The first season of the long-running NYPD Blue ranks among the best television I have ever seen. After the first stellar season, an unfortunate contract dispute saw star David Caruso (now of CSI: Miami fame) leaving. At that point, there was a noticeable drop-off in the quality of the content, although the series was still more than respectable for its remaining eleven seasons–The show ran for twelve seasons in total. One of the series’ creators and writers, David Milch, would later go on to concoct the brilliant HBO show, Deadwood.

The first season of NYPD Blue is set in the no-nonsense early to mid-1990’s New York City. I believe it captures the essence and grit of that time period as well as any television show (or film for that matter). Moreover, the show avoids the tired, generic, and washed-up story lines from cop shows in the first season for an original and riveting experience. In addition to Caruso starring as the tough Detective Kelly, Dennis Franz develops one of the more memorable characters in television history: Detective Andy Sipowicz.

I highly recommend you check out the first season of NYPD Blue.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ezv2wqvfNOY

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Now twenty years old, One False Move (1992) is probably one of the more underrated films during that time span. Bill Paxton and Billy Bob Thornton (pre-Sling Blade) star in this steamy crime thriller. I would be doing it an injustice by trying to boil the plot down to one or two sentences.

Click here to watch the full trailer.

If it had not been for Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven, this would have been the best film of 1992.

Watch it.

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Regardless of whether you like to drink wine, be sure to check out Sideways (2004), starring Paul Giamatti, Thomas Haden Church, and Virginia Madsen. I consider it one of the better-made films of last decade, a solid comedy with compelling characters and themes. It almost reminded me of a film from the 1990’s, back when big screen actors and filmmakers actually took pride in developing characters and a story, rather than obsessing over 3-D special effects.

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Last year I profiled Double Indemnity (1994) in one of my earliest film recommendations since beginning this series in my blog. That classic film noir was directed by the great Billy Wilder. A few years later, Wilder would co-write and direct another brilliant noir, this time Sunset Boulevard (1950). Instead of Fred MacMurray as the lead, William Holden stars and turns in a memorable performance that earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Actor. Holden plays a struggling Hollywood screenwriter who attempts to write a silent film script for an aging star (Gloria Swanson). He then becomes her lover. As you might expect, chaos, murder, and mayhem ensue.

While the film did not win any major Oscars in 1950, it has more than stood the test of time as a bonafide masterpiece. It it right up there on many top ten all-time lists.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkWt84F7FY0

If Pulp Fiction (1994) marked John Travolta’s resurgence as a major Hollywood actor after falling into oblivion in the wake of Saturday Night Fever (1977), then his performance in Get Shorty (1995) the following year left no doubt that his swagger had returned. Based on the great Elmore Leonard’s novel, Get Shorty is mostly style, and the substance is fun enough to make this an easy view. You can tell that the cast and crew had a blast filming this, with Director Barry Sonnenfeld’s trademark blend of sharp dialogue and quirky tough guys.

The cast is absolutely loaded, with a drop-dead Rene Russo in her prime, Gene Hackman playing against type as a goofy Hollywood producer, Danny DeVito as, well, Danny DeVito, Dennis Farina as the unforgettable “Ray Bones,’ and a pre-Sopranos James Gandolfini to boot.

The soundtrack is perfectly done for this genre, a black comedy that never gets too dark.

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The “James Bond” franchise of films has been officially ongoing since 1962, when Sean Connery starred as Bond in Dr. No. Since then, the series has seen an expected ebb and flow in terms of the varying quality of films produced. I thought Pierce Brosnan did an excellent job in GoldenEye (1995), but after that he starred in three subpar Bond films through 2002.

In 2006, the lighter-haired (than usual for a Bond) Daniel Craig emerged as the latest Bond actor in Casino Royale. The entire Bond film series is based on the Ian Fleming novels, and Casino Royale was actually the first Bond novel Fleming wrote in 1952. Thus, even though the film came out in 2006, four decades after the first one, it stars a young Bond discovering the nefarious nature of his surrounding cast.

Casino Royale is an exceptional film and easily one of the best in the entire Bond series. The filmmakers did a terrific job of updating the script to modern times, without losing that trademark Bond style. If you have yet to see it, it is required viewing.

Official James Bond films

1. Dr. No (1962-Sean Connery)
2. From Russia With Love (1963-Sean Connery)
3. Goldfinger (1964-Sean Connery)
4. Thunderball (1965-Sean Connery)
5. You Only Live Twice (1967-Sean Connery)
6. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969-George Lazenby)
7. Diamonds Are Forever (1971-Sean Connery)
8. Live and Let Die (1973-Roger Moore)
9. The Man with the Golden Gun (1974-Roger Moore)
10. The Spy Who Loved Me (1977-Roger Moore)
11. Moonraker (1979-Roger Moore)
12. For Your Eyes Only (1981-Roger Moore)
13. Octopussy (1983-Roger Moore)
14. A View to a Kill (1985-Roger Moore)
15. The Living Daylights (1987-Timothy Dalton)
16. Licence to Kill (1989-Timothy Dalton)
17. GoldenEye (1995-Pierce Brosnan)
18. Tomorrow Never Dies (1997-Pierce Brosnan)
19. The World is Not Enough (1999-Pierce Brosnan)
20. Die Another Day (2002-Pierce Brosnan)
21. Casino Royale (2006-Daniel Craig)
22. Quantum of Solace (2008-Daniel Craig)
23. Skyfall (November 2012-Daniel Craig)

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