30 From 93: My Favorite Films From 1993

These types of animated movies that're spun-off of equally animated TV series, are usually ones that I don't hold much hope for.
Therefore, I was quite surprised at not only how much I enjoyed this big screen adaption the Bruce Timm little screen episodes, but also, at how I found it's story to be better than many of those of the TV program. Walking out at the end of Phantasm, I actually found myself feeling like the giant comicbook nerd that I truly am, but for years, had denied myself of truly being.

Al Pacino in the role of a mobster with a really bad Spanish accent. Even worse than the one he used in the "also directed by Brian DePalma" drug ditty, Scarface.
In other words, a formula that just couldn't lose.



Now don't get me wrong,
just because I make fun of Pacino's inability to speak a convincing Spanglish (especially when compared to Viggo Mortensen's convincing cameo scene), and despite director DePalma's retreading of familiar waters, I liked Carlito's Way.
The streetwise storyline, which includes the type of etiquette that fuels the power structure of the urban-drug underworld, combined with a climatic edge-of-your-seat chase scene was entertaining enough for me to recommend it.

Y'know, for a long time I thought of this movie as just being so-so. Anytime anyone asked if it was worth watching or not, I often responded that it may have been worth viewing at least once. 
  But then, I started to find myself being drawn back to it. So, I gave a repeat looksee, and even though I still thought it was just okay, when it was over I felt that feeling satisfaction that comes from being entertained. Next thing you know, it became one of those movies that I kept returning to on a regular basis. So, I began to ask myself why. I mean, the story of an ex-gangster coming out of the klink and trying to reform his life isn't a new one when it comes to the genre. Al Pacino does a fine job of portraying Puerto Rican mobster and drug dealer Carlito Brigante. But it's not as memorable as any of the other parts that have made him an icon in the business, not to mention that, just as in Scarface, Al has shown that one of weakest attributes is the ability to mimic a viable Spanish accent. And even though Sean Penn puts in the best acting job here as Carlito's sleazy shyster lawyer, it's not enough to elevate this entire project into anything that would be praised in the same level that one would expect in a feature that was directed by a legendary director, Brian DePalma, and with such a heavyweight cast. 
  So why I do keep coming back to it? Well, the gangland set-up, despite covering ground that we've seen many times before, it is still enthralling to watch, particularly all the dynamics of the business and backstabbing that fills this type of typical crime underworld. And DePalma, who was becoming a much more hit and miss filmmaker by this point in his career, still had the chops to give the climax of this story a chase scene that was energetically pulled off and was just pure edge of the seat entertainment. 
  I kept on returning to the  way that belonged to Carlito , that eventually it led the movie to the recieving end of a spot of my favortie list of cinema from the year of 1993. 

Kalifornia is a multi-murdering road trip movie that proves that before he became the goodlooking glamor boy that makes all the girls go ga-ga,
Brad Pitt was just plain kreepy.

Bridgette Fonda, at the height of her career, plays the American version of the sexy but disturbed agent/assassin with a past that has led her towards a path of ruthlessness and of no hope. But now, with the transformation as an extra-secret operative for the government, she leads a life that seems to offer a chance at redemption, although, with no chance for a way out.
Point Of No Return doesn't rank as high or better than it's inspiration, La Femme Nikita (maybe because being a crazy female secret assassin operative comes off better in French.....?), but still, it's a solid thriller none the less.

What if the President of these here United States was in actuality, a down-to-Earth nice guy who truly loved the First Lady and really had the interest of the people at heart?
Ah,
only in the movies, I guess.

  Cronos is a great looking movie, it’s beautifully shot, the themes covered here are presented in an interesting, thoughtful manner, all of which highlight the talents that Guillermo Del Toro always brings to the screen. It is the directorial debut of the Mexican born filmmaker, and right away it sets the tone of his unique brand of filmmaking, particularly when it comes horror and or thriller type of genres. It's a style that tends to lean more towards the dramatic than towards the pursuit of instilling fright in the standard that people are used to. That is clearly evident here in this movie’s premise in which the subject of vampirism is not used as a tool of terror, but instead, as a fitting method to depict the quest for eternal youth and the underlying consequences that are spawned from such a “never ending” journey.

Bill Murray in a role that would usually be expected from Robert Deniro, Robert Deniro in a role that looks like it might be more suited towards Bill Murray, and Uma Thurman in the middle of it all in a role for a woman who was in the middle of it all.

There are two things that the 90's had in abundance in terms of its cinema. It had a lot of movie blockbusters starring Tom Cruise. And it had a lot of movie thrillers that were adapted from a John Grisham book.
The film Firm is both.
It is a story-line that showcases the circumstance and the details of the "strange" yet tempting bedfellows that can be "made" between the rule bending loopholes of a legal firm and the uncompromising wild west moralities of organized crime.

  When he's not roaming the crime filled streets of San Francisco or rough riding thru the dusty plains of the Old West, In the Line of Fire is a good example of the type of escapist thriller that Clint Eastwood is epitomizes the kind of production that Clint is best at delivering. It's a simple, basic story told with straightforward precision a lean production which require much intellectual analysis, but at the same time doesn't dumb itself down to the point where the brain won't have to be left behind but sit in the chair with its owner and still enjoy a quality production of good guy versus bad guy.  Here Clint is a Secret Service agent, one of the last that was on security detail when President John F. Kennedy was shot. With the lasting psychological effects that comes from being in that position, he is now determined not to allow another incident such as that assassination happen again. On the other end is the always underrated and overly underused John Malkovich counter-determined to make sure that that kind of particular event in history is repeated.

  In this movie, CE is a Secret Service agent determined not to allow another incident such as the Kennedy assassination happen again, and John Malkovich is a former CIA operative-turned-assassin who is counter-determined to make sure that history is repeated.  Rene Russo and Dylan McDermott round the main cast as fellow secret service agents, with Russo quickly evolving into the love interest.

  Malkovich is excellent in a role that makes the most out of creepiness that always seems to follow his persona. I always thought that as the cunning lead antagonist, this was a characteristic in John that movie writers and directors should be utilizing more often.

The early 90's were some of the best times for movies about the realities of living in "da 'hood".
Juice, Fresh, Boyz 'N' The Hood (my fave of the batch) and of course, Menace II Society.
All films that took an unsparing look into the poor urban areas of this country and provide realistic and jarring portrayals of young people whose only hope to survive on the streets is with a hardcore heart, a take it when I can get it attitude and a gun.

A three-way relationship between two stars of the Chinese opera and a blossomed concubine proves to be more tumultuous than the historical upheaval of Twentieth Century China. And as anyone who is extensively familiar with Eastern history knows, the land of the Rising Sun went through alot of major ass political changes during that period of time. Thus providing China with the type of complicated history that would rival the kind that results from any personal relationship that involves a woman.
Guys,
am I right....?

Stretching mom out on a torture rack or throwing the baby out of a third story window is simply a way of communicating "You're okay, I'm okay".
And one of the advantages that comes with having the last name of Addams is that, no matter how many family-friendly games of tag you play,
your cousin will always be Itt.
This sequel was a film that was alot wittier than not only the sentence that precedes this one, but also, than the movie that preceded Values.

There are only two words that can describe this film:
Koo oolll.....!



No script, no dialogue, no storyline.
Just a montaged journey that spans the entire planet. And this is one journey that is worth taking because it is one that not only takes the scenic route, but takes good advantage of it.

Monkey see, Monkey fu.

Back in the 80's, the coming of age high school comedies were at an all time "high", although their sophomoric humor was beginning to wear thin. So when the 90's "rolled" around, it was time to edge up the genre, with the hope that this type of film was ready to graduate and go on to the next level.



It's the last day of school in the the year of 1976. And the soon to be graduating class of Lee High are ending the spring semester in a state of utter daze and confusion.
A state that I'm sure affected student bodies of many school year endings that have since come after.
Hell, I graduated school a lonnnggg time ago, and to this day, I'm still utterly dazed and confused.

Modern science demonstrates it highest possibilities to date by genetically re-introducing the dinosaurs of the Jurassic era to our time. Then, it goes about creating an island theme park in which to inhabit these prehistoric ganstas of giant monsters, in the speculative hope that the general public will eat them up.
Is it my imagination, or is it pretty obvious what the ironic twist is that's gonna result from this grand delusioning venture?
Oh, when will those zany scienctists learn?

At first glance, this looked like a B-style action-flick that was just too goofy for me. But as I watched it, it became more like a movie that seem to sufficiently balance between the lines of well-crafted high-fantasy credibility and a comicbook-like story-line. And also at the same time, between epic wuxia style battle moves and cheesy yet energetically fun kung-fu camp.
And at the center, tying all these almost conflicting themes together are three high-flying colorful female warriors whose chemistry made it impossible for me not to fall in love with each one of them. This trio of hot asian super-heroines who fight crime with such cool moves and kick-ass sultry outfits are so sexy, that it makes my pimp-ass want to do sumthin villainous just for the spanking.
Plus, I defy any one not to "loose their head" over the villainous Kau and his throwing "skull-cage" on a chain.
While I realize that this isn't really considered a maverick of this field,for me, the charisma between these well-rounded and distinct characters was enough to hook me into this non-guilty guilty pleasure.

Tombstone may not exactly be the purist western of modern times, but for my money, it's one of the coolest lookin' ones.
Mostly because of Val Kilmer's performance than anything else. As Doc Holliday, he steals every scene that he occupies in this movie account of Wyatt Earp & Co.'s shootout at the O.K. Coral (a depiction, from what I understand, that allows itself plenty of liberties). Kilmer's portrayal as a sureshot who alcoholism doesn't seem to affect his aim too much, remains memorable in this film as one of the coolest cowboys in recent film history. Sure, he might not be the kind of doctor you'd expect to make house calls,
but when it comes to watching your back during a gunfight,
he'll be your huckleberry.

The Three Colours Trilogy was an emotional and ambitious project for famed Polish director Krzystof Kielowski in which he aimed to create three stories based on the three political ideals in the motto of the French Republic: liberty, equality, fraternity. Which is why each film is titled on the colors of the French flag (Blue, White and Red).
The first installment, Blue, focuses on liberty and tells the story of a Parisian woman who has lost both her husband (a famous composer) and her daughter. We follow her inner journey as she tries to disassociate from her previous life in an attempt to live an isolated and what she thinks will be a more "free" existence.
Setting the tone for the rest of the series, Blue is a quality drama that becomes better by the time we reach the end of the trilogy.

  Stop-motion with a British flavor, that doesn't try to whack you over the head with its look, humor or more importantly, with any kind of "universal life-lesson".
While it's distinction from other animated films is much more subtle and evenly consistent, the overall result of The Wrong Trousers left me not so much with a roaring laughter that other animated features try to shoot for, but more with a satisfying smile that was firmly set in place from beginning to end.



Okay, so we might as well accept that any feature featuring Wallace & Gromit is gonna be a candidate for any list that I can fit 'em into. Therefore, when it comes to the subject of my favorite stop-motion flicks, it's a fore gone conclusion that these guys are gonna rank pretty damn high. Particularly when we're talking about the Academy Award winning second entry into the series, The Wrong Trousers. The best of anything they starred in, it is a story that, for my money, utilizes their specialized brand of sight gags, kinetic stunts and subtle film parodies to harmonic perfection.

What do you get when you take a kid from an all Italian neighborhood, have him torn between two father figures (his natural dad who drives a bus and a mob boss who runs the neighborhood) and then falls in love (against the beliefs of his crew and his kind) with a pretty girl from the black side of town?
You get a story of how a young boy has to learn how to be himself in the midst of a backdrop of expectations that seem to often run against his own path of self-discovery.
In other words,
you get a Bronx Tale, that's what.

A great "on the run" movie filled with high paced and yet intelligent suspense.
And even though one of the main antagonists, the man with arm, doesn't really come off as all that convincing as deadly villain (even with his "training", I bet that I could still take him on . With one arm tied behind my back), the film makes up for it by the unrelentless character of U.S. Marshal Samuel Gerard, played impeccably by Tommy Lee Jones.

Bill Murray in a love story that involves a groundhog.



No,
not in that way,
you sick bastards.

This would be a great movie with just the famous "Sicilian scene" all by itself.
However, that part is just the sweet chewy center of a hard bitter tootsie pop of a movie, that no matter how many licks it takes to get to it's middle, it still seems like it's not enough.
Directed by Ridley's Scott's brother, Tony & written by Quentin Tarantino, this is modern day lovers on the run story told with enough style, edge & violence to make the idea of Elvis as a guardian angel in this flick believable.
Well, sort of.
Anyways, if all romance films were made like this one,
then you could be sure that my girlfriend wouldn't have to use the implication of sex afterwards just to have to drag hairy pimp-ass to the theatre any time a chick-flick was playing.

This might be kind of a spoiler, but despite the name of this film, it's not about trying to find the whereabouts of the world's most famous and most reclusive chess player.
It's about a young boy whose extraordinary skillz at the game of chess leads the grown ups in his life to try to do their bit (each in their own individualized way) to help him fully maximize his talent, with the hopes that the elementary school phenom might end up becoming the next Bobby Fischer.



Insightfully perceptive and strategically sensitive, it is a story line that follows the path of nurturing a child's life in a manner that allows him to not only reach his fullest potential, but more importantly, to allow him to be who he really is. Led by an ultra talented cast of Joe Mantegna, Laurence Fishburne, Ben Kingsley and Joan Allen, Searching For Bobby Fischer is, IMO, one of the best movies of the year.

There are 3 scenes in this movie that make it such a standout for me: confidence man, Paul "Poitier's" (Will's Smith) observations on Catcher In The Rye and the nature of creativity; the phone call dialogue between he and Louisa Kittredge (Stockard Channing)to convince to turn himself in; and finally, Loiusa's heartfelt speech at a hoity toity luncheon about people's tendency to turn meaningful experiences into throwaway anecdotes.
Who would've thought that a film with this much philosophy could be this entertaining? Plus, not only is this a performance by Will Smith that first revealed his ability to act against other other big screeners, but this is also one of Stockards finest efforts. At this point in her career, she has honed her craft to the point where, in this particular movie, it really allows her to shine. I don't used the word under-rated when it comes to subjects that are based so much on relativity/subjectivity, such as the category of films, but if I could, this movie would be one of the main ones that would inspire me to do so. I really, really like this movie alot. Great performances by Will Smith and Stockard Channing along with Mr. Donald Sotherland coming in to provide the final piece of high mark acting to a high quality level movie that served as the vehicle that moved a fresh prince from Bel-Air to Hollywood.

I love movies with ensemble large casts and loosely intersecting stories like Nashville, Two Days In The Valley and of course Pulp Fiction.
And while this is a genre of film that we don't get to see much of these days,the few times that we do, it seems like that there are more good being produced that bad. Maybe it's b'cuz the idea of such a type of film can intimidate all but the most talented and those more suited to such an often complicated cinematic undertaking. The fact that the logistics of such a project requires handling people of a profession which allows egos to manifest almost unhindered only adds to the complexity of the task.
Whatever the reason,
Short Cuts is prime example of all the resulting benefits that the eyes of those who first pioneered the idea of these types of films envisioned when they conceived of the genre in the first place.
All the stories intertwine just loose enough to provide an energetic patchwork of distinctive individual stories,
yet close enough to make the movie work thematically as a cohesive whole, with the added benefit of allowing the title "Show Cuts" to do it's job both as a movie description and as a multi-literary metaphor.

  First of al, let me start out by saying that I grew up at a time when animated features shown during prime time were not the norm.
Therefore, holiday specials like It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown and Santa Claus Is Coming Town were usually an event, not only in that they were a rare moment to watch a cartoon at night, but also because they enhanced the feeling of the holidays. Of which, my faves were, obviously, Halloween and Christmas (free candy and free presents, how can you beat that?).
This movie, is it a Halloween movie with a Christmas twist, or a Christmas movie with a Halloweenic slant? Or is it both?
For me, I like to describe the feeling that comes from watching The Nightmare Before Christmas as very similar to the feeling that one might get when discovering that your trick-or-treat bag has been filled with presents instead of candy.



I remember that when this first came out, I initially liked it, but I didn't love it, not the way that I do now. After several rewatches however, this double-themed holiday special as really taken a firm place in this movie-nerd's heart. I find that The Nightmare Before Christmas seems to age really well for me as more and more time goes by. And as each All Hallow's Eve goes by, I continually find that it's a good thing to watch to cap off an evening of handing out sweets to all the ghouls and goblins that come, ringing at the doorbell. And it also doubles as prep for the burgeoning winter season and the festive festivities looming overhead.
It's goof film not just because it manages to successfully merge the two holidays that were my favorite as a kid, but also, because it's macabre look and overall atmosphere are the type of traits that I would've died for (pun, not all that much intended) back then.
Not to mention that whenever I listen to tunes like "What's This?" or "This Is Halloween", I am reminded of hearing "Put One Foot In Front Of The Other", or "We're A Couple Of Misfits", songs that, as corny as they are, now with a grown-up's perspective, my hardcore, hairy pimp-ass' has to humbly admit, will always be a part of my happiest childhood holiday memories.



  In my opinion, Nightmare is the best piece of cinema, by far, to have Tim Burton's name on it. Such a great cast of creative and endearingly maniacal characters. Innocent enough for kids who can still see the world thru bushy-tailed bright-eyed glasses, yet twistedly dark enough to keep the interests of those of us adults who've had that part of our spirits crushed a long time ago.
An inter-holiday movie for all ages on either side of the perspective spectrum.

I got a confession to make here....
me and my girlfriend once made out during this movie.

The year that this film was released, I had a girlfriend who liked to go out with me, but only when she planned it and was in control of the date. On one week-end night, I was supposed to go see Joy Luck Club with her, but since it was at my suggestion, she, as always, phoned me to tell that she felt like maybe she was (conveniently) coming down with something. Now don't get me wrong, she wanted us to see this film, just not at my suggestion (I'll skip any psycho-analyzations as to why she was always like this).
Well I had finally had it, so I called her bluff, and told her that if there was a chance she'd get sick or somethin', we should just call the whole night off.
Before she could respond, I hung up the phone and then went to go see this movie by myself, more to piss her off than anything else.
By the time this stunningly moving, mother-daughter generation-crossing epic-fare was over, my hairy pimp-ass found it quite difficult to refrain from repeatedly dabbing at that "something in my eye" that seemed annoyingly persistent during the final two sob-strewn scenes. Because of my gf, there I was sitting alone in a theater, effeminately misty-eyed over a god@mn chick-flick.
Right there and then, I knew that my relationship with my then-girlfriend was over.
Cuz no one makes me cry my own tears.
No one.