Flashback: Best of the 90s. (Pt 1)

Remember when I shared those 80s scrapbook pages on "Before Websites Pt 1 and Pt 2"?

Well inbetween scrapbooking two decades back and the total new digital world of the Aughts, there was the long transitional period of the 1990s. Remember when the internet was just text (Anyone? Anyone?). The last two issues of my 90s zine (that pre-website relic mentioned in the Julianne Moore interview) were published in 2000.

<-- "90s character collage" Oil on canvas. I'm confused why I included The Phantom Menace because I hated the movie. I think I wanted something "up to the minute" Ha!

I had just moved to NYC and was in the process of chucking Quark for Dreamweaver. The first version of the site was already up and rapidly taking over my life so I'm not sure why I was trying to do both web & print. It was transitional hedging maybe. Plus html was way confusing at first before apps starting doing all the coding for you. Different era.

Interior "Ten Best" pages --- >

I thought I'd share these ancient lists on "Best of the 90s" for fun. I can't really stand by half the choices now 10 years later but can you stand by all your choices from Spring 2000?

Best Supporting Actor
[Top Ten Chronological Order, Winner in Red. Original text with the names listed. The very first one surprises me like you don't even know but we'll get to that in a minute.]

• Tommy Lee Jones, JFK (1991)
  Tommy back when he was exciting to watch onscreen.
  
• Michael Lerner, Barton Fink (1991)
  The funniest supporting turn of the decade
  
• Leonardo DiCaprio, What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993)
  The breaking point of Hollywood's It Boy.
  
• Ralph Fiennes, Schindlers List (1993)
  Astoundingly frightening American debut.

Leonardo DiCaprio (Gilbert Grape) & Ed Harris (The Truman Show)

• Samuel L Jackson, Pulp Fiction (1994)
  Much celebrated bible quoting hitman. Great.
  
• Martin Landau, Ed Wood (1994)
  Great character actor doing comic justice to a legend.
  
• Kevin Spacey, The Usual Suspects (1995)
  Kevin's much lauded Keyzer Soze role.
  
• William H Macy, Fargo (1996)
  Almost as great as McDormand. High praise.
• Rupert Everett, My Best Friend's Wedding (1997)
  Wasn't even nominated. What?!?!
  
• Ed Harris, The Truman Show (1998)
  Terrific work from the ever magnetic actor.

That's what I said then. As you can see I wasn't yet a frothing at the mouth "Category Fraud!" crusader since there's at least two "leads" in there. In fact, for '99 I chose Haley Joel Osment (ru: Jude Law) who is obviously the lead of The Sixth Sense and in my runners up I list Rupert Graves in Where Angels Fear to Tread and how is that anything but the lead role? The weirdest nominee in this best of decade top ten is Tommy Lee Jones. I barely remember that performance -- I think he had white hair and that there was some rabidly anti-gay tone to his scenes? -- and what I do remember I don't like. I'm so confused that it's listed but that's what the pages say. The other thing that sticks out at me is that I was apparently on a first name basis with Kevin Spacey (unhh....) and I excluded Burt Reynolds in Boogie Nights (very odd).

So yeah, I'm not happy with this list at all. I'd probably only keep half of it. But I'd need to watch a few movies again.

Best Supporting Actress
[Top Ten Chronological Order, Winner in Red. Original text with the names listed]

Juliette Lewis (Cape Fear) & Patricia Clarkson (High Art)

• Annette Bening, The Grifters (1990)
  As the delicious decadent Myra Langtree she was radiant.
• Uma Thurman, Henry & June (1990)
  Seduced Henry, Anaïs and the world as June Miller.
• Juliette Lewis, Cape Fear (1991)
  At just 18, stole the show from Lange, Nolte and DeNiro.
• Judy Davis, Husbands and Wives (1992)
  Gave Allen's neurosis a whole new energy level.
• Uma Thurman, Pulp Fiction (1994)
  The hip film's central female role. Uma nailed it.
• Dianne Wiest, Bullets Over Broadway (1994)
  Dianne is always a treat. Against type, she soared.
• Joan Allen, The Crucible (1996)
  Breathtaking. One of the great screen presences.
• Julianne Moore, Boogie Nights (1997)
  Should've won the Oscar. What were they thinking?
• Christina Ricci, The Ice Storm (1997)
  Smart sad work. Confirmed her best-of-generation status.
• Patricia Clarkson, High Art (1998)
  How did this marvelous turn go so unnoticed?

That's what I said then. Obviously Catherine Keener would've made the list for Being John Malkovich had I waited a year to compile this. (I'm always so hesistant about brand new movies. A weird tic. And apparently I did the same thing here declaring 1999 movies ineligible for these top tens. Weirdness.) But nothing much surprises me about these supporting actresses. Love them all and the next ten would be almost as wondrous.

Best Actor
[Top Ten Chronological Order, Winner in Red. Original text with the names listed. I've recreated the illustration here just because I thought it was funny and I remember being super angry that Anthony Hopkins started going hammy and/or phoning it in starting about the mid 90s.


I no longer have any strong feelings about him. The quality dropoff was so severe that even know 15 years later I see his name in casting items and I feel nothing more than "Why'd they go with him? Laziness in thinking about their options?". Like, what was he doing in The Wolf Man? I feel like you give that same part to some hungry actor his age who never got inundated with huge offers and they're going to reward you with something special even if the movie bites. I don't mean to sound cruel about Sir Hopkins and I did name him Best Lead Actor of the Decade and that's saying something. He'll always have 1991-1993 when every performance was an event!]

• Anthony Hopkins, Silence of the Lambs (1991)
  Perhaps overcelebrated but it's a juicy star turn.
• River Phoenix, My Own Private Idaho (1991)
  A transformation that made him an icon.
• Denzel Washington, Malcolm X (1992)
  Should have easily bagged him the Oscar.
• Daniel Day-Lewis, In the Name of the Father (1993)
  Does anyone else miss this guy? Great actor.
• Anthony Hopkins, Remains of the Day (1993)
  Unquestionably fine. Does repression like no one else.
• Nicolas Cage, Leaving Las Vegas (1995)
  His last great performance before big budgets beckoned.
• Sean Penn, Dead Man Walking (1995)
  Completely believeable difficult turn as a repentant killer.
• Ian Holm, The Sweet Hereafter (1997)
  A performance as complex as the film. That's high praise.
• Ian McKellen, Gods and Monsters (1998)
  Should have won the Oscar. What were they thinking?
• Edward Norton, American History X (1998)
  Fierce work that confirmed his best-of-generation status.

That's what I said then. And said rather repetitively, too. I used some of those exact same lines for Best Supporting Actress. Where was my editor? Oh, yeah. That was me. Elsewhere in the magazine I proclaim Kevin Spacey in American Beauty Best Actor of 1999 and now I would definitely rewrite history to pretend that I chose Jim Broadbent in Topsy Turvy (who I at least nominated. Yay, me). I had also forgotten that DDL made so few movies in the 90s (only 5) despite becoming a big star with the first of those (The Last of the Mohicans). And then he made even less in the Aughts (4) ! Does this mean we can only expect 3 movies from him from 2010-2019? And if so, does one of them really have to be a Sherlock Holmes sequel since he works so infrequently?

I'm also a bit surprised that I didn't give the top prize to River Phoenix as I was quite obsessed with My Own Private Idaho in the 90s. River Phoenix would've turned 40 last week. One has to wonder what would be different in the movies had he lived. Which star would never have risen up instead. Which roles we're familiar with would he have ended up playing?

I'm disappointed looking back that I didn't list Christopher Guest whose "Corky St. Clair" in Waiting for Guffman is arguably the finest comedic character creation of the 1990s. He should've made the list.

River Phoenix (My Own Private Idaho) & Christopher Guest (Waiting For Guffman)

You know what to do in the comments. Your lists please... and how have they changed over the past ten years. What did you love or hate then that you've changed your mind about now? And let's say you were born in the late 80s or in the 1990s. Which of these movies have you always meant to see but just haven't got around to yet?

p.s. If you're new to the blog and want to see more recent "best ofs" you can check out Best of the Aughts or my awards for 2009.
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We Can't Wait: YOU WILL MEET A TALL DARK STRANGER

Jose here with my orphan entry in the We Can't Wait series.

You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger
Directed by: Woody Allen
Starring: Antonio Banderas, Josh Brolin, Anthony Hopkins, Freida Pinto, Lucy Punch, Naomi Watts



Synopsis: Set in London, the movie centers around a number of people in a family, their assorted love lives, as they try to work out complicated romances.
Yes, that sounds like almost every Woody film but with him you never really know what the movie's about until it finally comes out.
Brought to you by: Sony Pictures Classics
Expected release date: September 23 in the US with a tentative premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in May.

Announced the day after the 2009 Oscars as Freida Pinto's new project, the film is surrounded by that air of mystery that always accompanies the Woodsman's work. Nicole Kidman was involved at some point (allegedly playing a hooker), dropped out and her part was given to the practically unknown Lucy Punch, then there were mix ups as to whether this was the movie where French First Lady Carla Bruni would appear. Turns out it's not... she'll be in the next Parisian-set movie with Marion Cotillard.

<--- the Punch & Tony show

Given the way in which Woody works (write while filming, film while post-producing and release while pre-producing next movie) the plot is unclear but with that cast and given the recent renaissance the director has achieved shooting in Europe this could be fantastic. I'm also dying to know what he saw in Pinto, who beautiful and all, didn't exactly show great acting chops in Slumdog Millionaire. For all we know this could turn out to be his next Vicky Cristina Barcelona or result in a flop, like the underrated Whatever Works; with Woody we always can put our hopes up for the movie he'll release the following year.

Do you think his one movie a year thing is effective or should he devote himself to a "special" project where we'd have to wait years for his next release?

"We Can't Wait: Summer and Beyond"
The "orphan" picks Nathaniel (Burlesque), JA (Love and Other Drugs), Jose (You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger), Craig (What's Wrong With Virginia?), Robert (True Grit) and Dave (Brighton Rock); Team Film Experience Countdown #12 It's Kind of a Funny Story, #11 Sex & the City 2, #10 Scott Pilgrim vs the World, #9 Somewhere, #8 The Kids Are All Right, #7 The Illusionist, #6 Toy Story 3, #5 Inception, #4 Rabbit Hole, #3 Never Let Me Go, #2 Black Swan and #1 The Tree of Life.

Woof! The Wolfman Reviewed

Zombies ruled the movie monster jungles for a good long while in the Aughts until Twilight and True Blood boosted the vampire back up top as the king of all supernatural beasts. When will it be the lycanthropes turn? If The Wolfman is indication, they'll have to keep waiting.

The Wolfman, a reworking of the 1941 monster classic, begins with the recitation of a gloomy gypsy proverb. It amounts to this: prayers won't save you from curses. Something unholy and accursed is definitely roaming the forests near the Talbot estate. Bodies are discovered dead and mangled. Sir John Talbot's (Anthony Hopkins) son goes missing and his fiance Gwen Conliffe (Emily Blunt) writes to the Talbot prodigal son Lawrence (Benicio Del Toro) to return home and help has father in the search. By the time he does, he's been traveling the world as a famous stage actor, his brother's mutilated body has already been discovered. Local gypsies are blamed and Lawrence seeks them out only to run into the growling monster itself.

You can guess what happens next.

Read the Rest @ Towleroad...
Wherein I ponder the movies multiple mysteries, Blunt's misfortune and (briefly) the best actress race.

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Can You Feel The Link Tonight? (It is where we are)

Disney Madness
Antagony & Ecstasy a great piece on Disney's ever charming Dumbo (1942)
<--- Sociological Images considers the social messaging of the princes and princess of Disney. Deflating but a smart/funny overview.
Disney Blog interviews the supervising animator on The Princess and the Frog (audio)

News
Toronto Star a second sequel to The Blair Witch Project? Er...
Coming Soon I missed this news in the crush of Halloween stuffage but Anthony Hopkins will play Odin in Thor. The way Hollywood casts you know it was either going to be him or Liam Neeson (they're the only two who do mythic father figures now, right?).
Slash Films Gattaca to spawn TV series? Hmmm, that could actually be good... as long as its psychologically / politically focused a la Battlestar Galactica

Oscar & Miscellania
StinkyLulu and gang discuss Oscar's Supporting Actress Nominees of 1956. Dorothy Malone won the Oscar. Will she win the "Smackdown"?
In Contention more best original song drama. That music branch is as looney as the makeup branch, if you ask me
David Bordwell "Between you, me, and the bedpost" on phallic symbols in the movies
USA Today people are still upset about the 10-wide best picture field. Interesting comments from Academy member's themselves.
Butt Magazine fun photo shoot with Rossy de Palma (of Almodovarian fame). Yes! [thx]

I Want to Link to There

Your Internet Movie Rule: Robert De Niro is...
Sunset Gun Kim Morgan talks to Tarantino
<--- Empire what film will director Bryan Singer do next? I'm just going to admit it: I don't really get his career. It seems so directionless despite a collection of generally good films
MNPP Michael Fassbender Four Times (he's fast becoming someone I totally care about!)
A Blog Next Door with a surprise observation about Adaptation (2002)
Coffee Coffee and More Coffee on the import/export game, the shrinking market for foreign films and how Hollywood doesn't play fair
INF "Aniston: Zellweger Stole My Man" I've never made a secret that I'm not a fan of Jennifer Aniston and her trademark 'abandoned woman' victimhood. On the other hand, I think all tabloids, celeb mags and gossip blogs ought to pay her tithing each year, you know?
If Charlie Parker... frames within frames. Lovely


Did you see The Wolf Man trailer? Benicio Del Toro plays the fuzzy wuzzy. I'm so pleased to see Hugo Weaving again (see previous post) but was it really a good idea to cast Anthony Hopkins in this? Seems like the choice is too obvious, too directly reminiscent of Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992).



Topless Robot expresses what I suspect will be widespread feelings about this film before it opens. Poor lycanthropes. They never get any respect when it comes to monster movies. It's gotta be vampires, don't it?

2009 Sneak: King Lear

Nobody ever listens to me about that proposed moratorium on Shakespeare (for just 10 years people --give other ancient playwrights a chance at movie & stage adaptations!) but if they're going to make another Shakespearean movie, at least it's not Hamlet. Prepping to shoot early next year is King Lear directed by Joshua Michael Stern (whose current movie is Swing Vote. Kevin Costner to Shakespeare... er, okay Hollyweird). Sir Anthony Hopkins is set to play the self-sabotaging monarch. [src]

In concept I love all-star casts but when the property involves familial casting it always freaks me out just a little. Playing Hopkins three famous daughters and thus, sisters, are Naomi Watts (Goneril), Gwyneth Paltrow (Regan) and Keira Knightley (Cordelia). It might be exciting to see Paltrow in an evil role for a change --she no longer loves her Proof daddy -- but I don't really see these three as sisters. They're about as convincing as sisters as the last trio to war with their imperious Learing father (Jessica Lange, Michelle Pfeiffer and Jennifer Jason Leigh in A Thousand Acres)

I should keep an open mind. Maybe I'm just a little sore because if they were going to make King Lear I would've loved to have seen Sir Ian McKellen (my favorite "Sir") under that heavy crown. He's worked with this director before (on Neverwas) and he was just treading the boards a couple of years ago as Lear.

Discounting Shakespeare in Love (not a Shakespearean play, you know, but a play on Shakespeare as it were) the last time a Shakespearean feature was up for Oscar's Best Picture was 40 years ago (Franco Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet) though Shakespearean plays did have a brief Oscar comeback in the 1980s. Akira Kurosawa's Ran (1985, a King Lear adaptation) was a major event and Henry V in 1989, which established the shortlived but endearing Kenneth Branagh & Emma Thompson screen craze. Most of the time film versions of the Bard are ignored by Oscar as they often are by audiences. Perhaps they're too plentiful or there's too much competition to win "definitive" raves. Nevertheless, the allure for filmmakers and actors never goes away.

2009 Sneak: The Last Station

I haven't seen these photos elsewhere unless I spaced while surfing the web... it happens. (IMDB doesn't have any photos up yet) So here's James McAvoy and Helen Mirren in The Last Station.

[img src]

The film, based on the book of the same name, is about the life of famous Russian author Leo Tolstoy (Christopher Plummer). Mirren plays his wife Sofya. McAvoy --much in demand, Wanted, literally -- plays Valentin Bulgakov, Tolstoy's secretary. Apparently Mirren and Plummer were replacements for Meryl Streep and Anthony Hopkins who bowed out or said no or something of the sort. Paul Giamatti also co-stars. The film is being directed by Michael Hoffman, whose biggest hit to date was the Pfeiffer/Clooney romantic comedy One Fine Day (1996). But since this is a period bio with a tony cast... maybe we'll see it in one Oscar race or another next year if its halfway decent? Hoffman's only Oscar film previously was the 17th century drama Restoration (1995) which won "the Moulin Rouge! Oscars" (i.e. costume design & art direction).

Helen Mirren is heading for another big year. At least three films coming our way. The other biggies are an A list ensemble crime thriller (State of Play) and one true story about a brothel in Nevada (Love Ranch) directed by her husband Taylor Hackford (Ray).