1990s

If the 80s were my introduction to movies, the 90s were when my version of pop culture as it collided with the movies being made. This is when I was introduced to the passion that I have for movies that I have today. Movies like Dances with Wolves proved that great Western epics still existed and later Unforgiven reaffirmed that belief. Silence of the Lambs brought a new kind of terror based in a very real world.

Tom Hanks made the 90s his, with movies like Philadelphia, A League of Their Own, and Forrest Gump just to name a few. Opposite him was Julia Roberts. Her films like Pretty Woman, Runaway Bride, and My Best Friend’s Wedding put her on top.

Some other big names also rose to the top during the 90s. One of the biggest was a young Leonardo DiCaprio, who captured the spotlight with films like What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, The Basketball Diaries, and Titanic. This was also a great decade for Meg Ryan who made hit movies like Sleepless in Seattle, Courage Under Fire, and You’ve Got Mail. 

I think some of the most important movies we’ve seen came from the 90s as well. Between Schindler’s List and Philadelphia we saw how Hollywood could confront real problems and bring them to life without cheapening them.

This was also the decade where Disney woke back up and gave us some of the most impressive animated films we’d ever seen. Thanks to great new leadership, Disney produced films like Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King.

Here are the films I’ve reviewed from the 90s:

• Home Alone (1990) – Nominated for Best Original Song and Best Original Score
• Dick Tracy (1990) – Nominated for 7 Oscars, winning 3 including Best Original Song and Best Makeup
• Miller’s Crossing (1990)
• Flatliners (1990) – Nominated for Best Sound Effects Editing
• Dances with Wolves (1990) – Nominated for 12 Oscars, winning 7 including Best Picture and Best Director
• Another 48 Hours (1990)
• Fried Green Tomatoes (1991) – Nominated for Best Supporting Actress and Best Adapted Screenplay
• The Indian Runner (1991)
• Grand Canyon (1991) – Nominated for Best Original Screenplay
• Beauty and the Beast (1991) – Nominated for 6 Academy Awards, winning for Best Original Song and Best Original Score
• The Silence of the Lambs (1991) – Nominated for 7 Oscars, winning 5 including Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Picture
• My Own Private Idaho (1991)
• Backdraft (1991) – Nominated for Best Sound, Best Visual Effects, and Best Sound Effects Editing
• Hook (1991) – Nominated for 5 Oscars including Best Original Song and Best Visual Effects
• The Prince of Tides (1991) – Nominated for 7 Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Original Score
• Thelma and Louise (1991) – Nominated for 6 Oscars, winning for Best Original Screenplay
• Raise the Red Lantern (1991) – Nominated for Best Foreign Language Film
• The Fisher King (1991) – Nominated for five Academy Awards, winning for Best Supporting Actress
• All I Want for Christmas (1991)
• JFK (1991) – Nominated for 8 Oscars, winning for Best Film Editing and Best Cinematography
• Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992)
• Brother’s Keeper (1992)
• Glengarry Glen Ross (1992) – Nominated for Best Supporting Actor
• The Last of the Mohicans (1992) – Won an Oscar for Best Sound
• A River Runs Through It (1992) – Nominated for 3 Oscars, winning Best Cinematography
• The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
• My Cousin Vinny (1992) – Won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress
• Alien3 (1992) – Nominated for Best Visual Effects
• Hoffa (1992) – Nominated for Best Makeup and Best Cinematography
• Unforgiven (1992) – Nominated for 9 Oscars, winning 4 including Best Picture and Best Director
• A League of Their Own (1992)
• Wayne’s World (1992)
• Rudy (1993)
• In the Name of the Father (1993) – Nominated for 7 Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director
• Schindler’s List (1993) – Nominated for 12 Oscars, winning 7 including Best Picture and Best Director
• What’s Eating Gilbert Grape (1993) – Nominated for Best Supporting Actor
• Sleepless in Seattle (1993) – Nominated for Best Original Song and Best Original Screenplay
• The Age of Innocence (1993) – Nominated for 5 Oscars, winning for Best Costume Design
• Rookie of the Year (1993)
• The Firm (1993) – Nominated for Best Supporting Actress and Best Original Score
• Jurassic Park (1993) – Won Oscars for Best Visual Effects, Best Sound, and Best Sound Effects Editing
• Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) – Won an Academy Award for Best Makeup
• The Sandlot (1993)
• Philadelphia (1993) – Nominated for 5 Oscars, winning Best Actor and Best Original Song
• Ed Wood (1994) – Winner of Oscars for Best Supporting Actor and Best Makeup
• Léon: The Professional (1994)
• Little Big League (1994)
• Baseball – A Film by Ken Burns (1994)
• The Santa Clause (1994)
• The Client (1994) – Nominated for Best Actress
• Hoop Dreams (1994) – Nominated for Best Film Editing
• MTV Unplugged in New York – Nirvana (1994)
• Pulp Fiction (1994) – Nominated for 7 Academy Awards, winning Best Original Screenplay
• It Could Happen to You (1994)
• Forrest Gump (1994) – Nominated for 13 Oscars, winning 6 including Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Director
• The Crow (1994)
• Wyatt Earp (1994) – Nominated for Best Cinematography
• Dead Man Walking (1995) – Nominated for 4 Oscars, winning for Best Actress
• Braveheart (1995) – Nominated for 10 Oscars, winning 5 including Best Picture and Best Director
• Fallen Angels (1995)
• The Bridges of Madison County (1995) – Nominated for Best Actress
• 12 Monkeys (1995) – Nominated for Best Supporting Actor and Best Costume Design
• While You Were Sleeping (1995)
• First Knight (1995)
• Sabrina (1995) – Nominated for Best Original Song and Best Original Musical or Comedy Score
• Billy Madison (1995)
• The Quick and the Dead (1995)
• Four Rooms (1995)
• Friday (1995)
• The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain (1995)
• Sense and Sensibility (1995) – Nominated for 7 Oscars, winning for Best Adapted Screenplay
• The English Patient (1996) – Nominated for 12 Oscars, winning 9 including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Cinematography
• Michael Collins (1996) – Nominated for Best Cinematography and Best Original Dramatic Score
• Independence Day (1996) – Nominated for 2 Academy Awards, winning for Best Visual Effects
• Marvin’s Room (1996) – Nominated for Best Actress
• Jerry Maguire (1996) – Nominated for 5 Oscars, winning for Best Supporting Actor
• City Hall (1996)
• Shine (1996) – Nominated for 7 Oscars, winning Best Actor
• The Crucible (1996) – Nominated for Best Supporting Actress and Best Adapted Screenplay
• Jingle All the Way (1996)
• From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)
• The Rock (1996) – Nominated for Best Sound
• The Preacher’s Wife (1996) – Nominated for Best Original Musical or Comedy Score
• Ken Burns Presents: The West (1996)
• Mulholland Falls (1996)
• Romeo + Juliet (1996) – Nominated for an Oscar for Best Set Decoration
• G.I. Jane (1997)
• As Good As It Gets (1997) – Nominated for 7 Academy Awards, winning Best Actor and Best Actress
• Gattaca (1997) – Nominated for Best Set Decoration
• Absolute Power (1997)
• The Devil’s Own (1997)
• Life is Beautiful (1997) – Nominated for 7 Oscars, winning 3 including Best Actor, Best Original Score, and Best Foreign Language Film
• The Devil’s Advocate (1997)
• Con Air (1997) – Nominated for Best Sound and Best Original Song
• The Rainmaker (1997)
• Face/Off (1997) – Nominated for Best Sound Effects Editing
• Donnie Brasco (1997) – Nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay
• Alien: Resurrection (1997)
• Grosse Pointe Blank (1997)
• Titanic (1997) – Nominated for 14 Oscars, winning 11 including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Cinematography
• Jackie Brown (1997) – Nominated for Best Supporting Actor
• The Boxer (1997)
• The Peacemaker (1997)
• Amistad (1997) – Nominated for Best Supporting Actor, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, and Best Original Score
• Shakespeare in Love (1998) – Nominated for 13 Oscars, winning 7 including Best Picture, Best Actress, and Best Supporting Actress
• Elizabeth (1998) – Nominated for 7 Academy Awards, winning Best Makeup
• Patch Adams (1998) – Nominated for Best Original Musical or Comedy Score
• Saving Private Ryan (1998) – Nominated for 11 Oscars, winning 5 including Best Director and Best Cinematography
• Return to Paradise (1998)
• The Siege (1998)
• Rush Hour (1998)
• Rushmore (1998)
• Ever After: A Cinderella Story (1998)
• You’ve Got Mail (1998)
• The Thin Red Line (1998) – Nominated for 7 Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director
• Mercury Rising (1998)
• The Big Lebowski (1998)
• I’ll Be Home for Christmas (1998)
• American Beauty (1999) – Nominated for 8 Oscars, winning 5 including Best Picture and Best Director
• Ride with the Devil (1999)
• Payback (1999)
• Message in a Bottle (1999)
• October Sky (1999)
• The General’s Daughter (1999)
• The Other Sister (1999)
• The Iron Giant (1999)
• Notting Hill (1999)
• For Love of the Game (1999)
• The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) – Nominated for 5 Academy Awards including Best Supporting Actor and Best Original Score
• The Insider (1999) – Nominated for 7 Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director
• The Confession (1999)

Don’t for get about the 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 2000s, or 2010s!