1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (1990's)

Notes: I haven't seen this one yet...

Notes: I think it is probably the first flick directed by Scorsese that I saw. Back then, I must have been 15-16 years old and, indeed, I thought it was just awesome. Whereas I had to watch 'The Godfather' at least twice before I was really able to enjoy them, I loved this movie right away. Indeed, the whole thing was just full of energy and adrenaline, filled with conflicted and fascinating characters. Basically, it is a great movie and of course one of the best movies directed by Martin Scorsese. Still, as I grow older I must admit that, in the same genre, I tend to enjoy more 'The Godfather' part I and II than this one because they are more subtle and more cerebral in my opinion but it remains a great movie. The whole thing is just plain entertaining and completely fascinating and unfortunately, once again, back then, Martin Scorsese was ignored by the academy and, instead, the decent but not really great 'Dances with the wolves' ended up with the big prize...

Notes: I haven't seen this one yet...

Notes: Back in the 90's, I was a huge fan of Abel Ferrara's work and, back then, I spent a lot of time tracking down his movies. Indeed, Ferrara has never been an easy director but I always found his movies really mesmerizing. However, all the movies he directed during the last 10-15 years were more alienating than fascinating to watch which is just too bad. Anyway, coming back to our main feature, it was with this movie that Ferrara finally managed to reach a wider audience. To be honest, it is not really a ground-breaking gangster feature but there was still a lot to enjoy here. Indeed, what I enjoyed the most was probably the really dark and gloomy mood, definitely a trademark in Ferrara's work. Furthermore, it is always neat when Christopher Walken finally gets the opportunity to play the lead and only him could play such a demented drug lord without sounding completely ridiculous. Anyway, 2 years after making this feature, Ferrara would come up with ‘Bad Lieutenant’ which would be one of my all-time favorite movies.

Notes: I have notived that this movie usually gets some extreme reactions and, basically, some people really love it and some others think it is downright awful. Obviously, from a certain point of view, it must be one of the most preposterous depictions of prostitution that you will ever get to see and the whole thing was so sugar-coated, it is sometimes rather difficult to digest. But, on the other hand, the fans love it because it is a romantic-comedy with a fantasized version of prostitution in which the hooker is really hot and rather healthy looking and the client is filthy rich and a gentleman. To be honest, even though I always had a weak spot for romantic-comedies, I never been a huge fan of this flick but I have to admit that, if you turn off your brain before watching this movie, it is actually fairly enjoyable thanks to some really charismatic leads. Indeed, 10 years after ‘American Gigolo’, Richard Gere was back again as a massive sex-symbol and, for Julia Roberts who was just about 23 years old at the time, it was obviously a star making performance.

Notes: I remember it very well when this movie was released and I’m pretty sure I actually saw it in the movie theater when it was released. In fact, many people thought it might crash and burn critically and commercially but it turned out to be an overwhelming success after all. Personally, I always had some rather mixed feelings about the damned thing. I mean, sure, it was rather well made, it looked really nice and the whole thing was quite uplifting but, after portraying the Indians for decades as some kind of bloodthirsty savages, suddenly, it became the other way around and they became some of the wisest people on Earth. But of course, no one seemed to be wiser than the white man played by Kevin Costner and this movie was the beginning of a long succession of vanity projects that would eventually pretty much ruin his career (see also,‘Wyatt Earp’, ‘Waterworld’ and ‘The Postman’).

Notes: I haven't seen this one yet...

Notes: As a kid, I really loved this flick. Indeed, I remember it very well, back then, I thought it was a fascinating story and I had to watch it a couple of times before understanding it properly (give me a break... I was about 12 years old!). The best thing about this movie is that it works on so many levels. Basically, it is entertaining, it takes place on Mars, there are tons of nice special effects, some sexual tension and a rather thoughtful and intriguing plot. By now, I have watched all the movies directed by Paul Verhoeven and this one is one of his best and it might even be my favorite movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. Many years later, they came up with a remake starring Colin Farrell and even though Farrell is a better actor, Schwarzenegger was actually more convincing. In my opinion, the original version worked better also because Paul Verhoeven didn't spend all his time with some action scenes but he also gave us some time to get know Doug Quaid giving us actually the opportunity to root for the guy.

Notes: This movie was the start of a very prolific relationship between Johhnny Depp and Tim Burton and for many viewers, it is, so far, the best movie directed by Tim Burton. It was also the rebirth of Johnny Depp who was back then struggling with his teenage heartthrob image but with this flick, he made it clear he wanted something else in his career. From then on, he became one of the most excentric, original and fascinating actors (a box-office poison according to the major studio producers). But everything changed because of Captain Jack Sparrow... Since then, Depp has become the box-office king, loved by everyone but I'm afraid his new movies, even though they are hugely popular, are not really interesting compared to what he did before in the 90's. Anyway, his first movie with Tim Burton was pretty awesome. I think I enjoyed 'Big Fish' a little more but it is definitely a close call. Basically, the story was some kind of twisted fairy tale, the whole thing looked gorgeous and Depp gave one of his best performances.

Notes: I haven't seen this one yet...

Notes: I haven't seen this one yet...

Notes: I haven't seen this one yet...

Notes: There was a time, in the 90’s, when there was some kind of wave of movies dealing with the black ghettos in the US and, from all these movies, this must be the most famous one. To be honest, in this genre, I always preferred ‘Menace II Society’ which was even bleaker but there is no doubt that this movie was really good as well. Indeed, it was a realistic and heartbreaking take on the harsh reality of living in these neighborhoods, something that didn’t much change during the following 25 years. Back then, John Singleton at 24 years old became the youngest person ever to be nominated for the Best Director Academy Award and, even though many thought he had a bright future ahead, his career turned out to be only decent at best (for example, his last decent directing effort was the really weak ‘Abduction’ starring Taylor Lautner).

Notes: I haven't seen this one yet...

Notes: I haven't seen this one yet...

Notes: I haven't seen this one yet...

Notes: I think it must have been 18-20 years ago the first time I saw this movie. Frankly, I didn't really care a lot at the time about this historical murder but since I grew wiser, I thought it was time to re-watch it. Anyway, after 'Platoon', it is probably the most heralded picture directed by Oliver Stone and easily the most controversial one. Indeed, back in those days, Stone still had some balls, especially compared to the rather friendly 'W.' and above all compared to the terribly mushy 'World Trade Center'. Even if you put aside the controversial aspect of the subject, it still remain a fascinating and really entertaining flick. Plus, Oliver Stone had a great cast at this disposal. The greatest achievement, in my opinion, is that they managed to take a major page of history, shading some lights on these very dark times and also entertain the viewer at the same time.

Notes: I haven't seen this one yet...

Notes: I haven't seen this one yet...

Notes: Honestly, I always had some rather mixed feelings about this flick. In fact, it was a surprise success at the time when it was released and, eventually, the only real success booked by Ridley Scott in the 90’s but even though this flick received a lot of love, in my opinion, it was just a rather standard buddy movie with a pseudo feminist message and an over-sentimental ending. Basically, it is a typical Ridley Scott production, in the sense that it was really well directed, it looked quite awesome and the whole thing was actually quite entertaining but, once again, the story was nothing really amazing, it was actually rather pedestrian, at least, that’s my opinion. Still, there is no denying that Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon were both terribly charismatic and they had some great chemistry together. On top of that, we finally got to see Brad Pitt in his breakthrough performance which was definitely something quite memorable (eventually, more than 20 years later, Brad Pitt and Ridley Scott would work again together for ‘The Counselor’, a really over-hyped flick which turned out to be a huge flop after all).

Notes: Basically, it is one of those movies that I saw as a teenager which just had some huge impact on me. I mean, back in those days, I was already fascinated by movies but I hadn’t watch so many great movies yet so I was basically a blank page, ready to absorb pretty much anything. Anyway, I had never seen anything like this before and, at the time, I thought the whole thing was quite mesmerizing to behold. Through the years, I always enjoyed Gus van Sant's work and it must be one of his most typical movies. Concerning Keanu Reeves, even if you like it or not, he will keep a steady career ever since showing up in such massive classics like ‘The Matrix’ or some more dubious choices like ‘Chain Reaction’. Above all, this movie would be always linked to River Phoenix, one of the most highly regarded young actors of his generation who would die just a couple of years after this movie.

Notes: My wife is actually a huge fan of those thrillers involving serial-killers and I'm pretty sure this movie is her favorite one in this genre. Personally, I actually always had some mixed feelings about the damned thing. I mean, of course, it is a classic, it is very well made and entertaining and Anthony Hopkins was just great in a star making performance. And yet, this movie exactly embodies what bothers me in this genre. Indeed, while my wife might argue that those things actually really happens in real life, I tend to roll my eyes in pure disbelief during the whole thing. The worst gimmick in this genre, in my opinion and aside of the obligatory twist ending, is the whole concept of the omnipotent serial killer who hears and sees pretty much everything, can apparently predict the future and has access to a limitless amount of cash. I mean, don't misunderstand me, I do like this movie, it is really entertaining but, in my opinion, even though it might be the best movie in this genre, it still uses some of its worst tricks and therefore it is difficult for me to be completely blown away by the whole thing.

Notes: It is widely known that 95 % of all sequels are worthless. Not this one... Is it better than the 1st one ? Difficult to say but it is definitely a worthy sequel. I remember, I saw this movie with my father when it came out. I must have been 12 years old and it just blew me away. On top of that, the character of John Connor made it really easy to get into the story since I was about the same age. In fact, the story was almost identical to the first movie but they have added so many new elements so it didn't bother me whatsoever. This time, James Cameron had a huge budget (in fact, it was the most expensive movie ever made at that time) and it clearly shows on the screen. Indeed, you have here some groundbreaking special effects and some really kick-ass action scenes. Once again, the story is a mix of despair, funny scenes with great oneliners and even some interesting bonding between Sarah Connor, John Connor and the Terminator. Unfortunately, all the sequels that came afterwards would turn out to be rather weak and underwhelming.

Notes: I’m not sure if this movie has a big reputation abroad but, in France, it is definitely considered as a massive cult-classic. Back in those days, there was no ‘Jean-Pierre Jeunet’ but only ‘Caro & Jeunet’, at least, that’s how they were known in France at the time. Anyway, coming back to our main feature, it seriously exceeded my expectations, something that sadly doesn’t happen very often these days, and I was just quite blown away by the whole thing. Indeed, first of all, it is just a very original movie, above all, visually, but it went beyond that. Indeed, I really liked this story which was some kind of dark fairy tale with some rather messed-up characters. Eventually, Caro & Jeunet would work again together for ‘La cité des enfants perdus’, another very interesting French cult-classic, and they had a big budget this time but it would be the last movie they would make together which is too bad.

Notes: Sometimes, I do wonder if Krzysztof Kieslowski is really famous among the Listal users and that's a shame because he is responsible of some of the most striking movies of the 90's and 80's. I can’t believe he passed away already 20 years ago and, in fact, I should myself watch many more of his movies. On top of that, I was probably too young to really appreciate his Three colors trilogy and I hope I will give it a second chance at some point in the future. Right now, I actually preferred this one which is my favorite of his movies so far. Indeed, I thought this tale was just mesmerizing. I have to confess that probably most of the symbolism went over my head but I just loved the mood and I felt a great connection with this story and the characters involved (something I was slightly missing with the Three colors trilogy). Concerning Irène Jacob, back then, it seemed that she would become the next great French actress but aside from the massive 2 classics she made with this great master, her career turned out to be rather underwhelming after all.

Notes: Well, to be honest, even though it was definitely an interesting watch, I can’t say it really blew me away though. I mean, as usual with Zhang Yimou, it was very well directed and visually really neat. Gong Li was once again so charismatic and gave also another strong performance. Eventually, I guess I hard a hard time to really care about this story which was definitely intriguing but never really spellbinding. I don’t know, maybe it was just too subtle for me and since the characters never really clearly stated their feeling, I had a hard time to really care about what they were going through. For example, at first, the main character seemed to be really distraught that her life was turned upside down after she was given away for a marriage she didn’t choose. However, as soon as she got in this mansion, she started to fight for her position but I didn’t really understand why. Indeed, her life was pretty much over, she would spend her whole life stuck in this place to be some kind of sex slave so why should she care about all this? Anyway, even though I didn’t really connect with this movie, it was still pretty good.

Notes: Since I kept hearing interesting things about this documentary, I became really curious and I was really eager to check it out. Well, I wasn’t disappointed. Indeed, it must be the ultimate making-of and it is not very often that a making-of is released as a stand-alone feature like this one (another example is ‘Lost in La Mancha’ ). Of course, ‘Apocalypse Now’ is a really impressive movie, one of the many masterpieces directed by Francis Ford Coppola in the 70’s and we all heard about the rumors surrounding the hellish shooting but it was just really awesome to have a full length feature telling us all the dirty and (very often) crazy details. An interesting thing about this flick is that even though the production is really messed up and, here, we are talking of a very different level of messed up, you still can get a very good movie or even a masterpiece, at least in this case. In my opinion, the best way to go is to first watch ‘Apocalypse Now’, then watch this documentary and then again ‘Apocalypse Now’ or maybe even the Redux version.

Notes: I haven't seen this one yet...

Notes: Before becoming a huge Hollywood star, Russell Crowe started his career in Australian productions and gave his breakthrough performance in this flick. Eventually, I had some mixed feelings about the whole thing. At first, it is an intriguing depiction of the Skinheads. Basically they are young white guys with low self-esteem, no skills, no education, no social or financial leverage and not much hope of a bright future. When they become skinheads, they find a sense of community, some companionship and an ideology which finally gives meaning to their miserable life. However, the makers of this movie provided some rather ambivalent views on this movement as they make it almost attractive with some catchy skinhead songs and those guys seemed to have usually a good time and even some cool parties. Furthermore, the directing and acting were honestly pretty average, except, of course, for the performance provided by Russell Crowe. Indeed, Crowe really stands out here and gives such an intense and powerful performance, it was really spellbinding to watch

Notes: To be honest, it is a seriously obscure feature but since it was Baz Luhrmann’s directing debut, I was quite eager to check it out. In fact, if I recall it correctly, I actually bumped into this DVD when I was at the supermarket. Anyway, I thought it was a decent watch. To be honest, ballroom dancing wasn’t really my thing (my wife was however rather glad that the movie was dealing with this topic) but you have to give Baz Luhrmann some credit for making a fairly entertaining feature about a rather tedious topic (at least, as far, as I’m concerned). For this directing debut, Luhrmann didn’t have some big stars at his disposal but it was maybe a good thing as it made the characters more believable. Anyway, it might not be a huge masterpiece, I thought it was pretty neat nonetheless.

Notes: Robert Altman is considered by many as one of the best American directors that ever lived. On top of that, the guy had also an amazingly prolific career, making more than 30 movies in less than 35 years and, to be honest, even though I have managed to watch most of his recent work, I still have to check most of his older movies. Anyway, after all this time, this flick is and remains my favorite movie directed by this master. It seems to be a little bit forgotten nowadays but I think it’s a shame because it is actually an amazing and quite spellbinding thriller. Indeed, the directing was pretty impressive and the story was just quite mesmerizing and sometimes even pretty funny. Basically, Altman had troubles with the Hollywood studio system in the 70's after some of his films lost money despite the critical praise they received. He still continued to work outside the studios in the late 70's and throughout the 80's, often doing small-budget projects to keep his career alive and this movie was pretty much his comeback to making films in Hollywood. Eventually, since it was a massive critical success, it launched a new successful phase for this director, a phase which lasted until the end of his career.

Notes: It seems hard to believe but, for many many years, Quentin Tarantino was actually struggling to make his first feature. Eventually, after many failures, he came out with this and the rest was history. I remember when this movie came out, there was a huge buzz surrounding this flick. Anyway, it had a huge impact and it is rightfully consider one of the best directing debut ever made. In my opinion, it is actually Tarantino's best movie and, as a matter of fact, I do think that he just went downhill from there. Indeed, it is his best because Tarantino couldn't do everything he wanted and he couldn't go on and on in his egotrip that has became most of his recent features. I mean, limited in space, time and money, he produced his best work and there is here some amazing writing, directing and acting in there. Harvey Keitel makes a tremendous come-back here but the rest of the cast (Tim Roth, Steve Buscemi, Michael Madsen, Chris Penn, Tarantino himself) were just as amazing and they all provided some tremendous performances.

Notes: First of all, I have to point out that, even though I have seen many movies written by David Mamet or based on his work (about 19 if I’m not mistaken) , I can’t say I have really been blown by his stuff. This movie must be however the exception. Indeed, it was based on his Pulitzer prize winning drama and the whole thing was simply just spellbinding to behold. Indeed, the concept was in fact pretty simple and the whole idea was to have a bunch of great actors put together delivering some of the best dialogues ever written. To make things even more intriguing, it all took place in a really realistic and rather mundane spot, a real estate office, and the fact that I have absolutely no feeling whatsoever for this kind of profession made the whole thing even more spellbinding to me. In this messed little world, you’re either a winner or a massive loser and you would just need a couple of failures to become another black sheep.

Notes: I haven't seen this one yet...

Notes: Even though some actors-turned-directors like Robert Redford, Kevin Costner, Mel Gibson or even Ben Affleck got some immediate critical recognition, it surprisingly took Clint Eastwood 20 years to get there, to finally be acknowledged as a major film maker. What happened then? This movie happened and completely changed the outlook on this icon whose work as a director wasn't really taken seriously until that point. I mean, Eastwood had already made 3 Westerns so far ('High Plains Drifter', 'The Outlaw Josey Wales', 'Pale Rider') and even though they were all pretty good, this flick was easily the best Western directed by Eastwood. What was so great about this flick was not really the directing (which was really good), the acting (which was really good as well) or the story (which was really entertaining), in my opinion, it was the tone. Indeed, I loved how rather grim and gloomy the whole thing was and the way Eastwood blurred the frontier between good or bad was just brilliant. Great directing, great acting, great story. What else should I add ?

Notes: To be honest, it has been a while since I have seen this flick and I should probably re-watch it at some point. Anyway, I remember it very well when it was released In France. Indeed, at the time, there was a lot of buzz around this movie and it quickly became a huge cult classic. With this in mind, I had some rather high expectations before watching the damned thing but, to be honest, I thought it was really disappointing. I mean, the whole thing really had some potential, it started pretty well, it was a little bit like ‘Spinal Tap’ but instead of hard rockers, you had a serial killer and it had some pitch black humor. But after a while, the jokes got worse and worse with 2 top moments, one when the main character goes to a restaurant to eat some mussels and eventually throws everything up (this scenes last like 20 minutes...) and one of the final scenes when the guy rapes a woman... Eventually, I think it is in fact one of the most overrated movies ever.

Notes: It has been a while since I have seen this movie and I should really re-watch it at some point. On the other hand, I’m not sure if the whole thing would have the same impact if I knew what was going to happen. It’s rather funny because I actually never really liked the usual twists in most of the thrillers but this one was, for me, completely unexpected. Basically, it is a really weird movie which cannot be classified and it is is Neil Jordan's best movie so far. The story was just really fascinating and so unexpected. The less you know about it, the more you will enjoy it. To conclude, I think it is one of the most fascinating thrillers ever made and I think it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Notes: To be honest, it has been a while since I have seen this flick and I should probably re-watch it at some point. Personally, I always had some mixed feelings about this flick. Indeed, on one hand, Jonathan Demme is a fine director and Denzel Washington and Tom Hanks provided also some solid performances. Especially for Tom Hanks, it really launched the 2nd phase of his career. Indeed, so far, Hanks was successful as a comic actor but, thanks to this movie, not only he managed to win his first Academy Award but he became overnight a really sought-after dramatic actor. Concerning the HIV issue, since it was a the first big budget movie about the subject, it was indeed quite important. And, yet, the whole thing didn’t reallly convince me. The main issue was that this movie was just too late. Indeed, in my opinion, they should have made it 10 years before, when the whole disease was completely misunderstood, then it would have been really ground-breaking. Basically, it just pushes a whole bunch of wide open doors, pretty much validating the prejudices of most of the viewers (’10 years ago, we wouldn’t touch or speak to an AIDS patient because they were all gays and junkies and we were just ignorant but, now, everybody agrees that it is all so sad’) and, in the process, it got on my nerves.

Notes: I haven't seen this one yet...

Notes: To be honest, I did struggle to really connect with this movie. I mean, it did give an interesting and really bleak view on the life in China back in the 50’s and 60’s. In fact, while watching the damned thing, I was wondering how the director got away with making something like this in China. Well, he didn’t. Indeed, during the production, they apparently smuggled the movie out to Japan and then released the movie worldwide. Anyway, basically, it deals with some average people, living some average life and, apparently, they all went along fine in a rather peaceful community. However, following the drastic decisions of the Chinese Communist party, their lives were suddenly turned upside down and fear became suddenly a major factor in their everyday life. What stroke me was that you get to see them living for years under such a political system which was originally designed to be fair but, eventually, you didn’t see them experiencing any improvement on their living conditions at all. So, that was all quite interesting but the main issue I had was that, even though you spend more than 2 hours with the characters, you don’t get to know any of them after all. I guess it might be one of the virtues of this movie, the fact that you have to figure out on your own what these characters might be thinking or feeling. However, since I’m not Chinese and since I was born in the 80’s, it was rather difficult for me to relate with them. Anyway, even if it didn’t really blow me away, it was still a very interesting movie though.

Notes: When it was released, there was a huge buzz and eventually it received some great reviews. So, following this and the fact I loved Robert Altman's previous movie ('The Player'), I was really eager to watch this movie. Unfortunately, I was rather disappointed. Still, since I was 14-15 years old when I watched it the first time around, I thought it needed a rewatch. Eventually, I enjoyed it a little bit more but it was still nothing mind-blowing. Basically, it is one of those hyperlink features with various characters and storylines which are more or less intertwined together. Back then, I thought it was a boring mess which was going nowhere. Nowadays, I'm more familiar with the whole hyperlink thing and I could appreciate more what Robert Altman was trying to pull here. Unfortunately, pretty much like 'Nashville', I didn't care much about the characters or what they were going through and, as a result, it was sometimes rather tedious to watch. Still, it was very well directed, there was a huge cast and they all gave some strong performances.

Notes: Even if Steven Spielberg has definitely made many very entertaining flicks in the past , I always had been kind of annoyed by his movies because they are most of the times not challenging enough, or too "nice" for my taste (For example, 'ET' is a good movie but the alien and the children tend to get on my nerves and the music is pretty cheesy). However, with this movie, Spielberg finally displayed his skills showing a terribly bleak and dark tale. Of course, you could say that Schindler is a little too heroic but you can't argue that Amon Goethe is one of the most despicable and yet fascinating bad guys seen on the silver screen. The directing was great, the cast (Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley, Ralph Fiennes) was awesome and the story was completely heartbreaking. It was so good that the Academy finally HAD to give Spielberg his Oscar which he had been denied for so many years.

Notes: At around 14 years old, I started to watch the major classics and I watched them ferociously at a very quick pace. The problem is that, even if a movie is great, sometimes, the timing is not right and it goes way over your head and I think that’s what happened to me with this flick. That’s the tricky thing about Krzysztof Kieslowski’s work, it is really interesting and intriguing, but not always really easy to digest, I’m afraid. I mean, it is full of symbolic and sub-text and, like I said before, I didn’t get much of it and it might need a re-watch at some point. Still, there is no doubt that Juliette Binoche (at the time, probably the greatest French actress at work) was very good, she gave one of her best performances and Kieslowski had a sober but effective directing style.

Notes: I remember very well when this movie was released. Back then, I was about 13-14 years, it was a big critical success and it even won the Golden Palm at the Cannes Film Festival. And yet, even though I have always been eager to check this movie, it eventually took me more than 20 years to finally watch the damned thing. Well, to be honest, I have to admit that it turned out to be a tough watch though. Indeed, even though I have myself always been interested in Asian movies, it still struggled to connect with this tale which lasted almost 3 hours. Still, when it was finished, I had to admit to that the whole thing was still a fascinating epic tale. I did remind me of 'Stage Beauty' which was made 10 years later but even though they both shared some elements, this movie was definitely from another level. Indeed, the scope was so much bigger, with so many layers, it was just fascinating to behold.

Notes: I have to admit it, I always had a weak spot for romantic-comedies but it is a real shame that most of the movies in this genre are in fact terribly generic and underwhelming. Fortunately, there are a few exceptions out there and this movie was definitely one of them. First of all, even though I have always thought that Bill Murray was an interesting actor, to be honest, I never really cared for his movies. However, with this movie, they really found the perfect material for him. Obviously, like any other romantic-comedy, it was in fact all rather sweet, cheesy and predictable but what made this movie quite stand out from the rest was the main character perfectly played by Murray. Indeed, the guy was basically a major douche-bag and he made the whole thing so much more entertaining than the usual boring perfect man that they provide in this kind of movies. Furthermore, the whole concept was obviously rather preposterous but they handled it so well, it was just so much fun to behold and it was also a masterstroke to never explain how the main character endlessly kept reliving the same day.

Notes: I remember it quite well when this movie was released, it was critically acclaimed and even managed to win the prestigious Golden Palm at the Cannes Film Festival. Anyway, I thought it was a rather unique movie with a mesmerizing mood. Indeed, the story was just fascinating, something I had never seen before, the directing by Jane Campion was very good and Holly Hunter easily gave the best performance of her career (she eventually won the Academy Award for the Best Actress, a prize completely deserved). Furthermore, back in those days, the great Harvey Keitel was making an impressive come-back thanks to his performance in ‘Reservoir Dogs’. He was one of my favorite actors at the time and he was really good in this movie as well, continuing his winning streak, it is a shame this renaissance didn’t last long and he is involved nowadays either in some weak blockbusters or some underwhelming obscure features. Concerning Jane Campion, even though she had an interesting career afterwards, she never reached such artistic heights again.

Notes: To be honest, it has been a while since I have seen this movie and maybe I should re-watch it at some point. However, I remember it very well when it came out, my sister was really enthusiast about the damned thing and told me I should definitely check it out. Indeed, way before ‘Brokeback Mountain’, Ang Lee directed this gem about gay love. Back then, obviously, nobody knew who was this director, myself included, but I was really impressed by this romantic-comedy. Thanks to this movie and its critical success, his career took off and he was then able to create all his following amazing features. The movie itself was obviously a comedy but a really sensitive one, it dealt very well with the subject and it was simply very entertaining. Eventually, Lee would direct one last one movie in Taiwan (the also really charming ‘Yin shi nan nu’) but he would quickly start a prolific international career becoming in the process easily one of the best directors of his generation.

Notes: I haven't seen this one yet...

Notes: I must have been 13 or 14 years old when I saw this flick and I had the pleasure to see this in the movie theater. I must admit, I was quite blown away by its visual aspect. I mean, back then, there wasn't such an overdose of CGI like today, back then it was something new and it was just downright impressive. Actually, there was just 6 minutes of CGI and the rest was animatronics, just to give you an idea about the fact that wall-to-wall CGI is absolutely not needed. Anyway, this movie definitely belongs to the biggest classics directed by Spielberg and it was the highest grossing movie ever made until 'Titanic' came out. Honestly, even though I was completely blown away by the special effects, I can't say the same thing about the plot and the characters. I mean, even though the whole thing was very entertaining and kept me on the edge of my seat, it was still nothing extraordinary and all the characters were all really stereotypical and none of them was remotely interesting. But, damned, it was still awe inspiring to see for the very first time ever such realistic dinosaurs on the silver screen.

Notes: I remember it quite well when it was released. Indeed, it was a critical success when it was released at the Cannes Film Festival and I was really eager to check it out. In fact, somehow, the whole thing did remind me of Woody Allen in the sense that it was very talkative but also very smart, at least, that’s my opinion. Basically, there was no plot whatsoever and, instead, the characters just kept talking, talking and talking again and it either bore you to death or it fascinates you. Well, I thought it was rather fascinating. Eventually, 8 years later, Moretti would come back to the Cannes Film Festival and would win this time the prestigious Golden Palm with ‘La stanza del figlio’ which was really good as well but I still preferred this movie though. Anyway, surprisingly,I have noticed that, after all these years, I haven’t seen many movies directed by this director which is too bad.