The MoFos Top 100 of the 90s Countdown - Redux

Because of its length (I think), I have only watched Casino a couple times. The second time I watched it I definitely felt I had forgotten how great it is though. It kind of gets lost among some mob masterpieces, but it holds its own and then some. Great flick, but another Scorsese got my vote.

I finally watched Scream last year. I always figured if I didn’t like the masterpieces from the genre it was playing with, I wouldn’t like it. I wasn’t wrong, even with all the tounge in cheekiness I thought it was pretty terrible.

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“Except for markf, you’re all a disgrace to cinema.”

Casino is really great and was a contender for my list.

I really like Scream too and it probably would have been in contention for a top 50 spot for sure.

Have seen so far: 29 - Dazed and Confuzed - Not a bad movie, it was sort of boring to me.

Leon the Professional - A good crime movie but did not vote for it as a ballot of mines.

The Sixth Sense - Not a fan of this movie, it was alright.

The Lion King - One of the first Disney movies that I saw and it was a fun one.

Scream - My favorite horror movie of all time and #2 on my ballot.

Casino - A good crime film about mob involvement that took place in Las Vegas during the 1970s and 1980s. The movie is #9 on my ballot.

Have not seen so far: 42

My Ballot List So Far:
#2 - Scream
#9 - Casino
#4 - Dumber and Dumber
#5 - Clueless
#25 - Fear - One Pointer

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Survive the Night: My Favorite Horror Movies Thread
https://www.movieforums.com/communit...ad.php?t=71450

What slasher movie do you consider a masterpiece?
I'm not arguing, I'd just like to know.

Scream wasn't on my list but it definitely deserves a spot in the top 50. Not only for what it did to the slasher genre but also as a new kind of parody that still manages to be the real thing, and in that regard not very different from Galaxy Quest.
Without Scream, The Cabin In The Woods may never have happened....

For some reason the casino has always been one of my least favourite settings in a movie therefore it's no surprise I've never watched today's second winner.
But Robert De Niro and Sharon Stone as a married couple? That's something I must see!

OK, only the Top Thirty remain. Here is my best estimations of what's left. Based on past lists and general taste of the board, I am pretty dang confident about these twenty-six (alphabetically)...

Being John Malkovich
The Big Lebowski
Boogie Nights
Eyes Wide Shut
Fargo
Fight Club
Forrest Gump
GoodFellas
Groundhog Day
Hana-Bi/Fireworks
Heat
Jurassic Park
L.A. Confidential
Magnolia
The Matrix
Miller's Crossing
Pulp Fiction
Reservoir Dogs
Saving Private Ryan
Schindler's List
SE7EN
The Shawshank Redemption
The Silence of the Lambs
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
The Truman Show
Unforgiven

If I am correct on those, that only leaves four more spots. I think The Usual Suspects and maybe Naked are two of them? And then I'll guess...Donnie Brasco and Clerks?

Some of the many titles that would leave off include Breaking the Waves, Hoop Dreams, Batman Returns, The Crying Game, Dark City, Happiness, Misery, The Straight Story, All About My Mother, In the Name of the Father, Sling Blade, American History X, The Insider, My Own Private Idaho, Leaving Las Vegas, Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas, A Bronx Tale, La Haine, Tombstone, CopLand, Bad Lieutenant, Men in Black, Wild at Heart, Hard Boiled, Underground, The Virgin Suicides, Quiz Show, Three Kings, Fearless, Tremors, Babe, Ghost, Cape Fear, Philadelphia, The Apostle, The Piano, The Firm, The Green Mile, Scent of a Woman, Run Lola Run, Bullets Over Broadway, As Good as It Gets, Shakespeare in Love, and Titanic.

These next three or four days of reveals should remove whatever mystery remains. Then it's all about the order.

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"Film is a disease. When it infects your bloodstream it takes over as the number one hormone. It bosses the enzymes, directs the pineal gland, plays Iago to your psyche. As with heroin, the antidote to Film is more Film." - Frank Capra

My mind goes to Texas Chainsaw and Halloween as the standard. Feel free to argue, I don’t mind.

Again, a long time since I saw it but I thought Unbreakable was better.


Whether you'll get anything from it or not I don't know, but I did enjoy that second watch seeing the clues I didn't/hadn't picked up on first time around. Also, it is just a good film which doesn't need 'the twist' to work, IMO.

I'll also say I'm a little surprised by how often it's refered to as a horror movie. I'm not saying it isn't, but it never felt like one to me and I don't remember it being sold that way here either.

Not in my house, in my house she's most famous for a guest slot in the Neighbours renewal. Sadly, she wasn't very good.


For me, knowing there's a twist is almost worst than knowing it. In some cases I think I'd rather know it once I know there is one, just so I can enjoy the film without trying to suss it out (I have to do it, it's how my mind works ), thankfully I've seen enough films to read what's onscreen, so I'll usually get it as soon as the first or second clue arrives (depending on how well intergrated into the plot they are) but knowing there is one is enough. Sadly, people usually tell you but add, don't worry, I won't spoil it for you though. Yeah, you already have.

I agree about the missed potential of Scream 2, but it's still a good ride and I enjoyed it a lot. A lot more than Scream 3, actually, which really felt like one too many at the time.

I read this and thought you'd gotten confused and meant Kubrick. Then you mentioned the films and you didn't.

So what you're saying is, there's always a down side?

Another from my list with Scream, which I had at #8 but probably could be anywhere from 4-10 on another day.

So, I start hearing about this film which has hit really big in the States and started making waves here. It's a horror. Tick. It's directed by Wes Craven. Big tick, ok I'll definitely see this when it gets here. It stars Drew Barrymore!?!??!? I'm already there, Obviously it took months for it to get here (it was like that back then) but eventually I was able to see it and I loved it. Absolutely, completely and totally loved it (except the end of that scene which, thankfully, I already knew about but still wasn't prepared for that sight and it still hits me, though not like it did the first time on a 30 foot screen or however big it was) and that love hasn't diminished. I still love it. Not only that, but I still love to watch it. I just enjoy looking at it almost as much as I do watching the film. It's fun and I think it's more scary than it is funny. Maybe those coming to it later feel it the other way around or find it really cheesy or something, but that wasn't the overriding feeling at the time. This was a fun, scary horror film that played with the genre with a nod and a wink to the audience, while still putting on a really good show for those who 'didn't get it'.

Also, I have no idea who she is, but the girl who sat next to me in that first cinema viewing also added to that first great experience by screaming and curling up in a ball on her seat, clinging to (what I assume) was her boyfriend of the time. As someone who's only been scared by horror films a couple of times (and not since childhood) it was great to be so close to that reaction and have that added soundtrack to my experience.

I also saw Casino at the cinema (sadly a much smaller screen. Too small for the film really) and was equally desperate to see it (Scorsese, De Niro et al and gangsters?) and throughly enjoyed it. It was the first time I'd ever been to a film with an intermission too, although the numbness in my bum by the end wouldn't speak to that fact. A great film, but again, one I've only seen a couple of times, in part, due to its length. I did think about it for my list, but it fell away for the same reasons as so many others.

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5-time MoFo Award winner.

I have some catching up to do.

Dances with Wolves was a bit drawn out, but I liked the message and how easily Costner justified himself as an actor director, something he rarely does. It does a great job utilizing the drama to justify it's simple plot. 83/100

Leon was a definite early success for Besson due to cementing his directorial style as well as choosing the right people for the leads. Honestly, Portman was a little genius and she's still excellent. 95.

Sixth Sense was my #24. Seen it several times, and I wrote a lengthy review on how I consider it a technically perfect film. I went 16 years without knowing the twist at the end, so I got to love the legit surprise. 100.

The Lion King is Disney's most obvious attempt at creating true art from the sunrise to the newborn, raising the bar on the scoring and casting for the fourth musical time in a row. Only flaw is that Nala needed more development. 98.

Scream was my #5. For the longest time it stood as my highest rated horror movie before seeing Nosferatu. That meta delivery is exactly what the horror genre needed to crawl back from the grave. 98.

Seen 49/70

Ballot

4. Twelve Monkeys
5. Scream
13. Beauty and the Beast
15. Total Recall
19. Perfect Blue
22. The Nightmare Before Christmas
24. The Sixth Sense

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Wait, what? Casino absolutely, 100% did NOT have a programmed intermission. Did the cinema you went to simply, like, turn it off for fifteen minutes somewhere in the middle of it? That is awful. I would have demanded my money back and sent a strongly-worded letter to Mr. Scorsese and Universal to let them know somebody has gone rogue on them!

I have heard filmmakers say that the projectionist is sometimes the final editor, as they can screw up so many things, especially back in the days of actual film reels, from framing in the incorrect ratio or having the sound too low to literally putting the film together in the wrong order. But those are due to simple incompetence or laziness. Making an intermission where one doesn't exist is some serious bullpucky. For Raging Bull back in 1980 Scorsese heard that a couple projectionists across the country had cut out the brief color, home movie style scenes from the film, thinking they were spliced in by accident. That is some dumbness, to be sure, but to unilaterally decide a three hour movie is simply too long so you create an intermission...seriously, my twenty-five-year-old self would have at least egged the cinema, and possibly worse.

I was living in San Francisco at the time and saw Casino gloriously projected in palaces. I think it may have opened at The Castro. Wherever I saw it, it ran for three hours straight, as intended.

Scream. Have never understood how this type of movie is entertaining. Must be, given how many people are fans. Just don't get it, personally.

Casino. Seen it. S'ok.

Seen: 52/70
Ballot: 8/25

Of the 17 films overall I still have to place in the next 30, I think my 9 remaining "good chance" picks remain good chances. I've demoted one of my "fair" to "no chance" and really should demote two more. But heck, I'm just in this for the fun, not the prestige.

Good Chance: 3/12
-- The Sixth Sense #34 / My #19
-- Dances with Wolves #36 / My #9
-- Jackie Brown #44 / My #13
Fair Chance: 5/9
-- Rushmore #42 / My #16
-- Sense and Sensibility #49 / My #2
-- Clueless: #58 / My #5
-- Sleepless in Seattle: #91 / My #3
-- Office Space: #95 / My #23
No Chance: 0/4

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Scarecrow: I haven't got a brain ... only straw. Dorothy: How can you talk if you haven't got a brain? Scarecrow: I don't know. But some people without brains do an awful lot of talking, don't they? Dorothy: Yes, I guess you're right.

Big fan of Scream. It is one of my favorite horror films and one I saw multiple times in theaters. I still remember the reactions to that opening scene, which still ranks as one of the best opening sequences for me. The way that Craven manages to play with the genre while still maintaining that balance between horror, thrills, mystery, and fun it's really effective. I had it at #17.

It's been a while since I saw Casino, but I like it a lot. I think I've said it before here that I'm not *that* big on Scorsese, but I would even put this one above Goodfellas (which I haven't seen in an even longer while). Anyway, I didn't vote for it but I like it.


SEEN: 50/70
MY BALLOT: 6/25

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Same thing I said for Galaxy Quest: a sorta-satire that adores the thing it's satirizing and knows it so well that it can be a send-up of the thing and a pretty good example of it, simultaneously. It holds up really well. Genuinely scared me at the time, too, though I was like 13 so that's maybe not surprising.

That's part of the brilliance, too: making the phone ringing sound sinister, specifically because you know the audience is going to hear plenty of ringing phones after and flash back to what they saw. The monster under the bed isn't scary because it's a monster, it's scary because you have a bed, too.

Yup ... take your time. Take care of yourself. We'll be here when you get back.

I would be surprised if Hana-bi made it this high up. Logically you would think so because I feel it's more seen than Sonatine.
American History X surely makes it.
Also Toy Story.
I guess Hearts of Darkness is too much to ask this high up?
One a side note it's too bad A Brighter Summer Day didn't place.

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"Don't be so gloomy. After all it's not that awful. Like the fella says, in Italy for 30 years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love - they had 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock."

Scream! Scream! Scream! Scream! Scream made my list. I was just giving up hope that it would appear. For a movie that’s been parodied to death it holds up incredibly well. The cold open is still especially effective and there’s a scene towards the end that’s genuinely upsetting. I got the 4k which looks great and watch it every couple years or so. It’s extremely ‘90s but that doesn’t detract at all.
What sets Ghostface apart from other slasher contemporaries is if Jason or Freddy appear and you’re not the main character, you’re dead. It’s over for you. But if Ghostface shows up you might just get away. People are always kicking him down stairs or throwing a lamp at his head, because after all he is just a teenager in a mask he can’t see very well out of. So that adds some fun tension to the kills that other franchises can sometimes lack. It also has the strongest sequels of all the slashers too. While a couple feel a little stale none of them are truly awful. I personally like 4 and 5 quite a bit.

Casino is one I have a hard time with because it’s so similar to Goodfellas I can’t help but compare them. But the characters and story aren’t nearly as engaging for me. Still, it’s got that Scorsese magic.

As for these two, a little higher than I thought but both are good movies. Casino has always been mid-tier Scorsese for me, which is still great and better than most out there. Scream is a lot of fun and I don't really care for horror or slasher stuff, so I guess that says something about the film.

3. Edward Scissorhands (1990)
7. True Romance (1993)
8. JFK (1991)
9. My Cousin Vinny (1992)
14. Scream (1996)
15. American Beauty (1999)
18. Braveheart (1995)
20. Sonatine (1993)
22. Leon: The Professional (1994)
23. Porco Rosso (1992)
24. Casino (1995)
25. Stay Tuned (1992)


40. Braveheart (1995) - incredible film, maybe the best three act structure film of all-time...it's that or Jaws. Mel Gibson's casting in this was also exceptional Gleeson, Cox, and Patrick McGoohan all feel like they were random picks that just came together in this one. I've watched a lot of historical period pieces in my day but Braveheart is one of the best.

39. Chungking Express (1994) - saw it and like many 90's foreign films this one was just not for me. People really love this film and honestly I found it to be very forgettable.


38. Galaxy Quest (1999) - Did not make my list, could have was one of the films that I decided not to select. The 90's high concept comedy era was so fertile this is one of those films you can enjoy as a comedy and just a straight up science fiction film.


37. Dazed and Confused (1993) - I think this is the more popular type of film that came out in this era but it's not one that I would consider the best. I think Linklater gives this film a bit of a push over films I enjoyed more that won't show up in this ranking.

36. Dances with Wolves (1990) - I feel like this was an apology BP winner for Field of Dreams being to heady a concept for the academy and that's why the film has been persevered over the years. At some point I'm going to give this film a second shot not something I would have ranked or scored highly.

35. Léon: The Professional (1994) - Very happy to see Luc Besson get a second film on this list. Natalie Portman gives an all-time child performance in this film, and Gary Oldman is a great villain but to me this is Jean Reno demonstrating the importance of making a hitman resonate with the audience.



34. The Sixth Sense (1999) M Night Shyamalan's PG-13 horror masterpiece. Something about a ghost story that's told well this film very well could have been BP of 1999, the genre kinda hurt it. Bruce Willis does a lot of thankless acting in these movies and it's a brilliant twist with the three people he works with here.

33. The Lion King (1994) It's a good film, I think the sequels and the way we've changed as a society has added a layer of baggage that isn't needed.

32. Scream (1996) I don't know if this is true but I think this is the first film where Siskel and Ebert retracted their negative review. This made my list it never ages it's a horror film with a Lubitsch touch. I don't think a single scene is wasted or not layered and I'm happy to see it rank.


31. Casino (1995) Casino basically won the last spot on my ballot, I see a bunch of other people have the same feeling with it.Very curious to see if Goodfellas wins the 90's. This film demonstrates Scoese mastering of pacing. It's 3 hours long, you never feel it it's an epic story that doesn't feel like it's covering an epic time,


65/69 seen

I've gotten some heat (and will probably get some again now) for this, but Casino is probably my favorite Scorsese film. Yeah yeah I know. I've seen Goodfellas. Several times. But as good as that is I think it has structural advantages that Casino doesn't. I think Casino is trying to do a lot of harder, subtler (subtle being relative to the genre) things, and I find it more impressive. And I'm always impressed by really long films that don't drag.



Specifically, the dysfunctional relationship at the core of the film. The way Sam is sucked into it, keeps returning to it, rationalizes it to himself, and essentially goes through the stages of grief not for a lost life, but for a lost love, even while they're still together. And her end of it, too, the way she can't quit her own toxic relationship. The cycle of brokenness.

For me, the scene where she says she doesn't love him and he tries to work through even that, and convinces himself that maybe she can grow into loving him, or maybe just a general sense of respect can be an ersatz love...is among the best and most heartbreaking of Marty's long history of fantastic scenes. It's not as showy as a lot of the other candidates, but I think that's why I like it so much.

Casino was 9th on my list.

56/70 seen for me thus far

I did not like Dazed & Confused at all. I know a lot of people here love it, but I would give it a -1 out of 10. I watched it on a TV with a group of my peers in a university dorm and I walked out about 1/3 of the way through. I just couldn't handle the craziness of it. People hitting people with paddles for fun? WTF? I just don't get it. Ferris Bueller is more my speed.

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