movies to see: Oscar winners from the 90s

Still to see:

No way! I’ve actually seen them all! I can hardly believe it myself …

Already saw:

1999 – American Beauty. Definitely a winner in my book.

1998 – Shakespeare in Love. This must have been a wicked tough year for the judges! I was pulling for Life is Beautiful that year, which at least won for Best Foreign Film, and Benigni won Best Actor. But I did also really like Shakespeare in Love, Elizabeth, and of course Saving Private Ryan.

1997 – Titanic. Definitely a good movie, but a bit too Hollywood-y for my tastes. I would have picked the much more Bostonian (a-hem) Good Will Hunting, which grabbed Best Original Screenplay.

1996 – The English Patient. Can you say “barf”? Or perhaps more appropriately “gag”? To this date, I have not seen a movie with that woman (Kristin Scot Thomas, barf) or that man (Ralph Fiennes, gag) which has not made me barf or gag. A much better movie in my opinion was Fargo (you knoooow?).

1995 – Braveheart. OK, this was a good one. Nice historical picture with a ton of action. But of course I was pulling for the much more literary Il Postino, based on the exile of Pablo Neruda.

1994 – Forrest Gump. I’m not denying this was good. But a bit too schmalzy for my tastes. I much preferred Pulp Fiction. My favorite line: “But bacon tastes GOOD.” (10 points if you know which character said that)

1993 – Schindler’s List. Finally, one that should have won! Enough said.

1992 – Unforgiven. Way to go, Clint! Another very deserving movie that actually won.

1991 – The Silence of the Lambs. No way! I actually didn’t remember that this one won. A thriller – how thrilling! This movie scared me silly, but of course, I’m a major wimp in that department. But looking at the other choices, I don’t see that there was much of anything better that year, so I’d have to agree.

1990 – Dances With Wolves. Tough call. This was good, but I was pulling for Good Fellas, which is, after all, one of the best gangster movies of all time (although I now have a softer spot for The Departed).