Movie – Circle of Friends (1995)

At the time I first saw Circle of Friends back when it came to video in the mid 1990s I didn’t realize that I was seeing a cast that would go on to do many more things.  All I knew was that Chris O’Donnell from Scent of a Woman (1992) was playing an Irishman in a movie where a bunch of people in their mid to late 20s were cast as college freshmen.  This was the first film in which I saw Minnie Driver, Saffron Burrows, Alan Cumming, and Aiden Gillen (aka Petyr “Littlefinger” Baelish on Game of Thrones).  The movie also has early appearances from Colin Firth and Ciaran Hinds (aka “King Beyond the Wall” Mance Rayder on Game of Thrones).  He plays a professor.

Movie – When Night Is Falling (1995)

When Night Is Falling is a Canadian film from writer/director Patricia Rozema.  It features a love triangle between a white man, a white woman, and a black woman.  The two women could not be more different.  Camille (Pascale Bussieres) is a respected professor at a conservative Christian college.  Petra (Rachael Crawford) is a bohemian circus performer.  And the triangle isn’t the two fighting over Camille’s fiancé – Martin (Henry Czerny); it’s Petra trying to seduce Camille away.

Movie – The Lover (1992)

Once upon a time movie studios were able to produce serious films for adults with a minimum of teenage boy smirking or older prudish condemnation.  That era is now gone, but while it lasted it produced some good films.  The Lover is one of them.  It is based on the semi-autobiographical 1984 novel of the same name by noted French author Marguerite Duras.  The film received an Oscar nomination for its cinematography and some of the natural beauty it captured was that of the lead actor and actress.  The Lover also received six Cesar (the “French Oscar”) nominations.  In case you are allergic to subtitles, the film is presented in English.

Movie – Zebrahead (1992)

Zebrahead is a small independent film that made somewhat of a splash when it came out, but then was pretty much forgotten over the next couple of decades.  I honestly can’t remember the last time I even came across a reference to it, so if you’ve never heard of this movie you’re probably in good company.  It features some good performances by the young stars (Michael Rappaport and N’Bushe Wright), both in their first feature films.  It also features three dimensional portrayals of teenagers – something that is rare in movies.  It is the combination of the lead actors and the naturalistic presentation of teenagers that make this film worth seeking out.

Movie – The Crying Game (1992)

The film The Crying Game actually represents something unique in all my movie-watching experiences.  (No, it’s not the twist, for those who have already seen it.)  It’s that I specifically went to see this movie in the theater before it got spoiled for me.  It may be hard nowadays to imagine a time when every single film wasn’t already spoiled well in advance with social media reporting casting and storylines well before the movie is even released, but this was the way it was in 1992.  You could actually go see a movie not knowing anything more about it than what you saw in the trailer, if you even saw that.

The Crying Game was a little different in that it was making news for the fact that it had a fantastic twist in it that supposedly you wouldn’t see coming.  I decided I’d rent it right away when it came out on VHS tape, but then it went and got nominated for six Oscars, including Best Picture.  (It would eventually win for Best Original Screenplay.)  I knew there was little chance of it having that kind of attention being paid to it by the press and it not getting spoiled for me.  I decided on a pre-emptive strike: I’d go see it in the theater.  To this day that is still the only time where the primary reason I bought a movie ticket was to see a movie I knew would be spoiled for me if I didn’t see it as soon as possible.  And you know what?  It was well worth it. 

Movie – Mississippi Masala (1991)

Mississippi Masala was made at a time after Denzel Washington had hit it big with 1989’s Glory, but while he still sometimes did a smaller film like The Mighty Quinn (1989), Devil in a Blue Dress (1995), and this one.  This was a lucky casting break for director Mira Nair (Monsoon Wedding) because her financial backers had pulled out after Ben Kingsley declined a role in the film.  Once Washington signed on he was a big enough name to attract other backers and get the movie made.  This was a good thing because the film is now an interesting diversion from Washington’s better known big box office/action hero persona.

Movie – Toy Story 2 (1999)

The tale of how Toy Story 2 came to be is a curious one.  It was only the third film to come from Pixar – Toy Story (1995) and A Bug’s Life (1998) being the first two – and they were already doing a sequel?  What happened is this little animation company got taught a lesson in real life business from the massive Disney Studios.  Pixar had signed a deal with Disney to produce five animated films.  After the success of the original Toy Story, Disney started prepping a cheap, knockoff, direct to video sequel of it.  This horrified Pixar, who offered to do the sequel themselves.  They also figured it would get them one film closer to not having to deal with Disney anymore.  After they released Toy Story 2 Disney said “not so fast, the deal calls for five original films; sequels don’t count.”  This meant that Pixar had to not only get back to Monsters, Inc., which they had set aside to work on Toy Story 2, but they also had to deliver Finding Nemo and The Incredibles to Disney.  After that Disney just bought Pixar outright.

The amazing thing is that despite all of this Toy Story 2 is a fantastic film.  In fact, I considered it the best film that Pixar had ever done until Toy Story 3 eclipsed it eleven years later. 

Movie – Crimson Tide (1995)

Crimson Tide was the first major submarine movie to be released after the huge success of The Hunt for Red October (1990).  You can read my review of that film here.  It was obvious that Producers Jerry Bruckheimer and Don Simpson were hoping to capitalize on the success of that earlier film.  The first clue is the title.  Yes, it ties in with the name of the submarine, the U.S.S. Alabama, since the University of Alabama’s sports teams are named the “crimson tide”, but the fact that the title was very similar to Red October’s was probably the biggest reason they went with it.  The second clue was the marketing.  Notice anything familiar about it?  

The thing is, Crimson Tide was far closer to submarine movie Run Silent, Run Deep (1958) than to The Hunt for Red October.  Where Run Silent, Run Deep had a clash between veteran Captain Clark Gable and Executive Officer Burt Lancaster, Crimson Tide casts Gene Hackman and Denzel Washington in those roles.  The result (for both films – see my next post for my review of Run Silent, Run Deep) is a movie whose best reason for watching is these two huge personalities battling each other for command.

Movie and Book – The Hunt for Red October (1990)

While flipping through channels on the TV do you ever find yourself stopping to watch a movie that you’ve already seen, even if you own it on DVD?  The Hunt for Red October is one of those movies for me.  I couldn’t count how many times I’ve stopped and watched whatever scene is playing, at least until the next commercial break.  Sometimes it even prompts me to get out the DVD and watch it again from the beginning.  Someday I will do a category of those kinds of movies for me (hint: Groundhog Day is another.)  Just as Das Boot is clearly the best submarine movie ever made, in my opinion, so too is The Hunt for Red October clearly the second best submarine movie ever made.

Movie – S.F.W. (1994)

The title “S.F.W.” stands for “so fucking what”, the unintended catchphrase of the main character of the film.  Obviously the studios couldn’t put the full title on posters, in print ads, or in TV trailers, so they abbreviated it, much like the more recent Canadian film YPF (2007) where the first two letters stood for “young people”.  S.F.W is a biting satire on the media and instant celebrity, as well as anticipating the rise of “reality” shows.  For 1994 it was WAY ahead of its time.  While I would not compare it to 1976’s Network in terms of quality, the two are certainly twins in how the things in the movies that appeared to be insanely over the top when they came out have come true in the years since then.  S.F.W. is also the first film in which I ever saw Reese Witherspoon and Tobey Maguire.

Movie – Dead Again (1991)

It’s not too common for me to be completely blindsided by a reveal or twist in a movie when much of the action hinges on the fact that we don’t know yet what is going on.  Whether it’s because I subconsciously recognize little clues and hints, or whether it’s simply the sheer number of movies I’ve seen, I tend to correctly anticipate twists.  It’s a pleasure then when I encounter a movie with a twist that completely surprises me.  I love that.  Now imagine a movie with two huge twists, neither one of which I remotely saw coming.  Dead Again is that film.  (Don’t worry – I won’t be spoiling them in this post.)  It features great double mystery stories – a murder in the 1940s and an amnesiac woman in the present – and the possibility that the two are connected somehow.  This film is a psychological thriller with honest to God genuine goose bump raising moments.  It’s also the first movie in which I ever saw Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson, who play the double leads.

Movie – 2 Days in the Valley (1996)

After Pulp Fiction came out in 1994 any film that featured intersecting narratives got branded as a “ripoff” of “Tarantino’s idea”.  Of course, he was hardly the first person to use this story device in a film – watch Robert Altman’s 1975 film Nashville, 1992 film The Player, and 1993 film Short Cuts, for instance.  Usually any charges of a film being directly related to Pulp Fiction because of its story structure can be ignored, but in the case of 2 Days in the Valley that might actually be correct.  It came out only two years after Pulp Fiction – enough time to develop and shoot a film based on the popularity of another.  It features at least a dozen familiar faces playing characters in and around Los Angeles whose lives end up connecting over the course of 48 hours.  Among those faces is Charlize Theron.  Other than an uncredited appearance in a horror movie sequel, this was her first film role and also the first film in which I ever saw her.

Movie – Lone Star (1996)

Back in 1996 Lone Star was my first exposure to writer/director John Sayles.  Even though I had heard of some other films of his like The Brother from Another Planet (1984) and Eight Men Out (1988), I had not seen them.  (Still haven’t, actually.)  Sayles’ critics, much like Kevin Smith’s, complain that he is a better writer than he is a director.  I say give me an engaging story any day, rather than a bunch of “look at me, I’m an artiste!” camera movements.  In fact, the screenplay for Lone Star received numerous nominations, including ones for the WGAs, Golden Globes, BAFTAs, and Academy Awards.  This film also happens to be the first one in which I ever saw Matthew McConaughey.  It is a well-written story of parent/child relations, white, latino, and black relations, and the legacy of a man vs. the reality of that man, all wrapped in a 40 year old mystery story.

Movie – Gattaca (1997)

Although the concept of genetic engineering had been around for decades in science fiction writing, movies had tended to either stay away from the potentially controversial subject, or they had presented a very simplistic view of it as something only evil scientists wanted to do.  Gattaca was the first film I saw that treated the subject intelligently, and that dealt with the social impact this would have on the world.  It is also the first film in which I ever saw Jude Law.

There are some other firsts that go along with this movie.  It was the first film for writer/director Andrew Niccol (writer of the Truman Show, writer/director of Lord of War – a much overlooked movie that is well worth your time.)  Gattaca was also the first film that Maya Rudolph (Saturday Night Live) ever did.  Finally, it was the film where Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman first fell in love.  They eventually married and had two children.

Movie – Hackers (1995)

Hackers is a film very much of its own time.  Because of rapid advancement in computer technology young people watching it today probably do not even understand some of the terms the characters are using.  The film has a bunch of references to the history of computers, the history of hacking, and the cyberpunk literature movement that was started in the 1980s.  As both a computer person and science fiction fan, I got a great deal of enjoyment from this film.  All of that paled in comparison to something else this film provided to me – it’s the first time I ever saw Angelina Jolie onscreen.

Movie – My Father the Hero (1994)

My Father the Hero is the first film in which I ever saw Katherine Heigl.  She was in her teens and was playing the daughter to Gerard Depardieu in this comedy vehicle for him.  The film is actually a remake of the original 1991 French film of the same (translated) name, which also starred Depardieu.  In that one Belgian actress Marie Gillain played his daughter and it launched her career.  While Heigl eventually needed a TV show to make her a household name, she did work steadily after making this film.  The problem is that a story that works for a French audience isn’t necessarily one that works for an American audience.  This remake was polarizing for some people.

Movie – What’s Eating Gilbert Grape (1993)

What with the subject matter in the movie, and with the word “grape” right in the title, it’s impossible not to use the word “bittersweet” to describe the film What’s Eating Gilbert Grape.  Johnny Depp is the star and he was already a household name when the movie was made.  Also in the film, and someone who I had never heard of before I saw it, is Leonardo DiCaprio.  He plays a mentally retarded younger brother of Gilbert’s.  Because I knew nothing about DiCaprio, and because he did such a good job in the role, I honestly wondered if the young man they got to play the role really did have that condition.  I must not have been the only one who was impressed because DiCaprio received an Oscar nomination for his performance.  He didn’t win, though. Those of you who saw the film Tropic Thunder know why.

Movie – Belle Epoque (1992)

Belle Epoque is one of the few comedies to ever receive an Oscar in any of the Best Picture categories.  In this case it was the 1993 Best Foreign Language Film winner.  It also won nine Goyas (the “Spanish Oscar”), including Best Picture, in its own country.  It is the first film in which I ever saw Penelope Cruz.  She was about 18 when it was shot.  It’s also the first time I ever saw Maribel Verdu and Ariadna Gil, too, but they are not as well known in the U.S. despite the fact that both were in Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) – Verdu as the housekeeper and Gil as the mother.

Movie – Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999)

Drop Dead Gorgeous is a mockumentary in the style of This is Spinal Tap, except instead of covering a rock band, this film covers a small town Minnesota beauty pageant.  Like Spinal Tap everyone in Drop Dead Gorgeous plays it straight – as if the outlandish things that are going on are completely normal.  In and of themselves pageants are funny anyway.  Now add in the small town gossip, rich family/poor family, good girl/bad girl, pervy judges, amateur talent productions, sabotage, death, and much, much more and you’ve got a funny, tongue in cheek comedy.

Movie – Man Bites Dog (1992)

What if a documentary crew had been following the lead character of Alex from A Clockwork Orange around, Spinal Tap mockumentary style?  What if he was even more violent than we thought?  What if he chose to share his innermost thoughts on life, art, culture, and music while simultaneously killing people?  What if he had his own Spinal Tap “Stonehenge” and “lost behind the stage” moments?  What kind of movie would that be?  The answer is Man Bites Dog, an ultraviolent, seriously twisted, dark dark satire on "reality" programming.  I was saying to myself, "I shouldn't be laughing at this."  It’s a movie that is certainly not for the faint of heart.