This was a year, perhaps thanks in part to the writer’s strike, where the studios kept releasing exactly the kinds of movies I want to see. While I wouldn’t suggest that all of these films are among the most well made, they did the best job of pleasing me. By way of example, no less than half the movies on this list are science-fiction films. What’s even better, none of them were sequels or adaptions, to my knowledge In the last ten years, has there been so much new genre content?!! I think not!
Does that mean there is no Watchmen or Star Trek or Sherlock Holmes on this list? Indeed it does, although I enjoyed them immensely. While you may not be familiar with some of these films, I recommend them all unreservedly. Let us dally no farther. These are my favorites of the year, in no particular order:
District 9
While I have written extensively about this film already, I’ll boil my observations down to some quick bullet points. In my opinion, District 9 deals with the complex realities behind heroic action better than any American film of the last twenty years. When someone does a great thing, it’s not because they’re pure of heart, or are somehow made of ephemeral stuff. They do it simply because it must be done. Seeing a man who has been consumed by an oppressive system be torn from his world and forced to confront it with new eyes is powerful, powerful cinema. Rampaging alien powersuits are also powerful cinema, by the way! All that from a tiny little movie from South Africa? This was to be my unchallenged favorite film of the year, until I saw…
Avatar
Any story about a man who finds it within himself to evolve as a warrior by casting aside his convictions as a soldier is bound to capture my heart. When Avatar captured my imagination as well, I came face to face with all the reasons I first fell in love with the movies. I’m not out to spoil anything, so I’ll just say that I was crying when the credits rolled, and that I want to see it again as soon as possible. Did James Cameron talk a lot of trash before releasing this movie? You bet your sweet ass he did! In his shoes, could I have resisted the temptation? Hot dog, Jim! You did it! I love Avatar as much as I love Lord of the Rings.
Moon
This is a movie about a man played by Sam Rockwell who lives on the moon by himself, where he monitors all the robotic mining operations that carry on there. His only companion is GERTY, a robot played by Kevin Spacey. Some folks have likened this movie to 2001 or Solaris, but that’s only because it’s so good. Far more demented and funny, less deliberately profound and more bitingly sharp than either of those movies, Moon would be the best science fiction film of the decade, if not for Avatar or District 9. If I had to liken Moon to anything, it would be Primer.
The Brothers Bloom
Here, we have the most quotable film since Pulp Fiction! Any movie where Rachel Weitz juggles chainsaws is a must see. Any film where that moment takes a backseat to other silliness would automatically be elected president, if this were a just society. This film has a young asian woman who is always fabulously dressed, is an explosives expert, has no dialogue and is always pulling hacksaws and blowtorches out of her handbag like she bought it from Harpo Marx. With no rhyme or reason, the movie keeps taking breaks to explode Barbie dolls. Until you see it, you just don’t know what you’re missing.
Up
This is Pixar’s best film, at least in my eyes. If you don’t know why this was bound to be one of the best films of the year, we have nothing more to say to one another. If you do, I need say no more.
Up in the Air
Those who know me too well fear that I may one day eschew all deep personal connection in pursuit of an ideal I’ve created for myself. This is that story, perfectly played by George Clooney and delightfully arranged by Jason Reitman, two of my favorite people in the business.
Hurt Locker
When was the last time you saw a war movie that scared you so deeply and personally that your faith human evolution was held in question? Was it Full Metal Jacket? Was it Apocalypse Now? Hurt Locker captures some of the helplessness and terror that comes with being a soldier in a world where war has stopped being about conflict between nations. How does a soldier fight when there is no clear boundary between hostile and friendly territory? This movie keeps it’s integrity by focusing on the drama, but the world it depicts is pure horror.
Outlander
Two thousand years ago, James Cavaziel was an alien soldier transporting an alien monster. When his ship crashlands in Scandinavia, he leads a band of Vikings against the creature and inspires the legend of Beowulf. What’s not to love? While the Weinsteins tried their hardest to keep me from seeing this movie, even going so far as to put it in limited release without givin Los Angeles a print, I got my hands on it and I loved it. Why was this movie manhandled so badly? Did they sign a contract they came to resent? To me, the best thing about this movie was the scale. Ok – Vikings, spacemen, and John Hurt are the best parts of this movie, but the scale is important. Never did it aspire to deal in the fate of the world, or any such claptrap. Nope, this movie is about whether this here clan of Vikings can kill a monster before it eats them all up. Not every film needs to be about the end of life as we know it, and like Conan and other films of this kind, Outlander hit all the right notes for the story and the scope it was prepared to deal with. Lord, I wish they made more movies like this.
Push
Know what? This year, they did! Push is more or less a superhero movie, only instead of a good-versus-evil showdown with the fates of millions in the balance, the creators put together a Hitchcockian thriller complicated by superpowers like premonition and telepathy and heightened with weapons like telekinesis and sonic mind-exploding screaming – all set against the seedy backdrop of Bangkok! With a fun cast of game actors, a tight script, some neat effects and a scope that didn’t overreach itself, this was exactly the kind of movie I want to see more of! Plus, it was a serious superhero movie with characters I didn’t already know! How great is that?
Drag Me To Hell
What was I saying about scope? As a kid, Darkman was one of my favorite movies. When director Sam Raimi went on to direct the Spider-Man movies, I feared he had abandoned that glorious sense of dementia that comes with screwing characters over in an intimate, personal way. Boy, was I out of line! All those great filmmaking techniques and production values he’s mastered, as well as the unflappable optimism of his more recent characters, were shoved into a tight little deadite Evil Dead blender of pain in Drag Me To Hell, and the very gross concoction that emerged is easily the most gloriously entertaining movie of 2009. Skip the unrated director’s cut. Part of the fun is how Raimi abuses the ratings rules. Apparently, you can throw anything up that you want and it’s not “R” rated. Believe me when I tell you that Sam Raimi puts it to the test! Think blood can get you an “R” rating? Not nose bleeds, which is why he gives his heroine a nose bleed so bad it hoses down everything in a twenty foot radius in bright, cherry red gore. Meanwhile, people are barfing up maggots, flies, dead cats and everything else you can think of. Want more talking demonic goats in your movies? Look no further! This is the grossest movie I’ve seen that wasn’t Japanese in as long as I can remember, and it’s rated PG-13. I love you, Sam Raimi.
More than any other year I can remember, this year’s movies affected me on a deep, personal level. At the same time, they excited me creatively and inspired my imagination more than any single year on record. Usually, I don’t do these top ten lists, but how can I not?
With the studios retreating into the safety of franchise film, it’s up to independent filmmakers like us to keep films like these coming out. To all of the amazing filmmakers that made this year so special, including all the ones I didn’t mention here like Jamin Wayans with Ink, I want to express my deep, heartfelt gratitude. Thanks to you, 2009 was the most fun I’ve ever had watching movies.
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