Tom Macy's 2009 Calvins Ballots

By Tom Macy

March 2, 2010

And this is the other island I own in that area. Want to see my underwater compound?

Crash winning the Oscar for Best Picture in 2005 over Brokeback Mountain did to my illusions that such awards were a definitive statement towards a film's achievement in quality what Michael Bay does to 18-wheelers in his movies. Since then, I have approached all award shows, year-end polls and top 10 lists with fervent cynicism. The only trouble is, I love award shows, year end polls and top 10 lists. So not only am I a cynic, but I'm a hypocritical cynic. I'm not the guy you want to get stuck with at a party.

What's refreshing about the Calvins, though – other than being named after an icon of my youth - is that since you're voting as a collective group, your choices seem much less definitive. I voted over the course of maybe seven minutes and didn't think twice about any of them. Nor did I wrack my brain for choices I may have left out. These are the films and performances that have stayed with me more than any others of 2009.

I've written about Up's brilliance on BOP so often it has its own mythology (no really, check the Selling Out archive). Pixar films have landed at the top of my lists consistently in recent years, The Incredibles and Ratatouille being my favorites (I only saw WALL-E once and loved it, but my affections for it were a bit frontloaded. I admit it deserves another chance). But my emotional experience with Up - consistent through the two times I saw it in the theaterand the third time on a plane while weeping over chicken – surpassed them all. Their depth of the characters – always expressed through action – comes across so effortlessly in the animated format. My inner-child laughed while my outer-adult surrendered. I can't believe I just typed that sentence.

The category I was most inspired by this year was best director. The academy's tendency to ctrl + c the nominees for Best Pictures and paste them in the director slots is just plain lazy. This year there were several unique films that were clearly the vision of one person. Take Steve McQueen – no, not that one – and his haunting and horrifyingly gorgeous Hunger, which contained some of 2009's most memorable images. Or Ramin Bahrani with his cinematically minimal but emotionally massive Goodbye Solo. Laurent Cantent's genre subverting docu-drama The Class. Spike Jones' refusal to be predictable with Where the Wild Things Are. And Quentin Tarantino proving he can still geek out to his heart's content and still be entertaining. Oh, and James Cameron changed the world. He had the right to. He was the king of it, after all. Each of these films, while perhaps not the best of the year, though some are, are examples of auteurs who harnessed the medium to express their artistic vision. These are the kinds of efforts we should be acknowledging more.

Okay, it's time to talk about the giant blue Sam Worthington in the room. Man, am I sick of writing about Avatar. It just always comes up. For me, Avatar is the song you really dig and listen to on repeat for a week until you're so sick of it you never want to hear it again. Yes, I know I listed Avatar as one of my Best Pictures. But that was a couple weeks ago. Still, I stand by it. I was obsessed with that film for a few weeks. I wonder how I'll feel when the sequel comes out.

I guess if I were asked to qualify the year in film I'd respond with a "meh." But movie-going isn't a collective experience. It's on a film by film basis. I don't rank years against each other. Ranking individual movies is bad enough. Looking over the best scenes list – a favorite category of mine – is the best way I can qualify the year in film. When I think of each of those scenes I have an instant reaction. My stomach shifts, my heart wrenches and my adrenaline pumps. That is what movie-going in 2009 has enriched me with. And I am grateful for that. All hail King Cameron.



Best Picture: 2010 Calvins
Position Film
1 Up
2 Avatar
3 Inglourious Basterds
4 An Education
5 Where the Wild things Are
6 Food, Inc.

Best Director: 2010 Calvins
Position Director Film
1 James Cameron Avatar
2 Laurent Cantet The Class
3 Steve McQueen Hunger
4 Quentin Tarantino Inglourious Basterds
5 Spike Jonze Where the Wild Things Are
6 Ramin Bahrani Goodbye Solo

Best Actor: 2010 Calvins
Position Actor Film
1 Christoph Waltz Inglourious Basterds
2 Jeff Bridges Crazy Heart
3 Michael Fassbender Hunger
4 Morgan Freeman Invictus
5 Daniel Day-Lewis Nine

Best Actress: 2010 Calvins
Position Actress Film
1 Carey Mulligan An Education
2 Charlotte Gainsbourg Antichrist

Best Supporting Actor: 2010 Calvins
Position Actor Film
1 Bob Peterson as Dug the Dog Up

Best Screenplay: 2010 Calvins
Position Person(s) Film
1 Bob Peterson, Pete Docter Up
2 Nick Hornby An Education
3 Sheldon Turner/Jason Reitman Up in the Air
4 Spike Jonze/Dave Eggers Where the Wild Things Are

Best Cast: 2010 Calvins
Position Film
1 An Education
2 Brothers
3 Star Trek

Best Scene: 2010 Calvins
Position Scene Film
1 Flashback of Carl and Ellie's life together Up
2 Might I have some more of your delicious milk? Inglorious Basterds
3 20 mins, 1 take Hunger
4 "Be Italian" featuring Saraghina/Fergie Nine
5 Forest fight between Optimus Prime and Decepticons Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Best Use of Music: 2010 Calvins
Position Film
1 (500) Days of Summer

Best Overlooked Film: 2010 Calvins
Position Film
1 The Cove
2 Medicine for Melcancholy
3 The Class
4 Food, Inc.
5 Goodbye Solo

Best Breakthrough Performance: 2010 Calvins
Position Person Film
1 Christoph Waltz Inglourious Basterds
2 Carey Mulligan An Education
3 Jeremy Renner The Hurt Locker

Worst Performance: 2010 Calvins
Position Person Film
1 Eli Roth Inglourious Basterds

Worst Picture: 2010 Calvins
Position Film
1 X-Men Origins: Wolverine


     


 
 

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