The 1990s are having a moment, a quarter of a century (yikes!?) since we welcomed the new millennium. Maybe it's merely millennials sipping the sweet nectar of nostalgia, "kids these days" having an archaeological-like fascination with the past, or our collective desire to remember the last time the world wasn't constantly ending (except on the big screen). Whatever the reason, it's also worth noting the '90s were also a terrific time for movies. 

It was the last decade before Hollywood completely sold its soul to serialized slop. Sure, the film industry has long fawned at the feet of franchises, but get this: in the '90s, only a handful of sequels led the end-of-year box office, while Best Picture-winners even topped the domestic box office twice. Beyond the box office, the decade saw the apex of the indie film movement, "grown up" movies still being made for theaters, and spandex-clad superheroes staying an unrealized dream, not an unstoppable inevitably. 

Movies were great in the '90s; now armed with the benefit of time, I'm counting down the best. While personal preference plays a part, I'm ranking these based on influence, re-watchability, cultural footprint, and good old-fashioned quality. Only three of these 15 movies won Best Picture, but each deserves its place as one of the greatest movies of the 1990s.

This article contains spoilers for "The Life of Chuck."

In 1843, the Danish philosopher and theologian Søren Kierkegaard wrote in his journal a passage which has echoed throughout time ever since, albeit one which is often shortened for easier consumption. The abridged and paraphrased quote is: "Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards." The full passage laments the paradox inherent within this axiom: 

While it's obvious that there's no literal way of stopping, reversing, or otherwise manipulating the actual flow of time to closely and accurately examine our lives, human beings have found the next best thing: art. While some artistic mediums excel at capturing the present in an electrifying way (namely, live theatre), most can lightly defy the flow of time. Painting, music, literature, and cinema all manage to both address the present while existing for long after their initial creation, allowing their messages to speak to numerous generations and even grow deeper and more layered as a result. While the study of history is important to try and suss out the facts of our lives, art is important to try and find the truths.

With cameos in "She-Hulk: Attorney at Law" and "Spider-Man: No Way Home" and the long-awaited revival series "Daredevil: Born Again" having finally hit Disney+, it's safe to say that Matt Murdock is back in a big way. The Devil of Hell's Kitchen has fully arrived in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, bringing one of the most popular characters in Marvel Comics history to a wider audience — but that audience might be in for a rude and bloody awakening when they realize just how daring this devil really is.

Many of these new fans will discover memorably grim moments in Daredevil's history through classic runs from the likes of Frank Miller, Brian Michael Bendis, and Ed Brubaker, and will get to experience some of the best brutal stories Marvel has to offer for the first time. They may also encounter some of the stranger moments Marvel might want us to forget about. Either way, as threatening as Daredevil was in the beloved Netflix series starring Charlie Cox, the Man Without Fear doesn't get much scarier than he does in these 10 moments from his Marvel Comics history.

These days, it should be well known that no superhero is worth dating. From Scott Summers to Peter Parker, the romantic partners of these characters are usually subjected to harsh treatment to push the hero's story forward.

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Chris Farley was only 33 years old when he passed away on December 18, 1997, the result of an overdose. Looking back, it all seemed tragically inevitable. His struggle with addiction had become so intertwined with his public persona that it was almost impossible to separate the man from the myth. By the fall of 1997, when he returned to host "Saturday Night Live," the show that had catapulted him to fame earlier in the decade, the entire cold open revolved around a joke about his mere ability to perform. Watching it unfold, I remember feeling a deep unease. Chris looked unwell—his voice raspy, as though his body itself was rebelling against him, rejecting the weight of the life he’d been living.