Ben Affleck‘s first time behind the camera as a director comes in this adaptation of a novel by Dennis Lehane in a screenplay he also wrote brings with it immense critical praise which is well-deserved. Casey Affleck plays Patrick Kenzie, a private detective familiar with the streets and neighborhoods of Boston, living with his girlfriend and partner Angie Gennaro (Michelle Monaghan).

Lucky Number Slevin can be seen almost as an adaptation of Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest from a more modern perspective with the clever, witty rapid speech of very early films.  The director Paul McGuigan seems to have made this adaptation work, and work very well at that.

Goofy and ridiculous would be an apt description of The Contract, the 2006 thriller starring Morgan Freeman as Frank Carden and John Cusack as Ray Keene, directed by Bruce Beresford.  This is a very interesting mix of absolutely ridiculous plot points, cliches, and poor writing to prevent the good cast line-up from living up to their potential.  Carden is the leader of a mercenary team comprised of ex-military individuals who are all doing their parts to perpetuate the cliched view of such individuals as wise-cracking, tough guys constantly fighting for respect.

Let me begin by saying that yes, there are many additional indie movies which were great in the 1990s. This is a list of what I consider to be the best ten of the decade, ranked according to their greatness. You’re welcome to disagree with titles on this list, omissions, rankings, or anything else, but choices and rankings had to be made and I made them. That said, here they are….

The second entry in my Great Directors series profiles David Fincher, director of Se7en and Fight Club, among others.  David Fincher’s directorial style seems to always incorporate novel approaches to film-making. When a film’s plot requires a gritty, realistic, but depressing feeling to it Fincher is able to deliver all of that with his directorial skill, as he had to do in making Se7en.   He is similar to Jean-Pierre Jeunet in his command of the visual elements and editing of a film to achieve his goals, but Fincher’s movies are far different than Jeunet’s.