The 10 Most Quintessential 90s Movies
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Ahhh 90's cinema, the only place where post-modernism got us some cool shit.
But to pick Ace Ventura over something like Being John Malkovich, American Beauty or The Big Lebowski though, really? Now those feel 90's.
But to pick Ace Ventura over something like Being John Malkovich, American Beauty or The Big Lebowski though, really? Now those feel 90's.
The 90s ushered in the downfall of 80s fantasy horror but there were still some hidden gems. Hellraiser: Bloodline was my favorite in the series behind the second film, and it featured a space station that was a puzzlebox in disguise! It also kicked off Marvel's first real attempt at movie making in a long time with Blade, brought to you from the production company behind pretty much any rated R flick at the time, New Line Cinema. Aliens were still a hot property after their second movie in 86, so in 1992 we got Alien 3 on a defunct prison world with only a custodial skeleton crew remaining, then Alien: Resurrection (1997), written by Joss Whedon, which despite the sacrilege that was cloning Ellen Ripley, was a completely serviceable Alien movie that I've watched many times since.
All of these movies are principally about the problems of privileged white American males. Even the one about the kid on the run from the authorities has the kid be a super-hacker with a Terminator as a surrogate father. I know you guys have to play to your audience, but is it really THAT narrow?
"Con Air" is an exception, maybe, but isn't that more a forerunner of Michael Bay-era excess than a product of the nineties?
What's more Nineties than "Trainspotting"? I realise this is an American website, but c'mon now.
As a runner-up spot I'd put "The Crying Game". Both for the impact it had on a generation - especially THAT twist moment - and for its depiction of the Irish troubles.
"Con Air" is an exception, maybe, but isn't that more a forerunner of Michael Bay-era excess than a product of the nineties?
What's more Nineties than "Trainspotting"? I realise this is an American website, but c'mon now.
As a runner-up spot I'd put "The Crying Game". Both for the impact it had on a generation - especially THAT twist moment - and for its depiction of the Irish troubles.
I would put Space Jam in there somehow, its is so 90's, and maybe Fight Club but I dont know about that one for sure.
Good choice with Terminator 2, that haircut truly was a product of the 90's.
Good choice with Terminator 2, that haircut truly was a product of the 90's.
Well, that didn't last long.Calais27 said:
OT: I've only actually seen like 3 of those movies. They were pretty good I suppose, though maybe I should get around to seeing those other films.
You had me at Home Alone, I could tell you knew what you were talking about when it came to 90s essentials when you started there. Although, Pulp Fiction is gravely missing. Can't be 90s without it.
Kinda getting tired of everyone thinking Michael Bay invented dumb action movies. You want to know what's a forerunner to Michael Bay? EVERY ACTION MOVIE MADE IN THE 80s! Only thing Michael Bay has done is kept it perpetually going well into today, making every millennial think he invented the genre. You want a good version of Michael Bay? Watch Paul Verhoeven movies.
Yeah, I do apologize, but you've sparked something that's been irritating me for a while, and I'm about to rant...TheMadDoctorsCat said:
Kinda getting tired of everyone thinking Michael Bay invented dumb action movies. You want to know what's a forerunner to Michael Bay? EVERY ACTION MOVIE MADE IN THE 80s! Only thing Michael Bay has done is kept it perpetually going well into today, making every millennial think he invented the genre. You want a good version of Michael Bay? Watch Paul Verhoeven movies.
Eighties action movies had editing where you could tell what the heck was going on. Not something I noticed in "Bad Boys 2" or "Transformers". I can't speak for his most recent movies because I haven't seen them. The two I just named were bad enough, why go back for more punishment?80sboy said:
Eighties action movies also had humour that wasn't annoying unfunny off-colour sexual banter (remember Steve Buscemi in "The Island"? Or the masturbation "jokes" in "Transformers"?) They also occasionally managed a likeable character or two. Again, if anything of the kind appeared in "Transformers" or "Bad Boys 2" or "The Island", I must have missed it. Probably because I was too damn busy trying to work out what was going on because Bay can't edit a scene for more than a second without needing to "cut" to a different viewpoint.
So let's please not compare the creator of "Robocop", "Starship Troopers" and "Total Recall" - three of my favorite retro action movies - to the creator of "The Island", "Bad Boys", and "Transformers". (Yeah, I know it was a cartoon before Bay got his grubby hands on it. You know what I mean.) They are very, very different beasts.
And I'm not a "millenial", if that means what I think it means.
Good choices but i'm missing a bunch of Tarantino flicks, Die Hard 3, Starship Troopers, True Lies and Last Action Hero, and what about japanese animation finally taking off in other countries like the usa and europe? (I know this is about cinema but this deserves a mentioning since it started there) Some of those movies wouldn't be my choice but i really liked the list and know i feel like getting Ace Ventura and banging my head to some hammer smashed face while i'm at it.
Hi!Calais27 said:
Bye!Calais27 said:
I would have mentioned Starship Troopers and Event Horizon, but those were more cult hits compared to this list.
Huh... I have seen all of those movies more than once in my life, coincidentally one of those times was when I was around 7 or 8 at my grandmother's place...
With that said, I would have added either Boyz n the Hood, Menace II Society, or Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood, my personal favorite of the three, just to make the list count be 11...
Why 11, you ask? Because Nostalgia Critic...
With that said, I would have added either Boyz n the Hood, Menace II Society, or Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood, my personal favorite of the three, just to make the list count be 11...
Why 11, you ask? Because Nostalgia Critic...
Good list. I don't know which was more 90s but Face/Off was a far better film than Con Air.
12 Monkeys was awesome back in the day as a kid but it feels very 90s watching it now. The only other I would have included was Jurassic Park, although we seem to still have an obsession with giant prehistoric monsters on the loose.
And it looks like you needed a 1998 film. Dark City should fit the bill.
12 Monkeys was awesome back in the day as a kid but it feels very 90s watching it now. The only other I would have included was Jurassic Park, although we seem to still have an obsession with giant prehistoric monsters on the loose.
And it looks like you needed a 1998 film. Dark City should fit the bill.
There were five Home Alone movies? Good lord I only remember two.
What about, Broken Arrow, So I Married An Axe Murderer or The Usual Suspects?
What about, Broken Arrow, So I Married An Axe Murderer or The Usual Suspects?