Movies: How good were 1999 films in hindsight?

[Fixed to Ruin]

Micheal Bolton is one of my favorite characters from a movie ever.

 

[x Tame Impala]

American Beauty: Dumb, pretentious

Blair Witch Project: Mostly Dumb, kind of cool for the unique camera perspective i guess

Fight Club: One of those movies I can always watch. Not sure why it gets so much resentment. Some people may be taking it too seriously

Matrix: Technical achievement of its time, great film and if they stopped making Matrix movies after this one it would've been totally fine

Office Space: Classic, forever apropos

Phantom Menace: In retrospect it obvioulsy isn't a very good movie and but it had some great moments. The hype of seeing a NEW star wars movie was very exciting too

Sixth Sense: Still a good movie, not great anymore but if you want it once a decade or whatever it still has some charm

Ten Things I Hate About You: Classic, forever apropos

 

[Mr Fahrenheit]

The Talented Mr Ripley seems to be underrated

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

There's a book for this!

Best. Movie. Year. Ever.

From a veteran culture writer and modern movie expert, a celebration and analysis of the movies of 1999—“a terrifically fun snapshot of American fi...

www.simonandschuster.com

 

[Stylizer1]

I think 1999 was actually a comeback of sorts for Hollywood. The past 24-36 months deal with a lot of bloated sequels, and some real failures. Plus the Asteroid Summer of Deep Impact vs. Armageddon was pretty terrible.

One by one summary of what was vs. how they're looked back on.

1. Fight Club-At the time this was a generational counter culture movie for the people who were the last/youngest of Gen X and missed movies like Singles, Reality Bites, etc. It was extremely popular and the "twist" was very innovative. It's still revered but not looked back as fondly by Gen Zers due to some people misinterpreting the premise and tone as a combination of toxic masculinity and privilege.


2. Being John Malkovich-Very clever break the fourth wall indie film that was a must see back then and frequently owned on DVD. It's not as remembered now mostly because Malkovich isn't doing movies as much and has slowed down (apparently he's doing a NetFlix show the last few years Space Farce as his primary role).

3. American Beauty-Another movie that was at the time generational due to questions of "the American Dream" and midlife crisis. It's basically unofficially banned/a non-factor due to Kevin Spacey nowadays. Mera Survani was such a big star back then. She never truly reached the peak of her peers.


4. The Blair Witch Project-See my comments above. I hate it and to from the 1999 and 2000 era that and Gladiator are the two most overrated films. But to most of the public, it's still very endearing all these years later and is seen as loved and an innovative film....for some odd reason.

5. The Sixth Sense-Probably the hottest movie at the time of release. Like Fight Club, the "twist" was seen as innovative, original, and unique. It's still very loved. Shyamalan's had his hits and misses over the years, but this was during his hot streak and anytime he comes back (Split=very good, Old=meh) it will give a bump to this film.

6. The Matrix-Personally I don't really like this film however it's an all time great that is still loved and recommended to this day. Even with terrible sequels and that new one which is better off left not talking about.

As a stand alone film The Matrix would have been one of the best Science fiction films to date. It has aged very will. The sequels should have been better. Jada Pickett sucks ass. lol

 

[Shareefruck]

While I don't think Fight Club is some brilliant movie, I think it's just one of those things where the fans/people obsessed with it/take it seriously kind of ruin it or take away the wrong/worst ideas from it.

 

[Elvis P]

... Jada Pinkett sucks ass. lol

She's worth slapping Chris Rock in front of a billion people.

 

[Jumptheshark]

I love films and most people like me could put a list of 20 to 30 movies from any year. You did not really touch on the really independent movies from that year or foreign movies

 

[DaaaaB's]

Why do you dislike it now? Just curious.

I haven't seen it in a few years but the last time I did it seemed lame and tacky, like a movie trying really hard to seem cool. The acting hasn't aged well with me either. Saying I can't stand it was a bit over the top but I'm not sure why I loved it so much in highschool and college.

 

[Praetorian Caps]

Bloody brilliant; one of the best years in cinema history!

 

[Roo Returns]

While I don't think Fight Club is some brilliant movie, I think it's just one of those things where the fans/people obsessed with it/take it seriously kind of ruin it or take away the wrong/worst ideas from it.

American Beauty: Dumb, pretentious

Blair Witch Project: Mostly Dumb, kind of cool for the unique camera perspective i guess

Fight Club: One of those movies I can always watch. Not sure why it gets so much resentment. Some people may be taking it too seriously

Matrix: Technical achievement of its time, great film and if they stopped making Matrix movies after this one it would've been totally fine

Office Space: Classic, forever apropos

Phantom Menace: In retrospect it obvioulsy isn't a very good movie and but it had some great moments. The hype of seeing a NEW star wars movie was very exciting too

Sixth Sense: Still a good movie, not great anymore but if you want it once a decade or whatever it still has some charm

Ten Things I Hate About You: Classic, forever apropos

Groupthink, frat boy antics, broism, and toxic masculinity are words I've heard thrown around as modern takes on the film, which is why it's been sort of archived.

It's obviously a satire. There were a group of people who took it really seriously, has the posters next to Scarface, Bruce Lee, Taxi Driver.

It was the late-90s/early 2000s, there still was a lot of angst, it's just 8-9 years before there was grunge, metal, gangsta rap, Singles, True Romance, Reality Bites...by this point it was The Matrix, Fight Club, rap was different, and Nu Metal.

Micheal Bolton is one of my favorite characters from a movie ever.

Office Space is one of those timeless movies with unlimited rewatch value. If it's not in my top 10, it's probably #11-12.

 

[Roo Returns]

As a stand alone film The Matrix would have been one of the best Science fiction films to date. It has aged very will. The sequels should have been better. Jada Pickett sucks ass. lol

Eh I know it's loved. I personally just don't like so much about the film.

Neo to me is ok to good character but he's know James T. Kirk, Spock, Ripley, Sarah Connor, Luke Skywalker, Rick Deckard, or Lenny/Mace from Strange Days.

Morpheus is ok but the rest of the good guys are lame. Trinity is such a flat character and mediocre love interest.

I also really like Hugo Weaving as an actor and his work in V for Vendetta and LOTR are high points, but Agent Smith is so vanilla. I know it's on purpose and the way he talks and all, but he doesn't have the personality or motivation of a Khan, Darth Vader, even Carter Burke in Aliens. He's not as evil or demented as a Baron Harkonnen, the general from Pan's Labyrinth, and doesn't have the personality of a Sho'Nuff or David Lopan...all of whom are great cinematic villains.

 

[kingsholygrail]

The Matrix
The Green Mile
Southpark Bigger Longer & Uncut
Office Space
The Sixth Sense
Dogma
Tarzan
Toy Story 2
October Sky
Payback
Fight Club
Three Kings
Man on the Moon
Jin-Ro
Fight Club

The Phantom Menace was the biggest disappointment until Attack of the Clones.

 

[Lshap]

Eyes Wide Shut generated the most debate among my film-geek friends. Stanley Kubrick's final film, Tom & Nicole supposedly campaigning to get the leads, the film's twisted take on sexuality – there was a lot to chew on. Most of us either loved or hated the final product, nothing in between. I'm a huge Kubrick fan so I loved and defended it. It's been awhile so I don't know if the film still holds up, but back then I loved the film's distinctive colours and its dive into the human id. If you took it literally, yeah, some of it is silly, but as cinematic art I thought it was great.

Fight Club: Two A-listers, Edward Norton and Brad Pitt, a psychological thriller, and a cool twist. What's not to love? Luckily, I never heard the modern reinterpretations mentioned above (Toxic masculinity??). I have no patience with that kind of self-absorbed revisionism. The film isn't promoting anything or asking for your vote. If you don't like it, don't watch it. The story looks a bit dated today, but it lit up the screen when it came out.

The Blair Witch Project: I saw it in the theatre and thought it was original and very effective. And of course the story behind the making of the film is amazing. I get that it may not hold up well almost a quarter century later (!), but the film and the filmmakers get high marks for innovation.

The Sixth Sense: Before disappearing up his own ass, M. Night Shyamalan pumped out a three or four fine movies, the best being T6S, which includes one of the best twist endings in film history. The film works well as a standalone story of a kid seeing dead people. Haley Joel Osment gives a pitch-perfect performance that added an iconic catchphrase to pop culture, and Bruce Willis shows that he's a better dramatic actor than given credit for. Even without the famous twist, the movie is emotional and creepy enough to be enjoyable. Of course, the final few minutes spike the experience into a different dimension (literally). Only seen it once and have no idea how well it works if you know what's coming.

American Beauty: This film has two strikes against it that were called after it was up at bat: It won Best Picture and featured Kevin Spacey. Every year, some people complain the Oscar-winner for Best Picture wasn't deserving, and most people don't feel Spacey deserves anything. I saw it in the theatre and liked it a lot without loving it. In a year of films that pushed boundaries, American Beauty was the 2nd best film to stay within the box.

The Talented Mr. Ripley: My pick for Best Safe Picture, it features an all-star cast before they were all-stars. Beautiful, intense, mysterious, the film isn't an all-time great, nor does it break new ground, but it has everything you want in a mainstream drama.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

Ripley and Eyes Wide Shut for me off that list. Oddly enough for the Eyes Wide Shut, it's not one of my all-time favorites (though I do think it's really, really good) but few works of art can make me want to go out and do something that's entirely my own. It's a physical reaction. Not sure why or if I really even want to know why - I think there's something about its conventional story structure that's mixed in with some unsettling details that make it so invigorating. Damn, I wish we'd gotten one more Kubrick film. What a director.

Office Space is something that I watched a couple of months back and found pretty overrated.

 

[frisco]

1999 makes me a little nostalgic for the days where everything wasn't a comic book-based prequel or sequel.

My Best-Carey

 

[BigBadBruins7708]

Ripley and Eyes Wide Shut for me off that list. Oddly enough for the Eyes Wide Shut, it's not one of my all-time favorites (though I do think it's really, really good) but few works of art can make me want to go out and do something that's entirely my own. It's a physical reaction. Not sure why or if I really even want to know why - I think there's something about its conventional story structure that's mixed in with some unsettling details that make it so invigorating. Damn, I wish we'd gotten one more Kubrick film. What a director.

Office Space is something that I watched a couple of months back and found pretty overrated.

Speaking of Kubrick, its a shame he didnt get to make A.I.

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

When I hear ‘99 I think of my two all time favorites:

Ravenous and 13th Warrior.

 

[I am not exposed]

OP went from listing 6 films originally to now listing about 20. Weirdly he has dropped being John Malkovich from the original list.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

OP went from listing 6 films originally to now listing about 20. Weirdly he has dropped being John Malkovich from the original list.

Don't question the Grand Duke!