Al's Top Rated Films: 1995

Outstanding crime drama/mystery from David Fincher that follows a mysterious, methodical, and psychopathic murderer (nicknamed "John Doe") who's mercilessly killing specific people in a ruthlessly torturous fashion for no motive other than the victims having committed one of the Catholic-bred seven deadly sins: Pride, Greed, Lust, Envy, Gluttony, Wrath, and Sloth. A skilled and veteran homicide detective named William Somerset is about to retire when the case gets dropped in his lap. He's paired up with a young, cocky, short-fused detective named David Mills. The investigation becomes shockingly gruesome with each horrifying murder as they try to keep the upper hand on John Doe's next move. As time moves on and more people are murdered, it becomes increasingly apparent that John Doe is beginning to target David's life, which throws a crazed plot-twisting ending to the story. This film ranks with the very best of its genre, and still stands as a perfect crime drama today. Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt both deliver a couple of their all-time best lead performances. They had great chemistry together. While Kevin Spacey only shows up in the last 30 minutes of the film, his role and presence was absolutely fantastic and really elevated the ending of the film. It still stands as one of his most memorable performances. Gwyneth Paltrow, R. Lee Ermey, Richard Schiff, Daniel Zacapa, John Cassini, Julie Araskog, John C. McGinley, and others also had great supporting roles.

Fantastic action-packed crime drama/thriller from Michael Mann that follows a Los Angeles based career criminal named Neil McCauley who's assembled a team of highly-skilled professional bank robbers who take down huge scores. Once they start to feel the heat from executing these jobs, they decide to make one last bank robbery worth $12.2 million before they retire from their treacherous lives of crime. That proves to be a risky decision when Lieutenant Vincent Hanna and the rest of the LAPD are hot on their tracks, and results in a riveting series of deadly events. The good versus evil interactions and respectful conversations between Neil McCauley and Lieutenant Vincent Hanna really adds greatly to the story and feel of the film. It's arguably Michael Mann's finest film, and arguably a perfect crime thriller. Robert De Niro and Al Pacino both deliver amazing lead performances and had great interaction together. I'd say top 5 roles from each actor. Val Kilmer, Tom Sizemore, Amy Brenneman, and Natalie Portman also had great starring roles. Jon Voight, Diane Venora, Ashley Judd, Ted Levine, Mykelti Williamson, Wes Studi, Dennis Haysbert, William Fichtner, Tom Noonan, Kevin Gage, Danny Trejo, Jerry Trimblem and many others had great supporting roles.

Fantastic crime drama from Martin Scorsese set in 1973 and follows a skilled sports handicapper and Italian Mafia associate named Sam "Ace" Rothstein who is sent from Chicago to Las Vegas to run the luxurious Tangiers Casino. Sam is accompanied by a ruthless and short-fused mob enforcer named Nicky Santoro to protect Sam and the casino from corruption. Sam immediately doubles the casino's profits and begins to gain power. While he wants to run the business clean, Nicky is looking to make power moves with the help of Ace's success. Meanwhile, Sam falls in love with gorgeous con artist, showgirl, and former prostitute named Ginger McKenna who's hopelessly dedicated to her ex-pimp, Lester, which causes major waves in Sam's business and personal life. Danger ensues when Nicky's ruthlessly violent and possessiveness clashes with his duties and Sam personal decisions, which puts the two at deadly odds with each other. Fantastic story, production design, dialogue, and casting. Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci are arguably the best duo in the entire crime drama genre, and they both deliver top-notch lead performances. Sharon Stone's Oscar-nominated starring role was also fantastic, and arguably her best. Frank Vincent, James Woods, Don Rickles, Alan King, Pasquale Cajano, Vinny Vella, Kevin Pollak, John Bloom, Craig Vincent, Carl Ciarfalio, and several others also had great supporting roles.

Fantastic crime mystery/thriller from Bryan Singer and Christopher McQuarrie that follows five criminals that are arrested following a deadly shootout in New York City. Frustrated cops interrogate each suspect looking for information about the killings. They finally get to a disabled man named Verbal, who convincingly explains a plan that a mystifying and legendary criminal mastermind named Keyser Söze, which lead them to commit the heist. Christopher McQuarrie definitely deserved the Oscar for best writing. The story is fantastic, boats excellent dialogue, and has a plot-twisting narrative that reveals intricate details of the mystery at key point throughout the film (which is enhanced with multiple viewings). Very entertaining film throughout with a fantastic ending. Kevin Spacey won the Oscar for his role, and is arguably his best lead performance of all time. Stephen Baldwin, Gabriel Byrne, Chazz Palminteri, Benicio Del Toro, Kevin Pollak, and Pete Postlethwaite all bring their A-game and also deliver excellent starring roles. Dan Hedaya, Giancarlo Esposito, Suzy Amis, Morgan Hunter, Peter Greene, Christopher McQuarrie, and others also had great supporting roles.

Powerful and Hilarious comedy drama from F. Gary Gray and Ice Cube set in a poor area of South Central Los Angeles, and follows best friends Craig and Smokey on a frightful Friday that they'll never forget. Craig just got fired from his job, and his parents immediately pester him to go out and get a job. Smokey works with a ruthless drug dealer named Big Worm and sells weed throughout the neighborhood. While Craig normally drinks and doesn't smoke weed, he decides to take Smokey up on an offer to drown his sorrows with a joint. Lots of comical and dramatic situations take place throughout the day as they flirt with girls, gab with locals, dodge drug addicts, and avoid confrontations with the neighborhood bully, Deebo. When Big Worm finds out Smokey smoked all his weed, doesn't have the money to pay for, and partially blames Craig's job loss for the reason it's all gone; Big Worm threatens to kill Smokey and Craig if they don't repay him $200 by 10pm that night. Excellent dialogue, characters, and a powerful underlying story really makes this an underrated gem in my book. Ice Cube and Chris Tucker make an excellent duo and both deliver fantastic lead performances. John Witherspoon, Anna Maria Horsford, Nia Long, Tom Lister Jr., Paula Jai Parker, Faizon Love, DJ Pooh, Regina King, Angela Means, Vickilyn Reynolds, Ronn Riser, Kathleen Bradley, Tony Cox, Anthony Johnson, Bernie Mac, and others also had great supporting roles.

Superb drama directed by and starring Clint Eastwood set in 1965 rural Iowa, and follows a lonesome World War II Italian war bride named Francesca Johnson who's future and lifeless marriage hasn't turned out as great as she hoped it would. When her husband and children leave for four days, a National Geographic Magazine photographer named Robert Kincaid wanders by her house looking for directions. There is an immediate attraction and curiosity that kicks off a friendship, and releases happiness and curiosity that Francesca hasn't felt in years. It soon blossoms into a beautiful and complex love story as Francesca faces a dramatically difficult decision to remain in her soulless and misplaced life, or run off and build a future with Robert. Lovely story with beautiful dialogue and perfect casting. Meryl Streep (Oscar-nominated) and Clint Eastwood both deliver fantastic lead performances with their steamy and electrifying chemistry they share throughout the film. I'd have to say it's my favorite role from Streep. They take up almost all the screen time in the entire film, and it never feels like too much. Annie Corley and Victor Slezak also had nice roles among the minor supporting cast.

Severely underrated coming-of-age comedy from Amy Heckerling. The story is a fantastic 1990s time capsule that follows a rich, popular, and fashionable 16-year-old high-school sophomore named Cher Horowitz, who's trying to make the best of her adolescent life. When a new socially "clueless" girl named Tai Frasier arrives in their school, Cher and her best friend Dionne decide to take this hopeless girl, give her a makeover, and make her popular like they are. While many of her friends delve into partying, sex, and drugs, Cher's idealistic personality finds her playing matchmaker with her teachers to improve her grades and keeping her friendships and relationships in check. Meanwhile, she starts to fall in love with the intellectually-natured son of her dad's ex-wife, Josh, which continues to shape her personality. Excellent story, hilarious comedy, fantastic 1990s slang, catch-phrases, and nostalgia. One of my all-time favorite high-school comedies. I also had a huge crush on Alicia Silverstone back in the day. She is absolutely perfect for the role of Cher, and delivers a knockout lead performance. Stacey Dash, Brittany Murphy, and Paul Rudd also deliver some of their best starring roles of their careers. Donald Faison, Dan Hedaya, Elisa Donovan, Breckin Meyer, Jeremy Sisto, Wallace Shawn, Twink Caplan, Justin Walker, Nicole Bilderback, and others also had excellent supporting roles.

Fantastic historical crime drama from Mick Jackson that looks back on the alleged child abuse at the McMartin preschool in Manhattan Beach, California, 1983. The story mainly follows defense attorney Danny Davis, who initially takes the case for publicity reasons, while prosecuting attorney Lael Rubin has the backing of the media who is demonizing the family. What seems like a clear cut case of guilt turns into a batch of flawed evidence that could not convict a single person in a case that lasted 7 years and costed the tax payers $15 million. The accused teacher Ray Buckey was forced to stay in jail without bail for 5 years, with his mother staying for 3 years. And they'll have to carry the accusations with them for the rest of their lives, as much of the public believes they are still guilty. Fantastic courtroom drama all around, with excellent dialogue and superb casting. James Woods arguably delivers his best lead performance to date. The same could be said for Mercedes Ruehl. Shirley Knight also delivered one of her best starring roles, as evidenced by her Primetime Emmy win. Alison Elliott, Sada Thompson, Henry Thomas, Lolita Davidovich, Mark Blum, and many others had fantastic supporting roles.

Epic war drama/historical biography from Mel Gibson set in 1280 Scotland, and follows Scottish warrior William Wallace after losing his family and wife Murron to the oppressive English regime ran by the brutally merciless English ruler King Edward "Longshanks". This leaves Wallace devastated and enraged, as he assembles and leads a group of oppressed countrymen in an uprising historically known as the "First War of Scottish Independence" against the tyranny of England. These deadly battles erupt into relentless war, which eventually becomes the symbol of freedom for Scotland. Excellent story all around, and likely my favorite film Mel Gibson's ever made as evidenced by his Oscar wins for best picture and best director. The action and cinematography is really the standout to the film in my book, which helped it win another 3 Oscars. Mel Gibson also delivers arguably his best lead performance of his career. Sophie Marceau, Catherine McCormack, Patrick McGoohan, and Brendan Gleeson also had excellent starring roles. James Cosmo, David O'Hara, James Robinson, Tommy Flanagan, Peter Hanly, Sean Lawlor, Brian Cox, Ian Bannen, and others also had great supporting roles.

Outstanding Pixar comedy adventure from John Lasseter that follows the toy collection of a fun-loving 6-year-old boy named Andy. When humans are not around, the toys come to life, and have built a society among themselves. Andy's favorite toy is a loyal cowboy named Woody, who generally leads the way and calls the shots among the rest of the toys. However, on the day of Andy's birthday, he receives a Buzz Lightyear action figure, which is the top trending toy in the current market. Buzz quickly becomes Andy's favorite new toy, which leaves Woody jealous and distraught at the thought of losing his best friend. That triggers Woody to sabotage Buzz's chances at spending time with Andy, which has troubling results, and finds in the other toys turning against Woody when they feel he's trying to kill Buzz over his bitter resentment towards him. Woody soon realizes his faults, and works to make things right at all costs. This is the first Pixar film ever made, and it still stands as one of the best films in their catalog. Everything about the story, animation, action, dialogue, and the toy detail was amazingly done. Tom Hanks (Woody) and Tim Allen (Buzz Lightyear) both deliver a couple of their most iconic lead voice performances. Don Rickles (Mr. Potato Head), Jim Varney (Slinky Dog), Wallace Shawn (Rex), John Ratzenberger (Hamm), Annie Potts (Bo Peep), John Morris (Andy), Erik von Detten (Sid), R. Lee Ermey (Sergeant), Laurie Metcalf, and plenty others also had great supporting roles.

Hilarious buddy comedy from Peter Segal that follows a care-free underachieving college graduate named Tommy Callahan who barely makes it through school, and is pumped to return to his hometown of Sandusky, Ohio, where he will be running the family auto parts business with his father, Big Tom. Big Tom is also about to get married to a gorgeous woman (a 10), and couldn't be happier with life. However, on the day of his wedding, he has a fatal heart attack, which puts Tommy in the driver's seat to run the company. Tommy is bound and determined to save the company, and is helped by Big Tom's former assistant Richard Hayden as they drive across the country trying to sell brake pads to various auto parts distributors. Trouble ensues when his Big Tom's wife and mysterious son try to steal and sell the business, and put the local townspeople out of work. Great story all around, and hands-down Chris Farley's biggest and best lead film performance. He showed a lot more range as an actor with this film, and proved he wasn't just a slapstick comic. He and David Spade are perfect together and drive the story perfectly. Brian Dennehy, Bo Derek, Dan Aykroyd, Julie Warner, Sean McCann, Zach Grenier, Colin Fox, and others also had great supporting roles.

Hilarious comedy from Tamra Davis that follows 27-year-old underachiever named Billy Madison that spends his days getting drunk and having fun with his like-minded loser buddies. He's able to live this life since his father is extremely wealthy after building a chain of 650 hotels. Billy is supposed to takeover the business when his father retires, but that's put in jeopardy when Billy has proven to be too stupid and irresponsible to do so. So Billy makes a wager that he can go back to school and repeat grades 1–12 all over again to prove to his father he isn't an idiot, and is capable of running his hotel empire. If he fails, the company will go to the slimy and corrupt executive vice president Eric Gordon, who tries to sabotage Billy at every turn. While this may be the goofiest film of the trio, this is probably my favorite Adam Sandler comedy alongside Happy Gilmore (1996) and The Waterboy (1998). My love for 90s Saturday Night Live humor wins me over every time. Adam Sandler delivers one of my personal favorite lead performances of his career. Darren McGavin, Bridgette Wilson-Sampras, and Bradley Whitford also had excellent starring roles. Norm MacDonald, Mark Beltzman, Josh Mostel, Larry Hankin, Jared Cook, Kyle Bailey, James Downey, Dina Platias, Steve Buscemi, Chris Farley, Theresa Merritt, Jack Mather, and others also had great supporting roles.

Excellent action-packed thriller and my second favorite film in the Die Hard franchise. This time we follow NYPD Lieutenant John McClane being targeting by a psychopathic killer named "Simon" who bombs a large New York City department store, claims responsibility for it, and threatens to detonate another bomb unless John goes to the roughest area of Harlem wearing a sandwich board with a printed racial slur that could get him killed. Simon's demands don't stop there, as he sends John on a wild series of dangerous tasks. If he doesn't complete them in time, more people die. He's helped along the way by a black Harlem shop owner named Zeus who gets tangled up in the struggle, and it proves to be John's most difficult missions yet. You don't often see sequels this outstanding for straight action thrillers like Die Hard. The second movie was excellent, and this third installment is even better. The action is the best the franchise has seen yet, and the cast was phenomenal. Bruce Willis delivers one of his all-time best lead performances. Jeremy Irons was a fantastic villain, and Samuel L. Jackson also had a great starring role. Graham Greene, Colleen Camp, Larry Bryggman, Anthony Peck, Nick Wyman, Sam Phillips, Kevin Chamberlin, Sharon Washington, Stephen Pearlman, Aldis Hodge, John C. Vennema, and others also had great supporting roles.

Excellent war thriller from Tony Scott that follows a young and educated Lieutenant Commander named Ron Hunter who is appointed X.O. (Executive Officer) by the aggressive veteran Captain Frank Ramsey of a U.S. nuclear missile sub that's armed and ready to launch in the midst of a heated civil war in Russia. After getting orders to launch nuclear weapons at the enemy, a partial unknown message comes through after that could have given them conflicting information. Regardless, the trigger-happy Ramsey assertively proceeds with the launch, despite other officers' contradictory opinions. Before long, Hunter stages a mutiny and places Ramsey under arrest until they get concrete confirmation to launch the weapons, which could possibly start an unstoppable nuclear holocaust. Excellent story with lots of great dialogue and plenty of great action and tension-filled drama throughout. One of Tony Scott's finest thrillers. Denzel Washington and Gene Hackman both had superb lead performances, and every scene they shared together was electrifying. Viggo Mortensen, George Dzundza, Matt Craven, James Gandolfini, Rocky Carroll, Danny Nucci, Lillo Brancato, Eric Bruskotter, Steve Zahn, Ryan Phillippe, and many others had great supporting roles.

Excellent historical adventure from Ron Howard set in 1969, and follows the true story of the 13th Apollo space mission bound for the moon. The events follows an ambitious astronaut named Jim Lovell who is set to be commander of the mission. Lovell's wife has a nightmare about her husband dying in space as the launch date approaches. Her fears soon find her and everyone at NASA facing a deadly and catastrophic incident after an oxygen tank explodes on the spacecraft and causes a variety of technical problems. The mission is aborted, and it's a race against time to save the lives of Lovell and his crew members Fred Haise and John "Jack" Swigert, and get them back to earth safely. Great space adventure and a well done story overall. The film unsurprisingly won Oscars for best sound and best film editing to go along with the gorgeous production design. The cast was fantastic and really made the film a winner. Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton, and Kevin Bacon all delivered excellent lead performances. Gary Sinise, Ed Harris (Oscar-nominated), and Kathleen Quinlan (Oscar-nominated) also had excellent starring roles. Chris Ellis, Joe Spano, Xander Berkeley, Clint Howard, Loren Dean, Marc McClure, Mary Kate Schellhardt, Miko Hughes, Max Elliott Slade, Jean Speegle Howard, David Andrews, and many others had great supporting roles.

Excellent drama romance from Richard Linklater set in the summer of 1994 Vienna, and follows a young American tourist named Jesse who meets a beautiful young French student named Celine on a train from Budapest. They immediately make a real connection with each other as they talk in the lounge car all the way to Vienna. Jesse is supposed to get off the train when they arrive, and Celine is planning to stay on and take the train back to Paris where she lives. Jesse turns on the charm and persuades her to get off the train and spend the entire day and evening with him until his train comes due the next morning at 9am. It ends up being a magical night filled with love and self-exploration as it leads to the sweetly dramatic conclusion. The story is so simple and the dialogue and acting was so powerful and superbly done throughout. It's easy to see why this film kicked off arguably the best romantic drama trilogy of all time. Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy both delivered fantastic lead performances and shared great chemistry together. They also went uncredited for contributed much of the writing. The supporting cast of unknown actors also delivered very nicely.

Excellent crime drama based on the true story of Henri Young—a troubled young man who stole $5 from a post office in 1938, and ended up being sent to the most notorious prison of them all—Alcatraz. After being caught trying to escape, they place him in solitary confinement (referred top as "the dungeons" by prisoners), and faced horrifying torture, ruthless beatings, and only 30 minutes of exercise per year. After his time in the dungeon, he's immediately placed back with the other inmates, and promptly kills a man with a spoon. A young idealistic and dedicated attorney named James Stamphill takes Young's murder case and tirelessly works to prove the guards at Alcatraz drove him to a physical and psychological breakdown that drove him to murder the man. Excellent legal drama all around with great dialogue and casting. Christian Slater and Kevin Bacon both delivered a couple of their best lead performances and have great interaction with each other. Gary Oldman, William H. Macy, Stephen Tobolowsky, R. Lee Ermey, Embeth Davidtz, Brad Dourif, and others had excellent supporting roles.

Excellent crime drama/mystery from Taylor Hackford, which is based on the Stephen King's 1992 novel of the same name. The story is set in 1995, and follows a skilled New York City investigative journalist named Selena St. George who battles with a substance abuse problem, depression, and anxiety stemming from her past. She ends up traveling back to her hometown in Little Tall Island, Maine, when her estranged mother Dolores Claiborne is suspected of murdering the wealthy homeowner she's been a caregiver to for 23 years. The story flashes back to 1975 and expands on deep rooted family issues within their family, while a mysterious and aggravating murder investigation rolls forward. Excellent story that beautifully unfolds through poignant drama and great dialogue. The film also has a great musical score. Kathy Bates and Jennifer Jason Leigh are a couple of my favorite actresses, and they both deliver a couple of their best lead performances of their careers. Judy Parfitt, Christopher Plummer, David Strathairn, Eric Bogosian, John C. Reilly, Ellen Muth, Bob Gunton, and others also had very nice supporting roles.

Excellent crime drama/mystery from Spike Lee that follows a troubled young drug dealer named Ronald "Strike" Dunham, who gets mixed up with and manipulated by a vicious Brooklyn drug-lord named Rodney Little. When Rodney exploits the trust he has with Strike and convinces him to murder a former associate under mysterious circumstances, more heat comes down on him from an equally manipulative homicide detective named Rocco Klein, who ends up playing Strike against Rodney. Great story with signature-style Spike Lee dialogue and character development throughout. Lee delivers another powerful film in remarkable fashion. The cast is excellent. Mekhi Phifer, Delroy Lindo, and Harvey Keitel all deliver fantastic lead performances. Isaiah Washington, John Turturro, Keith David, Peewee Love, Regina Taylor, Thomas Jefferson Byrd, Sticky Fingaz, Michael Imperioli, Fredro Starr, Elvis Nolasco, Lawrence B. Adisa, Hassan Johnson, Lisa Arrindell, Spike Lee, Paul Calderon, Mike Starr, and others also had great supporting roles.

Excellent crime drama/mystery from Carl Franklin set in 1948 Los Angeles, and follows a African-American World War II veteran named Ezekiel "Easy" Rawlins who's down on his luck and can't find a job. He ends up being introduced to a suspicious private investigator named DeWitt Albright who offers to hire Easy to find a white woman named Daphne Monet who's been hanging out in black clubs in around town. The money is good, so he accepts the job, and soon finds himself in grave danger involving more gangsters, along with crooked cops and politicians. Underrated story with fantastic cinematography, production design, and arguably the perfect cast. It also boasts a great blues/R&B/jazz soundtrack. Denzel Washington delivers one of his finest lead performances. Tom Sizemore and Jennifer Beals also deliver great starring roles, and Don Cheadle delivers one if his more memorable supporting roles. Maury Chaykin, Terry Kinney, Mel Winkler, Albert Hall, Lisa Nicole Carson, and many others were great among the supporting cast.

Excellent drama/romance from Mike Figgis that follows a deeply troubled Hollywood screenwriter named Ben Sanderson who lost his wife, family, and career due to his uncontrollable alcoholism. He decides to cash out all of his accounts, burn all of his painful memories, and head to Las Vegas to drink himself to death. He believes it will take about 4 weeks to drink himself to death, and ends up hiring a near-equally troubled prostitute named Sera to spend the evening just talking and listening to each other. Deep feelings grow between the two instantly, and Sera invites Ben to move in with her following a nasty debacle with her pimp. Their days are filled with a combination of happiness, joy, depression, anger, resentment, and acceptance; as an inevitable conclusion approaches. Powerful story all around with great structure. Nicolas Cage and Elisabeth Shue both arguably deliver their best lead performances, and have great chemistry together. Julian Sands, Richard Lewis, Steven Weber, Valeria Golino, Graham Beckel, R. Lee Ermey, Danny Huston, Laurie Metcalf, and others had great supporting roles.

Excellent over-the-top sequel to Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994). This time the direction is handled by Steve Oedekerk, and the story follows Ace joining a Tibetan monastery after when a raccoon horrifically dies during one of his rescue missions (in hilarious Cliffhanger spoof fashion). Once he has recovered from his personal crisis, he's approached by a British representative of the (fictional) African country of Nibia, and is hired track down a sacred white bat that's been stolen; which keeps the peace between two African tribes that would normally go to war without its presence. Oedekerk took the elements of the first film and made the jokes more outrageous and overblown. While the story isn't as solid, the comedy generally lands and turns out to be a hilarious story and a solid sequel. Jim Carrey delivers another excellent lead performance with even more wild animated silliness. Ian McNeice, Simon Callow, Maynard Eziashi, Bob Gunton, Sophie Okonedo, Tommy Davidson, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Bruce Spence, Arsenio 'Sonny' Trinidad, Kristin Norton, Michael Reid MacKay, and others also had very nice supporting roles.

Excellent crime drama from the Hughes brothers set in Brooklyn, New York, 1969. The film follows a high-school senior named Anthony Curtis who decides to enlist in the military to fight in the Vietnam war rather than go to college. After a long 4 years, he returns to Brooklyn a decorated vet, and struggles to face his family obligations with his girlfriend and daughter, as well as trouble finding work due to his status as a vet, in addition to rapid racism and discrimination occurring during the civil right movement. PTSD from the war also weighs heavily on him as his drinking gets out of hand. When tensions rise high enough, he and his partner Kirby and best friends Skip and Jose decide that pulling off a heist involving a government truck full of cash is their best option at survival. Powerful and excellently done film all around. Larenz Tate delivers a fantastic lead performance. Keith David, Chris Tucker, and Rose Jackson also had great starring roles. Freddy Rodríguez, N'Bushe Wright, Terrence Howard, Clifton Powell, James Pickens Jr., Jenifer Lewis, Bokeem Woodbine, and many others had great supporting roles.

Hilarious comedy from Kevin Smith that follows a college student named T.S. Quint who's planning to propose marriage to his girlfriend Brandi on their upcoming vacation to Orlando. When he goes to pick her up, Brandi explains she can't go, they get into a big argument, and they break up. Meanwhile, his best friend Brodie Bruce was just dumped by his girlfriend for being a comic book and video game obsessed underachiever who lives in his mom's basement. They meet up and decide to head to the local mall to ease their loss, and brainstorm how to win them back while they run into several friends, acquaintances, their respective girlfriends, and plenty of bizarre trouble. This is Kevin Smith's second film, which had a huge budget compared to the independently made Clerks (1994). While I don't consider it one of Smith's best films, it's very cleverly written with unique dialogue throughout, and has plenty of laughs. It has a unique charm that I still enjoy and find entertaining to this day. Jeremy London and Jason Lee both deliver excellent lead performances. Ben Affleck and Michael Rooker also had a great starring roles. Shannen Doherty, Claire Forlani, Joey Lauren Adams, Renée Humphrey, Jason Mewes, Kevin Smith, Ethan Suplee, Stan Lee, Sven-Ole Thorsen, and others also had very nice supporting roles.

Excellent crime drama from Kathryn Bigelow set in Los Angeles 1999 during the final days of the millennium, and portrays the inner city as a very chaotic and crime ridden area. The story follows an ex-cop named Lenny Nero who deals in illegal recordings of "dreams" sold on MiniDisc that allows the viewer to feel and experiencing the situations like real life. When a "dream" of a woman being brutally strangled and raped mysteriously ends up in his hands, he finds himself in the middle of a deadly investigation with his friend Lornette. Meanwhile, he struggles with his love for his former mistress Faith, and tries to save her from a situation closely involved with the murders. Uniquely done story and with some nice action, great dialogue, and great production design. Ralph Fiennes and Angela Bassett both deliver excellent lead performances. Juliette Lewis also had a great starring role. Tom Sizemore, Michael Wincott, Vincent D'Onofrio, William Fichtner, Brigitte Bako, Richard Edson, Glenn Plummer, Josef Sommer, Michael Jace, and others also had great supporting roles.

Powerful crime drama from Tim Robbins set in Louisiana 1982, and follows a caring nun named Sister Helen Prejean who finds herself empathizing with a convicted killer named Matthew Poncelet, who has been sentenced to death for the murder and rape of a teenage couple. Poncelet is an angry, sexist, and racist man who doesn't seem to feel any empathy for his crimes, and continually claims that his accomplice Carl Vitello committed the crimes. When it seems everyone is against him, Sister Helen helps delay his execution while attempting to bring salvation to his life. Great story with very nice dialogue and drama throughout. Susan Sarandon delivered a superb Oscar-worthy lead performance. Sean Penn also delivered an excellent starring role. Robert Prosky, Raymond J. Barry, R. Lee Ermey, Celia Weston, Margo Martindale, Scott Wilson, Lois Smith, Roberta Maxwell, Clancy Brown, Peter Sarsgaard, Jack Black, and others also had nice supporting roles.

Excellent family fantasy adventure from Joe Johnston set in Brantford, New Hampshire, 1969, and follows a troubled boy named Alan Parrish who discovers a mysterious and other-worldly board game named "Jumanji" buried in a construction site, and starts playing the game with his friend Sarah Whittle. To their absolute horror, Alan is magically sucked into the game's world after an unlucky roll of the dice, and Sarah runs off in terror. 26 years later, Peter and Judy Shepherd move into the vacant Parrish house with their aunt after the death of their parents, and find the "Jumanji" board game hidden in the attic. When they start playing, Alan Parrish is released from the game (as an adult); and now he, the kids, and Alan's childhood friend Sarah must complete the game to eliminate the curse that is destroying them and the entire town. Solid story with a lot of different elements that makes this a fun nostalgic ride for myself. The action and excellent excellent special effects to keep the story entertaining throughout. Robin Williams delivers a fantastic lead performance. Kirsten Dunst, Bradley Pierce, and Bonnie Hunt also had excellent starring roles. Adam Hann-Byrd, Jonathan Hyde, Bebe Neuwirth, David Alan Grier, Laura Bell Bundy, Adam Hann-Byrd, Patricia Clarkson, Lloyd Berry, and others had very nice supporting roles.

Powerful and underrated drama from Stephen Gyllenhaal (father of movie stars Maggie and Jake Gyllenhaal) that follows a black crack-addicted mother named Khaila Richards who dumps her baby son Isaiah in a dumpster before heading out to get high, and frantically assumes he's dead after she finds he's gone the next morning. Luckily, the baby was found and brought to the hospital, and adopted to a loving white Lewin family, where the mother Margaret and whole family make special connections with him. Years later, we find Khaila in the prison system trying to live a clean and honest life, when she learns her son is actually alive and doing well with the Lewin family, and decides to bring her case to court in an attempt to win back custody of her son. Jessica Lange and Halle Berry both delivered a couple of their best lead performances. David Strathairn, Cuba Gooding Jr., Daisy Eagan, Marc John Jefferies, Samuel L. Jackson, Joie Lee, Regina Taylor, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, and many others had very nice supporting roles.

Underrated reboot of the classic 1970s TV series "The Brady Bunch" (1969–1974) with a hilariously modern twist. The story is set in a clashing 1990s alternative era, while the Brady's are living as if it's the 1970s. We follow Los Angeles based architect Mike Brady after learning their family must pay $20,000 in back taxes or the bank will foreclosure on their home. Pressure is added for them to move when their neighbor and corrupt real estate developer Larry Dittmeyer needs them to move in order for his plans to go through. The Brady's must band together to raise the money and save their house before it's too late. The concept of this good-natured and cheesy family entering the 1990s as if they were dropped in from a time machine was hilarious throughout. Clever comedy, story, and a great cast. It is still great today. Shelley Long (Carol), Gary Cole (Mike), Christine Taylor (Marcia), Christopher Daniel Barnes (Greg), Jennifer Elise Cox (Jan), Paul Sutera (Peter), Olivia Hack (Cindy), Jesse Lee Soffer (Bobby), Henriette Mantel (Alice), Florence Henderson (Grandma), Michael McKean (Larry), Florence Henderson, Jean Smart, Alanna Ubach, and several others have excellent performances.

Great drama/thriller from Wolfgang Petersen set in 1967 Zaire, and follows the outbreak of a fictional Ebolavirus called Motaba, which causes a deadly fever. The U.S. Army ends up destroying the camp where the virus was found to keep it secret from the public. However, in 1995 a team of specialists headed up by Colonel Sam Daniels are sent to Zaire to investigate an outbreak, and a monkey carrying the lethal virus is smuggled into the United States, and starts to rapidly spread the virus through a California town as experts scramble to find a solution to the outbreak. Great story with nice action and thrills like Petersen usually delivers. Dustin Hoffman, Rene Russo, and Morgan Freeman all deliver excellent lead performances. Kevin Spacey also had a great starring role. Cuba Gooding Jr., Donald Sutherland, Patrick Dempsey, Zakes Mokae, Susan Lee Hoffman, Dale Dye, Malick Bowens, Bruce Jarchow, and many others also had very nice supporting roles.

Hilarious action-packed crime comedy from Michael Bay that follows two long-running friends and slick Miami Police narcotics detectives named Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett, who make the biggest bust of their careers—a $100 million Mafia heroin seizure. After the drugs are transported to police headquarters, they are mysteriously stolen. Since it appears to be an inside job, they give Mike and Marcus 72 hours to recover the heroin, or else Internal Affairs will takeover and shut down the narcotics division. A call girl named Julie Mott gets mixed up in the ordeal and becomes a key witness in their investigation. Will Smith and Martin Lawrence both deliver excellent lead performances and make one of the finest on-screen cop duos. Téa Leoni also had a great starring role. Tchéky Karyo, Theresa Randle, Joe Pantoliano, Frank John Hughes, Marg Helgenberger, Nestor Serrano, and others also had very nice supporting roles.

Fascinating historical biography from Oliver Stone on the life of the 37th president of the United States—Richard Nixon (1913–1994). The story takes an in-depth look at Nixon's early beginnings growing up in a poor family of Quakers, overcoming the odds and becoming president, to an eventual shameful end to his tenure following the Watergate scandal, which consisted of illegal government investigations and bugging of political opponents' offices. While I'm a big fan of Oliver Stone, this film just ran a bit long and moved a bit slowly for me. Perhaps it needs a revisit. The greatness is in the casting and great performances throughout. Anthony Hopkins and excellent lead performance, and Joan Allen also had a great starring role as Nixon's wife, Pat. Powers Boothe, Ed Harris, Bob Hoskins, Paul Sorvino, David Paymer, David Hyde Pierce, Mary Steenburgen, J.T. Walsh, James Woods, Larry Hagman, Madeline Kahn, Dan Hedaya, and others also had very nice roles among the star-studded supporting cast.