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2009: A year in reviewApr 21 '10 Write an essay on this topic.The Bottom Line Solid year for film, even if Transformers, GI Joe, and Avatar were released in the same year. Like all years, 2009 had some great films and some bad ones. There were some big disappointments (Funny People, Public Enemies) and some major blockbusters (Revenge of the Fallen, New Moon, and of course Avatar). All in all it wasn’t a bad year for film, and most of my favorites were the ones that went under everyone’s radar. The ones that just missed the cut. Although Up in the Air is a good film with strong writing and performances, the satire isn’t as hard hitting and the film lacks an edge for it to make my top ten. The Hangover is a very funny comedy, but it really wasn’t anything new. Adventureland was an excellent comedy/drama with a lot of heart that most people missed. And Zombieland was great fun with a great cameo from Bill Murray, but it still felt like it was missing something. I didn’t see every movie from the year, and missed several notable ones, including The Hurt Locker, Precious, Crazy Heart, The Blind Side, and others. So, I’ll probably get around to seeing them sometime, but till then, here’s my list. 10. The Box. This is one you probably won’t find on too many top ten lists. Most people didn’t like it (or Richard Kelly’s previous film Southland Tales) but I found it to be a brilliant sci-fi – thriller- plus a whole lot of other genres. It has an intriguing plot and the film is so layered with creative storytelling and images, it’s a bit jarring at times. It is far from perfect with some narrative flaws, but most of its weaknesses can be overlooked by the strength of the story and the interesting subtexts Kelly manages to incorporate. 9. Anvil: The Story of Anvil. A little seen documentary that I found astounding did not get a Best Documentary nomination. Although I haven’t seen the other nominees, this was one of the best documentaries I’ve seen in a long time. It tells the story of the 80’s metal band, Anvil, and their struggles and hardships as they kept playing and stuck together. It is an emotional journey but one that has a lot of human spirit, and is a very inspiring movie. If you haven’t seen it, it’s great, lots of drama, but also quite funny. Think of it as a real life Spinal Tap. 8. Inglorious Basterds. Quentin Tarantino is an interesting filmmaker, who a lot of people feel strongly about. I think Jackie Brown is the best film he’s ever done and True Romance is my favorite script of his. I thought both Kill Bills were extremely disappointing, so when I heard of Inglorious Basterds, I was a bit weary at first. It turned out to be a very entertaining and fun war film, with a lot of seriousness involved as well. A lot of people were disappointed when they found out the bulk of the story did not belong to the basterds, but I still enjoyed the movie a lot. Tarantino literally rewrites history is a much more fun and satisfying way. It’s not perfect, but it proved to me that Tarantino still has it in him to make good films. And Christoph Waltz’s performance was one of the best of the year, and made the bad guy role a true wonder. 7. Up. Whatever Pixar is doing that allows them to continually release amazing film after amazing film each year, they better keep doing it. Up is hilarious, heart breaking, and full of humanity throughout its entire runtime, and not one moment feels like it’s wasted. It contains a perfect three act structure and still manages to be surprising and exciting. I’m not sure if it’s their best film, but it’s got to be close. I just wonder if Pixar will be able to top themselves with this one. 6. Fantastic Mr. Fox. My second animated film on the list, that is about on par with Up. It ranks slightly higher than Up, mostly because of my love for Wes Anderson. Also, Fantastic Mr. Fox never really feels like an animated film, it really just feels like a normal film. The claymation usage is great and the film is full of life. I was curious to see how Wes Anderson would pull off a kids movie, and while kids will enjoy this, there’s probably more for adults to appreciate. The creative use of swearing and all the characters are top notch. It’s not my favorite film from Anderson, but it’s a worthy addition to his filmography and one of the best films of the year. 5. Observe and Report. When dark comedies are done right, they can be the funniest things in the world. I believe Observe and Report pulled this off well. Although this is the less successful mall cop movie of 2009, it is a bit much for the normal audience, but this if you can take it, you just might be surprised. Seth Rogen does a great job as the unhinged mall cop, Ronnie Barnheart, and the rest of the cast is great, including Ray Liotta. A lot of really funny jokes are here, but most of them come in the form of dark comedy, and I was impressed and surprised at how far they took things sometimes. 4. Boondock Saints 2: All Saints Day. Another movie you probably won’t find on too many top ten lists, as critics seemed to enjoy trashing this movie, but hey, I loved it. It’s everything the first movie was and more. Troy Duffy isn’t exactly going for subtlety, and he isn’t afraid of who he might offend. But he loves what he’s doing and isn’t ashamed of it. It doesn’t exactly break any new ground or try to reinvent the wheel, but its hell of a good time, and contains lots of laughs. If you weren’t a fan of the first one, stay away from this, but if you were, then you’re in for a good time. 3. World’s Greatest Dad. The second dark comedy film I have on my list, and in some ways it’s even darker and goes even further than Observe and Report did. Perhaps the most surprising thing I can say about this movie was that it made me love Robin Williams, but other than that, this is a hilarious and oddly touching story of a man and his kid who died from autoerotic asphyxiation. It’s story just keeps getting bigger and bigger until the satisfying climax. It’s full of originality and humor, and for that, I think it’s one of the best films of the year. 2. A Serious Man. This is in my opinion, the film that deserved to win the Oscar for Best Picture, even if it’s at number two on my list. After last year’s disappointing Burn after Reading, the Coen Brothers fully redeem themselves with this one. The story is great, and the lack of structure and how it just keeps going is wonderful. It is hilarious at times and touching at others, it hits all the right notes, and the story of Larry Gopnik is one that needs to be seen. A lot of people will probably be frustrated by it, and the ending is sure to annoy people. But if you like a little ambiguity, and don’t mind a film without resolution and clean endings, this is one for you. 1. Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans. This is easily the film I most enjoyed from the entire year. Every minute of the movie, something interesting and original is happening. It is about an unhinged cop who starts investigating a homicide, while trying to keep order in his life. But it’s about so much more than that, and so many things happen. Nicholas Cage gives his best performance since Adaptation, and between this and Kick-A ss, he can make National Treasure 20, and I’ll still respect him as an actor. It’s not for everyone, the bad guy essentially wins repeatedly and never really suffers any real consequences. I’d call this a dark comedy, but it falls into so many genres, you can’t place it in one. It’s extremely unpredictable and the way the scenes go, anything can happen at any time. I loved this movie, and surprisingly, so did the critics (though, I’m willing to bet if anyone other than Werner Herzog directed it, it wouldn’t get the same response). If you like seeing something a bit different, see it. It’s so original and every minute is a joy. It goes where most movies wouldn’t dare going, and for that I respect it. Those are my favorite films from 2009. Now onto some of the lesser ones… Most Disappointing Sequel: Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince. Such a shame, this was by far my favorite book from the series, and they had to replace all the cool parts with the worst parts of the book. They didn’t care about anything interesting, just had to focus on relationships and angst. It’s a pity it had to turn out that way, not even the exciting third act was accurately captured. I am however looking forward to the next two part Harry Potter movie, despite the fact that the Deathly Hollows was my least favorite book in the series. Worst comic book movie: X-Men Origins Wolverine. Although Watchmen received a fair share of hate, I didn’t exactly hate it, but it wasn’t all that good. However, I disliked X-Men Origins Wolverine a lot more. It was a decent idea, but had poor execution. It looked rushed and the special effects were pretty lame. But more importantly, the story and the writing suffered the most. Too many cheesy throwaway lines, ruining characters such as Gambit, even the acting aside from Jackman was weak. Aside from all its flaws, it did actually have a pretty awesome opening credit sequence (so did Watchmen), I think they could make it a category at the Oscars. But seriously, when that’s the best part of your movie, you’re in trouble. Worst Movie to make a lot of money: Avatar. The staggering amount of success this movie has enjoyed, both critical and financial is baffling to me. I don’t get it, I’ve heard this is the next “Star Wars”, I must be missing something. Sure the effects look cool, but that hardly constitutes for a good story. The narrative is pedestrian, the characters are unoriginal and cliché, and it contains some of the worst dialogue my ears have heard. The story has been done before so many different times, and offers nothing new to add to the table other than blue people and special effects. The films pro-environment message is sadly ironic as it is the most expensive film of all time. If you care about the environment, don’t spend millions and millions of dollars, make some low budget documentary or something. James Cameron used to be awesome, Aliens is one of the best sci-fi-action films of all time, and everything awesome he did there, he just blatantly rips off from himself and doesn’t apologize. And now they announced they’re re-releasing Avatar in theatres again in August, because aside from not making enough money already, they’re adding another six minutes to the film, which they apparently couldn’t include on the dvd. Seriously, f*** you, James Cameron. So that’s my take on 2009 in general. Feel free to agree/disagree, or have your own opinion. I was surprised at how many good dark comedies came out last year, and if you haven’t seen any of these, I recommend them. Most of my favorite movies got less than favorable reviews and didn’t get their dues. But, that’s life, and if life was fair, Avatar would have bombed and Bad Lieutenant would have been the top grossing film of the year. But all in all, I enjoyed 2009 for the most part.  |
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by cdm72
by jeff_wilder78
by lindaohio
