These movies are all turning THIRTY this year. This list is chronological by release date, except for my personal top ten, which will appear at the end of this post.
ICYMI, here is volume one of this post: https://peanut-butter-and-julie.com/2025/05/06/the-movies-of-95-vol-1/
- The Brothers McMullen
STARRING: Jack Mulcahy, Mike McGlone, Edward Burns, Connie Britton, Maxine Bahns
WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY: Edward Burns
FUN FACT #1: The Brothers McMullen, Burns’ directorial debut, was made for $25,000 and was shot at his parents’ home in Valley Stream, Long Island, over the course of eight months. At the time, Burns worked as a production assistant on Entertainment Weekly. One day, Robert Redford was in the studio for an interview, and Burns approached him with a copy of the film. Redford later extended an invitation for the film to screen at the Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Grand Jury Prize.
FUN FACT #2: A sequel, titled The Family McMullen, began filming in April 2025, with Burns, McGlone, and Britton all reprising their roles.
- To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar
STARRING: Wesley Snipes, Patrick Swayze, John Leguizamo, Stockard Channing, Blythe Danner, Arliss Howard, Chris Penn
WRITTEN BY: Douglas Carter Beane
DIRECTED BY: Beeban Kidron
FUN FACT: Writer Douglas Carter Beane was inspired to write the film after watching an anti-gay propaganda film called The Gay Agenda. In the film, Beane explains, “There’s a scene where they show drag queens going through a town, and the narrator is warning the viewers that these people will take over your town, and I thought, ‘Well, that would be fun’.”
- Devil in a Blue Dress
STARRING: Denzel Washington, Tom Sizemore, Jennifer Beals, Don Cheadle, Maury Chaykin
WRITTEN BY: Carl Franklin, based on the novel by Walter Mosley
DIRECTED BY: Carl Franklin
FUN FACT: Shot in and around Los Angeles, the film’s famous locations include the Malibu pier, Griffith Park Observatory, and the Ambassador Hotel on Wilshire Boulevard.
- Kicking and Screaming
STARRING: Josh Hamilton, Olivia d’Abo, Chris Eigeman, Parker Posey, Jason Wiles, Cara Buono, Elliot Gould, Eric Stoltz
WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY: Noah Baumbach
FUN FACT: Kicking and Screaming was Baumbach’s directorial debut, and earned him a spot on Newsweek’s “Ten New Faces of 1996”, alongside Kate Winslet and Benicio del Toro.
- Strange Days
STARRING: Ralph Fiennes, Angela Bassett, Juliette Lewis, Tom Sizemore, Vincent D’Onofrio
WRITTEN BY: James Cameron and Jay Cocks
DIRECTED BY: Kathryn Bigelow
FUN FACT: At the 22nd Saturn Awards, which honor the best in science fiction, horror, and fantasy, Angela Bassett and Kathryn Bigelow took home the Best Actress and Best Director prizes, respectively.
- Get Shorty
STARRING: John Travolta, Gene Hackman, Rene Russo, Danny DeVito, Delroy Lindo, James Gandolfini
WRITTEN BY: Scott Frank, based on the book by Elmore Leanard
DIRECTED BY: Barry Sonnenfeld
FUN FACT: At the 53rd Golden Globes, John Travolta took home the award for Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical; the film itself was also nominated for Best Musical or Comedy.
- Mallrats
STARRING: Shannen Doherty, Jeremy London, Jason Lee, Claire Forlani, Priscilla Barnes, Michael Rooker, Ben Affleck, Joey Lauren Adams, Jason Mewes, Kevin Smith
WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY: Kevin Smith
FUN FACT: Jason Lee, who was a professional skateboarder at the time, had no acting experience; he beat out Adam Sandler and Steve Zahn for the role of Brodie Bruce. His character’s name was inspired by the police chief in Jaws, one of Kevin Smith’s favorite movies, as well as the oft-malfunctioning mechanical shark used during its filming.
- Now and Then
STARRING: Christina Ricci & Rosie O’Donnell, Thora Birch & Melanie Griffith, Gaby Hoffman & Demi Moore, Ashleigh Aston Moore & Rita Wilson
WRITTEN BY: I. Marlene King
DIRECTED BY: Lesli Linka Glatter
FUN FACT: Though not a huge hit, Now and Then made a respectable $37 million against a $12 million budget and developed a cult following once the film was released on home video (and kids, when I say video, I mean VHS). Among older millennials, it is one of the most beloved movies of their childhood.
- Leaving Las Vegas
STARRING: Nicolas Cage, Elisabeth Shue, Julian Sands
WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY: Mike Figgis
FUN FACT: Nicolas Cage won the Oscar and the Golden Globe for his performance as alcoholic screenwriter Ben Sanderson, who, after losing his job and his family, drives to Las Vegas to drink himself to death.
- Home for the Holidays
STARRING: Holly Hunter, Robert Downey Jr., Anne Bancroft, Charles Durning, Dylan McDermott, Geraldine Chaplin, Steve Guttenberg, Claire Danes, Cynthia Stevenson
WRITTEN BY: W.D. Richter
DIRECTED BY: Jodie Foster
FUN FACT: This Thanksgiving family dramedy features thoughtful direction from Jodie Foster and poignant, hilarious performances (especially from Robert Downey Jr.). While it only made about $22 million at the box office, it has attained a cult following in recent years, with critic Emily St. James describing it as “a warm, messy comedy about how warm and messy family can be.” I highly recommend this sweet and funny Thanksgiving favorite.
- GoldenEye
STARRING: Pierce Brosnan, Sean Bean, Izabella Scorupco, Famke Jannsen, Joe Don Baker
WRITTEN BY: Jeffrey Caine and Bruce Feirstein
DIRECTED BY: Martin Campbell
FUN FACT: Pierce Brosnan made his Bond debut in GoldenEye, the 17th film in the series. GoldenEye also marked Judi Dench’s first appearance as M.
- Casino
STARRING: Robert De Niro, Sharon Stone, Joe Pesci, Don Rickles, Kevin Pollak, James Woods, Frank Vincent
WRITTEN BY: Nicholas Pileggi and Martin Scorsese, based on Pileggi’s non-fiction book Casino: Love and Honor in Las Vegas
DIRECTED BY: Martin Scorsese
FUN FACT: The film’s only Oscar nomination was for Sharon Stone’s fierce, ferocious performance as Ginger McKenna.
- Georgia
STARRING: Jennifer Jason Leigh, Mare Winningham, Ted Levine, Max Perlich, John Doe, John C. Reilly, Tom Bower
WRITTEN BY: Barbara Turner
DIRECTED BY: Ulu Grosbard
FUN FACT: The movie was a personal affair for Jennifer Jason Leigh; not only was the screenwriter, Barbara Turner, her mother, but her co-star was her old friend and former camp counselor, Mare Winningham. Both actresses did their own singing in the film. Leigh won the Best Actress prize from the New York Film Critics Circle and was widely rumored to be in the running for her first Academy Award nomination. Still, it was Winningham alone who received an Oscar nod for Georgia; Leigh would finally see her first nomination twenty years later, for Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight.
- Heat
STARRING: Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Val Kilmer, Jon Voight, Tom Sizemore, Diane Venora, Amy Brenneman, Ashley Judd, Mykelti Williamson, Wes Studi, Ted Levine
WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY: Michael Mann
FUN FACT: Mann based the film on the story of Chicago Police Detective Chuck Adamson’s pursuit of criminal Neil McCauley, on whom Robert De Niro’s character is based. Adamson and McCauley did meet for coffee once, and their dialogue was worked into the diner scene, which was famously the first time De Niro and Al Pacino shared the screen.
- Jumanji
STARRING: Robin Williams, Kirsten Dunst, David Alan Grier, Bonnie Hunt, Jonathan Hyde, Bebe Neuwirth
WRITTEN BY: Jonathan Hensleigh, Greg Taylor, and Jim Strain, based on the picture book of the same name by Chris Van Allsburg
DIRECTED BY: Joe Johnston
FUN FACT: Tom Hanks was the first choice to play Alan, but he turned it down due to his commitment to Apollo 13. Ultimately, the studio only agreed to finance the film if Robin Williams was attached to the project. Director Joe Johnston was concerned, given Williams’ penchant for improvisation, about making sure all the story beats were hit (though he did give Williams enough extra takes to do his thing).
- Nixon
STARRING: Anthony Hopkins, Joan Allen, Powers Boothe, Ed Harris, Bob Hoskins, E.G. Marshall, David Paymer, David Hyde Pierce, Paul Sorvino, Mary Steenburgen, J.T. Walsh, James Woods
WRITTEN BY: Stephen J. Rivele, Christopher Wilkinson, and Oliver Stone
DIRECTED BY: Oliver Stone
FUN FACT #1: Oliver Stone hired three key Watergate figures – Alexander Butterfield, John Sears, and John Dean – to make sure that every aspect of the script was accurate. Dean even did an uncredited rewrite of a few of the movie’s scenes.
FUN FACT #2: To cut costs, Stone leased the White House sets from Rob Reiner’s The American President (more on that one in a bit).
FUN FACT #3: The film tanked, earning just $13.6 million against a $44 million budget, and critics derided Anthony Hopkins’ hammy portrayal of Nixon (that accent, holy fucking shit), but it nevertheless earned four Oscar nominations: Best Actor (Hopkins), Best Supporting Actress (Joan Allen, who played Pat Nixon), Best Original Score (John Williams), and Best Original Screenplay.
- Dead Man Walking
STARRING: Susan Sarandon, Sean Penn, Robert Prosky, Raymond J. Barry, R. Lee Ermey, Scott Wilson
WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY: Tim Robbins, based on the non-fiction book by Sister Helen Prejean
FUN FACT: Susan Sarandon won the Best Actress Oscar for her performance as Sister Helen Prejean; the film was also nominated for Best Director (Tim Robbins), Best Actor (Sean Penn), and Best Original Song (Bruce Springsteen).
AND NOW FOR MY TOP TEN:
- #10 – Sense and Sensibility
STARRING: Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet, Alan Rickman, Hugh Grant
WRITTEN BY: Emma Thompson, based on the novel by Jane Austen
DIRECTED BY: Ang Lee
FUN FACT #1: With her win for Best Adapted Screenplay, Emma Thompson became the first person to win Oscars for both acting and writing. Sense and Sensibility was also nominated for Best Picture, Best Actress (Thompson), Best Supporting Actress (a luminous, 19-year-old Kate Winslet), Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, and Best Original Score.
FUN FACT #2: Though he spoke little English, Taiwanese director Ang Lee was hired based on his 1993 film The Wedding Banquet. Lee secured the job by telling producers he wanted the film to “break people’s hearts so badly that they’ll still be recovering from it two months later.” Mission accomplished.
FUN FACT #3: Thompson had hoped to cast real-life sisters Natasha and Joely Richardson as the Dashwoods, but the studio insisted Thompson play Elinor. Winslet, whose work in Heavenly Creatures Lee disliked (WHAT???), was supposed to audition for the part of Lucy Steele, but at the audition, she pretended she was reading for Marianne and nailed the part.
- #9 – 12 Monkeys
STARRING: Bruce Willis, Madeleine Stowe, Brad Pitt, Christopher Plummer
WRITTEN BY: David and Janet Peoples, inspired by the 1962 French short film La Jetée
DIRECTED BY: Terry Gilliam
FUN FACT: Terry Gilliam was hired because executive producer Robert Kosberg thought the director’s style was a good match for the film’s nonlinear timeline and time travel subplot (Kosberg wasn’t wrong). Gilliam’s choices for the two leads were Nick Nolte (in the Bruce Willis role) and Jeff Bridges (in the Brad Pitt role). The studio suggested Nicolas Cage and Tom Cruise, but Gilliam balked (THANK FUCKING GOD). Gilliam wasn’t sure about Brad Pitt, but the casting director convinced him. When production on the film began, Pitt wasn’t well-known; however, by the time 12 Monkeys was released, Pitt had established himself as one of Hollywood’s biggest stars through films like Interview with the Vampire, Legends of the Fall, and Se7en. Pitt was well rewarded for his bonkers performance, taking home the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor and earning his first of four acting Oscar nominations.
- #8 – The American President
STARRING: Michael Douglas, Annette Bening, Martin Sheen, Michael J. Fox, David Paymer, Samantha Mathis
WRITTEN BY: Aaron Sorkin
DIRECTED BY: Rob Reiner
FUN FACT: The American President is an early example of screenwriter Aaron Sorkin’s famous “Walk and Talk” and contains many of the elements – including Martin Sheen – that would be seen on The West Wing four years later. The film, carried by the marvelous chemistry between the two leads, earned five Golden Globe nods, including Best Picture – Musical or Comedy, Best Director (Reiner), Best Actor (Douglas), Best Actress (Bening), and Best Screenplay (Sorkin). In 2002, the American Film Institute ranked The American President #75 on its list of America’s Greatest Love Stories.
- #7 – Toy Story
STARRING: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Annie Potts, John Ratzenberger, Don Rickles, Wallace Shawn, Jim Varney
WRITTEN BY: Joss Whedon, Andrew Stanton, Joel Cohen, Alec Sokolow
DIRECTED BY: John Lasseter
FUN FACT #1: The film that launched not only a franchise but a movie studio, Toy Story was the first fully computer-animated feature film. It was a smash hit, earning almost $400 million at the box office, making it the second-highest-grossing film of 1995, and it carries a 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
FUN FACT #2: John Ratzenberger, best known as Cliff Clavin on Cheers, made his first of 22 appearances in Pixar animated features in Toy Story, voicing Hamm the piggy bank. Among his other Pixar voices are Yeti in the Monsters franchise, Construction Foreman Tom in Up, and Juan Ortodoncia in Coco.
FUN FACT #3: John Lasseter, Toy Story‘s director, was famously fired by Disney for “promoting computer animation”. During his tenure at Disney, two friends showed Lasseter their computer animation work on Tron, awakening him to the possibilities of the medium. Lasseter floated the idea of using computer animation for 1987’s The Brave Little Toaster – and was promptly, unceremoniously dismissed. He found a job with LucasFilm’s computer graphics department, producing groundbreaking special effects for 1985’s Young Sherlock Holmes, which later became the basis for Pixar.
#6 – To Die For
STARRING: Nicole Kidman, Joaquin Phoenix, Matt Dillon
WRITTEN BY: Buck Henry, based on the novel by Joyce Maynard
DIRECTED BY: Gus Van Sant
FUN FACT #1: David Cronenberg, best known as the director of body horror classics like The Fly, Scanners, and Videodrome, plays the hitman hired to dispatch Nicole Kidman’s murderous celebrity wannabe.
FUN FACT #2: Kidman won her first of six Golden Globe Awards for her performance in this razor-sharp satire of tabloid celebrity and true crime.
- #5 – While You Were Sleeping
STARRING: Sandra Bullock, Bill Pullman, Peter Gallagher, Peter Boyle, Glynis Johns, Jack Warden
WRITTEN BY: Daniel G. Sullivan and Fredric Lebow
DIRECTED BY: Jon Turteltaub
FUN FACT #1: Bill Pullman attempted to quit the film after a disastrous table read that producer John Glickman referred to as “the worst table read of all time”; Pullman’s agent informed him that he was contractually obligated and couldn’t quit. And thank goodness, because the film just doesn’t work without Pullman. But what I wouldn’t give to see that table read (though I’m sure Disney hasn’t voluntarily released that footage).
FUN FACT #2: Demi Moore, Julia Roberts, and Meg Ryan – the holy trinity of ’90s rom-com A-listers – all turned down the role of Lucy before it was offered to Sandra Bullock, who earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy for her utterly charming performance.
FUN FACT #3: The original screenplay, titled “Coma Guy”, was set in New York City. The setting was changed to Chicago, where it was shot entirely on location, for budgetary reasons. By the way, the CTA “L” station where Lucy Moderatz collected tokens was the now-defunct Randolph/Wabash station. That station also appeared in 1987’s Adventures in Babysitting, another PBandJulie favorite, as well as a 2015 Apple commercial.
- #4 – The Usual Suspects
STARRING: Stephen Baldwin, Gabriel Bryne, Benicio del Toro, Chazz Palminteri, Kevin Pollak, Pete Postlethwaite, Kevin Spacey
WRITTEN BY: Christopher McQuarrie
DIRECTED BY: Bryan Singer
FUN FACT: “Who is Keyser Söze?” asked the word-of-mouth marketing campaign for The Usual Suspects. Audiences were breathless with anticipation, and the critical response was rapturous (except Roger Ebert, who inexplicably gave it 1.5 stars). The film earned $67 million against a $6 million budget and won both Oscars for which it was nominated, Best Original Screenplay (Christopher McQuarrie) and Best Supporting Actor (Kevin Spacey). In his acceptance speech, Spacey said, “Well, whoever Keyser Söze is, I can tell you he’s gonna get gloriously drunk tonight.”
- #3 – Apollo 13
STARRING: Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, Bill Paxton, Gary Sinise, Ed Harris, Kathleen Quinlan
WRITTEN BY: William Broyles Jr. and Al Reinert, based on the non-fiction book Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13 by Jim Lovell and Jeffrey Kluger
DIRECTED BY: Ron Howard
FUN FACT #1: Jim Lovell imagined himself being portrayed by Kevin Costner (based on looks alone). John Travolta reportedly asked for the role; Ron Howard politely declined. Tom Hanks ultimately won the role, and what he lacks in physical resemblance, he makes up for with his acting skills. Shockingly, Hanks’s performance wasn’t nominated for any major awards.
FUN FACT #2: Hanks was so inspired by the astronaut program that he reteamed with Ron Howard and Brian Glazer to produce the 1998 Emmy-winning docudrama miniseries From the Earth to the Moon.
FUN FACT #3: Apollo 13 was one of the most critically and commercially successful films of 1995. Earning more than $350 million worldwide, it was the third-highest-grossing movie of that year. It was nominated for nine Academy Awards, winning in the categories of Best Film Editing and Best Sound. At the 2nd Screen Actors Guild Awards, Apollo 13 earned the top prize, Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture, which generally predicts the ultimate Best Picture Oscar winner – but not that year.
- #2 – Empire Records
STARRING: Anthony LaPaglia, Maxwell Caulfield, Debi Mazar, Rory Cochrane, Johnny Whitworth, Robbin Tunney, Renée Zellweger, Liv Tyler, Ethan Embry
WRITTEN BY: Carol Heikkinen
DIRECTED BY: Allan Moyle
FUN FACT: Tobey Maguire had a role in Empire Records, but partway through production, he asked director Allan Moyle to be released from his contract so he could seek help for his alcohol addiction. All of Maguire’s scenes were cut from the movie, and he’s been sober ever since.
For more on Empire Records:
- #1 – Se7en
STARRING: Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Gwyneth Paltrow, Richard Roundtree, R. Lee Ermey, John C. McGinley, Kevin Spacey (uncredited)
WRITTEN BY: Andrew Kevin Walker
DIRECTED BY: David Fincher
Here it is, my favorite movie of 1995. Was there ever a doubt? Se7en was tailor-made for me: serial killer thrillers are my favorite film subgenre, and this particular one introduced me to my favorite filmmaker. A happy, fun-time movie this is not; it is grimy, grim, and unrelentingly bleak, with one of the most shocking twists in cinematic history.
FUN FACT #1: Set to a remix of Nine Inch Nails’ “Closer” – a Gen-X siren song if ever there was one – Se7en has the coolest opening title sequence I’ve ever seen. In 2011, IFC ranked Se7en as the third greatest title sequence of all time, behind A Hard Day’s Night and Vertigo.
FUN FACT #2: In 2002, New Line Cinema floated the idea of a Se7en sequel titled Ei8ht, which would have seen Detective Somerset (Morgan Freeman) pursuing a psychic serial killer. Freeman, Pitt, and Fincher all balked at the idea, with Fincher saying, “I would be less interested in that than I would in having cigarettes put out in my eyes.” That script was ultimately developed as a stand-alone movie called Solace, which was a critical and commercial flop.
FUN FACT #3: In an era when internet spoilers weren’t much of a thing yet, I managed to spoil Se7en‘s twist for myself (if I recall correctly, the culprit was an issue of Entertainment Weekly) because I didn’t see it in the theater. Knowing the twist in advance doesn’t dull the impact of that gutwrenching final scene in which John Doe coaxes Detective Mills into completing his “seven deadly sins” project. The studio begged Fincher to make the ending more upbeat, but after studio interference with his first feature film, Alien3, Fincher refused to direct the film unless the original ending remained intact.
Se7en‘s practical effects crew built a model of Gwyneth Paltrow’s head, as the script called for the audience to see the box’s contents, but Fincher ultimately – and correctly – chose to leave things to our imagination. The mere suggestion was enough to convince people they spied Tracy’s “pretty head”. Sixteen years after Se7en was released, Gwyneth’s head model was pulled out of studio storage for use in Contagion, in which she plays patient zero in a global pandemic.
FUN FACT #4: Hawthorne James, who portrays George, the library night guard in Se7en, also plays Sam, the bus driver, in Speed. This guy always understands the assignment.
PB & Julie + Julie C. Trivia 