Authorities near Waco, Texas, negotiate (unsuccessfully) with Branch Davidians. Katharine Hepburn admitted to hospital suffering from exhaustion. Diff’rent Strokes actor Todd Bridges arrested for stabbing a tenant. Blizzard of ’93 hits north-east USA. US Supreme Court Justice Byron R White announced plans to retire. IRA-bomb kills 3 year old in Warrington, England. Pope John Paul II beatifies Duns Scotus, a philosopher-theologian of the Middle Ages. Intel introduces Pentium-processor (80586) 64 bits-60 MHz-100+ MIPS. André the Giant’s induction into inaugural WWF Hall of Fame is announced; no ceremony takes place and he is inducted posthumously. Jiang Zemin appointed President of the People’s Republic of China. 13th Golden Raspberry Awards: “Shining Through” wins (hah!). Albert Sabin [Abram Saperstein], Polish American physician who invented the oral polio vaccine, dies of heart failure at 86. Brandon Lee, American actor (The Crow) and son of Bruce Lee, dies on the set during the filming of The Crow in a firearms accident at age 28.
Music
Honorable mentions:
- Adorable: Against Perfection
- Living Colour: Stain
- Øystein Sevåg: Link
- Hammerbox: Numb
- Overkill: I Hear Black. Not as good as their previous album unfortunately.
- Kid Rock: The Polyfuze Method. He still has a ways to go before making a track I enjoy.
- Geto Boys: Till Death Do Us Part. Typical gangster rap shit.
- Daniel Lanois: For the Beauty of Wynona
- Ice-T: Home Invasion
- Dwight Yoakam: This Time. For those that want some country.
- LL Cool J: 14 Shots to the Dome
- Onyx: Bacdafucup
The Cranberries: Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We? (1)
The debut of this famous band. Some good tracks to be found here, particularly Dreams, Linger, and Sunday.
Green Jelly: Cereal Killer Soundtrack (5)
I heard a bit of Three Little Pigs back in the day. The Punk/Metal retelling of the story of the 3 Little Pigs. It’s kind of endearing.
Frank Black: Frank Black (8)
Despite the other bigger hits, it was Places Named After Numbers that I enjoyed the most from this album.
Enuff Z’Nuff: Animals with Human Intelligence (9)
Ahhh, some good old glam metal.
Lenny Kravitz: Are You Gonna Go My Way (9)
Hot damn. Surely you’ve heard the titular track Are You Gonna Go My Way at some point.
Widespread Panic: Everyday (9)
Papa’s Home won me over.
Sting: Ten Summoner’s Tales (9)
I feel obligated to mention this.
David Coverdale and Jimmy Page: Coverdale – Page (15)
A collaborative album. And I really dig the grooves of hard rock blues.
Depeche Mode: Songs of Faith and Devotion (22)
Nothing to say.
Mystery Machine: Glazed (23)
Hidden gem. A solid hard rock (or grunge) album.
Butthole Surfers: Independent Worm Saloon (23)
I’m not gonna lie. I primarily know about this band, and the track on this album Who Was In My Room Last Night? from playing Guitar Hero II (post-90s, obviously).
Hothouse Flowers: Songs from the Rain (23)
Not bad.
The Kinks: Phobia (29)
Quite frankly, I’m amazed they were still making music at this time. This would basically be their last album.
Suede: Suede (29)
Moving isn’t bad. Neither is Breakdown and Animal Lover.
Cop Shoot Cop: Ask Questions Later (30)
Interesting. So this is noise rock. This album is a trip. I was ready to give Mystery Machine: Glaze album of the month, but this one is making me second-guess myself. Considerably better than their last album.
The Pursuit of Happiness: The Downward Road (?)
Movies
Minor mentions:
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Sacred Scroll of Death. Really not that great, not even in a so-bad-it’s-good way. So unfortunate, considering how good the first 2 films were.
- Amos & Andrew. It’s not as bad as I thought it would be, given that it’s another one of those “racism” topic films about how blacks are treated unfairly. But it’s more even-handed about it than you would expect. Regardless, it wasn’t anything special at the end of the day.
- Shadow of the Wolf. I was this close to making this a main highlight. It’s shot on-location, which must’ve been a real struggle. It has decent enough acting, though I found the woman’s acting nearly unbearable at times with her annoying voice. And it’s a good depiction of the native Eskimos. But the film’s overall quality doesn’t quite elevate itself to be something great beyond an appreciation for how it was made and the cultural depictions made. What eventually made me throw my hands up in frustration was the last 20 minutes or so, and that unbelievably stupid finale of a guy transforming from a man into an eagle (not a dream sequence, this actually happens).
- Married to It. Just to mention it.
- Just Another Girl From the I.R.T. She’s annoying.
So January was good, February was great. This month, however, is at a level lower than both unfortunately. But it does have one great (in my opinion) alien abduction film to offset the mediocrity, and another action film with a female lead I find to be overrated.
Best of the Best 2 (5)
Decent martial arts movie. Not sure if I like it more than the first one. I’d say on-par, albeit a different experience with a more cliché villain.
Mad Dog and Glory (5)
Not bad actually. Normally I would expect the roles to be reversed between DeNiro and Murray, but they actually pulled off their respective parts well. Normally not a fan of Bill Murray (though Ghostbusters is great), yet 1993 has managed to pull off 2 films I found enjoyable that he starred in (he’s a secondary character here compared to DeNiro, but still).
Rich in Love (5)
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This one surprised me. Normally I’m not into dramas (with a little romance) about family squabbles and relationships. But this one actually did it for me. This Bruce Beresford director is on a roll when it comes to making films I enjoy (Driving Miss Daisy aside). From Mister Johnson, to Black Robe (which became one of my favorites), to this film. Wonder what else this director has in store that I’ll enjoy?
Swing Kids (5)
A film showcasing how evil the nazis were by showcasing how they cracked down, not on the jews (though there is a bit of that here; no anti-nazi film would be complete without some degree of that), but on everyday Germans who did activities deemed immoral. The primary one being swing dancing. It goes how you would expect. Nationalist Socialist party rising in power, Hitler Youth growing in number (in-part through coercion), and how it tears three friends apart. You know, most of the usual “nazis being evil” stuff. Though it does at least show an alternative side of things, about how some joined the Hitler Youth and became nazis (ie government forces) just so they could have a decent chance and not be shunned by society. Kinda makes things more grey when it comes to the average WWII film promoting nazi genocide.
It also has a couple other noteworthy moments that stick out like an ironic sore thumb, especially in hindsight with today’s society in mind. The nazis are viewed as the bad guys who censor/ban (seemingly) harmless hobbies and extra-curricular activities where everyday people (or even just nerds/geeks) just have fun without any regard to politics. The nazis say:
That is the Jew’s trick. The Jew wants you to look at him as just another person. But he does not look at you that way.
And today, with Jews/Zionists in charge of Hollywood and most major media outlets and news stations (especially Disney), censorship in films is getting worse than it has ever been. Even to the point of censoring films that have been released uncut for decades. It makes you wonder.
Anyway, the film itself is just mediocre. It’s just interesting to watch it in today’s context, given that it shows Nazi’s ban fun stuff therefore Nazis are bad. And yet censoring/banning/cancelling stuff (and even people) is the new in-thing today. Even to the point of squealing on friends/family (even calling them nazis and/or fascists) due to difference in politics. This is a modern day showcase of cultural irony. Kind of like Christian Bale being in two period piece film now that involve a respectable degree of dancing.
Personally, I thought the best thing about this movie was the Ebert and Roeper review of it, where their negative review of it is a response to the film’s message being far more about Nazis cracking down on Swing and far less about them persecuting Jews: “Well lah-dee-dah.”
CB4 (12)
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Sort of the Spinal Tap of rap movies. I thought it was great with some of its satire, but a little slow at certain points too. Not all the humor works, but enough of it does to make it recommended. Plus it has some moments that are so hilarious they’ve become iconic. Like the, “I’m Black Y’all,” song.
A Far Off Place (12)
I was conflicted on whether or not this film should be given a main highlight mention. There’s some nice nature shots of Africa. Yet it has all the typical tropes of a Disney live-action kid flick (and the annoyances that come with it). Plus this bullshit about having supernatural powers of causing a dust storm to come out of nowhere. And yet, it’s also a movie where the protagonist kid played by Reese Witherspoon actually blows up some black African poacher bad guys. The film opens with this older white guy killing some poachers (who had previously killed some elephants). I mean, man, this is one bloodthirsty kid flick. The fact that this even got made by Disney blows my mind. Just that alone makes it very difficult to ignore this film. Watch out for that one mistake in editing where the explosion that goes off in the background just behind Witherspoon doesn’t make any noise (it’s very annoying, and I can’t believe that kind of mistake was even allowed to happen on a film of this caliber).
Fire in the Sky (12)
Pretty damn good alien abduction film. It comes off as a made for tv film at times. But that’s because they’re saving the budget for the finale flashback sequence on the alien ship. Film of the month.
Point of No Return (19)
I’m not really a fan of this movie. Nor am I a fan of the original (Nikita). But it’s not a weak film by any means. It’s a decent enough actioner, and a decent enough remake (a tad bit heavier on the female empowerment, of course; the main point that irritated me was how she snuck a punch in on the martial arts instructor). A bit on the popular side too (for the time period). That all said, in my opinion, the film runs out of steam after the first 40 minutes, until the last act. And the original is better (the ending alteration didn’t work for me, and neither did the middle act).
Barbarians at the Gate (20; HBO)
You have to be into stock market discussions in order to get an interest in this film, as it’s basically about the takeover of a corporation due to buying out the stocks. It is a solid film, largely based on the true story of the takeover of the Nabisco corporation. It is claimed to be a comedy, but I found it to be more of a drama with some comedic elements in it.
Games
Honorable mentions:
- Battletoads (Sega Genesis). The older NES version is better.
- Jaguar XJ220 (Sega CD)
- Tecmo Super NBA Basketball (Sega Genesis, SNES)
- Inindo: Way of the Ninja (SNES). Had potential to be fantastic, if it wasn’t so slow-paced.
- Spindizzy Worlds (SNES, Amiga [1990]). Sort of a Marble Madness, or Monkey Ball, style game, where you have to learn to control the object that you have to move around the levels. Tough, but might be your thing if you’re into more dexterity-based videogames.
- Super Conflict (SNES). It’s only good if you have 2 human players of relatively equal skill going at it multiplayer.
- Super Strike Eagle (SNES)
- Tecmo Super NBA Basketball (SNES)
- The Legacy: Realm of Terror (PC)
Alien 3 (March; NES)
Interesting how the Game Boy, NES, and eventual SNES versions are different from one another. And this one is arguably the best of the bunch.
Fire ‘n Ice, aka Solomon’s Key 2 (March; NES)
Zen the Intergalactic Ninja (March; NES, Game Boy)
For a console that is on its way out (given that the SNES has been released for over a year at this point), it sure was managing to still put out some solid titles. Including this beat-em-up that wanted to be a franchise title. The Game Boy version that came out this month isn’t too bad either, but it has nothing on the NES version.
Kid Dracula (March; Game Boy)
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Huh.
Sumo Fighter (March; Game Boy)
Tumble Pop (March; Game Boy)
Check out the arcade version too.
Elemental Master (March; Sega Genesis)
The cutscenes are awesome, the shmup gameplay is decent but fun and challenging.
James Bond 007: The Duel (March; Sega Genesis)
Hey, what do you know? There was actually a decent 007 game prior to Goldeneye on the N64. The music is great.
OutRun 2019 (March; Sega Genesis)
Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster’s Hidden Treasure (March; Sega Genesis)
Decent platformer.
X-Men (March; Sega Genesis)
This game is too difficult. Yet for some reason, every once in a while, I keep coming back to it. There’s something about this X-Men game.
World of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck (March; Sega Genesis)
Too much on the easy side, it’s no Castle of Illusion, but it’s still entertaining. Especially in co-op.
Batman Returns (March?; Sega CD)
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The only real way you’ll ever want to play a Sega version of this game. The Genesis version is terrible. This version is the same, until you start playing the driving sections.
Rise of the Dragon (March; Sega CD, Amiga [1991], PC [1990])
Port of the 1990-1 PC Amiga game. It adds actual voiced dialogue to the game. Incredibly frustrating, and basically a poor man’s Snatcher, but it’s a well-regarded classic that stands alongside the PC version.
Road Avenger (March; Sega CD)
This was absolutely mindblowing for the time for a console game. It’s practically the equivalent to Dragon’s Lair in the 80s arcade. Except you control a driving car instead of a knight. And it has a seriously badass poster (that doesn’t represent the game very well).
The Combatribes (March; SNES, Arcade [1990])
Decent difficult beat-em-up.
Star Fox (March 23; SNES)
The graphics may look dated (heck, even back then I would’ve found them questionable), and the game may be laggy at times. But this is still a damn fun game that I still go back to every now and then to this day. Game of the month.
Veil of Darkness (March; PC)
It was good for back then. Today… well… it depends on how much time you have on your hands, and if you’re willing to use a walkthrough.
Shows
Honorable mentions:
- How’d They Do That? (10; CBS)
- Sirens (10; ABC)
- TriBeCa (23; Fox)
Where I Live (5; ABC)
It’s not bad.
Beavis and Butt-Head (8; MTV)
One of the definitive animated classics that defined an era of MTV. Just 2 dorks doing dumb comments while watching music videos (occasionally doing something else). Show of the month.
Real Stories of the Highway Patrol (22; Syndicated)
It’s basically like COPS, but with a few more re-enactments.
Edit (11-18-2022): Added The Pursuit of Happiness: The Downward Road to Music.
The Anomalous Host 