by John Walters

Heavy scribbling day today so we’ll just do the cinema stuff and save the rest for tomorrow. Questions? Call the Complaint Dept. at 1-800-SUSIE-BE

Five Films: 1993

1. Groundhog Day: We walked in hoping for another satisfying Bill Murray comedy and walked out realizing we’d just been given a lesson on life and how to live it (hint: We’re all living the same day over and over…only the scenery changes). You could spend a week in a Philosophy 101 course dissecting this film. It’s incredible. Always wondered how they came to choose “I Got You, Babe” as the wake-up tune. 2. Schindler’s List: We watched this last year for the first time since it was first release and came away far more impressed. Liam Neeson and Ben Kingsley are both fantastic, but it’s the performance by then-unknown Ralph Fiennes as the sadistic, sociopathic concentration camp commandant that takes it to another level. 3. In The Line of Fire: Maybe this was the year of epic supporting actor performances. This may be my favorite Clint Eastwood film, but it’s John Malkovich as the creeper wannabe assassin that gives you goose bumps. 4. Dazed And Confused: As a child of the Seventies, I can only look on in awe on how many of the details Richard Linklater got right here. Plus, there’s a bounty of burgeoning young Hollywood talent here besides Matthew McConaughey: Ben Affleck, Anthony Rapp, Adam Goldberg, Joey Lauren Adams, Miller Jovovich, Parker Posey and of course, Tim Lincecum. Strange that the film’s star, Jason London, never made it really big. He had all the tools. 5. A Bronx Tale: Sort of a PG-version of Goodfellas, but Chazz Palmientieri and Robert De Niro do the story justice. The kid’s really terrific, too. What ever became of him?

Almost but not quite: The Fugitive, Jurassic Park.

Still haven’t seen: True Romance, The Sandlot