Best Movies of 1999

Added on by C. Maoxian.

This is a list of the Best Movies of 1999 according to John Farr. I find his site hard to navigate, so I create summary lists like this one.

English-language movies:

  1. A Civil Action

  2. American Beauty

  3. Being John Malkovich

  4. Boys Don't Cry

  5. Dick

  6. Election

  7. Magnolia

  8. October Sky

  9. Ratcatcher

  10. Spring Forward

  11. The Blair Witch Project

  12. The Cider House Rules

  13. The Insider

  14. The Iron Giant

  15. The Sixth Sense

  16. The Straight Story

  17. The War Zone

  18. Topsy-Turvy

  19. Toy Story 2

  20. Tumbleweeds

Foreign-language movies:

  1. After Life (Japanese)

  2. All About My Mother (Spanish)

  3. Audition (Japanese)

  4. Children of Heaven (Farsi)

  5. East / West (French)

  6. Farewell, Home Sweet Home (French)

  7. Himalaya (Dolpo)

  8. In China They Eat Dogs (Danish)

  9. It All Starts Today (French)

  10. Kadosh (Hebrew)

  11. Leila (Farsi)

  12. Not One Less (Mandarin)

  13. Peppermint Candy (Korean)

  14. Princess Mononoke (Japanese)

  15. Running Out of Time (Cantonese)

  16. The Color of Paradise (Farsi)

  17. The Emperor and the Assassin (Mandarin)

  18. The Wind Will Carry Us (Farsi)

English-language documentaries:

  1. American Movie

  2. Genghis Blues 

  3. Not for Ourselves Alone

  4. One Day in September

  5. Return With Honor

Foreign-language documentaries:

  1. My Best Friend: Klaud Kinski (German)

  2. The Specialist: Portrait of a Modern Criminal (French)

Movies Watched -- Blue Jean (2022)

Added on by C. Maoxian.

97 minute running time so the perfect length … lesbian life in Newcastle (northeast England) during the 1980s when the Thatcher admin was apparently actively anti-homosexual … this is a W.D. By movie (written and directed by the same person, i.e., someone’s baby) … I enjoyed it … it helped that the star, Rosy McEwen, is stunningly beautiful … Blue is the Warmest Color remains the greatest lesbian love story movie of all time, but this was good enough to get a green-go. This was a John Farr reco and now I recommend it too.

Movies Watched -- May December (2023)

Added on by C. Maoxian.

117 minute running time so about 17 minutes too long, but I liked this one … I’m sort of shocked to admit it … Todd Haynes and Julianne Moore like working together for sure … she looks amazing for 63 … Natalie Portman is 42 and looks worse than Julianne … hapa husband was a simple-minded hunk and all their 1/4 Korean “children” were beautiful … I liked the story and the acting was good … I might upgrade this to a green-go later depending on the other 2023 movies that I watch. This was a John Farr reco.

I am secure.

Personicx Classic Segment Names

Added on by C. Maoxian.

“Personicx Classic Refresh is the household-level segmentation system that places each U.S. household into one of 70 segments based on similar demographic, socio-economic and consumer behavior.”

01 -- Summit Estates

02 -- Established Elite

03 -- Corporate Clout

04 -- Skyboxes & Suburbans

05 -- Sitting Pretty

06 -- Shooting Stars

07 -- Lavish Lifestyles

08 -- Full Steaming

09 -- Platinum Oldies

10 -- Hard Chargers

11 -- Kids & Clout

12 -- Tots & Toys

13 -- Solid Single Parents

14 -- Career Centered Singles

15 -- Country Ways

16 -- Country Single

17 -- Apple Pie Families

18 -- Married Sophisticates

19 -- Country Comfort

20 -- Dynamic Duos

21 -- Children First

22 -- Fun & Games

23 -- Acred Couples

24 -- Career Building

25 -- Clubs & Causes

26 -- Savvy Singles

27 -- Soccer & SUVS

28 -- Suburban Seniors

29 -- City Mixers

30 -- Spouses & Houses

31 -- Mid Americana

32 -- Metro Mix

33 -- Urban Tenants

34 -- Outward Bound

35 -- Solo & Stable

36 -- Raisin’ Grandkids

37 -- Cartoons & Carpools

38 -- Midtown Minivanners

39 -- Early Parents

40 -- The Great Outdoors

41 -- Truckin’ & Stylin’

42 -- First Mortgage

43 -- Work & Causes

44 -- Community Singles

45 -- First Digs

46 -- Home Cooking

47 -- Rural Parents

48 -- Farmland Families

49 -- Devoted Duos

50 -- Rural Retirement

51 -- Family Matters

52 -- Resolute Renters

53 -- Metro Parents

54 -- Still Truckin'

55 -- Humble Homes

56 -- Modest Wages

57 -- Collegiate Crowd

58 -- Young Workboots

59 -- Mobile Mixers

60 -- Rural Rovers

61 -- Urban Scramble

62 -- Kids and Rent

63 -- Downtown Dwellers

64 -- Rural Everlasting

65 -- Thrifty Elders

66 -- Timeless Elders

67 -- Rolling Stones

68 -- Pennywise Proprietors

69 -- Pennywise Mortgagees

70 -- Resilient Renters

Movies Watched -- 7 Prisoners (2021)

Added on by C. Maoxian.

In Portuguese. 93 minute running time so a perfect length. Good story, well told. This is a green-go. Finally a John Farr recommendation that pays off. Modern slavery in São Paolo in all its horror. This is a Netflix movie, so I don’t think it’s available on DVD, which is a shame. 7 Prisoners is a prisoner to the Netflix platform, but you should make an effort to see it.

Enough to keep this city up and running.

Movies Watched -- The Novice (2021)

Added on by C. Maoxian.

97 minute running time … shot at some college in Ontario, a W.D. By movie (Written and Directed By, someone’s baby) … I wasn’t thrilled with this … it’s about a hyper-competitive girl who, despite having no experience, wants to be the best rower on the college team for some inexplicable reason … her obsession and mania is never adequately explained … also she has a pinch-faced white-trash look which doesn’t work in the rowing world; her coaches look like rowers, but she sure doesn’t … also she’s too scrawny to row competitively. This was another not-so-great recommendation from John Farr.

Why a Former SMU Rower-Turned-Filmmaker Is Sharing Her Struggle .. interesting that she’s a sound editor in real life, since I had to turn on the subtitles for much of the movie to understand what was being said.

Hadaway before and after moving to LA photos:

Movies Watched -- Pleasure (2021)

Added on by C. Maoxian.

108 minute running time. About a Swedish girl who wants to become a porn star in America … it’s depressing, like all porn-related stuff … I saw the documentary “Hot Girls Wanted” (2015) many years ago, so my perspective on the reality of the industry was shaped by that … this fictionalized take doesn’t really compare to the real thing.

John Farr reco: “‘Pleasure’ is neither a standard cautionary tale nor a blunt indictment of what is admittedly a seamy, exploitative business. The director’s goal is simply to show it as it is.” It was already done years ago in “Hot Girls Wanted,” see that one instead.

Movies Watched -- The Innocents (2021)

Added on by C. Maoxian.

In Norwegian. 117 minute running time so 17 minutes too long, but this wasn’t bad. I liked the odd mix of council housing kids, is Norway really that ethnically diverse now? I guess in the subsidized housing it is. Cute story, no idea why it’s pitched as “a violent nightmare,” or “shocking,” it’s simply clever and cute. I almost want to give it a green-go rating, but it’s not that good … this was a John Farr reco: “An intentionally strange and effectively creepy film, horror fans in particular should seek out ‘The Innocents.’”

Movies Watched -- Compartment Number 6 (2021)

Added on by C. Maoxian.

In Russian. 107 minute running time so 10 minutes too long. This wasn’t bad, but it also wasn’t good enough to recommend because I couldn’t buy the story in the end, the Finnish girl wouldn’t have fallen for him, not a chance … she had guts though … I’ve been to Siberia and it really is that grim (yeah, I know Murmansk isn’t in Siberia, but same difference) … I’ve also taken a lot of long-distance train journeys in “soft sleeper” with strangers … anyway, it wasn't Tar-ible like so many other movies I’ve watched lately. This was a John Farr reco of course.