We’re saying happy 250th birthday to America this July 4th by rewatching Roland Emmerich’s 1996 alien invasion disaster movie, Independence Day. Evacuate the White House, fire up the jets, and grab your Apple PowerBook 5300, we’re going to take this mothership down.

Molly and Chloe venture into the exclusion zone and scope out the multiple plotlines starring Will Smith, Jeff Goldblum and Bill Pullman as they defend the world from extraterrestrial attack. We discuss why Emmerich stuck to his guns in casting Smith, what makes the visual effects hold up (for the most part) and whether modern blockbusters are as good as the classics.

Plus we give the movie’s best moments some military honours, target its most 90s details, and make some recommendations for exceptional extraterrestrial movies and disaster flicks.

The quote at the start is from Todd McCarthy’s 1996 review in Variety.

The quote from the visual effects supervisor comes from The Hollywood Reporter’s retrospective. To see photos of how the filmmakers created the lit-up clouds around the spaceships, check this piece on Before & Afters.

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For Pride month we’re looking back at a key, tragic moment in LGBT+ history, the AIDS crisis, and watching Jonathan Demme’s Oscar-winning legal drama, Philadelphia.

Molly and Chloe enter the court with Best Actor-winner Tom Hanks and his maverick lawyer Denzel Washington, and give their verdicts on the film’s representation of gay men, homophobia and early 90s attitudes towards HIV-positive people, and how the directing style veers from formal to movingly surreal.

Plus we bang the gavel on the movie’s most 90s details and award some of the best moments, and present some films to watch next - from queer rep onscreen to against-the-odds legal dramas.

The quote at the start is from David Ansen’s 1993 review in Newsweek. We also reference Roger Ebert’s review.

‘Philadelphia: un-packaging the Hollywood AIDS drama’ by Amy Taubin for Sight and Sound.

Follow us on Instagram: @total90srecall

Check out the other films we recommended on Letterboxd

Got an episode suggestion? Email us: total90srecall@gmail.com

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Can you ever just be, like, whelmed? We’re asking this and more as we sit down with 1999’s 10 Things I Hate About You. Set up the decks, hook up some speakers, and get ready to crash a future MBA’s cheese and wine party.

Molly and Chloe welcome actor, writer and audio producer, Steph MacGaraidh to run riot grrrl through this Shakespeare-inspired high school rom com. We discuss the casting of relative unknowns Julia Stiles and Heath Ledger, the 90s soundtrack, and how the screenwriters Karen McCullah and Kirsten Smith infuse the script with Shakespearean wit, romance and visual gags, while dialling up the feminist empowerment.

Plus we crown our favourite moments (that song and dance number! Ms Perky’s sexy novels!) and perform odes to the film’s most 90s details. All this, and some recommendations for further watching that you won’t hate, not even a little bit, not even at all.

Find Steph on the ’gram here and check out this page for details on her musical, Off the Rails.

The quote at the start is from Peter Bradshaw’s 1999 review in the Guardian.

Gil Junger discussing casting a young Heath Ledger.

Read about the 1967 Franco Zeffirelli adaptation of The Taming of the Shrew, starring Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor here.

Watch the documentary about the 1978 production of Shrew, starring Meryl Streep and Raul Julia at the Delacorte, New York, here. The specific sexy scene Steph mentions is in this clip.

Emily Temple’s essay for Literary Hub, ‘The Life-Changing Magic of 10 Things I Hate About You’

Kat’s reading list on the Opiate (including The Bell Jar, natch).

Far Out discusses the best of the 10 Things soundtrack.

Follow us on Instagram: @total90srecall

Check out the other films we recommended on Letterboxd

Got an episode suggestion? Email us: total90srecall@gmail.com

Find all our links here!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.