My neighbor Rick was kind enough to send me an article (published at E! Online) detailing the Broadcast Film Critics Association's "Top-10 Films of the 1990's." That group, made up of TV and radio film critics (ranging from the likes of Roger Ebert to Joe Filmreviewer in Podunk, KY), came up with the following list:

While I agree with a few of their choices, I have a different take on many of these films.

I would never put "Schindler's List" on my list. Way too depressing! Films should have at least a little escape element to them. I'm glad it was made, because there are ignorant screwballs out there who doubt or under-estimate the cruelty of the Nazis, but I saw "Holocaust" on TV and that's all the reenactment of that tragedy I'll ever need to see.

"Thin Red Line" was way better than "Private Ryan." People were overawed by the fact that Spielberg did it and the great effects, especially the soundtrack of the opening scene (in a good theater, it felt like the D-Day invasion surrounded you). "Thin Red Line's" story was much deeper and more meaningful and, rather than overwhelm you with amazing battle sequences, it gets you with a tragic story of heroism. "Private Ryan" still makes my list, at #10.

I put "Apollo 13" in the top-10 because it was a good recreation of a near-forgotten brush with disaster. In my humble opinion, astronauts struggling to get back to earth a lot more exciting than, for instance, foolish people caught in bad weather on Mount Everest (foolish because they don't belong up there).

"Goodfellas" and "Pulp Fiction" rated higher in my list. I think "Goodfellas" is one of the best movies ever made, definitely the best gangster flick, far outshines the "Godfather" films. "Pulp Fiction" was so fresh and different when it came out. Like I imagine "The Hustler" was in its day.

The wife and I rented "Fargo" when it came out on tape, all excited about how cool it would be. We both fell asleep. That's the most tedious movie! These guys peaked with "Raising Arizona," which certainly would make my "Top Films of the 1980's" list.

"Shawshank" is another bad one. Tremendous Stephen King story, from what I think is by far his best work, "Different Seasons." ("Stand By Me" is based on "The Body" from that collection of 4 novellas). Yet, Tim Robbins managed to make this great story over-long and ponderous and, ultimately, boring.

Also, "Forrest Gump" would make my bottom-10 list of all time. How annoying is Forrest after about 10 minutes? Who wants to watch a celebration of a guy who should be on the Darwin list?

On my list, I put one of the Jerry Bruckheimer action-fests (as indicative of 90's big-budget muscle films), probably "The Rock." Maybe "Con Air."

Also, if you're going to include a mass-popular feelgood flick (done by the critics with "Gump"), I'd use "Titanic." The first half is a sappy chick-flick, but once that boat starts sinking, it's all action movie! Some of my friends suggested "True Lies" as a better example of James Cameron's expertise. I disagree but have added that one to my honorable mentions.

So here's Tom's top-10:

Honorable mentions:

I'm not sure there will be 10 great flicks made in the next 10 years. We're moving away from creativity at the big studios and all the best minds are working on little films with little budget and odd-ball story lines. It's like everyone's doing Bauhaus furniture version of movies. Meanwhile, since the big studios are left with 2nd-rate talent to spend their billions, they put out loud, annoying, crappy schlock.

We saw exactly 4 films in the theater last year (and wanted to walk out on 2 of them). Nearly everything we've rented in the last 6 months has been a disappointment, justifying our flight from the popcorn. So I've turned to older flicks, which are only somewhat satisfying in most cases, mainly because of their slow pace and primitive production values. Most pleasant surprise: "The Day The Earth Stood Still" and "Manchurian Candidate." Most disappointing: "Hud" (how could a well-filmed, action-filled movie with tough-guy Paul Newman be boring? I don't know but it was).