Hello everybody, and welcome to Hairy Lime's official top ten films list for 2009. This is the master list.
In summary:
2009's been a gravy-train year for the industry. With a record 10.5 billion and counting in domestic ticket sales, 2009 was definitely a recession year, ripe for escapist experiences. Or so you'd think. There were some radical films this past year, but not all were digestible tripe. Sure we had gonzo excess with "Avatar" and "Gobots 2," and I kinda had fun at those. But, we also had some really memorable and engrossing films like "Precious," "The Messenger" and "The Proposal."
We saw Sandra Bullock kick ass at the BO, but taint it with the fact that her movies were middling. "Taken" and "Paul Blart" tortured terrorists and audiences, respectively. Mo'Nique shocked us by letting us think she deserved an Oscar. Grown women got all Mary Kat Loterneau for a 17 year old in "New Moon." "Harry Potter" made $300 milly, despite every complaining that it was unfaithful, again. And, we saw a surprisingly low amount of comic book films. What the flog?
There was a lot to see this year. And it was mostly worthwhile. Ebert called the year magical. OK. I'd call it decent. Maltin called it weak. I'd still call it decent. It's not perfect when I'm not fawning at all of Clooney's movies. Let's be frank, I've had some time to catch a flick or two or twenty, and I saw some great, thoughtful work in theaters. After I saw "Terminator," of course.
But, enough of my fluff.
This list will be in two parts. 10 through 6 today. 5 through 1 this week. There will also be an"Honor Roll" for films that don't quite make the grade (we're in a recession, not everyone has ability, or passion to make top 40's.). And, we'll have a list of films I'll admit to not seeing, next issue. And you don't like the list? Upset I didn't include "Precious" or "Ponyo?" Eat it. Or spew in the comments. Whatever works.
Let's do this.
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A triumphantly lyrical return for Jane Campion ("The Piano"), the Aussie director came back with an emotional punch, doing what she's always done best: sincere period romance. "Bright Star" is the episodic ballad of John Keats (Ben Wishaw, "Perfume") and his brief but rapturous romance with his neighbor Fanny Brawne (Abbie Cornish, "Stop-Loss"). Artfully staged, elegantly scored and lovingly acted out by the two leads, "Star" is a reminder that the best romance on film is patient. Abbie Cornish deserves super kudos for her work as Brawne, a woman experiencing first love on a level that is both familiar and enviable for its honesty. And remember, this a time when being a poet was chick magnetic. It wouldn't get you laughed out of a bar.
Keith Phipps said it best in the A.V. Club: "Haneke's latest is essentially an inquiry into the roots of certain kind of evil." Vague, simple, and all too deeply taunting. Michael Haneke, master of the modern, awkward thriller hooks it with this eery postcard of a Protestant town in Northern Germany on the cusp of World War 1. Weird shit's happening like barn fires, horses being tripped with wire, and attempts made on the lives of infants. The town's adults at a loss for what's happening, but we come to realize it's a pseudo "Village of the Damned" scenario as we learn the town's children are committing these atrocities. And we all know what generation these children grow into. "White Ribbon" is a truly haunting look at a time of bitter withholding.
Honestly, it took me three viewings to realize just how freakin brilliant this movie is. "District 9" deserves to be called one of the great science fiction films, as it encompasses some of the genre's best qualities in terms of images and ideas. At times "9" is thrilling and visceral — the electro gun that turns people into apple sauce appeals to that 10-year old in everyone. But it's also one of the most thoughtful ruminations on occupation policy to reach a wide audience. My original complaints were that "9" tries its hand in too many genres to hide its space opera roots. But after repeat viewings, I see "9" now for what it is: Innovative, isigthful and ultimately, damn entertaining. Take THAT Dean Worm, er, James Cameron!
The only true comedy on this list, "Black Dynamite" was not only one of the funniest films to come out in '09, but it was a perfect satire and parody of a genre and an era we really don't visit that often. That's not to say "Dynamite" is totally esoteric. "Dynamite" has enough clever, cult comedy to make this film get a deserved audience. With great lines like "Diabolical dick-shrinking motherfuckers!" and great sight gags (visible boom mikes, crappy 1970's camera) worthy of Zucker Brothers credibility. Think "Grindhouse," but less smug. And, unlike "The Hangover," "Dynamite," has a killer soundtrack. Also, after years of B-movie jail, Michael Jai White deserves a breakout with his winning afro show as the eponymous lead. "Dyno-mite! Dyno-mite!"
A former colleague of mine argued that the lead character in the Coens' latest didn't deserve anything that happens to him. I begged to differ. But we certainly agreed on one thing: This was one weird and rewarding dramedy. Half grotesque Coens ("O' Brother," "Raising Arizona"), half crafty Coens ("No Country," "Miller's Crossing"), "A Serious Man" is the kind of personal project project directors could only make after winning Oscars. Wanna see a Jewish Minnesotas math professor face off with the cosmos in the early 1960's? Well, that prospect has never been so abysmally entertaining. See it with friends, as you'll be debating this doozy of a movie for weeks to come. Oh, and if you keep complaining that you "didn't do anything" like the "Serious Man" keeps exclaiming, then maybe you deserve to be railed on by the universe. And oddly enough, you'll wanna be there when it happens.
A striking and promising debut from designer Tom Ford, "Single Man" is a tragic story of love lost and a day in the life of a Los Angeles english professor. Colin Firth ("Mamma Mia!") puts on a show as George, the professor who just lost his long-term lover Jim (Matthew Goode, "Watchmen") to an accident. George contemplates suicide, constantly being teased into staying alive. The loss burns deep. We feel George's pain. Firth is Best Actor worthy, as was Jeff Bridges in '09. But unlike "Crazy Heart," "Man" is filmed a stylish sturdiness that shows Tom Ford isn't just some shallow sex machine in a suit. There's a lot that goes on beneath the exterior, and we look a little bit inside George. To be fair, I did want to buy some damn Ford clothes after this thing. But, I settled for downloading the elegant soundtrack. This is "Mad Men's" tortured soul, and it's way more affecting.
Alright! Pixar comes back into my heart with Pete Docter's "Up." After superficial efforts in "Wall-E" and "Cars," (yeah, I called them superficial) "Up" re-strengthens the Pixar mold of sturdy stories met with sterling sights. Ed Asner (TV's "Freakazoid!" for some reason) is Carl, a widower who decides to take the trip to South America he promised his wife so long ago. And if you've seen a poster, you know he gets there in his house, with a helluva lotta balloons. Carl's joined by Russel, an over-eager young Boy Scout, Dug, a most likable talking dog, and Kevin, a large and rare bird. Part fantasy, part cautionary tale, "UP" is all whimsy. Also, the perfect first ten minutes will make you cry in way that puts Bambi to shame. Carl and his wive's lives are chronicled in a perfectly edited and scored montage, deserving of study.
Somewhere, in some preview, a critic claimed that the stop motion "Fantastic Mr. Fox" just goes to show that "Pixar doesn't have a monopoly on fine films." And how. Wes Anderson's latest is not only his best work in eight years, but it's his most creative piece, well suited for his talents of selfish men and meaningful minutiae for the camera. George Clooney is that fox, and we follow his fun and fancy free as he faces off with three nasty farmers. But's there far more than just that story on display. "Mr. Fox" is a rich and rewarding adaptation from the doyen of children's fiction, Roald Dahl. Seeing as Anderson's film is about details, here a few of the strong ones: Stellar soundtrack, perfectly cast voices, a thoughtful story, great sense of humor, smart and simple dialogue, style to spare, details, details and more details. And it only gets better with each fantastic viewing. Damn. Almost made it without the obvious comment...
This film has become almost supernatural in my mind. Werner Herzog's "Bad Lieutenant" is an immediate cult classic on institutional failure and excesses in the life and times of one, bad, policeman. Nic Cage is in full gonzo mode, screaming, drinking, fucking, betting, shooting, snorting, beating, and just plain gettin' real weird with it. As Terence McDonough, the bad man of the title, Cage plays a possibly good man, tainted by, well, everything that surrounds him. Ostensibly, "Lieutenant" is a rambling mess. Why watch Cage be forkin' nuts for two hours? Because the memories are deep, lasting and often hysterical. Try watching this and not having a quote-a-thon after it's done. That's not to belittle Herzog's character study as too strange to watch. In fact, Cage and Herzog would only want you to call this movie crazy. This is a tour de force movie. And if you aren't seeing iguanas afterwards ... well, that's probably alright.
I probably shouldn't tell you this, but lemme tell you why "The Hurt Locker" was so damn awesome. I went to see this with three friends, and admittedly, a couple of us were drunk ... ish. We saw it with the idea that this was supposed to be some unusually good action flick. Ya know, some wise-crackin' bomb defuser flick. "Speed" without Keanu. Well, within 15 minutes, it's like all the Bud Select had been diffused and I was in a catatonic state. Same went for the others with me. "Hurt Locker" grabbed all of us.
Kathryn Bigelow's structuralist war epic "Hurt Locker" grabs you, keeps you in its clenched fists, and leaves its mark. I have only seen "Hurt Locker" once, but it's just that affecting. A flawless thriller of ideas and technique, Bigelow hit a career high. More than bomb defuser actioner, "Hurt Locker" is not only best film to observe the Iraq War, it is one of the great war films. It is innovative for its aesthetics, breath-taking for its story, and certainly the finest film of 2009. Unlike the ephemeral jolt of an explosion, this important stunner of a film will endure.
And if you're not sure, maybe it's too heavy for you, the consider this. Look at the still I chose. How incendiary is it that Bigelow took one of the most cliched images of recent cinema — the cool guy coming towards the camera, away from an explosion — and turned it into one of the great film moments of the year? Look at other top tens. You'll see that image everywhere for a reason.
"Antichrist" - I'm a sucker for shock value, and Lars Von Trier's psycho-drama featured gynocide, the death of an infant, and a forebodingly talkative fox. Hilarious to some, harrowing for others. This got folks talking.
"Observe & Report" - Jody Hill has tremendous potential. After seeing this pitch black comedy about a delusional mall cop, I foresee Hill becoming something of a Scorsese in comedy. Plus, Seth Rogen shows his dark side, and it's painfully, fatalistically funny.
"Broken Embraces" - A film appreciation course for film lovers. Parts Welles, Hitchcock, Truffaut, Herzog and a dozen others, Almodovar created a soapy opus about a blind filmmaker's lost film. Penelope Cruz is luminous. Indulgent, in a mostly marvelous way.
"Le Nana (The Maid)" - From Chile, this domestic disturbance of a movie was way underseen. My hail mary for best actress, this examination of a maid in crisis after 20+ years of aiding her family draws you in. Eerily familiar, and sensationally dramatic.
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Did not see:
"35 Shots of Rum" "Goodbye Solo" "Anvil: The Story of Anvil" "Ponyo" "The Cove" "The Messenger"
And the rest?:
"Avatar" B+ "Inglourious Basterds" B- "An Education" A- "Crazy Heart" B+ "Precious" B "In the Loop" B+ "Up in the Air" C "(500) Days of Summer" C "Food, Inc." B+ "Star Trek" C+.
AND A FINAL NOTE TO THOSE THAT READ THIS:
Thanks, and do share it with someone.
And, if you're interested in last year's top ten, ch-ch-check it out:
