After much deliberation, here’s my favourite flicks of oh nine. It’s a bizarre mix of kids films and gut-punchers; arthouse and mainstream. Full contrast ahead.
10. The Hurt Locker
Too much shaky cam but still pulls off many a tense set piece of bomb disposal and the whole thing just feels hella authentic. Review here.
9. Where The Wild Things Are
The best movie without a plot all year. Jonze and Eggars have perfectly adapted a ten page childrens book into a feature length film without artificially adding some quest for treasure or some capitalist baddie who wants to knock down the hero’s neighbourhood. They’ve miraculously managed to just enlarge the essence of what was originally there, like some fractal experiment. And created their own individual work at the same time, something Watchmen perhaps should have strived for.
8. Star Trek
Solid summer entertainment. It’s not in the upper echelons of cinematic art but just by not getting anything basically wrong it achieves some kind of awesomeness. And when the standard of blockbuster surrounding it is so low with films like Terminator Salvation and Transformers 2, you appreciate Trek even more.
7. Keith Schofield
Yeah this ain’t a film (though I would definitely watch one called that), he’s a promo director and he’s responsible for the two best music videos of the year. The first, for Justice’s remix of ‘Let Love Rule’ by Lennie Kravitz, is filling the movie void left by the end of the 80s and the ascent of the Coen Bros.
His other work of wonder, ‘Heaven Can Wait’, is the second entry in this list to feature Charlotte Gainsbourg, here doing a good Aimee Mann impersonation and fittingly Schofield does a great take on PT Andersons’s magical realism, Magnolia era. Each shot is a snatch of some bigger story but we move on just as you clock what’s going on. More ideas per second than, I dunno, some genius machine.
Watch both videos on Keith’s site here.
6. Watchmen
The greatest title sequence of the year. And one of the best opening scenes, ‘unforgettable’. The idea of adapting the most critically lauded and epic comic book of all time was damned from the start but they did about the best they could. It feels a little rushed in places, even at three hours but still offers up some amazing visuals and ideas. Certainly the strangest mainstream movie around and I salute it for that. Watching this without having read the comic first must be like eating WTF cake.
5. UP
Like Wall-E, the first twenty minutes are pure gold. Says more about life and time in that wonderful early sequence than Benjamin Buttons said in three hours. The rest of the film can’t quite live up to that first part but it’s still great stuff and brilliantly directed. So refreshing to see shots that have been carefully chosen and composed and allowed the time to play out that they demand. In a fucking cartoon. Shaky cam culprits I’m talking to you!
4. Antichrist
A true horror film, it gets to the misogynistic heart of what lies just beneath so many other entries in the genre. A genuine work of art, it is beautiful and it provokes. And that is all I ask for.
3. The White Ribbon
Not as thought provoking as Haneke’s previous high of Hidden (Cache’) but still a mighty work. Like Bresson with a dash of Von Triers and Kubrick. I’m also a sucker for black and white photography and movies set in a village where all is not what it seems. The precision of the cruelty in this film is the iciest since Haneke’s own The Piano Teacher.
2. A Serious Man
Perhaps the most Coenesque Coen Bros. film yet. From the hat in Miller’s Crossing to No Country for Old Men’s dream, they’ve always been masters of the ambiguous and often sudden ending. Here they may have out done themsel-
1. Inglourious Basterds
This gets the top spot for many reasons that you can read here but mainly because it remains my favourite cinematic experience of the year. I’ve only watched it the once, slightly nervous another viewing will not be as stellar but nothing can take away from the feeling of elation I had walking out of that first screening.
So it’s been a great year for movies, not quite as incredible as 2007 but still showing that cinema is in a better place artistically than at anytime since the end of the 70s.
Feel free to post your own top tens in the comments…
Tags: Coen Brothers, Dave Eggars, Inglourious Basterds, Justice, Kathryn Bigelow, Keith Schofield, Lars Von Trier, Michael Haneke, PT Anderson, Spike Jonze, Top Ten
No District 9 then? Thanks for the list, will have to check some of these out
i finally saw inglorious basterds recently, and the second viewing for me was far less pleasurable for me. dont do it.
True, District 9 deserves a place in the top 10 in my opinion. And also The Wrestler and Gran Torino, otherwise I agree with your list
Not feeling District 9, people. Thought it was a pretty ugly and messy film. Main actor was good though.
What about the Invention of Lying – as a comedy it would stay on the 10th place
then on the 9th there is “Extract” also a light comedy
then on the eights there is District 9
on the 7th there is Hangover
on the 6th there is Star Trek
on the 5th All about Steve
on the 4th is Inglorious Basterds
on the 3rd is Away We Go
on the 2nd is UP
on the 1st is Fish Tank
ps: this might be a list better for your gf
I’d put Where the Wild Things Are a little higher than Keith Schofield, but he definitely deserves that genius-machine title. I hope he’ll make a movie out of some of those scenes next year, starring the monster from the bathtub.
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Since we have very similar taste, I’ll give you a tip on a Swedish film I liked very much that you may not heard of.
“Apan” or “The Ape”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsrKOTnnidk
I’d also recommend you to not watch any other trailer than this or read anything about it (for ULTIMATE VIEWING PLEASURE)
No Avatar? That was definitely my film of the year.
Mihaela – Nice list, I need to see Fish Tank. Fassbender owns. And The Hangover was a lotta fun.
Eli – Maybe I ranked Keith a lil high but Im just so glad there’s a great music video director out there. Been quiet since Jonze, Glazer, Romanek etc moved on to feature films.
Korv – Thanks will try and catch that movie, looks intriguing.
After one aborted attempt to see Avatar at Imax, Im gonna try again tomorrow, booked tickets this time.
Zombieland was definatly in my top 10, just for the humourous purposes.
I’ve only just realised in “If We Ever” you used a sample from that film Network, spot on man
Make sure you see Avatar in 3D mate. Makes the experience so much more amazing.
I’ve yet to see A Serious Man. This will now have to be remedied!
Up in the Air with George Clooney was amazing. I actually saw it twice. I’m not sure if it’s out in England yet. Also, Invictus was amazing with Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon. District 9 was a really original film as well. Zombieland was a great one too. So many left out! Not sure about the releases in England, the Fourth Kind was highly amusing as well.
Yeh nice selection Lincoln. If you haven’t already seen it Swansea is well worth a viewing. Its a documentary about Swansea and its burgeoning heroin problem. A very sombre documentary but definitely gives you perspective.
Have you seen “What’s a girl to do” music video by Bat for Lashes, directed by Dougal Wilson? That gets my vote for best music video.
I like your list!
Love that Bat for Lashes video and song http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAPg29FDOws
Inglorious Basterds is awesome, a fine choice sir!
Inglorious Basterds is amazing, just got the DVD, couldn’t stop watching.
Avatar has got to be there, and District 9