American Beauty (1999): Kevin Spacey is dead-on perfect in this cynical yet hopeful, biting, and hilarious condemnation of soulless suburban life.
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969): Is it a comedy? Is it a western? Whatever it is, it's fantastic. Robert Redford and Paul Newman have sparkling chemistry, and William Goldman's script is one great line after another.
Election (1999): Caustically funny farce about high-school politics, with a stand-out performance from Reese Witherspoon.
Face/Off (1997): One of the best action movies ever. Now that I've seen a number of John Woo films, it's lost a bit of its sheen, but it's got a great performance from Nicolas Cage and fierce energy.
L.A. Confidential (1997): Classy, modern film noir with excellent acting from Kevin Spacey, James Cromwell, Guy Pearce, and Russell Crowe. Sadly, the only performance that won an Oscar is the worst of the lot, Kim Basinger's flat femme fatale.
Eight Men Out (1988): This is probably John Sayles' most accessible film, about the "Black Sox" World Series scandal of 1919. Terrific cast, including John Cusack, David Strathairn, and Charlie Sheen (this is the other baseball movie he's in).
The English Patient (1996): Beautiful. Even the dissolves between scenes are artistic.
Moonstruck (1987): Terrific romantic comedy chock-full of colorful characters.
My Brilliant Career (1979--Australia): I hate the ending to this movie, but I love everything else about it. Strong-willed Judy Davis wants to be a writer in 1800s Australia, where female independence is not exactly encouraged. I understand that, but why can't she have Sam Neill too?
Next Stop Wonderland (1998): A romantic comedy that doesn't fall into the too-cute traps of the genre. Hope Davis and Alan Gelfant have just the right blend of sadness and hope, and when they finally meet, it really is magical.
Platoon (1986): This movie is my image of the Vietnam War. It reminds you Charlie Sheen used to be a good actor, Oliver Stone used to care about a story, and Tom Berenger used to be in movies that didn't go straight to video.
The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985): Beautiful, melancholy movie about a neglected housewife (Mia Farrow) whose favorite movie star (Jeff Daniels) steps off the screen and into her life. A.k.a., my dream come true.
Quiz Show (1994): In case you want to see what game shows were like before Regis Philbin. Great performances from Ralph Fiennes, John Turturro, and Rob Morrow in this thoughtful morality play directed by Robert Redford.
The Right Stuff (1983): I think Tom Wolfe's book is maybe the greatest non-fiction book ever written, and the movie nearly measures up. This is a must-see, a portrait of hero worship in America as well as the story of the space race. A heart-breaking performance from Sam Shepard as Chuck Yeager.
The Whole Wide World (1996): A sweet, brilliant, and almost completely ignored little film about Robert Howard (Vincent D'Onofrio), the pulp writer who created Conan the Barbarian, and the schoolteacher he falls for (Renee Zellweger in the best role she's ever had).
The Winslow Boy
(1999):
A surprisingly genteel drama from David Mamet, set in 19th-century
England.
Jeremy Northam is outstanding as a pompous but ultimately compassionate
lawyer, the mandatory wretched performance
from
Rebecca Pidgeon, a.k.a. Mrs. David Mamet,
notwithstanding.
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