my all time favorite film podcast, What Are You Watching?, with Alex, and his best man, Nick, are prepping for their Movies of 1996 episode.

I should mention how I only really listen to PlayStation Access’ movie podcast, Redshirt Cinema Club, and my pal, Noah’s podcast, How We Seeez It, but when you listen to the best, who needs the rest?

Which has gotten me thinking of what my favorite movies are of 1996.

I was 14 in 1996, so that might explain some of my following opinions.

So following along if you will :

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_American_films_of_1996

January

Bio-Dome, with Paula Shore. The movie William Atherton passed on Mallrats to make, as he thought Mallrats was too cartoonish.

From Dusk till Dawn, an incredible movie by Robert Rodriguez, starring a slew of names : George Clooney, Quentin Tarantino, Harvey Keitel, Juliette Lewis, Cheech Marin, Salma Hayek (how can anyone forget her?!), Danny Trejo, and Michael Parks. First legendary movie of the year.

February

Black Sheep. The Not Tommy Boy film starring Chris Farley and David Spade. Though I may not be the biggest Tommy Boy fan either. Been forever since watching either of these movies.

We got our first Top Ten film! I love Broken Arrow. The fact that they airlifted the stars of another Top Ten film for me, Pump Up the Volume – not available to purchase on VUDU, and it has been a solid decade of me wanting to watch that movie again, and not being able to, so some rights issue must have been resolved. No one seems to have notice it is available for streaming, so it is now.

So anyway, it also John Travolta along with Christian Slate and Samantha Mathis. Famous for the trailer line that I still quote “what is worst? That this happens, or that it happens enough that there’s a name for it?”

Happy Gilmore. A movie I thought was enjoyable, until two weeks ago when my son wanted to watch it, and such an hilarious movie. My memory had it being funny, but the scenes you remember being the best ones, but the transition scenes are great too. I’m more of a Billy Madison guy, but I like this Adam Sandler flick. Such a great cast too, WAYW fave, Christopher McDonald, Julie Bowen, Carl Weathers, Kevin Nealon, of course, Bob Barker, and Ben Stiller.

Bottle Rocket, a movie I really need to watch one of these days.

Mary Reilly, Julia Roberts’ side character to Docket Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. A movie I probably haven’t watched since 1996, and I liked it at the time, but should watch it again, as I’m sure it is even better than the attention I gave it to then. Huge cast, and yet, my memory of the film is based solely around the trailer.

The Late Shift, the movie about the first war of the Tonight Show. Since the whole Conan fiasco, I have extremely soured on Jay Leno, so I’m sure if I watch this again, I’ll be completely on Letterman’s side, but also, I’m not watching anything regarding Jay Leno.

March

Down Periscope, a movie that feels like it was constantly on Comedy Central. Kelsey Grammer’s battleship comedy. A film with a giant cast that I vaguely remember Rip Torn being in, and a scene played for laughs regarding buttons that I’m sure isn’t as funny now.

Up Close and Personal, a movie I only know for the Celina Dion song, Because You Love Me. How great is Michelle Pfeifer?!

The Birdcage with Robin Williams, I’ve seen this once, and I’m sure a lot of it went way over my head. I should rewatch it.

Fargo, a movie I kept meaning to watch again, especially once the FX show exploded. I remember the famous scenes from it, but another one I need to rewatch as I’m sure I didn’t give it enough attention.

Homeward Bound II : Lost in San Francisco. I love the first movie, I know I’ve seen this one a handful of times, it was either on TV a lot, or we kept renting it, but the first one is the one to watch.

Executive Decision with Kurt Russell and for a little bit, Steven Seagal. I liked it when it came out, but if I want to watch an Air Force One movie, I go Air Force One. Apparently, this not an Air Force One movie. oops, I need to watch this one again too.

All Dogs Go to Heaven 2, another dog sequel that doesn’t compare to the original. If the original is even good, I mostly remember a PC puzzle game that I played way too much for what it was, I’m sure.

April

Another Top Ten movie! VUDU often has it for $5, and next time it does, I’m buying it. I love this movie!

What a cast! Richard Gere (my favorite Gere), Laura Linney (always great), John Mahoney (that I still go, hey, Fraiser’s dad, the first time I see him), Alfre Woodard (pre career explosion), Edward Northon (such a career launching debut!), Andre Braugher (Allegedly. RIP Legend), and apparently Frances McDormand (having quite the year with Fargo too), and Terry O’Quinn are in it, and I can’t visualize them, but I’m sure they’re great. She’s part of the legal team, right? He’s a political person? Or Gere’s boss, perhaps?

Sabrina the Teenage Witch? They made a movie?! Apparently this was like a test pilot on Showtime. Which seems bonkers to me.

Tremors 2, I’m sure I’ve seen this. Is this where they turn into little flying bugs? Or is that III?

Fear, ooof, the movie every father should show their daughter when he believes she is dating someone who is no good. Starring Mark Wahlberg and Reese Witherspoon. I know I saw this years later, and I’m sure it was a movie my wife told me I should watch, as she really remembered the Ferris wheel scene.

James and the Giant Peach, another movie my wife told me I should watch with her. I feel like I wasn’t fully committed. On Disney Plus now. I’m surprise it wasn’t a Tim Burton movie. I just wasn’t ready for it, or maybe we had already watched a movie that day?

Kids in the Hall : Brain Candy, I love Kids in the Hall, but have I seen this? I must have.

Mystery Science Theater 3000 : The Movie, what a month for two tv shows turned movies! Like most tv shows turned movie, this just feels like a bigger episode, but that’s what we want.

Mulholland Falls, another movie that I was definitely too young to fully appreciate. I mostly remember this for Jennifer Connelly, and that Nick Nolte is in it.

May

Another all timer! light as a feather, stiff as a board. One of those movies that was just always on TV. Such a great cast, Robin Tunney, who is gorgous in this film, and paired with Empire Records, shows off her incredible range. Fairuza Balk, better here than in Waterboy, but that’s true for most people in Waterboy. sizzle sizzle, hot take! Neve Campbell, Queen!< oh yeah, Skeet Ulrich is in this too. Breckin Meyer too?! I mostly remember the ladies of the movie. Must be a young Brenda Strong too. Whatever happened to Rachel True? They made a sequel to Half Baked? Of course they did.
This is possibly my favorite witch movie, but that probably also isn’t saying much.

The Pallbearer. After watching David Schwimmer’s Kissing a Fool, and always confused why he didn’t have a bigger movie career, I’m reminded he did The Pallbearer. Then again, he was probably trying to squeeze in one movie between seasons of Friends, so his options were limited.

Of Love and Shadows. Another movie that really benefits from Jennifer Connelly being in it. Antonio Banderas is the guy in the movie.

Twister! Another movie I watched so many times, and really need to watch the sequel one of these days.

Flipper, have I seen this, or have I seen the commercials so many times, that it feels like I have.

Heaven’s Prisoners. A movie that I only know Teri Hatcher is outstanding in.

Norma Jean and Marilyn. I can’t help but think of this movie whenever Marilyn Monroe is mentioned, as this is my Marilyn movie. Unfortunately the movie that I also think of whenever Harvey Weinstein is mentioned as both Ashley Judd and Mira Sorvino themselves, and their careers were damaged by him. They both really brought it for this film.

Mission Impossible, Tom Cruise in his action best, launching a very impressive franchise that I need to watch more of. I think I’ve seen 1, III, Fallout, and maybe one of the other ones?

Spy Hard, a very funny spy parody with Leslie Nielsen, that I probably only saw once.

June

Another all timer. Sometimes I get in a real mood for some pulp heroes, and watch either The Phantom or Rocketeer, or the Shadow. I bought The Phantom a few months ago on VUDU, and I just keep finding myself watching it. Such a good flick.

The Rock. Michael Bays’ Alcatraz escape / nuclear weapon movie, starring so many people! I really need to watch it again, as it has been far to long. Stars so many legends – Sean Connery, Nicholas Cage, Ed Harris, WAYW fave, Michael Biehn, John Spencer, John C. McGinley, William Forsythe, Xander Berkeley, even Jim Caviezel?! I don’t quite remember him being in this.

The Cable Guy. I run cold on a lot of Jim Carrey, and he’s a lot in this movie with Ben Stiller. Funny movie, but there’s moments when I feel like I’m done watching it.

Stealing Beauty, a great Liv Tyler film, that apparently stars other people.

Eraser, I know I’ve seen this Arnold Schwarzenegger film, but I don’t think I can distinguish it from other movies of his from the era.

Another all timer that I find myself watching these days. Disney’s Hunchback of Notre Dame. Has some very haunting songs, and even more haunting visuals. An odd balance of suspense with humor that stands out on a rewatch. They really captured Demi Moore’s eyes for Esmeralda.

The Nutty Professor, an Eddy Murphy movie that is funny on a first watch. He’s very impressive with everything he does, but then his future career was really hampered by this.

Striptease, I hadn’t realized Demi Moore had quite a 1996 movie! Burt Reynolds is great in this movie too.

July

Theodore Rex, Whoopi Goldberg’s dinosaur movie that I thought was a fever dream! I should try to watch this agian.

Another all timer! Like Empire Records, I watch this movie once a year. Still haven’t seen the sequel. One of my family’s few traditions, was to watch this movie over the course of the three days depicted in the movie. I can’t get my wife and son to do it, but we usually start the movie on July 4.
I still don’t get how Margaret Colin didn’t get an entire career launched from this, but it was 1996, and hard for women to launch careers unless nudity was involved. Such a huge cast with Bill Pullman, Jeff Goldblum, Mary McDonnell, Judd Hirsch, Vivica A. Fox, Harvey Fiersten, Brent Spiner, a very young Mae Whitman, and Harry Connick.

Phenomenon, John Travolta’s Not-Michael movie, that for whatever reason, I associate those two films together, forgetting this came out the year Broken Arrow did.

Harriet the Spy, I’m sure I’ve seen this at least once. Cute film from what I remember of it. RIP Michelle Trachtenberg.

Multiplicity, a movie I think fondly of all of the time! Michael Keaton AND Andie MacDowell, yes please! I haven’t watched it in forever. But I think about the “clone of a clone” and the results a bunch.

The Frighteners, a movie I’ve been wanting to watch since Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings epic, but never get around to watching this Michael J. Fox film. I know I watched it around when it first came out, but haven’t seen it since.

Trainspotting, a movie I’ve been wanting to watch since the sequel came out. I just love how the sequel was supposed to come out ten years after the first one, but the actors hadn’t aged that much, so they had to wait longer. Actors know how to take care of themselves.

Joe’s Apartment, a cockroach led movie starring Jerry O’Connell, that Comedy Central must have owned the rights to, as it aired a bunch, and I jumped in and out of the movie, but never seen it fully.

August

Chain Reaction with Keanu Reeves and Morgan Freeman, I know I’ve seen it once, and I feel like I get it confused with another chemical reaction movie.

Matilda, another cute movie I’ve only seen a handful of times. Starring Mara Wilson, Danny DeVito, and Rhea Perlman. Now a musical on Netflix, I believe?

Escape from LA, I may have watched this? I’ve only seen Escape from New York once, or I’ve seen this.

Jack, the Robin Williams is a boy who is the size and appearance of an adult man. I want to say this was a hard watch when it first came out.

Another movie I just watched endlessly on TV. Tin Cup was $5 on VUDU, bought it immediately, watched it with my wife, and had a real “oh no, I may have oversold how great this movie was,” but then it got to the final golf section, and I know I had a great time. I hadn’t realized this was the dramatic golf movie to combat Happy Gilmore.
Such a great cast – Kevin Costner, my favorite Rene Russo movie, Cheech Marin, and my favorite Don Johnson movie.

They made a third Darkman movie?! I barely remember the first, but now I want to watch the first one again.

The Island of Dr. Moreau, the one with Val Kilmer, and Marlon Brando. A very tough watch, but I sort of want to watch it again, as is it as tough as I remember?

A Very Brady Sequel. I’ve seen this, right? Maybe just once.

The Crow : City of Angels, another one I should rewatch.

September

Bulletproof with Adam Sandler and Damon Wayans. I really do miss action comedies, we don’t get enough of these. I remember this being a blast.

The First Wives Club. Another movie that was just playing on TV all of the time! Bette Midler, Goldie Hawn, and Diane Keaton are the first wives. Maggie Smith, Dan Hedaya, Elizabeth Berkley (Save by the Bell represent, yo!). I don’t quite remember Stockard Channing being in this? Is she the fourth friend? Must be a young Timothy Olyphant too. Heather Loclear is in this?! I need to rewatch this. JK Simons AND Rob Reiner?!

2 Days in the Valley, another Teri Hatcher film! I remember really digging this movie, but I bet I’ll appreciate it so much more as an adult. Quite a romp, with a lot of twists.

October

Bound, as much as I love Jennifer Tilly, I’ve never got around to watch this, always felt too adult for me, but now I’m an adult, and probably appreciate it.

D3 : The Mighty Ducks, now this is the movie for me! We tried to watch the Disney Plus show, and got maybe two episodes into it? If Bombay was more invested in the team, we would have watched more of it, but he doesn’t want to be there (and I know he will eventually want to be, I imagine), really take the sails out of the ship. D3 felt like such a conclusion to the trilogy. Though I should watch this one again, as I feel like I’ve seen it the least.

That Thing You Do! Tom Hanks 60s band movie, that I really enjoyed, and should watch again. I always liked how Ethan Embry’s character is TB Player, as in The Base Player. He wasn’t given enough things to do.

If These Walls Could Talk, I was definitely too young to fully appreciate this movie, and it deserves another watch. I remember really enjoying the sequel. HBO really was making movies I wanted to watch during this era.

Jude, a terrific Kate Winslet movie, also starring the 9th Doctor, Christopher Eccleston.

Another all timer, Sleepers, that I’m sure is going to rank high on the WAYW list, probably why they even picked 1996 was to discuss this movie even more. What a cast too! Kevin Bacon, Robert De Niro, Dustin Hoffman, Jason Patric, Brad Renfo, Minnie Driver, Billy Crudup.
Such a tough, but important watch.

Swingers, the Jon Faverau and Vince Vaughn movie. Which I want to say I like this and Made, but I don’t think I gave either film their proper watches.

To Gillian on her 37th Birthday. I’m sure in 1996, I thought 37 was so far from my 14 years. Now I’m 43, and 37 feels like a lifetime ago. I’ve been wanting to watch this again, as I know Freddie Prinze Jr is in it, and I barely remember him or this film. Stars Michelle Pfeifer, and apparently Seth Green is in this as well.

November

Romeo + Juliet, I haven’t seen this one since high school. Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes as the leads. John Leguizamo (Johnny Legs!), is Paul Rudd in this?! LOST’s Harold Perrineau as Mercutio, as the best Mercutio.

Ransom, wherein Mel Gibson wants his son back! I’ve seen it once, but I just remember him shouting that over and over again. Which as a father now, I completely get.

The English Patient, I’m sure I’ve seen this in high school, and still don’t get the hype for it.

Space Jam! Boy, did that sequel really take some of the air out of the original. I’ve seen this team up of Michael Jordan and the Looney Tunes so many times! I always feel like Billy Murray is in this more, and always surprised to see Wayne Knight in this.

Jingle All the Way, a fun Arnold Schwarzenegger Christmas movie, that always makes me feel sad thinking about how we should have gotten more Phil Hartman movies.

Star Trek : First Contact. The second Next Generation Movie, and eighth overall. Alfre Woodard was having quite a year as well! She’s Jonathan Frakes godmother. Possibly my favorite Star Trek Next Generation film, which probably isn’t saying much, but it has everything I want from Next Gen. Like a two part episode with a budget.

101 Dalmatians, the Glenn Close live action. Back when these felt special.

The Crucible, another high school movie I’ve seen quite a few times. This is the Daniel Day-Lewis, one of a few of his films I’ve actually watched, and Winona Ryder. I told them the truth! Devastating.

Sling Blade, I haven’t watched it, but seen enough clips.

December

If you’ve seen a movie like 10 times, that sort of makes it a favorite, right? I suppose the definition of a guilty pleasure, except, I’ll get caught watching it, and just be happy to have some company to watch it with. I won’t go as far as to write this is my favorite Sylvester Stallone movie, but maybe favorite Non-Rocky one? I’ll have to think about it. I just really like it. Maybe its the whole Poseidon Adventure, but in a tunnel nature of it? I just wrote that, but Daylight is literally just Poseidon Adventure in a Tunnel, and I flipping love Poseidon Adventure. Viggo Mortensen and Dan Heydaya are in this as well.

Jerry Maguire, wow, Tom Cruise had a very success 1996. You had me at hello.

Another movie I’m just waiting for it to be $5 on VUDU. I absolutely love Mars Attacks.

Remember when Mars Attacks Image, and we got Raphael for just a moment?

Tim Burton directed, and what a cast! Jack Nicholson, twice!, Glenn Close, Annette Bening, Pierce Brosnan, Danny DeVito, Martin Short, Sarah Jessica Parker, Michael J. Fox (also having a year!), Tom Jones, yes that one, Natalie Portman, Christina Applegate, Pam Grier, Jack Black, and Lukas Haas. And I’m sure Frank Welker must have provided the Martian voices.

Beavis and Butt-head Do America, I remembered watching this in the theater, but was it Christmas time? I’m from Yuma, Arizona, so it is desert all of the time. Great soundtrack.

My Fellow Americans, I feel like I was too young to appreciate this with Jack Lennon and James Gardner, with Dan Aykroyd.

One Fine Day, both George Clooney and Michelle Pfeifer were on a roll this year! Very cute and sweet movie. I usually hate hates or shows where bad thing after bad thing keeps happening to a character or characters, but there’s enough here to keep watching.

Scream, did this really come out the same year The Craft did?! Was Neve Campbell even ready for this much success?! Freaking love Scream! Up there with Halloween with favorite horror franchises, and Scream has so many great films to Halloween’s . . . less good ones.

Evita, still never seen this, but I like the main song from the movie. Madonna sure can sing.

I should watch a Hamlet movie one of these days.

Michael, I knew this must have came out the same year, that’s three movies with John Travolta! Plus, Andie MacDowell. William Hurt is in it, I don’t quite remember Bob Hoskins in this, I should watch it again. Joey Lauren Adams?! Richard Schiff?! I need to watch this again. Wow, Carla Gugino?!

. . .

TOP TEN

10. Daylight

9. Broken Arrow

8. Hunchback of Notre Dame

7. The Craft

6. Tin Cup

5. The Phantom

4. Independence Day

3. Sleepers

2. Primal Fear

1. Scream