1999 - what’s your favorite movie?

[smr-nj]

25 year anniversary!  So many good movies that year.

What was your favorite?  Try naming only one… difficult. 😎

[Crazy Cat Gentleman]

Mystery Men, the only Ben Stiller movie I've ever liked or even just not hated.

[oblong]

My favorite is Office Space.

Two other previous favorites did not age well... American Pie and American Beauty.  I mean... a girl gets spied on via the internet, the whole school sees it... .and she's the one who's punished by being sent home?

American Beauty?  Even without what we know about Spacey.... the lusting after the HS school and how she's presented.  Icky.

Talented Mr. Ripley was also released that year and... I hated this movie.  I know it's got love by people but this is the only time I wanted to leave the theater.  I was legit angry.

The Green Mile is worthy of note.  Great cast when you look back on it.

[Shades of Deivi Cruz]

Notable releases:

Office Space

Analyze This

10 Things I Hate About You

The Matrix

Election

The Mummy

Star Wars Episode 1

Austin Powers: Spy Who Shagged Me

Big Daddy

South Park

American Pie

Blair Witch Project

Mystery Men

Sixth Sense

Bowfinger

For Love of The Game

American Beauty

Three Kings

Fight Club

Being John Malkovich

Dogma

Toy Story 2

Green Mile

Magnolia

Man On The Moon

Galaxy Quest

 

I'm sure I left someone's favorite off the list, but those jumped out at me anyway. What a great year for comedies that was! Of course, Office Space didn't really find it's audience until DVD, but still. I've seen so many of those movies countless times. The one's I've rewatched most recently are Mystery Men and Office Space, so I guess it comes down to those two. I think I'd pick Office Space though. It still (mostly) holds up, and is so quotable. The Matrix was amazing at the time, but doesn't hold up nearly as well. It's impact on action movies though was significant.

[tiger1983uk]

Got to be Office Space, I use a red swingline stapler at work everyday!

[Mr.TaterSalad]

Office Space is probably the best movie of 1999 for me. I love Richard Riehle as Tom Smykowski so much in that move. I'd say Being John Malkovich, Big Daddy, Man on the Moon, and The Green Mile round out the top 5 of 1999 for me.

Edited August 28 by Mr.TaterSalad

[Mr.TaterSalad]

What would you say you do here?

 

[smr-nj]

Green Mile & Office Space. 
I also really liked Being John Malkovich… I think I need to re-watch that at some point.

The Sixth Sense I didn’t see until some years later, but I also thought that was a good movie.

[oblong]

I felt cheated on Sixth Sense because I figured it out.  I’m not bragging because I wish I didn’t and I try hard to not figure things out because I like surprises. I don’t read reviews and cut people off when they try to tell me. I don’t even want to know if they liked it or not. 

[pfife]

Office space

I really liked Man on the Moon. Matrix, and Fight Club too. 

[Shades of Deivi Cruz]

16 hours ago, Mr.TaterSalad said:

What would you say you do here?

 

"I'M A PEOPLE PERSON!!"

[chasfh]

I feel as though 1999 was one of the last years in which the majority of movies were still based on the real lives of actual or fictional regular people, rather than being one of the group of genres consisting of sci-fi, fantasy, action, thriller, horror, animation, and superhero, many of which make up franchises. I think the dramatic growth of the foreign market, especially China, has the most to do with that.

[oblong]

Horror has a strong following.  There was an article about one of the last video stores anywhere, in Dearborn Heights, and the owner said they do a lot of DVD rentals for horror movies.  I went into a store last week and I noticed a lot of that genre on their shelf, coupled with leftover TV Series and movies.  But the horror area had a lot of titles.

Regarding the movie industry overall... the old timers like to blame superhero movies but that's not it.  The super hero movies are keeping it alive.  Gone are the days where you just randomnly pick a movie on Friday or Saturday and go in to watch.  Not because they don't make the movies but because that's not what peple want to do anymore.  They have streaming at home.  They have big TV's.  They can choose.  Movies now are events.  Barbie, Oppenheimer, Marvel, etc.  A run of the mill movie, like most of those on this list, not a criticism but that's what they were, is not worth the investment of time and money now.  You can wait a few months and watch for free on your own big screen and on your own time with your own food/drinks and take a break when you need to use the bathroom.

 

[Mr.TaterSalad]

There are still so many great movies made today that aren't in the superhero, action or jump scare genres. A24 Studios makes tremendous movies that are true to life and span the boundaries of different genres. After Sun, Ex Machina, First Cow, Florida Project, Iron Claw, Ladybird, The Lighthouse, The Lobster, Moonlight, Midsommer, Minari, Uncut Gems, The Whale, The Witch, etc. are some of the many fantastic movies A24 has put out over the past decade plus.

Edited August 29 by Mr.TaterSalad

[oblong]

Not disputing that.  But are they worth devoting 3-4 hours and $50 in ticket and concession costs when you can see it shortly after?  I loved The Iron Claw.  I anticipated it, I knew they were making it and couldn’t wait. But I never got around to it when it was in the theater. I’ve watched it maybe 5 times already.  Going to the movies is just not a part of a lot of peoples routines anymore.  There is so much to watch that people would rather devote 2 hours and bang they a few episodes of a show at home.  It’s nobody’s fault.  Nobody is doing anything wrong. Just a change in habits by consumers.
 

What I really do resent is this idea being pushed that it’s Marvels fault when I would argue that Marvel has largely propped up the theaters and helped keep them open.  Marvel isn’t taking anything away from others.  People aren’t choosing to go to those movies instead of something else.  

[chasfh]

17 hours ago, Mr.TaterSalad said:

There are still so many great movies made today that aren't in the superhero, action or jump scare genres. A24 Studios makes tremendous movies that are true to life and span the boundaries of different genres. After Sun, Ex Machina, First Cow, Florida Project, Iron Claw, Ladybird, The Lighthouse, The Lobster, Moonlight, Midsommer, Minari, Uncut Gems, The Whale, The Witch, etc. are some of the many fantastic movies A24 has put out over the past decade plus.

Good post, and several of the movies you listed I have seen or would like to see. But it also goes to show that the movie landscape is deeply-embedded with the genres I listed that you couldn’t provide me a counter-list of fourteen films without at least four of your titles being of them.