Most Annoying Performance Tie – GARY COLE – Office Space and DOUG HUTCHISON – The Green Mile Best Comedy Office Space Best Ensemble Cast Galaxy Quest – Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, Sam Rockwell, Fred Kwan, and Enrico Colantoni WTF did I just see? The Matrix Most overrated movie American Beauty Best juvenile performance Haley Joel Osment in The Sixth Sense Notes from awards committee: Again House Clark veered far away from the Academy choices, with The Sixth Sense being the single common nomination. Despite rejecting the Academy award winning movies, we feel that 1999 was an overall good year for film fans. The rooster in the hen house was without doubt our Best Picture winner, The Matrix. Action sequences in this sci-fi thriller were very much ahead of their time, and still impress when fired up on a Blu-ray disc. The sheer energy and the fluid, poetic quality of this sci-fi classic is hard to resist; it cleaned up at the box office and also was rewarded 4 technical Oscars. I also consider the skin-tight black leather jumpsuit on Carrie-Ann Moss did no harm at all to this film. The Matrix was made back in the day when the Wachowski brothers, Larry and Andy, had balls and put real energy into their films. Oddly they both sex changed into the ugly Wachowski sisters, Lily and Lana, and lost their modest gift for filmmaking. Ignore the Matrix sequels and watch the original. Man on the Moon is a film worth of seeing for the tour-de-force acting of underrated Jim Carrey. He delivers a truly inspired performance, and is awarded the Best Actor Simpson. The best actress goes to Julia Roberts for her perfect turn in the romantic-comedy Notting Hill, with the best line of the year: After all... I’m just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her.' Yeah, it might be corny, but there's something eternally charming the way she did it. Fun Surprises - Notting Hill - An unlikely couple played by Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts, with unequal social and economic standing, meet by chance in a bookstore and it is “love at first sight”. The film is really more of a fantasy than a true love story, but with all the eccentric characters, and awkward situatons it is LOL funny. This film was surprisingly good, and was the year’s best romantic comedy, in a low testosterone sort of way. This low budget comedy smashed its way into the exclusive $100 M box office club. Blast from the Past – Christopher Walken and Sissy Spacek make a charming screen couple in this screwball comedy set during the Cold War in a bomb shelter. What? Didn’t everybody have one? Arlington Road - Here we have a shining example of an entertaining, yet forgotten thriller of the 1990s. Domestic Terrorism is explored in the heartland of suburban America (pre-9/11), and proves once again that you don't have to be a conspiracy fanatic to get in touch with your inner paranoia. Top notch cast - Jeff Bridges, Tim Robbins, Joan Cusack, and Hope Davis are all playing roles that perfectly suit their respective talents. Galaxy Quest – I was expecting a Sci-Fi spoof, and got an affectionate, thoughtful, well-written and emotional movie with plenty of laughs. GQ also had the best cast of the year. Aimee & Jaguar - is a one-of-a-kind film based on a true story, and the best foreign film in years. First of all, try finding a movie set in 1944 Berlin, Nazi Germany without being dragged into an underground bunker to hear Hitler screaming at his generals. This film deals mostly with common German citizens simply fighting for survival, moments of normalcy, and even some fun. Ride with the Devil - Great period movies make you feel as if you've stepped into a time machine and visited another era. The mannerisms, clothing, and speech are so different, almost foreign, in Ride with the Devil. It is one of those special films that skillfully captures American history, circa 1860s, and is the only motion picture about the Civil War in Missouri, a key border state. What really makes this movie outstanding is the refusal to over-dramatize, or demonize one side or the other. The film is even-handed in its judgments about the Civil War combatants. The Sixth Sense - This movie is very susceptible to spoilers. If you haven't seen this movie, don't read reviews and trust me that you should watch it. It is suffice to say that the ending is delightfully weird. Bruce Willis gives a great performance – far removed from his usual (fake) tough guy character. Office Space – This is a funny movie with some classic scenes and great one-liners, but was a box office flop. The films biting satire of corporate nonsense is, if anything, more appropriate now than in 1999. Since then we have witnessed enough corporate stupidity to fuel a dozen more comedies of this sort. Go – the crime/ comedy genre is a House Clark favorite, and this film hits all the marks. It is told in episodic style with no weak links. Timothy Olyphant, as Todd Gaines, was the true star of the film and stole every scene as a drug dealer who seems to be constantly on the verge of a violent explosion yet he keeps his violent temper under restraint. Disappointments - American Beauty – Despite all the acting talent, I hated this film. The picture is a con, peddling anti – suburbia attitudes, and perverted Hollywood pedo-fantasies. White, middle class families are portrayed in the most negative, dysfunctional way. Not a movie for healthy minds. Three Kings – is a bad movie with big stars. The plot is plain stupid; it switches from a buccaneering adventure in Iraq, to an odd, humorless political message movie. Watch Kelly’s Heroes to see a fun movie about a wartime gold heist with humor, talent and pace. Star Wars the Phantom Menace – is more of a kid's movie than a film for grown-ups to enjoy. Sure we enjoy mindless entertainment as a change of pace, but who expected the ridiculous Jar Jar Binks, a deeply irritating character with way too much screen time. Nevertheless hordes of children clutching plastic light sabers lined up for the new Stars Wars movie, grimly determined to enjoy themselves.
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