1990s Challenge - Official; October 2020

[Traveller]

102. Stir of Echoes (1999) - 3/10
103. Hard Target (1993) - 1/10

[allisoncm]

1. Posse (1993)
2. Just Another Girl on the I.R.T. (1997)
3. Baby Blood (1990) 6/10
4. Due occhi diabolici/Two Evil Eyes (1990) 7/10
5. Bride of Chucky (1998) 6/10

[hurluberlu]

22. Tous les garçons et les filles de leur âge... Travolta et moi (Patricia Mazuy, 1994) 8-




23. Vanya on 42nd Street (Louis Malle, 1994) 7

The G90D old days

1. Like Water for Chocolate / Como agua para chocolate (Alfonso Arau, 1992) 5+
2. The Virgin Suicides (Sofia Coppola, 1999) [Rewatch] 8- (=)
3. Hamlet (Kenneth Branagh, 1996) [242min] 8



4. The Power of Kangwon Province / Kangwon-do ui him (Sang-soo Hong, 1998) 7-



5. [135 mins TV series]
The X-Files S5E8: Kitsunegari (Daniel Sackheim, 1998) 7+
The X-Files S5E9: Schizogeny (Ralph Hemecker, 1998) 7
The X-Files S5E10: Chinga (Kim Manners, 1998) 6+



6. Betty (Claude Chabrol, 1992) 6+



7. In the Mouth of Madness (John Carpenter, 1995) 6+



8. Passion Fish (John Sayles, 1992) 7



9. The Confessional / Le confessionnal (Robert Lepage, 1995) 6+



10. [135 mins TV series]
The X-Files S5E11: Kill Switch (Rob Bowman, 1998) 8+
Probably the best conspiracy episode not related to aliens and the main arc, so far.
The X-Files S5E12: Bad Blood (Cliff Bole, 1998) 8-
One of the funniest script... feeling we are getting at the heights of the show.
The X-Files S5E13: Patient X (Kim Manners, 1998) 7-



11. It All Starts Today / Ça commence aujourd'hui (Bertrand Tavernier, 1999) 8-



12. Crime Story / Jung on zo (Kirk Wong, Jackie Chan, 1993) 7



13. What Dreams May Come (Vincent Ward, 1998) 5-



14. [135 mins TV series]
The X-Files S5E14: The Red and the Black (Chris Carter, 1998) 7-
The X-Files S5E15: Travelers (William A. Graham, 1998) 7
The X-Files S5E16: Mind's Eye (Kim Manners, 1998) 7



15. My Cousin Vinny (Jonathan Lynn, 1992) 7+



16. The Stone / Kamen (Aleksandr Sokurov, 1992) 5
17. Lucky People Center International (Erik Pauser, Johan Söderberg, 1998) 6+
18. Three Colors: Blue / Trois couleurs: Bleu (Krzysztof Kieslowski, 1993) [Rewatch] 9+ (=)



19. Cyclo / Xích Lô (Anh Hung Tran, 1995) [Rewatch] 8+ (=)



20. The Legend of 1900 / La leggenda del pianista sull'oceano (Giuseppe Tornatore, 1998) 7




21. Crash (David Cronenberg, 1996) 6+

[Onderhond]

13. 2.0* - Teaching Sucks [Ng Yan Ji Dai] by Wilson Yip (1997)

A very early Wilson Yip romcom. Not really the genre you'd expect from Yip, but like most Hong Kong directors he found his calling by trying out whatever genre he could get his hands on. '97 was a bad year for Hong Kong cinema though and Yip wasn't really skilled enough yet to rise to the challenge. Lam and Wong are two teacher who have lost their passion to teach. They keep each other occupied, but their students show little respect for them. Until Cathy joins the teacher squad, a young teacher full of drive and will to make a difference. Lam and Wong are both captivated by Cathy's vigor, but it's obvious they want more than just be friends. Performances are a little lifeless, the cinematography is dim and the comedy is rarely funny. The story is anything but original, but at least the atmosphere is quite light and the pacing is decent. It's not that the film is terrible or doesn't work, it's just that there's hardly anything here that jumps out. Very basic filler.

Not looking forward to the upcoming 90s revival

01. 1.0* - The English Patient by Anthony Minghella (1996)
02. 2.0* - Cool Runnings by Jon Turteltaub (1993)
03. 2.5* - Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit by Bill Duke (1993)
04. 2.5* - Dante's Peak by Roger Donaldson (1997)
05. 3.0* - Chizuko's Younger Sister [Futari] by Nobuhiko Ôbayashi (1991)
06. 1.0* - Jack by Francis Ford Coppola (1996)
07. 3.0* - Lupin III: Voyage to Danger [Rupan Sansei: Rupan Ansatsu Shirei] by Masaaki Ôsumi (1993)
08. 2.0* - Bitter Moon by Roman Polanski (1992)
09. 2.0* - Thelma & Louise by Ridley Scott (1991)
10. 3.0* - Edward Scissorhands by Tim Burton (1990)
11. 3.0* - Goodbye for Tomorrow [Ashita] by Nobuhiko Ôbayashi (1995)
12. 3.5* - Shanghai Grand [Xin Shang Hai Tan] by Man Kit Poon (1996)

[Kublai Khan]

VH1 I Love The 90s

1. It (Tommy Lee Wallace-1990) (192 min)
2. Instrument (Jem Cohen-1999)
3. The Addams Family (Barry Sonnenfeld-1991)
4. Ronin (John Frankenheimer-1998)
5. Mat i syn (aka Mother and Son) (Aleksandr Sokurov-1997)
6. Close-Up (Abbas Kiarostami-1990)
7. At Play in the Fields of the Lord (Hector Babenco-1991) (189 min)
8. A Goofy Movie (Kevin Lima-1995)
9. The Witches (Nicolas Roeg-1990)
10. Friday (F. Gary Gray-1995)
11. Dazed and Confused (Richard Linklater-1993)
12. Quest for Camelot (Frederik Du Chau-1998)
13. The Sandlot (David M. Evans-1993)
14. The Bonfire of the Vanities (Brian De Palma-1990)
15. Snake Eyes (Brian De Palma-1998)
16. Carlito's Way (Brian De Palma-1993) (144 min)
17. Raising Cain (Brian De Palma-1992)
18. Sleepy Hollow (Tim Burton-1999)
19. Orgazmo (Trey Parker-1997)
20. My Best Fiend {aka Mein liebster Feind - Klaus Kinski} (Werner Herzog-1999)
21. Pokemon: Power of One {aka Gekijô-ban poketto monsutâ: Maboroshi no pokemon: Rugia bakutan} (Kunihiko Yuyama, Michael Haigney-1999)
22. The Minion (Jean-Marc Piché-1998)
23. Sleepless in Seattle (Nora Ephron-1993)

24. Chungking Express (Kar-wai Wong-1994)

The second story is way better than the first.

[jeroeno]

DAY 26 : 1997 & 1998

Rewatches









90's schlock

x

Watchlisted Arthouse



For people who just want to see the numbers:
191. The Faculty (1998)
192. BASEketball (1998)
193. The Negotiator (1998)
194. The Waterboy (1998)
195. Goshogaoka (1998)
196. Century of Cinema: Naamsaang-neuiseung (1998)
197. Cheob-sok (The Contact) (1997)

[cinephage]

05.101 Dalmatians, by Stephen Herek (1996) 7,5/10

I didn't think I would enjoy this as much, but there is actually little use of CGI, and a lot of normal dogs doing funny stuff. So it was enjoyable...

Back in my days... (04)

01. Arachnophobia, by Frank Marshall (1990) 7,5/10
02. Zendegi va digar hich / And life goes on, by Abbas Kiarostami (1992) 8/10
03. Waiting for Guffman, by Christopher Guest (1996) 7,5/10
04. Thinner, by Tom Holland (1996) 7/10

[Melvelet]

I totally get that reaction - I generally feel the same way upon rewatch. But imagine being an 11 year old kid who finally got to see super realistic dinosaurs moving around on a ginormous screen. It's always special for that moment.

I was among the very few 9 year olds in 1993 who didn't see Jurassic Park. I saw it as an adult, and I think my reaction was similar to Melvelet's. Yeah, that was fun. Enjoyed Goldblum much more than the dinosaurs, actually.

Yup. And Jurassic Park was one of the very first "adult" novel I ever read - because the movie was so awesome. And why I didn't like Lost World, because I didn't like the divergence from the book. Like it's interesting to me how I was at that perfect age to be sucked in by the magic of Jurassic Park.

It's even more surprising that I've never seen it when I consider that paleontologist was my dream job as a child. I guess my parents didn't allow me to see it (in Germany the movie has a 12+ rating)

Come to think about it, my next dinorsaur documentary binge-watching week is slowly overdue

[Melvelet]

9. Secrets & Lies 1996 8/10 141 min
Wasn't really that far up my watchlist but I wanted to get one of the 'longer than usual but not 4h' movies done. Ended up liking it a lot. The writing and acting are really top-notch

10. JFK 1991 7/10 205 min
Handled the plot with care. Can't complain about the filmmaking.

11. Being John Malkovich 1999 8/10
Not 100% if it managed to keep its momentum but unique and I especially laghed a lot in the first third.

12. eXistenZ 1999 8/10
Cronenberg movies always fit perfectly for my 'I should go to bed at this time but somehow would rather watch a movie in the night' mood. Maybe more entertaining than thought-provoking but well...

Spoiler

1. The Blair Witch Project 1999 7/10
2. Ringu 1998 7/10
3. Daun di atas bantal 1998 — a.k.a. Leaf on a Pillow 6/10
4. Miejsce urodzenia 1992 — a.k.a. Birthplace 8/10
5. Blue 1993 7/10
6. Jurassic Park 1993 7/10
7. The Truman Show 1998 8/10
8. Gu ling jie shao nian sha ren shi jian 1991 — a.k.a. A Brighter Summer Day 8+/10
9. Secrets & Lies 1996 8/10 141 min
10. JFK 1991 7/10 205 min
11. Being John Malkovich 1999 8/10
12. eXistenZ 1999 8/10

[sol]

12. eXistenZ 1999 8/10
Cronenberg movies always fit perfectly for my 'I should go to bed at this time but somehow would rather watch a movie in the night' mood. Maybe more entertaining than thought-provoking but well...

That's an unexpected comment. I've always found eXistenZ to be a highly thought-provoking with the way the plot deflects towards the end and that killer final line. Honestly, that's probably my favourite final line of all time - something that totally sums up how heavily immersed hardcore gamers can get in their games.

[sol]

Nineties

1. The Living End (1992)
2. Los Enchiladas (1999)
3. Three Seasons (1999)
4. Scream (1996) REVISION
5. Scream 2 (1997) REVISION
6. Child's Play 2 (1990)
7. Child's Play 3 (1991)
8. Bride of Chucky (1998)
9. The Resurrected (1991)
10. The Refrigerator (1991)
11. A Little Princess (1995)
12. Lord of Illusions (1995)
13. The Night Flier (1997)
14. Needful Things (1993)
15. Things. (1993)
16. Thinner (1996)
17. Meet the Applegates (1990)
18. Boy Meets Girl (1994)
19. Necronomicon (1993)
20. Castle Freak (1995)
21. Daddy's Girl (1996)
22. Deep Rising (1998)
23. Dust Devil (1992)
24. Love Bites (1993)
25. Nang Nak (1999)
26. Tremors (1990)
27. Trauma (1993)
28. Hexed (1993)
29. Mirage (1990)
30. Mimic (1997)
31. Mikey (1992)
32. Mom (1991)
33. Vampires (1998)
34. Shakma (1990)
35. The Fear (1995)
36. Playroom (1990)
37. Flatliners (1990)
38. Star Time (1992)
39. Living Doll (1990)
40. Funny Man (1994)
41. Mary Reilly (1996)
42. Subspecies (1991)
43. Wishmaster (1997)
44. Office Killer (1997)
45. Feeders (1996)
46. Dark Harbor (1998)
47. Shadowzone (1990)
48. Doppelganger (1993)

49. Fire in the Sky (1993)



This lags a bit until the alien encounter, but from the point of the abduction, it is a solid ride. The Kafkaesque middle section works best with very intense moments as the lumberjacks are forced to undergo lie detector tests and as they receive prank phone calls from the quick-to-accuse townsfolk. The abduction flashbacks in the final third of the film are pretty nifty too though and come with some great sets and horrific imagery. Great score too.

[flavo5000]

21. Onna harakiri: seisan (1990)
22. Shiro-shôzoku: harakiri (1990)
23. Cold Night: Bloodless Edition (1990)
24. Door 3 (1996)
25. Alien Abduction: Incident in Lake County (1998)
26. Raat (1992)
27. I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998)

Spoiler

1. Shakma (1990)
2. Kondom des Grauens a.k.a. Killer Condom (1996)
3. Goosebumps: 6 Episodes (1998)
4. Franky and His Pals (1991)
5. Vampire Cop (1990)
6. Halloweentown (1998)
7. The Willies (1990)
8. Campfire Tales (1997)
9. Dark Carnival (1993)
10. Retro Puppet Master (1999)
11. Under Wraps (1997)
12. Mystery Monsters a.k.a. Goobers (1997)
13. Psycho Diver: Masei Rakuryu (1997)
14. Sazan aizu seima densetsu a.k.a. 3x3 Eyes OVA 2 (1995)
15a. Haunted Lives: True Ghost Stories E2-3 (1991)
15b. Are You Afraid of the Dark S2E1-2 (1993)
16. The Wasp Woman (1995)
17. The Baby of Mâcon (1993)
18. Amityville: Dollhouse (1996)
19. Cruel Jaws (1995)
20. Don't Look Under the Bed (1999)
21. Onna harakiri: seisan (1990)
22. Shiro-shôzoku: harakiri (1990)
23. Cold Night: Bloodless Edition (1990)
24. Door 3 (1996)
25. Alien Abduction: Incident in Lake County (1998)
26. Raat (1992)
27. I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998)

[blueboybob]

82. Bride of Re-Animator (1990)
83. The Pit and the Pendulum (1991)
84. Crystal Nights (1992)
85. Necronomicon: Book of Dead (1993)
86. Faraway, So Close! (1993) <--- I liked it. Of course it reminded me of "City of Angels", but I am guessing City of Angels was a partial remake
87. Mary Reilly (1996)
88. The Night Flier (1997)
89. Ebola Syndrome (1996)
90. Enbalming (1999)
91. The Reflecting Skin (1990)
92. The Eight Immortals Restaurant: The Untold Story (1993)
93. Hardware (1990)

**Reviews in Horror Thread**

[Traveller]

104. Belovy (1992) - 5/10
105. Birthplace (1992) - 7/10

[OldAle1]

the Slick Willie years

1. Dangerous Seductress (H. Tjut Djalil, 1992)
2. Serafin Geronimo: Ang kriminal ng Baryo Concepcion / The Criminal of Barrio Concepcion (Lav Diaz, 1998)
3. Burger Boy's (Lav Diaz, 1999)
4. Nang Nak (Nonzee Nimibutr, 1999)
5. Frankenhooker (Frank Henenlotter, 1990)
6. Tales from the Darkside: The Movie (John Harrison, 1990)
7. Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (Joe Chappelle, 1995)
8. Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (Steve Miner, 1998)
9. Ôdishon / Audition (Takashi Miike, 1999)
10. Cure (Kiyoshi Kurosawa, 1997) (re-watch, maybe???)

11. Daughter of Darkness (Stuart Gordon, 1990)

Had to fit in a Stuart Gordon film this year, RIP. Probably should have chosen one of the others I haven't seen like Dolls but I'll get to them all eventually and this just fit the moment. Mia Sara - an extremely mediocre actress from what I've seen who certainly got a lot of her small stardom from her looks - is a young American woman who just lost her mother, now journeying to Romania in the waning days of the Ceaușescu regime (the film was actually shot in Budapest - I presume going to Romania was unsafe at the time) to find anything she can about her father, who had left her mother when she was a baby. She meets a friendly cabbie, an American embassy official, and a mysterious glassblower (Anthony Perkins) who all tell her to basically leave the past lie, but when she finds that papa is apparently long dead she actually gets more determined, which leads her eventually to... vampires, of course! What, did you think with this title and the Romanian setting it was going to be a mummy or a giant shark (or a shark-mummy)? It's all a pretty dull affair except for Perkins who is his usual professional self and provides a fairly nice accent - I don't know how accurate it is, but it's consistent anyway. This was made for TV so it's 1.33 and it feels constrained both visually and content-wise, and the commercial breaks are really obvious. Very meh.

12. Doctor Mordrid (Albert & Charles Band, 1992)

Also feel like I need to do a Full Moon Entertainment film and a film with Jeffrey Combs if it's going to be a real Halloween experience, and this offers both so why not? One of two films directed by both father (Albert) and son (Charles) Band, this involves occultist Mordrid (Combs) who lives in a huge old apartment building in NYC while fighting the forces of darkness, namely Kabal, played by the massive and hulking Brian Thompson, who given his physique and powerful deep voice should have had a better career than he's had - were he a decade or two younger I wouldn't doubt he'd have had a good chance of doing superhero roles. I remember him from Buffy - the name always escapes me because it's so generic, but as soon as I hear the voice... Anyway this is basically a Doctor Strange-inspired battle of the forces of good and evil but done on a Full Moon budget which doesn't always cut it. Apart from our good and bad sorcerers, the rest of the cast is kind of meh, though Mordrid's neighbor and pseudo love interest Yvette Nipar isn't bad and looks a lot like a shorter Nicole Kidman at times. The climactic battle of dinosaur skeletons is kind of cool but on the whole this is only going to do it for the people that already like Full Moon's brand. The Trancers series is the best from that studio that I've seen so far but I like those enough to keep trying more - occasionally.

[AB537]

12. Cronos (Guillermo del Toro, 1993) 7.5/10
13. In the Name of the Father (Jim Sheridan, 1993) 8/10

[Kublai Khan]

VH1 I Love The 90s

1. It (Tommy Lee Wallace-1990) (192 min)
2. Instrument (Jem Cohen-1999)
3. The Addams Family (Barry Sonnenfeld-1991)
4. Ronin (John Frankenheimer-1998)
5. Mat i syn (aka Mother and Son) (Aleksandr Sokurov-1997)
6. Close-Up (Abbas Kiarostami-1990)
7. At Play in the Fields of the Lord (Hector Babenco-1991) (189 min)
8. A Goofy Movie (Kevin Lima-1995)
9. The Witches (Nicolas Roeg-1990)
10. Friday (F. Gary Gray-1995)
11. Dazed and Confused (Richard Linklater-1993)
12. Quest for Camelot (Frederik Du Chau-1998)
13. The Sandlot (David M. Evans-1993)
14. The Bonfire of the Vanities (Brian De Palma-1990)
15. Snake Eyes (Brian De Palma-1998)
16. Carlito's Way (Brian De Palma-1993) (144 min)
17. Raising Cain (Brian De Palma-1992)
18. Sleepy Hollow (Tim Burton-1999)
19. Orgazmo (Trey Parker-1997)
20. My Best Fiend {aka Mein liebster Feind - Klaus Kinski} (Werner Herzog-1999)
21. Pokemon: Power of One {aka Gekijô-ban poketto monsutâ: Maboroshi no pokemon: Rugia bakutan} (Kunihiko Yuyama, Michael Haigney-1999)
22. The Minion (Jean-Marc Piché-1998)
23. Sleepless in Seattle (Nora Ephron-1993)
24. Chungking Express (Kar-wai Wong-1994)

25. Deep Blue Sea (Renny Harlin-1999)

It's a big dumb blockbuster, but it's fun to watch.

[jeroeno]

DAY 27 : 1998

Rewatches







90's schlock



Watchlisted Arthouse



For people who just want to see the numbers:
198. Lethal Weapon 4 (1998)
199. Half Baked (1998)
200. Phantoms (1998)
201. The Minion (1998)
202. Gemide (1998)
203. Under solen (1998)

[sol]

Nineties

1. The Living End (1992)
2. Los Enchiladas (1999)
3. Three Seasons (1999)
4. Scream (1996) REVISION
5. Scream 2 (1997) REVISION
6. Child's Play 2 (1990)
7. Child's Play 3 (1991)
8. Bride of Chucky (1998)
9. The Resurrected (1991)
10. The Refrigerator (1991)
11. A Little Princess (1995)
12. Lord of Illusions (1995)
13. The Night Flier (1997)
14. Needful Things (1993)
15. Things. (1993)
16. Thinner (1996)
17. Meet the Applegates (1990)
18. Boy Meets Girl (1994)
19. Necronomicon (1993)
20. Castle Freak (1995)
21. Daddy's Girl (1996)
22. Deep Rising (1998)
23. Dust Devil (1992)
24. Love Bites (1993)
25. Nang Nak (1999)
26. Tremors (1990)
27. Trauma (1993)
28. Hexed (1993)
29. Mirage (1990)
30. Mimic (1997)
31. Mikey (1992)
32. Mom (1991)
33. Vampires (1998)
34. Shakma (1990)
35. The Fear (1995)
36. Playroom (1990)
37. Flatliners (1990)
38. Star Time (1992)
39. Living Doll (1990)
40. Funny Man (1994)
41. Mary Reilly (1996)
42. Subspecies (1991)
43. Wishmaster (1997)
44. Office Killer (1997)
45. Feeders (1996)
46. Dark Harbor (1998)
47. Shadowzone (1990)
48. Doppelganger (1993)
49. Fire in the Sky (1993)

50. The Nostril Picker (1993)



Carl Zschering is well cast as a social misfit here with much dark comedy as he converses with and befriends teenagers while appearing as himself to us (we only see how others see him in the mirror--as a beautiful young girl). The comedy is so weird and offbeat that it seems a shame when the horror angle ignites and Szchering starts killing the girls but there are some great moments, like one victim's blood splashing a TV set showing a scary movie.

[Traveller]

106. American Movie (1999) - 6/10
107. Azghyin ushtykzyn'azaby (1993) - 6/10

[blueboybob]

94. Wolf (1994)

[maxwelldeux]

Isn't It Ironic?

1. Ernest Scared Stupid (1991)
2. Anaconda (1997)
3. Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994)
4. Species (1995)
5. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994)
6. Hocus Pocus (1993)
7. The Interview (1998)
8. Vampires (1998)
9. Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media (1992) 167m
10. Prom Night IV: Deliver Us from Evil (1992)
11. The Witches (1990)
12. Con Air (1997)
13. Belfast, Maine (1999) BC1: 249m
14. Once Upon a Time in China (1991)
15. Any Given Sunday (1999) BC1: 162m
16. Ghost (1990)
17. Beauty and the Beast (1991)
18. Blood Ties (1991)
19. Nowhere to Run (1993)
20. Outbreak (1995)
21. Ricochet (1991)
22. Buried Alive (1990)
23. 8MM (1999)
24. Knock Off (1998)
25. Kickboxer 2: The Road Back (1991)
26. Kickboxer 3: The Art of War (1992)
27. Se7en (1995)
28. Sleepless in Seattle (1993)

29. Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio (1991)
Ken Burns doc about the history of radio. Interesting bits of history to it and very Burns-ian in style. Learned a fair amount.

30. Necessary Roughness (1991)
Loved this as a kid - we taped it off TV and I'd rewatch it every now and again. Football movie, college team all gets suspended, they get replaced with randos from the college, hilarity ensues. Sinbad rocks. And the cameos of pro football players (and Evander Holyfeield) were fun to see.

31. Jack Frost (1997)
Utterly fucking ridiculous. Magic genetic mutation acid spills on a serial killer on his way to his execution, and he morphs into a snow monsters (because it was, well, snowing). But they leaned into the humor, so it worked. Laughed quite a bit in this one.

32. Terminal Velocity (1994)
This gets bonus points for being awesome, just not very good. The climactic jump was really cool. Charlie Sheen plays himself, essentially. I vividly remember the opening scene where he lands at a kids party and starts stripping, thinking it's a bachelorette party.

33. Martial Law (1990)
I watched this because I was hoping Cynthia Rothrock was going to be more of the star, but she was a distant supporting cast member. It was fine - some decent fighting, except when David Carradine was on screen.

[burneyfan]

Spoiler

01. One Day in September -- MacDonald, 1999.
02. Virdzina a.k.a. Virgina -- Karanovic, 1991.
03. L'arbre, le maire et la médiathèque a.k.a. The Tree, the Mayor and the Mediatheque -- Rohmer, 1993.
04. Separate but Equal -- Stevens, Jr., 1991
05. Du li shi dai a.k.a. A Confucian Confusion -- Yang, 1994.
06. Xiaoshan huijia a.k.a. Xiaoshan Going Home -- Jia, 1995.
07. Bari Zôgon -- Watanabe, 1996.
08. Viagem ao Princípio do Mundo a.k.a. Voyage to the Beginning of the World -- de Oliveira, 1997.
09. Grace of My Heart -- Anders, 1996.
10. Ostatni krag -- Zanussi, 1998.
11. Marius et Jeannette -- Guedigian, 1997.
12. Time Indefinite -- McElwee, 1993.

13. Kiss or Kill -- Bennett, 1997.
14. Cool as Ice -- Kellogg, 1991.
15. Minnâ-yatteruka! a.k.a. Getting Any? -- Kitano, 1994.
16. Karisuma a.k.a. Charisma -- K. Kurosawa, 1999.

[frbrown]

9. Ghostwatch (1992)

Spoiler

1. Ranma 1/2: Nihao My Concubine (1992)
2. Nineteen 19 (1990)
3. Iria: Zeiram the Animation (1994)
4. Here Is Greenwood (1991)
5. Sink or Swim (1990)
6. Batman: The Animated Series: 9 episodes (1992)
7. Duckman: 7 episodes (1996)
8. Duckman: 7 more episodes (1996)
9. Ghostwatch (1992)

[Kublai Khan]

VH1 I Love The 90s

1. It (Tommy Lee Wallace-1990) (192 min)
2. Instrument (Jem Cohen-1999)
3. The Addams Family (Barry Sonnenfeld-1991)
4. Ronin (John Frankenheimer-1998)
5. Mat i syn (aka Mother and Son) (Aleksandr Sokurov-1997)
6. Close-Up (Abbas Kiarostami-1990)
7. At Play in the Fields of the Lord (Hector Babenco-1991) (189 min)
8. A Goofy Movie (Kevin Lima-1995)
9. The Witches (Nicolas Roeg-1990)
10. Friday (F. Gary Gray-1995)
11. Dazed and Confused (Richard Linklater-1993)
12. Quest for Camelot (Frederik Du Chau-1998)
13. The Sandlot (David M. Evans-1993)
14. The Bonfire of the Vanities (Brian De Palma-1990)
15. Snake Eyes (Brian De Palma-1998)
16. Carlito's Way (Brian De Palma-1993) (144 min)
17. Raising Cain (Brian De Palma-1992)
18. Sleepy Hollow (Tim Burton-1999)
19. Orgazmo (Trey Parker-1997)
20. My Best Fiend {aka Mein liebster Feind - Klaus Kinski} (Werner Herzog-1999)
21. Pokemon: Power of One {aka Gekijô-ban poketto monsutâ: Maboroshi no pokemon: Rugia bakutan} (Kunihiko Yuyama, Michael Haigney-1999)
22. The Minion (Jean-Marc Piché-1998)
23. Sleepless in Seattle (Nora Ephron-1993)
24. Chungking Express (Kar-wai Wong-1994)
25. Deep Blue Sea (Renny Harlin-1999)

26. Dark Angel (Craig R. Baxley-1990)

I knew this as "I Come in Peace" dark when I first watched it as a freshman in high school. One of my favorite Dolph Lundgren movies. It's so ridiculous and great and yes, that's probably the nostalgia talking.

[jeroeno]

DAY 28 : 1998

Rewatches



90's schlock



Watchlisted Arthouse





For people who just want to see the numbers:
204. Deep Rising (1998)
205. Rasen (Spiral) (1998)
206. Living Out Loud (1998)
207. Tango (1998)
208. You hua hao hao shuo (1997)
209. Pizza, birra, faso (1998)

[Onderhond]

14. 2.5* - Point Break by Kathryn Bigelow (1991)

The one with the presidents. Point Break is somewhat of a cult film nowadays, though not one that is often talked about. It's really just the mask-wearing criminals that have turned into an iconic image (referenced by To it in Fulltime Killer), the rest of the film is pretty mediocre and forgettable. Reeves plays a young, promising cop who immediately gets assigned one of the most important cases in the district. A gang has been robbing banks without leaving any traces and the cops are stumped. Reeves' partner believes they're dealing with a gang of surfers, so Reeves goes undercover. Point Break is a rather basic 90s action flick. The pacing is decent, there are some solid action scenes, but it never goes beyond. It's just simple genre fare that feels a bit outdated. Performances are weak, the editing is insufficient and apart from the masks, there's nothing memorable here. Not terrible, but unworthy of its cult status.

Not looking forward to the upcoming 90s revival

01. 1.0* - The English Patient by Anthony Minghella (1996)
02. 2.0* - Cool Runnings by Jon Turteltaub (1993)
03. 2.5* - Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit by Bill Duke (1993)
04. 2.5* - Dante's Peak by Roger Donaldson (1997)
05. 3.0* - Chizuko's Younger Sister [Futari] by Nobuhiko Ôbayashi (1991)
06. 1.0* - Jack by Francis Ford Coppola (1996)
07. 3.0* - Lupin III: Voyage to Danger [Rupan Sansei: Rupan Ansatsu Shirei] by Masaaki Ôsumi (1993)
08. 2.0* - Bitter Moon by Roman Polanski (1992)
09. 2.0* - Thelma & Louise by Ridley Scott (1991)
10. 3.0* - Edward Scissorhands by Tim Burton (1990)
11. 3.0* - Goodbye for Tomorrow [Ashita] by Nobuhiko Ôbayashi (1995)
12. 3.5* - Shanghai Grand [Xin Shang Hai Tan] by Man Kit Poon (1996)
13. 2.0* - Teaching Sucks [Ng Yan Ji Dai] by Wilson Yip (1997)

[Lonewolf2003]

16. Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood (1996, Paris Barclay): 3.0

90s horror and some more

1. Frankenhooker (1990, Frank Henenlotter): 5.8
2. Candyman (1992, Bernard Rose): 7.2
3. Maximum Risk (1996, Ringo Lam): 6.0
4. Barb Wire (1996, David Hogan): 4.0
5. Matinee (1993, Joe Dante): 7.2
6. Mortal Kombat (1995, Paul W.S. Anderson): 6.5
7. Hudson Hawk (1991, Michael Lehmann) rewatch: ? > 5.8
8. Half Baked (1998, Tamra Davis): 3.8
9. The Cable Guy (1996, Ben Stiller) rewatch: ? > 5.5
10. Friday (1995, F. Gary Gray): 7.2
11. Waterworld (1995, Kevin Reynolds) rewatch: ? > 7.0
12. Fierce Creatures (1997, Fred Schepisi, Robert Young): 7.2
13. Twister (1996, Jan de Bont): 3.5 -
14. U.S. Marshals (1998, Stuart Baird): 5.2
15. Sleepy Hollow (1999, Tim Burton) rewatch: 6.0 > 7.5

[OldAle1]

the Slick Willie years

1. Dangerous Seductress (H. Tjut Djalil, 1992)
2. Serafin Geronimo: Ang kriminal ng Baryo Concepcion / The Criminal of Barrio Concepcion (Lav Diaz, 1998)
3. Burger Boy's (Lav Diaz, 1999)
4. Nang Nak (Nonzee Nimibutr, 1999)
5. Frankenhooker (Frank Henenlotter, 1990)
6. Tales from the Darkside: The Movie (John Harrison, 1990)
7. Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (Joe Chappelle, 1995)
8. Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (Steve Miner, 1998)
9. Ôdishon / Audition (Takashi Miike, 1999)
10. Cure (Kiyoshi Kurosawa, 1997) (re-watch, maybe???)
11. Daughter of Darkness (Stuart Gordon, 1990)
12. Doctor Mordrid (Albert & Charles Band, 1992)

13. Dust Devil (Richard Stanley, 1992)

First off I'm amazed (and a little depressed) to find that South African director Richard Stanley is a year younger than me - I thought he'd been around forever and that he must be an old man by now. But he got started while still in his teens, and this - his fifth film (according to IMDb anyway) and second full-length feature, was made when he was just 25-6. Boy genius! Anyway, I saw Hardware and his infamous Dr. Moreau back in the 90s when they were new or almost new, but have no real memory of them, and I was thinking of watching his new HPL adaptation with Nic Cage but... the Lovecraft quest just didn't happen this year. Maybe next October. So I watched this, which I've known about for a long time and have been really looking forward to, and it didn't disappoint, though I can't say on one viewing that I necessarily found it great, or feel that it adds up to much - and it's certainly trying to be more than a run-of-the-mill supernatural killer flick for sure. First off it looks fantastic, one of the most beautiful desert-set films I've seen in a long time - but it's not just the realism and the landscapes; the sparse but important use of filters and effects are pretty terrific as well, giving the film as a whole an ethereal feel that is clearly a big part of scheme of things



As to the narrative - well there's a "dust devil", a guy (American actor Robert John Burke) who wears an Old West sort of duster and walks or hitchhikes around South Africa and Namibia and kills people in gruesome and very strange ways, and who seems to be a demon or otherworldly presence - and there's a black cop who's after him (South African star Zakes Mokae) and a white woman (Chelsea Field, also American but attempting some kind of accent I guess) running away from her husband. And there are stories of voodoo and witchcraft which nobody wants to believe until they have to, and various elements of the racism in the area creep in throughout; it's all very watchable and entertaining but in the end it's one of those enigmatic films (and I like enigmas) that I'm not sure really adds up to much. Reminded me in some ways of (dimly-remembered) Peter Weir's The Last Wave, and also curiously enough of Tarkovsky - I was just getting a hint of that vibe near the end, when a phone is ringing in a clearly abandoned and ruined house in the middle of nowhere and I burst out laughing thinking about the vaguely similar scene in Stalker. Anyway, cool movie, but I'm not sure it's anything beyond that, though it seems to want to be.

14. Urban Legend (Jamie Blanks, 1998)

Modestly enjoyable film about scary killer on campus, certainly one of the dozens of films that got made because of the success of Scream, with, you guessed it, the "urban legend" gimmick. A girl is killed in the first scene by a killer in the back seat of the car after a stuttering gas station attendant (Brad Dourif in an amusing cameo) vainly tries to warn her, and this leads us into a lecture where Professor Robert Englund is talking about urban legends and how people often misremember the legends as facts. Of course the rest of the film is mostly people being murdered in these "legendary" ways and of course there are several red herrings as to who the killer actually is. You've got an attractive younger cast - Alicia Witt as the fairly obvious final girl, Rebecca Gayheart as her roommate who lusts after Jared Leto as the smarmy school newspaper reporter, plus Joshua Jackson, Danielle Harris, Tara Reid (who looks very different than she did in Lebowski from earlier in the year), and some solid mature actors like the aforementioned Englund and Dourif, and John Neville (Gilliam's Munchhausen) and Loretta Devine as the head of campus security and the only one who seems able to change her mind about taking the murders seriously. And there's a legend of something that happened 25 years ago... it hits all the notes, so originality isn't the thing here, but it manages to be at least OK in the end. Nice looking, with that slightly overlit and bright night look that I've grown to really like in many mainstream 90s films.

[Traveller]

108. Beyond Silence (1996) - 5/10
109. Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993) - 5/10

[blocho]

Performances are weak, the editing is insufficient and apart from the masks, there's nothing memorable here.

The weak performances are part of what make it so memorable. You're not going to find an acting combo like Keanue-Swayze-Busey in any other movie. So much woodenness, so much hamminess, so much insanity.

Also, Keanu plays a huge college football star who becomes an undercover FBI agent. Because that makes so much sense. Of course a well-known athlete would make a good undercover agent. And his name is Johnny Utah. Johnny Utah! They just took Joe Montana and put a little Point-Break style on it. This whole movie is gloriously insane.

[Onderhond]

The weak performances are part of what make it so memorable. You're not going to find an acting combo like Keanue-Swayze-Busey in any other movie. So much woodenness, so much hamminess, so much insanity.

Also, Keanu plays a huge college football star who becomes an undercover FBI agent. Because that makes so much sense. Of course a well-known athlete would make a good undercover agent. And his name is Johnny Utah. Johnny Utah! They just took Joe Montana and put a little Point-Break style on it. This whole movie is gloriously insane.

This week I watched a film where a mother casually gave her baby away to the neighbors while her son turned into a dog not much later. That's what I call gloriously insane.

Weak performances are a staple of 90s genre cinema (and within Reeves' career this was far from his most wooden performance), lazy writing is also incredibly common. I don't see the (cult) appeal, just a mediocre action film with an above-average budget.

[jeroeno]

DAY 29 : 1998 & 1999

Rewatches





90's schlock



Watchlisted Arthouse





For people who just want to see the numbers:
210. Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999)
211. Deep Blue Sea (1999)
212. Stepmom (1998)
213. Scooby-Doo and the Witch's Ghost (1999)
214. Choyonghan kajok (The Quiet Family) (1998)
215. Nang Nak (1999)

[Melvelet]

9. Secrets & Lies 1996 8/10 141 min
10. JFK 1991 7/10 205 min

These still need to be added to my bonus challenge

[sol]

9. Secrets & Lies 1996 8/10 141 min
10. JFK 1991 7/10 205 min

These still need to be added to my bonus challenge

Noted.

No OP update today. Will post an update some time in the next 24 hours. Hopefully sooner than that, we'll see. I still need to start the Mexican Challenge thread (should be done within 5 hours) and I want to fit in one more film before bed.

[OldAle1]

the Slick Willie years

1. Dangerous Seductress (H. Tjut Djalil, 1992)
2. Serafin Geronimo: Ang kriminal ng Baryo Concepcion / The Criminal of Barrio Concepcion (Lav Diaz, 1998)
3. Burger Boy's (Lav Diaz, 1999)
4. Nang Nak (Nonzee Nimibutr, 1999)
5. Frankenhooker (Frank Henenlotter, 1990)
6. Tales from the Darkside: The Movie (John Harrison, 1990)
7. Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (Joe Chappelle, 1995)
8. Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (Steve Miner, 1998)
9. Ôdishon / Audition (Takashi Miike, 1999)
10. Cure (Kiyoshi Kurosawa, 1997) (re-watch, maybe???)
11. Daughter of Darkness (Stuart Gordon, 1990)
12. Doctor Mordrid (Albert & Charles Band, 1992)
13. Dust Devil (Richard Stanley, 1992)
14. Urban Legend (Jamie Blanks, 1998)

15. Scream (Wes Craven, 1996) (re-watch)
16. Scream 2 (Wes Craven, 1997)

more thoughts on the whole Scream series on the horror challenge

Scream is I think marginally better than the first sequel and both are stronger than the third and fourth, so this is the best in the series, and maybe my favorite Craven film now. Watching all the films in a row it's most fun to see how the character arcs of Gale and Dewey proceed, but in this first film I maybe like Rose McGowan's character Tatum the most - one of the best things about the series is that most of even the smaller roles get their nice moments, and the characters tend to all be just fleshed out enough, given the large casts each film has. But McGowan is above average in the series and while she's playing her typical bitchy part from this phase of her career, it works here, and she's also clearly a really loyal friend, and her death might be the saddest in the series. The attitudes about the media - swinging from cynicism to outright hostility at various points in the series - are something that I noticed right away, and it's a tribute to the films' overall intelligence that Gale Weathers is only a caricature bitchy insensitive journalist for the first part of this film - though she always has at least a little of the sniffing-for-blood about her.

Scream 2 gives us not just SMG as Cici, a sorority girl with an extended chased-by-Ghostface sequence that's one of the best in the series, but also Jada Pinkett as Sid's new BFF now that she's at college and trying to forget the past, as well as Heather Graham playing the Stab movie role that Drew Barrymore played in the first film - Sid's story has gone to the movies now, as the self-reflection in the series ramps up considerably, and Laurie Metcalf and Liev Schreiber as the first of many figures from the past who will come to haunt our intrepid trio. Tori Spelling as "Tori Spelling" is kind of amusing, and I was happy to see David Warner here, though for too small a moment. The climax here goes on a bit like many of the others, but it's perhaps the most entertaining and clever of all the finales. A very very small half-step down from the first.

[blueboybob]

95. Whispering Corridors (1998) <--- marked horror, and maybe, but not in the traditional sense
96. Bullet in the Head (1990) <--- decent action movie
97. Venus Beauty (1999) <--- boring
98. The Nameless (1999) <---- i liked it
99. The Quiet Family (1998) <---- different, but interesting.
100. Miami Blues (1990) <---- there are too many Baldwins
101. Die Mauer (1991) <--- it was ok, but i feel the subject matter leads to the possibility this could have been better
102. Identity Pieces (1998) <---- i didn't like it
103. Quick Change (1990) <---- decent comedy
104. Two Evil Eyes (1990) <--- good watch, especially if you like Poe
105. The Sect (1991) <---- not good
106. The Runestone (1991) <--- i didnt like it
107. The Stendhal Syndrome (1996) <---- interesting psychological horror

[Traveller]

110. Microcosmos (1996) - 7/10
111. Light Sleeper (1992) - 6/10

[Kublai Khan]

VH1 I Love The 90s

1. It (Tommy Lee Wallace-1990) (192 min)
2. Instrument (Jem Cohen-1999)
3. The Addams Family (Barry Sonnenfeld-1991)
4. Ronin (John Frankenheimer-1998)
5. Mat i syn (aka Mother and Son) (Aleksandr Sokurov-1997)
6. Close-Up (Abbas Kiarostami-1990)
7. At Play in the Fields of the Lord (Hector Babenco-1991) (189 min)
8. A Goofy Movie (Kevin Lima-1995)
9. The Witches (Nicolas Roeg-1990)
10. Friday (F. Gary Gray-1995)
11. Dazed and Confused (Richard Linklater-1993)
12. Quest for Camelot (Frederik Du Chau-1998)
13. The Sandlot (David M. Evans-1993)
14. The Bonfire of the Vanities (Brian De Palma-1990)
15. Snake Eyes (Brian De Palma-1998)
16. Carlito's Way (Brian De Palma-1993) (144 min)
17. Raising Cain (Brian De Palma-1992)
18. Sleepy Hollow (Tim Burton-1999)
19. Orgazmo (Trey Parker-1997)
20. My Best Fiend {aka Mein liebster Feind - Klaus Kinski} (Werner Herzog-1999)
21. Pokemon: Power of One {aka Gekijô-ban poketto monsutâ: Maboroshi no pokemon: Rugia bakutan} (Kunihiko Yuyama, Michael Haigney-1999)
22. The Minion (Jean-Marc Piché-1998)
23. Sleepless in Seattle (Nora Ephron-1993)
24. Chungking Express (Kar-wai Wong-1994)
25. Deep Blue Sea (Renny Harlin-1999)
26. Dark Angel (Craig R. Baxley-1990)

27. Last of the Dogmen (Tab Murphy-1995)

Tom Berenger and Barbara Hershey discover a lost tribe of Cheyenne in the Montana mountains. It's decent, but the script is weak.

[sol]

Leaderboard updated in the OP. Please let me know any mistakes and omissions.