1990s Best Movies

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.

PCU (1994)

Nervous high school senior Tom Lawrence (Chris Young) visits Port Chester University, where he gets a taste of politically correct college life when he’s guided by fraternity wild man Droz (Jeremy Piven) and his housemates at The Pit. But Droz and his pals have rivals in nasty preppy Rand McPherson (David Spade) and the school’s steely president (Jessica Walter). With their house threatened with expulsion, Droz and company decide to throw a raging party where the various factions will collide.

Desperado (1995)

Mariachi (Antonio Banderas) plunges headfirst into the dark border underworld when he follows a trail of blood to the last of the infamous Mexican drug lords, Bucho (Joaquim de Almeida), for an action-packed, bullet-riddled showdown. With the help of his best friend (Steve Buscemi) and a beautiful bookstore owner (Salma Hayek), the Mariachi tracks Bucho, takes on his army of desperados, and leaves a trail of blood of his own.

Cabin Boy (1994)

After accidentally boarding a rickety fishing boat instead of a luxury cruise, arrogant and spoiled rich kid Nathanial Mayweather (Chris Elliott) finds himself at the mercy of a rough-and-tumble crew of misfit sailors. As he struggles to adapt to the bizarre and treacherous high seas, Nathanial’s misadventures lead him through outrageous encounters, including a romantic mermaid and a giant cupcake. Cabin Boy is a quirky and surreal comedy that delivers absurd humor and unforgettable antics on the open ocean.

Matilda (1996)

This film adaptation of a Roald Dahl work tells the story of Matilda Wormwood (Mara Wilson), a gifted girl forced to put up with a crude, distant father (Danny DeVito) and mother (Rhea Perlman). Worse, Agatha Trunchbull (Pam Ferris), the evil principal at Matilda’s school, is a terrifyingly strict bully. However, when Matilda realizes she has the power of telekinesis, she begins to defend her friends from Trunchbull’s wrath and fight back against her unkind parents.

Gattaca (1997)

Vincent Freeman (Ethan Hawke) has always fantasized about traveling into outer space, but is grounded by his status as a genetically inferior “in-valid.” He decides to fight his fate by purchasing the genes of Jerome Morrow (Jude Law), a laboratory-engineered “valid.” He assumes Jerome’s DNA identity and joins the Gattaca space program, where he falls in love with Irene (Uma Thurman). An investigation into the death of a Gattaca officer (Gore Vidal) complicates Vincent’s plans.

Pump Up The Volume (1990)

In Arizona, an introverted and insightful teenager, Mark Hunter (Christian Slater), finds an outlet for his viewpoints through a shortwave radio. Broadcasting as “Hard Harry,” Hunter uses his pirate radio show to rant against the injustices and hypocrisies taking place in the area, and in society in general. Hunter conceals his off-air identity, but a determined student (Samantha Mathis) discovers the truth, while Principal Creswood (Annie Ross) seeks to shut down Hunter once and for all.