening booth is the purest expression of longing i can think of. both hawke and delpy should’ve won oscars. not to mention linklater, whose visual language in the film impresses me more each time i watch it.

lost highway was my #14. robert blake is the scariest dude i’ve ever seen.

strange days is my #19. it’s so grimy and perverted and disgusting, i love it. tom sizemore is the scariest dude i’ve ever seen.

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The movie that reshapes your world always has a special place in you. I started really "getting into cinema" with Chinatown, but it was Sunset Boulevard that really kept me digging.