I'm not the biggest fan of The Matrix. I like it, and agree it is an influential sci-fi classic, but I've never been as taken with it as many were/are, and there are a few nits I'd pick in it too (for more information on that, I wrote a retrospective on the film last year you could track down if you were so inclined).

Nor was I mad about The Green Mile. I couldn't understand what such kind and decent people, both guards and prisoners, were doing on death row (with one exception). I get that it's a fable with supernatural elements, but still, I just didn't entirely swallow it.

I agree about Magnolia, Eyes Wide Shut, and The Straight Story (and also The Insider), and there are many other great films from that year I could list (Toy Story 2, The Talented Mr Ripley, Election, Ride with the Devil, etc, etc), but The Sixth Sense remains my top choice (with The Iron Giant a close second). :)