Nifty Nineties: The Best 90 Minute Films (Flubberghast #4)

UPDATE
During the first week of May, my house was broken into and my laptop was stolen, along with all of my writing materials, including future posts for this blog and a schedule of what to post when. However, the stories and poetry that I lost depressed me, and so while working an internship over the summer, I have been suffering tremendous writer's block due to the lack of motivation. However, after 3 months, I think that I'm finally ready to begin again, even if only a little at a time. Bear with me; I always appreciate when even just 5 people read what I write. You're awesome for being patient!


ARTICLE
Anyways, the purpose of this newest blog is to analyze a new trend: the loss of patience. With frenetic cartoons like SpongeBob, video games that require quick responses, short viral videos on YouTube, and a constant stream of news and information thanks to the internet, I think we all can agree that our attention spans haven't been this short since the early days of civilization in caves, painting walls and screaming at each other and constantly fighting for survival. Gone are the days that audiences poured into theaters to watch 3-4 hour epics with intermissions such as Spartacus, Gone with the Wind, and Casablanca. Today, moviegoers either want tons of action (see Marvel movies, Transformers movies and their ridiculous financial success) or something with a fast story. Personally, a movie that runs between 2-2.5 hours is the perfect length for me, with exceptions on either end of that range. But let's make a compromise: what if I chose movies with less of that hyperactivity, but a short run time? Yes? Sound good? Great, so let's get going with my ten favorite films with a run time of 90 minutes (give or take 15 minutes):



10. Enemy
How would you react if you suddenly found someone who looked exactly like you? If your dreams were filled with visions of spiders lurking in the dark, plotting something sinister? Enemy explores this all within a run time of exactly 90 minutes, and has intrigued me ever since. Jake Gyllenhaal reteams with director Denis Villeneuve from Prisoners to create a thrilling and tense mystery that messes with your mind in the same way that Shutter Island and Memento did. This film continues to be my favorite of 2014 thus far, and it's really not even that close. If you want to learn more about this doppelganger story, just go read my review for why you SHOULD see it.







9. My Big Fat Greek Wedding
The ultimate romcom of the Aughts still continues to entertain me, mixing lost-in-translation humor with all of the complexity of a modern family, especially a large one! When worlds collide between Toula's enormous Greek family and Ian's single-child American family, the sparks fly and boundaries are shattered. Nia Vardolos rewrites her own life story and then stars in the lead role of this Oscar-nominated screenplay that shows us part of what it's like to be a Greek woman caught between today's society and her culture's expectations. Clocking in at 95 minutes, it wastes no time and moves right along and SHOULD be viewed multiple times.


8. Hunger
After having 12 Years a Slave win Best Picture in my own version of the 2013 Oscars (accurately predicting the outcome, ha!), I had to delve into the other two films of director Steve McQueen's. Although Shame was too strong for me, McQueen's debut film completely blew me away. The cinematography and directing were absolutely phenomenal, telling a very complex story about Bobby Sands, an IRA prisoner in 80's UK, in almost no words, using the visual and the physical to tell us his story. Although the first 30 minutes were a little tough to get through, the final hour of this 92 minute gem are absolutely perfect, including a 17 minute conversation between Michael Fassbender (love him) as Bobby Sands and a priest that was taken with only one camera shot, uncut. You SHOULD see this great work of art, which I was able to borrow on Blu Ray from the library.


7. Toy Story
Ha, and you thought that all of these films would be dramas or just adult-oriented! The movie that started it all in Pixar's magical run of films clocks in at 80 minutes, which is far shorter than I remember it being as a child. This heartwarming story of a toy cowboy who has to deal with jealousy and abandonment issues as a new astronaut toy is introduced to the clan will always hold a special place in my heart. Let it be known that this is also Tim Allen's best movie, easily, not even close (don't even bring up The Santa Clause). In an era that didn't have Best Animated Feature at the Oscars yet, Toy Story was nominated for three, Original Score, Original Song (You've Got a Friend in Me), and Original Screenplay (FACT: Joss Whedon was one of those writers, of Marvel's Avengers and Firefly directorial fame). I'd be very surprised if anyone hasn't seen this already, but just in case, you DEFINITELY SHOULD.





6. The Nightmare Before Christmas
This creepy and wonderful delight of an animated film still sets the bar for stop-animation films today, and Tim Burton will live forever in its Visual-Effects-Oscar-nominated shadow. With a 76 minute length, it just barely meets my requirements, but it also represents the only musical in my entire list (sorry, Frozen fans, now's your time to hit Control-W), but man, does it represent! When Jack Skellington grows tired of ruling Halloween Town, he takes it upon himself to replace Santa for one Christmas Eve, forever fusing the two holidays in creative and new ways. Full of beautiful music from Danny Elfman and genuine story that will shock you with its warmth, I can't settle with anything less than saying that everyone but small children DEFINITELY SHOULD watch this classic.



HONORABLE MENTIONS
With a good mix of animation, romances, comedies, dramas and children's films, I know that if you enjoy the list so far, you will for the next half. But before my top 5, I want to take this time to mention some other Nifty Nineties that didn't quite make the cut:

Monsters, Inc., Blazing Saddles, Gravity, Gojira, Elf, WALL-E, The Killing, Mulan, Toy Story 2, Up, Spaceballs, Toy Story 3, and Antz.

If one of your favorite films is in that list and you now hate me, I'm sorry, but please continue through the list! For the record, this was a very bold undertaking, since I now risk the couch treatment for the next two weeks (Up is my wife's favorite film of all time... yeah). Onwards!



5. Fantastic Mr. Fox
Wes Anderson managed to sneak his way onto this list with his quirky and fun stop-animated film about a clever fox who goes up against a trio of evil farmers, bringing his own nature and commitment to his family into question. In a movie that celebrates the differences and uniqueness that we all have, I cannot applaud George Clooney enough for his voicework as the eponymous Mr. Fox, with his trademark suave mixed with Anderson's trademark bizarreness. Although Nightmare Before Christmas set a goal for all stop-animation movies, Fantastic Mr. Fox dashed it apart in an equal fashion, combining the lovable with the odd within 87 minutes. I know a lot of people missed this Oscar-nominated wonder (ironically enough, losing both of its nominations, Animated Feature and Original Score, to Up...), so I won't hold back when I state that you DEFINITELY SHOULD see it!

4. Finding Nemo
Apparently animation dominates the Nifty Nineties, since they make up half of my list. But they are all well deserved, including this gorgeous masterpiece of CGI. When Marlin's only son, Nemo, gets kidnapped by a well-meaning dentist for his aquarium, Marlin must embark on a timeless adventure that takes us deep into the depths of the ocean, wrapping us in its beauty. As one of the greatest all time achievements in animation, or cinematic art of any medium for that matter, Finding Nemo won Best Animated Feature, as well as being nominated for Original Score, Original Screenplay, and Sound Editing during the Academy Awards. With so many wonderful characters and memorable moments, it's a wonder that they were able to fit it all within 100 minutes, and just within my own range. Everyone, young and old, DEFINITELY SHOULD watch this movie over and over again despite its relative darkness.

3. Monty Python and the Holy Grail
So since I dropped Spaceballs and Blazing Saddles off of this list, you must have expected me to forget this classic as well, huh? Not at all! With only 92 minutes of run time, the humor never stops in this comedy for the ages from John Cleese, Terry Gilliam and Co. Who could ever forget the Knights Who Say Ni, the Black Knight, or the Holy Hand Grenade? What's your favorite color, and how fast does a swallow fly (African or European?)? So, so many brilliant moments that I will never forget about King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table as they journey to attain the Holy Grail in hilarious fashion. Once you decide to pull yourself out of that dark cave that I assume you've been inhabiting since you haven't seen this, you DEFINITELY SHOULD buy or rent this film and watch it.



INTERLUDE
And now we reach the final two movies of my list, that I really had a horribly tough time with ordering. These could honestly be interchangeable, but as it stands, for the sake of my number-oriented OCD (kinda), here is numbers 1 and 2, and the greatest Nifty Nineties of all time:



2. Dr. Strangelove: or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
There really is nothing quite like watching Slim Pickens rodeo down on a nuclear bomb that will activate the ultimate doomsday machine that will end all life on earth. In this black-and-white classic from Stanley Kubrick, a crazy general (played wonderfully by George C. Scott) decides to bomb the USSR because they keep poisoning our water and taking away our fertility. Chocked full of enough satire to make Twain and Chaucer chuckle in their graves, this 94 minute masterpiece received four Oscar nominations including Best Picture, Best Director, and Adapted Screenplay. But the Best Actor-nominated Peter Sellers turns in the greatest comedic performance of all time, playing the President of the United States, a British officer, and the ex-Nazi Dr. Strangelove. He plays all three roles perfectly and keeps all scenes not containing Slim Pickens interesting. With an overall political message that can still easily be applied to today (just replace USSR with Russia or North Korea and bam, you've got it), Stanley Kubrick's only comedy still reigns as one of the kings among them all, and DEFINITELY SHOULD be seen by more mature audiences.


1. The Iron Giant
A giant man-like robot crashes into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Maine. A little boy helps him to hide and eat. A government agent of the 50's searches hysterically for the possible doom machine, labeling it a potential Commie menace during an era of Cold War paranoia. In a film that teaches us that we are who we choose to be, this deserves extra recognition for being the only movie in my list that made me cry, and ultimately decided its place on my list. As the final of 5 animated children's movies to appear here, its beautiful animation, touching story and complete honesty still get me every time, making this forever a classic of the 50's-styled children's adventures. Did I mention that Vin Diesel does what he does best: speak in three-word sentences with a deep voice? Regardless, my favorite moment:

You stay. I go. No following.
*flies into sky to face nuke*
I'm Superman.

Gives me chills every single time. We all DEFINITELY SHOULD enjoy this adventure whenever we can. And with that, I conclude my list. I know I can never make everyone happy, but I hope that you enjoyed reading it. I will do my best to start writing again, and I have enjoyed writing this blog tremendously. Have a great weekend!