Best Films of the 90s - 15-11

15. Saving Private Ryan - (1998)

The devastating opening sequence is technically flawless and gut-wrenching. After some distracting cameo missteps (Ted Danson, Dennis Farina), the film settles down nicely into a soldier-level view of the war, filled with touching anecdotes and surprising insights. The action scenes are harrowing as Spielberg places us right in the thick of the battle. It's a little too coincidental toward the end and Gandhi would disagree with the message concerning the Jeremy Davies character. But the reliable skills of composer John Williams and Tom Hanks are at their peaks.

14. Miller's Crossing - (1990)
In 1930s Chicago, a gangster (Gabriel Byrne) navigates a gang war by playing both sides and smartly weighing all his options. A flawless plot by the Brothers Coen and some clever hyperreal dialogue are helped along by an impeccable recreation of the era. The performances are uniformly superb, most notably by John Turturro and Gabriel Byrne. They let their camera move too much during the later scenes and the climax is a little too pat. But Carter Burwell's score is classic and Byrne's character is an idol of mine - a non-violent intellectual who likes to stay several steps ahead of everyone else.

13. Magnolia - (1999)

Paul Thomas Anderson's magnum opus to cancer, child prodigies, and dysfunctional families is far from perfect with a few questionable choices (Robards's inclusion in the singalong, the Moore pharmacy scene, etc.) but the excellent parts (Tom Cruise, Philip Seymour Hoffman, John C. Reilly, PTA's magnificent, fluid camera) far outweigh the excesses. In his most personal film, PTA is way out there, at full throttle, and baring his entire soul. With some help from a masterful Michael Penn score, he mercilessly cranks up the drama for 3 hours, rarely allowing the audience to rest or release. And he recognizes there are many things unexplainable in life - and they shouldn't be feared or even understood, just acknowledged and embraced.

12. The Silence of the Lambs - (1991)
I love how it subtly indicts America as a serial killer creator. I love how it embraces a very male genre (cop, serial killer) and turns it into a female empowerment film. I love how the screenplay talks about lust and desire just as the actors and camera show them viscerally. I love how the title is never spoken, but implied. But most of all, I love the acting - the one-on-one cerebral battles between Oscar winners Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster.

11. Eyes Wide Shut - (1999)

Stanley Kubrick's last film is far from his best, but Michael Jordan in a Wizards uniform is still the best player on the court. The symmetry of the film - a descent into hell followed by a slow return to the living is a rarity. The pacing and atmosphere are decidedly Kubrickian: slow dissolves, well pronounced sentences, and dread hanging over the troubled characters' heads. Audiences were expecting the sexiest movie ever and got a brilliant dissertation on marriage, dreams, reality, desire, fidelity, jealousy, and responsibility instead. The well placed blue and red hues (symbolizing home and desire, respectively, for starters) as well as other touches (the bald man following Cruise next to a stop sign silently telling Cruise to stop) are just icing on the rich cake.

125. Exotica
124. Much Ado About Nothing
123. The Piano
122. Crying Game
121. Boyz N the Hood
120. Crumb
119. A Bug's Life
118. The Freshman
117. Shine
116. Bringing Out the Dead
115. City Slickers
114. Secrets and Lies
113. Spanish Prisoner
112. Homicide
111. The Lion King
110. Jurassic Park
109. Shadowlands
108. Tremors
107. The Double Life of Veronique
106. The Grifters
105. Lost Highway
104. Before Sunrise
103. Sling Blade
102. The Game
101. Bullets over Broadway
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
80. Reversal of Fortune
79. Forest Gump
78. American Beauty
77. Dazed and Confused
76. True Lies
75. Nixon
74. Malcolm X
73. Red Rock West
72. Hearts of Darkness
71. Wag the Dog
70. Thelma and Louise
69. Hoop Dreams
68. Quiz Show
67. Reservoir Dogs
66. Total Recall
65. The Hunt for Red October
64. Babe
63. Braveheart
62. Searching for Bobby Fischer
61. Bottle Rocket
60. Jerry Maguire
59. Terminator 2
58. Toy Story
57. Toy Story 2
56. Elizabeth
55. Apollo 13
54. Casino
53. Rushmore
52. Get Shorty
51. Barton Fink
50. Swingers
49. The Matrix
48. 12 Monkeys
47. Out of Sight
46. The Sixth Sense
45. The Limey
44. Hamlet
43. Dark City
42. Leaving Las Vegas
41. Hard Eight
40. The Fugitive
39. Three Kings
38. Waiting for Guffman
37. Beauty and the Beast
36. Hard-Boiled
35. In the Name of the Father
34. Lone Star
33. Three Colors: Blue, White, Red
32. A River Runs Through It
31. Dead Man Walking
30. The Usual Suspects
29. Dances with Wolves
28. The Player
27. Groundhog Day
26. Truman Show
25. The Sweet Hereafter
24. Last of the Mohicans
23. Heat
22. Trainspotting
21. The Big Lebowski
20. Fearless
19. The Shawshank Redemption
18. Seven
17. Being John Malkovich
16. Fight Club