Being unemployed for any stretch of
time provides an opportunity to reflect on what you've done, what
you're doing, and what you'll be doing in the future. This chance to
examine one's life path has been front and center for me this year.
I've been going back to revisit favorite things, working daily
towards further success, and trying to map out some plan going
forward. Something I've been revisiting a lot lately is art &
entertainment. Reading through Calvin & Hobbes again or turning
on a monster movie I've seen dozens of times for some Saturday
comfort viewing. All of this has been helping to shape where I want
to go from here but it's also reminded me to get my butt in gear and
wrap up some features I began and never finished.
The my life in film concept, something
I first came across on dvdactive, is the idea of going through every
year you've been on this shiny blue globe and finding your absolute
favorite movie from each one.
I've already covered my existence
during the delightful 80's but now we're getting into the the decade
that made up the majority of my youth, the frequently ugly, often
times frustrating, but always unique 1990's. Can't say as it was may
favorite time to be alive though it had a fair bit more personality
than our current dumpster fire of a decade.
Seeing as I was still in the single
digits age wise these years sort of blend together. Certain events
stick out like becoming an uncle (got an early start on that role)
but most of it is the general flow of life. Times spent playing
Super-Nintendo, or scaring myself silly with spooky shows like
Unsolved Mysteries, getting Jake, the second dog of my life
and a great one at that. It's that stretch of time when most worries
are either distant or arbitrary. As you may expect some of these
films weren't even glimpsed by these eyes until later in life but
they all hold a solid spot in my taste profile.
1990:
While the two movies tied for 1990 are
remarkably different in style and tone, each tapped into lasting
parts of my personality. On one end you have the drunk slacker and on
the other the social outcast. I've had experience as both so these
flicks relate to plenty of memories.
Tremors was pretty much
engineered for me. Be it nature or nurture I always had an
instinctive love for tales of dinky towns, better still when said
town is under siege by gooey monsters. Add in a legendary pair of
blue-collar bum heroes and it just gets better. That sort of hero has
seemingly disappeared over the years but back then it was more than
acceptable for the male lead to live in a truck, work odd jobs for a
pittance, and store cold beers in a toilet.
I never would thought it possibe but
Val & Earle foreshadowed all my time working odd and handyman
jobs, be it lawn care, pluming, maintenance, even pest removal. These
were all things I never wanted to do as a kid and yet I'm currently
armed with the knowledge of how to fix dryers, clear out bed bugs,
and even moving and redressing death beds. Yes a cold one goes down
extra smooth after a day dealing with that crap.
Edward Scissorhands on the
other hand (haha) was what I would probably call my favorite movie as
a kid. Granted it's status has diminished over time thanks an ever
expanding list of favorites but also the slightly toxic effect that
other fans have had on it.
Being a home schooled kid in the early
90's, a time when it was largely reserved for whackadoos, made life
in a fairly small town just a little more difficult. Being a kid who
already liked odd things was enough of a stigma without others joking
that you have to be kept inside. Of course this made Edward an
instant classic. Watching another person struggle through the
judgment everyone places on him could get very depressing but the
honesty of the ending was what really pulled it all together. He
never fully escapes his isolation but he's able to use his abilities
and channel his experiences into something that makes the world a
better place. Think of it as the truthful version of the “it gets
better” movement.
1991:
91 was very much a year of minor
classics. There's a variety of flicks I've viewed countless times
ranging from Sci-Fi with Star Trek VI, political thriller with
Sneakers, mobster comedy Oscar, plus a Van-Damn double
feature of Double Impact and Lionheart. The one that
comes closest to being number one is probably The People Under the
Stairs.
While I didn't know the horror nut I
would end up becoming, young me always held a fascination for spooky
stories and creatures. The stuff that usually stuck with me the most
back then was the sort of backyard adventure story where someone
faces off against the neighborhood monster, think The Burbs or
Fright Night. Here that style is moved to a poor black
neighborhood where a kid has to face off against the wretched
assholes who own everything. In the process he finds they're even
worse than everyone thinks.
Best I can figure, this probably
crossed my radar a few years later thanks to Monstervision.
During the classic Joe Bob Briggs run on the series, I made a point
of camping out with whatever cheese snack was available, a practice
that lead to my tradition of viewing horror flicks every Saturday for
the past decade.
1992:
Throughout my youth I steadily gained
a love for both the Alien and Predator franchises by
either catching them on the teli or getting a peak at a VHS when the
parents weren't looking. While there's no exact memory for the first
time I saw Alien 3, it always struck me as an excellent end
cap for what was, at the time, my favorite film series.
I guess I never understood the freak
out over how mean this movie is. Poor Ripley had already lost so much
over the first two movies, the notion that she'd get some happy
ending is a pleasant thought if terribly naive. So the notion of a
final chapter where she's stripped of any reason to live other than
eliminating these creatures is dramatically spot on.
You won't get some sob story about any
deeper meaning found within the film. I simply found it to be an
excellent ending for a great series. Of course now it's from the end
of the franchise, which hopefully will result in new fans taking a
more balanced opinion towards it.
1993:
93 is another of those odd years where
there's only a few entertaining flicks without a real obvious choice.
Even so I have fostered a growing admiration for the Stallone and
Snipes action comedy, Demotion Man. Part of that is my life
long love of the action giants, few things can warm this cruddy
little heart quite like explosions and one-liners. The other bit is
how Demolition Man combines those traditional action elements with a
unique fish out of water story.
Somewhere between Idiocracy and
classic lonely outsider flicks like the aforementioned Edward
Scissorhands in tone,
this is a goofy look at a classic alpha male surrounded by a
civilization of sissies. While many of the films predictions have
failed to come true, who among us hasn't shaken our head in disbelief
at the tide pod challenge, or moral outrage articles about comic book
movie costumes?
It may not be a very deep film or even
the best action flick but there's a solid core to Demolition Man. The
ending message or finding a balance between clean peaceful living and
outrageous human behavior is remarkably reasonable. And if the
prediction of Taco Bell being the only restaurant comes to pass there
may just be hope for us yet.
1994:
No compromise here, Ed Wood is
at least in my top twenty, possibly my top ten. Few stories bring
together so many of my interests and viewpoints together so
seamlessly. It's a bonkers tale of a struggling artist, only he's the
type of artist we all hope we aren't. Together with a band of
oddballs he fumbles his way through life making some of the worst
garbage the world has ever seen, and forever ensuring his legacy.
In a way it's something of a
comforting fantasy. In his quest for artistic expression, Eddy not
only befriends a gaggle of other losers but manages to become a
legend through failure. As any form of creator it's sort of relieving
to think you could achieve fame and admiration by fucking up.
The cast is stellar with Johnny Depp
at his best, especially when bouncing off Martin Landau's take on
Bela Lugosi. That pairing is at the heart of the picture since it's a
dreamer meeting one of his idols only to find a broken old man
instead.
There's quotable comedy, respectable
drama, good production values. It's the sort of movie any filmmaker
should be proud to make which makes it all the more fitting that it's
about such a lousy director.
That's gonna have to do it for tonight
kids. I've gotta take the smallest break from nostalgia to take care
of paperwork and other adult responsibilities. Sometime I'd love to
hear some of your own picks for favorite films from this time frame.
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