Al's Top Rated Films: 1999

Superbly powerful drama from directing great Sam Mendes. Excellent story about a sexually frustrated man going through a mid-life crisis and the radical life changes he makes—especially when it comes to his infatuation with his daughter's best friend. Intense drama brews elsewhere with his wife (also sexually frustrated), his melancholy daughter and her mysterious boyfriend, and his bigoted and secretive next door neighbor. Definitely my favorite lead roles from Kevin Spacey and Annette Bening. They both give phenomenal lead performances. The same could be said for the roles from Thora Birch, Wes Bentley, Mena Suvari, and Chris Cooper. They were all fantastic. Peter Gallagher and Allison Janney also had nice roles among a solid supporting cast.

Hilarious comedy from Mike Judge that nearly tops my list for 1999 since the material hits so close to home (work, actually). Fantastic story about a man who hates his mundane, routine and boring software engineering office job. When he sees a hypnotherapist to help him with his job issues, he enters into an inspired care-free attitude towards life, and soon convinces his 2 coworkers and best friends to take revenge against the company, which is downsizing and firing employees, by embezzling money from the company using a complex computer program. One of the funniest movies ever made. Ron Livingston, Jennifer Aniston, David Herman, and Ajay Naidu all deliver fantastic lead performances. Diedrich Bader, Stephen Root, Gary Cole, Richard Riehle, John C. McGinley, and Paul Willson all have small, but extremely memorable and funny roles, among many others in the supporting cast. Classic comedy.

Excellent fantasy-driven crime drama from Stephen King and Frank Darabont set in the 1930s about the lives of guards and prisoners on death row, which they nicknamed "The Green Mile". When a gigantic black man accused of raping and murdering two young girls arrives, they discover he has a mysterious gift that forever changes their lives. Perfectly written, shot, acted, and scored. At 3 overs long, you'd think there would be some parts that could have been cut or shortened, but that it sin't the case. The whole film is excellent from front to back. Tom Hanks and Michael Clarke Duncan both delivered superb lead performances. Arguably the best of both their careers. David Morse, Barry Pepper, Sam Rockwell, Bonnie Hunt, James Cromwell, Michael Jeter, Graham Greene, Doug Hutchison, Jeffrey DeMunn, Patricia Clarkson, Harry Dean Stanton, and more had excellent supporting roles.

Fantastic and mind-bending drama from David Fincher about a simple office worker with severe insomnia, who starts going to cancer support groups when he finds sharing his "fake" pain with others helps him sleep. When he meets a similar woman named Marla at these meetings, and a mysterious soap maker/salesman named Tyler on an airplane, his life takes a drastic turn as they they start an underground "Fight Club" in the basement of a bar, move into an abandoned/dilapidated house, and recruit men to join in on cult-like missions when "Fight Club" grows into "Project Mayhem". And this is all happening while the man is suffering from severe amnesia. Crazy story, plot and ending. This is one of the more unusual and unique films that's taken me multiple viewings to fully appreciate over the years. Brad Pitt and Edward Norton are awesome together. They both delivered arguably their best performances of all time. Helena Bonham Carter and Meat Loaf also have great roles among a solid supporting cast.

Superb sports drama from Norman Jewison on the life of boxing great Rubin "Hurricane" Carter—Following his troubled home life, wrongly being convicted of assault at age 11 and going to prison, his brief time in the Army, reaching fame as a boxer, being wrongly imprisoned for triple homicide, spending hopeless years in prison, to finally meeting a family who is willing to fight for his innocence. I absolutely loved this film, and I'd have to say it's my favorite performance from Denzel Washington. Vicellous Shannon was also superb as Lesra. His interactions with Denzel were very emotional and greatly done. Dan Hedaya, Deborah Kara Unger, Liev Schreiber, John Hannah, Debbi Morgan, Clancy Brown (playing a much nicer prison guard than his does in Shawshank Redemption), and Rod Steiger all have great roles among an excellent supporting cast.

Fantastic biopic from Michael Mann about a research chemist named Jeff Wigand who blows the whistle on "Big Tobacco" in a 60 Minutes exposé after his life and career comes under attack by Brown & Williamson—the giant tobacco corporation he's employed by. Russell Crowe gives one his best performances I've seen yet, and Al Pacino is also in top form. They both had great interactions together. Christopher Plummer, Diane Venora, Philip Baker Hall, Lindsay Crouse, Debi Mazar, Stephen Tobolowsky, and many others had excellent roles among a great supporting cast.

Epic drama from Paul Thomas Anderson set in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, and spanning 24 hours, following 2 correlating stories, bizarre coincidences, and the search for meaning, love, and acceptance. While the film jumps around from different scenes of each story, it's surprisingly well constructed and easy to follow. They got some superb performances out of the star-studded cast. Everyone involved looks to be at the top of their game. Jeremy Blackman, Tom Cruise, Philip Baker Hall, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ricky Jay, William H. Macy, Julianna Moore, John C. Reilly, Melora Walters, Jason Robards, Melinda Dillon, Alfred Molina, and others had excellent roles.

Hilarious comedy based on the TV series by Trey Parker and Matt Stone that delivers exactly what the name suggests. It's simply a bigger, longer, uncut version of a classic South Park episode. Great story which follows Stan, Eric, Kenny, Kyle and his stepbrother Ike, as they go see an R-rated Canadian film "Terrance & Phillip: Asses of Fire". When they all start swearing because Terrance & Phillip did it, their parents blame Canada, and pressure the United States government to go to war with Canada. I remember this movie being a big deal BEFORE Comedy Central started allowing South Park to use swear words on the TV show. It broke new ground for fans. Trey Parker, Matt Stone, Mary Kay Bergman, and Isaac Hayes all have great voice performances, among many others.

Excellent coming-of-age drama from Lasse Hallström set in an orphanage in the secluded land of St. Cloud, Maine, 1943. The story follows the life of Homer Wells, who was adopted and returned twice, and never adopted again. The dedicated and caring Dr. Wilbur Larch takes him under his wing as if he were his son, and teaches him everything he knows about the medical profession. Homer seems happy and content with his life, but once he becomes a young man, he becomes restless and decides to leave and discover the outside world. Thanks to patient named Candy and her husband Wally who visited the orphanage, he's able to get a ride out of town and job working on Wally's family apple orchard. Once Wally leaves to fight in World War II, Homer starts an unexpected relationship with Candy and also runs into considerable drama concerning the team of apple-pickers he works with. Great story all around with excellent dialogue and a fantastic cast. Tobey Maguire and Michael Caine both delivered fantastic lead performances. Charlize Theron and Delroy Lindo also had excellent starring roles. Kathy Baker, Paul Rudd, Erykah Badu, Heavy D, K. Todd Freeman, Kieran Culkin, Jane Alexander, J.K. Simmons, and many others also had great supporting roles.

Excellent crime drama set in the 1950s, and follows a young and eccentric compulsive liar named Tom Ripley who has exceptional talents when it comes to forgery and impersonations. He ends up meeting a Princeton graduate who broke his hand, who convinces him to take a gig playing piano for him. While wearing the man's Princeton jacket, he hits it off with an old rich couple, and the man subsequently offers him $1,000 to travel to Italy to convince his estranged playboy son Dickie to move back to New York. Tom accepts, and ends up meeting and attaching himself to Dickie and his girlfriend as they become great friends. Tom harbors homosexual fantasies about Dickie, and when their relationship starts faltering, his psychotic side comes out in extreme ways. Matt Damon delivered one of his all-time best lead performances. The same could be said for Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow's great roles. Cate Blanchett, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jack Davenport, James Rebhorn, Sergio Rubini, Philip Baker Hall, and many others had excellent supporting roles.

Great family biopic on the life of high school student Homer Hickam, who takes up experimentation with rocketry after being inspired by first Sputnik launch, along with some friends, and a special teacher who supports their endeavors. However, Homer's Dad feels they're wasting their time, and wants him to be a local coal miner like him. Jake Gyllenhaal was excellent in his big breakthrough role. Chris Cooper played the perfect cynical coal-mining father. Laura Dern, Chris Owen, Natalie Canerday, William Lee Scott, Chad Lindberg, and many others had great roles among a solid supporting cast.

Thrilling and mysterious drama from M. Night Shyamalan. After a distinguished child psychologist has a horrifying experience with an ex-patient he previously failed, he takes on a similar case involving an introverted young boy who "sees dead people". And many mysterious and unsettling things unravel in the process. Bruce Willis and Haley Joel Osment are excellent together, and both deliver great lead performances. Toni Collette, Olivia Williams, Trevor Morgan, and Donnie Wahlberg all had nice roles among a solid supporting cast.

Excellent action-packed thriller about two Irish Catholic twin brothers who become vigilantes in their hometown of Boston when their faith inspires them to clean-up the crime and gangsters destroying their community, Meanwhile, an FBI agents tracks their movements and considers joining them in their mission as they become heroes to the public. Sean Patrick Flanery, Norman Reedus, and Willem Dafoe, all deliver excellent lead performances among a solid supporting cast.

Excellent crime drama about a peaceful and disciplined Mafia hit-man who leads his life by the way of the samurai, and has a special kinship and way of communication with pigeons. When he's double-crossed by the mob family he works for, a spectacular revenge tale forms as he puts his deadly skills to work against the mob family's top assassins who will stop at nothing to take him down. Forest Whitaker delivered a superb lead performance. One of his finest. John Tormey, Cliff Gorman, Tricia Vessey, Henry Silva, Isaach De Bankolé, and Camille Winbush all had very nice roles among the supporting cast.

Excellent drama/thriller set in a the southeastern islands in Alaska, and follows a fisherman with a troubled past who starts dating a beautiful lounge singer with an extremely depressed teenage daughter who he also works catering jobs with. His half-brother shows up in town asking him for help running his boat to a remote area to make a business deal. He accepts and asks his girlfriend and her daughter to join. When they reach the isolated location, his half-brother is killed due to some dishonest drug dealings, and they flee from the murderers into the wilderness as they spend weeks surviving, waiting for rescue or the killers to find them, and also gaining a greater respect and knowledge of each other. David Strathairn is one of the most underrated actors around, and it was great to see him give such a strong lead performance. The same could be said about the underrated Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, who also has some great singing among her great acting. Vanessa Martinez was also great among the lead cast. Kris Kristofferson and Leo Burmester were also great among the supporting cast.

Thrilling professional football drama that's centered around a determined unknown third-string quarterback and his hard road to success, after taking the place of legendary quarterback Cap Rooney after a disastrous injury. It also goes behind-the-scenes, giving a somewhat dark and menacing look at the athletes and background players that run the organization. Superb cinematography, editing, and a fly electronica/alternative soundtrack. While it is very long, I found it to be entertaining throughout and worth the time. Nice work from Oliver Stone all around. Al Pacino put on one of his finest performances. Jamie Foxx, Cameron Diaz, Dennis Quaid, James Woods, LL Cool J, Matthew Modine, Jim Brown, and Lawrence Taylor all had nice supporting roles, among many others.

Hilarious comedy that's centered around a simple high school teacher who's life gets turned upside down when he becomes obsessed with a beautiful, over-achieving, and manipulative student, along with mounting relationship issues when he gets tired of his marriage; which leads him to make a disastrous career/life decision. Matthew Broderick and Reese Witherspoon both delivered great lead performances. Chris Klein, Jessica Campbell, Mark Harelik, Phil Reeves, Molly Hagan, Delaney Driscoll, Colleen Camp, Frankie Ingrassia, and others had nice roles among a solid supporting cast.

Heavy and dramatic biopic based on writer Susanna Kaysen's account of her 18-month stay at an all-girls mental hospital in the late 1960s, after she nearly killed herself with a mixture of alcohol and aspirin, and was subsequently diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. She meets plenty of interesting and thought-provoking patients along her journey to recovery. Both Winona Ryder's performance and Angelina Jolie's Oscar-winning role made for great lead characters. Arguably the best of both of their careers. Clea DuVall, Brittany Murphy, Elisabeth Moss, Angela Bettis, and Whoopi Goldberg all had nice roles among an excellent supporting cast.

Excellent crime drama/thriller from Martin Scorsese set in the late night hours of a gritty and crime-infested Manhattan. The story follows an ambulance paramedic named Frank Pierce who's suffering from insomnia and extreme anxiety stemming from the intensity of his work. It becomes so bad that he starts seeing ghosts of patients and victims he's failed to save in the past, which drives him to drink alcohol and take other drastic measures to curb the hallucinations. While he's plagued working with the same types of folks the has fueled his stress, he finds some peace in an ex-junkie named Mary, who's father ended up in cardiac arrest on one of Frank's calls. Underrated flick from Scorsese, and Nicolas Cage delivered one of his finest lead performances. Patricia Arquette, John Goodman, Ving Rhames, Tom Sizemore, Marc Anthony, Mary Beth Hurt, Cliff Curtis, and others also had great supporting roles.

Nice comedy drama from Kevin Smith about two evil angels trying to find a loophole to get back into heaven after betraying God's trust, and the woman who is called upon by Metatron (the voice of God) to stop them from reentering heaven. Unique and clever story with great dialogue as usual from Kevin Smith. One of his better movies. Linda Fiorentino, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Alan Rickman, Chris Rock, Salma Hayek, Jason Mewes, Kevin Smith, Jason Lee, George Carlin, Janeane Garofalo, and others had great roles among the supporting cast.

Underrated crime drama/mystery from Clint Eastwood that follows an elderly California-based journalist named Steve Everett. He works for the Oakland Tribune and is a fun-loving womanizing recovering alcoholic. His boss tasks him to write a human interest sidebar on a convicted murderer named Frank Beechum who is supposed to be put to death by lethal injection at midnight, after 6 years in prison. Steve has a famous nose for sniffing out discrepancies in similar cases, and he immediately finds plenty of information that makes him believe Frank is innocent of the murder he was convicted of. Now it's up to Steve to collect enough evidence before the clock strikes midnight, so he can save Franks life, his job, and his professional dignity. Excellent story all around and a nice twist on a classic crime drama. The dialogue and casting was great all around. Clint Eastwood delivers one of his finest later day lead performances. Isaiah Washington also had an excellent starring role. James Woods, Denis Leary, Bernard Hill, LisaGay Hamilton, Diane Venora, Michael McKean, Michael Jeter, Mary McCormack, Hattie Winston, Frances Fisher, and others also had great supporting roles.

Excellent music drama and biography from Wes Craven that follows the life and career of violinist, music educator, and mother of two sons, Roberta Guaspari. The story starts in 1981 New York City, with Roberta struggling with after a messy divorce. With help from her old friend Brian, she relocates to the poor area of East Harlem to become a violin teacher at Central Park East School. While there are plenty of challenges that lie ahead, Roberta is determined to win these kids over and live a happy life again. After 10 years, the program is a complete success, and is greatly supported by the community. But trouble comes in to play when the New York City Board of Education decides to axe the program due to money reasons, which fuels a battle to help reinstate the program. Meryl Streep delivers another fantastic lead performance, and holds the whole story together beautifully. Angela Bassett, Aidan Quinn, Cloris Leachman, and Jay O. Sanders also had great starring roles. Henry Dinhofer, Michael Angarano, Charlie Hofheimer, Kieran Culkin, Gloria Estefan, and many others had great supporting roles.

Great crime drama/mystery from Phillip Noyce that follows a first-class forensics expert named Lincoln Rhyme who's left a quadriplegic after nearly being killed on the job. He subsequently makes plans to be put to death peacefully before a seizure sends him into an unrecoverable vegetative state. Just as he's ready to give up, a case comes up involving a serial killer who picks up random couples up in a taxi and murders them in horrific ways. The case invigorates his mind as he works the case with the entire police department from his bed at home. But it's the young and inexperienced officer Amelia Donaghy who catches Lincoln's eye as the best forensics worker currently on the case, and diligently works with her to crack the mystery. Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie both delivered excellent lead performances. Ed O'Neill, Queen Latifah, Michael Rooker, Michael McGlone, Luis Guzmán, Leland Orser, and others also had great supporting roles.

Underrated and powerful drama that follows a working-class elementary school nurse named Alice who loves her husband and kids despite normal everyday struggles. Her best friend Theresa often visits with her husband and two kids, until one day a tragic incident occurs with Theresa's daughter on Alice's property. That sends Alice to the brink of a nervous breakdown when she is then accused of abusing a young boy from school, who is frequently sick, has a rough home life, and a mother who has it out for her. The whole town turns against her and her family as they fight the charges in court. Sigourney Weaver, David Strathairn, and Julianne Moore all delivered excellent and complex lead performances. Aunjanue Ellis, Nicole Ari Parker, Bruklin Harris, Ron Lea, Chloë Sevigny, Dara Perlmutter, Kayla Perlmutter, and others had great supporting roles.

Excellent drama that follows the life of a 91-year-old carpenter who helped build most of the small Georgia town where he lives. He is loved by all the locals, and is rightly considered a hometown hero to many. He's managed to stay young all these years by finding great joy in his work and helping others. One day his entire existence is threatened when a large corporation tries to force him off his land to build a shopping mall—having him declared incompetent. Noah makes friends with the construction developer's psychologist girlfriend, and she decides to help him anyway she can after being inspired by his simple life and adoring personality. Excellent film all around, and Sidney Poitier's greatest later day performance. He was very sharp at age 71. Mary-Louise Parker, Dianne Wiest, George Newbern, Bernie Casey, Frances Bay, and many others had great supporting roles.

Great revenge crime drama about an ex-marine who's been double-crossed and shot in the back by his partner and junkie wife after stealing a large sum of money from a Chinese gang. After barely surviving, he returns a year and half later to collect his share of the money and get some serious "payback". Mel Gibson delivers a great lead performance all around. Gregg Henry, Maria Bello, David Paymer, Lucy Liu, Bill Duke, Deborah Kara Unger, William Devane, Kris Kristofferson, and many others had great roles among a solid supporting cast.

Underrated drama from Joseph Sargent set in 1940s Louisiana and follows an impoverished black man named Jefferson who's wrongly accused of killing a white store owner, and is sentenced to death. The defending attorney tries to get him off the charges by arguing that he's no better than a lowly hog, and he would have never had the intelligence to mastermind such a crime. Jefferson takes the man's words to heart, and slips into a deep depression while awaiting his time in the electric chair. His godmother desperately wants him to be able to live out his final days by feeling like a real man, and asks an educated black teacher named Grant Wiggins to visit him and teach him that he isn't a filthy hog, and that he still has time to inspire the ones he loves. Don Cheadle and Mekhi Phifer both deliver excellent lead performances. Irma P. Hall, Cicely Tyson, Lisa Arrindell, Dana Ivey, Frank Hoyt Taylor, and others also had great supporting roles.

Excellent sequel to the classic original from 1995. When Woody accidentally gets mixed up with a bunch of other items in a yard sale, he's stolen by a greedy and crooked toy collector, which completes his collection of the "Woody's Roundup" TV show toy collection. It's up to Buzz and the gang to save him before the collector sells them for big money to a toy museum in Tokyo, Japan. Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Don Rickles, Jim Varney, Wallace Shawn, John Ratzenberger, Annie Potts, and the rest of regular gang were all great as usual. Joan Cusack (Jessie), Kelsey Grammer (The Prospector), and Wayne Knight (Al McWhiggin), all had great new lead characters, among a solid supporting cast.

Very nice crime drama/mystery about a woman who's been framed for her husband's murder and is sentenced to prison after being considered the prime suspect. After making a random phone call from prison, she learns she's been betrayed by her husband, who is actually still alive. She gets released from prison 6 years later, and learns she can never be tried for the murder of her husband a second time under the "Double Jeopardy Clause", and is determined to plot her revenge and find her son. Ashley Judd and Tommy Lee Jones both deliver great lead performances. Bruce Greenwood, Annabeth Gish, Jay Brazeau, Michael Gaston, Roma Maffia, Benjamin Weir, and others had very nice supporting roles.

Superbly done action sci-fi thriller about a computer programmer and hacker (Neo) who's led to a grim underworld where he meets a rebel warrior named Morpheus and discovers shocking realities as they battle a group of secret agents. While the sci-fi genre and direction isn't a favorite of mine, the production, effects, and story really made it unique. Very entertaining and action-packed throughout. Keanu Reeves and Laurence Fishburne played great lead characters. Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, and Joe Pantoliano were great supporters.

Stanley Kubrick's final film is a bit mind-boggling. The story follows a Manhattan doctor who sets out for a night of sexual adventure after an eye-opening discussions with his wife about her sexual fantasies including other people. He learns about a location with bizarre and exclusive costume sex parties, and soon learns he's in grave danger. Visually stunning film as usual, and it has the signature strangeness you've come to expect from Stanley Kubrick. Tom Cruise and the gorgeous Nicole Kidman both delivered great lead performances. Sydney Pollack, Todd Field, Madison Eginton, Marie Richardson, Vinessa Shaw, and others had nice supporting roles.

Totally groovy sequel to the original story from 1997. After the events of the first film, Dr. Evil invents a time machine so he can travel back to 1969 and steal Austin's "mojo", which forces Austin and agent Felicity Shagwell to travel back to the same year and fight for his ability to "shag". Mike Myers (Fat Bastard was a great new character) and Heather Graham both deliver great lead performances. Verne Troyer was great as Mini-Me. Michael York, Robert Wagner, Rob Lowe, Seth Green, Mindy Sterling, Elizabeth Hurley, and many others had very nice supporting roles.