YEAR OF FURIOUS FILMS: 1990

Year of Furious Films is our newest series on FC where we’ll be choosing our favorite films from each designated year. You may notice that we won’t be going in chronological order, it’ll be more random, but thats really part of the fun. We’ll be covering a wide array of movies from various eras spanning from the 20th century to the modern age. We hope you enjoy these lists and that they’ll inspire you to give the movies a watch or even a rewatch if you’ve already seen them.

1990

9016

The Hunt for Red October (Dir: John McTiernan)

John McTiernan (of Die Hard, Predator fame) does a fairly good job adapting John Clancy’s novel to the big screen. Sean Connery as the Russian submarine captain who wants to defect and Alec Baldwin as Jack Ryan, are top notch, and in fact they are the movie’s biggest strength.

9016

A Shock to the System (Dir: Jan Egleson)

Kinda underrated crime thriller which has Michael Caine as a frustrated ad company executive who begins to go on a revenge spree against those who hurt him, starting with his nagging wife. Co-starring Swoosie Kurtz, Elizabeth McGovern, Peter Riegert.

9016

Back To The Future Part III (Dir: Robert Zemeckis)

The 3rd part of the series is as good and entertaining as ever with a wacky time trip back to the Wild West. Starring Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Thomas F. Wilson, Mary Steenburgen.

9016

Total Recall (Dir: Paul Verhoeven)

One of my all time favorite sci fi movies with Arnie playing a construction worker who is sent on a trip to Mars where he finds out he was actually a secret agent and his life is not what he thinks. Fabulous movie by Paul Verhoeven. Co-starring Sharon Stone, Ronny Cox, Michael Ironside, Rachel Ticotin.

Read also: Our article on Verhoeven

9016

Die Hard 2 (Dir: John McTiernan)

Again one of the few sequels I actually liked, not as good as the first one though. Bruce Willis is once again the wrong guy in the wrong place, this time though its a D.C. Airport, and terrorists are striking there. Co-starring Bonnie Bedelia, Dennis Franz, William Sadler, Franco Nero.

9016

Ghost (Dir: Jerry Zucker)

Bit of a guilty pleasure, pretty much a date movie, with large dollops of sentiment and cheesy romance. But worth a watch for Demi Moore and Whoopi Goldberg as the Ghost diviner. Starring Patrick Swayze.

9016

Air America (Dir: Roger Spottiswoode)

Mel Gibson and Robert Downey Jr. star in this Vietnam War flick as two pilots running a clandestine airline service. The fun starts when they see that their airline is being used as heroin conduits and they find themselves being pulled into a trap.

See also: Our list of Vietnam movies

9016

Wild at Heart (Dir: David Lynch)

Remains one of my favorite David Lynch movies. Nicholas Cage and Laura Dern as the couple on the run from the latter’s overbearing mother (Diane Ladd). The trouble begins when they get mixed up with the Mob and a bunch of assorted weirdos. Co-starring Willem Dafoe, Harry Dean Stanton.

9016

Postcards from the Edge (Dir: Mike Nichols)

Shirley MacLaine as a loud, domineering mother and Meryl Streep as her daughter, just out of rehab, who needs to get back to her. A dysfunctional family if ever there was one. Watch it for these two women. Co-starring Dennis Quaid.

9016

Goodfellas (Dir: Martin Scorsese)

Martin Scorsese, the Mob, enough said. Add to it Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, with Ray Liotta as the main protagonist. “As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster”, has all the trademark Scorsese traits, fast paced dialog, dizzy camera angles, graphic violence. Co-starring Paul Sorvino, Lorraine Bracco, Frank Vincent.

9016

Miller’s Crossing (Dir: Coen Brothers)

One of the best movies ever by the Coen Brothers about two rival Mafia families and how the protagonist plays off one against another. Epic and noirish, this is a throwback to the old gangster movies of Hollywood during the 30s and 40s, as well as a basic plot adapted from Kurosawa’s Yojimbo. Starring Gabriel Byrne, John Turturro, Albert Finney, Marcia Gay Harden.

9016

The Godfather Part III (Dir: Francis Ford Coppola)

While slammed by many critics, I still like this final part of the Godfather trilogy, due to some first rate acting by Al Pacino and some excellent dramatic scenes. Co-starring Diane Keaton, Talia Shire, Andy Garcia, Bridget Fonda, Sofia Coppola.

9016

Dances With Wolves (Dir: Kevin Costner)

Kevin Costner takes the Western, gives it a bit of a revisionist tinge, making the Indians the good guys. Epic in scope, with some fabulous camera work. The bison hunt scene would surely go down as one of the greatest in movie history. Co-starring Graham Greene, Mary McDonnell, Rodney A. Grant.

9016

Misery (Dir: Rob Reiner)

Excellent adaptation of the Stephen King novel with Kathy Bates in top form as the psychotic Annie who holds her favorite novelist (James Caan) hostage and makes his life miserable. Co-starring Richard Farnsworth.

9016

Edward Scissorhands (Dir: Tim Burton)

Tim Burton takes the age old Beauty and Beast story sets it in a US suburb and offers a movie that is bizarre, heartwarming and soulful. One of my favorite love stories with Johnny Depp in the title role and Winona Ryder as charming as ever.

9016

Awakenings (Dir: Penny Marshall)

Pretty heart warming drama about a group of catatonic patients who are awakened by Dr. Malcolm Sayer (Robin Williams is first rate), and their experiences. Co-starring Robert DeNiro.

9016

King of New York (Dir: Abel Ferrara)

If GoodFellas was the great Hollywood studio mob movie of 1990, this film would be its indie counterpart. Christopher Walken plays Frank White a ruthless drug kingpin who has been released from prison and is back on the streets. While he takes out all the competition, he also has to fend off a group of furious cops (David Caruso, Wesley Snipes, Victor Argo) out for revenge. Abel Ferrara’s thrilling, brutal depiction of underworld figures in the Big Apple is a must see for crime film fans. Co-starring Laurence Fishburne, Steve Buscemi, Paul Calderon. (Pete)

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