1999

The Best Films Of The Year:

1. The Cider House Rules
2. Fight Club
3. October Sky
4. The Insider
5. Boys Don’t Cry
6. The Red Violin
7. Anywhere But Here
8. Man On The Moon
9. Three Kings
10. Payback

This year’s films had quite a varied subject matter. It made ranking them a bit difficult. I think I would rank "Anywhere But Here" highest on the personal connection factor, but all things considered, "The Cider House Rules" put all the elements together the best. Outstanding performances all around, and while Tobey Maguire and Michael Caine get most of the credit, Delroy Lindo’s performance was one of the best supporting roles in recent memory. Every film on the list has different elements that made them stand out enough to make the list. You’re missing out if you haven’t seen all ten.

The Worst Films Of The Year:

1. Baby Geniuses
2. Inspector Gadget
3. The Bachelor
4. Wild Wild West
5. Eyes Wide Shut

Who are the ad wizards who came up with "Baby Geniuses"? Nevermind that they made a sequel a few years later, this piece of crap isn’t worth the film it was shown on. "Inspector Gadget" can be summed up in three words: stupid, stupid, stupid. "The Bachelor" stars Chris O'Donnell and Renée Zellweger, and it’s helped into the gutter by Mariah Carey. "Wild Wild West" is another remake gone horribly wrong. I put "Eyes Wide Shut here", not necessarily because it was the 5th worst film, "Deuce Bigalow : Male Gigolo" and "The Out of Towners" deserve it more, but because it didn’t do anything. I spent hours in a theatre waiting for something to happen, only to watch the credits roll.

The Most Horrible Films That Are Fun To Watch:

1. Deep Blue Sea
2. Wing Commander
3. Varsity Blues
4. Idle Hands
5. Bats

Alright, alright, alright! This year had some fantastically bad films that I can watch over and over again. "Deep Blue Sea" features my favorite Samuel L. Jackson monologue. "Wing Commander" is all sorts of stupid, "Bats" has Lou Diamond Phillips, "Varsity Blues" reminds us how good Dawson is at quarterback, and "Idle Hands" is Jessica Alba’s finest role. She plays a dumb, hot teenager. She really shouldn’t try to do any more. It might give her an aneurysm .

The Most Underrated Films Of The Year:

Office Space
Galaxy Quest
SLC Punk!
The Castle
Go

There were lots of underrated films this year. "Office Space" is comic genius. For anyone who’s ever worked in a place with cubicles, you know how true this film is.

"Galaxy Quest" is one of those comedies that just put all the right things together. A great supporting cast helped keep Tim Allen from botching it.

"SLC Punk!" got some underground notice, but not much light in the mainstream. It’s just one of those films that captures the frustration of being a teenager.

"The Castle" is a truly hilarious Australian film that also has a ton of heart. I challenge people not to like this film. If you win, then I know you are not worth my time.

Last, there is "Go". I almost placed it in the top ten of the year. Director Doug Liman and screenwriter John August crafted one of the few films to use the multi-story technique well. Good performances all around, especially from Sarah Polley and William Fichtner, both of whom I consider some of the best actors in the film industry today.