Tuesday 10: Movies of 1996

January 20, 2015 Tuesday 10: Movies of 1996

It’s a lot easier to do these lists when I’ve only seen 5 or 6 of the movies that year, I’m finding. When it’s 56 movies like it is for this year, it gets a little more complicated. It’s still fun, it’s just more complicated.

Ack! Ack ack ack! Ack ack ack ack. Ack ack!

I only saw 7 of the top 10 from this year – I still haven’t seen 101 Dalmations, Ransom, and The Nutty Professor, and the only one of those I’m even slightly interested in is Ransom.

I have, however, seen every last one of my top ten from 1996.

10. Scream – I don’t know if the sequels did it any favors, but this first deconstruction/celebration of slasher films was pretty great in its time. I also don’t know if I’d enjoy it much now if I watched it again, but that’s more a reflection on my tastes changing. I used to really like horror movies but don’t have much interest in them now.

9. Happy Gilmore – Bob Barker beating the snot out of Adam Sandler is only one of the many highlights of this movie, which is way more enjoyable than it has any right to be.

8. Star Trek: First Contact – “The line must be drawn he-ah!” You tell ’em, Captain Picard!

7. Phenomenon – When people ask me for a list of “guilty pleasure” movies (which… they really don’t, actually), this one has to make an appearance. It’s sappy and silly and sad and I love it.

6. Mars Attacks! – Tim Burton made a movie based off collectible cards from the 50s and it’s weirdly wonderful.

5. Daylight – An oft-overlooked Stallone movie about people trapped in a tunnel. More characters die than you’re expecting, until you remember it’s more a disaster movie than and action movie.

4. Eraser – Some of the worst CGI crocodiles in the history of CGI crocodiles, but the rest of the movie is pretty great.

3. That Thing You Do! – An ElseWorld version of The Beatles mixed with any number of one-hit wonders from the 60s. There are a lot of fun tunes.

2. The Frighteners – A gorier twisted version of The Sixth Sense, directed by Peter Jackson and starring Michael J. Fox. Good stuff.

1. Fargo – I watched this one again just a couple of weeks ago and it’s still fantastic. Frances McDormand deserved her Oscar for this one.