June 1996 - The Phantom

For the tenth month of 1996, we tackled one of the scariest things to an unrepentant alcoholic….humility in the face of their own hubris!Triple threat Steve Buscemi made his directorial debut with a cautionary tale about a man wallowing in his own misery. Buscemi plays Tommy Basilio, a former mechanic who can’t find work because of his caustic behavior, so he spends his days as a barfly buzzing around an eclectic cast of characters. Good friend Mike (Mark Boone Junior) has his own marital troubles to worry about, but the pair insist on getting up no good. His ex Theresa (Elizabeth Bracco) is about to give birth, but doesn’t know whether Tommy or her new partner, and Tommy’s ex best friend Rob (Anthony LaPaglia) is the father. He wanders through life like it owes him something, but the only place he keeps paying is his favorite bar…Trees Lounge!

For the ninth month of 1996, we witnessed the birth of a new clean energy technology…only to see it fall into the wrong hands!ER doctor Guy Luthan (Hugh Grant) works on a homeless patient who displays strange, fatal symptoms that make no sense at all. When the man’s body goes missing, Luthan begins investigating down a rabbit hole of experimentation on the homeless population of New York City, led by the enigmatic surgeon Lawrence Myrick (Gene Hackman). Will Myrick’s secret be exposed, or will Luthan end up on the operating table himself? Both of them might have to go to…Extreme Measures!

For the eighth month of 1996, we witnessed the birth of a new clean energy technology…only to see it fall into the wrong hands!Keanu Reeves plays machinist Eddie Kasalivich, who inadvertently assists a Chicago team working on the energy project by discovering the final ingredient needed to make everything work. As the group celebrates, an opposing company led by the sinister Lyman Collier (Brian Cox) steals the information and murders the lead physicist Alistair Barkley. Eddie is framed as the killer alongside Barkley’s second, Dr. Lily Sinclair (Rachel Weisz), and the pair must escape into the wilderness before the FBI (led by Fred Ward) or the bad company find them. Their true leader, Paul Shannon (Morgan Freeman), attempts to help them as best he can…but he may not have their best intentions at heart. When one domino falls, it may cause a…Chain Reaction!

For the seventh month of 1996, we witnessed the rise and fall…and rise…and fall of wunderkind Roy Munson (Woody Harrelson), a bowling marvel who loses his good hand after grifting some yokels in a backwater. As a deadbeat salesman years later, he discovers another killer kegler - Ishmael Boorg (Randy Quaid). Munson thinks he can relive his glory days through Boorg, but unfortunately, he's Amish! Munson must smuggle him around the country and hope to reach the apex once more, with only his old rival Ernie McCracken (Bill Murray). It'll come down to only one man to be…Kingpin!

For the sixth month of 1996, we reached the apex of 90’s pulp fiction with the final box office bomb in the genre. Kit Walker (Billy Zane) leads a double life masquerading as a jungle vigilante protecting the hidden treasures that lie deep with the tropical caves. When rich and powerful Xander Drax (Treat Williams) send pirates to infiltrate the forests and steal three mystical skulls, Walker must once more take up the mantle of…The Phantom!

For the fifth month of 1996, the trio is joined by a special guest and try to discover if the truth is out there! Zane Zaminsky (Charlie Sheen) and his partner Calvin (Richard Schiff) discover an extraterrestrial radio signal while working as astronomers at a SETI funded lab. When Zane is unceremoniously fired and their work thrown out, it leads him down a path towards something even his wildest dreams couldn’t have expected. Alongside his girlfriend Char (Teri Polo) and friendly neighbor Kiki (Tony T. Johnson), Zane will have to prepare himself and potentially the world, for…The Arrival!

For the fourth month of 1996, the boys put on their detective caps to help solve a murder! Gangster squad leader Maxwell Hoover (Nick Nolte) discovers that his latest case involves the death of a former lover, Allison Pond (Jennifer Connelly). With his fellow LAPD detectives, he must uncover the secret plot that led to her demise - involving nuclear scientists (John Malkovich) and angry military men (Treat Williams). He’ll need all his wits, else he might end up diving straight off of…Mulholland Falls!

For the third month of 1996, we soul-searched alongside some of the best comedians of the past and the future!Mel Coplin (Ben Stiller) is hoping to discover more about his origins when he takes up with an adoption agent (Téa Leoni) and embarks on a cross-country mission to find his birth parents. His wife Nancy (Patricia Arquette) is along for the ride, as are two federal agents (Josh Brolin & Richard Jenkins). Tempers are flaring and passions are simmering, which means they all might just be…Flirting with Disaster!

February 1996 - Mary Reilly & Muppet Treasure IslandFor the second month of 1996, we double dipped on two vastly different cinematic editions of classic British novels!Julia Roberts plays a maid who finds herself in over her head at her new estate. The master of the house is none other than the infamous researcher Henry Jekyll (John Malkovich). When his experiments start invading their everyday life, the maid must decipher whether she wants to help the mad doctor or stop his reign of terror. It’s all a bit overwhelming for…Mary Reilly!We also talked about a second film:Orphan Jim Hawkins (Kevin Bishop) finds himself at sea when he embarks on an ill-fated expedition alongside some duplicitous privateers. Led by the slippery sea wolf Long John Silver (Tim Curry), the buccaneers are searching for some buried riches that only young Hawkins might be able to find. Luckily for him, Jim has some unique allies - The Muppets! That’s right, it’s another literary adaptation by Jim Henson’s lovable creations. This time they take on Robert Louis Stevenson’s 1883 novel and make it their own. Set sail with us for…Muppet Treasure Island!

For the first month of 1996, we found our hearts stolen by a romantic comedy unceremoniously dumped in winter!Roz (Sandra Bullock) and Frank (Denis Leary) team up as a pair of art thieves fed up with their itinerant lifestyle. Will they finally settle down after one last job, or is the lure of the game too enticing? Hopefully they don’t get their signals crossed as they realize it’s…Two If by Sea!