Welcome to Part 2 of our 1999 Movie Retrospective. The final year of the last century was one hell of a cinematic ride and it offered some outstanding films for lovers of cinema.
Now be aware that this is not a definitive list of the films released – it’s a brief rundown highlighting interesting films that should be seen (although not always for the right reasons).
You can check out the first part (A-E) here or continue reading to see the other gems that were released in 1999.
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Fight Club
Fight Club was a box office disappointment ten years ago, but it has gained a HUGE cult following since – and it must have made an absolute mint on DVD. Brad Pitt and Edward Norton star in this David Fincher directed adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk’s now-famous novel. The film is another example of world perspective from a late 90s view point.
For The Love of the Game
There’s something about For the Love of the Game that got under my skin when I saw it ten years ago. Maybe it was the music? Or maybe it was Kevin Costner’s performance? I don’t know, but it is my favorite Sam Raimi film. If you think that’s odd – I know nothing about baseball and I don’t like any sport!
Galaxy Quest
Few admit to liking Tim Allen on the big screen but many will say that they love Galaxy Quest. Alan Rickman and Sigourney Weaver also star in this comedic pastiche of Star Trek. It’s good fun, with some equally good creature f/x.
Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai
Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai is probably director Jim Jarmusch’s most accessible film. It stars Forest Whitaker as a Mafia hitman who follows the Samurai code. It didn’t make much of a commercial splash on release back in ‘99 but it was hailed by critics. Go on – check it out!
Girl, Interrupted
The film that won Angelina Jolie an Oscar was supposed to be an acting showcase for Winona Ryder. Ryder has all but fallen into obscurity and Jolie is the biggest female star on the planet. Maybe that’s the reason to check out this James Mangold directed film.
The Green Mile
Frank Darabont does a Stephen King prison adaptation. Been there, done that. This one stars Tom Hanks. The Shawshank Redemption grossed $28 million and this did $136 million. You figure out why (Hint: Hanks).
The Haunting
Liam Neeson, Owen Wilson and Catherine Zeta Jones star in a Jan De Bont directed PG-13 haunted house horror film chock full of CGI. Half of that sentence seems like a good idea. Others must have thought so too, as it grossed $90 million. I haven’t seen it since it came out. If I have a few drinks I might watch it again on television. Maybe.
The Iron Giant
Based on the Ted Hughes tale, the Iron Giant was pretty much thrown out onto screens by Warner Brothers a decade ago. The Brad Bird animated film features the vocal stylings of Vin Diesel and Jennifer Aniston. It flopped on release, but it now (like a lot of ’99 films) has a huge cult following.
Magnolia
In my opinion Magnolia is one of the best films of the last ten years. Paul Thomas Anderson’s epic L.A. tale features an excellent ensemble cast featuring a never better Tom Cruise, Julianne Moore, Jason Robards, John C. Reilly and William H. Macy. Aimee Mann’s music adds heart to this lyrical and poetic film.
The Matrix
A film that changed cinema for the decade. Keanu Reeves stars as the savior of mankind in the Wachowski’s cyber-punk action thriller. Black trench coats and sunglasses flew off the shelves as everyone wanted that Matrix look. “Bullet-time” and “wire-fu” became fixtures in nearly every action film that followed. It’s a pity that the sequels didn’t live up to this one.
The Mummy
Stephen Sommers’ action romp was an unexpected success when it opened. It’s a good old-fashioned adventure with a lot of CGI. It’s a shame that the only thing that Sommers seemed to take away from this film were the things that didn’t work!
Mystery, Alaska
An interesting little film starring Russell Crowe and Burt Reynolds. It’s directed by Jay Roach the man behind the Meet the Parents films but there’s heart to this comedy film that tanked on release.
Mystery Men
A superhero comedy film released a while before superheroes became all the rage again. Ben Stiller leads the cast in what would be one of his last not-for-they-paycheck roles.
Continue reading N-Z of our 1999 retrospective…
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12 Comments
Clint Eastwood’s True Crime is quite boring at times, but the scenes with James Woods are amazing.
Man, that WAS a great year for films… The ground breaking “The Matrix,” the oh-so-edgy “Fight Club,” the uber-quotable “Galaxy Quest”…
And let’s just forget about “The Phantom Menace,” shall we?
Vic
I agree with Vic. Great Year. And I’m gonna say that I didn’t mind “The Phantom Menace”. I thought it was OK.
So many wonderful movies came out in 1999, but The Iron Giant is my absolute favorite, followed closely by The Matrix, Fight Club, Magnolia, and others. Great list, Niall!
heath
Equilibrium was in 1999 too right? Or was it 2000? I forgot…
Don’t forget,
‘The Insider’ and ‘Being John Malkovich’
(Equilibrium was 2002…GREAT movie though)
Oh, 2002? Ouch, I was way off, lol. Too bad Frequency was 2000, would like to talk about that one too, haha.
Maybe it’s cause I was only 10, but I loved Wild Wild West, and still do. I’ve only recently discovered how many people think it sucks.
Galaxy Quest is awesome. Hands down Tim Allen’s best performance. Loved Sam Rockwell, too, he was quite the scene stealer.
I just mentioned For the Love of the Game as one of my favarite baseball films ,
in the baseball movie thread.
Nice to know I am not the only one that Liked it.
A brilliant year for movies, maybe they thought the world really would end in the Y2K fiasco and did their best work as a result.
I absolutely love Office Space and could probably watch it on repeat for a week and not get tired of it, classic.
Hard to believe that 1999 was such an amazing year for movies, and it’s also a sad commentary on just how lame movies have gotten in the years since.
Maybe next decade will be a better one for movies … I hope.
Nice to see Galaxy Quest in there, still have to buy (or even find it) on dvd, it always makes me smile.
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