1990s Best Movies

The First Power (1990)

The First Power (1990) is a supernatural horror-thriller starring Lou Diamond Phillips as Detective Russell Logan, who successfully captures a sadistic serial killer, Patrick Channing (Jeff Kober), known for his ritualistic murders. After Channing’s execution, Logan is shocked to find the killer seemingly resurrected with demonic powers, using “the first power”—the ability to possess other people’s bodies. Teaming up with a psychic (Tracy Griffith) who foresaw the killings, Logan must stop Channing before his new, otherworldly abilities make him unstoppable.

Run Lola Run (1998)

Run Lola Run (1998) is a high-octane German thriller directed by Tom Tykwer that follows Lola (Franka Potente) as she races against time to save her boyfriend, Manni (Moritz Bleibtreu), who has lost a gangster’s money and faces deadly consequences if he can’t replace it within 20 minutes. The film unfolds in three alternate scenarios, each showing how small decisions and chance events impact the outcome of her desperate run. With its intense pacing, energetic soundtrack, and innovative storytelling, Run Lola Run explores themes of fate, love, and the power of choice.

Payback (1999)

In this gritty revenge thriller, ex-criminal Porter (Mel Gibson) is left for dead after being double-crossed by his partner and wife, but he survives with one goal: to get back the $70,000 that was stolen from him. As Porter methodically takes down anyone standing in his way, he finds himself battling both the criminal underworld and corrupt cops in a relentless pursuit of payback. With its dark humor, brutal action, and a chilling antihero, Payback delivers a hard-hitting tale of vengeance and redemption.

SLC Punk! (1998)

Set against the backdrop of Salt Lake City’s conservative culture, rebellious punk Stevo (Matthew Lillard) and his best friend Bob (Michael A. Goorjian) live life on the edge, rejecting authority and embracing chaos. But as Stevo faces the inevitable crossroads between reckless youth and adulthood, he begins to question his ideals, friendships, and the true meaning of rebellion. With its blend of humor, angst, and heart, SLC Punk! captures the wild spirit of the punk movement while delivering an unexpectedly emotional punch.

Face/Off (1997)

Obsessed with bringing terrorist Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage) to justice, FBI agent Sean Archer (John Travolta) tracks down Troy, who has boarded a plane in Los Angeles. After the plane crashes and Troy is severely injured, possibly dead, Archer undergoes surgery to remove his face and replace it with Troy’s. As Archer tries to use his disguise to elicit information about a bomb from Troy’s brother, Troy awakes from a coma and forces the doctor who performed the surgery to give him Archer’s face.

Con Air (1997)

Just-paroled army ranger Cameron Poe (Nicolas Cage) is headed back to his wife (Monica Potter), but must fly home aboard a prison transport flight dubbed “Jailbird” with some of the worst criminals living. Along with Diamond Dog (Ving Rhames) and Baby-O (Mykelti Williamson), genius serial killer Cyrus “The Virus” Grissom (John Malkovich) unleashes a violent escape plot in mid-flight. Secretly working with U.S. Marshall Vince Larkin (John Cusack), Poe tries to foil Grissom’s plan.

Suburban Commando (1991)

Problems with his rocket compel space-traveling vigilante Shep Ramsey (Hulk Hogan) to spend some time on Earth. Plunking himself down in the middle of suburbia, he rents a room from Charlie (Christopher Lloyd) and Jenny Wilcox (Shelley Duvall). Shep attempts to acclimate himself — he skateboards, he accosts a mail carrier — but he’s destined to be a fish out of water. But when his outer space enemies arrive and pick a fight with his new friends, Shep is ready to prove his mettle.

The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996)

Schoolteacher and single mother Samantha Caine (Geena Davis) lives an average suburban life — until she begins having strange memories of unexplained violence and discovers that she has physical skills that she never imagined. Hiring private detective Mitch Hennessey (Samuel L. Jackson) to probe into her past, Samantha discovers that she’s a well-trained government assassin who went missing after suffering a bout of amnesia and that her former handlers want her back in their employ.