Dignan (Owen Wilson) dreams of being an accomplished career criminal. Anthony (Luke Wilson) is trying to put his life back together after a severe bout of exhaustion. Bob (Robert Musgrave) has a car. After a successful bookstore robbery, everything seems to be going according to Dignan's master plan until the three friends hideout at a roadside motel. After a day on the lam, Bob has to go home and Anthony falls in love with the housekeeper. Dignan will have to work fast if he is to impress Mr. Henry (James Caan) and pull off the job of a lifetime. Directed by Wes Anderson. With Lumi Cavazos. Categories: Comedy, Crime, Romance. Year: 1996
1996 in Bottle Rocket
Lt. Colonel Nathaniel Serling (Denzel Washington) is trying to do the right thing. An army officer haunted by a command mistake, he is selected to assess a helicopter commander's eligibility for the Medal of Honor. Captain Karen Walden (Meg Ryan) died in a heroic rescue attempt of a downed chopper and appears to be a hero. As Serling investigates, conflicting accounts from her crew cause him to question her actions. Directed by Edward Zwick. With Lou Diamond Phillips, Michael Moriarty and Matt Damon. Categories: Action, Drama, War. Year: 1996.
1996 in Courage Under Fire
John Kruger (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is a US Marshal protecting Dr. Lee Cullen (Vanessa L. Williams), a scientist for an enormous weapons manufacturer. Soon to testify about a conspiracy within her company, Cullen must follow Kruger into hiding to protect both of their lives as they realize that the plot extends beyond her corporation's walls. Directed by Chuck Russell. With James Caan, James Coburn, Robert Pastorelli, Andy Romano. Categories: Action, Drama, Thriller. Year: 1996.
1996 in Eraser
When terrorists hijack an airplane flying to Washington, D.C., intelligence expert David Grant (Kurt Russell) convinces the military to let him accompany a crew of soldiers boarding the plane in mid-air and rescue its passengers. When the team discovers a bomb aboard, Grant must race against time to subdue the terrorists and dismantle the explosives. Directed by Stuart Baird. With Steven Seagal, Halle Berry, John Leguizamo, Oliver Platt and Joe Morton. Categories: Politics, Action, Adventure, Thriller. Year: 1996.
1996 in Executive Decision
Karen McCaan (Sally Field) falls apart after the horrible rape and murder of her young daughter, Julie (Olivia Burnette). After the police deny her request to hold Robert Doob (Kiefer Sutherland), the suspect in the case, Karen decides to take matters into her own hands. While her quest for revenge is temporarily delayed by her husband Mack (Ed Harris), Doob's return convinces Karen that she must defend her family using any means necessary. Directed by John Schlesinger. With Joe Mantegna, Beverly D'Angelo and Darrell Larson. Categories: Drama, Thriller. Year: 1996.
1996 in Eye for an Eye
Bobby Rayburn (Wesley Snipes) is a professional baseball player at the top of his game. After a move to the San Francisco Giants is followed by the worst performance of his career, an obsessed fan named Gil Renard (Robert De Niro) decides to help Bobby recover his game by whatever means necessary. Directed by Tony Scott. With Ellen Barkin, John Leguizamo, Benicio Del Toro and Kurt Fuller. Categories: Thriller, Sports. Year: 1996.
1996 in The Fan
Three high-school girls (Hedy Burress, Sarah Rosenberg, and Jenny Shimizu) are sexually abused by their biology teacher. But they don't do anything about it until a mysterious new girl named Legs (Angelina Jolie) shows up. She is much tougher than the rest of them and leads them all to take revenge against the teacher. But now that the girls have started to rebel, where will it stop? Directed by Annette Haywood-Carter. With Jenny Lewis. Categories: Drama. Year: 1996.
1996 in Foxfire
Professional criminals Seth (George Clooney) and Richard Gecko (Quentin Tarantino) kidnap a family and hijack their RV, after a bloody robbery in Texas. Once across the border into Mexico, the Geckoes take the former pastor (Harvey Keitel), his teenage daughter (Juliette Lewis) and adopted son (Ernest Liu) to a rough biker bar where they need to pay off a debt. But, as night falls, it becomes apparent that the bar caters to a clientele with a taste for human blood. Directed by Robert Rodriguez. With Salma Hayek, Cheech Marin and Danny Trejo. Categories: Action, Comedy, Fantasy, Horror, Thriller. Year: 1996.
1996 in From Dusk Till Dawn
Happy Gilmore (Adam Sandler), a failed hockey player, takes his powerful drive to the PGA tour in order to save his grandmother's (Frances Bay) home. Accustomed to the aggresion and bravado of hockey, Happy shows his emotions on the fairway, and quickly becomes a fan favorite. But, as his skills improve, long-time pro Shooter McGavin (Christopher McDonald) begins to see Happy as a threat to his quest for the tour championship, and sets out to squash Happy and preserve the sanctity of the game. Directed by Dennis Dugan. With Julie Bowen, Carl Weathers, Allen Covert, Bob Barker, Kevin Nealon and Ben Stiller. Categories: Comedy, Sports. Year: 1996.
1996 in Happy Gilmore
After world-weary card shark Sydney (Philip Baker Hall) meets John (John C. Reilly), a reckless, down-and-out gambler, he takes the downtrodden young man under his wing and shows him how to exploit the casino perk system. Years later, the surrogate father and son enjoy being successful gamblers, until John falls for a troubled cocktail waitress (Gwyneth Paltrow) and gets mixed up with an untrustworthy stranger (Samuel L. Jackson). Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. With Philip Seymour Hoffman. Categories: Crime, Drama, Thriller. Year: 1996.
1996 in Hard Eight
George (Harvey Keitel) and Nathalie (Cameron Diaz) are recently married and on vacation at a quiet island retreat. When Natalie's ex-lover Kent (Billy Zane) shows up and sweeps her off her feet, the stage is set for a fiasco of epic proportions. Directed by Jim Wilson. With Craig Sheffer and Shay Duffin. Categories: Comedy, Thriller. Year: 1996.
1996 in Head Above Water
When worldwide communications systems go haywire and an enormous unidentified object is spotted orbiting Earth, David Levinson (Jeff Goldblum), an MIT graduate who works at a cable company, decodes a hidden message and discovers that aliens are planning to destroy major cities around the world. When Levinson's prediction come true, the survivors of the US attacks, including Marine Corp. fighter pilot Steven Hiller (Will Smith) and President Thomas J. Whitmore (Bill Pullman), converge on Area 51 and try to formulate a plan to prevent the aliens from enslaving the human race. Using a captured alien spacecraft and a ragtag squadron of volunteer pilots, the survivors take flight on July 4th to fight for their freedom. Directed by Roland Emmerich. With Mary McDonnell, Judd Hirsch, Robert Loggia, Randy Quaid, Margaret Colin and Vivica A. Fox. Categories: Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller. Year: 1996.
1996 in Independence Day
After James' (Paul Terry) parents are killed by a rhinoceros, he is sent to live with his two terrible aunts. James feels trapped in his new life until he accidentally grows a giant peach with the help of some magic crocodile tongues. Making friends with the bugs who live inside the gigantic fruit, James is whisked away on a wild adventure to New York City. Directed by Henry Selick. With Richard Dreyfuss, Susan Sarandon and Pete Postlethwaite. Categories: Animation, Adventure, Drama, Family, Fantasy. Year: 1996.
1996 in James and the Giant Peach
Directed by Franco Zeffirelli. With Charlotte Gainsbourg, Anna Paquin, William Hurt and Geraldine Chaplin. Categories: Drama, Romance. Year: 1996.
1996 in Jane Eyre
After suffering a nervous breakdown as a result of stress and a guilty conscience, fast-talking sports agent Jerry Maguire (Tom Cruise) is fired from his high-paying job at a top management firm. Intent to start an agency of his own, Jerry is left with only one client, cocky wide receiver Rod Tidwell (Cuba Gooding Jr.), and a single employee, single mother Dorothy Boyd (Renée Zellweger). As Jerry does his best to get Tidwell the contract he deserves, he grows closer to Dorothy and her son, Ray (Jonathan Lipnicki), and realizes that there are more important things than money. Directed by Cameron Crowe. With Jay Mohr, Kelly Preston, Jerry O'Connell, Regina King and Bonnie Hunt. Categories: Comedy, Drama, Romance, Sports. Year: 1996.
1996 in Jerry Maguire
When Roy Munson (Woody Harrelson), a down-on-his-luck, one-handed ex-bowling champion, discovers Ismael (Randy Quaid), an Amish prodigy, sneaking in a few frames at his local alley, he takes the innocent, "young" man under his wing. After convincing Ismael to hit the road and bowl for money in order to save his family's farm, Roy finds himself in a heap of trouble after a series of shady dealings, while Ishmael takes full advantage of his new freedom. On the run with a ruthless criminal's girlfriend (Vanessa Angel), Roy and Ismael head to Reno in a last ditch effort to win a million dollar bowling tournament, only to cross paths with Roy's old nemisis, Ernie McCracken (Bill Murray). Directed by Bobby Farrelly and Peter Farrelly. With Lin Shaye and Rob Moran. Categories: Comedy, Sports. Year: 1996.
1996 in Kingpin
Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is a secret agent who specializes in performing the impossible. When everyone else on his team of agents is killed, Hunt becomes the target of a vast search for a traitor in his agency. Knowing he isn't the mole, Hunt must recruit his own rogue group to find the real double agent and take him to justice. Directed by Brian De Palma. With Jon Voight, Ving Rhames, Kristin Scott Thomas, Vanessa Redgrave and Henry Czerny. Categories: Action, Adventure, Thriller, Mystery. Year: 1996.
1996 in Mission: Impossible
When Melanie Parker (Michelle Pfeiffer) and Jack Taylor (George Clooney) each find themselves running late one morning, causing their children to miss a school field trip, the single parents are stuck with their children for the day. After agreeing that each of them will watch the children for half a day, Melanie and Jack do their best to project the negative stereotypes of their ex-spouses on each other, bickering back and forth and constantly calling one another on their cell phones. But, try as they might, this career-minded pair can't help but feel an attraction, and eventually, despite their best efforts, they begin to fal in love. Directed by Michael Hoffman. With Amanda Peet and Charles Durning. Categories: Comedy, Family, Romance. Year: 1996.
1996 in One Fine Day
The Phantom (Billy Zane), a superhero from Bengalla, travels to New York City to take on wealthy madman Xander Drax (Treat Williams). As Drax tries to collect three mystical skulls that would unlock an enormous power, the Phantom must stop him and protect the city from destruction. Directed by Simon Wincer. With Kristy Swanson, Catherine Zeta-Jones and James Remar. Categories: Action, Family, Adventure, Based on a Comic. Year: 1996.
1996 in The Phantom
Isabel Archer (Nicole Kidman) is a free-thinking young American who travels to England to find herself. There, Isabel makes a connection with her sickly cousin, Ralph Touchett (Martin Donovan), who convinces his dying father to leave her a generous inheritance. But, Isabel's new wealth doesn't bring her the freedom she desires and, after making an unfortunate alliance with Madame Merle (Barbara Hershey), instead leads her into an unhappy marriage with Gilbert Osmond (John Malkovich). Directed by Jane Campion. With Viggo Mortensen, Mary-Louise Parker, Shelley Winters, Shelley Duvall and Christian Bale. Categories: Drama, Based on a Novel. Year: 1996.
1996 in The Portrait of a Lady
After General Hummel (Ed Harris) and a renegade team of Marines seize control of Alcatraz, the group vows to launch missiles containing lethal nerve gas into downtown San Francisco unless their demands are met. In response, the US government sends a team of Navy SEALs and two civilians, FBI chemical weapons expert Stanley Goodspeed (Nicolas Cage) and John Patrick Mason (Sean Connery), a top-secret federal prisoner, to subdue the homegrown terrorists. But, when the SEALs are neutralized, the mission's success rests on the shoulders of Goodspeed and Mason, the only man ever to escape from the infamous prison. Directed by Michael Bay. With David Morse, William Forsythe, Michael Biehn, John Spencer and Vanessa Marcil. Categories: Action, Adventure, Thriller. Year: 1996.
1996 in The Rock
In the violent, modern world of Verona Beach, Romeo (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Juliet (Claire Danes) find forbidden love in the midst of their rival families' battle for power. While the families wage war in the streets, these star-crossed lovers enter a tragic romance filled with lavish nightclub parties and secret rendezvous. Directed by Baz Luhrmann. With John Leguizamo, Harold Perrineau, Pete Postlethwaite, Dash Mihok, Paul Sorvino and Brian Dennehy. Categories: Romance, Crime, Drama. Year: 1996.
1996 in Romeo & Juliet
Already dealing with the anniversary of her mother's murder, teenager Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) finds herself the target of a vicious killer, who terrorizes her quiet hometown using tactics straight out of Hollywood's scariest films. As more of Sidney's friends and classmates are murdered, tabloid reporter Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) attempts to exploit the story to bring attention to her new book, thinking that the killer must have ties to Prescott's horrific past. With the body count growing by the day, no one is safe and everyone is a suspect. Directed by Wes Craven. With David Arquette, Skeet Ulrich, Rose McGowan, Matthew Lillard, Jamie Kennedy and Drew Barrymore. Categories: Cult Classics, Horror, Mystery, Thriller. Year: 1996.
1996 in Scream
After breaking up with his girlfriend and moving to Los Angeles, struggling comedian Mike Peters (Jon Favreau) begins to regret his decision when his career fails to take off, leaving him to pine over his loss in his empty apartment. To get him out of his funk, Mike's smooth-talking best friend Trent (Vince Vaughn) drags him away for a wild night in Las Vegas. Back in the LA club scene, Trent and his buddies mentor Mike in how to approach women, leading him to meet Lorraine (Heather Graham), a beautiful young woman who's also new to LA. Directed by Doug Liman. With Ron Livingston, Alex Désert and Rio Hackford. Categories: Comedy, Drama. Year: 1996.
1996 in Swingers
Carl Lee Hailey (Samuel L. Jackson) leads a quiet life in a small southern town until the brutal rape of his young daughter leads him to kill the rapists. His friend, lawyer Jake Brigance (Matthew McConaughey), begins a quest to free Carl Lee from jail. Together with his law clerk Ellen Roark (Sandra Bullock) and mentor Lucien Wilbanks (Donald Sutherland), Jake takes on the case that threatens to split his town apart. Directed by Joel Schumacher. With Kevin Spacey, Oliver Platt, Ashley Judd, Chris Cooper, Nicky Katt and Kiefer Sutherland. Categories: Drama, Thriller. Year: 1996.
1996 in A Time to Kill
Directed by Ron Shelton. With Kevin Costner, Rene Russo and Don Johnson. Categories: Comedy, Drama, Romance, Sport. Year: 1996.
1996 in Tin Cup
Mark Renton (Ewan McGregor) is trapped in the perpetual routine of heroin addiction in the underbelly of Edinburgh, Scotland. Amongst his friends, a group of losers, liars, psychos and thieves, Mark alone has the insight and opportunity to escape his fate. The only question remains is whether or not he wants to. Continually weighing the pros and cons of going and then staying straight, Mark comes to the conclusion that an ordinary life is not for him and heads straight into a scheme with his pals that will lead them to the biggest score of their lives. Directed by Danny Boyle. With Ewen Bremner, Jonny Lee Miller, Kevin McKidd and Robert Carlyle. Categories: Comedy, Crime, Drama, Independent Film. Year: 1996.
1996 in Trainspotting
William Harding (Bill Paxton) is a TV weatherman who chases tornadoes for fun. While Harding is in the process of getting a divorce from his wife Jo (Helen Hunt) so that he can marry his girlfriend (Jami Gertz), a cluster of incredibly strong tornadoes in Oklahoma brings the three together as they try out brand new measuring equipment in the eyes of the storms. Directed by Jan de Bont. With Cary Elwes, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Lois Smith. Categories: Action, Thriller, Drama. Year: 1996.
1996 in Twister
On October 30th, 1974, Muhammad Ali and George Foreman faced off in the "Rumble in the Jungle." Shot in Zaire, this documentary highlights one of the most famous heavyweight bouts in boxing history and follows the weeks leading up to the event, giving an inside look at the fighters' last minute training and the soul music festival put on by Don King. Directed by Leon Gast. With Spike Lee, Norman Mailer and George Plimpton. Categories: Documentary, History, Sports. Year: 1996.
1996 in When We Were Kings