The 1990s was the decade indie sensibility crashed into the mainstream, with Miramax at its peak and a new generation of directors rewriting what popular cinema could look and sound like. Pulp Fiction arguably split the decade in two, but there was plenty happening before and after it, from prestige drama to grunge-era thriller. Browse Macca's reviews from the era below.
Rating: 3.5★
River Phoenix is the reason to watch this film. That much is clear within the first few minutes, and it never stops being clear. As Mike, the narcoleptic street hustler drifting through the Pacific Northwest in search of a mother and a home he can barely picture, he is raw
Country United States Of America
Let me say something that might ruffle a few feathers: the original Night of the Living Dead is a landmark. It's brilliant, politically charged, genuinely groundbreaking. George Romero made something that changed horror forever. But if we're being honest with each other, and I think we
Country United States Of America
That opening shot. The sun cracking over the horizon, the savannah waking up, every creature on earth making its way to Pride Rock while Hans Zimmer and Lebo M fill the speakers with something that feels genuinely ancient. I've seen The Lion King more times than I can
Country United States Of America
There are films you remember seeing as a kid where you can still feel the exact sensation of watching them for the first time. Aladdin is one of those. The magic carpet soaring over the clouds, the Cave of Wonders roaring to life, and then Robin Williams opening his mouth
Rating: 3.0★
There is a version of Higher Learning that could have been one of the defining American films of the nineties. You can feel it in the best scenes, straining to get out. That it does not quite manage it is genuinely frustrating, because John Singleton was, at his best, among
Rating: 4.0★
When you think of David Lynch, your mind likely drifts to surreal nightmares, flickering neon, and industrial dread. You do not, typically, picture a family-friendly road trip across the American Midwest on a ride-on lawnmower. Yet here we are, and I mean that as the highest possible compliment:
Rating: 3.0★
My sister was physically sick watching this. Not metaphorically. Not "she felt a bit queasy." She threw up, right there on the living-room floor, in front of the telly, in the middle of a children's film. I have carried that image with me for decades,
Rating: 3.5★
There's a moment in Total Recall where you genuinely stop and ask yourself: is any of this actually happening? Paul Verhoeven plants that question early and never lets it go. Doug Quaid, a humble construction worker played with that trademark jaw-clenching physicality by Arnold Schwarzenegger, visits a
Rating: 3.0★
Let's get the heresy out of the way immediately: I have never quite understood the rabid, unquestioning devotion to Sam Raimi's Evil Dead franchise. While the world collectively worships at the altar of cabin-in-the-woods terror, I've found myself consistently underwhelmed by
Rating: 3.5★
Picture the grim, tactical intensity of Heat colliding head-on with the sun-drenched, wave-riding vibes of Blue Crush. That is the gloriously absurd reality of Kathryn Bigelow's 1991 classic, and I mean that as the highest possible compliment. Point Break is a film that should not
Rating: 2.0★
There is a very specific point where a beloved sci-fi franchise stops being a sharp, satirical triumph and simply devolves into a corporate cash grab. RoboCop 3 is that exact point, and I say that as someone who genuinely loves the original and has a soft spot for the
Rating: 3.5★
I still have a vivid memory of standing in the school playground, clutching a plastic RoboCop action figure, completely oblivious to the razor-sharp, deeply inappropriate satire I was holding in my eight-year-old hands. That memory says everything about the strange cultural place these films occupy. They were
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