Al's Top Rated Films: 1996

Phenomenal snow-filled crime drama/thriller from the Coen Brothers set in 1987, and follows a desperate Minneapolis-based executive car sales manager named Jerry Lundegaard who's in hot water for embezzled, and plots to have his wife kidnapped so he can collect the ransom money from his rich father-in-law, Wade Gustafson. He drives out to Fargo, North Dakota, to meet a couple of criminals that agree to work with him and do the job for $40,000 and a new Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera. After they kidnap Jerry's wife and throw her in the trunk, they are are stopped by a state trooper near Brainerd, which completely screws up their plans, and ends in bloodshed. Brainerd police chief Marge Gunderson (who's pregnant) takes on the investigation, and inches closer to solving the mystery as a deadly series of events harnessed by greed comes crashing down on all parties involved. This is definitely my favorite film from the Coen Brothers. It has a gorgeous production design and feel, and has come to exemplify much of their signature style of directing and writing. It's no surprise they won the Oscar for best screenplay, and also nominated for best directing, cinematography, and best picture. Frances McDormand (also winning an Oscar), William H. Macy, and Steve Buscemi all delivered superb lead performances. They're arguably the best of all their careers. Peter Stormare, Harve Presnell, Kristin Rudrüd, John Carroll Lynch, Larry Brandenburg, Steve Reevis, Gary Houston, Melissa Peterman, Bruce Bohne, Steve Park, and others also had great supporting roles.

Outstanding sports comedy from the Farrelly Brothers set in 1979, and follows a talented young bowler named Roy Munson who wins the Iowa state bowling championship and leaves home to go pro, which makes his proud father very happy. After some early success, his career is "cut short" after gambling with the wrong bowlers. The story flashes forward 17 years and finds Roy working as a washed-up bowling supplies salesman, and is about to be kicked out of his apartment since he can't make ends meet. One day when he's trying to peddle some merchandise to the local bowling alley, he meets an exceptional Amish bowler named Ishmael and gets the idea that he can be his coach and they can become business partners. He subsequently convinces him to enter a massive $1 million winner-take-all bowling tournament in Reno, Nevada. He ends up training Ishmael as they bet their way across the country, meeting shady betters, corrupt businessman, and a woman named Claudia who enters into their business agreement. It all leads up to Roy's confrontation with his past arch nemesis who's responsible for much of his heartache—pro bowler Ernie McCracken. Fantastic story, beautiful production design, excellent soundtrack, my favorite film from the Farrelly Brothers, and the greatest bowling movie of all time. Woody Harrelson delivers my all-time favorite lead performance in his entire filmography. I'd have to say the same about Randy Quaid and Bill Murray's exemplary performances. Their personalities fit the story and picture perfectly. Vanessa Angel, Lin Shaye, Rob Moran, Daniel Greene, William Jordan, Chris Elliott, and others also had great supporting roles.

Hilarious sports comedy from Dennis Dugan that follows an aspiring Connecticut-based hockey player named Happy Gilmore who has a massively powerful slap shot. However, he really can't skate, and his "goon" like behavior keeps him off the ice. While he still harbors delusions of becoming a pro hockey player, his grandmother's house goes into foreclosure due to unpaid taxes. Since he has a wicked slap shot, he goes to the local golf driving range to make some dough by taking bets in a long-drive contest using his grandfather's old golf clubs. He's quickly noticed by a former pro golfer turned club trainer named Chubbs Peterson, who convinces Happy to join the PGA Tour to help him make the money to buy his grandma's house back. Many hilarious characters and situations present themselves on his way to the finish line. I'd have to say this is the best golf film since "Caddyshack" (1980). The casting is perfect and the story is lighthearted and outrageously entertaining throughout. Adam Sandler arguably delivers his best and most iconic lead performance. Christopher McDonald (Shooter McGavin) and Carl Weathers (Chubbs) also had fantastic starring roles. Julie Bowen, Frances Bay, Allen Covert, Bob Barker, Richard Kiel, Kevin Nealon, Ben Stiller, Dennis Dugan, Robert Smigel, and others also had excellent supporting roles.

Fantastic indy drama written, directed by, and starring Billy Bob Thornton. Excellent story about a simple and partially handicapped man who was released from a mental hospital 20 years earlier for murdering his mother and her lover. Now back in his small hometown, he befriends a young boy who invites him to stay with him and his mother. Tensions run high when her abusive boyfriend steps over the line with her and the young boy. Billy Bob Thornton delivers one of his greatest and most iconic performance. J.T. Walsh, Dwight Yoakam, John Ritter, Lucas Black, Natalie Canerday, James Hampton, Robert Duvall, and others have great supporting roles.

Powerful and emotion-filled drama set in South Carolina about the struggles of a poor single mother who's trying to find happiness and a father for her two daughters. Her second husband wins her heart, but as time moves on, he ends up secretly and brutally abusing her oldest daughter, while the she conceals the secrets to keep her mother happy. The writing and acting is very realistically done, and spot on throughout. The direction from Anjelica Huston was fantastic. Jennifer Jason Leigh (Anney) and Jena Malone (Bone) both arguably deliver their best lead performances. Ron Eldard, Michael Rooker, Diana Scarwid, Glenne Headly, Susan Traylor, Lyle Lovett, Dermot Mulroney, Christina Ricci, and others had excellent supporting roles.

Excellent dark comedy/crime drama from Danny Boyle set in Edinburgh, Scotland, at the height of the heroin addiction crisis in 1989. The story follows a 26-year-old unemployed heroin addict named Mark Renton who lives with his parents and regularly binges on heroin and other drugs with his friends who all have a laundry list of their own problems. They commit crimes to raise money for their drugs that constantly puts them in harms way. After Mark nearly dies from an overdose, he decides to choose life over death and gets a job, his own apartment, and cleans up his life. However, his friends are still addicts, and he's plagued with peer pressure and a sense of commitment to help them, which involves more crime and drugs. Powerful and realistic story with excellent drama, thrills, and dark humor. Ewan McGregor arguably delivers his greatest lead performance of all time. Ewen Bremner, Jonny Lee Miller, Robert Carlyle, and Kevin McKidd also had excellent starring roles. Kelly Macdonald, Peter Mullan, Shirley Henderson, James Cosmo, Eileen Nicholas, and several others had great supporting roles.

Powerful crime drama based on the novel by John Grisham, about an ambitious Mississippi lawyer who defends a black man for killing two white men for raping his 10-year-old daughter; seeking to sympathize with the jury. Tensions reach a boil when the Ku Klux Klan gets involved and wants revenge. Matthew McConaughey delivers one of his all-time best performances. Samuel L. Jackson, Sandra Bullock, Kevin Spacey, Oliver Platt, Donald Sutherland, Kiefer Sutherland, Patrick McGoohan, Ashley Judd, and many others have excellent supporting roles.

Excellent action thriller and easily my favorite film from Michael Bay. Great story about a biochemist that works for the F.B.I. and a former British intelligence agent that must lead the counterattack when a corrupt former military general and a group of mercenaries take 81 tourists hostage on the prison island of Alcatraz, while they threaten to launch deadly rockets filled with nerve gas over San Francisco if they don't meet their demands. Lots of great action and comical one-liners. Nicolas Cage, Sean Connery, and Ed Harris all have excellent lead performances. John Spencer, David Morse, William Forsythe, Michael Biehn, Vanessa Marcil, John C. McGinley, and several others had great supporting roles.

Gripping story about 4 kids who accidentally kill a man after a prank goes terribly wrong with a hotdog vendor's cart. Their lives are virtually destroyed by the horrifying acts committed by the guards in the prison they are sent too. 13 years after being released and now permanently scarred, 2 of the men come across the head prison guard who was the most hated of the bunch, and plans of revenge for the whole group move forward. Robert De Niro, Brad Pitt, Minnie Driver, Billy Crudup, Ron Eldard, Dustin Hoffman, Vittorio Gassman, Jason Patric, Joe Perrino, Brad Renfro, Geoffrey Wigdor, Jonathan Tucker, and many others had great supporting roles.

Excellent crime drama from Paul Thomas Anderson that follows a veteran gambler named Sydney who takes a man named John who's broke and down on his luck, and teaches him how to get rich and make a living as a professional gambler. After about 2 years of success, John falls in love with a troubled cocktail waitress and the story takes an intense and thrilling turn as more secrets from John and Sydney's past are revealed. This is definitely my favorite lead role from Philip Baker Hall. He definitely had the chops to hold the whole story together. John C. Reilly and Gwyneth Paltrow also delivered some of their finest lead performances. Samuel L. Jackson and Philip Seymour Hoffman were also great among a strong supporting cast.

Excellent comedy drama written by, directed by, and starring Steve Buscemi. The story follows a unemployed mechanic and alcoholic named Tommy (about mid-30s), who's stuck in a major rut after stealing $1500 from his former employer/friend and getting fired, then having that same boss steal away his girlfriend Theresa, which much of his life revolved around. He lives in a small apartment above the Trees Lounge dive bar, where he spends most of his time drinking away the days and conversing with eccentric characters. Tension comes into play when he becomes involved with Theresa's seductive 17-year-old niece, which leads up to a majorly dramatic gut-punch of an ending. Steve Buscemi delivered one of his best lead performances, and really showed his skills as a writer and director. Chloë Sevigny also had a great starring role. Carol Kane, Mark Boone Junior, Anthony LaPaglia, Elizabeth Bracco, Bronson Dudley, Steven Randazzo, Debi Mazar, Eszter Balint, Samuel L. Jackson, Daniel Baldwin, Mimi Rogers, and others also had great supporting roles.

Excellent historical drama from Spike Lee that follows a group of African American with different backgrounds who board a Los Angeles bus on October 16, 1995 to attend the Million Man March at the National Mall in Washington, D.C., organized by black leader Louis Farrakhan. Among the group is an old experienced man, an aggressive actor, a gay couple, a father and son tethered together in chains following a court order, a veteran bus driver, and so many other interesting characters who have many conflicting views and arguments throughout their long trip to Washington. Powerful story and great message throughout. Ossie Davis, Charles S. Dutton, Andre Braugher, Thomas Jefferson Byrd, De'aundre Bonds, Roger Guenveur Smith, Gabriel Casseus, Hill Harper, Harry Lennix, Isaiah Washington, Steve White, Richard Belzer, Bernie Mac, and others has fantastic performances.

Excellent drama directed by, written by, and starring Stanley Tucci (along with a couple other contributors). The story follows two brothers named Primo and Secondo who emigrated from Italy to New Jersey in 1950s, and follows their struggles in the restaurant business when their meager Italian restaurant doesn't get enough customers to pay the rent. Primo is respected as one of the best chefs in town, but the rival Pascal's Italian restaurant across the street is taking all their business. When they run out of money, Secondo looks to the owner of Pascal's for help, who would prefer the two brothers work for him. He decides to help the brothers with mysterious reservations, and claims he can help them host a business-changing event by getting famous Italian-American singer Louis Prima to visit the brothers' restaurant for a 'big night' of culinary delicacies in hopes of drumming up publicity. Stanley Tucci and Tony Shalhoub both delivered their best lead performances I've seen from them yet. Minnie Driver, Ian Holm, Allison Janney, Isabella Rossellini, Marc Anthony, Pasquale Cajano, Campbell Scott, Liev Schreiber, and others had excellent supporting roles.

When it comes to movies about tornadoes and storm chasers, this is easily my #1 favorite in the genre. Great story about a tornado-chasing couple that's going through a divorce. He wants divorce papers signed, but gets distracted when she shows him they have built "Dorothy"—an invention he created to track storm activity—and subsequently hits the road to chase a string of Oklahoma storms with her team and his new fiancé, bringing thrills and feelings of the past back into their lives. Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton are excellent together, and it's one of my favorite performances from either star. Jami Gertz, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Cary Elwes, Lois Smith, Alan Ruck, Sean Whalen, Todd Field, and others had great supporting roles.

Mysterious crime drama about a homeless young man that's charged with the brutal murder of Chicago's beloved archbishop. A first-class lawyer immediately takes the case at no charge because he's interested in the case, and immediately concludes the man is innocent, which isn't so clear after new evidence starts presenting itself. Excellent film through and through with a great twist to the story. Richard Gere and Edward Norton are excellent together and both deliver great lead performances. Laura Linney, John Mahoney, Alfre Woodard, Frances McDormand, Andre Braugher, Steven Bauer, and others had very nice supporting roles.

Excellent sports biopic on the life of legendary street basketball player Earl "The Goat" Manigault. He's often cited as being the greatest basketball player to never play in the NBA. The story maps out his tough childhood in 1950s Harlem, where he gained enough credibility playing street and high school basketball to land himself in a good college, until he's expelled after not getting along with the basketball coach. After getting his girlfriend pregnant and losing his childhood mentor, he falls into a deep depression and heroin addiction, which results in an intense battle to recovery, sobriety, and redemption. Don Cheadle delivered an excellent lead performance. Monica Calhoun, Eriq La Salle, Colin Cheadle, Michael Ralph, Michael Beach, Loretta Devine, Forest Whitaker, James Earl Jones, Ronny Cox, and several others had great supporting roles.

Epic sci-fi thriller about aliens who visit earth with plans to destroy the planet. After demolishing 7 major cities around the world, the U.S. government heads to Area 51 to devise a plan to fight the aliens—discovering a weakness in the alien spacecraft's force field, while the whole world comes together to organize a massive attack. Will Smith, Bill Pullman, and Jeff Goldblum all deliver excellent lead performances. Mary McDonnell, Randy Quaid, Robert Loggia, Judd Hirsch, and many others have great supporting roles.

Powerful and underrated drama from Jerry Zaks that follows a troubled independent single mother named Lee with two sons. Her youngest son Charlie is curiously quiet, while her mischievous and angry 17-year-old son Hank struggles with issues from a disturbed childhood. Hank is sent to a mental institution after horrifically burning their house to the ground, and gets the chance to get out for a while when Lee's sister Bessie is diagnosed with Leukemia, with Lee taking the kids to stay with Bessie, their aunt Ruth, and their dying father, Marvin. Lee and Bessie have not spoken for 17 years, and it causes plenty of drama and turmoil as old painful memories are reopened. The story is great, and the performances from the entire cast were excellent. Diane Keaton's Oscar-nominated lead performance was spectacular. Meryl Streep and Leonardo DiCaprio also delivered commanding lead roles. Robert De Niro, Hume Cronyn, Gwen Verdon, Hal Scardino, Margo Martindale, Cynthia Nixon, and others also had great supporting roles.

Underrated crime drama/mystery from Harold Becker set in New York City, and follows the aftermath of a deadly shootout between a NYPD detective and a mobster named Tino Zapatti who kill each other in a standoff, while a stray bullet also kills an 6-year-old boy in the process. Mayor John Pappas and his devoted deputy mayor Kevin Calhoun devise a plan to deal with the victims and the public outcry, while a conspiracy quickly presents itself with fraudulent paperwork, corrupt judges, and politicians. Kevin soon finds himself playing detective with a lawyer named Marybeth Cogan, and they both dangerously uncover a dreadful mystery covered in dirty politics. Great story all around with and excellent star-studded cast and great dialogue and acting throughout. Al Pacino and John Cusack both deliver a couple of their finest lead performances. Danny Aiello and Bridget Fonda also had great starring roles. Martin Landau, David Paymer, Anthony Franciosa, Lindsay Duncan, Luna Lauren Velez, Angel David, and others also had great supporting roles.

Underrated war drama/mystery from Edward Zwick that follows a 17-year U.S. Army veteran named Nat Serling who accidentally destroys one of his own tanks in combat during the Persian Gulf War in 1990. While he's disturbed by the events, the Army covers it up and assigns him to investigate the recommended Medal of Honor for Captain Karen Walden, who was killed in battle after her crew's helicopter was shot down with 1991. What seems to an open and shut case for the medal turns into a series of lies brought on by the surviving members of her crew that are trying to cover-up horrific details of the battle. As Nat faces his own inner battles, he's determined to find the real truth no matter the cost. Great story all around. Denzel Washington delivers one of his more underrated lead performances. Meg Ryan also had a great starring role. Matt Damon, Lou Diamond Phillips, Michael Moriarty, Bronson Pinchot, Seth Gilliam, Regina Taylor, Scott Glenn, Sean Astin, and others also had great supporting roles.

Fascinating and controversial biopic from Milos Forman about Hustler magazine pornography publisher Larry Flynt. It follows his early beginnings to extreme success, a variety of legal issues, and eventually becoming a voice of free speech for the entertainment industry in America. Woody Harrelson delivered an excellent lead performance, and Courtney Love's great role was the big surprise of the film. Edward Norton, Brett Harrelson, Donna Hanover, James Cromwell, Crispin Glover, Vincent Schiavelli, and several others had nice supporting roles.

Excellent action-packed thriller from Brian De Palma based on the popular 1966 and 1988 TV series of the same name. The story follows an extremely skilled American spy named Ethan Hunt headed up by his friend, mentor, and director of the IMF (Impossible Mission Force) organization, Jim Phelps. When he and his team are ambushed in their latest mission trying to recover a N.O.C. (Non-Official Cover) list of sensitive names that would put them all in danger, they're are almost all killed, which leaves Ethan as a major suspect of the C.I.A. who won't rest until he's eliminated. With the help of some allies, Ethan fights back by obtaining the N.O.C. list and holding all leveraging his power to stay alive. Great first flick in a long line of films in the franchise. Tom Cruise delivered an excellent lead performance. Jon Voight also had a great starring role. Emmanuelle Béart, Ving Rhames, Henry Czerny, Jean Reno, Kristin Scott Thomas, Vanessa Redgrave, Ingeborga Dapkunaite, and many others also had great supporting roles.

Heart-warming and inspirational family adventure about a a 13-year-old girl who's mother dies, and she goes to Canada to live with her father who she has barely any connection with. She's unhappy with her new surroundings until she finds a nest of goose eggs and soon becomes "mother" to them. The geese must fly south for the winter to survive. With her father's help, they build two extremely lightweight airplanes to fly alongside and lead them to a bird sanctuary in North Carolina. Anna Paquin, Jeff Daniels, Dana Delany, Terry Kinney, Holter Graham, Jeremy Ratchford, and others had very nice supporting roles. Great for animal lovers.

Hilarious comedy adventure based on the Beavis and Butt-Head TV series (1993–1997). The two metal-head buds wake up one day to find their TV has been stolen, and they take off on an extravagant expedition across America to recover it as many comical situations take place, including a hilarious trip the White House. Great film for fans of the original series. Mike Judge, Bruce Willis, Demi Moore, Cloris Leachman, Robert Stack, Eric Bogosian, and several others had great voice performances.

Hilarious parody of several crime dramas from Shawn & Marlon Wayans. The film mainly pokes fun at the stereotypes and themes in Boyz n the Hood (1991) and Menace II Society (1993), but South Central (1992), Do the Right Thing (1989), Juice (1992), New Jack City (1991), and Friday (1995) were among the films parodied. I think the film is best enjoyed if you've seen all of these movies, which I thought was hilarious throughout. Shawn Wayans, Marlon Wayans, Chris Spencer, Tracey Cherelle Jones, Suli McCullough, Darrel Heath, and many others had great performances.

Great crime drama from F. Gary Gray centering around 4 inner-city Los Angeles women who are down on their luck, and decide to team up and rob banks. While initially successful, suspicion and mistrust between the women gets things heated. Jada Pinkett Smith, Queen Latifah, Vivica A. Fox, Kimberly Elise all deliver great lead performances. John C. McGinley, Blair Underwood, Chaz Lamar Shepherd, and several others had nice supporting roles.

Very nice music inspired crime drama from Robert Altman set in 1930s Kansas City and follows a brash woman named Blondie—who's husband is caught robbing the wrong black folks—which puts his life in serious risk. So Blondie kidnaps the unstable wife of a powerful politician, and holds her for ransom until they are able to help her husband escape from his captors alive. The film really excels at infusing great jazz music and ambiance through out the film, along with a great ending. Jennifer Jason Leigh delivered a great and lead performance. Miranda Richardson, Harry Belafonte, Dermot Mulroney, Steve Buscemi, and others had nice roles among a solid supporting cast.

Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy have set the standard for the mockumentary in my book. Clever story about an aspiring director and lackluster amateur cast of a small-town Missouri give it their all when they learn a representative from the New York based Oppenheimer Organization is in attendance, and they have a chance to take their play to Broadway. I would rate this film higher if I were more into musicals and the subject, but it is very well done overall. Christopher Guest, Eugene Levy, Fred Willard, Catherine O'Hara, Parker Posey, and several others have great performances.

While this film is sort of like a Tommy Boy part 2, it was still great to see Chris Farley and David Spade team up to bring some more hilarious comedy to the screen. Solid story about a man running for State Governor, who has a loyal younger brother who's constantly embarrassing him and earning him bad publicity, while his assistant attempts to keep him out of the spotlight so he doesn't ruin his brother's chances at winning the election. Chris Farley and David Spade both deliver hysterical lead performances. Tim Matheson, Christine Ebersole, Gary Busey, and several others have nice supporting roles.

Very nice crime thriller from Ron Howard about how a millionaire's son is kidnapped, and instead of quietly paying the ransom, he decides to contact the FBI, and go on live TV explaining to the public that the ransom he was going to give to the kidnapper is now a bounty on the kidnapper. Mel Gibson, Rene Russo, and Brawley Nolte all have great lead performances. Gary Sinise, Delroy Lindo, Lili Taylor, Liev Schreiber, Donnie Wahlberg, and several others had very nice roles among a solid supporting cast.

Very nice comedy drama from Cameron Crowe about a successful sports agent in his business and personal life when he realizes his life isn't what he wants it to be, and gets fired after making some big life changes. He decides to ride with his new philosophy by working with the only client who didn't leave him, as he tries to resurrect his career. Tom Cruise, Cuba Gooding Jr., and Cuba Gooding Jr. all have great lead performances. Kelly Preston, Jay Mohr, Bonnie Hunt, Regina King, Jerry O'Connell, Jonathan Lipnicki, and many others have very nice supporting roles.

Very nice British Invasion music-inspired comedy drama written, directed by, and starring Tom Hanks. Great story set in 1964, about a local Pennsylvania pop/rock band that scores a huge #1 hit single, and follows their journey to stardom as they encounter so many problems any band from the era would face. Tom Hanks, Tom Everett Scott, Liv Tyler, Steve Zahn, Johnathon Schaech, Ethan Embry, Charlize Theron, and several others had great supporting roles.