The Year in Review- 1994

   It was the year Tom Hanks made history as a Southern fried simpleton and Tarantino gave John Travolta's career(and the entire film industry) a shot of adrenaline. There was a bomb on a bus, a cartoon lion was King and Jim Carrey became the new king of comedy. Cruise and Pitt were hunky vampires, Mickey and Mallory were every bit as bloodthirtsy and a lifelong bond was forged behind prison walls. Here are the ten best films in order for 1994.

1. "Forrest Gump"(1994)
Tom Hanks was unquestionably THE actor of the '90s. You'd be hard-pressed to find any actor at ANY time that had a better run than Hanks did during the Clinton era. From 1992-2002, he didn't make one false step, and the clearest illustration of his infinite likability is this seminal crowd-pleaser. He's simply magical in a role that I can't imagine anyone else pulling off with nearly the same results(everyone forgets what a risky proposition this character was). I'm surprised that so many misread the true intention of Robert Zemeckis and Eric Roth's adapted screenplay. It's not about politics, or U.S. history, or special effects, or the mentally challenged. This wholesome, heartwarming fable is simply metaphor for life and how luck plays a greater role in shaping our destiny than most of us care to admit. "Gump" was a genuine phenomenon that dominated the summer '94 box office, gave us several immortal catchphrases and won the Oscars for Best Picture, Actor, and Director(Zemeckis). And the only reason anybody has a problem with that is because it beat the next two movies on this list.

2. "Pulp Fiction"(1994)
Quentin Tarantino's landmark crime drama is still a joy to behold. Hugely inventive and influential, this mesmerizing tale marked the true arrival of it's brash writer-director who'd spent the previous two years kick-starting the indie film movement, breaking all the rules of conventional cinema and taking Hollywood by storm. QT became a rock star following the release of "PF" with a rash of imitators trying(and failing) to replicate his signature style. In Tarantino-land, literally anything CAN and WILL happen. Fading superstars John Travolta and Bruce Willis were completely reinvigorated in career-saving comeback roles, while previous bit players Samuel L. Jackson and Uma Thurman became household names. It lost at the Oscars. It doesn't matter. This film may define the '90s more than any other.

3. "The Shawshank Redemption"(1994)
Director Frank Darabont's touching prison drama, based on the Stephen King novella, about the friendship between two convicts(Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman) is a rare and interesting case. This story of hope and the survival of the human spirit under harsh conditions bombed at the box office, yet near-constant airings on basic cable have transformed this modest underdog in the '94 Oscar race into a huge favorite. It's since been called one of the greatest movies of all time. Now, I'm not trying to dispute it's lofty place in pop culture, but I'm begging for a little perspective here. How many 'great' films have the voters on IMDB actually seen? I love "Shawshank", it's a classic, it's also #3 on this list(below "Gump" and "Pulp", mind you). Somebody had to bring it down a couple notches.

4. "The Lion King"(1994)
"Hakuna Matata!" Disney's old-school animation Renassaince(1989-1999) definitely peaked with this wildly popular tale of a lion cub's coming-of-age, that came in a close second to "Forrest Gump" in a fiercely-competitive summer movie season. It's a grand spectacle that thoroughly entertained children and adults alike with humor, lush hand-drawn visuals, and Oscar-winning music by Hans Zimmer, Tim Rice, and Elton John. The large and talented voice cast includes Mathew Broderick, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Jeremy Irons, Whoopi Goldberg, James Earl Jones, Moira Kelly, Nathan Lane, Robert Guillaume, and Cheech Marin.

5. "Speed"(1994)
It was a sad day for Sly and Arnold when slender stud Keanu Reeves was embraced as an action star. "Point Break" paved the way for daredevil SWAT cop Jack Traven to race around Los Angeles to stop the diabolical Dennis Hopper from terrorizing the city with his innovative use of explosives. It may be "Die Hard" on a bus, but the rip-roaring directorial debut of veteran cinematographer Jan De Bont is brilliant in it's simplicity and execution. A strong argument could be made that "Speed" did even more for Sandra Bullock than it did for Reeves, as she maximized her plucky girl next door persona to challenge Julia Roberts as America's Sweetheart. Don't let that unfortunate sequel cloud your judgment. This is one of the best rides of the decade.

6. "Ed Wood"(1994)
It's ironic that Tim Burton's affectionate look at the 'worst director of all time', turned out to be the best film of his eight collaborations with his favorite leading man Johnny Depp. Burton focuses on Wood's eccentricities and unwarranted belief in his own talents, as he fought to produce a string of increasingly dire horror films in the 1950s such as "Glen or Glenda?" and "Plan 9 From Outer Space". Depp enthusiastically attacks the title role, while Martin Landau took home the Best Supporting Actor Oscar as Bela Lugosi, the aging, washed-up star of Wood's most infamous productions. Sarah Jessica Parker, Patricia Arquette, Jeffrey Jones, and Bill Murray also appear in this black-and-white homage to a true cult hero.

7. "Quiz Show"(1994)
The smart, well-acted historical drama chronicling the game show scandal of the late 1950s remains a vastly underrated directorial effort by Robert Redford. It had the misfortune of getting released in the midst of the heated battle between "Gump" and "Pulp" and will probably never experience a belated "Shawshank"-style love fest, but that doesn't mean that it's not a damn fine film. John Turturro is the bookish contestant that blows the whistle on the crooked producers who asked him to take a dive in favor of the more handsome, charismatic Ralph Fiennes which ultimately lead to a congressional investigation and one of the first major controversies in the annals of television.

"Thanks, but I'm gonna have to pass on that Scientology Center invite".

8. "Interview with the Vampire"(1994)
Long before "Twilight" cast a spell on a generation of preteen girls, the two heavyweight heartthrobs pictured above were the best known vampires to hit the big screen. Author Anne Rice strongly objected to the casting of the normally clean cut Cruise as her literary creation, the seductive bloodsucker Lestat. That was until she saw the movie. Tom more than did the role justice, and passed celluloid immortality unto his rapidly rising co-star Brad Pitt, but they're both nearly upstaged by Kirsten Dunst, who never bettered her performance as child vampire Claudia. With a cast this good(Christian Slater and Antonio Banderas are thrown in for good measure), Neil Jordan's stylish thriller goes for the throat.

9. "True Lies"(1994)
Arnold Schwarzenegger's last solid hit for a long while came courtesy of the man who made him a box office giant in the first place- action extraordinaire James Cameron. Before he became obsessed with the ocean, the soon-to-be King of the World wrote and directed another mega-budgeted extravaganza with his "Terminator" star and the public ate it up. Humor was an integral ingredient in this Bond-style adventure(Tom Arnold and Bill Paxton are both hilarious) and the transformation of Jamie Lee Curtis from oblivious wife to sexy sidekick can't be understated. Her hotel-room striptease ranks as high as any explosive set-piece.