189. Toy Story 2 (1999)

-Look Jessie, I know you hate me for leaving, but I have to go back. I'm still Andy's toy. Well, if you knew him, you'd understand. See, Andy's...
-Let me guess. Andy's a real special kid, and to him, you're his buddy, his best friend, and when Andy plays with you it's like... even though you're not moving, you feel like you're alive, because that's how he sees you.
-How did you know that?
-Because Emily was just the same. She was my whole world.

If there is one thing that Abigail has taught me it is that good movies have no age range. A child may not have the intelligence necessary to appreciate a movie targeted to adults, but the reverse is certainly not true. A good movie targeted to children can be enjoyed by everyone. It is a cop-out when someone says things like "that movie was pretty good for a kid's movie". Pixar refused to buy into the idea that animated movies targeted to children needed to be dumbed down, sugar-coated, or simplified. The studio had honed its craft with the original "Toy Story" and "A Bug's Life", but really cut loose with this one. The action, drama, and even a little romance in this movie stack up against the best live-action serious "Oscar-bait" movies around. If you don't laugh when Woody is riding Buster and tells him to "walk casual"; If you don't cry when Jessie tells her story of her long lost owner; and if you don't cheer when Woody and Jessie swing down onto Bullseye by Woody's pullstring with Buzz at the reins.... Then you just don't like movies...

Obligatory Oscar rant: Phil Collin's "You'll Be in My Heart" from "Tarzan" won best song over Randy Newman's song written for Sarah McLachlan, "When She Loved Me"... This is a travesty... I still get upset about this... I'm gonna go watch this scene and cry now...

188. But I'm a Cheerleader (1999)

-I'm not supposed to like you.
-But?
-I wanna do that again.

This movie was probably about five years ahead of its time. A young girl is sent away to "straight camp" because her parents suspect that she is a lesbian. This, of course, backfires and she ends up learning more about herself than she ever would have in her straightlaced home. RuPaul (out of drag) shines as one of the "ex-gay" camp counselors.

187. Go (1999)

If you were any less black, you'd be clear.

"Go" is "Pulp Fiction" for teenagers. A cool, raunchy tale of drugs debauchery accompanied by awesome music and told from a few different perspectives. It's kinda been forgotten over the years, so thank me when you check it out (or rediscover it).

186. The Hurricane (1999)

Hate put me in prison. Love's gonna bust me out.

I try to avoid hyperbole in this blog, but I wouldn't be saying that if I wasn't about to drop a huge bomb of hyperbole all over the place. Here goes: Denzel Washington's performance as Rubin "Hurricane" Carter is the best performance by an actor in a movie... ever... Others have portrayed historical figures and others have portrayed people as they have aged through their entire lives, but none with the honesty and intensity that Washington brings to this role. This is a wonderful story, but the performance of the title role bumps it from average to extraordinary.

As I've said before, I get really worked up over the Academy Awards. I will never forgive Kevin Spacey for stealing Denzel's Oscar. I know it wasn't his fault that more people voted for him, I know Denzel got his only a couple of years later (for a much less ground-breaking role in "Training Day" mind you), and I know that "American Beauty" was the movie of choice from 1999, but it just doesn't make it right...

185. Ride with the Devil (1999)

Don't think you are a good man. The thought will spoil you.

This is a criminally underseen movie from genius filmmaker Ang Lee. Tobey McGuire, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Skeet Ulrich, Jonathan Brandis (RIP), James Caviezel, and Jeffrey Wright head an amazing ensemble cast that tells the little-learned story of the western front of the Civil War. In U.S. History, we spent about fifteen minutes on Lawrence, Kansas, but this movie makes the story real. Lee uses one of my favorite "war movie" techniques by making the story extremely personal. At the same time the themes of racism, classism, and southern pride are easily captured through the eyes of very realistic fictional characters. One of the most important aspects of this movie is the dedication to authentic dress and language. The characters speak with a different rhythym that transports the viewer to the middle of the nineteenth century. This movie also contains the only acting role from singer/songwriter Jewel.

184. Tokyo Godfathers (2003)

Dreams do come true. I always dreamed of being the mother of a little girl. A nice, warm house, a pretty daughter. Even if my husband was no good... I would accept dire poverty as long as I had my child.

This is the story of Gin (a down-on-his-luck alcoholic), Hana (a cast aside drag queen who speaks the quote above), and Miyuki (a young girl who has run away from home). These three may not seem appropriate to serve as the base of a "Christmas" movie (and the movie certainly doesn't advertise itself as such), but the story offers up extremely honest and touching Christian ideals. The movie tells of the epic Christmas Eve adventure of the three troubled homeless souls and their discovery of an abandoned baby. They name the baby Kiyoko, which means pure child. Along the way they help begin to understand and show others the power of love, compassion, and family.

Unlike yesterday, I wouldn't really recommend this as a Christmas movie for everyone. Still, if you are open-minded, don't mind Japanese with English subtitles, and want to see one of the greatest anime movies of all time, check this out now. On a side note, this was one of only three movies written and directed by Satoshi Kon (a fourth is to be released in 2011). Although working as an animator all of his life, he was only recently discovering his role as writer and director. His other movies, "Millenium Actress" and "Paprika" showed an enormous amount of talent and promise. Satoshi Kon died this year of pancreatic cancer at the age of 46. The collective consciousness of our world today seems to be that everyone is going to live until they are 100 (or longer), but this is a complete lie. No one knows how long they have, so take advantage of every second. Hug your mama, tell your kids you love them, and, like Satoshi Kon, go make some beautiful art.

183. Millions (2004)

-What was your miracle?
-Don't you know? It was you.

So I'm going a little out of order today and tomorrow for a couple of completely unconventional Christmas movies. The first is my favorite movie from 2004. The film follows two young brothers who have just dealt with their mother's death discovering a bag filled with one million pounds (it's in Britain if you didn't guess). Their exploits with this money is what gives the film its plot, but the element of fantasy added by director Danny Boyle is what makes it absolutely amazing. The younger of the two brothers is constantly in contact with and obsessed with Saints (halo and all). These "visions" serve to guide and protect him as he struggles with the ethical implications of dealing with one million pounds that he believes came directly from God.

I know I've said this before (and I will surely say it again), but drop what you are doing and see this movie immediately. It is criminally underseen. Go ahead, put down the "Grown Ups" dvd, turn off the Lifetime network, (for goodness sake) forego this years veiwing of "A Christmas Story", and watch this movie!