Horror and humour graced our screens in hefty doses in 1999.
While the world was waiting for a new century to unfold, we were left wondering what happens next to Andy in Toy Story, and if Keanu would one day reprise his role as Neo in the epic Matrix… oh, if only we knew then.
Travel back in time with us with the best movies to watch from 1999.
The Sixth Sense
Nobody saw The Sixth Sense becoming the breakout thriller of the year, yet with Shyamalan in the Director’s chair and Bruce Willis in the lead role, we should have known that this would become an all-time 90s movie.
Filled with suspense and chills, Cole is a young boy with a gift – in his own iconic words – he sees dead people. Acting as a medium between this world and the spiritual kind, it’s certain to give you all the spine-tingling feels, and that’s why it’s in the top 10 movies of 1999.
- Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 90%
- IMDB rating: 8.1/10
How to stream The Sixth Sense
Toy Story 2
The second instalment in the Toy Story franchise is another classic in the making.
Once again we’re treated to the brilliance of Woody, Buzz Lightyear, those cute Aliens, and new character – Jessie the Cowgirl. The plot doesn’t veer too far from its origins, so you know all the usual comedy-caper to expect, with lots of heart-warming moments in between.
- Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 87%
- IMDB rating: 7.9/10
How to stream Toy Story 2
Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace
Fans came out in force in ’99 to make The Phantom Menace the highest-grossing and top movie of 1999.
Making his Star Wars debut as Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ewan McGregor and fellow Jedi Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) must stop the Trade Federation, while they encounter the super-gifted Anakin Skywalker. There’s no question, the force is strong in this one.
- Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 59%
- IMDB rating: 6.5/10
How to stream Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace
The Matrix
Widely considered a ‘sci-fi gamechanger’, The Matrix drew a line in the pop-culture sand. Still revered to this day, the movie is set in a dystopian future, giving us a peek into what the future could hold.
With a career-defining performance from Keanu Reeve (Neo), and unsettling acting from Laurence Fishburne (Morpheus), it’s the perfect concoction for movie greatness.
- Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 85%
- IMDb rating: 8.7/10
How to stream The Matrix
The Mummy
Not just one of the top movies in 1999, The Mummy was a breakout movie for Rachel Weisz, firmly establishing her in Hollywood circles.
Taking the female lead alongside mega-hunk Brendan Fraser, they team up for an archaeological dig and awaken a Mummy in the process. It’s everything you’d expect and want from a fantasy adventure.
- Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 61%
- IMDb rating: 7.1/10
How to stream The Mummy
The Spy Who Shagged Me
That loveable rogue Austin Powers is back with all his cringe-lines, Dad dancing, and nod to British culture. Possibly funnier than the original, this follow-up sees Powers return to 1969 to find his stolen mojo with the help of Felicity Shagwell. We’ll leave it there.
- Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 71%
- IMDb rating: 6.6/10
How to stream The Spy Who Shagged Me
The Blair Witch Project
Seldom has a movie called greater furore than the unveiling of Blair Witch, and its marketing machine in full action.
The public was left to question if this was movie magic or madness, a work of fact or fiction, with a bunch of screaming teens in the woods. Changing the movie landscape, it was shot by the actors using handheld cameras, giving it a certain rawness. Cementing its place in the horror movie hall of fame, it’s undoubtedly one of the top horror movies 1999, even if the critics hated it.
- Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 31%
- IMDb rating: 6.5/10
How to stream The Blair Witch Project
American Beauty
Once in a while, a movie comes along that defines a moment in time. Even the ‘woke’ generation can’t discredit it, although they’ve tried.
On the one hand, it’s about middle-aged regret, unrequited youth and forbidden love. On the other, it’s about loneliness, materialism and running away from the inevitable march towards death we all face. It might well be Kevin Spacey at his finest.
- Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 93%
- IMDB rating: 8.3/10
How to stream American Beauty
The World Is Not Enough
The world isn’t the only thing that wasn’t enough with this James Bond movie.
Pierce Brosnan gives a shaky performance as Bond, with all the usual action, romance and cliched one-liners, revolving around the assassination of a billionaire and subsequent protection of his daughter held for ransom. Given its rating, it wasn’t the best year for movies in the Bond genre.
- Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 49%
- IMDb rating: 6.4/10
How to stream The World Is Not Enough
Tarzan
Well, this film about a man raised by wild animals needs no introduction, and reimagined in cartoon format is what we’re here for. One of the top Disney movies of 1999, it features Minnie Driver, Brian Blessed and Tony Goldwyn in this Oscar-winning classic for all the family to enjoy.
- Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 75%
- IMDB rating: 7.3/10