The Mask 1994

 

The Mask

Actors : Jim Carrey, Cameron Diaz, Peter Riegert, Peter Greene, Amy Yasbeck, Richard Jeni

Mild-mannered Stanley Ipkiss (Jim Carrey) takes Edge City by storm when he stumbles upon a mysterious and ancient mask.

The Road to Wellville 1994

 

The Road to Wellville

Actors : Dana Carvey, Bridget Fonda, Matthew Broderick, John Cusack, Anthony Hopkins

An outrageous comedy, THE ROAD TO WELLVILLE takes place at the turn of the century in the midst of the country's newfound fixation with health fads. It follows three interwoven stories at the world-famous Battle Creek Sanitarium, which was run by the eccentric Dr. John Harvey Kellogg--a vegetarian crusader, health guru and inventor of the cornflake. 

The Shadow 1994

 

The Shadow

Actors : Alec Baldwin, Penelope Ann Miller, John Lone, Tim Curry, Peter Boyle

Alec Baldwin stars with Penelope Ann Miller as the legendary crime-fighting superhero in "The wittiest action-adventure since Indiana Jones!" (NBC News). Donning his sweeping black cape and disguise, The Shadow takes on his most dangerous nemesis yet: the last descendant of the great Genghis Khan whose weapon of choice is an atomic bomb. With the fate of humanity hanging in the balance, they square off for a spectacular battle in a dazzling mixture of mind-blowing special effects, humor and a dose of the macabre that will hold you spellbound! 

To Die For 1995

 

To Die For

Starring : Nicole Kidman

A small town girl (Nicole Kidman) has an ambition to become a national TV personality, but her dream becomes an obsession after she talks her way into working as a weather girl at the local TV station. She wants to make a documentary about the local kids, but her meeting with a rebellious teenager leads to catastrophe. 

Sirens 1993

 

Sirens

Actors : Hugh Grant, Tara Fitzgerald, Elle Macpherson, Ben Mendelsohn, Sam Neill

A young reverend and his wife are on the way from England to Australia to minister to their flock. The bishop asks him to visit an eccentric artist prone to sexual depictions and requests that he voluntarily withdraw a controversial work call "Crucified Venus" from his show. The minister, who considers himself a progressive, is shocked at the amoral atmosphere surrounding the painter, his wife, and the three models living at his estate. The minister's wife is troubled also, and has to deal with latent sexual urges while trying to remain loyal to her husband.

The Specialist 1994

 

The Specialist

Actors : Sylvester Stallone, Sharon Stone, James Woods, Rod Steiger, Eric Roberts

Just awful enough to qualify as someone's guilty pleasure, this convoluted thriller was supposed to cash in on the supposedly sexy teaming of Sylvester Stallone and Sharon Stone (then hot from her ample exposure in Basic Instinct), but their naked groping in a shower provides one of the film's unintentionally funny highlights. Ray Quick (Stallone) is a former CIA bomb expert whose former colleague (James Woods) is now in cahoots with a Miami drug cartel led by kingpin Joe Leon (Rod Steiger), who chews the scenery while his son Tomas (Eric Roberts) proceeds with a greedy hidden agenda. May Munro (Stone) hires Quick to kill off Roberts. The Specialist, featuring lots of explosions and redeemed by a dandy role for James Woods, is best suited for ardent Stallone and Stone fans. --Jeff Shannon 

What's Eating Gilbert Grape 1993

 

What's Eating Gilbert Grape

Actors : Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio, Juliette Lewis, Mary Steenburgen, Darlene Cates

This is the movie that Leonardo DiCaprio received an Oscar nomination for, five years before "Titanic". And, in fact, this is the movie that should have made him a star, he's so good in it. Based on the novel by Peter Hedges (who adapted his own book) and directed by Lasse Hallstr??m ("My Life as a Dog"), this is the funny, moody tale of a young man named Gilbert Grape (Johnny Depp) who lives at home in a small town with his 500-pound Momma (beautifully played by nonpro Darlene Cates), his mentally retarded younger brother Arnie (DiCaprio, utterly convincing), and his sisters. Not a lot happens--Arnie keeps climbing a water tower and getting stuck; Gilbert is involved with a married woman (Mary Steenburgen), then meets a nice new girl in town who's closer to his age (Juliette Lewis). And that's exactly what makes this movie so much more than your run-of-the-mill Hollywood product: it's not about some mechanical, formulaic plot; it's about these characters, and it allows you to spend some time with them and get to know them. Depp may have started out as a TV teen idol on "21 Jump Street", but his feature film choices since then--in such wonderfully offbeat and diverse movies as "Cry-Baby", "Edward Scissorhands", "Benny & Joon", "Donnie Brasco"--have made him one of the most interesting, unpredictable, and risk-taking young actors in American movies. "--Jim Emerson"

 

Twister

Actors : Helen Hunt, Bill Paxton, Cary Elwes, Jami Gertz, Philip Seymour Hoffman

The house rips apart piece by piece. A bellowing cow spins through the air. Tractors fall like rain. A 15,000-pound gasoline tanker becomes an airborne bomb. A mile-wide, 300 miles-per-hour force of total devastation is coming at you: Twister is hitting home. In this adventure swirling with cliffhanging excitement and awesome special effects, Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton play scientists pursuing the most destructive weatherfront to sweep through mid-America's Tornado Alley in 50 years. By launching electronic sensors into the funnel, the storm chasers hope to obtain enough data to create an improved warning system. But to do so, they must intercept the twisters' deadly path. The chase is on!

Twister was a mega-million-dollar blockbuster--helmed by a director (Dutchman Jan de Bont) hot off another scorcher hit (Speed)--that flaunted state-of-the-art digital effects and featured a popular leading actress (Helen Hunt) who would win an Academy Award for her next film (As Good As It Gets). But ask anybody who's seen it and they'll tell you who the real star of Twister is: the cow. Not to give anything away, but the cow is one of those inspired little touches (like, say, Bronson Pinchot's career-making cameo in Beverly Hills Cop) that adds a touch of personality to a gigantic Hollywood production. The story is blown out the window after an impressive prologue in which Hunt's character, as a little girl, witnesses her daddy being sucked into a tornado. Basically, Hunt and Bill Paxton are thrill-seeking meteorologists chasing twisters in order to study them (and help warn people of them, of course) with a new technology they've developed. If you thought the Kansas tornado in The Wizard of Oz was every bit as scary as the Wicked Witch of the West, then this may be the movie for you. --Jim Emerson

The Lion King 1993

 

The Lion King

Not an ideal choice for younger kids, this hip and violent animated feature from Disney was nevertheless a huge smash in theaters and on video, and it continues to enjoy life in an acclaimed Broadway production. The story finds a lion cub, son of a king, sent into exile after his father is sabotaged by a rivalrous uncle. The little hero finds his way into the "circle of life" with some new friends and eventually comes back to reclaim his proper place. Characters are very strong, vocal performances by the likes of Jeremy Irons, Nathan Lane, and Whoopi Goldberg are terrific, the jokes are aimed as much (if not more) at adults than kids, the animation is sometimes breathtaking, and the music is more palatable than in many Disney features. But be cautious: this is too intense for the Rugrat crowd. --Tom Keogh

 

Braveheart

Actors : Mel Gibson, Sophie Marceau, Patrick McGoohan, Angus Macfadyen, James Robinson

Director/star Mel Gibson took home Best Picture and Best Director Academy Awards for this historical epic about 13th-century Scottish hero William Wallace, a farmer forced into fighting the forces of England's King Edward I after they kill his father and

In his engaging audio commentary, Mel Gibson is deeply appreciative of his cast and collaborators (especially Oscar-winning cinematographer John Toll) and, of course, quite amusing when he wants to be. Gibson notes, "I fell in love a little bit" when he cast then-newcomer Catherine McCormack as William Wallace's ill-fated bride, and throughout his informative commentary, the actor-director conveys genuine passion for the story and a firm understanding of the period history that informed the entire production. The accompanying documentary, Mel Gibson's "Braveheart": A Filmmaker's Passion, is a 28-minute promotional film with behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with primary cast and crew. Particularly interesting are sequences revealing the equipment required for the epic battle scenes, including air cannons for firing dozens of arrows, and costly mechanical horses created to simulate animal-related violence. Viewers will especially admire the considerable challenge of filming in Europe's rainiest region, Scotland, where inclement weather enhanced the film's gritty authenticity. --Jeff Shannon

 

 

Stargate

Actors : Kurt Russell, James Spader, Jaye Davidson, Viveca Lindfors, Alexis Cruz

Hard-bitten Colonel 'Jack' O'Neil (Kurt Russell) and Egyptologist Doctor Daniel Jackson (James Spader) are sent on a mission to investigate the theory that the pyramids were built by shape-changing aliens as a means of communication and pan-galactic travel. The pair arrive on a distant desert planet where they whip up the planet's natives into a rebellion against their dictator, Ra (Jaye Davidson).

 

Goldeneye

Actors : Pierce Brosnan, Sean Bean, Izabella Scorupco, Famke Janssen, Joe Don Baker

Pierce Brosnan makes his 007 debut, replacing Timothy Dalton as Britain's most celebrated secret agent. On his first post-Cold War mission, Bond is sent to blow up a Soviet chemical weapons factory with agent 006 (Sean Bean). Nine years later, Bond becomes involved in the break-up of the Soviet Union, and soon finds himself involved with a blitzkrieg of stolen helicopters, beautiful female assassins, Russian Mafiosi and the race for a vital piece of weaponry - the credit-card sized 'GoldenEye'.

Heat 1995

 

Heat

Actors : Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Val Kilmer, Jon Voight, Tom Sizemore

An L.A. cop (Al Pacino) becomes fixated on a deadly thief (Robert Dinero) and his crew ( Val Kilmer & Jon Voight) who are taking Los Angeles to the cleaners. This movie includes one of the most spectacular shoot outs in film history as Dinero and Kilmer rip through downtown Los Angeles with both guns blazing. 

 

12 Monkeys

Actors : Brad Pitt, Madeleine Stowe, Bruce Willis

Cole (Bruce Willis) is sent back in time to save the human race from a deadly virus that has forced mankind into dank underground communities in the future. Along his travels, he encounters a psychiatrist (Madeleine Stowe) and a mental patient, brilliantly portrayed by Brad Pitt, who may hold the key to the mysterious rogue group, the Army of the 12 Monkeys, thought to be responsible for unleashing the killer disease. Believing he can obtain a pure virus sample in order to find a cure in the future, he is met with one riddle after another that puts him in a race with time. This sci-fi masterpiece from the genius mind of Terry Gilliam is a modern-day classic.

Legends of the Fall 1994

 

Legends of the Fall

Actors : Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, Aidan Quinn, Julia Ormond, Henry Thomas

This is an epic story of three brothers bound by loyalty, tested by war, and torn apart by love. Brad Pitt stars as Tristan, the wildest of the Ludlow sons, whose failure to protect his brother puts his entire family on a path of betrayal and self-destruction. From the battlefields of Europe to the farthest reaches of civilization, LEGENDS OF THE FALL follows Tristan's turbulent journey from boyhood to manhood to legend. Also starring Anthony Hopkins, Aidan Quinn, Julia Ormond and Henry Thomas.

A box-office hit when released in 1994, this sprawling, frequently overwrought familial melodrama may get sillier as its plot progresses, but it's the kind of lusty, character-based epic that Hollywood should attempt more often. It's also an unabashedly flattering star vehicle for Brad Pitt as Tristan--the rebellious middle son of a fiercely independent Montana rancher and military veteran (Anthony Hopkins)--who is routinely at odds with his more responsible older brother, Alfred (Aidan Quinn), and younger brother, Samuel (Henry Thomas). From the battlefields of World War I to his adventures as an oceangoing sailor, Tristan's life is full of personal torment, especially when he returns to Montana and finds himself competing with Alfred over Samuel's beautiful widow (Julia Ormond), whose passion for Tristan disrupts the already turbulent Ludlow clan. Under the wide-open canopy of Big Sky country, this operatic tale unfolds with all the bloodlust, tragedy, and scenery-chewing performances you'd expect to find in a hokey bestselling novel (in fact, it's based on the acclaimed novella by Jim Harrison), but it's a potent mix that's highly entertaining. Not surprisingly, John Toll won an Academy Award for his breathtaking outdoor cinematography. --Jeff Shannon

 

Die Hard with a Vengeance

Actors : Bruce Willis, Jeremy Irons, Samuel L. Jackson, Graham Greene, Colleen Camp

Suspended from the police force, John McClane enlists a Harlem shopkeeper to help stop a terrorist bomber.

 

Batman Forever

Actors : Val Kilmer, Tommy Lee Jones, Jim Carrey, Nicole Kidman, Chris O'Donnell

Riddle me this, riddle me that, you'll adventure on the wings of bat! Brace for excitement as Val Kilmer (Batman), Tommy Lee Jones (Two-Face), Jim Carrey (the Riddler), Nicole Kidman (Dr. Chase Meridian) and Chris O'Donnell (Robin) star in the third spectacular film in Warner Bros.' Batman series. Joel Schumacher (The Client) directs and Tim Burton co-produces this thrill-ride of a movie that thunders along on Batmobile, Batwing, Batboat, Batsub and bold heroics. Hang on!

Eraser 1996

 

Eraser

Actors : Arnold Schwarzenegger, Vanessa Williams, James Caan, James Coburn, Robert Pastorelli

Arnold Schwarzenegger is back in top form as a U.S. Marshal protecting federal witness Vanessa Williams from government turncoats selling an advanced super-gun to terrorists.

If you're going to submit yourself to a dazzling example of mainstream action, this thriller is as good a choice as any. Eraser is a live-action cartoon, the kind of movie in which Arnold Schwarzenegger can survive nail bombs, hails of bullets, an attack by voracious alligators ("You're luggage," he says, after killing one of the beasts), and still emerge from the mayhem relatively intact. Arnold plays an "eraser" from the Federal Witness Protection Program, so named because he can virtually erase the existence of anyone he's been assigned to protect. His latest beneficiary is an FBI employee (Vanessa Williams) who stumbled across a secret government group involved in the sale and export of an advanced weapon capable of shooting rounds at nearly the speed of light. Fantastic action sequences are handled with flair by director Charles Russell (The Mask), so it's easy to forgive the fact that this movie is almost completely ridiculous. --Jeff Shannon

Independence Day 1996

 

Independence Day

Actors : Will Smith, Bill Pullman, Jeff Goldblum, Mary McDonnell, Judd Hirsch

One of the biggest box office hits of all time, Independence Day delivers the ultimate encounter when mysterious and powerful aliens launch an all out invasion against the human race. The spectacle begins when massive spaceships appear in Earth's skies. But wonder turns to terror as the ships blast destructive beams of fire down on cities all over the planet. Now the world's only hope lies with a determined band of survivors, uniting for one last strike against the invaders -- before it's the end of mankind.