Every year I like to make my own list, as all the real movie critics do, of what I consider to be the best movies of the year. (In previous years I picked my four favorites but last year buckled down and went with the ten best like everyone else did.) Some years the movies just jump out at you, as they did in 1999 with the wide variety of really fabulous films that came out then. (If you want to read a rundown of my picks for that year and other years past, just scroll down to the bottom of the page.)
This year though was a little more difficult, as the movie fare that was released in 2000 was, to be honest, not all that good. For the most part the films that populate most other critics’ best of the year lists are really only good films, not great ones, and I think most critics would tell you the same thing. So, to be completely honest with you, had the year been better, some of these films might not have ended up here on my list.
But then again there are also quite a few films I didn’t get a chance to see that might have ended up here had I been able to, including Dancer in the Dark, Requiem for a Dream, State and Main, Tao of Steve, and Shadow of the Vampire. So this list might be revised by the time you check back here next year. But here it is now, as it stands.(And if I have a review of any of these movies on my site, click the name and you should go directly to it to read my comments in full.)
This movie accurately shows what it would really be like to have super-powers, and I think it does the comic book world a real service in making the hero of the film’s choices seem natural and not cartoonish (although the villain might do the comic world a disservice). A tad long and slow to develop, but still a great movie.
9—The Virgin Suicides
Sofia Coppola’s feature film debut shows that her talent is just as promising as her father’s once was. An interesting analysis of the mind of teenage girls, as deciphered by the young boys who idolize them. Bet you can’t guess how the movie ends! (That’s a joke; read the title again.)
8—American Psycho
Christian Bale’s performance as the ultimate sociopath is flawless, and downright chills you to the bone. It leaves you questioning whether any of what you’ve seen was real or not, and I like that in a movie. (I think I personally like the movie better if it’s all just a fantasy and in real life he is too impotent to act on his urges, but that’s just me.)
A disturbing look into how much it would suck to be psychic (which Cate Blanchett portrays brilliantly). It’s a truly engaging mystery that keeps you guessing up until the end, and it also might possibly be the best scary movie of 2000. (Plus, it’s the first of two movies on my list to star Katie Holmes!)
6—Waking the Dead
This movie makes you long for lost loves, even if you don’t have any. It makes you long even more for the kind of noble politician Billy Crudup plays. Another one that leaves you with questions in the end: was she a ghost, was it all in his head, … or was she real? Keith Gordon, director of this film, also directed another of my favorites, Mother Night.
Hilarious. John Cusack has never been better in this movie about a record store owner and his lost loves. I can’t tell which I like better: the insights he gives us into his character’s love life or the in-jokes about music that often come at the expense of Todd Louiso and Jack Black.
4—Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Action and romance mix together with powerful results in this film. Michelle Yeoh is brilliant and Chow Yun-Fat, as always, is damn cool. Ang Lee is the only person who can give Steven Soderbergh a true run for his money in the Oscar race for Best Director (see below).
3—Traffic
Great acting all around in this movie with a message. Soderbergh makes it look easy the way he seamlessly blends these three different storylines, and the different hues for each story were a nice touch. Soderbergh is fast becoming one of my favorite directors.
2—Wonder Boys
Sly wit has rarely been seen in an American cinema dominated by the Farrelly brothers, but this one’s got it out the wazoo. Michael Douglas is way better in this than he is in Traffic, and the ensemble cast (including my perpetual favorites Tobey Maguire and, of course, Katie Holmes) rises to his level on all counts. Beats Finding Forrester any day.
Heartwarming to the point of making my eyes well up in certain points, while having me rolling on the floor laughing in other scenes. The clichéd statement “the feel-good movie of the year” does not do this powerful film justice. See it again and again and again.
For 1999:
1—American Beauty
2—Being John Malkovich
3—Magnolia
4—Sleepy Hollow
5—Three Kings
6—Fight Club
7—The Limey
8—The Talented Mr. Ripley
9—The Cider House Rules
10—Eyes Wide Shut
11-The Sixth Sense (see how good 1999 was? 11 films were the ten best!)
For 1998:
1—Dark City
2—Pleasantville
3—The Truman Show
4—Saving Private Ryan
For 1997:
1—Boogie Nights
2—The Ice Storm
3—As Good As It Gets
4—The Sweet Hereafter
