The Wasteland Reviewer

The Wasteland Into the Past: 1999

Welcome to The Wasteland into the Past! Join this journey backwards in time as I take a cinematic look at years past. Each article will focus on a singular year and my Top 5 films from that year. Turn back the clock with me…and let’s get started! 

1999

The Matrix

What is the single most influential film to come out of the impressive cinematic year of 1999? This movie year captured the shifting culture of the 90s into the uncharted territory of the new millennium. With technophobia and concerns about the technological ramifications of this new millennium, it is not surprising that a film about the danger of rising machines hit the culture zeitgeist in such a specific way. The Wachowskis crafted a film with such a distinct voice and cinematic language that it would go one to influence so many cinematic storytellers for years to come. The Matrix is a towering achievement in film as it strikes the perfect balance between hard science fiction and the action-driven science fiction of blockbuster filmmaking. Looking at the action, the use of “bullet time” gave such a unique and fresh feeling. The slow-motion effects are jaw-dropping as impressive martial arts stunts of “gun-fu” becomes the calling card of our action heroes. The mixture of practical stunts and other effects gives the experience some true texture and feeling to it. The music is an impressive mixture of Don Davis dynamic and contemporary score along with some nu-metal and hard ELM tracks that give the film a distinct late 90s vibe. Powerful, aggressive, and epic in scope and feel. The two plus hours of The Matrix fly by with the powerful filmmaking and tight editing that gives the film propulsive energy. The world building of the narrative is quite impressive with the 90s Matrix aesthetic as well as the bold and harrowing real world that has been taken over by machines. There are plenty of aesthetic elements that have become truly iconic. The black leather outfits are striking and iconic as they captured and set fashion trends at the time. The Agents in their clean, generic suits give them an eerily specific vibe. The overall vibes of this whole world are incredible and have become so iconic over the last 25+ years. But the story is fascinating as well. We follow Mr. Anderson who seems to be just some office worker who is a famous hacker, Neo. But his whole life changes when Trinity, another famous hacker, finds her way into his life and helps him see the truth. That truth? Humanity has been locked up in the future and used as batteries for our machine overlords. The world we live in is all just a simulation called The Matrix. But a powerful leader and revolutionary, Morphius, opens Neo’s eyes and trains him to fulfill his destiny…to be “The One” and take down the machines. The journey of Neo throughout the film follows his efforts to discover his identity and unlock his powers as “The One”. The conflict with a rogue program called Agent Smith is thrilling and compelling. There are plenty of thrilling action beats and terrors injected throughout the runtime. Keanu Reeves embodies Neo so well as this wide-eyed man who is destined for more. Carrie Ann Moss is cool and intense as Trinity with Laurence Fishburne being a highlight as the strong, confident, and cool Morphius. One of the breakout turns is Hugo Weaving as the villainous Agent Smith (who chews up every bit of scenery he gets to see). This is one of the most iconic and influential films of the past 30 years. There are few action/sci-fi films out there on the same level as The Matrix. Truly iconic, endlessly entertaining, and overall, just an incredible cinematic achievement.

The Sixth Sense

Just how good was the peak of M. Night Shyamalan’s career? This young filmmaker was meant to be the next Steven Spielberg…that is incredible high praise to throw at someone. For those first few films in the late 90s and early 00s, Shyamalan lived up to “The Hype”. That hype all started with the release and massive success of The Sixth Sense. This film is one of the highest grossing horror films ever created. This is one of the best of the genres in the past 30 years. This is a film with twists so powerful that they instantly became part of the zeitgeist in 1999. People who have never watched this film still know the iconic elements that have gone on to define it. Shyamalan’s whole career became defined by narrative twists because of how impressive The Sixth Sense is. First off, the concept of a young boy being able to see and talk to dead people is such a clever and intriguing idea. It is also terribly tragic and that is not lost on Shyamalan’s work. But there is also a measure of hope and power that such an ability is imbued upon a child who does not see the world with a lens of jaded judgment. The journey that young Cole goes on in The Sixth Sense is powerful, moving, and poignant. We witness a scared and misunderstood young boy who navigates these horrible sights and experiences with the support of Dr. Malcolm Crowe. The performance by Haley Joel Osment is one of the greatest child actor performances in the history of film. The maturity that Osment brings into this role is incredible. His vulnerability and emotional depth are unmatched. Bruce Willis delivers one of the best performances of his career in The Sixth Sense. There are a vulnerability and pain that lies underneath the surface throughout the film. The sadness weighs heavily on Dr. Crowe and you feel every bit of it through Willis’ performance. Then you have Toni Collette…a towering performance full of emotion and personality. Collette has delivered two all-time performances in horror films that have helped elevate the genre. The music from James Newton Howard is complex, layered, and full of emotion (like all the masterful scores he has crafted for Shyamalan’s films). The direction from Shyamalan is nothing but masterful. From the opening sequence of the film, there is tragedy, terror, and suspense as Shyamalan knows how to leverage the camera perfectly for all the fears and tragedy that unfolds. There are plenty of terrifying beats with ghosts sprinkled throughout the film. This is one of the most bone-chilling experiences you will ever have. BUT it is the emotion that is its truly defining elements that elevates this well beyond what most expect out of horror and ghost stories.

Eyes Wide Shut

What should you expect from an erotic thriller from a filmmaker like Stanley Kubrick? You should expect something cold, distant, and haunting. You will probably see nudity and seduction, but it will feel dirty and uncomfortable as it digs deeper into the experience. That is the exact result that you get with Kubrick’s final film, Eyes Wide Shut. This film was an insanely long shoot as it took over a year of principle photography and that saw Kubrick dive deep into his problematic practices and put a real-life couple in Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman through so much while creating this film. But when you get to watch the actual film, you see something incredibly fascinating. This might not be one of the strongest films in Kubrick’s filmography but that is hard to do when Kubrick has created some of the most iconic films of all time. Eyes Wide Shut focuses on the story of Dr. William Harford who goes on a strange evening full of sexual tension and eroticism after a fight with his wife, Alice. The direction of the film is certainly filled with atmosphere. Kubrick still leverages classic filmmaking which gives Eyes Wide Shut a vintage filmmaking feel despite coming out in 1999. There is a dreamlike essence to so much of the film that looms over Bill and the audience. The music choices by Kubrick are specific and certainly elicit quite a response from the audience (like all of Kubrick’s films do). The production design of the film is quite unnerving and strange with Kubrick filming “New York” in London. The most iconic sequence of the film is the masquerade orgy that Bill finds himself inside. This mansion is massive and filled with plenty of elaborate and ornate elements, but it is the costuming elements that are quite eerie. The imagery of sex acts being performed by masked individuals who are otherwise completely naked is quite the sight to see. There are tension and suspense that permeate throughout the film as Kubrick crafts such a distinct sense of danger throughout the film. Single piano notes in the score deliver such an eerie and unnerving experience along the way. You feel like you are watching a cold, distant twist on the narrative that Martin Scorsese delivered in After Hours. Cruise delivers some solid work as this confident and charming man whose whole reality is shaken but their dark and twisted evening. By the end of the film, there is a vulnerability, paranoia, and fear that permeates throughout Cruise’s performance. Nicole Kidman delivers quite a mysterious and intense performance as Cruise’s wife. The camera longs for her body in a few scenes as we witness her figure on display. The opening sequence of the film shows each of them leveraging their charm in their own ways before coming to conflict after a fateful party that found both flirting with affairs. There are a few other standout supporting turns including a strong and masculine turn from Sydney Pollack, a vulnerable and sexy turn from Vinessa Shaw, and a mysterious turn from a young Leelee Sobieski. Erotic, mysterious, and intense, Kubrick delivers a haunting cinematic experience for his last directorial effort that will leave you with plenty of questions by the end.

Office Space

What is THE office satire on the big screen? If you are looking for a clever and fun send-up of office work and that soul-crushing experience, look no further than Mike Judge’s Office Space. Judge has his finger on the pulse of the working individual and the “everyman” for quite some time. His work (both live action and animation) strikes a chord because they are so relatable and feel so authentic in the presentation of the people they are about. Office Space feels so real for anyone who has worked in the restrictive and bland work of corporate offices. The film has the most drab and boring looking production design inside the main company, INITECH, which reinforces the soul-crushing feeling of office life so well. The color palette is so limited and lacks any kind of life which makes you feel the same lifeless existence that the characters are feeling. The music choices throughout the film are quite fascinating. They feel so specifically 1999 but also clash in the most perfect ways. You get silly tones of the score that gives their strange and offbeat comedic vibe that Judge is going for. But then you have the rap music that channels the rebellious energy hiding underneath the surface. The most iconic scene in the film is when our trio of office workers take their worst enemy, the copier, out to a field and destroy it. The music captures the aggression and rebellious nature that is finally finding its way out. So much of Office Space is about finding your soul and life again after the corporate machine zaps it all out of you. The actual narrative focuses on Peter (Ron Livingston) who hates his life. But when he is under hypnosis to relax and the hypnotist dies, Peter is stuck in a state of Zen that changes his whole perspective. He doesn’t care about his meaningless and mundane job anymore. He ignores the pressures of his cold and distant boss. He takes a shot with an attractive waitress at her own dead-end job. But things all come to a head when Peter and his two best friends, Michael and Samir, decide to steal partial cents on all the rounding done for transactions. This is quite the biting and sharp commentary about the corporate grind and the lack of meaning that so many people get from their aimless and dead-end jobs. The script that Judge puts together is downright hilarious and tells a good story. But the true standout elements are the performances. Livingston is rock solid in the lead and David Herman and Ajay Naidu are a fun pairing as his best friends. Jennifer Aniston is so darn charming as Peter’s new love interest. But the supporting players really make the film. Stephen Root’s character work as Milton is iconic. His weird little voice and his love for his stapler is just comedic gold. Gary Cole is just as great as the arrogant and cold Lumbergh, their boss at work. His monotone voice and complete lack of caring is so memorable and quotable. Diedrich Bader might be the unsung hero of the whole film with his impressive work as Peter’s blue-collar neighbor, Lawrence, who just so happens to have the best lines in the film. The double act of John C. Ginley and Paul Willson as the Bobs (the efficiency consultants brought in to eliminate people) are just so good too. Office Space is one of the best comedies of the 90s and such a wonderfully charming cult classic.

Magnolia

What is the peak work of Paul Thomas Anderson’s career? That is such a challenging question as Anderson has crafted quite a few impressive cinematic works over the course of his 30-year career. One film that is certainly in that conversation is his 1999 anthology drama, Magnolia. Anderson weaves together an epic mosaic of interrelated characters in search of love, forgiveness, and meaning. This is a film that is filled with humanity and tinges of magical realism. This three-plus-hour epic is quite a fascinating experience that leverages a variety of stories with a whole batch of engrossing characters. First off, this is an impeccably directed film from Anderson. The visuals of the film are striking with that warmth and texture that film captured so well that digital struggles to recreate. Cinematographer Robert Elswit is one of the best in the game and his work on Magnolia is quite striking. The strangest element of the film is the sequence when it literally rains frogs. The way that Anderson and Elswit realize this strange and engrossing moment is quite impressive. For a film that clocks over three hours, this moves so well and is quite engrossing. Anderson sinks his nails into you and just never lets you go. What works so well about the film though is the layered and engrossing script that has so many compelling and well-developed characters along the way. Each of these story elements is rich in themes and character work making them equally engrossing across the course of the film. Probably the most famous storyline in the film is Tom Cruise as Frank T.J. Mackey who is a coarse yet charismatic motivational speaker and pickup artist. His performance is dynamic and powerful from the “performance” he puts on while on stage and the emotional devastation he experiences in the wake of his dying, estranged father (Jason Robards in his final film role). You have a well-meaning, yet clumsy cop portrayed perfectly by John C. Reilly who becomes one of the key players in this film. You have a whole section of the story centered on a game show with both a new child prodigy who is watched from afar by a former prodigy portrayed by William H. Macy who delivers a vulnerable and complex performance. There are plenty of other dynamic and fascinating characters portrayed by talented actors from Julianne Moore to Philip Seymour Hoffman to Philip Baker Hall to Alfred Molina and many more familiar faces. This is a film that lives and dies on its character work and thematic richness. This cast and the expert craft of Anderson never falter giving audiences a miraculous cinematic achievement in the form of Magnolia.