A Journey Through the Cinematic Highlights of 1994

Being the new year, I wanted to try out another new series. For this series, each month I will pick a month of the year and talk about the movies for that year. I will go through the highest-grossing films of the year, the Oscar films of the year, the movies I saw, and some of the other larger hits for the year. For my first year, I decided to go with 1994.

1994 is widely regarded as one of the best years for movies. This year we got Forrest Gump, The Shawshank Redemption, and Pulp Fiction. All three being in the IMDB top 12 makes this a very impressive year. This year also saw the release of three big Jim Carey films with Dumb and Dumber, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, and The Mask. Other big films on the comedy side included Steve Martin in Mixed Nuts, Eddie Murphy in Beverly Hills Cop III, and Leslie Nielsen in The Naked Gun 33 1/2: The Final Insult. The year also saw the kick-off of the Santa Claus franchise with The Santa Clause. There were also some darker comedy movies with Bullets Over Broadway and The Paper. On the action movie side, there were films like Harrison Ford's Clear and Present Danger, Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock in Speed, Arnold Schwarzenegger's True Lies, and Jean Claude Van Dam in both Time Cop and Street Fighter. This year also saw Disney begin its venture into the live-action remake world with The Jungle Book. This was also the year that Disney put out The Lion King, which is viewed by many as one of the best animated films. There was also a live-action remake of The Flintstones. On the sports movie side this year, there was Angels in the Outfield as well as a couple of sequels, The Next Karate Kid and D2: The Mighty Ducks. The year also saw some new horror movies in The Crow, Interview With a Vampire, as well as additions to franchises with Leprechaun 2 and Wes Craven's New Nightmare. On the romance side, there were films like Four Weddings and a Funeral and Little Women starring Winona Ryder, Susan Sarandon, Kirsten Dunst, and Christian Bale. This was also a year with quite a few family movies like Blank Check, Little Rascals, The Pagemaster, and Richie Rich, with the last two both starring Macaulay Culkin. On the sci-fi side, there was a new Star Trek movie with Star Trek: Generations and Stargate, which launched a Tv series. Finally, this year also saw the western classic Wyatt Earp, a remake of the holiday classic Miracle on 34th Street, and the Tim Burton film, Ed Wood.

The highest-grossing film this year was The Lion King with a worldwide total of $771 million. There was then a step drop with Forrest Gump at number at $330 million, followed by True Lies at $146 million, The Santa Clause at $145 million, and The Flintstones at $131 million. The rest of the top 10 consist of Dumb and Dumber at $127 million, Clear and Present Danger at $122 million, Speed at $121 million, The Mask at $120 million, and Pulp Fiction at $108 million.

The Oscars for this year had an impressive lineup of Best Picture nominees with The Shawshank Redemption, Forrest Gump, Pulp Fiction, Four Weddings and a Funeral, and Quiz Show, with Forrest Gump being the winner.

I watched 16 movies released this year (not during their release year, as I wasn't born yet), with favorites being Forrest Gump, The Lion King, True Lies, Pulp Fiction, The Shawshank Redemption, and Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. Here is my quick ranking of films from this year.

16. The Next Karate Kid

This is the worst of the Karate Kid films. It doesn't have the fun or dynamics of the first three films, and it doesn't have much of a cohesive story.

Score: 4.5/10 Grade: C-

15. Stargate

My grandma is really into this series and movie. I just couldn't get into it. I thought it was boring and not super memorable. Kurt Russel and James Spader are in it, though, which was fun.

Score: 5/10 Grade: C

14. Beverly Hills Cop III

This is the weakest of the franchise. It opts for my goofy elements instead of feeling like a cop movie with some comedy.

Score: 5.5/10 Grade: C

13. The Jungle Book

This movie was cool with its practical effects and real animal actors, but I didn't like how they sidelined the animals and made none of them talk.

Score: 6/10 Grade: C+

12. Interview with a Vampire

I thought seeing life through the POV of these vampires was interesting, but there wasn't anything great in the movie to really write home about.

Score: 6.5/10 Grade: B-

11. Star Trek: Generations

This movie was fun, with how they brought together both generations of Star Trek. I just didn't care for what they did to Captain Kirk.

Score: 7/10 Grade: B

10. Wes Craven's New Nightmare

I liked the premise of this movie and thought it had some interesting ideas about being self-aware. I just thought that, for its potential, it should have been better.

Score: 7/10 Grade: B

9. The Naked Gun 33 1/2: The Final Insult

This was another fun addition to the Naked Gun franchise. This one just didn't have as many fun jokes, nor did I enjoy the big finale as much.

Score: 7.5/10 Grade: B

8. The Santa Clause

A classic holiday movie, The Santa Clause showcases Tim Allen in a memorable turn as Santa. Sarah and I watch this film every Christmas season.

Score: 7.5/10 Grade: B

7. Ace Ventura: Pet Detective

This is a classic Jim Carrey movie with a lot of funny moments and just a bonkers story about investigating a missing dolphin.

Score: 7.5/10 Grade: B

6. Ed Wood

This is Tim Burton's more serious movie. I liked the overall story about Ed Wood and thought that Johnny Depp was great in the lead.

Score: 8/10 Grade: B+

5. True Lies

I had a lot of fun with this movie. It has great action sequences and some solid comedy. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis are great together.

Score: 8.5/10 Grade: A-

4. The Shawshank Redemption

This is one of the all-time great prison movies. You can't help but like the characters, and the payoff at the end is just top-notch.

Score: 9.5/10 Grade: A

3. Pulp Fiction

This is one of the best crime movies out there. It breaks all the rules of linear storytelling but still achieves excellence through amazing dialogue and cool characters.

Score: 9.5/10 Grade: A

2. The Lion King

This is one of the greatest animated movies of all time. The story is so great with fantastic songs and unforgettable characters. This movie brings great memories from my childhood.

Score: 9.5/10 Grade: A

1. Forrest Gump

This is one of my all-time favorite movies. Forrest Gump is such a likable character. It is a lot of fun to see him go through various historical events, and the ending gives all of the feels.

Score: 10/10 Grade: A+