Top 10 Movies - 2009

Article by Terry Plucknett

Posted - 1/18/10

Overall, 2009 didn’t quite match up to the quality of the last few years.  There were simply less great movies that came out this year.  However, the films that were great were on another level, setting themselves apart from the rest of the pack.  This made it a little easier to cope with the lack of great movies.  Here’s the list.

Honorable Mentions – The Men Who Stare at Goats, Star Trek, Two Lovers, A Christmas Carol, Moon

10.  Away We Go (Sam Mendes) – Sam Mendes proves he can do anything in this independent comedy about a couple with a baby on the way that have always identified themselves with those around them that are trying to discover who they are on their own.  Wonderful performances by Maya Rudolph and Jon Krasinski in the lead roles give this film heart and charm.  Not to mention that I will never look at a stroller the same again.

9.  (500) Days of Summer (Marc Webb)– In this breath-of-fresh-air romantic comedy, we learn about a hopeless romantic’s 500 day relationship with a girl named Summer, from first hello to last goodbye.  This film never really said anything new or profound, but delivered a classic story in a fresh new way, jumping around to different parts of the relationship throughout the movie.  Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel show why they are two of the most underrated actors in Hollywood right now as they move through this journey together.  It is one of those films that will leave a smile on your face when it’s over.

8.  Up (Pete Doctor) – In what was probably the best year for animated films of all time (A Christmas Carol, 9, Coraline, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Ponyo, etc.), once again it was the Pixar film that shined brightest in the group.  While it does not make the political statements that WALL-E made last year, Up once again reaches a deeper level than just fun kids movie.  It starts off with one of the best montages in any film all year, telling the story of a man and his wife that grew old together living an average life though always wanting more.  When his wife dies, Carl becomes a grumpy old man until he decides to live out the adventures him and Ellie had always planned to experience.  It’s fun, sweet, innocent, and will bring a tear to your eye.  You can’t ask for much else from a film like this.

7.  Earth (Alastair Fothergill & Mark Linfield) – The concept was simple: get a glimpse of a year in the stories of a family of polar bears, a family of elephants, and a family of humpback whales.  However, in telling these stories, you see breathtaking footage from every corner of the globe that makes you in awe of our wonderful planet and the miraculous gift it is.  From the Arctic to the Caribbean to the African safari, this film repeatedly makes you ask, “How did they get that shot?”  You add to this the unmistakable narration of James Earl Jones and you have probably the greatest nature documentary I have ever seen.

6.  Invictus (Clint Eastwood) – Is there any director on a greater roll right now than Clint Eastwood.  He hasn’t made a bad film in almost a decade, and I don’t think he ever will again.  The only thing I can see stopping this amazing run he is on is the fact that he might be the only human on earth older than Larry King and he simply doesn’t have many years left.  I just wish he would have started directing earlier in his career.  His latest tells the story of Nelson Mandela right after he is elected President of a racially divided South Africa, and how he uses being the host country for the Rugby World Cup as an opportunity to unite the nation.  Morgan Freeman, who has been amazing in so many roles, is playing the role he was born to play.  His similarities to Mandela are scary in every way.  It seemed very natural for him to slip into this role.  You add in Matt Damon as the captain of the Rugby team, and the direction of Clint, and you have yet another masterpiece for Eastwood.

5.  Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino) – No one has a film release turn into an event quite like Quentin Tarantino.  That is because no one makes a film quite like Quentin Tarantino.  This latest work of genius tells the fictional story of a group of Jewish-Americans sneaking about the German countryside scalping Nazis during World War II.  As always, the dialogue in this film is perfect, and the performances are amazing.  Brad Pitt is irresistible, and Chrisoph Waltz will soon have the first Tarantino-directed performance to win an Oscar.  The last line of the film, Tarantino calls this his masterpiece, and I would never want to argue with him.

4.  It’s Complicated (Nancy Meyers) – Yes, I am surprised this is on my list too, but it was impossible not to love this film.  Meryl Streep proves once again why she might be the best actress of all time as she plays a divorced woman that is falling for her ex-husband again after 10 years apart as well as falling for her architect.  She definitely knows how to pick them too, as she falls for this year’s Oscar hosting tandem, Alec Baldwin as the ex and Steve Martin as the architect.  Baldwin shows that he may be the funniest dirty old man in America, and Martin actually is somewhat subdued compared to his co-stars and his other roles.  This is much more than just a laugh-out-loud comedy though.  It has tremendous heart and depth throughout.  Films like this and (500) Days of Summer are what romantic comedies should look like.  So often, Hollywood screws them up nowadays.

3.  Up in the Air (Jason Reitman) – George Clooney plays a corporate downsizer that practically lives in the airport in this brilliant snapshot into a person’s life by writer-director Jason Reitman.  I love films like this where the so much happens to the main character while nothing happens to him at all.  That is why it is a snapshot; he starts and ends the movie in the same place.  There is so much to love about this film, I do not know where to start.  Each performance is spot-on perfect, from Clooney to Anna Kendrick to Vera Farmiga to Jason Bateman to J.K. Simmons to Danny McBride to Sam Elliott to the dude from The Hangover.  Nothing is overplayed or underplayed.  Everything and everyone fits together perfectly.  It is a very moving and understanding story that is not just a snapshot of this character’s life, but a snapshot of America in the 2000’s.

2.  The Hurt Locker (Kathryn Bigelow) – For most of the year, this film was head and shoulders above anything else that I had seen.  It told the story about a group of men that worked as bomb diffusers during the Iraq War.  As you can probably imagine, this is a fairly stressful job, and that stress and tension pour off the screen and into the minds of anyone watching.  I was on the edge of my seat from start to finish as I watched this team, led by Jeremy Renner, put themselves in harm’s way time and time again.  It is a film that is definitely an experience that you will not understand until you go through it.

1.  Avatar (James Cameron) – I knew it was going to take something really spectacular and groundbreaking to pass up The Hurt Locker in my mind for this year.  I learned my lesson: never count out James Cameron.  The story is definitely not original.  It is borrowed and recycled from everything from Pocahontas to Fern Gully.  However, what makes this film so brilliant is the way it is told and the setting it is told in.  Cameron creates another world in a way that no one else could, with the exception of George Lucas.  Pandora is not just another planet, but it is another way of life that has never been seen or experienced before.  The scenery and environment are breathtaking, from the glowing forest to the countless creatures to the floating mountains.  The way of life of the native people makes me in awe of the imagination of James Cameron in creating it.  Many have accused Avatar of being environmentalist extremism and full of a bunch of “tree huggers.”  If this is your opinion, you have as little imagination and open-mindedness as the evil corporate scoundrels there to destroy Pandora.  I don’t think the film makes any environmental statements on our world because it is not talking about our world or way of life.  If this is what you think, you just don’t get it.  I actually think this film could have been better.  I thought it almost tried to resolve too much at the end.  With that said, it is the best film of the year, and will go down with Star Wars as the greatest sci-fi movie franchises of all time for its brilliance in storytelling and innovation.