Filmsane

All right now. You know this man I presume. Yup. I’m talking about Steven Spielberg of course. There is a great chance that he probably directed every favorite movie of your childhood or you favorite period.

And if you’re like me… A Millennial that grew up in the 90’s you basically grew up watching his movies. You kind of had to watch the historical period piece dramas (Amistad, Saving Private Ryan and Schindler’s list) because they were the most talked about/award contender movies of the 90’s but you secretly wanted the action packed blockbusters.

That statement is not necessarily limited to the 90’s. You respected Munich and Bridge Of Spies but you actually went to the movies to see Jurassic Park and Catch Me If You Can. Especially if you had the obligatory 90’s crush on Leo Dicaprio.

Well, he’s back. With a healthy dose of nostalgia wrapped in a pieced called ready Player One. Sure he dabbled in some Oscar fun last year with The Post, but he brought the fun now with the film adaptation of the fantastic book by Ernest Cline.

However, as a kid who grew up in the 90’s I feel that it’s my imperative and an obligation to try and rank his 90’s movies. From worst to best. Now, this list is merely by my own viewing, liking and childhood nostalgia criteria, so don’t get mad if your favorite film is not at the top.

Shall we begin?

Amistad (1997)

Too long and with too many courtroom scenes for my taste, Amistad is a chore to watch even now as an adult, let alone when I was a kid in the 90’s. Yes its elaborate period piece with fantastic performances (especially from Morgan Freeman, Djimon Hounsou and Anthony Hopkins), but it’s a movie that doesn’t bring the urge in me to watch it over and over again.

Jurassic Park- The Lost World (1997)

The Lost World was supposed to be the money maker for Spielberg that year and Amistad the Oscar maker. But there is a good reason why almost no one remembers that this movie exists, let alone that it was directed by Spielberg. Actually there are several of them. The tone and scenery of the movies was too dark compared to the first one, most of the characters were not that exciting and memorable, and the use of CGI was too extensive.

Hook (1991)

Ah Robin Williams as Peter Pan. Is anything better than this? I don’t care if this movie is not the most accepted movie of his career, he was great in Hook. His energy shined through every scene, and Bob Hoskins, Dustin Hoffman and Maggie Smith were equally outstanding. I know that even Spielberg is dissatisfied with Hook but for me, this movie is a comfort food equivalent of a grilled cheese sandwich, and deserves to be here on this list.

Schindler’s List (1993)

Oh my God! I cried buckets of tears for this at this movie. Spielberg sure can make god damn realistic movies. And sad movies too. This was also one of the 2 black and white movies that I saw in the 90’s (the first being Raging Bull) that I actually liked. And I don’t know if you had this feeling, but every time I catch this movie on TV I feel like I’m in a timelessness bubble and immediately don’t know if I caught this movie at the beginning of the very end.

Saving Private Ryan (1998)

It’s probably one of the rare WW2 movies that I can watch over and over and over. Yup. It’s that good, and Spielberg deserved his Best director Oscar. Seriously. This movie was even referenced in an episode in Will & Grace, and those first 30 minutes of the movie are probably the greatest action scenes I’ve ever seen in my life.

Jurassic World (1993)

This movie was for me, what E.T. and Indiana Jones was for a lot of 80’s kids. Adventure and spectacle in every frame. I remember watching this movie a lot growing up with my sister especially during the summer time, and still watch it with the same awe and excitement. Almost every TV channel aired it when I was a kid, and now it brings back nostalgia, a carefree feeling and a childhood innocence back in this 30- something body. Oh it’s still awesome.  It inflicted fear in a good way, and it’s still awesome as it was back in 93.