A-List: Best Films of 2009 Part I
By Josh Spiegel
January 21, 2010
BoxOfficeProphets.com
As I said, there are a lot of movies here that I'm going to list aside from the top-ten list. However, I'm also guilty of not having seen all the major prestige movies of the past year. So, before you wonder why I could have left off Movie A or Movie B, here's a few movies I missed out on: A Serious Man, A Single Man, An Education, Nine, Invictus, Bright Star, The Cove, Crazy Heart, and The Road. A few of these are still in theaters, and I'd like to be able to catch up on most, if not all, of them by March 7th, when the Oscars are announced. Still, I'm sad that I wasn't able to check these movies out, all of which had small releases near me, and were all among my anticipated movies of the year. You don't need to send me any hate mail; I'm sending it to myself already.
Having gotten past the pity party, here's a list, in alphabetical order, of some movies that will not show up in my top ten, as honorable mentions: (500) Days of Summer, Adventureland, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Coraline, Duplicity, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Funny People, The Hangover, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, I Love You, Man, The Informant!, Precious, The Princess and the Frog, Sherlock Holmes, Where The Wild Things Are, and Zombieland. What, from this list or my top ten, can you figure out about this year in film? As much as having ten Best Picture nominees seems weird, mainstream movies didn't suck as much as in past years. I'm still not sure about this being the best year to honor ten nominees, but it is what it is. Enjoy my list, folks.
10. Public Enemies
One running thread of the movies on my top ten list is being underrated. I've already discussed, in a previous A-List, my pick for the most underrated movie of 2009, and it is higher on the list (by which I mean you won't see it this week). That doesn't mean that there's going to be a lack of underrated movies here, though. Perhaps the biggest and most underrated movie of 2009 was Public Enemies. The latest film from auteur Michael Mann chronicled the last few years of the life of famed criminal John Dillinger and his fellow bank robbers, including Pretty Boy Floyd and Babyface Nelson. Dillinger, as played by Johnny Depp, lives for the moment despite being pursued by the newly formed federal crime-busting unit led by Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale). He's accompanied by his girlfriend, Billie (Marion Cotillard) as he crosses America at the lowest point of the Great Depression.
Critics and most audiences seemed a bit baffled by Mann's flashy and stylish look at the 1930s through the eyes of one of its most famous criminals. Moreover, the movie that was promised in the marketing - a slick, fast-paced, cat-and-mouse actioner between Depp and Bale - was not what Mann had planned. Instead, we get a meditative look at the life of a man who's known by everyone, wanted by most, and yet charming enough to seduce the bank tellers he's robbing from. Whatever the case, the movie didn't hit with most audiences. And I have no idea why, but I loved this movie. First of all, it's beautiful; the digital photography by Dante Spinotti is among the most haunting I've ever seen. Second, Depp delivers one of his best, most understated performances; alongside his portrayal of Ed Wood, this may be one for the lifetime achievement reel. Bale, while having less to do, is appropriately tightly wound, a nearly robotic G-man. Cotillard is luminous but also moving, especially in her final scene. Public Enemies. Check it out.
9. Star Trek
In May of 2008, Paramount released a fast-paced, wildly entertaining, slickly made action movie with a likable and roguish lead, phenomenal special effects, great supporting actors, all from an unlikely source. That movie was Iron Man, and Paramount decided, apparently or luckily, that it should replicate that film's success a year before Iron Man 2 was released. Last May, they did it again, and from an even unlikelier source: Star Trek. Yes, that Star Trek, the franchise that went from being a cheesy TV series to a slightly less cheesy film series (I know everyone loves Wrath of Khan, but...it's dated). Director J.J. Abrams and writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman (congratulations, guys, for writing one of the best films of 2009, and one of the worst films - Transformers 2) did a major reboot on the series, letting audiences see what James T. Kirk and Spock were like before they were ever heading the Starship Enterprise.
Starring relative unknowns Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto as Kirk and Spock, Star Trek is easily the most fun I had in a movie theater last year. Unlike a majority of the movies that are contenders for the Best Picture nomination, Star Trek has no message, no underlying subtext. I realize that, for most movies, that's actually a criticism. However, even though the old Star Trek often tried to marry science-fiction stories with ham-handed moralizing, the new movie didn't need to go that route. The plot is labyrinthine, sure, but Abrams has a sure hand as a director, never letting the action stop for a second. There are times when you're able to catch your breath, but even on Blu-ray, Star Trek remains a speedy, funny, thrilling entertainment.
8. Moon
Talk about underrated. Before I go on about how great Moon was, let me be loud and clear: Moon is on DVD and Blu-ray. Rent it. Netflix it. Buy it, sight unseen. But see it. See it now, and see it again. If you've seen it, tell your friends. If you've told your friends, tell strangers. Moon is a great film, a surprising character study, but is also apparently the movie that Sony Pictures Classics is letting get away. It was never going to be a lock, but that Sam Rockwell is not getting more love from critics' groups or more For Your Consideration ads in the trade magazines is a crime. And, unfortunately, it's a crime that the studio is fine with. Why Sony is letting this opportunity slip is beyond me, but they are. Moon is a must-see, and arguably as underrated as movies get. This movie deserves better.
But, you ask, what is Moon? The plot is simple, and not nearly as easy to decipher as the initial trailers made it seem. Sam Bell (Rockwell) is a regular guy, working a manual-labor job on a multi-year contract. On the moon. Sam has been on the moon for years, and is ready to go. His contract is just about up, so he wants things to go smoothly. When he stumbles upon a unique and inexplicable discovery while surveying the area surrounding the moon base, though, his being able to leave becomes more doubtful. The movie, directed by Duncan Jones, is not so much about the plot as about what it means to give yourself to work, to separate yourself from your home life, and to be tethered to the corporate world. Rockwell is always an amazing and fascinating actor to watch; given almost 90 minutes without any other actors onscreen (Kevin Spacey provides the voice of Gertie, the base computer), he takes the opportunity and goes crazy. I cannot stress it enough: if there's one movie in 2009 you missed, it's Moon. Watch it now.
7. District 9
If there was a mainstream hit that really snuck up on most people, I suppose it had to be District 9. From the initial teaser trailers, all that was known was that the movie was produced by Peter Jackson and that aliens were involved. The buzz grew, and lo and behold, this sci-fi actioner with a moral center turned out to be an incredible piece of gory filmmaking, from Neill Blomkamp, the man who would have directed the adaptation of the video game Halo, had Jackson had his druthers. District 9 proves that Blomkamp knows how to spend his money and impress audiences; the movie, while heavy on special effects, cost only $30 million and ended up making more than that in its opening weekend. District 9 was a major success, and all from a movie that's secretly about the apartheid struggle in South Africa.
But, then again, how many apartheid movies are really about aliens, advanced weaponry, and relentless action? Blomkamp manages to make all of the visceral thrills so exciting because it's all from the perspective of a hapless, low-level bureaucrat (Sharlto Copley, in an amazing debut performance) who inadvertently turns into one of the so-called "prawns" living in the Johannesburg slums of District 9 on the eve of the government pushing out the lost, slovenly aliens into a worse slum. The movie becomes a chase as soon as the schlub turns into one of the aliens, but there's so much strong character development to go alongside the truly inventive and breathtaking action sequences, that it's hard to avoid the emotional pull of this movie, and its moving final shot. Blomkamp's career is looking bright, no matter what comes next, but District 9 is a great start.
6. Avatar
Oh no! I didn't make Avatar my number-one movie of the year, of the decade, of ever! Prepare the stoning! Seriously, though, for anyone hoping I would go wild about this movie as the best of 2009, I'm sorry to disappoint you. It's not that Avatar, which is fast becoming the highest-grossing movie ever, isn't a captivating and immersive story. Avatar is all of that, and more. The hype that came with the movie, courtesy of writer-director James Cameron and Fox, was actually pretty much true. Though the rough story outline isn't that original - white man meets natives, becomes one of them after trying to take them over from the inside - the telling of the story is what makes the movie memorable. The world of Pandora is just that: a new world. Cameron spent over a decade creating a planet, and the work shows.
The colors, the plant life, the climate, the native people of the Na'Vi, it all works. The motion-capture technology that brings Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana to life, the believability of the world of the Na'Vi...it does render you nearly speechless. Cameron is a master craftsman, and shows off here. I can only imagine what he's got planned for sequels, though I'm not too sure I need to see the deleted scene in which Jake Sully and Neytiri have sex, even if it is on the DVD. Avatar is a visual feast, an exciting entertainment, one that hasn't been rivaled for years. As much hyperbole as I'm heaping on the movie, I don't know that it's going to be a wild game-changer, as some have said. First of all, it's too damn early to know. Second, though 3-D movies will continue to be released, will they all be as technologically advanced as Avatar? Who's to say. The fact of the matter, though, is that Avatar is a great adventure, one of the best, and proof that James Cameron should not be doubted.