Best of 2009, and then some

2009 was not the best year for movies in recent memory, but it did produce some movies I will definitely talk about for years to come, as well as re-watch repeatedly. Here is my top five, plus an honorable mention and a handful of superlatives. This is absolutely a list of personal favorites and by no means a list of “films” that I expect to top all time lists any time soon. However, they all spoke to me for reasons I will try to explain. Plus, it’s my blog so I can list anything I damn well please.

5) Moon—Perhaps I should preface any list such as this with a mention of my deep and abiding love of science fiction. Part of that love is an early bonding experience with my father over Heinlein books, but the bulk of it is the way the best science fiction uses fantastical settings and new technologies to demonstrate truths about the present. I’m hesitant to explain the ways in which Moon really uses the sci-fi genre to its highest potential because I firmly believe going in blind gives you the most impact, as well as the most respect for Sam Rockwell’s subdued performance. I truly hope this movie gets the appreciation on DVD its limited theatrical release held back from it.

4) In The Loop—The anglophile in me, combined with the lover of intelligent profanity, fell in love with this film immediately. Never in my memory has “fuck” been used as eloquently or artistically. Special credit goes to Peter Capaldi as the vulgar Scottish public relations expert we all wish we were. He is so proficient at his job he can literally tell his superiors to sodomize themselves with donkey genitalia, and not only not get fired, but also get the job done.

3) The Hurt Locker—I watched this preparing to appreciate it based on all the reviews I had read, but nothing more. In no way is this movie made for me. War movies have never been my bag, with the exception of satirical ones with a strident and obvious anti-war message. However, this movie really hit me. The performances, particularly Jeremy Renner as the lead, were strong. In addition, its theme of the subtle consequences of war and they way they spider-web out into the "real" lives of the participants and become something tangible and dangerous really reached the pacifist in me. The cinematography was breathtaking, simultaneously making the Middle East a place of monochromatic beauty and gritty terror. Finally, I was incredibly impressed that a woman directed The Hurt Locker. Not to sound sexist, but the trials and tribulations of an IED diffusing squad is testosterone-soaked territory. Nevertheless, Katherine Bigelow brought nuance to a film that could have easily been a jingoistic assault of the senses. In that, she reminded us of the faces at the forefront of the conflict.

2) Inglorious Basterds—It’s good to know Tarantino still has it. In most ways this is a distinctly Tarantino film. But it’s the risks he took which are why I rate this so highly. While watching this in the theatre I was literally flabbergasted at how much was subtitled. Knowing the American audience’s general attitude toward reading their movies, I have to applaud Tarantino and Universal for the verisimilitude. A film like this requires immersion and accented English, if we were lucky enough to get that (hello Valkyrie!), would have kept the viewer at a distance. In addition, despite Tarantino’s propensity for verbosity in his scripts, he truly used that talent to great reward here. The opening scene, clocking in around 25 minutes, was tense despite consisting of two men talking at a table over a glass of milk. Viewers walking in looking for a Tarantino shoot-em-up would have to exhibit great patience to get there. The bar scene deserves the same applause for the same reason. Never has watching polite conversation been so nerve-wracking.

1) District 9—Man oh man did this movie hit me. Whether or not Ebert and his ilk are speaking of this in ten years, I most certainly will be. I tried to prepare readers for my love of science fiction in the Moon entry, but it applies most strongly in this piece. Applying apartheid and immigration fears to the idea of extra-terrestrials struggling to make a home on earth is exactly why I loved this movie. The social commentary may have been a little to on the nose for some folks, but these are issues that are skirted around so often it’s time someone made a film that pointed at the perpetrators and made them pay attention. Plus, I love a good summer blockbuster/action extravaganza as much as the next guy, provided it’s more than just a typical summer blockbuster/action extravaganza. District 9 fit that bill quite nicely. The pacing was spot on, the performances were riveting, and the story was one that deserves the highest praise. And who can hate a summer action film that has the viewers rooting for the aliens killing all the humans in the sequel?

Honorable Mention) A Serious Man—Can the Coen brothers do any wrong? This is another stylistically impeccable movie that manages to touch on larger truths while still being an incredibly dark comedy. The fact that this tale was so close to the Coen’s hearts (as evidenced in several interviews) only adds to its strengths. Even a lapsed Catholic like me could see Larry Gopnik’s struggle as that of Job, as well as the filmmaker’s concern for their main character. This concern mirrors what many of the faith see as God’s love for Job, despite the trials he put him through. In addition, as a supporter of ambiguous endings I wholeheartedly embraced this movie.

Best Male Performance) Christoph Waltz in Inglorious Basterds—Hands down this is the best male performance of the year. Waltz made a self-described and Nazi-employed Jew Hunter sympathetic. He had better win every bullshit statue out there. For reals.

Best Female Performance) Mo’Nique in Precious—It’s clichéd, and I take solace in the fact that this stuck-up bitch won’t be taking home a statuette, but goddamn was this a hell of a transformation into a beast of a woman. And I will definitely give her credit for that.

Best Scene) The Opening Credits of Watchmen--Here is what the movie should have been, a concise and stylistic summary of a dense graphic novel, set to period appropriate music that made the point without bludgeoning the viewer over the head with it.

Funniest Scene) The post-coital Hall and Oates danceathon in (500) Days of Summer—Yowzas did this make my friends and I giggle profusely during an otherwise meh movie. For me personally it was the combination of Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s character seeing his reflection as Han Solo and him hitting the home run. Dynamite.

Most Tense Scene) The hotel room scene in Humpday—Again, I don’t want to ruin the premise for anyone who hasn’t seen this yet, but this was tenser than anything in that bullshit Paranormal Activity. This is “Will they or won’t they?” tension to the extreme.

Funniest Movie) The Hangover—By no means perfect, but terribly, terribly funny. Plus, it got funnier on a second viewing which really bodes well for its timelessness status. This movie also proves Zack Galifinakis should be given everything amazing in Hollywood. He stole every scene he was in, and somehow a few he was nowhere near. And thanks to him I now know that tigers love pepper.

Prettiest Movie) Avatar—It was beautiful and not nearly the train-wreck it could have been. The fact that I legitimately felt like I could reach out and pluck parts of the scenery out of the air in front of me is all I need to give this movie this superlative.

Most squandered premise) Tie—The Invention of Lying and Paranormal Activity—The main reason I disliked the latter movie is the same as why I hated The Blair Witch Project and Open Water; real people suck and are boring to watch. I hated that couple, just from listening to their “real people” fights and problems, so much that I could not wait for the demon to eat them both. In fact, I began rooting for the demon! Plus, the very nature of them filming themselves at night robbed the movie of any suspense since it became very obvious very quickly when “scary” shit was about to happen. This could have been fantastic, but the filmmakers obviously got so caught up in their fantastic idea they lost all perspective. So I am forced to call shenanigans on the whole project. And then there’s The Invention of Lying. Ricky Gervais is awkward comedy genius personified. Atheism was presented so smartly that The Invention of Lying was properly brilliant for a solid 2/3 of the way through. But then Hollywood reared its ugly head and insisted on shoving in a romantic subplot which completely bogged down the end of the movie. (I call this the Idiocracy paradox.) So we are left with a fantastic premise and a horribly botched execution. Which hurts more than just a dull movie because the lingering promise of that brilliant premise reminds of the movie we could have seen.

Biggest Disappointment) Watchmen—See Best Scene entry. This proves that it is possible to do everything right and still get everything wrong.

Movies I Did Not See (That may have ended up in this blog entry)—Just to put some perspective on this list.
• Nine
• The Lovely Bones
• Good Hair
• An Education
• Pirate Radio
• The Men Who Stare at Goats
• Bright Star
• 9
• Big Fan
• Public Enemies
• Antichrist