The 100 Project: The Top 10 Movies of 1994

I knew that 1994 had a reputation as a good year for movies. Somehow, I was still floored when I went to my Letterboxd account and pulled up all the movies I watched from that year. Narrowing it down to my ten favorite was a tough task. My next ten would all make the cut in a lot of other years. Given the number of films I'm working with, I didn't feel making this a top 20 was warranted. I'm saving that for years when I reach triple digits. So, here we are.

My Top 10 Movies of 1994

• According to my Letterboxd account I watched 70 movies released in 1994.
• I saw 8 movies in theaters, only one made the list. Two others are honorable mentions.
• For the first time, a documentary makes the list.
• I saw 3 of the 5 movies nominated for Best Picture. All 3 made the list. 

10. The Crow

I'd given up reading comic books five or six years before this came out, but when it comes to movies I'm still a superhero nerd. And two decades later, this is still a unique superhero flick. Not only is it truly gothic, and dark in both the literal and figurative sense, it refuses to dull our hero's edges with humor or even a moral dilemma. He's out for revenge, plain and simple. And I enjoy every minute of it.

9. Ed Wood

I didn't see this until a few years ago and the first thing I loved about it is that it's a good movie about one of my favorite subjects: bad movies. It elevates itself from good to great by being passionate about showing the passion of the eponymous Ed Wood. Director Tim Burton and star Johnny Depp are at their best, quirky yet incandescent, full of the humanity absent from so many of their later collaborations. (full review)

8. The Shawshank Redemption

Right now, you're either nodding your head and saying, "Of course, this is on the list," or you're shaking it in amazement that it's only number eight. After all, it's got the iconic turns by Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman. It pulls you in and makes you care deeply about the men of Shawshank. And it wraps everything up in a bright, sunny package made of pure feel-good. If this is your number 1 movie of 1994, I am more than okay with that. (full review)

7. Natural Born Killers

If you make a movie with tons of action, over-the-top gore, twisted humor, a few oddball sequences, and loads of self awareness, there's a good chance I'm going to like it. When that material is in the hands of a gifted (if polarizing) director (not that you're not gifted, but ya' know) and an equally talented cast then I'm probably going to love it. That's what happened here. Director Oliver Stone directs Woody Harrelson, Juliette Lewis, and plenty more A-listers in the story of Bonnie & Clyde taken to absurdist extremes.

6. Leon: The Professional

This is THE movie about a hitman with a heart of gold. There have been plenty of others, but they all pale in comparison to this one. Jean Reno is perfect - an unassailable killer, yet vulnerable in most areas of life. This is also my intro to Natalie Portman. Then there's Gary Oldman. He walks off with every scene, as he tends to do. And that finale!

5. Hoop Dreams

I'm an introvert. Before I learned to impersonate an extrovert as an adult, I only spoke to a very small group of friends. The only way most people knew me was because I loved playing basketball and played it whenever, wherever I could with anyone who happened to be at the park, or in gym class. And despite my lack of stature, I'm pretty good. Some of the people I've come across seemed destined to play in the NBA, if they could get around certain obstacles. This movie is about two such youngsters. It dives deep, pulls out all the reasons, circumstances, and the emotions involved, and puts them on full display.

4. Crooklyn

Poignant social commentary is both Spike Lee's gift and curse. He normally seeks to comment on the world through his stories. In the case of Crooklyn, he tells a story first and lightly sprinkles it with trace amounts of cinematic reporting. The result is the warmest movie in his catalogue by a Brooklyn mile. Because of that, it's become a favorite in the Dell household. It helps that this is the one Spike Lee joint that I won't ask them whether or not they got it and/or how they feel about it. (Women in Film Blogathon: Troy Carmichael of Crooklyn)

3. Pulp Fiction

Copy everything I wrote about Natural Born Killers and paste it here. Change the director's name and the names of the stars appropriately. Now, add the fact that the dialogue is out-of-this-world good, and quotable. It's so good it literally changed the way dialogue is written. Ever since, writers have been aping Tarantino's style because on the surface it's easy: insert lots of pop culture references and some grandiose speechifying. Unfortunately, they all miss the nuances of this movie. I know, I know. Reservoir Dogs and True Romance came out before this. You know when most people saw either of those movies? After they saw Pulp Fiction.

2. The Lion King

The first time I saw this I didn't have any kids, yet. And I loved it. Somewhere around their first day home from the hospital, I watched it with each of my three kids. And they loved it with me. I even told my son that everything the light touches is ours. He bought it when he was 2, but by 3 he figured me for a idiot. But he still loved it. Over the years, we've all seen at least a dozen times before I became a teacher. And we still love it. After I became a teacher, I've watched with my classes in those last days before summer, or long field trips. And almost every one of those kids had already seen it before I showed it to him and already loved it. That just makes me love it even more. 

1. Forrest Gump

You know all that stuff I said about The Shawshank Redemption being a big ball of feel-good? You know what I like even better than that? When I can get that same insane amount of sweetness with a little bitterness mixed in; not enough to pucker my face (like the heinous dark chocolate), just enough to give it some gravity. That's what I get from Forrest Gump. After all (26 year old minor spoiler alert), he doesn't actually get what he chases the entire film. However, in a sense, he gets the best parts. On the way to that, I just enjoy his journey. The places he goes and the people he comes into contact with make it one of the most satisfying movie watching experiences of my life. Lately, it's become cool to hate on this movie. I hear the complaints, and some of it makes sense, but when I pop into my 4K player, it still puts me in the same place it did when I watched it on VHS all those years ago, my happy place.

Honorable Mentions (listed alphabetically): Above the Rim, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, Blankman, Fear of a Black Hat, Fresh, Interview with the Vampire, It's Pat, Little Giants, The Mask, Mi Vida Loca: My Crazy Life, Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult, Serial Mom, Speed, The Stoned Age True Lies