“Flores! Flores para los muertos!” – Quick Change
Someone said the next Bond should be a woman – imagine he car explosions and wrecks, and that’s just when she’s parking.
Movies. I grew up with them – it was where I took my girlfriend on a Friday night before we went to the pizza place and then, um, drove to look at the stars. I once took a date to go see one of those graves that have a constant natural gas torch, but it turns out that is a bad idea – you should never take a date to go see an old flame.
But more than Friday night fun, movies were our cultural mythology. As man 20,000 years ago told stories around the fire to establish and share the history of the tribe, our history was told with movies. In essence, movies and television became our campfire, our shared cultural experience. When people say that the United States has no culture, or is guilty of cultural appropriation, they’re wrong and I want to punch them. But I can’t, because I’m not Irish.
As our shared culture, however, movies have always had a huge power to change our minds. As propaganda, they changed our culture, many times not for the better. Movies were also a huge opportunity to change our culture, change our lives, nearly as much as early metallurgy – after all, those who smelt it, dealt it.
I hear when you eat aluminum, you sheet metal.
I used the term “were our mythology” intentionally. The world has changed. The ‘Rona took movies and fragmented them further. Now, to see a big movie you can still go to the theater, but streaming now allows people to focus on narrow interests. Heck, even Putin watches Nyetflix®.
At work, unless we have the same streaming service, we’re not watching the same things. Better Call Saul? I asked people sitting at a table today if they’d seen it. No one had. It’s a gem, and probably the best thing on television today. But no one else had seen it.
There went a shared conversation, a shared moment.
And, like I said, movies are fragmented and not a part of common culture. Why was no one watching the Oscars®? Because no one cares. The Academy Awards® don’t reflect anything about America anymore, since the moves . . . suck. Even as late as four or six years ago, the movies were better. Now, many are simply unwatchable mainly because many have been infected with “woke” culture.
So, for today’s post, I thought I’d go back into history, to the 1990s. Why? It’s my blog. And movies in the 1990s were far more fun than movies today.
I tried to research LGBT stuff, but I couldn’t get a straight answer.
I’ll say that I tried to pick movies that weren’t propaganda, but were, rather, just fun. So, without any further nonsense, here are my favorite movies of the 1990s, year by year. I probably missed some, but this is the list I’m going with at 1am.
The structure? My favorite movie in each year. My criteria? The one that mattered to me. So, let’s get into the time machine and hit. . .
1990:
Quick Change.
I’m a sucker for Bill Murray. I even watched him in Razor’s Edge, which made me think of Peter Venkman from Ghostbusters as a hollowed-out shell of a man after World War I. Yeah. That movie didn’t work at all. That being said? Quick Change is funny. It has monster trucks, a heist, and mistaken identity.
In a (very) distant second place is Joe Versus The Volcano. Tom Hanks wasn’t so serious, and there was a quirky fun with watching him go to work – we’ve all had that job. Would I recommend it or change channels to watch it? No. But I do remember it. Hula girls, unite.
1991:
1991 was a MUCH better year for movies. Hands down, Silence of the Lambs wins. It’s tense. It’s 100% related to the book, and Hopkins and Foster never have had better roles. Ever. This is obviously a movie that couldn’t be made today because the character that was the baddy was a mentally deranged person. You know the plot. It’s a movie that you can watch once and the writing is branded into your brain, and it’s perfectly cast, perfectly delivered.
I guess we now understand what Biden’s Assistant Secretary for Health was doing in the 1990s.
In second place is Hudson Hawk. I am, perhaps, the only person besides The Mrs. that loves this awful, awful movie. It’s campy. It’s silly. The premise? Ludicrous. Whatever. I loved the stupid movie.
1992:
Reservoir Dogs was amazing, though I didn’t see it until 1994. Wow. There are no reservoirs or dogs in the movie, but despite that, the movie is amazing. It is (perhaps) Tarantino’s best movie. The acting and pacing and tension are amazing.
As honorable mention is . . . My Cousin Vinny. I rewatched it last year with Pugsley, and it was a hoot. Perry Mason crossed with Green Acres. When a movie hinges on the cooking time of grits? Good stuff.
1993:
Army of Darkness is campy fun. Okay, it’s really like the Three Stooges meets H.P. Lovecraft. If that sounds good, watch it. If you hate either of those things? Run. Really. It’s a movie I love because it’s horribly stupid cosmic horror. It also has multiple endings, depending on the version you watch. I can’t pick which one I like best, but I don’t have to.
Honorable mention? Demolition Man. Which isn’t a great movie, but 1993 wasn’t a great year for movies. It takes place in 2032 after Political Correctness takes over the United States. It is not a good movie, but it is fun.
1994:
I would pick Pulp Fiction but I’ve already picked a Tarantino movie so instead I’ll pick Pulp Fiction. I believe this is the only movie on the list where a co-worker said, “Oh, you’re the guy from Pulp Fiction.” Which character was I compared to? The Wolf. That’s me, when I’m at my best.
Mmmm. Good coffee.
I can’t believe this movie isn’t older, but honorable mention is . . . The Crow. If you’re gonna die after one movie, this is the one. Brandon Lee did an amazing job, and the movie would have made him a star, if Alec Baldwin hadn’t been in charge of props that day.
1995:
Wow. I had a big list. 1995 had a raft of great movies. I’m going to pick a movie I hated the first time I watched it: In the Mouth of Madness. In the Mouth of Madness wasn’t what I expected, but every time I watch it, it gets better. Sam Neil in a Lovecraftian (see a pattern yet?) horror by John Carpenter? Yeah.
I have five other movies on my list from 1995. I’m going to pick 12 Monkeys. 12 Monkeys is weird. It bends reality because it involves time travel if Monty Python designed the universe. It’s not funny. It’s also the first time I saw Brad Pitt, and I definitely can’t get the charge nurse to make it yesterday.
1996:
Mystery Science Theater 3000, The Movie. That would mean something if my hands were made of metal.
Hamlet, honorable mention. Mel Gibson chews the scenery as the mad prince of Denmark. Alas, Yorick, I won’t give any spoilers, since this plot is only 400 years old.
Reminder – never go on another vacation with Sam Neil.
1997:
Event Horizon. Sam Neil. Check. Lovecraftian. Check. Yup, I’m a junkie. This is not an easy movie to watch, and the story of how they made it is hilarious – they did second unit filming on weekends when the executives weren’t watching and that’s when they filmed all the disturbing stuff. Not for kids. I mean, not for your kids. Mine are made of sterner stuff. Also, Sam Neil is known around our house as The Evil Sam Neil.
Second place? Fallen. I liked it. It’s a one-trick movie, but I enjoyed the one trick.
1998:
So, this is a tie. Vampire$, which is a great movie with guys who hunt vampires for money directed by John Carpenter and BASEketball, which is (early) South Park mixed with Airplane. It was too tough – but if I had to pick one I’d pick BASEketball because it is so very stupid.
It was losing the truck that really made them mad.
An honorable mention is: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. It’s rough, but so is the original source material. Johnny Depp captured the manic intensity of Hunter S. Thompson, but my guess is that’s what Johnny Depp is really like, 24 hours a day. Beware of bat country.
1999:
The best year on the list, easily. Bowfinger. Galaxy Quest. The Matrix (wish they made a sequel, right?). Office Space. Fight Club. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. I’m not picking. Of these, though, I’d probably (if I had to pick one to watch tonight) pick Fight Club or Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, but that’s probably just my mood tonight.
The 1990s was a decade before The Narrative took over, and you can tell – the movies themselves were more innocent than today. We’ll look at more decades in future months – you can bet the 1980s had the best teen comedies. Better Off Dead, anyone?
So, what did I miss? Which movies from the 1990s had the biggest impact on you (assuming you’re not Johnny Depp)?
Mystery Science Theatre 3000; man I love that. Their sarcastic wit just struck a cord with me. My favorite line from “This Island Earth” was when Crow says, “Hey, Mike, you think you can toss me my calculations? Thanks! Ah, here it is. “Breach Hull – All Die.” Even had it underlined.
Also, Better Off Dead…I want my two dollars!
Better Off Dead was 1985, half of a bookend pair along with One Crazy Summer by “Savage” Steve Holland, which showcased the comedy genius of John Cusack, and marks him as one of the greatest unfulfilled movie talents of all time to always fall short of his potential and consistently underachieve.
His agent(s) should be shot before a live audience.
“Savage” Steve Holland made amazing movies. I agree 100% about Cusack.
Hey John … is this your favorite flick?
“Hunt for he Wilderpeople”https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4698684/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
I really enjoyed that one. Wilder plus Sam Neill? Perfection.
Yup, Better Off Dead will make a return when we go back to the 1980s . . . .
John, i like your list but some I loved are:
Fargo
The big Lebowski (a neighbor is the spitting image of him)
saving private ryan
Schindlers list
the sixth sense.
I wouldnt bump any of yours but these are in my top 10 ever. I will stop and watch any of these if i come across them on the tube.
Chris
Fargo was close. Schindler’s List? I didn’t see much, I was making out with my date during that one.
I’ll admit I had to look at a list of movies made in the 90s to be sure of dates, and some I’ve only seen on video, but the ones that struck me, besides the ones you listed were
Schindler’s list- devastating in the theatre. “I release you”
The Birdcage- maybe Robin Williams’ best film, Nathan Lane is awesome
Hook- still a favorite. “I’m not a pirate, I’m a lawyer!” “KILL THE LAWYER!”
Shawshank Redemption
Babe- “That’ll do pig.”
Goodfellas
Pretty Woman
Home Alone !!!
Groundhog Day
Lion King
Toy Story
Matilda – Devito and wife at one of their peaks and very sweet
Galaxy Quest-
There were some meme movies that I saw but didn’t become a part of my life but did become part of the zeitgeist
Mrs Doubtfire
Forrest Gump
And a whole bunch of others that I didn’t see, but also became cultural markers, kinda surprising to me how many actually. I think because I was a child of the 80s and working in Hollywood in the early 90s. No money, no social life, no movies. My date nights at the movies were in the 80s.
n
Nick, Groundhog Day was a “how did I miss that one . . . ” Galaxy Quest was on the list, it was a pretty good year when that one came out.
Although many of those are good, some are those are now overkilled for me (Home Alone, for example).
And two, I’ve never seen . . . I’ll look ’em up.
I guess Bridges Of Madison County only because that’s right after I met my wife and it was the first movie we went to see together. It was her birthday and I bought her the book and a pair of tickets for the movie. I guess that was the moment she realized she had a “keeper” on her hands.
Great story! I skipped that one, because I felt it was a low probablilty that Clint would kill anyone . . . .
I am very disappointed that Galaxy Quest is the only Star Trek movie on your list.
Opie Odd
Galaxy Quest is the best Star Trek movie.
It’s the best Star Trek of the 1990s, though I liked most of the original cast movies, a bit less so with the TNG cast.
Jurassic Park. I love Michael Crichton. Spielberg still had his fastball. A truly Holy Sh!t moment for movies. JP changed how movies were made. You could argue for the worse and I would lead that argument. But, on its own, a historic movie.
It had several great lines, and the velociraptors were very well done, along with Samuel L. Jackson right before he got famous. Good movie.
Matrix, Pulp Fiction and Ryan are certainly the top three for the 90s. An underrated Tarantino from the 90s I enjoyed was Jackie Brown. I gotta say, however, that not a lot of movies from this era really stuck with me. I think of PF and Matrix as Memorable Classics, of course, and to that list I would add Spielberg vehicles Saving Private Ryan, Schindler’s List and Jurassic Park. I am very fond of Clint’s movie Unforgiven. Second tier movies to me would be Shawshank Redemption, Green Mile, True Lies, Fargo and Rounders,
But…say hello to my little friend, who ya gonna call, where we’re goinn we don’t need roads, inconceivable, here’s Johnny, why did it have to be snakes, ho-ho-ho, Kaaaaahn, nuke from orbit, I am your father? Give me the 80s any day over the 90s.
I was a bit disappointed by Jackie Brown, perhaps I was expecting more after Reservior Dogs and Pulp Fiction. The Mrs. would certainly agree on The Unforgiven.
1980s next! In a month or two.
John –
Jurassic Park (not that it was life changing, but it was entertaining – and surpassed every one of its sequels).
Galaxy Quest, which may be the best send up of Science Fiction and fandom ever.
The 13th Warrior (Another Michael Crichton; I still enjoy it to this day: “Lo, there do I see my Father. Lo, there do I see my mother and my sisters and my brothers. Lo, there do I see the line of my people back to the beginning.”).
Sense and Sensibility – My introduction to the English Romance movie and Jane Austen movies. This was a very gentle movie and I remember it fondly.
Toy Story – Really novel for its time; my enjoyment of which is now somewhat dimmed.
“The 13th Warrior” was painful to watch. Well written, well acted, but the complete stupidity of the prop department ruined it for me.
Seriously, at the supposed time-period of T13W, the Scandinavians were all making quite excellent steel and iron/steel weapons. And the armor is typical ‘Fake Norsker’ crap.
Yes, that ruins it for me. Like the Scots in “Braveheart.” Should have been wearing tunics and tights or pants and wearing the same or better armor than the English.
I really enjoyed the 13th Warrior – very well done. I gave The Mrs. a blanket with that phrase on it for Christmas this year.
Jane Asten, a writere barely alive, we can rebuild her, we can make her better . . .
Yeah, I’m likewise over Toy Story.
“Pulp Fiction” is the most overrated film of all time.
Come at me.
You’re wrong.
You certainly don’t have to like it, but by any standard other than “What Maniac Likes”, It’s not even in the Top 10,000 Most Overrated Movies Of All Time. The number of overrated p.o.s. movies made just in America in the last 100 years would stun a horse.
I’ve worked on over 200 Hollywood feature films, some of them on the bloghost’s list. In that time the only director to ever have a fan club hanging around looking for his autograph I’ve ever seen was Tarantino, and Pulp Fiction is not only his masterwork, it alone would get him a well-deserved slot in the Moviemaking Hall Of Fame.
And you still don’t have to like it.
But you’re still wrong about it.
Most of the stuff that wins at Cannes and Sundance and the Academy Awards qualifies for that criticism, but not PF. I probably watch it twice a year and it never gets old, like reading a great poem over and over. I have always held that it’s the only worthwhile thing Tarantino ever did and it truly is a masterpiece. Trouble is, he’s no master, he is a one-hit-wonder and everything else he’s done is just a self-indulgent waste of celluloid.
I’ll raise you an Avatar and a Twilight . . .
I’ll accept Avatar but seriously, the word Twilight probably shouldn’t be mentioned in polite movie discussions. It’s like bringing up Archie comics in a discussion of favorite books.
Should I have mentioned 50 Shades of Grey?
I guess I’m the third person in the world to actually like Hudson Hawk. I own it on DVD, even.
I’ve gotta go with the Matrix in 99. It was the perfect introduction to the new century. I didn’t understand the metaphor at the time I watched it, I thought it was just a cool action movie, but it has come to mean so much more since.
Honestly, Tarantino’s stuff has become less and less watchable for me over the years. I own most of his movies but hardly ever touch them. I have a pretty big collection of Hong Kong stuff from the 90s that I like better.
Lots of movies I like not mentioned here. Braveheart, Saving Private Ryan, Shawshank Redemption, Fifth Element, The Professional, The Replacement Killers
Add another one, though the first time I saw it was the late 90’s.
Most of the movies on the list aren’t bad, but how Wilder puts Event Horizon on this list is beyond me. That movie was a steaming pile of ….. I like Sam Neil. I like Lovecraft type stories. That movie just all around didn’t work. And there were certainly better movies that year (Fifth Element for one.)
In my case, I was expecting something really different from what it was and it surprised me in a good way. I can see how folks might really not like it.
Yup, not room for everything. Braveheart, especially, was close.
Of course it’s all subjective, but I find it hard to believe that Apollo 13 didn’t even get an “also ran” honorable mention. It embraced a lot of core themes and values without getting too campy. Some may argue, successfully, it wasn’t Howard’s best work. But if nothing else, it proved that you could distribute a watchable movie without any of George Carlin’s Seven Words and still charge full price.
Great post. As a working musician, I’d find even more interest in a music blog of similar substance. 60’s through 90’s. It was once stated that “The problem with the music industry today is music.”
If I want to keep The Mrs. up and not going to bed, I can just put that movie on. It’s a great movie.
Music? I worry that you’d be disappointed. It would be like ice cream reviews from a guy that only likes one flavor.
You are the only other person I know of to ever have seen “Quick Change”. I caught it on HBO one night and loved it, but whenever I’d ask anyone else if they’d seen it, they had no idea what I was talking about. I still reference it (“Get your own women!”), but I never try to explain what I’m referencing because it’s really obscure – you’ve probably never heard of it.
The scene in the bank with the automatic and the revolver is comedy gold, with a big nugget of truth.
If nothing else, Quick Change introduced me to the genius of Tony Shalhoub. “Bluftoni! Bluftoni!”
Favorite scene – “Man, it’s bad luck just seeing something like that!” bicycle joust.
Flores . . . flores para los muertos, LOS MUERTOS!
The Ten
1990 – Home Alone
1991 – Point Break (the only good movie Kathryn Bigelow ever made)
1992 – Scent Of A Woman (Hoo-ah!)
1993 – Groundhog Day (probably one of the Top 20 Greatest Movies Ever Made)
(Honorable Mentions: Tombstone; The Fugitive)
1994 – The Shawshank Redemption (another film that belongs in that Top 20 Greatest)
(Honorable Mention: Forest Gump)
1995 – Heat
(Honorable mentions: Braveheart; The Usual Suspects)
1996 – Hamlet (the one by Kenneth Branagh, who never met a Shakespeare play he couldn’t do better than anyone ever, including Mel Gibson)
1997 – The Fifth Element
1998 – Shakespeare In Love
(Honorable Mentions: Saving Private Ryan; Ronin – which later I’m picking as #10 because nothing not already mentioned came out in 1999 worth mentioning.
HEAT.
Val Kilmer shows how magazines need to be changed.
0 – Tremors. Hands down the stupidest fun until Sharknado.
1 – BEAUTY & THE BEAST – but Point Break, T2, Bill & Ted and Necessary Roughness -!
2 – ALADDIN – and Gladiator.
3 – Agree with Aesop on this, but Evil Dead is one of the only horror flicks I’ll willinly re-watch
4 – Stargate and True Lies.
5 – Gotta be Toy Story. It never gets old.
6 – Escape from LA, but it was Independence Day that stuck. Blowing up DC never gets old
7 – Another Aesop win.
8 – Sliding Doors. Not enough John Hannah in movies
9 – The Mummy, because of course.
I too, saw a lot of movies in the 90s with my man, just not most of the ones Mr. Wilder saw. I can remember eagerly scanning the new releases; being excited about the stories. It’s all so sad and pointless now
Never forget. Codex’s corollary to Burge’s Law: And when the skin suit has rotted and is crawling with maggots they claim it was always this way.
Tremors is infinitely rewatchable – another miss for the list.
Again, Groundhog Day was a big miss for me. 100% should have been on the list.
I’ll have to admit all I’ve seen of Heat was the clip you posted during the Baldwin brouhaha. I’ll give it a look. And you’re right, the 96 Hamlet was Branagh (SMH). Yes, it was great. Mel was 1990. My favorite of his was Henry V.
The Fifth Element is an interesting adder . . .
What??? Where is the best movie of the 90s – “LA Confidential”?
“Maybe Bud White isn’t as dumb as you think.”
That movie is fantastic.
I’m a fan.
“Rollo Tomassi approves your comment.”
“Rollo Tomassi”
Babe was shocked to see her “owner” shoot Kevin Spacey.
Loved that movie but . . . I just watched for the first time last week. So, it’s skewed a bit on my timeline.
Major Payne. 1995
You wan me to tell ewe a story bout de lil engine that could?
Best family movie of 95. Honor, duty, family, strong male and female role models.
Have to give that one a re-watch . . .
I don’t agree with most of your picks ( except Hudson Hawk & Tarrentino ), but I really enjoyed an article that was so fun and nostalgic. As the whole world melts down, it was a nice change of pace.
Yup, as intended on a Friday – time to enjoy and understand what we’ve been through. Your book picks, though, are always good.
I hated PF when I first saw it, and hate it still. But after I saw it, I thought about it. And thought about it. And thought about it some more. And the genius of Tarantino came through in a thousand ways. Does anyone know what the title refers to before Tarantino came along? The cheesy, cheap trash that was serialized fiction in pulp magazines, that you likely got the episodes out of order?
John Revolta makes me gag, but Vinnie was such a perfect slimeball that the casting could not have been better. SLJ quoting scripture was, as the kids say, awesome!
Bucket List personal project:
Dump PF into an editing program, put it back into correct chronological order, and see if it holds up.
My favorite professor, who was then probably the greatest living Faulkner scholar, once took apart The Sound And The Fury and put it into chronological order to try to help a struggling student. The result totally wrecked the book for the student.
I think it does, but I think it will rhyme differently – starts with a gold watch and ends with a chopper moving off . . .
I really appreciated the non-linearity of it. Plus? The Wolf.
Maybe I’m an outlier but I would have that that everyone knew where the title came from.
Of course it’s subjective, but I can’t believe Apollo 13 didn’t even get an “almost ran” honorable mention. The film embraced a lot of themes and core values without getting too campy. Some may argue, successfully, that it wasn’t even Howard’s best work. But at the very least, it proved that a watchable film without using any of George Carlin’s Seven Words could still charge full price.
Great post. As a working musician, I’d be just as interested in a blog of similar substance about music. 60’s through the 90’s. It was once stated that “The problem with the music industry today is music.”
Seconded.
I missed that one somehow in reviewing my own lists of the decade, but would indeed add it to my 1993 Honorable Mentions.
The trouble is that some years in any decade (like 1993 – when Tombstone takes second chair to Groundhog Day, it’s already a phenomenal year) there are a ton of great flicks, and others (1996 and 1999, I’m looking at you) when there’s hardly anything worth watching at all, let alone recommending toother people.
Oh, and the problem with the music industry isn’t the music, it’s that the country is about 12% black, not 97%.
Record companies forgot this, but music listeners didn’t.
Exactly what I was thinking yesterday as I tuned around the dial, past barely disguised obscenity after obscenity.
Blame the myth of the noble savage for the elevation of any culture that isn’t Western civilization.
N
The ubiquity of (c)rap music is a form of mass-conditioning. It spreads worldwide like a virus. It’s a rejection of merit and beauty in favor of multi-culti political propaganda.
Have you heard about the new movie coming out, 1984 American Style? Starring Dept of Homeland Security and Elon Musk, co-starring Joe Biden and the liberal party, special guest appearances by We The People. It’s a horror movie that would make Stephen King look like an amateur but also has comedic moments that feature liberal spinning heads. Set in 21st century America, it’s a story of a government disinformation board set up in response to the hero, Elon Musk, declaring free speech and to silence the majority that dare to approve of free speech and entice constitution loving Americans to use their 2nd amendment right. Full of mystery, suspense and action. Rating has yet to be determined.
A lil something my wife thought up this morning.
And our new Ministry of Truth!
I like most of your selections. I can’t wait for season 6 of Better Call Saul.
The only thing missing is Dazed and Confused.
Besides having great music, it encapsulates my high school days pretty much down the line. So I love it for the nostalgia. For the record, I wasn’t one of the jocks or nerds. I was the dude getting high all the time.
We’re several episodes in on Saul. Good stuff.
Almost need an own post to make my own list but I’ll give it a shot. For anyone interested, here’s the easy way to get the complete lists for particular decades.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1990s_in_film#List_of_films
I’d also say that the list says more about the watcher than about movies.
1990 My Blue Heaven, honorable mention to Kindergarden Cop, Hunt for Red October, Quigley Down Under, and Tremors (yes, Tremors. Still watchable and entertaining).
1991 L.A. Story, honorable mention to Point Break, An American Tail (can we include animated? Well Toy Story already made someone’s list, so yes.), Hook, and My Girl.
1992 My Cousin Vinnie. A good year for movies because honorable mention to Thunderheart, Unforgiven, A League of their Own, The Cutting Edge, Blade Runner, Sneakers, and A Few Good Men.
1993 Groundhog Day without question. Which then pushed The Sandlot, Benny & Joon, Jurassic park, So I Married An Axe Murderer, Searching for Bobby Fisher, Nightmare Before Christmas, and Tombstone into honorable mention status. That’s how good Groundhog Day is.
1994 The Crow, with h.m. for The Cowboy Way, Forrest Gump, Shawshank Redemption, and The Santa Clause.
1995 Jumanji. H.m.s for Toy Story, Mr Holland’s Opus
1996 The Long Kiss Goodnight. Only three movies even on my list for this year so h.m.s to The Rock and Independence Day.
1997 Good Will Hunting I wanted to go with Grosse Pointe Blank because it is so great (Dan Ackroyd was hysterically psychotic) but GWH is one of the classics. Also Fifth Element and Men In Black came out that year so h.m.
1998 The Wedding Singer which proved that Adam Sandler can actually act. Too bad he didn’t do more of it. Oh and The Big Lebowski.
1999 Office Space. H.m.s to October Sky, 10 Things I Hate About You, The Matrix, The Mummy, and Notting Hill.
Now I want to go watch movies. Unfortunately it’s almost time for work.
I look forward to the eighties.
Quigley is a great movie I have watched several times and forgot about while pondering my own choices above, I would definitely add it to my list of best / fav movies of the 1990s. Also Starship Troopers deserves a place on my own personal list not because of the story itself, which is pretty standard SF action adventure, but because of director Verhoeven’s brilliant backdrop tounge-in-cheek portrayal of “fascism” currently seen for-real in our own American 21st century news / military imperialist atmosphere.
Kindergarten Cop story. Back in the mid-90s, dated the sister (horrid lib, didn’t last long) in W-S whose brother Billy Salem came up with its concept and co-wrote the script. Billy attended his 20th HS Reunion in Cleveland. Woman walked up to him and said “saw you in a movie w/ Arnold. I teach kindergarten and the kids are more than a handful. Can you get him to come one day and speak to them? Maybe they’d behave after that.”
“The Ox is slow, but the earth is patient.”
The Quigley preview. It coulda been named Hans Gruber Down Under. Good guy, bad guy, loose woman, long gun, beautiful scenery. What more do you need in a movie?
Agreed – great movie.
I will agree to disagree with you on that point.
IMHO, as lifelong Heinlein fan, that movie should have been made by John Milius, Clint Eastwood, or even Ridley Scott.
As it stands now, Starship Troopers by Verhoeven is the biggest pile of steaming festering brontosaurus feces ever inflicted on the planet, and should be grounds to take Verhoeven to Auschwitz retroactively, gas him with Zyklon B, and cremate his body.
Not necessarily in that order.
If I ever meet Verhoeven in person, I’m going to punch him right in the junk, on behalf of RAH.
Even at 83, and even if he’s in a wheelchair between chemo treatments for Stage IV cancer.
It’s that bad.
Anybody who takes a straight-up military virtue sci-fi flick, literally a paen to the Old Corps USMC from an Annapolis grad, and twists it around into an anti-war flick, ruining the entire story in the process, deserves the Special Hell reserved for child molesters, and people who talk at the theater.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVxLz6O6MaI
When you cast Denise Richards as the smart person, you’ve already proven you did too much LSD in the ’60s, and the studio should have fired him immediately at that point, and handed the project to someone of sound mind.
“…The Special Hell…”
And if you picture me reading that as somewhere between Blutto seeing Flounder’s slide when they’re voting on pledges in Animal House, and Gunny Hartmann upon finding a jelly donut in Pvt. Pyle’s footlocker, you’re on the right track.
The Rock holds up really, really well.
Great list.
Bladerunner was 1982. A re-issue doesn’t count.
Hunt For Red October was the only Clancy book Hollywood ever got right, which even Clancy agreed.
A Few Good Men has moments, because best screenwriter in a century Sorkin wrote it, and Reiner is a helluva director (stupid and lefty, and still a moviemaking genius), but I can’t get past the entire stupid premise that starts it off. Sorkin never spent 5 seconds in any uniform other than maybe valet or waiter, and this movie underlines that and flashes a giant Vegas-sized neon sign at his total lack of understanding of the military in general, which is why, compared to reality, the movie is a stench in the nostrils, despite Jack chewing the scenery, and Tom Cruise working everything he had.
And Sneakers belongs on my Honorable Mentions (“Cow mutilations are up.”), but my lists only pulled the top 150 movies each year, so some that didn’t go very high got left off.
And a list of the great ’80s flicks could take the Internet down.
I missed that on Blade Runner. The Wiki page I was going off of generally said “reissued” but for some reason didn’t on that one.
I agree with everything you said about A Few Good Men, but in spite of that (former military enlisted and officer here) still have enjoyed both the original watch and several times since. I think, like you said, TC and JN acting their asses off, is what makes it.
HFRO story, I was at nuclear power school when it came out. We had a good laugh at some of the “technical” details during the movie, much to the annoyance of other theater goers. Definitely a good one though.
I disagree with our gracious host, and place Joe Versus the Volcano at the top of 1990. “We are the children of children, and we live as we are shown.”
Besides the wonderful movies already mentioned –
1990 – My Blue Heaven, with Steve Martin & Martin Short
h/m – Edward Scissorhands, The Hunt for Red October, Tremors, Ghost, Home Alone, Flatliners
1991 – LA Story, with Steve Martin
h/m – Terminator 2, Barton Fink, Night On Earth, The Addams Family, Star Trek VI The Undiscovered Country
1992 – Leap of Faith, with Steve Martin
h/m – Wayne’s World, Sneakers, Sister Act, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, A League of Their Own, Death Becomes Her
1993 – Mant!, by Lawrence Woolsey (Matinee, with John Goodman)
h/m – Addams Family Values, Falling Down, Last Action Hero, Much Ado about Nothing, The Fugitive
1994 – Leon: The Professional, with Jean Reno
h/m – Ed Wood, Maverick, True Lies, Stargate, Nell
1995 – Get Shorty, with John Travolta & Danny DeVito
h/m – Rumble in the Bronx, Se7en
1996 – Independence Day, with Will Smith & Bill Pullman
h/m – Matilda
1997 – Men In Black, with Will Smith & Tommy Lee Jones
h/m – Good Will Hunting, Starship Troopers, The Game, Contact, Austin Powers, As Good As It Gets, Grosse Point Blank, Good Burger
1998 – Enemy of the State, with Will Smith
h/m – Godzilla, Armageddon, Pleasantville (wokeness begins), The Truman Show
1999 – Mystery Men, Ben Stiller
h/m – The Green Mile, Being John Malkovich, The Blair Witch Project, The Mummy, Stuart Little, Office Space
Starship Troopers? Do I even know you-?
An excellent list. My Blue Heaven’s best line: “You’re gonna melt ALLL THIS STUFF.”
“director Verhoeven’s brilliant backdrop tounge-in-cheek portrayal of “fascism” ”
Umm, you know that was in the book? It was massively controversial. The movie was just a poorly acted, poorly directed, crap-CGI version of the book.
Which isn’t to say you shouldn’t enjoy it if you want to.
LOL. I am a bigger fan of Heinlein science fiction books than I am Verhoeven science fiction movies. And I really like Verhoeven sci-fi movies. Regarding ST (as in Starship Troopers)…
https://www.looper.com/358395/the-real-reason-the-starship-troopers-director-never-read-the-book/
Speaking of ST as in Star Trek, it is official : Star Trek Picard Season 2 sucks big time. Let us hope after the undoubtedly abysmal final episode of ST:P this Thursday that Strange New Worlds can soar phoenix-like from the ashes.
What? Starship Troopers was fascist? Hmmm… Never got that any time I read it. Remember, Fascism is just Italian National Socialism.
The original story is more about why humans fight. That’s all. Couched in some neat and fantastic battle scenes. But fascist? Only Leftist professors labeled it fascist.
The dog-squeeze of a movie I completely disregard. Come on, the Bugs were supposed to be tool using and starship building alien critters. And there were no Skinnies. And Karl dies in nuclear fire (and the special talents are just that, special.)
Gah. Why can’t anyone make an actual “Starship Troopers” movie. It’s already episodic as laid out in the book. Would make a great mini-series.
Too hard-core conservative traditional values, and RAH common sensical.
Hollywood heads would explode.
Coneheads 1993
Consume Mass Quantities . . .