And now, for your reading pleasure, my Top 15 Faves of 2009, with 5 honorable mentions to round out my Top 20. Notice some exemptions. I liked Up in the Air and Precious, but they missed the cut, and I’ve yet to see The Messenger, The Road, Crazy Heart and A Single Man.
Honorable Mentions (in no particular order): Moon, District 9, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Up, Away We Go
15. The Box
The kind of imperfect masterpiece that’s more imperfect than masterful, Richard Kelly’s third film questions everything from faith to love to the afterlife. There’s a lot going on, and it’s absolutely worth absorbing as much of it as possible.
14. Inglourious Basterds
It’s because of that man in the photo this film’s on the list. Yes, Quentin Tarantino delivered his best work since Jackie Brown with this this 2 and a half hour alternative-WWII film reference, but it’s Christoph Waltz who finds the soul beneath the darkness of his Colonel Hans Landa’s heart.
13. The Girlfriend Experience
This is Steven Soderbergh doing what he does best: make a small film with small actors and let his camera run wild. There are frames (like the one above) that confound and distract from the grounded storytelling, and to expert effect.
12. I Love You, Man
John Hamburg’s comedy is both well written and well improvised, the thanks primarily due to lead bros Paul Rudd and Jason Segel. The definitive brom-com.
11. Star Trek
Sure, Avatar is the action-adventure film of the year, but J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek rediscovered, and reintroduced, the “Han Solo hero,” in the form of Chris Pine’s Captain Jim Kirk. There is no special effect as effective as Pine’s inherent charm.
10. The Informant!
Another Soderbergh labor of love, Matt Damon offered up one of the best (and most overlooked) performances of the year in this absurd, black comedy based on the trials and tribulations of Mark Whitacre.
9. Public Enemies
A crime masterpiece for our time, made by the perhaps the best director of crime to ever come along – Michael Mann. The digital camera allows for brilliant midnight sequences like the hideaway shootout while capturing every tick of Johnny Depp’s spot-on turn as John Dillinger.
8. The Brothers Bloom
Writer/director Rian Johnson’s sophomore effort poses a question worthy of Fellini: what does it mean to have an unwritten life?
7. The Hurt Locker
Without pushing any “issue” buttons, The Hurt Locker asks the quintessential war question: why? The answer isn’t groundbreaking, but the road it takes to get there is something to experience, and impossible to diffuse.
6. An Education
Not since I first watched Breakfast at Tiffany’s have I wanted to marry a movie star so assuredly. Does anyone have Carey Mulligan’s phone number. Anyone?
5. In The Loop
The funniest film of the year. The best satire of the year. James Gandolfini’s best moment outside of his Tony Soprano persona. The Brits have never made fat so funny.
4. Fantastic Mr. Fox
George Clooney’s best performance of the year came in this brilliantly-written, beautifully shot stop-motion masterpiece from the mind of Roald Dahl and the eye of Wes Anderson.
3. Duplicity
The most fun I had at the movies all year, hands down. Watching two pros go Old Hollywood makes me grow a big rubbery one.
2. A Serious Man
Quite possibly the Coen Brothers’ best film, A Serious Man touches on subjects similar to Richard Kelly’s The Box, only with much more wit and far more control.
1. Avatar
James Cameron changed the game with this one, and for that it gets my top spot. Sam Worthington proves his worth as a new leading man, Zoe Saldana shows off some acting chops of her own and Stephen Lang and Sigourney Weaver chew up scenery as opposing forces. Oh yea, and then there’s the whole immersible 3D, near photo-realistic motion capture animation too.