An Old Millennial’s favorite movie summers

Steven Spielberg’s “Jaws” in 1975 kickstarted Hollywood’s obsession with the summer blockbuster season. After a pandemic-influenced downturn the last couple years, 2022 and its slate of dinosaurs, Minions and Top Guns proves that audiences still want to flock to blockbusters in order to beat the heat.

For an Old Millennial like myself, the '90s were a particularly sacred stretch for moviegoing, and from 1995 until I started having kids in 2011, I saw almost every available option at the multiplex each summer.

Sure, they weren’t all great experiences, as the lumbering nature of big-budget filmmaking makes for a few duds each summer, though this can often be overcome by a few surprise sleeper hits.

With that in mind, I present my personal favorite movie summers (in chronological order, not ranked), and you’ll definitely notice a real '90s bias here. My list isn’t necessarily about how I feel about these movies now; it’s more about what I loved experiencing as a kid.

Real quick - a special honorable mention goes to 1993, mostly because of all the times I saw “Jurassic Park.” I don’t have memories of seeing many other movies that year, honestly.

1995

Multiple viewings of: “Batman Forever.” The kid-friendlier Dark Knight adventure that introduced Bat nipples. It also had an amazing soundtrack, a cheesy-awesome poster and McDonald’s tie-in glassware, two of which are still wrapped up in my garage somewhere. Priceless heirlooms.

My parents probably shouldn’t have let me see: “Die Hard with a Vengeance,” “Crimson Tide,” But I’m glad they did.

Stuff I liked then that doesn’t hold up: “Pocahontas,” “Casper,” ”Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home.”

I’ll still (sorta) defend now: “Congo,” “The Net,” “Nine Months.”

Sleeper surprises (to me anyway): “Apollo 13,” (I didn’t know the true story before I saw it) and “Clueless” (still one of my favorite comedies).

Duds: “Waterworld,” “Judge Dredd.”

1996

Multiple viewings of: “Independence Day” (3x, “Welcome to Earth!”) “Twister” (including a stressful rewatch on a stormy night in the midwest), “Mission: Impossible” (the start of one of the most consistently spectacular franchises ever).

My parents probably shouldn’t have let me see: “The Rock,” “A Time to Kill.” But I’m glad they did.

Stuff I liked then that doesn’t hold up: “The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” “Flipper.”

I’ll still defend now: “Multiplicity,” “The Cable Guy,” “DragonHeart.”

Sleeper surprise (to me anyway): “Tin Cup” (Gotta love that 12 score on the final hole).

Duds: “Chain Reaction” (At least Keanu passed on “Speed 2” in 1997), “The Nutty Professor,” “Eraser.”

1997

Multiple viewings of: “Men in Black” (3x), “The Lost World: Jurassic Park (3x, even though I didn’t really like it at the time), “Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery.”

Old enough but required parental supervision: “Face/Off,” “Con Air,” “Air Force One.” All three of these movies ruled, especially to a 13-year-old.

Stuff I liked then that doesn’t hold up: “Hercules,” “Air Bud,” “Good Burger.”

I’ll still defend now: “George of the Jungle,” “Batman & Robin” (as an enjoyable bad movie), “Event Horizon,” “Money Talks.”

Sleeper surprises (to me anyway): “The Fifth Element,” “Contact,” “Breakdown,” “Conspiracy Theory,” “My Best Friend’s Wedding.”

Duds: “Speed 2: Cruise Control,” “Father’s Day,” “G.I. Jane,” “Trial & Error.”

1998

Multiple viewings of: “Deep Impact” and “Armageddon” (I had to decide which giant space rock won).

Old enough but required parental supervision: “Saving Private Ryan,” “There’s Something About Mary,” “The Negotiator,” “Out of Sight” (these are all still bangers, in my opinion).

Stuff I liked then that doesn’t hold up: “Doctor Doolittle,” “Small Soldiers,” “Lethal Weapon 4,” “City of Angels” (I’m a Nicolas Cage devotee, okay?).

I’ll still defend now: “The Mask of Zorro,” “Mulan,” “The X-Files,” “The Parent Trap,” “Dirty Work” (RIP Norm MacDonald), “Blade,” “Snake Eyes” (I said I’m a Nic Cage devotee, okay?).

Sleeper surprises (to me anyway): “The Truman Show,” “Bulworth,” “A Perfect Murder.”

Duds: “Godzilla” (oof), “Six Days, Seven Nights,” “The Avengers” (not the one you’re thinking).

2008

Multiple viewings of: “The Dark Knight” and “WALL-E,” and those movies later came in at #1-2 in my “Best Movies of 2008” article in the Press that year. I also saw “Iron Man” and “Kung-Fu Panda” twice each, and both are still supremely rewatchable.

Stuff I liked then that doesn’t hold up: “Wanted,” “Get Smart.”

Stuff I was probably wrong for not liking back then: “Speed Racer,” “Mamma Mia!” “Star Wars: The Clone Wars.”

I’ll still (happily) defend now: “Hellboy II: The Golden Army,” “Tropic Thunder,” “Pineapple Express,” “The House Bunny.”

I’ll still (sorta) defend now: “The Incredible Hulk,” “Hancock,” “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” (It’s better than “Temple of Doom”!).

Sleeper surprises: “Step Brothers” (one of the decade’s great comedies), “Hamlet 2.”

Duds: “The Happening,” “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor,” “You Don’t Mess with the Zohan.”

Tyler Wilson is a member of the International Press Academy and has been writing about movies and pop culture for Inland Northwest publications since 2000, including a regular column in the Press since 2006. He can be reached at twilson@cdapress.com.