Top Ten Films of 2009
Better late than never? I’d rather not skip a year, actually. So, arriving on the back of a poor, disheveled, overworked steed, you may now treat yourself to a subjective, non-comprehensive list of the best American films of 2009. It’s mine though, so I like it best. I haven’t the energy at the moment for a long diatribe of an introduction. Let’s just say I didn’t spend all that much time on my most beloved of hobbies this year. Living abroad will steal your attention like that. Honestly, I quite often had more interesting things to do. I still love you, movies, but going to parties and to the beach appeal to my sense of now a bit more. The list congealed pretty easily this year. After all, I only really saw forty-four eligible movies. I didn’t include foreign films (though Un Prophète in particular was really good) because I haven’t seen enough of them yet. They may come up in a later discussion. In one of my quickest performances yet (shutup!), cutting those 44 eligible films down to ten took less than an hour. In a year that saw no less than four pretty good action blockbusters, three movies about people piloting other people, two movies about the current wartime homefront, and one naked CG Arnold-I present the top ten English language films of the year.
.
10. Fantastic Mr. Fox - I’ve ripped a bit on Wes Anderson and his shtick lately, but branching out into animation seems to have brought him back. Granted, Mr. Fox is just a more charming and inclusive iteration of Royal Tenenbaum, but higher stakes (life and death for this community of critters) finally elevated Anderson’s more recent sleepy fair to an engaging level. His usual lush color palette and thematic scenery have migrated really strikingly to these artificial landscapes as well. I guess I’ve always had a tender area for family films that aren’t afraid to deviate into dark territory, a la Who Framed Roger Rabbit or Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. It meanders a bit unsatisfyingly toward the middle of the film, but it sets up the finale well, and never leaves you at a loss for the character motivations climbing over one another. The cast does a great job, George Clooney turning in another of the fine rapscallion star performances for which his voice was made.
9. Star Trek - I came at this one from the perspective of a long-time fan of the franchise, but I believe anyone could enjoy this romp through the latest final frontier. Why? The characters. The plot has some silly moments (long-range transporter?), but you don’t have to know a forward sensor array from a Klingon to get-and probably appreciate-this cast of the USS Enterprise. Kirk has charm and defiance, Spock struggles with the two halves of himself, Bones chimes in with wry wit, Scotty continues to impress himself, and the all the rest. The classic dichotomy between the brash Kirk and the collected Spock is pushed to the fore more so here than in any of their previous adventures. I didn’t feel it necessary to actually explain the reboot as an alternate timeline, but I’ve seen plenty of things in Trek far more spurious (Star Trek V). What J.J. Abrams and company have delivered here is a really nice, really pretty sci-fi action film with some rather funny moments, and characters for which you will undoubtedly root. I can’t wait to see this new cast on their next adventure, now that we have all that exposition out of the way.
8. The Hurt Locker - It won the Oscar, so it must be good. I’ve heard liberals complain that it glorifies warzone machismo. Meanwhile, some conservatives have called out its anti-war agenda. To me, this says balance. I enjoyed the details of the real ‘work’ scenes-those that involve the disarming of explosive devices. I respect any movie that doesn’t take the time to hold my hand and set up and explain everything. I don’t have much of an idea how to arm or disarm bombs, and somehow I followed the process clearly even in some of the chaotic situations in which these tasks take place-and the characters didn’t have to take any time to look at the camera and explain the how. Kathryn Bigelow instead accomplishes such lucidity of action by keeping us close in the modern handheld, fast-edit style, while also by stirring in a lot of character perspective shots to keep disorientation at bay. Having good spatial awareness of a scene is really vital for an action film, and I always knew the landscape here. The details seem realistic enough to be respectful to the ongoing situation in that part of the world, while offering up enough loud booms and tension that I wouldn’t mind seeing it again sometime. Now, I’m probably not going to get too introspective over the nature of humanity or politics and power as with the best war films (Apocolypse Now, Lawrence of Arabia), but there is enough to chew on here for me to at least wonder at the nature of fear.
7. District 9 - I had heard mostly good things about this “low” budget sci-fi action movie, and so took pains to catch it on the big screen. Even so, I came away more impressed and thrilled than I had anticipated. Sharlto Copley surely deserves all the praise given him for his performance in the lead role. We somehow connect to this racist (xenoist?) buffoon because despite these qualities, he’s nice and he does get rather screwed beyond warrant. The science fiction of the world feels familiar, drawing on time honored motifs of the genre, but with enough special South African zest to lend a lot of freshness. Like any good sci-fi story, it’s all just metaphor for problems we easily recognize in ourselves, for dilemmas of today, but luckily it works as a pure theme park ride as well. We were lucky to get a second good science fiction blockbuster this year, and I can’t wait for this one’s sequel either.
6. An Education - A movie about the expectations and desires of youth that reminded me not at all of my own. So, how then did I connect? What did I like in this particular coming of age tale? The actress, to start. Carey Mulligan does actually at times seem to be sixteen. A very different sixteen from any I experienced, but nonetheless trapped in school, living with her parents, and seeking anything new. As she digs into that something, though, she takes refuge at times in her immaturity-as even the eldest of us still do. Finally, the movie is a refreshing look at the sixties before the hippie revolution, when things in middle class England were still suit-and-tie proprietous.
5. Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire - The pure gentle sweetness of this film is its most remarkable aspect. Despite the welfare situation, despite the abuse, incest, and mortal bleakness, the spirit and secret world of Precious to which we become privy motivates an enormous hope. And somehow, by limiting the hope-the possibilities for Precious-we try that much harder to wish her well. The acting here is easily among the best this year, from newcomer Gabourey Sidibe in the title role, from Mo’Nique, from Paula Patton, and even from Mariah Carey. I wasn’t the biggest fan of some of the weirdly paced editing, but I do recognize that it was going for a different, maybe jazzy sort of feel. Overall though, there’s no reason to miss this film. You might even come away a little less depressed than the material might lead you to expect.
4. Inglourious Basterds - What does Tarantino have to say about violence, revenge, and commitment that he hasn’t already? This time out, he divides the cast a bit differently than he has before. The Bastards are the wreckless sadists. We get a whole crew of Vic Vegas. As such, their side of the story amuses, but doesn’t reach out. The Shoshanna story lets us in though, and provides a lot of pathos in this otherwise entertaining but detached picture. I have to, of course, mention Christoph Waltz for his performance as Colonel Hans Landa. If you haven’t heard by now, he’s incredible. I want to watch him play every part in every movie. His relationship to Shoshanna serves as the heart of this film, and the way it plays out left me invigorated. Tarantino is one of those directors whose films always leave me with that bug, the bug to create. All Tarantino hallmarks are accounted for here: chapters, flashbacks, unexpected twists, simultaneously cringe-worthy and funny violence, and lots of colorfully fun language. It’s hard to know where to rank this among his other works, but who cares? Truly, that’s the charm of this movie-it’s a fun, creatively stimulating cinematic event.
3. A Single Man - What a richly textured experience. The lushness of George’s (Colin Firth) home, clothes, car, neighborhood, and even language made me a bit jealous, I must admit. Surprisingly perhaps, though, the richness of his life didn’t keep me at an unrelatable distance as it might have under some more obtuse direction. Instead, we get very close to some very intimate, simple emotional moments that make George very real. The color saturation fading up and down was a bit heavy, but so many of the other details were nice and subtle-the look on the friendly bank teller’s face after George turns away, the invitation from his neighbor to dinner, the conversation with the office secretary at work. Whereas a film like last year’s Milk came right out after the kind of belligerent bigotry that would actively block gay rights, this film does an excellent job showcasing the polite distance of the frightened middle class-and the drowning isolation created by such more tolerant ‘as long as I don’t have to see it’ attitudes.
2. World’s Greatest Dad - I’m disappointed not to have seen this movie on more lists like this one. I’m just going to assume no one saw it. I can almost excuse that. It’s a movie called World’s Greatest Dad starring Robin Williams and directed by Bobcat Goldthwait. Yuck, right? I was thinking the same thing. Luckily, though, RV 2 this film is not. I won’t give away any of the brilliant plot points, the world so lovingly set up in the beginning becomes a lot of fun to deconstruct later. I wouldn’t have thought it, but Goldthwait nearly managed the top director spot on my list this year. Want to talk more, but really hate to spoil anything. Trust me, you owe yourself an evening with this one.
1. A Serious Man - The Coen Brothers have hit full stride. Is anyone surprised? The only possible reason, coming straight off Burn After Reading, and No Country for Old Men is that you might be expecting them to falter. Not so. Here they manage to make more entertainingly and more hilariously, more profound observations on life and how we deal with it than anyone else working in the business today. Of course, the technical aspects of this film impress, despite the rather simple setting. Good cinematography, the great editing the Coens and their team have honed over the years, the attention to detail, and some very good acting-especially from lead Michael Stuhlbarg-will delight you. Poor Larry Gopnik. His bad day turns into a bad week, and only gets worse from there. A few kind moments do manage to poke through the canopy, though. I won’t bother telling you about his quest for answers, how he finally deals with his mounting problems, where he looks for peace, where he finds it, or how he changes as a result. The beautiful thing about this picture is, if you’ve learned anything about real life, you probably don’t need me to tell you anyway. The deepest truths are those which have no right to continually surprise us as they do. The problems of the people in this movie are not cinematic-a confiscated radio, a busted TV antenna, an appointment with the Rabbi. Yet, somehow, these moments are filled with all the suspense you or I experience from our own daily dilemmas. And what does it all come to then? That may be the biggest truth of all.
Other Notables:
(500) Days of Summer - Great acting. Getting the subtleties of relationship quirks is difficult to do without looking like you’re concentrating on them, which makes them suddenly not so subtle. Both the leads here handle it well. Could have been funnier. Could have gone a bit deeper into the relationship. Could have surprised a bit more in the end. Also, gimmicky sister character didn’t work. Note: not a date movie.
Adventureland - Really almost made the top ten. What a fun, peculiarly witty look into the seemingly endless world of the summer job. Ah, to be young again. Slight problems with the ending kept it back from finishing higher.
Antichrist - Ugh. Chaos does indeed reign. The cinematography is beautiful, and Willem Defoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg turn in some stellar performances too. The claustrophobic dread does go somewhere, though. This is one of only two movies I’ve seen in my life that had me covering part of the screen, looking away, and then pacing about the room muttering expletives. I won’t fault it for that, however. It’s just not as multi-faceted as, say, Lars van Trier’s Dogville, for instance.
Avatar - I suppose I should comment on it. Not much to say though. Insipidly predictable and unoriginal plot. Decent acting. Still enjoyed myself though because I saw it in 3D and it was breathtaking and fun. No interest whatsoever in ever seeing it in 2D though.
The Blind Side - Not terrible. Not particularly memorable either. Did Bullock deserve her Oscar after all? Probably not, but you could do far worse at Blockbuster. Hah. I guess I have been out of the country for a while. Who still uses Blockbuster?
Brothers - Some people liked it. I felt that it played like a movie of the week with better actors.
The Brothers Bloom - A bit of a disappointment after the excellent Brick from director Rian Johnson. I did like the performances, the slightly off-kilter take on the con movie, and the interesting locations, but the pacing was odd. It lacked a strong drive forward in the plot.
Bruno - Sorry, not nearly as funny as Borat. Amusing, though.
Coco Before Chanel - I don’t really know why, but I don’t usually get into biopics. This one is no exception. We don’t get to see much of her rise to fame, which, I guess is a commendable choice. We focus more on her personal life and the men in it before her enormous success. The thing is, did I really care? This movie is okay, but it won’t give you any curiosity about these events you didn’t already have going in.
Crazy Heart - Yes, Jeff Bridges’s performance is pretty awesome, as usual. Maggie Gyllenhaal, also good. I even believed Colin Farrell’s as a Texan. What’s more, the country music didn’t grate on my nerves too badly-it’s fine for what it is. Still, it’s all pretty predictable fair. Nothing groundbreaking here.
Food, Inc. - A bit scary. Covers similar ground as the fictional Fast Food Nation from a few years ago. Worth watching.
Funny People - Not nearly as well-received as Apatow’s other recent films. I can see why, but I disagree. I really liked this movie about comedians. It took me into a world with its own rules and idiosyncrasies. Adam Sandler is perfect for his role here, both because of his acting chops and because of the meta connection to his real life. I’ve heard it said that the last act-a sort of unexpected departure from much of the earlier film-doesn’t fit, but I again disagree. A large part of the movie builds up these characters so that the end can put them in a pressure cooker and we can see who pops. Oh, it’s also pretty funny.
The Hangover - Yes, it’s funny. I don’t think I have much to add, as anyone over the age of fourteen has probably already seen it.
I Love You, Man - Good comedy. Paul Rudd varies his acting a bit here, becoming a much meeker and not so wise-cracking awkward real estate agent. The male bonding on display will make you laugh, even if the actors involved have done that sort of thing before.
The Invention of Lying - It has funny moments. After The Office and Extras, though, I keep waiting for Ricky Gervais to hit a grand slam. Or whatever it is the English call a hella-play in cricket.
Jennifer’s Body - It actually entertained me a lot more than I thought it would. That’s why we actually watch them, I suppose. Good throwback to fun teen horror comedy of an earlier era. Think Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The movie. The one with Kristy Swanson.
The Messenger - Fascinating look at an aspect of the military rarely (never?) considered on film before. Relationship between the Ben Foster and Woody Harrelson was great. Relationship between Foster and Samantha Morton-not so much. I found it distracting and off-putting. Still, this film offered enough rewards to make me glad I saw it.
Moon - Yet another cool sci-fi film this year. Great! Sam Rockwell is the only actor you’ll see, but Kevin Spacey lends his voice to a robot. There’s basically a mystery to unravel, and that part was rather engrossing. Rockwell proves himself again to be a really good actor too. I had a small problem with the ending, though, which is why it missed a high spot.
New York, I Love You - Not as good as Paris, Je T’Aime. Also, astonishingly, the best segment was the one directed by Brett Ratner.
Sherlock Holmes - Snuck in at the end of the year. I was worried going in, because just a few years ago I read all the Sherlock Holmes stories, and there didn’t seem to be nearly as much explosion or romance in those as in the trailer. Robert Downey Jr. comes through, however. Yes, the action was just a little much for the character, but they didn’t forget to make those scenes more about Holmes’s unique observational alacrity than anything else, which was nice. The romance also didn’t so much bother me, as Holmes did indeed seem aloof to it at times and not such a ladykiller. I guess I’m saying, they kept the character intact, and I’m perfectly willing to check out the next one in the franchise.
Surrogates - Not so good.
Terminator Salvation - Yes, this is the one with the naked CG Arnold. Oops, did I ruin the surprise. I expected bad. I got some good action and a nice diversion. Doesn’t stand up to T2, but then, you already knew that.
Up - I must echo everyone else and just say “Wow!” to the opening montage. The rest of the movie is fine too, even enjoyable. The zany unhinged plot didn’t so much draw me in though. Still, see it, for sure.
Watchmen - I really liked it. Seriously. I know it has a lot of detractors, especially for the sex scene, but I loved the slow pacing and many of the events in the story. Somehow they made it work. I had read the comic a few years before, so maybe I wasn’t bored because I knew what to expect, but I also liked Ang Lee’s Hulk, so maybe I dig those unhurried comic book films.
Where the Wild Things Are - I liked it a lot. The creatures and the environment were lovingly and very nicely realized. The acting is good too, even from the kid, Max Records. His problems are pretty deep, and this is another children’s movie that doesn’t shy away from darkness. I definitely liked spending my time in this world.
Zombieland - I laughed enough. There’s a nice little romance, too. Also, the surprise star appearance is great. Hope the sequel is just as good.
There you have it. I guess I did see quite a few good movies this year after all. Happy filmgoing in 2010 (or what’s left of it anyway)! See you next year.