Movies for Generation X
This is a list of movies that should resonate with those born between approximately 1969 and 1983. These are the films that were ground breaking and original in the late 1980's to late 1990's. Some of the films listed are unique due to their subject matter, others because they captured a specific mindset of the time. Regardless, the films listed below evoke specific memories for me personally so I thought Id list them and maybe remind some folks about movies they had forgotten about.
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- DirectorKevin SmithStarsBrian O'HalloranJeff AndersonMarilyn GhigliottiA day in the lives of two convenience clerks named Dante and Randal as they annoy customers, discuss movies, and play hockey on the store roof.
- DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsJohn TravoltaUma ThurmanSamuel L. JacksonThe lives of two mob hitmen, a boxer, a gangster and his wife, and a pair of diner bandits intertwine in four tales of violence and redemption.
- DirectorGregg ArakiStarsJames DuvalRose McGowanJohnathon SchaechJordan White and Amy Blue, two troubled teens, pick up an adolescent drifter, Xavier Red. Together, the threesome embark on a sex-and-violence-filled journey through an America of psychos and quickie marts.
- DirectorGus Van SantStarsMatt DillonKelly LynchJames Le GrosA pharmacy-robbing dope fiend and his crew pop pills and evade the law.
- DirectorRichard LinklaterStarsGiovanni RibisiSteve ZahnJayce BartokA group of suburban teenagers try to support each other through the difficult task of becoming adults.
- DirectorGus Van SantStarsRiver PhoenixKeanu ReevesJames RussoTwo best friends living on the streets of Portland as hustlers embark on a journey of self discovery and find their relationship stumbling along the way.
- DirectorIain SoftleyStarsJonny Lee MillerAngelina JolieJesse BradfordTeenage hackers discover a criminal conspiracy with plans to use a computer virus that will capsize five oil tankers.
- DirectorRichard LinklaterStarsJason LondonWiley WigginsMatthew McConaugheyThe adventures of high school and junior high students on the last day of school in May 1976.
- DirectorDanny BoyleStarsEwan McGregorEwen BremnerJonny Lee MillerRenton, deeply immersed in the Edinburgh drug scene, tries to clean up and get out despite the allure of drugs and the influence of friends.
- DirectorRichard LinklaterStarsRichard LinklaterRudy BasquezJean CaffeineA day in the life of Austin, Texas as the camera roams from place to place and provides a brief look at the overeducated, the social misfits, the outcasts and the oddballs.
- DirectorTim HunterStarsCrispin GloverKeanu ReevesIone SkyeA high school slacker commits a shocking act and proceeds to let his friends in on the secret. However, the friends' reaction is almost as ambiguous and perplexing as the crime itself.
- DirectorLuc BessonStarsJean RenoGary OldmanNatalie Portman12-year-old Mathilda is reluctantly taken in by Léon, a professional assassin, after her family is murdered. An unusual relationship forms as she becomes his protégée and learns the assassin's trade.
- DirectorPeter JacksonStarsTimothy BalmeDiana PeñalverElizabeth MoodyA young man's mother is bitten by a Sumatran rat-monkey. She gets sick and dies, at which time she comes back to life, killing and eating dogs, nurses, friends, and neighbors.
- DirectorOliver StoneStarsWoody HarrelsonJuliette LewisTom SizemoreTwo victims of traumatized childhoods become lovers and psychopathic serial murderers irresponsibly glorified by the mass media.
- DirectorAbel FerraraStarsHarvey KeitelBrian McElroyFrank AcciaritoWhile investigating a young nun's rape, a corrupt New York City police detective, with a serious drug and gambling addiction, tries to change his ways and find forgiveness and redemption.
- DirectorGus Van SantStarsUma ThurmanLorraine BraccoPat MoritaSissy Hankshaw (Uma Thurman) is born with enormous thumbs that help her hitchhiking through the U.S. from a young age. She becomes a model in advertising, and her New York agent, "the Countess" (Sir John Hurt), sends her to his ranch in California to shoot a commercial, set against the background of mating whooping cranes. There, she befriends Bonanza Jellybean (Rain Phoenix), one of the cowgirls at the beauty ranch. The cowgirls take command of the ranch from the Countess and drug the cranes with peyote. The Police besiege the ranch.
- DirectorScott KalvertStarsLeonardo DiCaprioLorraine BraccoMarilyn SokolA teenager finds his dreams of becoming a basketball star threatened after he free falls into the harrowing world of drug addiction.
- DirectorStacy TitleStarsCameron DiazRon EldardAnnabeth GishA group of idealistic, but frustrated, liberals succumb to the temptation of murdering rightwing pundits for their political beliefs.
- DirectorJim JarmuschStarsJohnny DeppGary FarmerCrispin GloverOn the run after murdering a man, accountant William Blake encounters a strange Native American man named Nobody who prepares him for his journey into the spiritual world.
- DirectorStephen KayStarsThomas JaneKeanu ReevesAdrien BrodyIn 1946 Denver, an aspiring writer who enjoys irresponsible adventures with his friend writes a letter about his life before and after the suicide attempt by his sad, commitment-seeking girlfriend.
- DirectorGarth MaxwellStarsAlexis ArquetteSarah Smuts-KennedyBruno LawrenceJack and Dora, abandoned by their parents as babies, are desperate to find each other after years of adoption. Jack's young life has been spent with a sadistic family. Dora, whose life has been somewhat better, has developed extra-sensory powers which tell her that Jack's in danger and drives her to search for him.
- DirectorJoel SchumacherStarsMichael DouglasRobert DuvallBarbara HersheyAn ordinary man frustrated with the various flaws he sees in society begins to psychotically and violently lash out against them.
- DirectorLee TamahoriStarsRena OwenTemuera MorrisonMamaengaroa Kerr-BellA family descended from Maori warriors is bedeviled by a violent father and the societal problems of being treated as outcasts.
- DirectorDavid LynchStarsBill PullmanPatricia ArquetteJohn RoseliusAnonymous videotapes presage a musician's murder conviction, and a gangster's girlfriend leads a mechanic astray.
- DirectorGary AuerbachStarsSean Patrick FlaneryVirginia MadsenCarroll BakerSix million dollars suddenly goes up for grabs when an aged diner's heart fails after he discovers that he has won the lottery. Which of the remaining late-night dining regulars will get the cash? How many will have to die to get the answer?
- DirectorWes AndersonStarsLuke WilsonOwen WilsonNed DowdThree friends plan to pull off a simple robbery and go on the run.
- DirectorJack BaranStarsDylan McDermottNancy TravisQuentin TarantinoAfter 3 years in prison, Julian breaks out and returns to Vegas to get his half from the bank robbery and see Lucille again. The Devil took the loot and Tuerto took Lucille.
- DirectorGregg ArakiStarsJames DuvalRachel TrueNathan BextonFollows a day in the lives of a group of Los Angeles high school students and the strange lives they lead.
- DirectorRobert RodriguezStarsAntonio BanderasSalma HayekJoaquim de AlmeidaFormer musician and gunslinger El Mariachi arrives at a small Mexican border town after being away for a long time. His past quickly catches up with him and he soon gets entangled with the local drug kingpin Bucho and his gang.
- DirectorJonathan WacksStarsEric ChristmasSteve BuscemiHarper RoismanA mourning son makes a deal to reanimate his mother one year after her death, but things take an unexpected turn.
- DirectorGeorge HuangStarsKevin SpaceyFrank WhaleyMichelle ForbesA young, naive Hollywood studio assistant finally turns the tables on his incredibly abusive producer boss.
- DirectorCameron CroweStarsBridget FondaCampbell ScottKyra SedgwickA group of twenty-something friends search for love and success in grunge-era Seattle.
- DirectorAnthony WallerStarsMarina ZudinaFay RipleyEvan RichardsA mute make-up artist working on a slasher movie being shot in Moscow, is locked in the studio after hours. While there, she witnesses a brutal murder, and must escape capture.
- DirectorAllan MoyleStarsChristian SlaterSamantha MathisAnthony Luke LuceroMark runs a pirate radio station and causes an uproar when he speaks his mind and enthralls fellow teens.
- DirectorMike FiggisStarsNicolas CageElisabeth ShueJulian SandsBen Sanderson, a Hollywood screenwriter who lost everything because of his alcoholism, arrives in Las Vegas to drink himself to death. There, he meets and forms an uneasy friendship and non-interference pact with prostitute Sera.
- DirectorDanny BoyleStarsKerry FoxChristopher EcclestonEwan McGregorThree friends discover their new flatmate dead but loaded with cash.
- DirectorMatthew BrightStarsReese WitherspoonKiefer SutherlandBokeem WoodbineA twisted take on "Little Red Riding Hood", with a teenage juvenile delinquent on the run from a social worker travelling to her grandmother's house and being hounded by a charming, but sadistic, serial killer and pedophile.