The 4 Best Years of Modern Hollywood

What was the best year in film? Easy, it's 1999. It had some of your favorite movies, and sure, it had a couple of stinkers, but overall, it's the best. Although it would be unfair to the brand without discourse. Almost every year boasts many awesome films, making it difficult to crown just one as the best.

That's why we've rounded up four years that stood out and tossed in a few honorable mentions along the way. These will be the years that were the best in the era of film, had to offer. These were the ears that reshaped the industry in groundbreaking ways, or years that just simply had a top-shelf lineup.

Over the article, we will be talking about some of the most celebrated titles of modern Hollywood. If you wish to take a trip down memory lane, you may find almost all of them on various streaming platforms. With bundles that Cox Internet offers, you will be able to subscribe to these platforms with ease. Additionally, their library of 150,000 plus On-Demand movies contains the ones we are about to discuss.

• 2014

This was a year that had us practically living at the movie theaters. It was a year full of outstanding films across all budget ranges, letting imaginative directors run wild with their ideas. "Whiplash," "The Grand Budapest Hotel," "Nightcrawler," and "Birdman," just to name a few.

Don't forget about the continuation of the horror genre revival with "It Follows" and "The Babadook." Even within the MCU, titles like "Guardians of the Galaxy" and "The Winter Soldier" brought a refreshing twist. And who could forget about The Imitation Game, Edge of Tomorrow, John Wick, Gone Girl, and "Paddington"?

• 2019

This year boasted a stellar lineup with many heavyweight directors dropping some incredible films. Remember how "Parasite" snagged the best picture as the first foreign film to do so? And let's not forget the record-breaking success of "Joker" as the highest-grossing rated film.

We've come to appreciate "Endgame" more and more each year as Disney keeps fumbling the MCU. But there were also all of these films, and 2019 looks even better when placed next to 2020, a year often regarded as one of the worst ones for film due to theater closures and film delays.

However, where 2019 stumbled was with its blockbusters, sequels, a couple of mediocre Disney live remakes, and that infamous Star Wars letdown. But hey, they still made a lot of money, being the first year to have nine films cross the billion-dollar milestone.

• 2007

2007 carries a ridiculous catalog of films, perhaps the best year of English-language filmmaking this century. "Ratatouille," "No Country for Old Men," "There Will Be Blood," "Zodiac," "Superbad," "Hot Fuzz," "Atonement," and a whole lot more.

It's often described as feeling similar to 1970 cinema, where you had smarter characters, actors challenging themselves, and happy endings are far from guaranteed. Although let's be real, I'm not quite sure how "Bee Movie" fits into that '70s vibe yet.

• 1999

Despite the tough competition from these standout years, 1999 snags the spotlight as our first pick for the best year, and rightly so. That year had it all, from iconic dramas to one of the most influential action films and a bunch of cult classics. "Fight Club," "The Matrix," "American Beauty," "Eyes Wide Shut," "The Sixth Sense," "The Green Mile," "Magnolia," and all of these.

"Toy Story 2" basically guaranteed the future of 3D animation, while "The Iron Giant" proved there's still room for 2D charm. "The Matrix" not only spawned countless imitators but also revolutionized filmmaking techniques, improving on the use of slow motion and spinning cameras, as well as introducing the bullet time effect.

The box office was very refreshing compared to other years, where "The Sixth Sense" turned a $40 million budget into a jaw-dropping $672 million worldwide, catapulting M. Night Shyamalan's career. But I guess this could be a negative depending on which fan base you ask. In short, 1999 was a stellar year for everyone, from cinephiles to romance enthusiasts to even the alpha males.

Summing Up

While these were some of the titles that made a lot of noise on the blockbuster, many other genres of entertainment saw a similar time of success and improvement. Sure, these years brought us some of the finest the cinema has to offer, however, there were also many major letdowns.

We cannot say that any given year was all good or all bad. The years that we have discussed just had a higher ratio of celebration-worthy titles. The key takeaway from this is that like every industry, the film industry is also subject to dynamism, periods of elevation, and depression.

Which one was your favorite year of film? Do let us know in the comments!