196. Fight Club (1999)

Man, I see in fight club the strongest and smartest men who've ever lived. I see all this potential, and I see squandering. #*$ $(#@ it, an entire generation pumping gas, waiting tables; slaves with white collars. Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy $*%^ we don't need. We're the middle children of history, man. No purpose or place. We have no Great War. No Great Depression. Our Great War's a spiritual war... our Great Depression is our lives. We've all been raised on television to believe that one day we'd all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars. But we won't. And we're slowly learning that fact. And we're very, very pissed off.

The quote above perfectly sums up why I love this movie. I can't think of another movie that so perfectly combines the elements of an action movie, with a mind-bending thriller, with a social commentary that seems to get more relevant in every day of our advertising dominated, me-first world. Edward Norton and Brad Pitt are absolutely flawless as they set out on a journey that ultimately creates a militia of witty anarchists. David Fincher's directing style also fits this movie perfectly as the viewer feels the Narrator's decent into madness (or lucidity depending on your perspective).

I won't spoil the "twist" for you, but let me just say that if someone has, don't worry about it. The movie is just as enjoyable (and maybe even a little more interesting) if you know about it before your first viewing.

195. The Green Mile (1999)

-What did you just do to me?
-I helped it. Didn't I help it? I just took it back, is all. Awful tired now, boss. Dog tired.

When I wrote my blog entry for "The Shawshank Redemption", I noted that it is probably the consensus choice for best movie of all time among average Americans. I contend that not only is it not the best movie of all time, it is not even the best movie directed by Frank Darabont. Heck, it's not even the best movie of all time about a prison directed by Frank Darabont. That, my friends, would be "The Green Mile". This is another movie that I am astounded doesn't get more attention only a little more than ten years after its release. It stars America's favorite actor (Tom Hanks), tells an extremely moving story, and is never boring despite its lengthy runtime.

194. The Iron Giant (1999)

-It's bad to kill. Guns kill. And you don't have to be a gun. You are what you choose to be. You choose. Choose.
-Superman.

The best "non-Pixar" animated movie of all time (by leaps and bounds too!). Whoever owned Warner Brothers Animation in 1999 was a complete idiot for this movie to bomb the way it did. I honestly didn't even hear about it until a couple of years later when it was showing up regularly on the Cartoon Network. No matter how hard or serious you act in your daily life every man has a little boy inside of them that wants nothing more than to befriend a giant alien robot. This movie wakes that little boy up and takes him for a ride. It starts off a little slow with normal little kid hijinks (like bringing a squirrel to his mom's work as a pet), but begins to fly as Hogarth Hughes discovers his really big secret. It just keeps getting more exciting until culminating in such an exhilirating and emotional climax that it puts most movies made for grown-ups to shame. I know I have said it before, but I cannot stress enough how much you need to see this movie immediately, but don't thank me, thank Brad Bird (the movie's writer and director who just happens to work now for.... you guessed it: Pixar).

193. Magnolia (1999)

I can't let this go. I can't let you go. Now, you... you listen to me now. You're a good person. You're a good and beautiful person and I won't let you walk out on me. And I won't let you say those things - those things about how stupid you are and this and that. I won't stand for that. You want to be with me... then you be with me. You see?

Paul Thomas Anderson is one of my favorite directors. This is his masterpiece. One of the greatest epic character studies of all time, the film revolves around a single day in the lives of a handful of people dealing with death, addiction, loss, heartbreak, anxiety, and love. The movie clocks in at a whopping three hours and eight minutes, but I have never gotten bored in the five or six times I have watched it. The combination of a tight, interesting screenplay, a quirky plot that takes twists and turns that cannot be anticipated, and amazing performances from Julianne Moore, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Tom Cruise, William H. Macy, and John C. Reilly makes for one of my favorite movies of all time.

PS: Steven, you have my copy of this DVD, hit me up when you get a chance...

192. The Matrix (1999)

What is "real"? How do you define "real"?

Simply put, this film will go down as "The Godfather" for nerds. That's not to say that others can't enjoy it, but this was really the first time that an action hero was chosen for his hacking abilities instead of his brawn. I remember seeing this movie for the first time with Brian and wanting to fly off into the sunset with Neo. We immediately went to Target and bought the soundtrack and proceeded to burn up the backroads between Greenville and Ayden with both windows down in the Firebird. I don't think a movie has ever pumped me up more than this one. If you need a reminder why, here it is (probably not a good idea to watch this if you still need to watch the movie):

191. SLC Punk (1999)

I rest my case on this: In a country of lost souls rebellion comes hard. But in a religiously oppressive city, where half it's population isn't even of that religion, it comes like fire.

Just for the record SLC stands for Salt Lake City. That's right, this movie is about a group of anarchist punk rockers in the most religious and self-righteous city in the country in 1985. That should be enough right there to get you to watch this movie. If it's not, then you probably wouldn't like the movie anyway poser!

190. The Phantom Menace (1999)

There was no father. I carried him, I gave birth, I raised him. I can't explain what happened.

The most anticipated movie of all time. I was in 6th grade when I first heard they were planning on doing prequels (thanks, Mrs. Wilson!). Six years later, Star Wars would return to the big screen. I watched and rewatched the original trilogy, played Star Wars Trivial Pursuit by myself, and discussed the movies at length with my friends all in preparation for the big night. One problem presented itself: people were going to line up overnight to get tickets for the midnight release. For the most part, this was unheard of at the time. I was able to talk my parents into letting me see the movie at midnight, but there was no way I would get to camp out the previous night AND stay out until three on the night of the movie. With this in mind, my new girlfriend, Angie, stepped up to bat. She was a junior at ECU at the time and lived on her own. Her condo was right around the corner from the theater and she promised to get tickets for me (and my friends). As soon as I got out of school, I drove to Greenville to meet up with Angie to find out the status of the tickets (this was also before cell phones became uniquitous). She had just gotten off from working a few hours at Ryan's steakhouse, and she approached me with a defeated look on her face. My heart sunk... Then in classic Angie fashion, she whipped the tickets out and got a good laugh at my expense. I was overwhelmed (and it was probably at that moment that I decided that I would marry this woman!). We went to Pizza Hut to eat that night because they were giving away Star Wars toys, and showed up at the movie theater around 8:30 to ensure the best possible seats for the midnight movie. Keep in mind that none of us had cell phones to play with, so we spent the time actually talking to one another and seeing who could guess what would come up next on the "Screenvision" powerpoint.

As for the movie, it is Star Wars. That being said, I absolutely loved it. There is a pretty large movement that contends the prequels are at best foolish and at worst heretical insults to the original trilogy. I have this to say to these people: Star Wars didn't change, you did. Most fans saw the original trilogy as children. If you view the movies as an adult, you will simply not have as much fun. That is not to say that it is impossible to enjoy the movies as a person over 14, but you have to put yourself in a different mindset. These movies are not going to win Oscars, they are going to make you say "WOW". If you did not like "The Phantom Menace", I only have three things to say: Podrace, Double-Bladed lightsaber, and the Obi-Wan/Qui-Gon/Darth Maul final duel. If you can't appreciate those things, you just don't like Star Wars.