The Good... of the 1990s
After creating my Best-Of-Lists for every decade I felt like some pretty good movies were still left out. To change that here is my The Good... of the 1990s list. Mind you, as the heading implies the movies on this list are not bad. I just do not feel that they belong on a Best-Of-List.
As ususal, don't hesitate to leave a comment if you feel up to it.
PS: The movies are sorted by year and not necessarily by my preference. This list is by no means complete as I will add new worthwhile films as I stumble across them.
As ususal, don't hesitate to leave a comment if you feel up to it.
PS: The movies are sorted by year and not necessarily by my preference. This list is by no means complete as I will add new worthwhile films as I stumble across them.
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- DirectorWarren BeattyStarsWarren BeattyMadonnaAl PacinoThe comic strip detective finds his life vastly complicated when Breathless Mahoney makes advances towards him while he is trying to battle Big Boy Caprice's united mob.
- DirectorJoe DanteChuck JonesStarsZach GalliganPhoebe CatesHowie MandelThe Gremlins are back, and this time, they've taken control of a New York City media mogul's high-tech skyscraper.
- DirectorMike FiggisStarsRichard GereAndy GarciaNancy TravisAn Internal Affairs agent becomes obsessed with bringing down a cop who has managed to maintain a spotless reputation despite being involved in a web of corruption.
- DirectorPhil JoanouStarsSean PennEd HarrisGary OldmanA Boston cop is recruited to return to his hometown and infiltrate the mob ran by his best friend's brother.
- DirectorFrank MarshallStarsJeff DanielsJulian SandsJohn GoodmanA new species of South American killer spider hitches a lift to a small California town in a coffin and starts to breed, leaving a trail of deaths that puzzle and terrify the young doctor newly arrived in town with his family.
- DirectorJoel SchumacherStarsKiefer SutherlandKevin BaconJulia RobertsFive medical students experiment with "near death" experiences, until the dark consequences of past tragedies begin to jeopardize their lives.
- DirectorIrvin KershnerStarsPeter WellerNancy AllenBelinda BauerRoboCop returns to protect the citizens of old Detroit but faces a deadly challenge when a rogue OCP member secretly creates a new, evil RoboCop 2.
- DirectorWilliam Peter BlattyStarsGeorge C. ScottEd FlandersBrad DourifA police lieutenant uncovers more than he bargained for as his investigation of a series of murders, which have all the hallmarks of the deceased Gemini serial killer, leads him to question the patients of a psychiatric ward.
- DirectorNicolas RoegStarsAnjelica HustonMai ZetterlingJasen FisherA young boy stumbles onto a witch convention and must stop them, even after he has been turned into a mouse.
- DirectorClive BarkerStarsCraig ShefferDavid CronenbergAnne BobbyA troubled young man is drawn to a mythical place called Midian where a variety of friendly monsters are hiding from humanity. Meanwhile, a sadistic serial killer is looking for a patsy.
- DirectorTony ScottStarsTom CruiseNicole KidmanRobert DuvallA young hot-shot stock car driver gets his chance to compete at the top level.
- DirectorDwight H. LittleStarsSteven SeagalJoanna PaculaBasil WallaceA retired DEA agent is out to hunt down and take out a Jamaican drug posse that has targeted he and his family for murder.
- DirectorStephen WallaceStarsBryan BrownGeorge TakeiTerry O'QuinnThe island of Ambon in Indonesia, 1945. During the War, the number of Australian POWs on the island had dropped from 1100 to less than 300 due to abuses by their Japanese captors. Capt. Cooper is the chief prosecutor. In a mass grave, the bodies of 300 executed servicemen have been unearthed. Cooper assumes that the massacre was ordered by Baron Takahashi, Japanese commander on Ambon. But the one potential witness has gone mad and is due to be shipped back to Australia. No captured airmen were found alive on the island at all, not even the four-man crew of a reconnaissance plane shot down late in the War. Takahashi is returned to the island in the custody of an American officer, Maj. Beckett. But there is little evidence with which to prosecute the Baron. Cooper thinks he could make a case for the missing airmen if only their bodies could be located. And why does Maj. Beckett appear interested in not seeing Takahashi convicted? Cooper gets a break when Lt. Tanaka, a communications officer and a Christian, surrenders himself...
- DirectorPeter HyamsStarsGene HackmanAnne ArcherJames SikkingA Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney is sent to protect a woman who accidentally witnessed a Mafia murder.
- DirectorKen LoachStarsFrances McDormandMaurice RoëvesRobert PattersonWhen an American human rights lawyer is assassinated in Belfast, it remains for the man's girlfriend, as well as a tough, no nonsense, police detective to find the truth.
- DirectorJerry ZuckerStarsPatrick SwayzeDemi MooreWhoopi GoldbergAfter a young man is murdered, his spirit stays behind to warn his lover of impending danger, with the help of a reluctant psychic.
- DirectorGarry MarshallStarsRichard GereJulia RobertsJason AlexanderA man in a legal but hurtful business needs an escort for some social events, and hires a beautiful prostitute he meets... only to fall in love.
- DirectorHoward FranklinBill MurrayStarsBill MurrayGeena DavisRandy QuaidThree thieves successfully rob a New York City bank, but making the escape from the city proves to be almost impossible.
- DirectorIvan ReitmanStarsArnold SchwarzeneggerPenelope Ann MillerPamela ReedA tough cop must pose as a kindergarten teacher in order to locate a dangerous criminal's ex-wife, who may hold the key to putting him behind bars.
- DirectorRichard BenjaminStarsCherBob HoskinsWinona RyderAn unconventional single mother relocates with her two daughters to a small Massachusetts town in 1963, where a number of events and relationships both challenge and strengthen their familial bonds.
- DirectorAllan MoyleStarsChristian SlaterSamantha MathisAnthony Luke LuceroMark runs a pirate radio station and causes an uproar when he speaks his mind and enthralls fellow teens.
- DirectorDavid LynchStarsNicolas CageLaura DernWillem DafoeYoung lovers Sailor and Lula run from the variety of weirdos that Lula's mom has hired to kill Sailor.
- DirectorVolker SchlöndorffStarsNatasha RichardsonFaye DunawayAidan QuinnUnder a dystopian religious tyranny, most women cannot conceive children. Those young women who can live in a form of sexual slavery to provide children for influential families.
- DirectorBarbet SchroederStarsJeremy IronsGlenn CloseRon SilverWealthy Sunny von Bülow lies brain-dead, husband Claus guilty of attempted murder; but he says he's innocent and hires Alan Dershowitz for his appeal.
- DirectorAlan J. PakulaStarsHarrison FordRaul JuliaGreta ScacchiAs a lawyer investigates the murder of a colleague, he finds himself more connected to the crime than anyone else.
- DirectorChristian de ChalongeStarsMichel SerraultPierre RomansBérangère BonvoisinBased on the real life of Dr. Marcel Petiot: During world war II Petiot, an MD living in occupied Paris, promised to help wealthy Jewish people among his patients to flee occupied France for Spain. Instead, he drugged them and burnt their bodies in his home, while stealing their valuables. After the Liberation of France, he was condemned to death.
- DirectorRichard PearceStarsSissy SpacekWhoopi GoldbergDwight SchultzTwo women, black and white, in 1955 Montgomery Alabama, must decide what they are going to do in response to the famous bus boycott led by Martin Luther King.
- DirectorPhilip KaufmanStarsFred WardUma ThurmanMaria de MedeirosAnaïs Nin meets American writer Henry Miller in Paris in 1931. She keeps a diary of her sexual awakening, which includes Henry and his wife June.
- DirectorYimou ZhangFengliang YangStarsGong LiWei LiBaotian LiIn rural China, the young bride of a tyrannical owner of a silk-dyeing business finds temporary solace in the arms of her husband's nephew, but problems arise when she becomes pregnant.
- DirectorKar-Wai WongStarsLeslie CheungMaggie CheungAndy LauA man tries to find out who his real mother is after the woman who raised him tells him the truth.
- DirectorJacques DoillonStarsRichard AnconinaGérald ThomassinClotilde CourauMarc and Nathalie are brother and sister living separately since their parents' separation. Marc decides to visit Nathalie but in order to finance his trip he robs a shop bringing him to the attention of the police.
- DirectorPhilip RidleyStarsViggo MortensenLindsay DuncanJeremy CooperIn the 1950s, a young boy living with his troublesome family in rural USA fantasizes that a neighboring widow is actually a vampire, responsible for a number of disappearances in the area.
- DirectorAlan ParkerStarsDennis QuaidTamlyn TomitaSab ShimonoThe passionate romance between an Irish-American man and a Japanese-American woman is threatened when the Pearl Harbor attacks happen and the woman is forced into a prison camp because of her ethnicity.
- DirectorOtakar VotocekStarsPeter O'TooleColin FirthMarie TrintignantA famous movie actor (Peter O'Toole) claims that he has written a book. As result, a real author, not a very well known writer, vengenfully kills him but then dies as a result of an accident. Next, they both find themselves in after-life, where souls of all famous people are gathered.
- DirectorGianni AmelioStarsGian Maria VolontèEnnio FantastichiniRenato CarpentieriA principled judge faces a case that society demands capital punishment for.
- DirectorJim SheridanStarsRichard HarrisJohn HurtSean BeanWhen a field (which has been farmed by the McCabe family for generations) goes up for auction, the patriarch of the McCabe family will stop at nothing to prevent a rich American from buying it.
- 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.
- DirectorKathryn BigelowStarsPatrick SwayzeKeanu ReevesGary BuseyAn F.B.I. Agent goes undercover to catch a gang of surfers who may be bank robbers.
- DirectorMario Van PeeblesStarsWesley SnipesIce-TAllen PayneA crime lord ascends to power and becomes megalomaniacal while a maverick police detective vows to stop him.
- DirectorJoe JohnstonStarsBilly CampbellJennifer ConnellyAlan ArkinA young pilot stumbles onto a prototype jetpack that allows him to become a high-flying masked hero.
- DirectorRon HowardStarsKurt RussellWilliam BaldwinRobert De NiroTwo feuding siblings carrying on a heroic family tradition as Chicago firefighters. But when a puzzling series of arson attacks is reported, they are forced to set aside their differences to solve the mystery surrounding these crimes.
- DirectorTony ScottStarsBruce WillisDamon WayansChelsea FieldA private detective's protected female witness is murdered, prompting him and the victim's boyfriend to investigate the crime that leads to a corrupt politician and a crooked football team owner.
- DirectorRussell MulcahyStarsDenzel WashingtonJohn LithgowIce-TA District Attorney is terrorized by the criminal he put away years ago when he was a cop.
- DirectorMark L. LesterStarsDolph LundgrenBrandon LeeCary-Hiroyuki TagawaTwo L.A. cops with opposing views on what is the best way to uphold the law have to work together to bring down the Yakuza, while trying to protect a beautiful woman.
- DirectorMark DiSalleStarsJeff SpeakmanJohn DyeMakoAn expert in "kenpo" karate avenges his Koreatown friend, slain by a mobster in Los Angeles.
- DirectorJohn FlynnStarsSteven SeagalWilliam ForsytheJerry OrbachWith his partner executed in broad daylight by a psychotic mafia enforcer, a veteran Brooklyn officer vows revenge. But is the unstoppable detective prepared to face the truth and pay the price of blood?
- DirectorJames DeardenStarsMatt DillonSean YoungJames BonfantiA determined student murders his pregnant secret girlfriend and moves onto her twin sister who gradually becomes suspicious of her new lover.
- DirectorWolfgang PetersenStarsTom BerengerBob HoskinsGreta ScacchiAfter a horrific car wreck leaves him an amnesiac, a man slowly begins to unravel his shocking past.
- DirectorAlan RudolphStarsDemi MooreGlenne HeadlyBruce WillisTwo detectives interrogate a hairdresser on two homicides she may or may not have been involved in.
- DirectorLili Fini ZanuckStarsJason PatricJennifer Jason LeighSam ElliottTwo small-town Texas cops go undercover to catch a major drug dealer and are sucked into the drug culture, compromising their assignment.
- DirectorMarco RisiStarsCorso SalaniAngela FinocchiaroAntonello FassariJune 27, 1980, an Italian DC 9 flying from Bologna to Palermo falls in the sea close to the Ustica island. 81 people die. The official version is ''structure failure'' of the airplane, but a number of clues lead the journalist Rocco Ferrante toward a different truth. Thanks to his perseverance against the invisible wall erected by air force officers, politicians, judges, secret agents, we come to know that, with all probability, the DC 9 has been mistakenly shot by a missile during a sort of air fight among U.S., French and Libyan top guns. A true story.
- DirectorAlex CoxStarsRoberto SosaBruno BichirVanessa BaucheAgainst his father's wishes, Pedro, a naive kid from Mexico City, joins the Federal Highway Patrol. His simple desire to do good rapidly comes into conflict with the reality of police work.
- DirectorKenneth BranaghStarsKenneth BranaghEmma ThompsonAndy GarciaA woman who has lost her memory is taken in by a Los Angeles orphanage, and a private eye is enlisted to track down her identity, but he soon finds that he might have a past life connection to her that endangers their lives.
- DirectorBarry LevinsonStarsWarren BeattyAnnette BeningHarvey KeitelThe story of how Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel started Las Vegas.
- DirectorJohn SaylesStarsVincent SpanoTony Lo BiancoStephen MendilloAn intersecting tale with a multitude of characters living lives which, in one way or another, revolve around an old apartment block scheduled to be demolished.
- DirectorBarry SonnenfeldStarsAnjelica HustonRaul JuliaChristopher LloydCon artists plan to fleece an eccentric family using an accomplice who claims to be their long-lost uncle.
- DirectorJohn LandisStarsSylvester StalloneOrnella MutiPeter RiegertA gangster attempts to keep the promise he made to his dying father: that he would give up his life of crime and "go straight".
- DirectorLawrence KasdanStarsDanny GloverKevin KlineSteve MartinThe fates of several people are randomly intertwining. Their sympathy of each other faces multiple differences in their lifestyles.
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsSusan SarandonGeena DavisHarvey KeitelTwo best friends set out on an adventure, but it soon turns around to a terrifying escape from being hunted by the police, as these two women escape for the crimes they committed.
- DirectorDavid ZuckerStarsLeslie NielsenPriscilla PresleyGeorge KennedyLieutenant Frank Drebin discovers that his ex-girlfriend's new beau is involved in a plot to kidnap a scientist who advocates solar energy.
- DirectorRon UnderwoodStarsBilly CrystalJack PalanceDaniel SternOn the verge of turning 40, an unhappy Manhattan yuppie is roped into joining his two friends on a cattle drive in the southwest.
- DirectorJohn DuiganStarsNoah TaylorThandiwe NewtonNicole KidmanTwo freethinking teenagers - a boy and a girl - confront with authoritarian teachers in their boarding schools. The other students treat this differently.
- DirectorMichael Caton-JonesStarsMichael J. FoxJulie WarnerBarnard HughesA young doctor on his way across the country to a job interview crashes his car in a small town and is sentenced to work for several days at the town hospital.
- DirectorRobert MulliganStarsSam WaterstonTess HarperGail StricklandA coming of age story set in the south of the U.S. when Elvis was King.
- DirectorHoward ZieffStarsAnna ChlumskyMacaulay CulkinDan AykroydVada is obsessed with death. Her mother is dead, and her father runs a funeral parlor. When Vada's father hires Shelly, a makeup expert, and begins to fall in love, Vada is outraged and does everything in her power to split them up.
- DirectorAlan ParkerStarsRobert ArkinsMichael AherneAngeline BallJimmy Rabbitte, an unemployed Dublin boy, decides to put together a soul band made up entirely of the Irish working class.
- DirectorKarel KachynaStarsTom CourtenayBrigitte FosseyIngrid HeldStage mime Antoine Moreau (Sir Tom Courtenay) is compelled by the Gestapo to put on a performance for the children of Terezin, a "model" concentration camp, to convince the Red Cross observers that the camp is truly what it seems. Reluctant at first, Moreau slowly learns the true nature of the camp, including the meaning of the "transports" on which people leave. With a world-class orchestra (made up of people interned in the camp) and a cast of children, Moreau stages a show to end all shows.
- DirectorRobert TownsendStarsRobert TownsendMichael WrightLeonThe story of the rise and fall of an African American vocal group.
- DirectorFrank OzStarsBill MurrayRichard DreyfussJulie HagertyA successful psychotherapist loses his mind after one of his most dependent patients, an obsessive-compulsive neurotic, tracks him down during his family vacation.
- DirectorMick JacksonStarsSteve MartinVictoria TennantRichard E. GrantWith the help of a talking freeway billboard, a wacky weatherman tries to win the heart of an English newspaper reporter, who is struggling to make sense of the strange world of early 1990s Los Angeles.
- DirectorStephen GyllenhaalStarsDennis HopperBarbara HersheyEd HarrisIn a small Georgia town in the 1950s, bigoted store owner Paris Trout kills a young black girl when his brother refuses to pay his debts.
- DirectorAlbert BrooksStarsAlbert BrooksMeryl StreepRip TornIn an afterlife way-station resembling a major city, the lives of the recently deceased are examined in a court-like setting.
- DirectorMark RydellStarsBette MidlerJames CaanGeorge SegalTalented USO entertainer Dixie Leonard and comedian Eddie Sparks deal with their relationship over the course of 5 decades from World War II to the Vietnam War era to their twilight era in the 90's.
- DirectorBarbra StreisandStarsBarbra StreisandNick NolteBlythe DannerA troubled man talks to his suicidal sister's psychiatrist about their family history and falls in love with her in the process.
- DirectorSøren Kragh-JacobsenStarsTomas Villum JensenMorten Buch JørgensenNikolaj Lie KaasA group of school-mates form a resistance group in nazi-occupied Denmark.
- DirectorBrian GilbertStarsSally FieldAlfred MolinaSheila RosenthalAn American woman trapped in Islamic Iran by her brutal husband must find a way for her and her daughter to escape.
- DirectorBruce BeresfordStarsLothaire BluteauAden YoungSandrine HoltIn the 17th century, a Jesuit missionary nicknamed Black Robe by the natives and his small party of companions try reaching the Huron tribe in Canada all while facing mistrust, Iroquois warring parties and harsh winter conditions.
- DirectorGus Van SantStarsRiver PhoenixKeanu ReevesJames RussoTwo best friends living on the streets of Portland as hustlers embark on a journey of self discovery and find their relationship stumbling along the way.
- DirectorDavid MametStarsJoe MantegnaWilliam H. MacyVincent GuastaferroA Jewish homicide detective investigates a seemingly minor murder and falls in with a Zionist group as a result.
- DirectorNancy SavocaStarsRiver PhoenixLili TaylorRichard PanebiancoBefore leaving to fight in Vietnam, a group of teenagers play a game where they try to seduce the ugliest girl they can find.
- DirectorKen LoachStarsRobert CarlyleEmer McCourtJim R. ColemanThe story of construction-worker Stevie and his unemployed pop-singer girlfriend shows the living conditions of the British poor class.
- DirectorJim JarmuschStarsWinona RyderGena RowlandsLisanne FalkAn anthology of 5 different cab drivers in 5 American and European cities and their remarkable fares on the same eventful night.
- DirectorOliver StoneStarsVal KilmerMeg RyanKyle MacLachlanThe story of the famous and influential 1960s rock band The Doors and its lead singer and composer, Jim Morrison, from his days as a UCLA film student in Los Angeles, to his untimely death in Paris, France at age 27 in 1971.
- DirectorAlain CorneauStarsGérard DepardieuJean-Pierre MarielleAnne BrochetThe story of Monsieur de Sainte Colombe, fierce and somber man, grand master of the viola da gamba and professor of Marin Marais, prestigious musician in the court of Louis XIV.
- DirectorGaspar NoéStarsPhilippe NahonBlandine LenoirFrankie PainAfter a dreadful incident coupled with an ungovernable paroxysm of violence, a butcher will fall into a downward spiral that will burn to the ground whatever dignity still remained in him.
- DirectorJuan José CampanellaStarsHarley CrossKaren YoungJesse BradfordA psychotic 12 year old makes life hell for his emotionally frail mother.
- DirectorJavier TorreStarsNorma AleandroFederico LuppiJorge Mayor"El Pollo," a 13-year-old child in reform school, witnesses and experiences the brutalization of the guards and the other inmates.
- DirectorPhillip NoyceStarsHarrison FordSean BeanAnne ArcherWhen CIA analyst Jack Ryan interferes with an IRA assassination, a renegade faction targets him and his family for revenge.
- DirectorAndrew DavisStarsSteven SeagalGary BuseyTommy Lee JonesAn ex-Navy Seal turned cook is the only person who can stop a group of terrorists when they seize control of a U.S. battleship.
- DirectorBruce RobinsonStarsAndy GarciaUma ThurmanLance HenriksenJohn Berlin, a former Los Angeles homicide detective, investigates a multiple murder case in San Diego. The only witness is a blind girl to whom he is immediately attracted.
- DirectorCurtis HansonStarsAnnabella SciorraRebecca De MornayMatt McCoyAfter her sex offender husband gets caught in the act and kills himself, an embittered pregnant widow loses her child, and embarks on a mission of vengeance against one of her husband's victims and the woman's family.
- DirectorRobert ZemeckisStarsMeryl StreepBruce WillisGoldie HawnWhen a fading actress learns of an immortality treatment, she sees it as a way to outdo her long-time rival.
- DirectorJohn CarpenterStarsChevy ChaseDaryl HannahSam NeillAfter a freak accident, a company executive turns completely invisible, goes on the run and becomes hunted by a treacherous CIA official, whilst trying to cope with his new reality.
- DirectorRobert RodriguezStarsCarlos GallardoConsuelo GómezJaime de HoyosA traveling mariachi is mistaken for a murderous criminal and must hide from a gang bent on killing him.
- DirectorPhil Alden RobinsonStarsRobert RedfordDan AykroydSidney PoitierA security pro finds his past returning to haunt him when he and his unique team are tasked with retrieving a particularly important item.
- DirectorHelmut DietlStarsGötz GeorgeUwe OchsenknechtChristiane HörbigerThe slightly fictionalized story of an art forger, a journalist desperate for a big story, and the biggest press scandal in German history: the Hitler Diaries.
- DirectorJames IvoryStarsAnthony HopkinsEmma ThompsonVanessa RedgraveSet in the early 20th century, class distinctions and troubled relations affect the relationship between two families and the ownership of a cherished British estate known as Howards End.
- DirectorJean-Jacques AnnaudStarsJane MarchTony Ka Fai LeungJeanne MoreauIn 1929 French Indochina, a French teenage girl embarks on a reckless and forbidden romance with a wealthy, older Chinese man, each knowing that knowledge of their affair will bring drastic consequences to each other.
- DirectorJohn G. AvildsenStarsStephen DorffArmin Mueller-StahlMorgan FreemanAn English boy, living in Africa during World War II, through his boxing prowess, becomes a symbol of hope, in a time of war.
- DirectorRobert MandelStarsBrendan FraserMatt DamonChris O'DonnellIn 1959, a star quarterback from a working-class family is given an opportunity to attend an elite New England preparatory school, but he is conflicted about whether or not to tell his Evangelical classmates that he is Jewish.