Best movies that capture the 1990s
Films that were made in the 90s that capture the feel of that time and place perfectly. A better time when no one had smart phones, the internet was in its infancy, and music and book stores were everywhere.
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- DirectorHart BochnerStarsJeremy PivenChris YoungMegan WardA high school senior visits college for the weekend, and stays at the wildest house on campus.A great comedy that shows PC culture as it was in the 90s. Now it seems quaint when you see the level of craziness on campuses today. It's the cool, fun kids versus the stodgy, offended by everything, PC crowd. It also has the 60s in the 90s vibe that was so big back then. Look for the tie dyed wearing stoners playing frisbee. You'll see what I mean.
- DirectorCameron CroweStarsBridget FondaCampbell ScottKyra SedgwickA group of twenty-something friends search for love and success in grunge-era Seattle.Considered one of three decade defining films, it's take on dating in the 90s is spot on. Also great cameos by Pearl Jam, some Soundgarden members, and even Tim Burton.
- DirectorMichael LehmannStarsBrendan FraserSteve BuscemiAdam SandlerThree band members hoping for a big break head to a radio station to play their demo tape and wind up holding everyone hostage with plastic guns when the head D.J. refuses to play them.Rockers take over a radio station and take everyone hostage to get their tunes played. It has the iconic line, "Oh, man, you actually listen to that Seattle bullshit?" A bold line at a time as Kurt Cobain was still alive when it was being filmed. At that time the wave hadn't quite crested yet on the original grunge scene. When it was released in August of 1994, Kurt had been dead 4 months and that Seattle scene was in a death spiral it wasn't even aware of yet..
- DirectorJefery LevyStarsStephen DorffReese WitherspoonJake BuseyAn alienated and misanthropic teenager gains sudden and unwanted celebrity status after he's taken hostage by terrorists where his indifference to their threats to kill him makes news headlines.Considered one of three films that captured the 90s perfectly. I believe the others were Reality Bites and Singles. Lesser known, but powerfully effective in it's message on the danger of (unwanted) celebrity and those who worship them.
- DirectorBen StillerStarsWinona RyderEthan HawkeJaneane GarofaloA documentary filmmaker and her fellow Generation X graduates face life after college, looking for work and love in Houston.The third decade defining film of the 90s, this all star (and decidedly 90s) cast has Ethan Hawke, Wynona Ryder, and Ben Stiller.
- DirectorOndi TimonerStarsAnton NewcombeCourtney Taylor-TaylorJoel GionA documentary on the once-promising American rock bands The Brian Jonestown Massacre and The Dandy Warhols, and the friendship/rivalry between their respective founders, Anton Newcombe and Courtney Taylor.A documentary mostly filmed in the 90s that follows two bands, The Brian Jonestown Massacre and The Dandy Warhols. It always makes me wish I was in San Francisco in 1997 hanging out with Anton Newcombe and the BJM and Dandys.
- DirectorDoug PrayStars7 Year BitchValerie M. AgnewCarrie AkreDocumentary covering the growth and subsequent overexposure of the Seattle "grunge" music scene in the early 90sAnother documentary that was filmed in Seattle pre and post Kurt Cobains death. It captures the grunge scene and the people who made the music.
- DirectorAllan MoyleStarsAnthony LaPagliaDebi MazarMaxwell CaulfieldTwenty-four hours in the lives of the young employees at Empire Records when they all grow up and become young adults thanks to each other and the manager. They all face the store joining a chain store with strict rules.A great cast and a great soundtrack. Who didn't dream of working in a cool music store back then? The employees must save their cash strapped record store from being turned into a soulless corporate music chain. Plus you get to see Liv Tyler in her underwear. Also has an almost unrecognizable Renee Zellweger.
- DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsJohn TravoltaUma ThurmanSamuel L. JacksonThe lives of two mob hitmen, a boxer, a gangster and his wife, and a pair of diner bandits intertwine in four tales of violence and redemption.Quentin Tarantino characters always feel like they have been plucked out of a cooler time and place. So this tends to feel like a time all it's own, but to me, this reminds.me just how good film were in the indie rich environment of the 90s.
- DirectorKevin SmithStarsBrian O'HalloranJeff AndersonMarilyn GhigliottiA day in the lives of two convenience clerks named Dante and Randal as they annoy customers, discuss movies, and play hockey on the store roof.The one that started it all. This films personifies the rich independent film movement that defines 90s cinema for me. Clerks will always hold a special place in my heart.
- DirectorNoah BaumbachStarsJosh HamiltonEric StoltzSamuel GouldA bunch of guys hang around their college for months after graduation, continuing a life much like the one before graduation.This movie captured the post college malaise perfectly. It follows a group of college grads who look for love and purpose after college. It's hilarious and has two 90s staples, Eric Stoltz and Josh Hamilton.
- DirectorPeter McCarthyStarsJames Le GrosShakaZander SchlossIn this scathing and subversive social comedy, life in post riot Los Angeles is dissected under the sardonic eye of John Boyz, an unemployed thirty nothing flounderer on Venice Beach who is trying to figure out what to do with his life. John can't be bothered with apathy, but no matter how much he wants to help people, he is too immobilized to do anything useful. Haunted by chronic insomnia and impending sense of doom, all he can do is watch, and John is an avid observer. Through his voyeuristic binoculars, he struggles to make sense of all the alienation and disaffection he sees in his neighborhood. In his journal he meticulously chronicles the mundane down to steadfast march of ants across his kitchen counter. John is desperately trying to keep one meaningless day from blending into next. He compulsively watches homemade videos of LA riots looking for a clue. But everywhere around him the city's social fabric is coming apart at the seams, and now it is John Boys's own threadbare life that's about to unravel.I can't tell you how much I could relate to the protagonist of this film when I first saw it...and sadly still do to some degree. He is looking for purpose in a post riots Los Angeles and runs into strange and surreal people and events along the way. Has great footage of the devastation in the city post Rodney King verdict riots.
- DirectorLes MayfieldStarsSean AstinBrendan FraserPauly ShoreWhen they find a frozen caveman in their back yard, two high school outcasts thaw him and introduce him to modern life while he in turn gets them to actually enjoy life.The fashion alone makes this a solo 90s representative. I believe it's also the first time Pauly Shore took "The Weasel" to the big screen. A then unknown Brendan Frasier began a great 90s career with this film.
- DirectorPaul TodiscoStarsSteve ZahnJosh HamiltonDavid KinneyTwo friends spend their days smoking pot and talking about sex.Also called Blowing Smoke, it's another aimless post college grad film. Josh Hamilton turns in a great performance as the lead who spends most of his time smoking dope with his friend Freak, played by Steve Zahn. This film captures perfectly the way you can get comfortable in an endless loop of doing nothing, yet things always change...friends move on or don't have time and you're forced to make those hard decisions. Another relatable film.
- DirectorTamra DavisStarsAdam SandlerDarren McGavinBridgette Wilson-SamprasIn order to inherit his fed up father's hotel empire, an immature and lazy man must repeat grades 1-12 all over again.Notable as the film that launched a persona that Adam Sandler would find huge success with in the 90s. It's also a very funny film if you like Sandler.
- DirectorFran Rubel KuzuiStarsKristy SwansonDonald SutherlandPaul ReubensFlighty teenage girl Buffy Summers learns that she is her generation's destined battler of vampires.The original, with Kristy Swanson as the title vampire slayer and the great Luke Perry as the cool loner. You have to watch this if you like the show.
- DirectorAmy HeckerlingStarsAlicia SilverstoneStacey DashBrittany MurphyShallow, rich and socially successful Cher is at the top of her Beverly Hills high school's pecking scale. Seeing herself as a matchmaker, Cher first coaxes two teachers into dating each other.The dialogue alone plants this film firmly in the 90s. That and the clothing. This films generated so many decade specific quotes that it probably deserves to be in the top 3 if I were ordering this list by some sort of scale.
- DirectorAlex ProyasStarsBrandon LeeMichael WincottRochelle DavisA man brutally murdered comes back to life as an undead avenger of his and his fiancée's murder.This film has the dark 90s in its DNA. Sadly, it was Brandon Lee's last performance.
- DirectorEric SchaefferDonal Lardner WardStarsEric SchaefferDonal Lardner WardDolores McDougalTwo Manhattan slacker dudes, best friends, want to make a movie about their lives. Splick drives a hack, Jason tends bar; each has a stuttering relationship with a down-to-earth woman. But neither has a clue how to make a movie. A friend in the industry sets up meetings for them with producers, which they blow. Things look up when Phoebe Cates and Martha Plimpton agree to star, but then they leave the city for other projects. Splick and Jason argue. Things look bleak. Will they repair their friendship? Will they reconnect to their lovers?This film personifies the independent film ethic of the 90s. A more fact than fiction take of two guys who set out to make a movie about their quest to make a movie. Along the way they try to find love and we fall in love with the two leads. A sequel, They're Out Of The Business, was made in 2011.
- DirectorDonal Lardner WardStarsDonal Lardner WardTony GumaCraig BierkoJennifer Love Hewitt and Will Ferrell star in this electrifying film about the reunion of a one-hitwonder new wave band from the eighties.From one half of My Life's In Turnaround, Donal Ward makes a heartfelt film about a one hit wonder 80s band that gets a second chance at the game in a 90s that's nostalgic for the past. Everyone is amazing and it has an early film appearance by Will Ferrell. A very good movie
- DirectorC.M. TalkingtonStarsGil BellowsRenée ZellwegerRory CochraneA small time crook flees to Mexico to evade the authorities, loan sharks, and his murderous ex-partner with only his fiancé and a trusted Colt .45.A lot of 90s films tried to have that Quentin Tarantino vibe, and Love and a .45 accomplishes this with a suit wearing Hitman named Dinosaur Bob, played to the hilt by Jeffrey Combs. It's about two lovers on the run from the law, the aforementioned killer, and psychotic ex partner played by Rory Cochrane. It has that Texas quirkiness that was captured the same year in Natural Born Killers.
- DirectorRichard LinklaterStarsRichard LinklaterRudy BasquezJean CaffeineA day in the life of Austin, Texas as the camera roams from place to place and provides a brief look at the overeducated, the social misfits, the outcasts and the oddballs.Slacker, a word synonymous with the 90s. This film probably helped cement it in the lexicon. It's a stream of consciousness trip through an Austin populated by hipsters, intellectuals, and philosophers. A movie that probably couldn't get made today it's so good. His later film, Waking Life, is a continuation of the urge to find the hidden truths in our mundane lives.
- DirectorOliver StoneStarsWoody HarrelsonJuliette LewisTom SizemoreTwo victims of traumatized childhoods become lovers and psychopathic serial murderers irresponsibly glorified by the mass media.A scathing look from Oliver Stone about the hero worship of two very evil people. It's also an indictment of a corrupt legal system and a media that puts ratings above morality. It has that ultra violence that was prevalent in the 90s, but if you get uncontrollable, that's the point.
- DirectorRoger NygardStarsJoe YannettyJake JohannsenDaniel BenzaliEver bought a used car from a dealer before? Want to know what REALLY happens behind the scenes? This movie offers some insight through the eyes of one of the dealers.Another independent film made by a comedian who worked at a car lot for some stability. Listening to the commentary you'll discover that even the most outrageous moments in this film are based on things he witnessed on the job. A hilarious look at what goes on at a typical car lot.
- DirectorDaniel MyrickEduardo SánchezStarsHeather DonahueMichael C. WilliamsJoshua LeonardThree film students vanish after traveling into a Maryland forest to film a documentary on the local Blair Witch legend, leaving only their footage behind.This has to be on this list just for the profound impact it had at the time. I remember hearing about these people disappearing at least two years before the movie. The viral marketing cemented this film and propelled it's creators and actors to careers in mainstream Hollywood.
- DirectorClive BarkerStarsScott BakulaKevin J. O'ConnorJ. Trevor EdmondA private detective gets more than he bargains for when he encounters Philip Swan, a performer whose amazing illusions captivate the world, but they are not really what everyone thinks.This 90s entry into the Clive Barker pantheon has the brilliant Scott Bakula in the role of an occult detective caught up in the death of a magician whose powers may have been more than a illusion. Throw in the very 90s element of a religious cult who believes their leader, Nix, is set to return from the dead any day, and this goes from a detective story, to the surreal world that Clive Barker does best.
- DirectorRichard LinklaterStarsGiovanni RibisiSteve ZahnJayce BartokA group of suburban teenagers try to support each other through the difficult task of becoming adults.This Eric Bogosian film is about a group of teenagers awaiting the return of one of their group who went off and became famous. This film has 90s mainstays like, Nicky Katt, Giovanni Ribisi, Parker Posey, and Steve Zahn.
- DirectorDaisy von Scherler MayerStarsParker PoseyOmar TownsendThe Lady BunnyA 20-something, irresponsible party girl is bailed out of jail by her librarian godmother. To repay the loan, she starts working at the library and gradually turns her life around.No 90s list would be complete without a film starring the queen of 90s independent film, Parker Posey. She's the titular party girl who is a master of throwing the impromptu loft party, but is still trying to figure out adulthood and her love life. I've read this film captures the real club music scene of the time, so if that was your thing, the nostalgia factor alone should make you love it.
- DirectorLarry FessendenStarsLarry FessendenMeredith SnaiderAaron BeallSet in a gritty, real life New York City, alcoholic Sam meets up with a modern day succubus who marks him and controls his will. As his world unravels he slowly figures out what is happening and has to figure out what to do.I became a Larry Fessenden fan back in the day after seeing this modern take on the vampire legend. You won't regret watching it.
- DirectorAbel FerraraStarsLili TaylorChristopher WalkenAnnabella SciorraA New York philosophy grad student turns into a vampire after getting bitten by one, and then tries to come to terms with her new lifestyle and frequent craving for human blood.Another 90s reinvention of the vampire legend, this time from Abel Ferrera. It takes young college student Kathleen, played by another queen of 90s independent film, Lili Taylor, and has her turned in a form of vampirism that has more in common with heroin addiction than the classic stereotype. It's a very 90s relevant take considering all the musicians we lost to overdose back then.
- DirectorMorgan J. FreemanStarsCasey AffleckBrendan Sexton IIIKate HudsonAn academic obsessed with "roadside attractions" and his tv-star daughter finally discover the world's largest ice cream cone, the centerpiece for an old gold-rush town struggling to stay on the map. They end up staying longer than expected because of an accident that spilled an unknown cola ingredient all over the highway. They spend the next few days with the various residents of the town which include a teenage girl who loves to blow things up and a boy trying to keep alive his fathers dream of building a beachside resort in the middle of the desert.I love films like this and the 90s mastered them. It takes place in a small town in the desert filled with quirky characters who are searching for something that they are only vaguely aware of. It has Brendan Sexton III as Blue, who keeps his fathers landlocked waterpark in shape for the day when the waters return, and Kate Hudson as Skye, the big city girl who finds love in the last place she thought she would. It's notable for a voice cameo by the B-52s Fred Schneider as the radio DJ heard as they drive into town. A very good film.
- DirectorMike JudgeStarsRon LivingstonJennifer AnistonDavid HermanThree company workers who hate their jobs decide to rebel against their greedy boss.Just making it in at the end of the 90s, Office Space is timeless for anyone who hates their job. Mike Judge hit a home run with this film about tech company employees (very 90s) who try to get through their daily lives while surviving the insanity that is corporate culture. A comedy classic.
- DirectorEdward BurnsStarsJack MulcahyMichael McGloneEdward BurnsThree Irish Catholic brothers from Long Island struggle to deal with love, marriage, and infidelity.I became an instant fan of Ed Burns after this heartfelt story of three Irish brothers came on late one night on IFC. I have religiously followed him since. This is one of those independent films that was made with love and it shows. It's follow up, She's The One, is just as good and pairs Ed with his Brothers costar, Mike McGlone and Frasiers, John Mahoney.
- DirectorEdward BurnsStarsEdward BurnsJennifer AnistonJohn MahoneyThe love lives of two brothers, Mickey and Francis, interconnect as Francis cheats on his wife with Mickey's ex-girlfriend, while Mickey impulsively marries a stranger.Ok, I had to add it even though I mentioned it above. This story of sibling rivalry is hilarious and poignant. Everyone involved does a brilliant job and like his previous film, if you want a masterclass on film making, buy the DVD and listen to the directors commentary.
- DirectorJoel CoenEthan CoenStarsJeff BridgesJohn GoodmanJulianne MooreJeff "The Dude" Lebowski, mistaken for a millionaire of the same name, seeks restitution for his ruined rug and enlists his bowling buddies to help get it.Set in the early 90s during the first Gulf War, we follow Jeff Bridges as The Dude, doing what he does best, smoking dope, listening to Credence, and bowling. That is, until he get caught up in the search for another Jeffrey Lebowski's missing wife Bunny. Aided by his friends Donny and Walter, played by Steve Buscemi and John Goodman, it's a hilarious trip that you don't have to frop acid to enjoy.
- DirectorGregg ArakiStarsJames DuvalRose McGowanJohnathon SchaechJordan White and Amy Blue, two troubled teens, pick up an adolescent drifter, Xavier Red. Together, the threesome embark on a sex-and-violence-filled journey through an America of psychos and quickie marts.A dark film about two lovers who let a dangerous and destructive third person into their lives. A very nihilistic 90s film.
- DirectorGregg ArakiStarsJames DuvalRachel TrueNathan BextonFollows a day in the lives of a group of Los Angeles high school students and the strange lives they lead.Another nihilistic 90s film about a group of teenagers. A very ensemble cast with its sort of main character appropriately names Dark, is played by James Duval.
- DirectorJohn SingletonStarsCuba Gooding Jr.Laurence FishburneHudhail Al-AmirFollows the lives of three young males living in the Crenshaw ghetto of Los Angeles, dissecting questions of race, relationships, violence, and future prospects.This movie has spawned so many imitators and it's a powerful story set in the inner city. You have the main character, who hopes for a life outside his block, surrounded by gangs and violence.
- DirectorSpike LeeStarsDanny AielloOssie DavisRuby DeeOn the hottest day of the year on a street in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, everyone's hate and bigotry smolders and builds until it explodes into violence.I almost didn't add this because it's one year shy of the 90s, but having spent my summers in Brooklyn when I was a kid in the mid 80s to early 90s, I can vouch that this movie captured what it was like to live on a block in that kind of neighborhood. I have no doubt it's just as relevant today.
- DirectorPeter SegalStarsChris FarleyDavid SpadeBrian DennehyAfter his auto-parts tycoon father dies, the overweight, underachieving son teams up with a snide accountant to try and save the family business.This movie is pure hilarity! The first big screen pairing of Chris Farley and David Spade, it set the bar that didn't get hit again by either of the duo.
- DirectorBob SagetStarsNorm MacDonaldJack WardenArtie LangeA loser finds success in the revenge-for-hire business.Norm Macdonald is almost too funny. I say this because his humor seems to go over most peoples heads. This movie is a classic about two slackers who have to raise money for their fathers heart transplant. It has great performances by Jack Warden, Chevy Chase, and sadly, Chris Farley in his last film role.
- DirectorPenelope SpheerisStarsMike MyersDana CarveyRob LoweTwo slacker friends try to promote their public-access cable show.One of the most successful SNL adaptations to the big screen, it made Bohemian Rhapsody popular again and captured the slacker ethos personified by Wayne Campbell and Garth Algar.
- DirectorBob GaleStarsBilly WarlockHolly FieldsBruce McGillMr. Payback is a killer cyborg sent to punish rude and selfish bullies throughout society. Audiences vote on what types of sadistic punishments Mr. Payback inflicts.There was a brief time in the 90s where they tried to make choose your own adventure style films popular in the cinema and none personify this more than Mr. Payback. It was a trend that never caught on, but it was very of its time.
- DirectorLana WachowskiLilly WachowskiStarsKeanu ReevesLaurence FishburneCarrie-Anne MossWhen a beautiful stranger leads computer hacker Neo to a forbidding underworld, he discovers the shocking truth--the life he knows is the elaborate deception of an evil cyber-intelligence.A gamechanger that set the tone for film for years to come. While it's set in the future it's also set in a reality that's supposed to mirror the world in a nondescript city in the late 90s.
- DirectorSimon WincerStarsMickey RourkeDon JohnsonChelsea FieldTwo lone riders hold up a bank's armoured car to save their friend's bar from imminent foreclosure. Soon, the mission goes awry when they discover the vehicle's unexpected cargo.Only in the 90s could you personify two product placements, throw in an armored car heist, have Tom Sizemore as the bad guy, and get it greenlit. It happened and it was glorious.
- DirectorKevin HooksStarsWesley SnipesBruce PayneTom SizemoreAn airline security expert must take action when he finds himself trapped on a passenger jet when terrorists seize control of it.The 90s was all about action and with so many to choose from, I went with this one, if only for the line, "Always bet on black."
- DirectorMark DiSalleStarsJeff SpeakmanJohn DyeMakoAn expert in "kenpo" karate avenges his Koreatown friend, slain by a mobster in Los Angeles.This movie launched Jeff Speakman as an action star that he never quite lived up to after this, eventually moving into family friendly fare. It also introduced Kempo to a whole new audience. It's worth it for the opening kata sequence alone.
- DirectorDamian LeeStarsDean CameronTom BresnahanPatrick LabyorteauxRival groups in a skiing school do battle on and off the piste. One gang are rich and serious, the other group are party animals.A hilarious cult film with the ever present 90s staple of Dean Cameron as the head of a misfit group of skiers who vie with the preppy skiers for control of both the mountain and the lovely ladies that populate it.
- DirectorEmilio EstevezStarsCharlie SheenEmilio EstevezLeslie HopeTwo garbage men uncover a conspiracy involving illegal toxic waste dumping and decide to bring the whole operation down.Two slacker garbage men fall into a murder conspiracy and have to try and get out of it. A hilarious film that stars Charlie Sheen and Emilio Estevez. Great supporting turns by Keith David and Dean Cameron.
- DirectorRory KellyStarsCraig ShefferEric StoltzMeg TillySarah, Joseph and Frank are BFFs. Joseph and Sarah get married but the evening before she tells Frank with a kiss that it could've been him. Frank continues to have a thing for Sarah.Lets get a bunch of indie actors together and to top it off, lets tell the story of a love triangle in sections with each on directed by a different person. Yes, the 90s were all about edge and experimentation. The cast is stellar, with Eric Stoltz, Meg Tilly, and Craig Scheffer in the leads, with Dean Cameron, Todd Field, Susan Traylor, Parker Posey, Joey Lauren Adams, and even Quentin Tarantino himself in supporting roles. I loved it.
- DirectorScott ZiehlStarsTodd FieldJason LondonRoxana ZalThis shocking and unnerving drama chronicles the lives of two emergency medical technicians (EMTs) whose thrill in life saving is surpassed only by their destructive and all-too-frequent thirst for another kind of rush, heroin.A film starring indie genius Todd Field, about a seasoned ambulance driver and his wide eyed rookie partner, is a drug fueled trip through the parts of L.A. that you never want to be in.
- DirectorIain SoftleyStarsJonny Lee MillerAngelina JolieJesse BradfordTeenage hackers discover a criminal conspiracy with plans to use a computer virus that will capsize five oil tankers.Again, for the fashion alone, this film qualifies. It also has that standard 90s depiction of hacking that is totally unrealistic and sophisticated. This will be repeated in almost every film regarding hacking in the 90s. It's fun to watch the Tekwar films from William Shatner and see "future hacking" or the television show, Profit, which shows an office quasi VR setup that is laughable today in an otherwise brilliant television show with Adrian Pasdar.
- DirectorCharles BandStarsTim ThomersonHelen HuntMegan Ward6 years after a time cop returns home from battling future alien zombies, his settled life is turned upside down when a mad scientists creates more.Since the first one was made in the 80s I had to include the follow up, made in the 90s. Full Moon was a huge part of my childhood and i couldn't wait to rent a Full Moon VHS and watch the Videozone segments after each film. Tim Thomerson is a living legend and his turns as Jack Deth are brilliant. Almost all Full Moon films from the early-mid 90s are worth checking out.
- DirectorTony ScottStarsChristian SlaterPatricia ArquetteDennis HopperIn Detroit, a pop-culture nerd steals cocaine from his new wife's pimp and tries to sell it in Hollywood, prompting the mobsters who own the drugs to pursue the couple.Written by Tarantino, directed by Tony Scott, and starring Christian Slater...enough said.
- DirectorDarren AronofskyStarsSean GulletteMark MargolisBen ShenkmanA paranoid mathematician searches for a key number that will unlock the universal patterns found in nature.An indie film that really blew me away the first time I saw it, it's about a mathematician searching for the secret of PI and slowly losing his grip on reality in the process. It doesn't help that he's being chased by shadowy corporate/government types and a Jewish religious sect that believe the secrets he may hold are really the secrets to the universe itself.
- DirectorKathryn BigelowStarsPatrick SwayzeKeanu ReevesGary BuseyAn F.B.I. Agent goes undercover to catch a gang of surfers who may be bank robbers.The original and still the best. I want to surf every time I watch this movie. The premise is 90s cranked up to 11. A group of surfers rob banks to fund their lifestyle, led by the charismatic, Bohdi, played by Patrick Swayze. The FBI frowns on bank robbery, so they send in Johnny Utah, played by Keanu Reeves, to take them down from the inside. They didn't count on Utah falling under Bohdi's spell or falling in love with Bohdi's ex, played by Lori Petty.
- DirectorDoug LimanStarsVince VaughnHeather GrahamJon FavreauA wannabe actor has a hard time moving on from a break-up, but he is lucky to have supportive friends.The film that put Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn on the map, it has that hip 90s vibe and witty dialogue that keeps me coming back for more. It also has PCU alum Alex Desert as one of the friends struggling to make it in cruel Los Angeles.
- DirectorMichael MannStarsAl PacinoRobert De NiroVal KilmerA group of high-end professional thieves start to feel the heat from the LAPD when they unknowingly leave a verbal clue at their latest heist.A film that combines Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro? We all signed up for this action ride that has one of the most realistic shoot out scenes in cinema. Watch the bad guys tactics with weapons and movement in that scene, it helps that they were trained by a former SAS operator...the cops tactics? Not so good.
- DirectorRichard LinklaterStarsEthan HawkeJulie DelpyAndrea EckertA young man and woman meet on a train in Europe, and wind up spending one evening together in Vienna. Unfortunately, both know that this will probably be their only night together.Two strangers meet on a train and begin a journey to explore each other before sunrise comes and they have to part. Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy are brilliant in this character driven masterpiece from Slacker director Richard Linklater.
- DirectorDavid SchraderStarsDavid SchraderElisa Beth GarverSteven MarcaSomewhere between Slacker, Clerks, and Swingers came NoHo, the absurdist indie comedy about unemployment, enlargement, and enlightenment. This is the story of Quinn Whiteman and Harvey Davenport, two down and out roommates barely existing in the L.A. suburban hellscape of mid-1990's North Hollywood. Quinn is looking for love, as well as another menial job to replace the one he just lost, while Harvey deals with two big concerns; expiring unemployment insurance and an unexplainable penile problem.This movie should be spoken of in the same breath with Clerks. It sadly landed in obscurity. David Schrader's film captures the 90s perfectly, which makes sense considering it was made in 1994. It has witty dialogue, slackers, and hilarious situations. Indie, shoestring budget, tons of heart, watch it.
- DirectorDavid DobkinStarsJoaquin PhoenixVince VaughnJaneane GarofaloAfter hearing that his wife sleeps with Clay, Earl kills himself, making it look like Clay shot him. The widow doesn't like it when Clay starts sees another woman instead. Bodies start piling up.Early Joaquin Phoenix role that has him hilariously trying to cover up a suicide and getting deeper into bodies as he goes along. It doesn't help that killer Vince Vaughn decides to help his new friend which adds to the body count. Vaughn is both hilariously quirky and chillingly cold as Lester. I've watched this at least a dozen times.
- DirectorHampton FancherStarsOwen WilsonSheryl CrowDwight YoakamAimless Vann Siegert takes a bizarre turn in life and becomes a serial killer, tracking down the miserable, the self-destructive and those who otherwise seem willing to die.Coming in at the end of the decade, Owen Wilson plays a serial killer who "only does the minimum" to kills his victims, no violence, just a drink from his flask and they just go to sleep. It's chilling and entirely told from his point of view. It's a long way from Bottle Rocket but it's a fantastic film.
- DirectorWes AndersonStarsLuke WilsonOwen WilsonNed DowdThree friends plan to pull off a simple robbery and go on the run.The movie that introduced us to Owen and Luke Wilson. It's a decidedly quirky Texas tale of Luke as Anthony, who has just been released from a mental institution and who just wants to drift, and Owen, his best friend Dignan wo has grandiose ideas of making it in the criminal underworld with Anthony and their friend Bob. Along the Anthony finds love, which in turn gives him direction. James Caan is fantastic as the crime boss Dignan wants the gang to work for.