The best movies always come out toward the end of the year (i.e. Awards Season) and it sucks because I never have any time to go see them. So at the end of February, I can't add any kind of lament or exuberance to the winners of the Academy Awards. So this is in no way the best films of the year, rather just the best ones that I saw. There may be spoilers, so if you haven't seen these films, maybe catch 'em first and come back.
The Hurt Locker
A great example of a highly calculated and executed thriller/action film is The Hurt Locker, from sorely under-utilized (although hopefully not anymore) Katherine Bigelow. But it also provides an interesting glimpse into the life of a modern day war-junkie. War is a polarizing thing. You either love it or hate it and for Jeremy Renner's character in this film—he absolutely can not function without it.
There is a moment that is a unique mixture of grotesque and hilarious. Just after Sergeant First Class William James (Renner) proves his insane war addiction, he runs down a hill, away from two other characters. Out of earshot, the two other characters decide whether or not to kill James before he gets them killed. They decide not to. This moment clearly defines the modern stage of war and sets it apart from other more "wholesome" war films.
Where the Wild Things Are
I hated children's movies when I was a child. Classic animated films and movies just never interested me and at the time I didn't know why. After watching Where the Wild Things Are, I can tell you why I stayed away from those movies.
Children's films are inherently condescending—from the subject matter, to the direction, editing, and writing. And it's understandable. Adults are condescending to children and adults make films. Anytime I'm around children and adults, I observe the way they speak to one another. Children are unequivocally honest and forthright. Adults speak to children like they are idiots. Innocence is mistaken for novelty or worse, for ignorance.
But Where the Wild Things Are refuses to submit to the children's film paradigm of condescension. So much so that children may not like the film. Unfortunately, they've been indoctrinated to accept the behavior of adults as "normal". And that really sucks.
This film captures what it means to be a child better than any children's film or book that I've ever come across. It has depth, emotion, and sincerity.
District 9
I saw an interview with Neil Blomkamp, the director of District 9, that made me believe that he will be the next visionary director along the lines of James Cameron. He was discussing the creative direction of the special effects of the film. He said that he wanted to make the SFX unintrusive to the film and to maintain the documentary-like cinéma vérité style. This of course is the complete opposite of what every director has done in the past. SFX is expensive and time consuming—what on Earth would make someone want to put it on the backburner? SFX are centerpieces but more often then not, they are also simply eye-candy. If any other director had seen the opening footage of the mothership going in and out of frame, the SFX coordinator would have been fired. But Blomkamp wanted that. Here's a guy with a SFX background working on a movie with incredible effects, and making it subjugated to the narrative. That is cinematic progress.
Besides the SFX direction, the story is superb. I read one review (can't remember from who though) that likened it to a tradition Hitchcockian thriller—the man-on-the-run-trying-to-clear-his-name pursued by two nefarious agencies. It's smart storytelling with fabulous effects.
Inglourious Basterds
This is classic Tarantino—he takes his pulp fiction sensibilities to the war genre with zero regard for history. Mad props to Brad Pitt, Melanie Laurent, and Christoph Waltz (who I had never heard of before this film) for their top-notch performances. After watching this film, I realized Tarantino is quite talented for creating really likable villains. Waltz's character is called the "Jew Hunter" and could be easily despised yet I found myself falling for his charm and charisma (which certainly had a lot to do with the actor's performance).
This movie is great for a lot of reasons—for one it re-affirms the idea that Nazis were the scum of the Earth and that their horrifically cinematic mutilation will not draw pity from anyone of any ethic or cultural background. And two, of the two hundred machine gun rounds fired into Hitler, at least half of them went into his face. Oh Tarantino, you would.
Star Trek
Despite the awesomeness of this movie, JJ Abrams accomplished a near-impossible task—he took quite possibly the nerdiest franchise in history and made it cool (the only other example that comes to mind is the newest TV incarnation of Battlestar Galatica, although many would maintain that it's coolness is a direct result of the casting of Edward James Almos).
But let's be honest, this movie is cool, and that may it's only flaw. Many have said that it's "a Star Trek movie for people who don't like Star Trek". Well, that might disqualify it from being a Star Trek movie in the first place, because the things that make a Star Trek movie are curiously absent. There's no rumination on space or a philosophical twist that was always so prominent in previous Star Trek installments.
Regardless of my nit-picking—this film is kick-ass. Stellar action, direction and acting from Chris Pine as Kirk. But the one who steals the show is Zachary Quinto in his portrayal of Spock.
I Love You, Man
I might get a lot of flack for this but I'll say it anyway. I Love You, Man was my favorite comedy of 2009. Yes, I liked it more than The Hangover. And I liked it for a very simple reason. Both films were hysterical in their own right but I Love You, Man felt like a smaller movie. Even though I liked Star Trek, I always tend to enjoy films that are smaller in scale. I like movies that exist in a neighborhood. The characters, emotions, and conflicts seem more honest and real.
I Love You, Man is a movie about a man looking for friendship. I think it's hilarious because of the truth behind the comedy. Despite the recent explosion of "bromance" comedy, I Love You, Man remains sincere and hilarious without submitting to the newly exploited cliche.
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