Film Year In Review--2009
It's time for my eagerly awaited film year in review. I usually say around this point it wasn't much of a year, but I thought 2009 was pretty good--at least until a weak holiday season. Hardly a month went by when I didn't see a film or two that surprised or delighted me. For the first time ever I'd rather have had a top fifteen.
Before I get to specifics, let me go over the ground rules. I discuss only feature films released theatrically, or available for the first time in America theatrically, in 2009. I'll give out some awards, note some trends, and list my top ten. If you disagree, you can always leave a comment.
Please note no one pays me to see films, so there are plenty that I miss. I saw a lot, but I can think of a number of recommended titles that I didn't check out, and I don't think I've ever missed so many blockbusters (including Transformers 2, Twilight 2, Ice Age 3, Night At The Museum 2, Fast & Furious 4, Alvin And The Chipmunks 2, X-Men Wolverine whatever).
In many ways the year was a return to basics. The best movies were often filmmakers taking a genre and doing it right. It was also a great year for animation, with good work done in computer animation, traditional animation, stop motion and motion capture.
SPECIAL AWARDS AND PRIVATE THOUGHTS:
Star Of The Year: Second runner up, Woody Harrelson--after a so-so decade, he gave three solid performances in The Messenger, 2012 and Zombieland; first runner up, George Clooney, who starred in three films, one that didn't quite work but was an interesting attempt, and two that were great; winner, Sandra Bullock, who looked like she'd joined the ranks of so many perky, cute rom-com names who'd hit their forties, but instead starred in her biggest hit, The Proposal, which she followed (after yet another film) with an even bigger hit, The Blind Side.
Performance Of The Year: Christoph Waltz in Inglourious Basterds.
Best lines:
Funniest (in a movie filled with many lines actually just as good, and humor is tough to quote out of context anyway), from In The Loop --
Lt. Gen. George Miller: This is the problem with civilians wanting to go to war. Once you've been there, once you've seen it, you never want to go again unless you absolutely fucking have to. It's like France.
Sweetest, from Ponyo --
Ponyo: Ponyo Loves Sosuke!
Most Unexpected, from A Serious Man --
Rabbi Marshak (after waiting the whole movie to hear the wise man speak): "When the truth is found to be lies, and all the joy within you dies..."
Saddest, from (500) Days Of Summer --
Summer: I woke up one morning and I just knew.
Tom: Knew what?
Summer: What I was never sure of with you.
Best Credit Sequence: The photos in The Hangover.
Whatever Worked?: The audience loved Borat and hated Bruno, though both were pretty much the same shtick. Sure, the Borat character is sweeter, but the actor behind him had the same routine, putting others in embarrassing situations.
Then there's Woody Allen. People loved Vicky Cristina Barcelona, which was a semi-plotless sex romp, where people jump into bed in different combinations, but when the same thing happened in Whatever Works, the audience rejected it.
Most Memorable Visual: It's in Antichrist. I'd rather not describe it, but if you've seen it, you know what I'm talking about.
Biggest Nothing: Invictus features no actual characters, plot or tension. I can't believe so many critics were taken in by this. Were they afraid if they didn't like it people would think they supported apartheid?
Most Likely To Star In The Chelsea Clinton Story: Zoe Kazan (whom you probably don't know, but was in Me And Orson Welles, It's Complicated and The Private Lives Of Pippa Lee).
Really?: There were a couple films I just didn't get that not only made top ten lists, but were even declared masterpieces. First there was Where The Wild Things Are, which started okay, showing a kid's life, but then turned into Where The Clinically Depressed Monsters Are. I understand they represent people and emotions from the real world, but a whole movie of this is hard to take.
Then there was the Coen Brothers' latest, A Serious Man, which had great decor, and some nice moments, but darned if I could tell what it was about. (A friend said it was about the contempt the Coens have for their audience.)
Most Beautiful Look: Coraline.
Money Scene Of The Year: Liam Neeson listens to his daughter's abduction and responds, in Taken.
Number Of The Year: 2009 featured Nine, 9, D-9 and Cloud 9.
Best Liberal Argument: Avatar
Best Conservative Argument: The Blind Side
Best NRA Argument: Zombieland
Be Very Clear When You Ask For Tickets: Up and Up In The Air, Brothers and The Brothers Bloom, Julia and Julie & Julia, A Serious Man and A Single Man
I Get The Metaphor, Now What About The Story?: District 9, Where The Wild Things Are
Sports Creates Community: Invictus, The Damned United, Whip It, Big Fan
TRENDS:
(Too) Long Comedies: He's Just Not That Into You, Funny People
Post-apocalyptic Worlds: Zombieland, The Road, Terminator Salvation, 9, 2012, Watchmen (sort of), Land Of The Lost (sort of)
Overweight Mall Cops Who Want Anna Faris Or Anna Faris Lookalikes: Observe And Report, Paul Blart: Mall Cop
The Decade That Won't Die--60s Films When No One Cares Any More: Pirate Radio, Taking Woodstock, The Baader Meinhoff Complex, A Serious Man, A Single Man, An Education
Jesse Eisenberg In Amusement Parks In Films That End In "land": Adventureland, Zombieland
Fathers (Usually Liam Neeson) Taking Horrible Revenge: Taken, Law Abiding Citizen, Ponyo
Surrogates And Avatars: Surrogates and Avatar
Washed Up Entertainers: Crazy Heart, The Great Buck Howard
Big Women As Leads: Precious, Julie and Julia (6' 2"), Avatar (12 feet), Monsters vs Aliens (50 feet)
Cool Criminals: Duplicity, The Brothers Bloom, Public Enemies, The Baader Meinhoff Complex, An Education, Pirate Radio
Misery Porn: Precious, The Messenger (especially the latter, where we got to wallow in six or seven arias of misery, as people are informed their loved one has died)
Everything Is Food: Pressure Cooker, Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs, Julie & Julia
Fashion Is Life: The September Issue, Confessions Of A Shopaholic, Good Hair
RANKINGS:
Good: Coraline, Monsters vs Aliens, Up, World's Greatest Dad, Zombieland, Paranormal Activity, Good Hair, The Princess And The Frog, The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus, Big Fan
Bad: Sunshine Cleaning, Gomorra, I Love You Man, The Class, Adventureland, Duplicity, Terminator Salvation, Year One, Public Enemies, Bruno, District 9, Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince, Whatever Works, Surrogates, Whip It, Law Abiding Citizen, The Messenger, A Single Man, An American Affair, He's Just Not That Into You
Ugly: Bride Wars, The International, New In Town, State Of Play, Angels And Demons, Couples Retreat, Planet 51, Invictus, Confessions Of A Shopaholic, Old Dogs, It's Complicated
Okay: Tyson, The Boys, Pressure Cooker, The Damned United, Brothers, Defiance, The Brothers Bloom, The Great Buck Howard, Moon, White On Rice, The September Issue, 2012, Bad Lieutenant: Port Of Call New Orleans, The White Ribbon
Half And Half: Julie & Julia (liked Julia better than Julie), Me And Orson Welles (liked Orson Welles better than Me)
Was This Trip Necessary? (Remakes And Updates That Were Best Left Alone): Land Of The Lost, The Taking Of Pelham 1 2 3
What Could Have Been (Idea Or Property That Fell Short Of Its Potential): Watchmen, Fanboys, Taking Woodstock, Extract, The Informant!, Where The Wild Things Are, The Men Who Stare At Goats, Pirate Radio, Creation, The Road, Sherlock Holmes
Points For Trying--Interesting (But Still Not Good Enough): Observe And Report, Funny People, Cold Souls, The Baader Meinhoff Complex, The Invention Of Lying, A Serious Man, Antichrist, Broken Embraces, The Misfortunates, Avatar, Precious, Police Adjective
Better Than Expected (But Still Not Good Enough): The Blind Side, Paul Blart: Mall Cop, Crazy Heart, 17 Again
BUBBLING UNDER THE TOP TEN
An Education: Why are smart little films so rare? (Or smart big ones, for that matter?)
Every Little Step: The real story behind A Chorus Line, but, like the show itself, a tale of gypsies everywhere.
(500) Days Of Summer: Not quite Annie Hall, but the closest we've gotten in a while.
Taken: Formula action, but when the formula is done so well, why complain?
Two Lovers: Before giving up movies for rap, Joaquin Phoenix does his best work.
THE TOP TEN
Anvil! The Story Of Anvil: The real-life Spinal Tap. You don't have to like their music to be involved in their story.
Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs: Something about gigantic animated food is very entertaining. Good gags, too.
Fantastic Mr. Fox: With each film, Wes Anderson seemed to be backing into a corner, moving further away from real life and into his art-designed world. He solved the problem by making an animated film, where his obsessions work naturally.
The Hangover: Every couple years we get a comedy that reminds you there's nothing like laughing loudly in a theatre at raunchy gags with a bunch of other people.
The Hurt Locker: Finally, a good film about Iraq.
Inglourious Basterds: I'd almost given up on Quentin Tarantino. Until this film, it seemed like he'd never again come close to what he'd achieved in Pulp Fiction.
In The Loop: Well done political satire with very imaginative swearing.
Ponyo: Miyazaki returns to his roots.
Star Trek: JJ and the gang made me excited about Star Trek for the first time since I can remember.
Up In The Air: A perfect role for Clooney, not to mention fine supporting work (even with serious third-act problems).
posted by LAGuy @ 12:21 AM
11 Comments:
Your lists are always great fodder for thought, but just wanted to personally give you props for declaring Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs one of your top ten. I can't think of a film that gave me as much joy this year, but not only am I noticing it not being mentioned in most critics' year-end top ten lists, but it's not even being placed in their ANIMATION top tens (Roger Ebert eschews it for the likes of Ice Age 3. Really.)
As far as I can tell, marketing just sunk this little gem. I think everyone wrote it off as just another ineptly put together CGI film by Sony's would-be Pixar division. The New York Times sent an intern to review it for god's sake, and even he spent the whole review talking about Up instead.
You don't have much to say about A Single Man. I thought Colin Firth deserved the Academy Award, and maybe Julianne Moore too.
I can think of a lot of shorter comedies that are too long.
As always, an entertaining, well-written list.
The only big disagreement (since you added the proper caveat to "UP IN THE AIR") is the inclusion of "STAR TREK" in your Top 10.
A handful of random critiques about "STAR TREK":
- Weak, poorly acted villain. Some would say, an important element in a movie.
- During one of the greatest crises the universe has ever seen, who should be commanding the flagship of the fleet? Well, the kid fresh out of the academy who's never been on a ship before, of course.
- Along those lines, were there ANY senior officers aboard who might have been able to fill key positions? You know, maybe just one or two experienced officers onboard the flagship of the frickin' fleet?
- How do you attack/defend an incredibly advanced, futuristic, high-tech energy beam? Why, swords, of course.
- Old Spock tells Kirk exactly what he must do to regain control of the ship. In the very next scene, Kirk does exactly what Old Spock told him to do, step by step.
- Bonus: Who knew all it would take to rattle one of the most advanced, logical minds in starfleet was, "Nyah-nyah, your mama, Spock"?
There's a phrase for all this in the encyclopedia of entertainment.
It's called "bad writing".
I know whatever JJ touches turns to gold, and everybody desperately wanted this to be good...
...but the New Federation Emperor has no clothes.
Todd
Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs wasn't exactly a flop, making about 200 million worldwide, but it should have done better. It certainly was never gonna make Up or Ice Age money, but I thought it could maybe reach Monster vs Aliens level.
Todd:
I agree the villain in Star Trek was weak, but the main thing was to rebuild the crew.
As far as Kirk being a kid running things, well, what can I say, that's the plot. We have a new universe where Kirk (who's tougher because his dad died) doesn't spend all those years in the Academy, but has greatness thrust upon him.
You write: "Old Spock tells Kirk exactly what he must do to regain control of the ship. In the very next scene, Kirk does exactly what Old Spock told him to do, step by step." Now you're describing the entire plot of Invictus.
LAGuy:
I'm sure we'll have a chance to discuss "STAR TREK" in more detail sometime later, because I expect a lot more from an attorney than "...well, what can I say, that's the plot."
My rebuttal, Your Honor:
"BATTLEFIELD EARTH: Tells the story of the rebellion that develops when the Psychlos, who have ruled Earth for 1000 years, attempt to use the surviving humans as gold miners."
Bad movie, you say?
Well, what can I say? That's the plot.
Todd
P.S. Okay, okay, I loaded the (holo)deck a bit with that one. But you get my point.
Yeah... about "Star Trek": I enjoyed it (frankly, one of only a small handful of movies I got to in 09), but am I the only one disturbed by the absolute SAVAGERY they did to the Star Trek franchise's time line???
I could understand doing this if, say, they were retelling a tale that had already been told a bunch of times (e.g., if they were remaking the storyline of the original series), but the tale of the first-generation Enterprise crew as cadets at the Academy had NEVER been told! Killing Kirk's father before birth was one thing, but I spent the entire movie waiting for them to "fix" history after Vulcan was blown up, but they never did. I was FLOORED! Why was this necessary?? There was PLENTY of creative room to tell the story as an action-packed, sexy tale without just ripping apart the Star Trek mythology completely.
AND WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT SPOCK/UHURA LOVE CONNECTION ABOUT?!??!?? Give me a break!
Maybe it is just the teenage Trek-geek in me....
The premise of the Star Trek reboot is that history has changed, and now a very young, and emotionally different, Kirk is the head captain during an emergency. You either go with the premise or not. I assume a major reason they did it this way was so they could hire young actors and allow for plenty of sequels. But it's not like Kirk is 8 or something, and the whole plot revolves around him winning a pod race.
I actually wrote about this specific issue two years ago, in a post called "Star Trek Babies." Check it out at http://pajamaguy.blogspot.com/2007/08/star-trek-babies.html
I bought the Star Trek DVD (ostensibly for my son)but haven't watched it yet. You mean the villains aren't future space jihadis? (See LAGuy link in preceding comment) I didn't think I made any predictions for 2009 but I guess I did and got it wrong (although I think I predicted the timeline shift-kinda sorta)
Thanks, PG. Remind me to tip you the price of a movie seat for entertaining and informing so many of us with this post each year.
Did you see Avatar in 3D? Surely it should be considered for your award of Look What Money Can Do! It's a game changer for computer contributions to the look of a film.
I was considering giving Avatar a major award for its 3D. Now will all big films have to follow?
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