Morituri te salutamos.

"Okay."

"Man, oh man. Man oh man oh man."

boohoo.

but can you
save me
c'mon and save me
if you could
save me
from the ranks
of the freaks

who suspect
they could never love anyone.

"Look...at...me..."

I couldn't ask for a better trio.

Happy birthday to the queen...

The king of the '90s, who I may still forgive if he ever decides to do any good movies again...



...and of course, one of my favorite TV characters of all time, ARI GOLD!

Returning to The Screen Directory...

Remember this? So, I was really bored and I decided to list my nominations for their top 15 actors and actresses. Here goes! For every actor/actress, I have only included their 1990s and 2000s work (sorry Jack.).


the gentlemen

philip seymour hoffman
1999 - best supporting actor, magnolia (loses to tom cruise magnolia)
2000 - best supporting actor, almost famous (loses to mark ruffalo you can count on me)
top 10s for capote (2005), top 15s for the talented mr. ripley (1999), 25th hour (2002), and owning mahoney (2003)

edward norton
1996 - best supporting actor, primal fear *
1996 - best supporting actor, the people vs. larry flynt (loses to...himself)
1998 - best actor, american history x (loses to ian mckellen gods and monsters)
2002 - best actor, 25th hour (loses to jack nicholson about schmidt)
top 10s for fight club (1999), top 20s for the painted veil (2006)

sean penn
1993 - best supporting actor, carlito's way (loses to ralph fiennes schindler's list)
1995 - best actor, dead man walking (loses to nicolas cage leaving las vegas)
2003 - best actor, mystic river (loses to bill murray lost in translation)
top 10s for sweet and lowdown (1999) and 21 grams (2003), top 15s for the assassination of richard nixon (2004). and i still haven't seen much of his 80s stuff.

christian bale
2000 - best actor, american psycho *
top 10s for the machinist (2004), top 20s for batman begins (2005), top 30s for the prestige (2006) (last year was really strong for actors, he was quite good)

leonardo dicaprio
1993 - best supporting actor, what's eating gilbert grape? (loses to ralph fiennes schindler's list) 2006 - best actor, the departed (loses to ryan gosling half nelson)
top 10s for catch me if you can (2002), top 15s for the aviator (2004)

johnny depp
none. top 10s for ed wood (1994) - he's great, but i can't imagine taking anyone out of my top 6 (he's #7)

russell crowe
1997 - best actor, l.a. confidential (loses to ian holm the sweet hereafter)
1999 - best actor, the insider (loses to kevin spacey american beauty)
2000 - best actor, gladiator (loses to christian bale american psycho)
2001 - best actor, a beautiful mind *
top 10s for master and commander (2003), top 15s for cinderella man (2005), top 25s for a good year (seriously) (2006)

denzel washington
1992 - best actor, malcolm x *
2001 - best actor, training day (loses to russell crowe a beautiful mind)
top 25s for inside man (2006)

jack nicholson (remember, 1990s and after only)
2002 - best actor, about schmidt *
top 10s for as good as it gets (1997) and the pledge (2001), top 15s for the departed (2006)

joaquin phoenix
none. top 10 for quills (2000) and top 15 for walk the line (2005)

kevin spacey
1995 - best supporting actor, the usual suspects *
1997 - best supporting actor, l.a. confidential *
1999 - best actor, american beauty *
top 10s for henry & june (1990), the ref (1994), a time to kill (1996), hurlyburly (1998), and the life of david gale (2003), top 20s for superman returns (2006)

ralph fiennes
1993 - best supporting actor, schindler's list *
1996 - best actor, the english patient (loses to jeffrey wright basquiat)
2005 - best actor, the constant gardener (loses to heath ledger brokeback mountain)
top 15s for spider (2002) and he's also really good in red dragon, believe it or not...i need to put him in my lineup somewhere

tom hanks
1994 - best actor, forrest gump (loses to paul newman nobody's fool)
2000 - best actor, cast away (loses to christian bale american psycho)
top 10s for philadelphia (1993)

geoffrey rush
1996 - best actor, shine (loses to jeffrey wright basquiat)
top 15s for shakespeare in love and elizabeth (1998), quills (2000), and pirates of the carribbean: the curse of the black pearl (2003)

paul giamatti
2004 - best actor, sideways (loses to clive owen closer)
top 15s for the illusionist (2006), cinderella man (2005), and american splendor (2003)


the ladies

cate blanchett
1998 - best actress, elizabeth (loses to samantha morton under the skin)
2000 - best actress, the gift (loses to ellen burstyn requiem for a dream)
top 10s for oscar and lucinda (1997), heaven (2002), veronica guerin (2003), coffee and cigarettes (2004), and the good german (2006)

nicole kidman
1995 - best actress, to die for (loses to elisabeth shue leaving las vegas)
1999 - best supporting actress, eyes wide shut *
2001 - best actress, moulin rouge! (loses to naomi watts mulholland dr.)
2001 - best actress, the others (yes, nominated twice)
2004 - best actress, dogville (loses to kate winslet eternal sunshine...)
2004 - best actress, birth (yes, nominated twice...again)
top 15 for fur (2006)

kate winslet (and the fangirlyness starts!!!)
1994 - best actress, heavenly creatures (loses to linda fiorentino the last seduction)
1995 - best supporting actress, sense and sensibility *
1996 - best supporting actress, hamlet (loses to frances mcdormand fargo)
1999 - best actress, holy smoke! (loses to hilary swank boys don't cry)
2000 - best supporting actress, quills (loses to jennifer connelly requiem for a dream)
2001 - best supporting actress, iris *
2004 - best actress, eternal sunshine of the spotless mind *
2006 - best actress, little children (loses to meryl streep the devil wears prada)
top 10s for jude (1996) and hideous kinky (1998)

hilary swank
1999 - best actress, boys don't cry *
top 15s for million dollar baby (2004)

reese witherspoon
1996 - best actress, freeway (loses to emily watson breaking the waves)
1999 - best actress, election (loses to hilary swank boys don't cry)
2005 - best actress, walk the line (loses to rachel weisz the constant gardener)
top 10 for man on the moon (1991) and legally blonde (2001), top 15 for vanity fair (2004)

renee zellweger
2000 - best actress, nurse betty (loses to ellen burstyn requiem for a dream)
2001 - best actress, bridget jones' diary (loses to naomi watts mulholland dr.)
2003 - best supporting actress, cold mountain (loses to holly hunter thirteen)
top 10s for jerry maguire (1996) and chicago (2002), top 15s for down with love (2003)

juliette binoche
1991 - best actress, lovers on the bridge (loses to jodie foster silence of the lambs)
1994 - best actress, three colors: blue (loses to holly hunter the piano)
top 10s for the english patient (1996)

jennifer connelly
2000 - best supporting actress, requiem for a dream *
top 10s for house of sand and fog (2003)

rachel weisz
2005 - best actress, the constant gardener *
top 15s for the fountain (2006) (can't decide if she's supporting or leading. currently i have her as lead...in supporting, i would nominate her.)

maggie gyllenhaal
2002 - best actress, secretary (loses to samantha morton morvern callar)
top 10s for sherrybaby (2006) and happy endings (2005), top 20s for stranger than fiction (2006), top 30s for world trade center (2006)

charlize theron
2003 - best actress, monster (loses to uma thurman kill bill and scarjo lost in translation)

rachel mcadams
none. top 10s for mean girls (2004) and red eye (2005)

julianne moore
1993 - best supporting actress, short cuts (loses to gong li farewell, my concubine)
1994 - best supporting actress, vanya on 42nd street (loses to uma thurman pulp fiction)
1995 - best actress, safe (loses to elisabeth shue leaving las vegas)
1997 - best supporting actress, boogie nights (loses to sarah polley the sweet hereafter)
1999 - best actress, the end of the affair (loses to hilary swank boys don't cry)
2002 - best actress, far from heaven (loses to samantha morton morvern callar)
top 10s for the big lebowski (1998), the hours (2002), and children of men (2006)

toni collette
1995 - best actress, muriel's wedding (loses to elisabeth shue leaving las vegas)
1999 - best supporting actress, the sixth sense (loses to nicole kidman eyes wide shut)
2002 - best supporting actress, the hours (maybe, as it's a borderline cameo) (loses to catherine zeta-jones, chicago)
top 10s for about a boy (2002) and little miss sunshine (2006), top 15s for japanese story (2004) and in her shoes (2005)

naomi watts
2001 - best actress, mulholland dr. *
top 10 for the painted veil (2006), top 15 for i heart huckabees (2004)

Whaaaat???

http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/article/spacey%20im%20finished%20with%20acting_1034158
How did I not read about this before? Like I've said before, since 1999 and (not totally coincidentally, I think) his second Oscar, his career hasn't really been the greatest, but... I don't care. His 1990s work alone deserves him a place in the pantheon. He was like Pacino or Nicholson in the 70s (I fuckin' said it, deal with it). Even now, there is the occasional hint at what he was before - The Life of David Gale, Superman Returns... I kept waiting for his big comeback. And now, I guess, it's not gonna come. I'll always support theater and people doing what they feel is necessary, but I'm gonna miss Lester Burnham, Kevin.

I enjoy awards.

So today, instead of doing my work, I wrote down my winners for Best Picture, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor, and Supporting Actress from 1990-2006, and ranked them. Keep in mind, these are all subject to change and often, ranking these were extremely difficult - I mean, look at the Best Actor list. Jeremy Irons in last place??

Best Picture
1. Pulp Fiction (1994)
2. American Beauty (1999)
3. Angels in America (2003)
4. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
5. Schindler's List (1993)
6. Moulin Rouge! (2001)
7. Chicago (2002)
8. Goodfellas (1990)
9. The Departed (2006)
10. The Player (1992)
11. The Usual Suspects (1995)
12. Boogie Nights (1997)
13. Shakespeare in Love (1998)
14. Requiem for a Dream (2000)
15. The English Patient (1996)
16. A History of Violence (2005)
17. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

Best Actor
1. Kevin Spacey in American Beauty (1999)
2. Ian McKellen in Gods and Monsters (1998)
3. Clive Owen in Closer (2004)
4. River Phoenix in My Own Private Idaho (1991)
5. Denzel Washington in Malcolm X (1992)
6. Jack Nicholson in About Schmidt (2002)
7. Bill Murray in Lost in Translation (2003)
8. Ian Holm in The Sweet Hereafter (1997)
9. Robert Downey Jr. in "I Want Love" (2001)
10. Nicolas Cage in Leaving Las Vegas (1995)
11. Christian Bale in American Psycho (2000)
12. Heath Ledger in Brokeback Mountain (2005)
13. Liam Neeson in Schindler's List (1993)
14. Ryan Gosling in Half Nelson (2006)
15. Jeffrey Wright in Basquiat (1996)
16. Paul Newman in Nobody's Fool (1994)
17. Jeremy Irons in Reversal of Fortune (1990)

Best Actress
1. Elisabeth Shue in Leaving Las Vegas (1995)
2. Naomi Watts in Mulholland Dr. (2001)
3. Kate Winslet in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
4. Jodie Foster in Silence of the Lambs (1991)
5. Emily Watson in Breaking the Waves (1996)
6. Holly Hunter in The Piano (1993)
7. Ellen Burstyn in Requiem for a Dream (2000)
8. Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada (2006)
9. Hilary Swank in Boys Don't Cry (1999)
10. Scarlett Johansson in Lost in Translation and Uma Thurman in Kill Bill, Vol. 1 (2003)
11. Angelina Jolie in Gia (1998)
12. Samantha Morton in Morvern Callar (2002)
13. Jodie Foster in Contact (1997)
14. Emma Thompson in Howards End (1992)
15. Rachel Weisz in The Constant Gardener (2005)
16. Linda Fiorentino in The Last Seduction (1994)
17. Helen Mirren in The Cook, the Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover (1990)

Best Supporting Actor
1. Samuel L. Jackson in Pulp Fiction (1994)
2. Jeffrey Wright in Angels in America (2003)
3. Jack Lemmon in Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)
4. Anthony Hopkins in The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
5. Ralph Fiennes in Schindler's List (1993)
6. Kevin Spacey in The Usual Suspects (1995)
7. Tom Cruise in Magnolia (1999)
8. Mark Ruffalo in You Can Count on Me (2000)
9. Edward Norton in Primal Fear (1996)
10. Chris Cooper in Adaptation. (2002)
11. Ben Kingsley in Sexy Beast (2001)
12. Kevin Spacey in L.A. Confidential (1997)
13. Bill Murray in Rushmore (1998)
14. Joe Pesci in Goodfellas (1990)
15. Clive Owen in Inside Man (2006)
16. Jude Law in I Heart Huckabees (2004)
17. Michael Pena in Crash (2005)

Best Supporting Actress
1. Jennifer Connelly in Requiem for a Dream (2000)
2. Catherine Zeta-Jones in Chicago (2002)
3. Frances McDormand in Fargo (1996)
4. Sarah Polley in The Sweet Hereafter (1997)
5. Meryl Streep in Angels in America (2003)
6. Uma Thurman in Pulp Fiction (1994)
7. Kate Winslet in Iris (2001)
8. Gong Li in Farewell, My Concubine (1993)
9. Kate Winslet in Sense and Sensibility (1995)
10. Mia Kirshner in The Black Dahlia (2006)
11. Nicole Kidman in Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
12. Laura Linney in The Truman Show (1998)
13. Maria Bello in A History of Violence (2005)
14. Virginia Madsen in Sideways (2004)
15. Lorraine Brocco in Goodfellas (1990)
16. Miranda Richardson in Damage (1992)
17. Diane Ladd in Rambling Rose (1991)

and that's that

top performances of the '90s

he's pissed off cuz he knows he was robbed.

to go along with the '80s one.

Male
10. Tom Cruise as Frank T.J. Mackey in Magnolia (1999)
9. Edward Norton as Derek Vinyard in American History X (1998)
8. River Pheonix as Mike Waters in My Own Private Idaho (1992)
7. Kevin Spacey as Verbal Kint in The Usual Suspects (1995)
6. Ralph Fiennes as Amon Goeth in Schindler's List (1993)
5. Ian McKellen as James Whale in Gods and Monsters (1998)
4. Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
3. Jack Lemmon as Shelley Levene in Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)
2. Samuel L. Jackson as Jules Winnfield in Pulp Fiction (1994)
1. Kevin Spacey as Lester Burnham in American Beauty (1999)
Oscar nominees: 8 (all except Pheonix and Lemmon)
Oscar winners: 3 (Spacey x2 and Hopkins)

Female
10. Victoire Thivisol as Ponette in Ponette (1997)
9. Kate Winslet as Ruth Barron in Holy Smoke! (1999)
8. Jodie Foster as Ellie Arroway in Contact (1997)
7. Sarah Polley as Nicole in The Sweet Hereafter (1997)
6. Frances McDormand as Marge Gunderson in Fargo (1996)
5. Hilary Swank as Brandon Teena in Boys Don't Cry (1999)
4. Holly Hunter as Ada in The Piano (1993)
3. Emily Watson as Bess in Breaking the Waves (1996)
2. Jodie Foster as Clarice Starling in The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
1. Elisabeth Shue as Sera in Leaving Las Vegas (1995)
Oscar nominees: 6 (not Thivisol, Winslet, Contact Foster, and Polley)
Oscar winners: 4 (McDormand, Swank, Hunter, Foster Silence)

Best Supporting Actor.

ignore the suit.
focus on the brilliance.

Okay, so um, where are the great Supporting Actor peformances of the new millennium? Though I love my choice for the best Supporting Actor of the new millennium (Tim Robbins in Mystic River - suck itttt), I doubt he'd even make #10 on my list of the Best Supporting Actors of the 1990s. It's true, this has hindsight helping me, but think about all the incredible supporting male performances we'd had by the beginning of 1997: all the Glengarry Glen Ross boys, Anthony Hopkins in The Silence of the Lambs, Samuel L. Jackson and Bruce Willis in Pulp Fiction, Ralph Fiennes in Schindler's List, Kevin Spacey in The Usual Suspects (and Se7en - which I haven't seen, and quite frankly, which I refuse to see), Joe Pesci in Goodfellas, Edward Norton in Primal Fear and The People vs. Larry Flynt, Gene Hackman in Unforgiven, Leonardo DiCaprio in What's Eating Gilbert Grape?, Jack Lemmon in Short Cuts, Martin Landau in Ed Wood, Sean Penn in Carlito's Way, Don Cheadle in Devil in a Blue Dress...

though, if you're willing to deem the movie eligible, Jeffrey Wright and Al Pacino in Angels in America could easily go toe-to-toe with any of those performances...

The Life of David Gale

Wow, what an awful movie. I think you know a movie's bad when Kate Winslet is in way over her head, and you can tell. D

...that said. It's Kevin Spacey's best post-American Beauty offering (not that that says much, so let me rephrase it: save Superman Returns, it's his only notable post-American Beauty offering), and Laura Linney is just fantastic as always. 2003 was a great year for supporting actresses and Linney gets nominated (if I allowed for multiple performances in one award, she would get the win for this, Love Actually, and Mystic River combined). I'd nominate Kevin as well...I think.

here i go again. '99

'99 was pretty damn fantastic, maybe the best year of the 99-06 time period. it's not every year you get movies as life-affirmingly brilliant as american beauty and magnolia and films as uproariously daring and hilarious as south park: bigger, longer, and uncut and election and being john malkovich (which doesn't even make my top 10 list!)

Best Picture
1. American Beauty
2. Magnolia
3. South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut
4. Election
5. Fight Club
6. The Talented Mr. Ripley
7. Toy Story 2
8. All About My Mother
9. The Insider
10. Titus

Best Director
1. Sam Mendes for American Beauty
2. P.T. Anderson for Magnolia
3. David Fincher for Fight Club
4. Michael Mann for The Insider
5. Spike Jonze for Being John Malkovich
6. Anthony Minghella for The Talented Mr. Ripley
7. David Lynch for The Straight Story
8. Kevin Smith for Dogma
9. Pedro Almodovar for All About My Mother
10. M. Night Shamaylan for The Sixth Sense

Best Actor
1. Kevin Spacey in American Beauty (period. Best performance of the '90s easy.)
2. Russell Crowe in The Insider
3. Haley Joel Osment in The Sixth Sense
4. Richard Farnsworth in The Straight Story
5. Jim Broadbent in Topsy-Turvy
6. Edward Norton in Fight Club
7. Sean Penn in Sweet and Lowdown
8. Terrence Stamp in The Limey
9. Brad Pitt in Fight Club
10. Matt Damon in The Talented Mr. Ripley

Best Actress
1. Hilary Swank in Boys Don't Cry
2. Kate Winslet in Holy Smoke!
3. Reese Witherspoon in Election
4. Julianne Moore in The End of the Affair
5. Cecilia Roth in All About My Mother
6. Annette Bening in American Beauty
7. Elodie Bouchez in The Dreamlife of Angels
8. Franka Potente in Run Lola Run
9. Heather Donahue in The Blair Witch Project
10. Janet McTeer in Tumbleweeds

Best Supporting Actor
1. Tom Cruise in Magnolia
2. Jude Law in The Talented Mr. Ripley
3. John Malkovich in Being John Malkovich
4. Peter Sarsgaard in Boys Don't Cry
5. Philip Seymour Hoffman in Magnolia
6. Alan Rickman in Dogma
7. Christopher Plummer in The Insider
8. Wes Bentley in American Beauty
9. Philip Seymour Hoffman in The Talented Mr. Ripley
10. Jason Robards in Magnolia

Best Supporting Actress
1. Nicole Kidman in Eyes Wide Shut (the only Oscar she's ever deserved, but I'd nominate her a whole hell of a lot)
2. Toni Collette in The Sixth Sense
3. Lara Belmont in The War Zone
4. Catherine Keener in Being John Malkovich
5. Melora Walters in Magnolia (oddly enough, she appealed to me far more than Julianne, who's my #11...)
6. Cameron Diaz in Being John Malkovich
7. Chloe Sevigny in Boys Don't Cry (I hate Chloe, but she was really good here.)
8. Sarah Polley in Go
9. Mena Suvari in American Beauty (OWNED Thora Birch)
10. Jessica Lange in Titus

Best Screenplay
1. American Beauty
2. Election
3. Being John Malkovich
4. South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut
5. Fight Club
6. All About My Mother
7. The Talented Mr. Ripley
8. Three Kings
9. Go
10. The Sixth Sense

only 01, 04, and 06 to go? I kind of rule sometimes.

I miss when they were good.

Dear Kevin Spacey,
Remember the 1990s, when every performance you did was fucking gold? Your two Oscars are some of the most deserved in the Academy's history and you deserved it one more time in 1997 (L.A. Confidential), plus other nominations. But then 2000 came around and I think you were just like "I'm really tired of winning awards," and you started being in utter shit like Pay It Forward, K-PAX, and The Shipping News (along with Red Dragon, easily the movie with the best cast that all ended up being absolutely terrible - though at least Fiennes and Watson rocked in Red Dragon). I did love you in Superman Returns but I was apparently the only one, and Beyond the Sea was terrible but you were actually convincing despite being approximately 400 years older than Bobby Darin was when he died. Your next film is Fred Claus, in which, apparently, you are being billed UNDER PAUL GIAMATTI. I like Paul and everything, but he's the biggest schlump ever (and no box office draw). C'mon Kevin. Get it together now. I may let you coast on American Beauty forever, but nobody else will.
Love, me.

life-affirming masterpiece of the day

a man looks at a photo.

the camera pulls away.

gunshot. blood splatter.

a boy looks at the dead man. he's smiling.


try as i may i cannot do justice to american beauty. unlike, um, everyone else that keeps a blog on the internet, i think it's easily one of the best movies of the '90s and...ever. it's certainly a favorite. that image above is what i think of when i think cinema, honestly. it is a brilliant film. "look closer."