Windy Merrill's Top Ten Films of 1999

• American Beauty
• Fight Club
• Go
• Being John Malkovich
• Three Kings
• Fantasia 2000
• Boys Don't Cry
• The Limey
• Run Lola Run
• The Red Violin
• Mansfield Park
• The Talented Mr. Ripley
• The Insider
• Topsy-Turvy

all of which, I am sure, would have a good chance of being in my Top 10. But since I haven't seen them, they are out of luck. Considering how many good-buzz movies I missed this year, I am shocked and pleased that it still took work to whittle down to only 10 movies.

My Top 10 from Movies That I Managed to See this Year:

1. The Sixth Sense
   My criteria for placement was how completely engrossed and un-self-aware I was during the movie, how buzzed I was at the end of the movie, and how long that buzz lasted after the movie. I still get a sense of awe when I even think about "The Sixth Sense". Not because of the "surprise ending" but because of how much honesty, pain, and empathy one little boy could show. I get tears in my eyes when I even think about the scene near the end between him and his mom in the car. THAT is a movie with staying power.
   
   
2. The Iron Giant
   Better writing, characterization and development than most any live-action film I've seen in years. I was 6 years old again and I loved it.
   
   
3. The Matrix
   What a year it was when a film that blew me away like the Matrix did is only #3 on my list! Yeah, the special affects. Yeah, the action sequences. Yeah, the amazing and stunning Trinity. But boy oh boy - the story! And the bad guy!! Yippee!
   
   
4. Magnolia
   A film that slowly drew me in so that by the end I was absolutely fascinated with these very real, very small characters. Like a good meal at a fine steakhouse, a movie to chew on and chew on and be completely satisfied by. I saw it a MONTH before any of my friends did and could still talk for hours about it.
   
   
5. Galaxy Quest
   Finally - a smart comedy! And it's not South Park or the Simpsons! The reason this ended up before Toy Story 2 is QUOTABILITY. Toy Story 2 is also imminently quotable, but the Galaxy Quest quotes run much closer to home. It is refreshing to see a sub-culture embraced with such honesty and affection. Geeks are slowly taking over the world!!
   
   
6. Toy Story 2
   They did the impossible. It was better than the first one.
   
   
7. Arlington Road
   If you follow my criteria above, this movie being #7 makes perfect sense. The buzz on this one lasted quite a while after the movie ended. Not a good buzz. A very uncomfortable buzz. A very uncomfortable movie. Tim Robbins and Kevin Spacey stun me in their ability to be such warm, human, heart-breaking characters in one film. And then be the embodiment of evil in the next - evil because they seem so reasonable.
   
   
8. Princess Mononoke
   Thank you, Neil Gaiman, for a wonderful English adaptation. Since I'm not going to see sub-titles for who-knows-how-long, it was reassuring to walk in knowing that a writer I trusted and who respected the genre had handled the story. More importantly, what a grand, epic story to tell.
   
   
9. The Green Mile
   So much has been said about this movie, I have no need to justify it's placement in my top 10.
   
   
10. Mystery Men
    A very flawed film, but one that I still found uplifting. It lands in my top 10 largely due to William H. Macy and Janeane Garofalo. "I shovel. I shovel well."
    
    

Runner up: Lake Placid - the best bad giant crocodile movie ever made!

So from the above - actors who get special bonus points for being in TWO of my top 10 movies:

William H. Macy - Magnolia, Mystery Men

Tom Hanks - Toy Story 2, The Green Mile

Tim Allen (?!?) - Toy Story 2, Galaxy Quest