1991: Movies Sorted By Tier
Submitted by jim on Tue, 07/13/2004 - 05:07
Tags:
Loved
Beauty & the Beast
... I've seen this movie many times, and I think it's Disney's best animated feature. Happily, the "giant screen" version came to an IMAX theater near me. The film, as I just noted, is fantabulous. The IMAX picture was crystal clear and huge, and the sound was terrific. As for non-positives (they are more observations than complaints), the "new" song (lyrics by the much-missed Howard Ashman) was relatively uninspired, and was rightfully relegated to the cutting room floor in '91. The resolution was SO good that the backgrounds were--believe it or not--too clear. The crowd scenes looked fake, because the background characters didn't move at all. Imagine watching a live action movie where all the extras are mannekins, and you'll get the idea. Even funnier were scenes where a character would move from the foreground into the background and then abruptly freeze like they just locked their gaze with Medusa's. But it was a very interesting look into the (understandable) shortcuts animators take, and I'm still impressed that these slights-of-hand aren't noticable on a smaller screen. Still, a great movie-going experience. The stadium seating and the theater full of kids didn't hurt, I'm sure.Delicatessen
... I remember hearing about this movie - "A travelling clown gets hired at a sinister post-apocalyptic diner." I had to see it, and I wasn't disappointed.L.A. Story
... I saw this when it came out and why-oh-why was I the only one laughing in a fairly full theater? Sure, comedy is the most subjective genre, but come on! Ah well, your mileage may vary. That said, in my opinion this is the last great Steve Martin movie (although some of his subsequent movies have been pretty good).Raise the Red Lantern
... Everything a Shakespearian tragedy would be, were Shakespeare Chinese. Simply marvelous.Silence of the Lambs
Terminator 2
Truly, Madly, Deeply
... Bleed Ghost of the treacle, special effects, and superfluous bad-guy subplot, and you're left with Truly, Madly, Deeply, my nominee for "best tearjerker."Really Liked
Boyz N the Hood
Cape Fear
The Commitments
Defending Your Life
The Fisher King
Flirting
... How on earth did they avoid cliche? Australia: white guy in a boy's boarding school, black girl in a girl's boarding school across the river, budding romance. The teachers are strict, as is the icy (?) head girl (?), played by Nicole Kidman. Miraculously the characters have real depth, and are never caricatures. The humor is quirky and underplayed. While they are quite different movies, somehow I think fans of Rushmore will enjoy this. Not sure why.JFK
Mediterraneo
Thelma & Louise
Glad I Saw
The Addams Family
Backdraft
Barton Fink
Bugsy
City Slickers
Dead Again
Father of the Bride
Fried Green Tomatoes
Jungle Fever
Little Man Tate
Night on Earth
Once Upon a Time in China
... For the first 45 minutes of this movie I was concerned that I wasn't going to "get it." Lots of humor that simply didn't translate for me, a bunch of little set pieces that didn't seem to go anywhere, and the introduction of characters and plot threads that seemed superfluous (indeed, some of them just never reappear). But eventually a graspable plot emerges from the main themes, and the film gets going. Nicely shot, with some terrific action scenes that show off Jet Li's athleticism and expertise. If you watch this on DVD, Ric Meyers' commentary track is fabulous. It will raise your level of appreciation.Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Guilty Pleasures
Doc Hollywood
Hudson Hawk
... EVERYBODY I went with hated this movie. I kinda liked it. I have no excuse.The Last Boy Scout
My Girl
New Jack City
Point Break
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
Could Have Missed
Grand Canyon
Should Have Missed
Hook
The Prince of Tides
Regarding Henry
El Sucko Grande
What About Bob?
... First things first: to the two families that recommended this to me, nothing is more subjective than humor. Just because it wasn't funny for me doesn't mean it wasn't funny for you, or even that it wasn't funny as measured against the Platonic ideal of funny floating out there in the heavens. It's not you, it's me. Really. That said, it wasn't funny. :-) I don't know what's more amazing about Frank Oz: his prodigious muppeteering skills, or finding a way to make Bill Murray unfunny. It did strike me that you could build a killer drinking game out of this movie and utterances of the name "Bob". Other than that, it just cements The Cable Guy as the Citizen Kane of "A-list Comedian as Stalker" films.
Cloned From:
Yes! I'm not the only person who failed to find the hilarity in What About Bob?!!!
Misery must love company...
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
Ha! Yes indeed, you are not alone. I actually forgot the funniest part of the movie in my review: so at about 30 minutes in my wife announces she's tired and says she's going to bed. I ask her, jokingly, if I should stop the movie so we can resume it the next night. She looks mock-taken-aback and says vehemently, "NO! No, no, no. No, tomorrow morning, I don't even want you to tell me what happens." :-)
Wallace & Gromit: A Grand Day Out also appears in your 1989 list (which I think is where it belongs).
Thanks!