Waking Ned Devine pretty easily gets my vote for best movie of this year.

The runners-up would be The Big Lebowski and A Bug's Life, both of which I apparently liked more than Slam did. Indeed, even though I've never gone through the trouble of doing rankings in my head, I'd say the latter is one of the better rather than lesser Pixar films.
Another one from this year that I really like is Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - very well made and Depp does a really good job portraying Hunter S. Thompson.

And - even though I don't think it's a masterpiece or must-see movie - I have to mention Deep Impact, just because I think it's a solid and at times rather moving disaster movie that's far superior to its star-studded and over-hyped counterpart that came out a few months later, Armageddon.

1998 was a really good year. But The Big Lebowski really stands out for me, a well-made movie that checks all the boxes for what I go to the movies for.

I had forgotten that Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas was from 1998. I should probably call it a tie.

If it wasn’t for those two movies, I would probably have a hard time choosing between Shakespeare in Love, The Thin Red Line, and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.

Well that was a long wait...work and life have been kicking my ass.  But here we are to party like 1999.  

Let me just start off by saying I hate Fight Club.  In fact I'm not really a fan of David Fincher's films at all.  So...there we are. 

Office Space - To be fair it's been a fair while since I've seen this one too.  But I remember it well from the last watch.  A super funny cult film.  I'm a pretty big Mike Judge fan and I think he's underrated because of his work in television and because he is a comedy director.  The studios gave the movie zero chance at the box office.  It was released in the middle of February, the poster was awful and the trailer wasn't that great.  The movie became huge on home video moving a ton of physical copies.  Gary Cole's Lumbergh became a staple of popular culture, as did Stephen Root's Milton Waddams.  On the very very rare occasion that my wife and I find ourselves in a chain casual dining restaurant, we always have to ask each other if we have enough flair.  



The Sixth Sense - I honestly think that M. Night Shamalamadingdong was a pony with diminishing returns, but I loved The Sixth Sense when I saw it and I still think it holds up quite well.  One of Bruce Willis' best acting jobs.  Haley Joel Osment didn't annoy me, which is rare for child actors.  The twist was fun and the movie was just a great ride.  Even if you've seen it before, it's well made enough that you don't mind that you know what's going to happen. 



Toy Story 2 - I'll go ahead and admit that I'm an early Pixar fanboy.  Their best films came out when my two younger boys were just the right age for them so I saw them a zillion times.  But they were super well made, with great scripts and excellent animation.  A complete breath of fresh air in the animation realm.  This is one of the very best sequels ever.  It delves deeper in to the characters and their motivations.  I mean, the movie got serious praise from Chuck Jones...that's good enough for me.  I remember taking my middle son and his cousin, who is six months older than him to it on the opening weekend.  I though poor little Ryan was going to have a heart attack in the opening sequence where it appears that Buzz got destroyed by Zurg.  We still laugh about it 24 years later.  That's a powerful memory for a movie.  



Dogma - Damn you Harvey Weinstein.  Not just for being an unmitigated dirt-bag...but because that dirtbag owns the rights to Dogma and, as a result, it's almost impossible to watch what may be Kevin Smith's best realized film.  Love George Carlin as Cardinal Glick.  And Alan Rickman as the Metatron.  Gimme my Buddy Jesus.  



The Iron Giant - I didn't watch this until well after the fact.  I don't think it played in the theaters here.  And, for whatever reason, I just really resisted watching it on video.  But it's a truly beautiful piece of animation.  Really it amounts to, when is a weapon not a weapon?  When the weapon has a soul.  And the Iron Giant gains his soul through interaction with good people.  



Galaxy Quest - Another movie I like in spite of Tim Allen being in it (man I dislike that guy).  Super fun spoof of Star Trek and Trekkies.  Alan Rickman is excellent (when was he not?).  Sigourney Weaver is sexy, funny and effective.  Another film that did lukewarm box office, but became a big hit on home media.  If I can handler Tim Allen in a non-animated film, it's pretty damn good. 



Mystery Men - I have a definite soft spot for this comic book movie.  It's not without problems.  It's kind of slow at times and it way too long.  But the characters are a hoot and it definitely appears that the shoot was fun.  You can have your hot-shot heroes.  Give me The Shoveler, Blue Rajah and The Spleen.  



Bueno Vista Social Club - Outstanding documentary about the recording of the album of the same name and the concerts that came out of it.  An essential document on Cuban jazz.  





As usual there are many films I've either not seen or not seen in far too long. Including; most foreign films; The Matrix (I've seen it and I liked it at the time, but I haven't seen it in at least 20 years); American Beauty (I also saw it, 20+ years ago and honestly thought it was overrated.   I've not see it since); The Green Mile (I remember liking this okay, but I haven't seen it in eons); Being John Malkovich; Magnolia; Boondock Saints (haven't seen it in eons); Three Kings (ditto); The Insider; Election (I remember this being pretty funny); 


So what's my favorite film of 1999?  Some definite competition, but, ultimately, it's Toy Story 2.  Just a lovely sequel to a great movie and another leap forward in animation.  


And 1999 in film for those as need a look.

For me, it would be tie between Iron Giant and Galaxy Quest.
I quite like Toy Story 2 and Mystery Men as well.

Office Space is one I've never liked as much as most people seem to. It has many individually funny parts, but it doesn't hold together for me. Some other comedies from that year that I found much more enjoyable are Drop Dead Gorgeous and Bowfinger.

Looking over some of the others from that year, I also like Summer of Sam and Being John Malkovich.

And a guilty pleasure movie for me is Payback.

1995. My single favorite year for movies in the history of movies. 6 of my favorite movies ever from this year, so I won't even try to name only a top 5:

The Usual Suspects, Apollo 13, Toy Story, Whisper of the Heart, Before Sunrise, Crimson Tide... in some order.


Second tier still involves some of my favorite films ever: Braveheart, Mortal Kombat, and Babe.

Plus many more great movies of the year where those came from.

1997. I just saw a great documentary called Chasing Chasing Amy, about how important the film was to one fan's life. This caused me to rewatch Chasing Amy recently. It's definitely my favorite film of the year.

Next is probably Contact, a smart sci/fi film. Close contender is Princess Mononoke.

Then we've got another great sci/fi thriller Gattaca. Then the under-the-radar thriller, Cop Land.

Plenty of other great films. Titanic. Geri's Game. End of Evangelion. Jackie Brown. Boogie Nights. And I have a fondness for the Disney boy-and-horse film, Flash.