The Year in Movies: 1994

 1994

Number of Movies I've Seen: 37

Number of Movies from my original top 365:  10 (since there are so many, I will just make the titles hyperlinks to the original posts)

Oscar Winner:
Forrest Gump - I love this movie, but it really hasn't aged well. An argument I really got behind was that Forrest was not a dynamic character. He never changes, never grows, never learns anything from start to finish. I think that really weakens the films lasting appeal.

Box Office Winner:
The Lion King- Hamlet with lions and top shelf Disney renaissance animation. Good stuff. Now if we can just convince these guys to stop with the "live-action" remakes...

My Top Ten:
1. NEXT POST!

2. Pulp Fiction - (PICTURED ABOVE) You're going to see plenty of Tarantino in these late decades. Many say this is his masterpiece. It certainly is his most groundbreaking and the film that ingrained his signature style, but I think he has become a much better storyteller in recent years with films like Inglorious Basterds and The Hateful Eight. 

3. Natural Born Killers - It's too bad that this film got caught up in the "Tipper Gore mid-90s violence in media is bad" campaign. The film is so much more than its violence and its title. It is almost a Grapes of Wrath for modern times (victims of the system fight for their way of life). I know there were "copycat" murders, but .... eh... I think this is an underrated gem.

4. Forrest Gump 

5. Maverick - This is just a plain old fun movie. I'd probably recommend it to anyone. Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster, and James Garner take the viewer on a yippee-ki-yay, bank-robbin, poker playing ride through the wild west.

6. Leon: The Professional - 12 year-old Natlie Portman portrays Mathilda who becomes the sidekick of an assassin (Jean Reno) after her family is killed. This is good stuff and I really need to watch it with Abby.

7. The Lion King 

8. Hoop Dreams - Roger Ebert felt that this was the greatest documentary ever made. He's a smart man. If you like movies or basketball or both, boy do I have a film for you.

9. The Shawshank Redemption - This movie is pretty darn good. Unfortunately it is also one of the most overrated movies of all time so I won't say much more about it.

10. Reality Bites - Another in desperate need of a rewatch. Worth it just for greasy Ethan Hawke and Lisa Loeb.