1990 was a solid year. It was the year Kevin Costner had his big triumph with Dances with Wolves, whereas GoodFellas -- a modest success at the time -- has easily endured as the year's most beloved, acclaimed film.
I want to make some honorable mentions: Awakenings, Jacob's Ladder, Q&A, Home Alone, Presumed Innocent, Edward Scissorhands -- just to name a few. But here are my top 10 faves from the year "U Can't Touch This" took the world by storm.
10. The Godfather Part III - This movie is a little unfairly derided because it pales in comparison to the original and Part II. Yes, the Sofia Coppola performance is subpar, but there is a lot to appreciate here. Al Pacino is excellent as an aging, sickly Michael Corleone, as is Andy Garcia as his hot-headed nephew. It's a gorgeously made epic that feels like an authentic Godfather movie is albeit a flawed one. Certainly not the disaster it's often made out to be.9. King of New York - One of Christopher Walken's best (and creepiest) performances comes in this moody, violent gangster film directed by Abel Ferrara. His nearly all black crew is filled with a who's who of black characters actors (it's as if the cast of Spike Lee's School Daze moved straight from that production to this one). It's no surprise that this film has had a lot of influence on hip-hop it's cool as ice and oozing a specific brand of nihilistic cool.
8. The Hunt for Red October - The first and still the best Jack Ryan movie is an exciting, smart submarine thriller featuring a charismatic Sean Connery (improbably good as a Russian naval captain) and a fresh faced (and thin) Alec Baldwin as a CIA analyst turned action here. I can't speak to the movie's specific politics, but it's very well paced and holds up quite well. Part of director John McTiernan's brief but impressive peak, which also includes Predator and Die Hard.
7. Miller's Crossing - One of the most overlooked, great Coen brothers movies. Funny on the margins, but mostly a stone cold period gangster film. Beautifully photographed and staged with note perfect performances from actors like Gabriel Byrne, Albert Finney and especially John Turturro, whose sniveling, shifty performance is of one the best in the filmmaking duo's entire canon, If you can get on this movie's unusual wavelength, you won't be disappointed.
6. Dick Tracy - A fun candy colored cartoon (that's live action) which was a favorite of mine as a child. Warren Beatty headlines and directs an all-star cast that's mostly unrecognizable under heavy makeup plus a vamping Madonna as the femme fatale in this adaptation of the iconic comic strip. Disarmingly sweet and light hearted with Al Pacino having a ball as the villain in perhaps his funniest performance ever.
5. Wild at Heart - David Lynch's disturbing, violent and sexy road movie is one of his best. To call it 'heightened' would be an understatement, but there are images in this movie (like Diane Ladd's face covered in red lipstick) that I will never forget. Nicolas Cage and Laura Dern are incredible as a pair of young lovers on the run. And Willem Dafoe has ever been more unsettling than he is here as the venal Bobby Peru. Strange to be sure, but also sensational.
4. Misery - Proof that Rob Reiner was once an exceptional director, this Stephen King adaptation is truly scary and riveting from start to finish. He's aided tremendously by two incredible performances from Kathy Bates (who won the Oscar for her performance as deranged superfan Annie Wilkes) and James Caan who conveys a myriad of emotions even though he spends most of the movie strapped own to a bed. This is one of those movies that I can be up for watching anytime, anywhere.
3. Total Recall - Arnold Schwarzenegger's best non-Terminator role and quite possibly his best performance is in this inventive Philip K. Dick adaptation about a superspy with amnesia and an affinity for Mars. Despite its elaborate plot, its infinitely watchable, visually striking and hilarious thanks for director Paul Verhoeven's unconventional approach. It's simply a really fun movie that only seems to get better with age.
2. GoodFellas - For many, understandably, this film is viewed as the definitive gangster epic (which is why Scorsese may have made The Irishman as a counter point to this film's popularity). An immersive look at the world of the lower level guys angling to be 'made' -- Ray Liotta is excellent as the audience surrogate, DeNiro has remarkable presence as his mentor and Oscar winner Joe Pesci is sublime as a volatile and doomed gangster. So vivid and precise -- this is Scorsese using all his talents here to the best of his ability and the result is one of the most rewatchable masterpieces ever made.
1. The Grifters - GoodFellas may be the technically better film and this was close for me, but The Grifters has always been my personal favorite of this year. It's got it's one sexy and mysterious sparkle -- although it's set in the present it feels slightly out of time (like some Tarantino films). At its core its a three hander with Anjelica Huston, John Cusack and Annette Bening all bringing fireworks as a trio of hustlers whose lives collide in shocking ways. Funny, fierce and incredibly well acted. In fact Huston's performance here may be my favorite female performance of all time. Whew, that ending!
PAST TOP 10 FAVORITE LISTS
1974 #1 movie - The Godfather Part II
1975 #1 movie - Nashville
1976 #1 movie - Taxi Driver
1977 #1 movie - Star Wars
1978 #1 movie - The Deer Hunter
1979 #1 movie - The Jerk
1984 #1 movie - Ghostbusters
1985 #1 movie - Fletch
1986 #1 movie - Blue Velvet
1987 #1 movie - The Untouchables
1988 #1 movie - Coming to America
1989 #1 movie - Batman
1994 #1 movie - Pulp Fiction
1995 #1 movie - Heat
1996 #1 movie - Fargo
1997 #1 movie - Boogie Nights
1998 #1 movie - The Big Lebowski
1999 #1 movie - Eyes Wide Shut
2000 #1 movie - Nurse Betty
2004 #1 movie - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
2005 #1 movie - A History of Violence
2006 #1 movie - Casino Royale
2007 #1 movie - There Will Be Blood
2008 #1 movie - The Wrestler
2009 #1 movie - Inglourious Basterds
2010 #1 movie - The Social Network
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