Best Films of the 90s - 80-76

80. Reversal of Fortune - (1990)

Jeremy Irons gives a brilliant performance as Claus von Bulow, a New York socialite who was convicted for the attempted murder of his wife Sunny (Glenn Close). Alan Dershowitz (effectively played by Ron Silver) is hired to overturn his conviction. Some of Dershowitz's speeches (to his law students) explain the mindset of a lawyer better than I've ever heard or seen. Director Barbet Schroeder juggles the flashbacks and unusual narration (by the comatose Sunny) judiciously. But it's the Oscar-winning Irons who runs off with the film, delivering each line with droll perfection.

79. Forrest Gump - (1994)
Not nearly as bad as its detractors want it to be, director Robert Zemeckis seamlessly tracks one man's journey from the mid-50s to the early 80s, hitting the important milestones and making Americans feel good about it. Alan Silvestri's score is appropriately touching and epic when the moment necessitates. It has a great sense of humor about itself, acknowledging the ridiculousness of the story while drawing tears from the audience. This is no small achievement from Zemeckis. And Tom Hanks. Those who feel Hanks's performance is one-note need to take another look at the scene where he meets his son and the one at Jenny's grave.

78. American Beauty - (1999)

It doesn't even crack the top ten in the remarkable film year of 1999, but this best picture winner still has enough great moments to outweigh the lapses in story. First and foremost, Conrad Hall's cinematography is staggering - every shot as beautiful as the one that preceded it. Next, Kevin Spacey is hilarious in his mid-life crisis. Last, the writing in the paper bag scene and Spacey's closing narration is genius in its vagueness, allowing the viewer to apply just about anything to the film. On the bad side, Chris Cooper, great as he is, can't outact his cliched, ridiculously written character. And Annette Bening wears you out more with each viewing.

77. Dazed and Confused - (1993)
70s potheads got their own American Graffiti when director Richard Linklater wrote this all-night party that happens after the last day of school. The cast of unknowns are suitable for their roles and many of the smaller parts (Ben Affleck, Matthew McConaughey, Milla Jovovich, Adam Goldberg, Parker Posey, Renee Zellweger) went on the bigger things, for better or worse. The "message" of the movie - just have fun and don't commit to anything - is certainly a dubious one, but Linklater's writing is so assured and real that nearly every scene is memorable. Every high school has characters like these.

76. True Lies - (1994)

Arnold Schwarzenegger and Tom Arnold are government spies hot on the trail of Muslim terrorists who've stolen a nuclear bomb. But Arnold gets sidetracked when he discovers his wife (Jamie Lee Curtis) may be cheating on him. The film goes misogynist in the middle as the duo interrogate Curtis, but writer-director James Cameron more than makes up for it by turning his macho tough-guy movie into a woman empowerment movie by the end (this should have come as no surprise to people who saw T1, Aliens, and T2). Tom Arnold got the role of lifetime as the wisecracking partner and is hilarious throughout.

100. Glengarry Glen Ross
99. Dead Again
98. Ed Wood
97. True Romance
96. The Commitments
95. Bound
94. Die Hard 2
93. In the Line of Fire
92. Affliction
91. Shakespeare in Love
90. In the Company of Men
89. Short Cuts
88. Copland
87. The Hudsucker Proxy
86. The Last Seduction
85. The Apostle
84. Burnt by the Sun
83. The Godfather Part III
82. Good Will Hunting
81. Speed