Edward Norton shows up in his very first movie role and takes the whole thing from Richard Gere's slick lawyer Martin Vail. Was there ever really a Roy? We won't spoil it, but we will argue about whether that ending makes the movie, and how anyone knew which VHS tape to grab.

Primal Fear

Your mission, should you choose to accept it: rewatch Brian De Palma's Mission: Impossible with us and try to figure out what the hell is actually happening in that vault scene. Tom Cruise dangles, Jon Voight lurks, Jean Reno smokes, Ving Rhames types, and Emmanuelle Béart is up to something — we untangle the plot (allegedly), talk about how this launched a three-decade franchise on the back of one iconic set piece, and ask whether anyone in 1996 actually followed the double-crosses on first watch.

Mission Impossible

Is this the best bowling comedy in film history? Is it the ONLY bowling comedy in film history? Is it a worthy middle child to the Farrelly brothers' 90s run that starts Dumb and Dumber and after this goes to There's Something About Mary?

Kingpin

We revisit Jerry Maguire and try to figure out why it's still so endlessly rewatchable nearly three decades on. From the iconic setup and its surprising R-rated origins, to Cuba Gooding Jr.'s scene-stealing turn as Rod Tidwell, to the question of whether anyone but Tom Cruise could have carried this movie — we dig into the runtime debates, the awards legacy, and the deep bench of casting wins (Renée Zellweger, Regina King) that Cameron Crowe assembled. A love letter, a rewatch, and an honest breakdown of one of the '90s most quietly influential films.

Jerry Maguire

I know y'all remember the action comedy two-hander with Adam Sandler and Damon Wayans, right? RIGHT?

Nah, I checked the box office numbers, only we remember it. But it's got good stuff happening! Really quotable and fun '96 deep cut. 

Bulletproof

John Travolta month continues with Broken Arrow, where he faces/off (get it?) against Christian Slater over some thermonuclear warheads. John Woo (WOOOOO!) directs, featuring Samantha Mathis, Howie Long, Delroy Lindo, and some other folks. 

Broken Arrow

Something like a phenomenon.....no, wait, that's different. This is John Travolta playing an angel. No, wait, that's another 1996 movie. THIS one is John Travolta as a super genius in a small town with Kyra Sedgwick and Forrest Whittaker and Robert Duvall.

Seriously it's kinda good.

Phenomenon

Welcome to Earth! We've got the biggest movie of 1996, a cross between Top Gun, Alien, and Mad Max, featuring Will Smith, Jeff Goldblum, Bill Pullman, Judd Hirsch, Mary McDonnell, Vivica A. Fox, and way more. 

Indepedence Day

GIVE ME BACK MY SON!

Ok, Mel Gibson, we get it. Anyone else realize this and Payback are different movies?

Ransom

Hey, you. Guy behind the guy? Get over here and talk about Swingers with us, because our baby's all growns up and he's all growns up.

Swingers

A re-watch show for movies that came out 30 years ago, from two guys who loved movies in 1996 and still do in 2026. Come along with us as we re-live the 90s one film at a time!

Movielife Crisis