The Films of 1995

[hammerhead]

Just don’t continue to Species II.

Just… don’t.

[fuzzy_dunlop]

The only thing I remember from SPECIES II is Michael Madsen shoving down a grocery store stock boy, waving a gun in his face, shouting ‘WHERE’S THE GODDAMN CEREAL?!’.

Iconic.

[hammerhead]

The only thing I (choose to) remember is slow-motion Henstridge running in a cotton dress

[jdc8]

@Alt-molt

To this day I haven’t seen NINE MONTHS. How could you, Hugh?

Wednesday July 12th offers you a chance to give Hugh a second chance. Nine Months appears in theaters with this unofficial poster.

Here’s a summary of Grant’s $50 business transaction. Ebert review of Nine Months.

[fraid_uh_noman]

@hp pufncraft

Natasha Henstridge was ungodly hot in SPECIES. The VHS was a childhood favorite of mine, delivering what Joe Bob Briggs referred to as the 3 B’s: Blood, Breasts & Beasts.
Haven’t seen it in years. I shudder to think how badly the CGI has probably aged.

I watched it not too long ago. The movie is still fun and entertaining and the design of SIL is great but yeah…the CGI has aged very VERY badly outside of a couple subtle shots. Mostly the shots in the final 20 minutes of the film are the worst..

[serpico_jones]

Remember MAXIMUM RISK? Van Damme feasts on Natasha Henstridge’s boobies.

[hp_pufncraft_1]

@jdc8

(02-01-2025, 03:33 AM)
Alt-molt Wrote:
To this day I haven’t seen NINE MONTHS. How could you, Hugh?
Wednesday July 12th offers you a chance to give Hugh a second chance.
Nine Months
appears in theaters with this unofficial poster.
Here’s a
summary
of Grant’s $50 business transaction. Ebert
review
of
Nine Months
.

From Google:

“The police were alerted to their presence due to Grant repeatedly pressing the brake pedal, causing the brake lights to flash erratically.”

As someone who’s had car fun with ladies of the night (and afternoon), all I’ll say is amateur.

@fraid uh noman

(07-08-2025, 07:25 PM)
hp pufncraft Wrote:
Natasha Henstridge was ungodly hot in SPECIES. The VHS was a childhood favorite of mine, delivering what Joe Bob Briggs referred to as the 3 B’s: Blood, Breasts & Beasts.
Haven’t seen it in years. I shudder to think how badly the CGI has probably aged.
I watched it not too long ago. The movie is still fun and entertaining and the design of SIL is great but yeah…the CGI has aged very VERY badly outside of a couple subtle shots. Mostly the shots in the final 20 minutes of the film are the worst..

YIKES.

The animation looks on par with REBOOT. Which is fine for a kid’s show, not an R-rated horror movie.

[fraid_uh_noman]

It does indeed look like Reboot during those effects shots toward the end. It’s funny because at the time it was released they treated it like a slightly more B-movie-ish T2 when it came to the special effects. They thought those effects were SPECIAL. But now…in 2025…look at T2’s CGI next to Species’ CGI. Yikes indeed. Still a fun movie though. You just gotta take it on its own merits. It ain’t Alien. Or even Alien Resurrection. Like…at all. The best effects are stuff like when she cuts her finger off and it grows back or when she’s spying on the people hunting her through a fence or bush or something and changes and you mostly just see her eye. That stuff looked actually pretty good. It’s the full CGI SIL that is DATED AS FUCK..

[jdc8]

July 14th, 1995:

The cook from Under Siege is back in Under Siege 2: Dark Territory.

Ebert review. Katherine Heigl reflects on her experiences filming the movie.

Speaking of creepy, The Indian In The Cupboard Ebert review starts with “There is a word for “The Indian in the Cupboard,” and that word is “creepy.””

The Postman (Il Postino) includes future Bond nemesis Maria Grazia Cucinotta. Ebert review.

[fraid_uh_noman]

Ebert gave a positive review to Under Siege 2??

That’s why I loved Siskel & Ebert. I frequently disagreed with their opinions. Siskel in particular is eternally wrong about Aliens and Silence of the Lambs but he gave Mortal Kombat and Blade positive reviews so, he gets a pass (or two). By God if those guys couldn’t just enjoy a movie sometimes just for what it was. Imagine a critic of Gene Siskel’s caliber and stature giving a positive review to Mortal Kombat and a lukewarm review to Silence of the Lambs. I love it! It just reinforces my opinion that there are very very VERY few worthless movies..

[huntertarantino]

Siskel famously gave a thumbs up to Die Hard while Ebert got it wrong. Then they thought Die Hard 2 was the greatest movie of all time, enough to land in Gene’s top 5 of 1990. He also put Under Siege and Wayne’s World on his year-end list.

Having watched a ton of their shows in the last year or so, I’ve learned that Siskel giving a thumbs up was guaranteed to be at least good, and Ebert giving a thumbs up when Siskel went down was a crap shoot.

[fatherdude]

SILENCE OF THE LAMBS was the movie that put Demme in the big leagues after fifteen years of doing great, often underappreciated work, and I think the dissenters (and Siskel appears to have been in the minority among high profile critics) saw something cynical about it, like it was a sell-out move. I also think lurid material approached in a high-toned way is particularly objectionable to certain tastes. Pauline Kael, a longtime Demme booster who retired the year SILENCE was released, is quoted as saying the following in what I presume was a contemporary interview:

Demme picks the right strings all right, but the film has no soul. It’s pulp material treated as art, and I think that’s a bit of a fraud. I like my pulp treated more like pulp, as in THE GRIFTERS.

[hammerhead]

Funny, since The Grifters was also an A-list upgrade of “B movie” material.

[fatherdude]

It’s probably also the least of 1990’s three Jim Thompson adaptations. Still hope THE KILL-OFF can get a decent release some day.

[jdc8]

Wednesday, July 19th:

Let’s go back to Beverly Hills High for a 30-year reunion (Ebert review):

Includes Brittany Murphy (R.I.P.), Dan Hedaya and the ageless Paul Rudd. An essential 1995 soundtrack including The Muffs, Luscious Jackson, Mighty Mighty Bosstones and the Beastie Boys.

Michael Madsen’s second movie this month is Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home. Ebert review. Includes M. Emmet Walsh as a scheming aquarium owner.

[michaelm]

The Blank Check podcast recently did an episode devoted to CLUELESS. Recommended listening for anyone who digs the movie.

[pither]

Somehow, I’m always surprised when I’m reminded that Madsen was in the FREE WILLY movies. I’m pretty sure I saw FREE WILLY 2 in the theatre.

[jdc8]

For July 21st, Hollywood apparently felt there were enough movies. There apparently were no new movies opening on that date. Clueless and Free Willy 2 carried the torch for this weekend.

[simbob]

This is a funny thread to come back and find since just the other day on that MOVIES! station I watched the 1995 Gas Van Saint movie To Die For…which is a movie I’ve seen before kind of, never from beginning to end like this, always was something I’d catch on tv in parts.

The beginning of To Die For is so good, especially with that Danny Elfman soundtrack at the start, that while watching it for a while I was like: Is this one of the best movies of the '90s, is this the best movie of '95? Having seem it in part previously and not being anywhere near as into it as I was this time, I found that kind of interest. The answer to both those questions it turns out is no, it’s not one of the best movie of the '90s, (not like top ten anyways) nor is it the best movie of 1995. To Die For just can’t sustain the high level of quality it has throughout, not that it turns bad, but at a current point it’s just not as exciting as it was at the start. But it is extremely good, it is a pretty funny movie, and it may be the most fun stylistic Gus Van Saint has ever been with a movie. I want more Gus Van Saint movies shot and edited like this one.

It might also be the hottest Nicole Kidman has been in a movie…this and The Invasion anyways.

I always get the poster for this movie mixed up with the one for The Human Stain. I see the To Die For poster from time to time for whatever reason, and I just always clock it as the poster from The Human Stain.

---

@Belloq87

How are those '90s GAMERA movies, anyway?

They’re some of the greatest giant monster movies ever made. They’re must see movies for anyone that ever liked Godzilla.

[hammerhead]

Agreed on 90s Gamera. Guardian of the Universe is everything every live-action kaiju movie ever wanted to be, done right.