January 21, 2010

• Best Films of 2009

  as i sat here looking through movie lists and writing them down, separating the good from the bad, the awesome from the good, i couldn’t help but be very thankful for this great batch of films.  i’m shaking my head at how many really great, fun movies, are not on my Top 10 list, films that would be shoo-ins in any other year.

  take Up for example.  this was a fantastic movie that had me near tears at several points.  and Fantastic Mr. Fox, such a cute and silly movie that i giggled endlessly through.  neither are among my ten favorite films of the year.  but i still love them. 

  An Education was as good a coming-of-age film i’ve ever seen with a jewel of a performance by newcomer Cary Mulligan.  i thanked the mob movie gods that they sent us Gomorrah, an entirely new and quietly merciless take on the traditional theme of the influence of organized crime.  the first thirty minutes or so of The Brothers Bloom were near perfect filmmaking, imo.  as a viewer, i couldn’t ask for more. 

  before i get into my ten favorite films of 2009, let me mention some other no-shows.  the critics’ darling Up in the Air is a good movie, no doubt, but enjoying far too much celebration, imo.  it’s not worthy.  Watchmen, an under-appreciated film that was nevertheless doomed from the start by at least one terrible actor in a major role.  The Road, successful in its purpose but ultimately couldn’t hang with the big boys this year.

  (i haven’t seen Precious yet.)

  

  10.  Away We Go – kind of a surprise on a top ten list, and i admit this film was on the bubble, but i can’t deny the collective charm of john krasinki and maya rudolph together in what turned out to be a film with a ten ton heart.  

  

  9.  Funny People – this might also be a surprise, and was also on the bubble for the top ten, but i thought the complexity of the characters and the overall realness (though fake) of the characters made this a totally enjoyable film, as long as you don’t expect the usual Judd Apatow silliness.  this is a real drama. 

  

  8.  Avatar – storytelling and characters notwithstanding, this film was just good fun to watch.  160 minutes blew by and i was sure at the end of it that i just saw something grand. 

  

  7.  District 9 – first, we have to applaud the production of some new and creative material and, second, we have to cheer at just how fun it turned out to be.  the blend of styles and the loveable loser, Wickers, in this entertaining sci-fi is worthy of every ounce of praise it’s been getting.

  

  6.  Moon – did you know this was conceived and directed by David Bowie’s son?  his name is Duncan Jones and we should remember that because he’s a talent.  a quiet, concept-heavy sci-fi film, this film is the other end of the sci-fi spectrum from a film like Avatar, and, as you can see by it’s placement at #6, i thought it was a damn good film. 

  

  5.  (500) Days of Summer – definitely not the ditzy rom-com it might look like.  the story and the filmmaking both offer something new (or what seems like something new) to appreciate in this dead horse genre. 

  

  4.  Inglourious Basterds – only Tarantino can make 2+ hours of straight dialogue so damn entertaining. 

  

  3.  In the Loop – hear that sound?  that’s my residual laughter since this summer when i saw this film. 

  

  2.  The Hurt Locker – that nytimes quote on the movie poster says it all, “Ferociously Suspenseful”.  hooray for an Iraq film that’s not message-heavy.  hooray for a film that doesn’t have all the answers.  hooray for a filmmaker that knows how to create things like tension, fear and, again, suspense.  those things don’t grow on trees, you know.

  

  1.  Where the Wild Things Are – i’m not sure a single film has ever drawn such an extended and pronounced emotional response from me, which is what i’m pretty sure they set out to do when they made this film.  it seems to have fallen off most radars, but i still remember this as one of my favorite films of the past several years. 

  • 11:06 am
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