10. Let the right one in - Now, this doesn't actually count as 2009 because it had festival releases the 2nd part of 2008, but I didn't get a chance until this year. Anyway, this is a wonderful, deep film that deals so eloquently with connections and fear on an adolescent level. Forget stupid Twilight for vampires, watch this one instead.
9. Where the Wild Things Are - I have no doubt that the award shows will leave this out and I really don't understand why. I thought it was beautiful and so well done, no stupid winks at the camera or reference a minute crap - in the vein of Labrynth.
8. Julie & Julia - Meryl Streep is from another planet. She is not from our planet. Like Daniel Day-Lewis and Gary Oldman, she is from a chameleon planet that allows her to perform so well again and again and again. This film, thankfully, is not too super sweet, but resonates with a good bit of heart in each woman's storyline. Plus, Amy Adams is always great to watch.
7. District 9 - How is is possible that the effects in this 30mil budget movie look better than those in the 180mil Transformers movie? I really enjoyed this movie, it has a sense of purpose, not just to exist like most action type movies. I thought a little of Enemy Mine while watching it. When you have a compelling lead actor and an (amazingly) believable story, it makes a big difference.
6. Bad Lieutenant - Port of Call New Orleans - Okay, so this movie is just nuts. Werner Herzog has an amazing and gonzo vision of how things should look, sound and feel. This only adds more to the film along with the completely berzerk performance from Nic Cage and creates this off kilter but never self aware bit of filmmaking that was really enjoyable, if not completely off the wall.
5. Coraline - Henry Sellick's latest stop motion film is a great enforcer of my feeling on beauty - sometimes you can find beauty in scary or ugly things. While this was so amazingly well executed with color and design perfection, it was also a little unsettling and scary at spots with very little apology. Scary things can be really lovely, this beauty of a film was so enjoyable in that respect.
4. Unmade Beds- I saw this as the closing film of the San Francisco International Film Festival in May of this year. It was a wonderful festival, but I think this was my favorite of all of them. Alexis Dos Santos' second feature was not trying to be too hip or too aware, it was just able to be what it was. To me, many sections of the film were like watching a watercolor come to life, the fluidity of the director's eye and the use of music, was really just a wonderful film full of life and hope.
3. Up - Well, I'm sure you can go all over the internet and read all manner of praise about Up, it is a truly beautiful and caring movie. The montage sequence in the beginning was remarkable for its delicate and honest way; something you don't expect from an animated film, Pixar or otherwise. The main reason I really liked Up was because it felt like a timeless story that could have come from Grimm or Arabian Nights or any other kind of lore - just very elegant and funny and wonderful.
2. Shrink - This was one of those DVDbox finds, didn't actually know the movie existed, but it had Kevin Spacey and I'll see anything he is in, so there you go. One of the big problems with films about Hollywood or anything to do with the film business, especially artsy-fartsy ones, is the total focus on negative, envelope pushing content or mindless indulgence. Everything is either plastic and fake, or, is so dark and depressing that its just roundly unpleasant. This film doesn't do either thing. There is some heavier subject matter, but its done in a real way. Spacey's character is complex and interesting and sympathetic and engaging. The whole film becomes an interesting journey, not for the spectacle of it, but the day to day pains and beauties that make real life. The soundtrack is wonderful too, with an amazing song by Jackson Browne over the credits.
1. Up in the Air - Besides noting the odd naming of the main character (shares the name with alt-rock-country singer Ryan Bingham) much has been said about this film too. I can't really talk about why I loved this movie so much without basically giving away the ending, but sufficed to say if you're looking for the big rainbow and altar and puppies and rainbows ending, you won't find it. However, that doesn't mean its some dark and depressing ending either. What this film manages to do is tell an interesting story without laboring under the expected outcomes. The script is sharp and funny and not too pushy - Clooney and cast are very natural; a sense they own the material and aren't playing the face time game. The style of the direction and the use of music is enhancing, not distracting. Overall, about as good as a movie can be.
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