You can thank Matt Ravier for reminding me to get my shit together to write up my favourite films of 2009.
Many of the movies on my list are not ones I regard as universally flawless. Actually if you look at my star-ratings over the year many of these movies dont even rate the highest. However, A 'best-of' list is about how well a movie stands over time and these are the films that I found myself reliving in my head as 2009 wore on.
So without further carry on... this is the list:
BEST RELEASED
- Up (Peter Docter, USA)
- District 9 (Neil Blomkamp, USA / New Zealand)
- Balibo (Robert Connolly, Australia)
- Let The Right One In (Tomas Alfredson, Sweden)
- Star Trek (J.J. Abrams, USA)
- Milk (Gus Van Sant, USA)
- (500) Days of Summer (Marc Webb, USA)
- Avatar (James Cameron, USA)
- The Baader-Meinhof Complex (Uli Edel, Germany)
- Mary And Max (Adam Elliot, Australia)
BEST UNRELEASED IN CINEMAS IN 2009
- Fantastic Mr Fox (Wes Anderson, USA)
- In the Loop (Armando Ionnucci, UK)
- Bigger Stronger Faster* (Chris Bell, USA)
- Sita Sings the Blues (Nina Paley, USA)
- Tokyo Zombie (Sakichi Sato, Japan)
So, why did these films make the list? Well, Mary & Max had one of the most heartbreaking suicide attempts ever commited to film. Balibo gave us our first decent political thriller in nearly decade. Up for being the only film to meld tangible, aching sadness with talking dogs. Occasionally too-schmaltzy 500 Days of Summer for its spot-on deconstruction of a devolving relationship. Let The Right One In almost purely for that closing pool sequence. Baader-Meinhoff for mixing broadstroke socio-political filmmaking with incredibly hot Germans. Star Trek for finally injecting Trek with something it's sorely missing for a decade - personality (and lens flares). And of course Avatar - for a movie quasi-based on Pocahontas, it was pretty fucking amazing.
As we all know, lists are pretty damn subjective so lemme know what your top 10 is so we can compare notes.
Update - The 'Nearly-But-Not-Quite' list included The Class, Inglorious Basterds, Where The Wild Things Are, An Education, The Girlfriend Experience, Public Enemies, The Reader and Synechdoche NY,
8 comments:
Oh wow, we only agree about 1 film!?
I really HATED 500 Days of Summer - I would have walked out except I was on an aeroplane - but Star Trek and Let the Right One In would have been my nos 11 + 12.
Anyway, in no particular order, and because they variously made me cry .. laugh .. eek .. squirm .. sigh .. think .. this is my top 10:
• Watchmen
• The Hangover
• Avatar
• Bright Star
• September Issue
• Beautiful Kate
• Disgrace
• State of Play
• Samson and Delilah
• Watchmen
• The Reader
Hey, and thanks for the reviews this year .. Happy New Year!
10. BALIBO
Quite a haunting film about a part of history that I was lacking some knowledge in. One of those films that was excellent but never want to see again.
9. (500) DAYS OF SUMMER
Enjoyable "romance" film. Has both entertaining sequences in it (the musical sequence, along with the arthouse sequence comes to mind) and an emotional truth at the centre.
8. THE CLASS
Even though it's French, a film that at times felt a little too real. I'm a sucker for teacher films but this is the one that shows the ups and downs of teachings the best.
7. THE WRESTLER
You can't deny Mickey Rourke as the acting powerhouse in this film.
6. SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
There's a reason this one got Best Film at the Oscars. Boyle doesn't let his whiz-bang narrative techniques get in the way of a good story.
5. THE HANGOVER
While it's not without it's problems, this film delivered probably the best fun I had at the cinema all year.
4. UP
The only film on this list I saw twice at the cinema. Pixar know what they are doing.
3. SYNECDOCHE NEW YORK
I fell in love with this film when I saw it, and that was even when i had the worst seat that you could possibly get in the place, right up the front and on the edge. It didn't matter, this film is lyrically beautiful.
2. WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE
The most longed for film of the year, it was one which could have easily of buckled under its own weight of expectations. For me it didn't. This film resonated with a unique feeling of what it feels like to be a boy.
1. INGLORIOUS BASTERDS
This film gets top place for the opening sequence alone. Every single scene in "Basterds" is about tension, and Tarentino achieves this tension through the script alone - the soundtrack is very bare. Every word is thought out, every camera shot is methodical. This is a filmmaking masterclass.
I've made the abominable cinema-going crimes of not having seen Up or Avatar as of writing this comment, so I really can't put together a "best of the year" list that I'm content with. I'll share my thoughts anyway, since you so kindly asked.
Watchmen deserves a mention. For an attempt at condensing the sprawling piece of literature not just to the medium of film but to a product that passes the Hollywood censorship test, fans should appreciate what was achieved. A handful of great performances, beautiful visuals, and some really affecting sequences - I'll never hear "Times They Are A-changing" the same way again - made for a truly amazing adaptation.
(500) Days of Summer needs way more credit than it gets. I've heard it described as being too kooky for its own good, or too schmaltzy. Seriously, it might warrant those adjectives to some degree, but it's light-years ahead of the usual crap that's passed for examples of the genre lately. I found it gloriously uplifting in its honesty.
We had a few movies that were endorsed by critics purely because of how damn fun they were, namely flicks like 2012 and Star Trek. The best of that group, in my opinion, was Zombieland. Not only did it bring its own, fresh ideas to zombie-horror, but it managed to paint some likeable and interesting characters in the process. I personally think that there's potential for a sequel or TV series.
As for District 9, I see it as the Slumdog Millionaire of this year. They're both pretty traditionally-told stories; the lead character discovers someone that they want to protect with their life, the obviously "evil" characters get their due, etcetera. The thing that makes them stand out is their respective foreign locations, because that gives their stories a kind of cultural resonance. It's also reassuring to see a film with foreign accents take off in the US.
Well, there you have it.
My picks:
10. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - dir. David Yates
9. Synecdoche, New York - dir. Charlie Kaufman
8. Public Enemies - dir. Michael Mann
7. Star Trek - dir. J.J. Abrams
6. Revolutionary Road - dir. Sam Mendes
5. 2012 - dir. Roland Emmerich
4. (500) Days of Summer - dir. Marc Webb
3. Watchmen - dir. Zack Snyder
2. Inglourious Basterds - dir. Quentin Tarantino
1. The Wrestler - dir. Darren Aronofsky
and yes, I have seen Avatar.
Not a bad list of top movies this year. Just a bit disappointed there was no mention of Inglourious Basterds.
I thought that was very well done and was happy to buy the DVD the other day!
But other than that, mostly happy The Baader-Meinhof Complex made it on the list!
french kissers :)
Balibo?
A great story written crappily... really, really crappily.
Hobba backs me.
In The Loop, and if The Wrestler was the right side of 2009, then that. I'll have each of them 5 times Fennell.
Tell me when you're next on a mid dawn.
The Baader-Meinhof Complex was easily my favourite film of the year. It was a crying shame that I was the only person in the cinema for the session I went to see.
Should I be completely ashamed of myself that I haven't yet seen Let The Right One In? I suspect the answer is yes.
Post a Comment