The MoFos Top 100 of the 90s Countdown - Redux

One Ornery Sumbitch

1 day ago

Originally Posted by Captain Quint

Acting: Jack Lemmon, 4 films (The Player, Short Cuts, JFK, Glengarry Glen Ross)

The Player is gonna skew a lot of those stats. Lemmon, like a couple dozen others, has a non-speaking cameo as himself in the background of a scene. Hardly much of a role, but, technically, he is in the film.

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Torgo

At Work

1 day ago

Cure is fantastic, landing at #21 on my ballot. As much as David Fincher's psychological thrillers from the '90s got under my skin, this one got even further under it. You can read something I wrote about it here if you like (there are spoilers, so be warned).

Thief

Master of None

1 day ago

It's been a while since I saw The Player, but here's what I wrote when it made it on the Neo-noir countdown:

Originally Posted by Thief

The Player is one of those films I saw back in the late 90s, when I was getting more into film, that blew my mind. I remember having a loooot of fun with it. That said, even though I remember it fondly, I don't think I've seen it since. I recently revisited the opening scene to prepare for a podcast episode I did on long, continuous shots but that's about it. I should probably rewatch it.

I haven't seen Raise the Red Lantern. The only Zhang films I've seen are Hero (

) and The Great Wall (

)

So once again, no votes from me.

SEEN: 32/50
MY BALLOT: 4/25

My ballot

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Thief

Master of None

1 day ago

Originally Posted by Holden Pike

I was telling @John-Connor something along that line; that with films like Short Cuts, A Few Good Men, True Romance, Apollo 13, etc. that are such treasure troves of character actors, small bits, and cameos, he's gonna have a field day juggling them for his actor stats. And now he has to add The Player to that list.

Thief

Master of None

1 day ago

And since the topic of Robert Altman came up again, I will say I've only seen four and I would probably rank them like this...

The Player -
Gosford Park -
Images -
The Gingerbread Man - ???

I think I have something written on Gosford Park from my last rewatch that I might transfer here. The Gingerbread Man was one I rented back in the late 90s and I don't remember anything about it.

kgaard

Msg

Registered User

1 day ago

I don't think I've seen The Player since it came out. I thought it was very good back then but under the circumstances I couldn't give it a vote.

I haven't seen Raise the Red Lantern but I'd happily do so if thee's a good version out there. I feel like my wife is a fan of this one, I'll have to ask.

TheManBehindTheCurtain

Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain

1 day ago

The Player. Hovered around 23 or so in my list for quite a while, but eventually got pushed out.

Raise the Red Lantern. Many moons have passed since I've seen this. Admired and enjoyed it at the time, but not something I'll revisit.

Seen: 35/50
Ballot: 3/25

My predictions of how my picks will place:

Good Chance: 0/12
Fair Chance: 3/10
-- Clueless: #58 / My #5
-- Sleepless in Seattle: #91 / My #3
-- Office Space: #95 / My #23
No Chance: 0/3

I've only got 50 chances now for my remaining 22 to place. I still think those 12 have a shot ....

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Holden Pike

One Ornery Sumbitch

1 day ago

I did not have The Player join Short Cuts on my ballot, though it is definitely one of Altman's best. I have three other directors doubled up for votes, but limited myself to just one Altman this time. Bob remains one of my favorite filmmakers, and I return to his work often. Ranking them, today anyway, I would say...

1. The Long Goodbye
2. Nashville
3. McCabe & Mrs. Miller
4. Short Cuts
5. MASH
6. The Player
7. Images
8. Gosford Park
9. 3 Women
10. California Split
11. Cookie's Fortune
12. Thieves Like Us
13. Secret Honor

That's a damn fine baker's dozen, if I do say so my damn self.

KeyserCorleone

Registered User

1 day ago

Ahhh, The Player just barely managed not to make it on my ballot. This was my Altman introduction. This was unique, twisty, artistic and perfectly put all of its elements together in both beautiful and intriguing ways. And that endingg was just a perfect one, one of the best I've ever seen. 100.

Seen 33/50

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Originally Posted by LeBoyWondeur

If you're going to approach it from a child's point of view then it kinda changes the topic of discussion, doesn't it.

ApexPredator

Registered User

1 day ago

24/50 Seen

Yep, I hadn't seen Raise the Red Lantern or The Player.

In fact, I've seen only 3 Altmans in my life: Popeye, Gosford Park and California Split. Doesn't help that I'd only recommend Split and Popeye is more of a curio than anything (it has gotten me interested in going to Malta, though). Gosford Park did not do anything for me, but this was around the same time I saw Goodfellas for the first time. Which means I'm probably due for a re-watch?

pahaK

Registered User

1 day ago

The second film from my ballot showed up yesterday. Cure was my #8. I enjoy Kurosawa's slow, bleak style a lot. There's this solitary melancholia trapping his characters in the world with Lovecraftian hostility towards not only man but also to love and life itself. I had another Kurosawa among the late cuts, but Cure was always a guaranteed inclusion. Pulse is his best, but it's from 2001.

The Fifth Element was another late cut. I meant to rewatch it, but never did. I'm not happy with the bottom 10 of my ballot and wonder if I should have cut something else.

---
Seen: 21/50
8. Cure (1997)
16. Interview with the Vampire (1994)

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Holden Pike

One Ornery Sumbitch

1 day ago

Originally Posted by Thief

The Gingerbread Man was one I rented back in the late 90s and I don't remember anything about it.

It was a very unusual piece for Altman to take on, an unpublished John Grisham legal thriller that Kenneth Branagh adapted into a screenplay but didn't want to direct himself. Altman changed the script a bit and, even though it has some of his signature touches, he certainly did not go full speed ahead with them, either. I like Robert Downey Jr. in it, who was just about at the height of his legal issues before his three-year sentence. But mostly it is a very sleepy mystery/thriller without much mystery or many thrills.

There were an astounding seven John Grisham adaptations in the 1990s. The first of them, Sydney Pollack's The Firm, holds up as the most popular and enduring, for sure. The Pelican Brief, The Client, and A Time to Kill were all box office successes in their day, but all three seem pretty silly and overwrought, now. The Chamber is way less than the sum of its considerable parts and The Gingerbread Man is just not a very good story, you can kinda see why Grisham didn't publish it.

For me the best of the Grisham '90s movies has turned out to be Francis Ford Coppola's The Rainmaker, which did sort of middling box office at the time but is a very well-made if straight-ahead courtroom piece with a ton of good actors in it.

I will say, as muddy a film as The Gingerbread Man is, I would happily watch it again before Altman's Pr�t-�-Porter/Ready to Wear (1994) which used the fashion world as a backdrop and is insufferable. What a massive disappointment after the comeback streak of Vincent & Theo, The Player, and Short Cuts. Kansas City (1996) has such amazing period sets and music and of course a great cast, but sadly it didn't have strong storylines to go with them. Cookie's Fortune (1999) on the other hand is quite good, if lightweight, and extremely enjoyable - one of Bob's most underrated/underseen titles, if no masterpiece. Not really Top 100 material, but surely worth seeing.

Last edited by Holden Pike; 1 day ago at 01:38 PM.

ueno_station54

feral housewife

1 day ago

i think there's only one more on my ballot with any shot of showing up (though i assumed it would have by now if it was going to) but i'm happy and surprised to have had four make it.

#3. Cure
#6. Gummo
#10. The Blair Witch Project
#11. Clueless

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LeBoyWondeur

Registered User

1 day ago

All I have to say about The Player is that it's on the wrong side of the top 50, where it belongs (but better than the other films? Better than Gilbert Grape??)

If I get the chance to watch The Red Lantern film I'll do it. A wicked competition between four wives should be fun to watch.

Citizen Rules

Trouble with a capitial 'T'

1 day ago

Yahoo! Two from my ballot.
I had The Player (1992) at #15
and Raise the Red Lantern (1991) at #5

So glad these two fine films could make it!

Thief

Master of None

1 day ago

Originally Posted by Holden Pike

Even if the execution overall falls short, I have a lot of respect for A Time to Kill. It's probably the one I've seen the most out of the Grisham adaptations.

I will agree, though, that The Rainmaker was a very pleasant surprise. Back in the day, I seem to remember it not being released theatrically (at least widely), and even thinking that the cover at the video store lacked the flair and style of some of his other adaptations.

Still, even though it's been a while since I last saw it, it has stuck with me more than most of the others from that bunch. I should probably give it a rewatch one of these days.

Deschain

Msg

Registered User

1 day ago

The Player slipped from my final list. If we were doing this ten year ago it would have been a lock. Sometimes you�re just not as passionate about a movie as you once were. But it�s still great, it still makes me laugh, and I�m glad it made the countdown without my help.

I have not seen Raise the Red Lantern.

Citizen Rules

Trouble with a capitial 'T'

1 day ago

I previously wrote this:

The Player
(Robert Altman 1992)

The Player is right up my alley, it was one helluva fun watch. The Player reminded me of another favorite movie of mine, by the Coen Brothers, Barton Fink.

What I really liked about The Player was the insider story of a Hollywood movie executive who listens to movie pitches and green lights only a handful of films...I want that job!!!

OMG that was so cool to see someone actually performing this movie job on screen, to me that would be a dream job. I loved the inside look at the movie business, very cool.

I also loved the detail of the sets at the studio and I loved spotting all the stars who made cameos and there was a lot of them! Tim Robbins is a favorite actor of mine and I liked him here, he's quite good and personable which makes his story all the more relatable.

I liked that the story too which was part comedy and never intense. I dislike intense, realistic crime thrillers, though I do like old 40s-50s film noir. Luckily this film had a lighter feel to it, which suited me. I thought the ending twist was pretty clever too and it gave the movie a film within a film feel.

The Player is one film I'd like to revisit again.

Citizen Rules