Amph Film Releases & Trends of a Decade Retrospective: The Nineties A-Z. Now Disc: 1993 D-G

I actually just watched Chaplin the other day. RDJ is definitely great in the role, even if the film is kinda a mess.

I always love watching Batman Returns. Way better than Burton's first one, IMO.

 

Almost all the films I've seen in this list is basically "I've seen them, but can't really remember anything about them" That definitely goes for Basic Instinct and The Bodyguard. Aladdin is the only one I saw in the cinema, but except for "A whole new world" can't remember much there either. Maybe it would be a good thing to rewatch it. I saw The Crying Game a year or so ago, and found it too slow for my taste. It feels as if it's a theatre play adapted to the film, and it probably works better on stage. Personally I just couldn't keep my concentration on it.

I've always wanted to see 1492, but still haven't done that.

 

1992

Notable releases:

D

• Damage, directed by Louis Malle, starring Jeremy Irons, Juliette Binoche, Miranda Richardson - (U.K.)
• Death Becomes Her, directed by Robert Zemeckis, starring Meryl Streep, Bruce Willis, Goldie Hawn
• Deep Cover, directed by Bill Duke, starring Laurence Fishburne, Jeff Goldblum, Clarence Williams III, Charles Martin Smith
• Diggstown, directed by Michael Ritchie, starring James Woods, Louis Gossett, Jr., Oliver Platt, Bruce Dern, Heather Graham
• The Distinguished Gentleman, starring Eddie Murphy

E

• El Mariachi, directed by Robert Rodriguez - (Mexico/U.S.A.)
• Enchanted April, directed by Mike Newell, starring Miranda Richardson, Joan Plowright, Josie Lawrence, Polly Walker - (U.K.)
• Encino Man, starring Sean Astin, Brendan Fraser, Pauly Shore
• Equinox, directed by Alan Rudolph, starring Matthew Modine, Kevin J. O'Connor, Lara Flynn Boyle, Tyra Ferrell, Lori Singer, Fred Ward

F

• Falling from Grace, directed by and starring John Mellencamp, with Mariel Hemingway, Kay Lenz, Claude Akins
• Far and Away, directed by Ron Howard, starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman
• FernGully: The Last Rainforest, directed by Bill Kroyer - (Australia/U.S.A.)
• A Few Good Men, directed by Rob Reiner, starring Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, Demi Moore, Kevin Bacon, Kevin Pollak, Kiefer Sutherland
• Fifty/Fifty, starring Peter Weller and Robert Hays
• Final Analysis, directed by Phil Joanou, starring Richard Gere, Kim Basinger, Uma Thurman, Eric Roberts, Keith David
• Folks!, starring Tom Selleck and Don Ameche
• Forever Young, starring Mel Gibson, Elijah Wood, Jamie Lee Curtis, George Wendt
• Four Eyes and Six Guns, starring Judge Reinhold
• Freejack, starring Emilio Estevez, Anthony Hopkins, Rene Russo, Mick Jagger
• Frozen Assets, starring Shelley Long

G

• Gladiator, starring Cuba Gooding, Jr. and James Marshall
• Glengarry Glen Ross, directed by James Foley, starring Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, Alec Baldwin, Ed Harris, Jonathan Pryce, Alan Arkin, Kevin Spacey
• Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle for Earth (Gojira tai Mosura) - (Japan)
• The Gun in Betty Lou's Handbag, starring Penelope Ann Miller, Cathy Moriarty, Julianne Moore

T2Q Comments:

-Death Becomes Her: Haven't seen it since it came out on cable, but I enjoyed the dark comedy as a kid.

-El Mariachi: Solid low budget action flick- though I think the making of/behind the scenes content is actually more fascinating, given the clever techniques Robert Rodriguez utilized to pull the film off on the budget he did.

-Encino Man: One of the 4 Pauly Shore movies anyone actually remembers (alongside Son in Law, In the Army Now & Biodome), but is probably more notable for effectively launching Brendan Fraser's career (which is probably why he returned to cameo as Link in 2 of those other Pauly Shore movies).

-Ferngully: The Last Rainforest: I know I saw this as a kid, but other then a few visuals I don' recall the specifics. I'm probably going to watch it again at some point in the future, but probably not until I have kids.

-A Few Good Men: I'll avoid the obvious quotation . Not much to say- solid courtroom drama bolstered by Aaron Sorkin dialogue.

-Forever Young: Probably saw this on cable at some point, if only in part. Will probably revisit eventually.

-Frozen Assets: Never aw it, don;t plan on it, but it has the reputation of being one of the worst movies ever made. But provides for some enjoyable trashing from Siskel & Ebert:

Siskel described the film "a step way down in quality- one of the dumbest comedies I have ever seen. It was as depressing an experience as I've ever had at the movies" and Ebert also said "I've been a movie critic since 1967- and there was nothing that I saw that even approaches this in its abysmal awfulness. This is perhaps the worst comedy ever made. After having seen this movie, I want months and months and months in a valley with honey and nectar and zephyr-like breezes (referring to his desperate need for happiness after seeing this film)." Both critics named it the worst film of 1992[3] and Ebert also gave the film the rare zero stars rating in the Chicago Sun-Times, writing "I felt like I was an eyewitness to a disaster. If I had been an actor in the film, I would have wondered why all the characters in this movie seem dumber than the average roadkill. What puzzles me is this film's tone. It's essentially a children's film with a dirty mind. This is a movie to watch in appalled silence. To call it the year's worst would be a kindness."​

Movies I (probably) Want See
-Damage
-Deep Cover
-Far and Away
-Fifty/Fifty*
-Forever Young
-Freejack
-Glenhgarry Glen Ross
-Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle for Earth

Overall Trends:

Pauly Shore and Brendan Fraser would ride the success of Encino Man to various effect for a few years. El Mariachi would spawn Desperado and help make Robert Rodriguez one of the staple Miramax/Dimension names alongside Tarintino. Ferngully would get a sequel and become one of the common comparisons to Avatar's plot years later.


*Why, because theres very little info on it (was hard to even find the trailer) and the poster looks like this:


I mean, you just know what kind of movie it is going in

 

That's one that I'm going in knowing it won't be good, but bad 90's sci-fi can be amusing disasters- and, often, there's usually some detail or concept I can take inspiration from. And I also plan to do a cyberpunk marathon at some point in the future, and I'll need stuff to fit between the 5,000 different cuts of Blade Runner- it was hard watching that movie once, I can't take it back-to-back with itself.

 

Only commenting on a couple of these:

A Few Good Men: One of my favorite movies of all time. Now I need to go back to that "first R-rated movie you'll let your kids watch" question.

Jack Nicholson's performance gets the most discussion as far as this film goes, especially the "You can't handle the truth!" scene, and Tom Cruise and Demi Moore get discussed next. But one actor who is underrated here is Noah Wylie as Corporal Jeffrey Owen Barnes.

"Nobody likes her very much."
"Yes, sir."

"You mean to say that in your entire time at Gitmo, you've never had a meal?"
"No sir. Three squares a day, sir."
"Well, how did you know where the mess hall was, if it's not in this book?"
"I guess I just followed the crowd at chow time, sir."

Tom Cruise had some great funny lines, especially early in the film.

"It was oregano, Dave. Oregano."
"Your client thought it was marijuana."
"My client's a moron. That's not against the law."
"I have people to answer to just like you do. I'm going to charge him."
"With what? Possession of a condiment?"

"I get sick when I fly because I'm afraid of crashing into a large mountain. I don't think dramamine will help."

But his best performance was at the end. "Don't call me son. I'm a lawyer and an officer in the United States Navy. And you're under arrest you son of a *****. The witness is excused."

Far and Away: Another Cruise movie, not nearly as good, a reason for newlyweds Cruise and Kidman to film together.

 

1992

Notable releases:

H

• The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, directed by Curtis Hanson, starring Rebecca De Mornay and Annabella Sciorra
• Hard Boiled (Lat sau san taam), directed by John Woo, starring Chow Yun-fat and Tony Leung Chiu-Wai - (Hong Kong)
• Hero, directed by Stephen Frears, starring Dustin Hoffman, Geena Davis, Andy García, Joan Cusack
• Hoffa, directed by Danny DeVito, starring Jack Nicholson, DeVito, Armand Assante, J. T. Walsh, Kevin Anderson, John C. Reilly
• Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, starring Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern
• Honey, I Blew Up the Kid, starring Rick Moranis
• Honeymoon in Vegas, directed by Andrew Bergman, starring James Caan, Nicolas Cage, Sarah Jessica Parker
• HouseSitter, directed by Frank Oz, starring Steve Martin and Goldie Hawn
• Howards End, directed by James Ivory, starring Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson, Vanessa Redgrave, Helena Bonham Carter - (U.K.)
• Husbands and Wives, directed by and starring Woody Allen, with Mia Farrow, Judy Davis, Liam Neeson, Sydney Pollack

I

• Indochine, starring Catherine Deneuve - (France) - Academy and Golden Globe Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
• Innocent Blood, directed by John Landis, starring Anne Parillaud, Anthony LaPaglia, Robert Loggia, Don Rickles
• Into the Sun, starring Anthony Michael Hall and Michael Paré
• Into the West, directed by Mike Newell, starring Gabriel Byrne and Ellen Barkin - (U.K./Ireland)
• In the Soup, starring Steve Buscemi and Seymour Cassel

J

• Jennifer Eight, starring Andy García, Uma Thurman and John Malkovich
• Juice, starring Omar Epps and Tupac Shakur
• Just Another Girl on the I.R.T.
• Justice, My Foot! (Sam sei goon), starring Stephen Chow - (Hong Kong)

K

• Killer Image, starring Michael Ironside and M. Emmet Walsh - (Canada)
• Knight Moves, starring Christopher Lambert and Diane Lane
• Kuffs, starring Christian Slater and Milla Jovovich

L

• Ladybugs, starring Rodney Dangerfield and Jonathan Brandis
• The Last of the Mohicans, directed by Michael Mann, starring Daniel Day-Lewis and Madeleine Stowe
• The Lawnmower Man, starring Jeff Fahey and Pierce Brosnan
• A League of Their Own, directed by Penny Marshall, starring Geena Davis, Tom Hanks, Madonna, Lori Petty, Rosie O'Donnell, David Strathairn
• Leap of Faith, directed by Richard Pearce, starring Steve Martin, Liam Neeson, Debra Winger, Lolita Davidovich, Lukas Haas
• Leaving Normal, directed by Edward Zwick, starring Christine Lahti and Meg Tilly
• Lethal Weapon 3, starring Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Joe Pesci, Rene Russo
• Light Sleeper, directed by Paul Schrader, starring Susan Sarandon, Willem Dafoe, Dana Delany
• Live Wire, directed by Christian Duguay, starring Pierce Brosnan and Ron Silver
• Lorenzo's Oil, directed by George Miller, starring Nick Nolte and Susan Sarandon
• Love Crimes, starring Sean Young and Patrick Bergin
• Love Field, directed by Jonathan Kaplan, starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Dennis Haysbert
• Love Potion No. 9, starring Sandra Bullock and Tate Donovan

T2Q Comments:

Hero: File this one under the "Definitely saw it but can't remember much of anything" category.

Home Alone 2: Lost in New York: Even though this one is a blatant retread of the first film, it still manages to be funny- if only due to the absurd levels of cartoon violence that would absolutely kill someone in reality (yes, throwing a brick off the top of a building at someone's head will kill them- Merry Christmas!), though I like the larger scale they've applied the concept to here. The first film was centered around Christmas at home, whereas this one has Christmas on a broader scope.

Honey, I Blew Up the Kid:I know I saw all three of these (plus the 3D attraction) but I think even as a kid I realized that it's really only the first one you care about (though the 3D attraction was fun).

Honeymoon in Vegas: I saw this one on cable or video during a Nick Cage stint, though I only remember a couple scenes now.

HouseSitter: Another cable stint, drawing on Goldie Hawn and Steve Martin appeal from other comedies I had seen as a kid.

Ladybugs: Rodney Dangerfield and the kid from seaQuest. It's a dumb "family" comedy with a tired concept, but it's still Rodney.

A League of Their Own: This one is kind of a second-tier classic at this point, isn't it? Good story and a funny cast (especially Hanks- "Are you crying?! There's no crying! There's no crying in baseball!!!". It may be an over exposed line but the delivery keeps it hilarious)

Leap of Faith:Another Steve Martin cable viewing of little impact.

Lethal Weapon 3: I've only seen Lethal Weapon 4 and, probably, LW 1 in their entirety. I've seen parts of Lethal Weapons with Joe Pesci, but I couldn't tell (or, at this point, remember) if they were 2 or 3. One of these days I really do need to sit down and watch them all.

Movies I (probably) Want See

-The Hand That Rocks the Cradle
-Hard Boiled
-Hoffa
-Into the Sun
-Killer Image
-Knight Moves
-Kuffs (watched the trailer and it's like Christian Slater at his Slateriest with a dash of Ferris Bueller)
-The Last of the Mohicans
-The Lawnmower Man
-Lethal Weapon 3
-Light Sleeper
-Live Wire
-Lorenzo's Oil


Overall Trends:

This isn't a very string sampling to judge much of anything in terms of trends, but the Lethal Weapon and Home Alone franchises aren't quite done yet (though the latter certainly peaked here) and, clearly, hard Boiled would have significant impact in years to come as Hong Kong action cinema starts to heavily influence domestic productions.

 

Home Alone 2: I agree about the absurd level of cartoon violence, I even skip over those scenes, but overall I enjoyed the movie.

Love Field: filmed in my home town, at least part of it was. Horrible movie.

Last of the Mohicans: kind of dragged, but it was OK.

DarthTunick: "I eat breakfast 300 yards away from 4000 Cubans who are trained to kill me. So don't think for one second that you can show up here, flash a badge, and make me nervous."

 

1992

Notable releases:

M

• Mac, directed by and starring John Turturro
• Mad at the Moon, starring Mary Stuart Masterson
• Malcolm X, directed by Spike Lee, starring Denzel Washington
• The Mambo Kings, starring Armand Assante, Antonio Banderas, Cathy Moriarty, Maruschka Detmers, Desi Arnaz, Jr.
• Man Trouble, directed by Bob Rafelson, starring Jack Nicholson and Ellen Barkin
• Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media - (International)
• Medicine Man, directed by John McTiernan, starring Sean Connery and Lorraine Bracco
• Memoirs of an Invisible Man, directed by John Carpenter, starring Chevy Chase, Daryl Hannah, Sam Neill, Michael McKean
• Me, Myself and I, starring JoBeth Williams and George Segal
• A Midnight Clear, directed by Keith Gordon, starring Ethan Hawke and Kevin Dillon
• The Mighty Ducks, starring Emilio Estevez
• Miracle Beach, starring Dean Cameron, Ami Dolenz, Pat Morita
• Mistress, starring Robert De Niro, Robert Wuhl, Martin Landau, Danny Aiello, Eli Wallach, Sheryl Lee Ralph
• Mo' Money, starring Damon Wayans
• Mr. Baseball, starring Tom Selleck
• Mr. Saturday Night, directed by and starring Billy Crystal, with Helen Hunt, Julie Warner, David Paymer
• The Muppet Christmas Carol, starring Michael Caine and the Muppets
• My Cousin Vinny, directed by Jonathan Lynn, starring Joe Pesci, Marisa Tomei, Ralph Macchio, Fred Gwynne

N

• Nemesis - (Denmark/U.S.A.)
• New Dragon Gate Inn (Sun lung moon hak chan), starring Tony Leung Ka-fai and Maggie Cheung - (Hong Kong)
• Newsies, starring Christian Bale, Robert Duvall, Ann-Margret, and Bill Pullman
• Night and the City, directed by Irwin Winkler, starring Robert De Niro, Jessica Lange, Jack Warden, Alan King
• Noises Off, directed by Peter Bogdanovich, starring Michael Caine, Carol Burnett, John Ritter, Marilu Henner, Christopher Reeve

O

• Of Mice and Men, directed by and starring Gary Sinise, with John Malkovich, Casey Siemaszko, Sherilyn Fenn, Ray Walston
• Once Upon a Crime, starring John Candy, James Belushi, Cybill Shepherd, Sean Young, Ornella Muti, George Hamilton
• Once Upon a Time in China II (Wong Fei Hung II - Nam yi dong ji keung), starring Jet Li - (Hong Kong)
• One False Move, directed by Carl Franklin, starring Bill Paxton, Cynda Williams, Michael Beach, Billy Bob Thornton
• Only You, directed by Betty Thomas, starring Andrew McCarthy, Helen Hunt, Kelly Preston
• Orlando, starring Tilda Swinton and Billy Zane - (U.K.)
• Out on a Limb, starring Matthew Broderick

P-Q

• Passed Away, starring Bob Hoskins, Tim Curry, Blair Brown, Pamela Reed, Peter Riegert, William Petersen, Nancy Travis
• Passenger 57, starring Wesley Snipes, Bruce Payne, Tom Sizemore, Elizabeth Hurley
• Passion Fish, directed by John Sayles, starring Mary McDonnell and Alfre Woodard
• Patriot Games, directed by Phillip Noyce, starring Harrison Ford, Anne Archer, Sean Bean, Patrick Bergin, James Earl Jones, Richard Harris
• Pet Sematary Two, starring Edward Furlong, Anthony Edwards and Clancy Brown
• Peter's Friends, directed by Kenneth Branagh, starring Hugh Laurie, Stephen Fry, Rita Rudner, Emma Thompson - (U.K.)
• The Player, directed by Robert Altman, starring Tim Robbins, Greta Scacchi, Cynthia Stevenson, Vincent D'Onofrio, Peter Gallagher, Whoopi Goldberg — Golden Globe Award for Best Picture (Musical or Comedy)
• Poison Ivy, starring Drew Barrymore, Sara Gilbert, Tom Skerritt, Cheryl Ladd
• Porco Rosso (Kurenai no Buta) - (Japan)
• The Power of One, directed by John G. Avildsen
• Prelude to a Kiss, starring Alec Baldwin and Meg Ryan
• The Public Eye, directed by Howard Franklin, starring Joe Pesci, Barbara Hershey, Stanley Tucci, Jared Harris
• Pure Country, starring George Strait
• Pushing Hands (tuī shǒu), directed by Ang Lee - (China/Taiwan)
• Quicksand: No Escape, starring Donald Sutherland, Tim Matheson, Felicity Huffman

T2Q Comments:

-Grouping together those that fall under the "saw as a kid (at least partially) but only vaguely remember": Medicine Man, Memoirs of an Invisible Man,Mo' Money, Mr. baseball, Mr. Saturday Night, Newsies, Noises Off, Out on a Limb, Passenger 57, The Public Eye

-The Mighty Ducks: Quack! Quack! Quack! Quack! Enjoyable family/kid flick. I recall looking forward to hearing We Will Rock You during the credits. Can't speak for the sequels as much (the second one was ok, I suppose- but much like Home Alone it was basically the same movie) but this one was still fun.

-The Muppet Christmas Carol: One of the best versions of the story, hands down. And one of the best Muppet films as well. Not a whole lot more one can say about it that hasn't already been said.

-My Cousin Vinny:Still hilarious, still memorable. "Da two yoots...", "Ahm pos-i-tive."

-Patriot Games: Not as good as Hunt For Red October or Clear & Present Danger, so it often gets lost or forgotten as part of the original Jack Ryan trilogy- but it's still better than both attempted reboots.

Movies I (probably) Want See
-A Midnight Clear
-Mac
-Malcolm X
-The Mambo Kings
-Medicine Man (rewatch)
-Memoirs of an Invisible Man (rewatch)
-Miracle Beach
-Mistress
-Nemesis*
-(New) Dragon (Gate) Inn
-Noises Off (rewatch)
-Once Upon a Time in China II
-One False Move
-Orlando
-Out on a Limb
-Passenger 57 (rewatch)
-Pet Semetary Two
-The Player
-The Public Eye (rewatch)


Overall Trends:

-Going by this block of titles, the year had two "Mr. _____" movies, several "Once Upon a _____" titles and, apparently, a lot of Hollwood-based/self-referential films. Joe Pesci is pretty much exploding into major star this year with Vinny. Wesley Snipes is being elevated to a major (or, at least, second tier) action star. And, well, that Plymouth Rock quote from M-X is going to be quoted quite often for many years. Oh, and I guess Mo' Money represents the popularity of In Living Color.

*Why? Because the poster uses that font: