10. The Messenger
For 2009, I don't think there was a movie that I was as surprised by as The Messenger. After past attempts at films about the recent war in the last few years, 2009 had not one but two great films. The Messenger takes the perspective of one of the most emotional and difficult jobs in the military: being a member of a Casualty Notification Team. Ben Foster and Woody Harrelson, in possibly his best performance, take on the job from two different angles. The Messenger forces the viewer to struggle through the notification process with Foster and Harrelson, and takes you through the tribulations of life off the clock. The Messenger is one of the most moving and surprisingly funny films of 2009.
9. The Hurt Locker
Hey, remember how I said there were two great films about the war in 2009? The Oscar winner for best picture is the first modern war film to actually work because it decides to be an action film first and a war movie second. Unlike other recent war films (Stop-Loss, In the Valley of Elah, Rendition, etc.), The Hurt Locker doesn't bother preaching its issues with the war but rather, it comes naturally through the narrative ever so subtlety. The Hurt Locker is one of the most unnerving films of last year and a great ensemble cast that includes the greatest trio of the year, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty and the incredible Jeremy Renner, as the bomb disposal unit team in the middle of the conflict. The Hurt Locker is a poignant and a very deserving winner of Oscar's highest honor.
8. Up in the Air
Director Jason Reitman's films are only getting better with each subsequent release. Up in the Air is the story of a man who doesn't want any connections in his life holding him down. That's why he chose a job that keeps him in the air for most of the year, but when he is forced to ground, he is also forced to deal with these interactions. Reitman's camera is simple, yet tells the story beautiful. His use of blue hues perfectly reflects Clooney's Ryan Bingham character, calm and collected and always ready for his next flight, and his use of a handheld camera when Bingham decides to give in to relationships are small touches that go a long way in this great coming-of-age story.
7. Where the Wild Things Are
When you think of directors who would be great to bring Maurice Sendak's classic children's tale to the screen, one wouldn't usually think of Spike Jonze. The man made Christopher Walken dance around a hotel lobby in Fatboy Slim's Weapon of Choice video, put John Cusack and Cameron Diaz literally in a person's head in Being John Malkovich and helped create reality TV by being one of the creators of Jackass. Yet, it is this style of whimsy and absent-minded craziness that makes Jonze actually the perfect choice. By creating characters that are mirror images of emotions that main character Max has to contend with and telling the story of a boy trying to find his place in the dark and scary world, Jonze made a brilliant "children's" film that has all the incredible depth of classic films like The Wizard of Oz and Alice in Wonderland.
6. A Single Man
Colin Firth incredible performance anchored the agonizing story of a man who loses his lover of 16 years in a car accident. A Single Man is simply about loss and coping with said loss, even when you can't show how much it hurts.Firth is restrained and masks a deep layer of pain in one of the year’s best performances, while fashion designer Tom Ford directs a film that is just as stylized and gorgeously shot as it is heart-wrenching.
5. Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
The story of an illiterate girl pregnant with her second child from her father and dealing with her abusive mother was one of the toughest and inspiring films of the year. Director Lee Daniel’s harsh portrayal of the lives that some have to endure opened eyes and touched hearts and breakthrough performances from Mo'Nique and Gabourey Sidibe makes Precious one of the most powerful films of the year.
4. Moon
Sam Rockwell’s portrayal of a man who works on the moon for three years and starts to question his sanity and his employers is one of the most fascinating films of 2009. Rockwell proves he deserves to be a leading man and Duncan Jones beautiful direction is somber and elegant. This quiet, underrated drama makes for one of the best sci-fi films of the last decade.
3. Up
With Pixar's tenth film, they still know how to show the magic of animation. Within the first fifteen minutes, these film masters makes one of the most emotional scenes of the year without using any dialogue. The film remains impressive as this story of a man hoping to grant his wife's final wishes leads to some unique characters in South America and makes for one of Pixar's best.
2. (500) Days of Summer
In this unconventional romantic comedy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays a man who believes he may have found the one when he meets Zooey Deschanel, yet she may not feel the same way. (500) Days of Summer is a refreshing change from the usual romantic fare and director Marc Webb tries new techniques in an effort to break new ground in this tried and true genre. Levitt and Deschanel are perfect with each other and the unique screenplay make (500) Days of Summer the second best film of the year.
1. Inglourious Basterds
Quentin Tarantino threw history books to the wayside and created an alternate World War II, where Brad Pitt leads a ground of Nazi hunters, known as the “Basterds”, to try and inflict pain to the ones who have caused so much pain themselves. Tarantino builds tension to the point of explosion, especially when newcomer Christoph Waltz as the “Jew Hunter” Col. Hans Landa is on the screen in a scene –stealing performance. Tarantino has made great films over the last two decades that have helped shift the ideals of modern filmmaking, but with “Basterds”, this might very well be his masterpiece.
Let me know what films I've missed and what you would have put in your top 10 below in the comments.
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