Flashback 1995: My top 10 favorite movies from 20 years ago

Al Pacino in Heat

A few weeks ago, for my own amusement and hopefully yours, I counted down my top ten films from ten years ago. Now, I'll be looking back at my favorite movies from twenty years ago.

It's hard to believe that these movies are all twenty years old or at least soon will be.

Looking back at '95, here are some first impressions.

The year's most popular film in the U.S. financially was Toy Story, a movie that made Pixar a household name, began one of the great trilogies of all time and started a revolution in animated filmmaking.

The year's second most popular film -- Batman Forever, a movie I admit enjoying at the time, spelled the beginning of the end of one of the great superhero franchises of all time. One that would be redeemed later by Christopher Nolan.

It was a good year for movie stars. Tom Hanks, Brad Pitt, Robert De Niro, and Bruce Willis all did some of their best work. James Bond made a triumphant comeback. They all made my top 10 and here it is:

Toy Story

10) The Bridges of Madison County - As I've written before, this thoughtful and moving romance directed by Clint Eastwood is surprisingly moving and effective. I've always found that doomed love stories are the most powerful and this one is a doozy. Meryl Streep is excellent, employing yet another one of her trademark accents (this time, Italian) and Eastwood is her equal in front of the camera. They make an unlikely sexy pair.

9) 12 Monkeys - Terry Gilliam had a rare mainstream hit with this loopy and fascinating time travel epic. A smart film that features a nice, low key leading man performance from Bruce Willis and a totally against type role for Brad Pitt. A real mind bender of a plot that comes to a beautifully tragic ending, it's kind of amazing that it found acceptance and has endured after all these years.

8) Toy Story - I'll never forget the first time I saw this movie. The visual language and possibilities of movie animation were never the same. This incredible first feature from Pixar introduced us to the beloved characters of Woody (Tom Hanks) and Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen). This sweet but smart story about friendship and loyalty started something special and it still warms my heart, as does its two ever better sequels. Honorable mention to Tom Hanks' terrific work in Apollo 13 this year too.

7) Die Hard with a Vengeance - If you ask me or any serious John McClane (Bruce Willis) fan, this is the last great film in the Die Hard series. In fact, it's the second best one after the flawless 1988 original. For the first time we see the McClane character on his home turf, New York City, where through random circumstance he is teamed up with a regular guy named Zeus (played at peak Samuel L. Jacksoness, by Samuel L. Jackson). All the best Die Hard elements are here: Lots of humor, awesome bad guy in Jeremy Irons and really fantastic action sequences.

Seven

6) Goldenye - After a nearly five year hiatus, one of my favorite movie characters of all time -- James Bond came roaring back with a bigger budget and an ambitious new star Pierce Brosnan. While Brosnan didn't really reinvent the character the way Daniel Craig eventually did, he made him relevant again to milennials, something I don't think he ever gets enough credit for. My favorite bit -- that balls to the wall tank chase.

5) The Usual Suspects - Who is Keyser Soze? That intriguing question is just one of the great pleasures of this dark, brooding classic. They sadly don't make these kinds of quirky-guys-go-on-a-heist movies much anymore, which is a shame. Long before twist endings got played out, this film had one of the best ever.

4) Nixon - An underrated classic, which I'm always recommending, features an expansive and yes, at times, sympathetic look at the tragic former president Richard Nixon. Director Oliver Stone uses an astonishing array of visual techniques and styles to establish a mood and he is matched by a brilliant performance from Sir Anthony Hopkins, in perhaps his greatest role besides that of Hannibal Lector in Silence of the Lambs. One of the best political biopics ever made.

3) Casino - As I've said many times before Martin Scorsese, is my favorite film director of all time, so I'd be remiss if I neglected to include this underrated masterpiece. Unfairly compared to Goodfellas, Casino has been largely dismissed as lesser Scorsese,. It's not. It's an epically funny and fascinating movie, both an in-depth character study and a history lesson on how modern Las Vegas came to be. This is to-date Robert De Niro's last collaboration with Scorsese, and if it remains that way, they certainly went out on a high note together.

2) Seven - David Fincher's unforgettable serial killer thriller remains just as potent today as it was when I saw it in theaters twenty years ago. I remember my dad didn't have to stomach for its graphic gore and walked out, leaving me to be scared and thrilled by one of the great creepy movies of the decade. Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt are terrific together as the sleuths searching for a killer inspired by the Seven Deadly Sins. As dark and as good as it gets.

1) Heat - Al Pacino and Robert De Niro are two of my favorite actors of all time and in this Michael Mann cops and robbers masterpiece, their face-off and respective talents live up to the hype. Not only is this an acting powerhouse -- it's also one of the best action films of its decade, featuring what may be the best heist turned shootout in movie history. Pacino is delightfully over the top, De Niro is soulful and tortured, and together they make an incredible pair of dogged professionals. Neither actor has made a greater film since.