20 great but forgotten movies from the '90s

What do you think of when you think of Wes Anderson? Bright colors? Quirky characters? Intricately framed set-pieces? All of that is here in this high school comedy, but it's been toned down to human scale. The emotions actually seep through this time, making it the director's very best work.

People often compare directors to puppet masters — pulling invisible strings that bring people together — but Krzysztof Kieslowski takes it to another level. In the Three Colors Trilogy, he draws connections between people that feel both realistic and mysterious, and ties their stories with themes of the French flag. There's a reason this is considered an art-house classic. It's a work of art that works on many levels.

The Game is a puzzle with missing pieces that don't appear until the very end. As Michael Douglas tries to unravel the mystery of his birthday present, audiences will be doing the same thanks to David Fincher's direction.

You've seen the Disney classics a million times, so maybe give this animated gem a chance. It's a friendly giant story that never fails to impress.

Flying under the gaze of most children, this gem from Hayao Miyazaki deserves to be seen by more kids. And adults! And anyone who appreciates cinema as an art form! This story of a fighter pilot with a pig's body soars with poetic grandeur.

We are huge Miyazaki fans around here, so of course we're going to include some of his '90s work. How could we not? Princess Mononoke is one of his spellbinding epics — the story of a girl who saves the forest from industrialism.

Adam Sandler ruled the '90s, becoming the biggest comedic star on the planet. With hits like Happy Gilmore and The Waterboy, he established a goofy persona that would eventually become iconic. Some would say moronic, but this comedy about a grown man returning to school remains intelligently stupid. 

You can never have too much John Malkovich. Case in point: Being John Malkovich. A movie about a couple entering the actor's brain, this is a heady film that never fails to draw you in.

Most decades are packed with foreign films that rank among our favorites, but are unseen by most people. The '90s have a few of these, including this story of kids from the wrong side of the tracks. But mostly, it was a decade ruled by directors working here.

Hope you like car chases, because there ain't much more to this film worth recommending. It's your basic hitman movie, but dang are those chases cool. 

Honestly, this is a great movie. I don't care if it's not a monumental work of cinema; it's a cute story of twins who swap lives so they can get their parents back together. That's it. And that's all it takes for Lindsay Lohan to win me over.

Terrence Malick is a visionary no one saw coming. And no one sees coming, because he rarely releases anything. After a decade in the wilderness — literally, he shot this in the jungle — he came back with a war movie unlike any other. A grand, poetic, meandering treatise on war and faith, The Thin Red Line is something that could only be made by Malick.

Abbas Kiarostami took a scenic route to success, creating small road movies that made a giant impact. A Taste of Cherry is another film about someone driving around Iran looking for someone to help, this time with a morbid twist. He wants someone to assist him with a dark task. What unfolds is a lyrical, spellbinding journey through the backroads of his troubled psyche.

Did you really think we were going to forget about Clueless? As if! Even if the movie has had a resurgence, this high school comedy is still largely unseen.

Remember when mockumentaries were a thing? We don't seem to get them anymore, despite movies like Waiting for Guffman being hailed classics. This satire about a high school theater group shows the genre still has life.

John Woo went on to make some pretty dumb films — take the second Mission Impossible, for example — but he started out making a number of visceral spectacles. Hard Boiled is one of his best, showcasing his talents for editing, pacing, choreography, cinematography and shootouts. When a policeman takes on a drug lord, he's met with a number of jaw-dropping action sequences.

Yes, lots of people have seen Before Sunrise. It's a rom-com that ranks among the genre's best. Yet this indie from Richard Linklater still has room to grow, as more people discover the sights of Vienna through his muse's eyes.

More people need to see this movie! It's an action flick with serious action, a romance with sensual romance and a meandering piece of entertainment that meanders expertly. Only one director could have pulled it off. His name is Wong Kar Wai.

Not all high school movies are dumb comedies about teenagers getting stoned. Some of them are witty comedies about teenagers getting stoned. Like Richard Linklater's genre classic, for example. This might look like a bunch of idiots partying, but it's actually a masterful and wonderful work of art.