Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. I was just out of college first time I saw it. So many possibilities ahead of me. I could be Lucky Jack Aubrey, or Stephen Maturin, fighting tyranny (while also being a tyrant) or saving lives and discovering new species. Then reality sets in, and I realize that as an…

We saw Ray on his own, but outside the prison, I think. In the car with his henchman talking about a migration, and then at home talking to his dead wife.

We saw Ray on his own, right? Without Elliott's perspective? Did he have the dog?

I just want to know one thing: was Ray's dog real, or was that a metaphor? Because I cared about that dog.

You read the novelization of Suicide Squad? You're braver than I am. Anyway, the movie just made her look incredibly stupid.

Is she not a 10?

She was also a terrible archaeologist, so maybe she got her doctorate from a diploma mill. She rappels into a cave, finds a creepy doll, and her first instinct is to tear its head off. That's not just bad field work, that's displaying a complete lack of awareness with any folklore or urban legends ever. Who does that?

It's def got a Human Centipede vibe to it.

I was hoping for some JSRF-inspired entries in here. I'd like to see Olympic Jet-Powered Rollerblade Racing.

Just when I think I have you figured out, Josh, you go and do some fool thing like toss all your Okkervil River.

Ah yes, the "Bespoke Tranche Opportunities." I'll just keep stockpiling MRE's, then.

No. In fact, that brief portion of the movie was what I found most memorable. I concur that those setups were, indeed, "dope."

I didn't figure they were, but conveying the notion that getting a mortgage should be quick and easy probably sends the wrong message.

A few months back I saw a commercial for the Big Short on Blu-Ray. The very next commercial was for Rocket Mortgages. It's almost as if we never fucking learn a damn think.

Didn't they leave out Abe Vigoda this year?

Unlikely. R2 and Threepio are the mascots of the Star Wars franchise, and at least one of them can be in the movies forever. With (spoilers!) Han already gone (the one people care about, anyway) and both Luke and Leia unlikely to survive this trilogy, Disney isn't going to want to give up any more of the iconic…

A couple other things from 1996:
Weird Al's Bad Hair Day, memorable mostly for his "feud" with Coolio.
The Wachowskis' "Bound" - I didn't see it until years later, but that's a pretty tight little movie that gave Joe Pantoliano one of his best roles. Also, I think there was a sex scene of some kind.

Another must-mention bit of popular culture from '96: Jack Box's presidential campaign. Man, those little antenna toppers were everywhere. I think I had one for a little while.

A few months before it came out, a giant new multiplex with stadium seating and all kinds of other advances opened nearby. I saw the movie at the fairly run-down theater that had a mere 10 screens. But out in the lobby, the old theater had this giant ID4 display with models of the alien ships and cities getting blown…

I'm not even going to pretend that I didn't love Independence Day when it came out. I saw it four or five times that summer. I still enjoy that movie, and I even got some joy out of the sequel. Holy Hell did I love ID4 back in '96, though. Judge away, commentariat.