Selling Out
By Tom Macy
January 21, 2010
BoxOfficeProphets.com
But while completing a checklist of notable films all feels terribly important in the moment - not to mention satisfying - when I look back over the years those rankings never seem to hold up. Using myself as an example, when I look at the top 10 lists I've formed dating back to 2006, some of the placements confound me. For example, in 2007 the two of my favorite genre films – you know I had to get that distinction in there - of the decade were released, The Bourne Ultimatum and Knocked Up. Yet somehow I ranked Bourne at #8, right behind Juno, and only gave Knocked Up an honorable mention. What? I was also struck by how my opinions have changed over time. Take a film like Antonement - coming in at #9. It made the list because in spite of its flaws, I was so riveted by its first half. Now my lingering memories of the film are those flaws it succumbed to in its latter section. Paris je t'aime - an honorable mention of that year - only exists in my memory as a joyful oasis on I stumbled upon on a transatlantic flight. All of its pleasures rise to the surface of my brain, the forgettable ones being just that.
2006 is even more bizarre with Little Miss Sunshine at #3 – a movie I've now all but dismissed as a formu-quirkic indie – and Casino Royale, another genre fave of the decade, all the way back at #10, and if I remember I waffled a bit to even put in on. Plus, nowhere can I find Half Nelson or Borat. I was pleased to see I had the courage to include Apocolyto, though. Oh yeah, that's right.
There are countless inconsistencies between my opinions then and now and I suppose that's to be expected. I've often referenced here the inevitable evolution of one's tastes over time. I certainly don't regret making the lists. If not for anything else, just to be able to look back and see what my cinematic palate had an appetite for at that given moment in time – despite how embarrassing it may be. But what I've mainly taken away from this journey backwards is the thought that numerically arranging what you feel to be the best overall films is not necessarily the most accurate approach to defining a year, or decade, in film.
I'm not knocking the lists. I enjoy engaging in a debates over a film's placement as much as anyone. But when I think about what truly defines a movie-going year for me, it's those experiences in the theatre, could be a scene - take anything from Michael Fassbender; a moment - Max Records pushing a toy boat over his bed sheets; or an entire two hour and 40 minute film. The times when movie really made me think, made my mouth hit the floor or made my tears ducts excrete - Pixar films generally contain all of the above.
One thing that stands out, for instance, when I look back on 2009 – with the aid of the Selling Out archive – is the surprising lack of disappointments. After all, the Oughts set a pretty rough standard for films with any kind of hype. This was the decade that saw CGI Clones attack, Hayden Christensen get revenge, The Matrix Reloaded and Revolutionized, Superman Return and Indiana Jones...ugh I can't even talk about it (I'd include a reference to Spider-Man 3 but Spider-Man 2 more than made up for it). True, there were bright spots like The Dark Knight and Jason Bourne, but in large part it seemed like any time you got your hopes up for a film – oh, I just thought of another one, Troy, dear lord - it would always fall short. In fact, this year my approach to films that I was excited for was to expect disappointment as a way of offsetting expectations. Maybe I just did a good job, but I don't think that's giving guys like Quentin Tarantino enough credit.
Against shrewd skepticism that the promise he showed in the early '90s had all but dissipated into nothing more than a B movie homage machine, QT proved naysayers – including myself – wrong. With Inglourious Basterds, he showed that he still had a few form bending ideas that could translate into a hugely entertaining and financially lucrative film. Or take Spike Jonze, who caused us all – well, maybe not all – to tip our caps with his subtle, emotionally complex rendition of Where the Wild Things Are, proving that development hell isn't always a death sentence. And of course, James Cameron who, with two weeks to go, released the film of the decade, defying non believers of his divinity - I consider myself agnostic - and followed up the biggest film of all time with the biggest film of all time.
There are plenty of other notable occurrences of 2009 - the presence of decent action films, for one. Hopefully the awards attention will translate into some dollar signs for The Hurt Locker. I have now seen and enjoyed a Star Trek movie, both for the first time. And as for District 9, a movie with no known actor, director or premise? No problem. And I won't mention the genius of Up again...whoops!
This year, I feel less inclined than usual, or I should say eager, to form my top 10 list to formally close out 2009. I think it's because writing Selling Out forced me to rely my own personal opinions instead my usual waxing pedantic about a movie I think I'm supposed to like because J. Hoberman gave it a good review (of course, the ability to speak cine-pusedo-intellectual does come in handy here and there, my technique is to read the New York Times to pick up buzzwords. Subvert and verisimilitude are some of my favorites). This year-long examination on my and only my perspective really showed me how subjective film discussions are, and how a definitive opinion on a film is anything but, making ranking them feel practically meaningless.
I often like to reference a quote from the deliciously ruthless critic Manohla Dargis - speaking of the New York Times. "There are no good and bad movies, just good and bad arguments." I could not agree more. As it happens, Dargis never does a definitive top 10. She always creates a list but rarely offers specific placing, declaring - not unlike I have here - that to place one great film over another when they are so vastly different is absurd. I respect that, there's certainly truth to it. But I have to say, now that I have embraced the fact that no movie is conclusively better than another, I feel like I have the stones to take a stand and put one at the top.
Top 10 of 2009:
1) Up
2) Avatar
3) Inglourious Basterds
4) An Education
5) Where the Wild Things Are
6) The Cove
7) Food, Inc.
8) Moon
9) Hunger
10) Medicine for Melancholy
Honorable Mentions:
Star Trek
Goodbye Solo
The Class
Brothers
Crazy Heart