Paul's Cinema Chronology: 1995-1996

What I’ve Seen

1995

Twelve Monkeys

Toy Story

The Usual Suspects

Species

Se7en

Pocahontas

Outbreak

Memories

Ghost in the Shell

GoldenEye

Dead Man Walking

Canadian Bacon

Casper

Braveheart

Balto

Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls

1996

Waiting for Guffman

Trainspotting

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

The Birdcage

Swingers

Space Jam

Sgt. Bilko

Scream

Romeo + Juliet

Muppet Treasure Island

Mission: Impossible

Matilda

Jerry Maguire

Independence Day

Happy Gilmore

Hamlet

101 Dalmations

33 Total

The Best of What I’ve Seen:

5) The Usual Suspects (top 100)—Much darker than many other comedic heist movies (like Oceans 11), Bryan Singer’s first big movie carves out a little niche of its own. What’s great about the film is how absolutely no one knows exactly what’s going on—with one exception, provided by one of the most famous twist endings in movie history.

4) Se7en (top 100)—While it isn’t technically David Fincher’s feature debut, this was the first movie that he had creative control over. Fincher is one of the best directors working now, and his first real film shows why. Tense, creepy, and atmospheric, Fincher takes a movie that easily could have been the premise of a Criminal Minds episode and makes it into an unforgettable experience.

3) Toy Story (top 100)—Pixar’s first film marks the beginning of the studio’s incredible and uninterrupted string of success, both financially and creatively. Toy Story is a wonderfully creative movie that features the mix of beautiful animation, originality, great characters and story, and genuine pathos that would become the calling card for the studio for nearly well over a decade—and counting.

2) Hamlet (top 100)—Kenneth Branagh’s very nearly uncut rendition of the Shakespeare classic manages to make it into something truly cinematic without sacrificing any of the claustrophobic madness of the Danish prince. The film is captivating and doesn’t seem nearly as long as the actual 4-hour running time. It also marks a fantastic turn as Ophelia by a then unknown (read, pre-Titanic) Kate Winslet, along with a uniformly excellent cast.

1) Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (top 100)—I can’t tell how much of my love for this movie is purely nostalgic; it was one of my favorite movies as a kid, and I’ve probably seen it something on the order of twenty times. But I’ve seen it within the last few years and still found myself laughing nearly constantly, so I’ll stick with it. In terms of pure fondness for a film, there are only a small handful that beat Jim Carrey’s only sequel.

What I Haven’t Seen

Apollo 13

The Basketball Diaries

Before Sunrise

Bottle Rocket

Breaking the Waves

The Cable Guy

Casino

Clueless

Courage Under Fire

Cry, the Beloved Country

Die Hard with a Vengeance

The English Patient

Fargo

Mallrats

Michael Collins

Nixon

The Nutty Professor

Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills

The People Vs. Larry Flynt

Rob Roy

A Time to Kill

Tommy Boy

Waterworld