1999's Top 10

For some reason, this spectacular film has gone unnoticed by a lot of people. As a director, Anthony Minghella has a keen visual sense - this is an extremely handsome looking movie, fully utilizing the beauty of its locations, sets and actors. The story itself is so engrossing and tense, and structurally the movie works very well to bring about the power of the nerve-jangling climax. Matt Damon is outstanding in the title role, playing his character as understated as needed without ever reaching the realm of detachment. He is surrounded by numerous other talented actors who are all at the top of their game, and the result is a potent piece that I enjoyed through and through.

This masterful finale to Kubrick's career is a great one - a beautifully crafted and chilling film full of passion and aggression. This is a remarkably strong piece directorially, but there are also fantastic performances by Cruise and Kidman to take into account. A unique masterpiece that gets better on every viewing. In terms of tone and pacing, I think this is the strongest piece from the director's career. It's haunting and eerily beautiful at the same time.

A complex film whose many textures radiate darkness, humor and honesty unlike anything I have ever seen. This is a moving, powerful piece of art whose importance is in the viewers' interpretations. What an incredible screenplay.

Absolutely incredible screenplay and some of the best film editing I have ever seen. An ingenious mixture of dark comedy and pessimistic philosophy, Fight Club offers a movie-viewing experience unlike any other. Fincher's ferocious, visionary direction is something to admire, as are the performances by Norton and Pitt.

This is an exercise in important, undeniably emotional filmmaking. Here, Paul Thomas Anderson does something truly great. He weaves an intricate, tragic and very real story about life itself, incorporating everything he knows into an epic of incomparable power. With this film, storytelling as an art is re-invented in some respects. There are no protagonists and antagonists. It is a gorgeous mosaic of pain, love and its many faces and the beauty of true enlightenment. The performances are unanimously phenomenal and Aimee Mann's music is as memorable as it is sorrowful. This is a flat-out masterpiece.

Not only is Cronenberg's sci-fi thriller entertaining on a superficial level, but it's mentally demanding and intelligently driven too. Dabbling in philosophy, grotesque visual effects and psychological terror, this picture had me submerged in its story at all times. It's expertly written and directed, clearly the work of a skilled filmmaker. The performances are great too, with Jude Law and Jennifer Jason Leigh headlining a cast of talented actors. This is a film I would enthusiastically recommend.

So underrated...this one is every bit as good as The Shawshank Redemption. Powerful, moving and compelling, The Green Mile is one of the very best Stephen King adaptations. This one will gain importance as time passes, and will probably be regarded as a classic someday.

This film gets better with every viewing. This is a sharp, intelligent drama that I would go so far as to call a masterpiece. Michael Mann is a director whose strength is in immersing the audience in the atmosphere of his films. This is a distinctly stylized movie that, in terms of cinematography, does fascinating things with focus and depth of field. Working with an articulate, multi-layered screenplay, Mann directs some of the finest actors around. Al Pacino delivers a brilliant performance, as always, and Russell Crowe is equally strong. Christopher Plummer is a pleasure to watch in a supporting role. This is one hell of a film. .

A spectacle of ambitious filmmaking, The Matrix is a milestone in visual effects and an incredibly captivating science fiction film.

Spacey and DeVito deliver calculated, engaging performances, and Peter Facinelli is convincing as well. This film deserves credit for the caliber of acting, and for the quality of the Mamet-esque writing. It veers into surprising territory towards the ending, with copious amounts of religious discussion and questioning. It takes a little while to warm up to, but it's an insightful and intelligent film worth seeing.