It's that time of year and that means my favorite movies list for 2009. Admittedly there were a few flicks I just never got out to see (I Sell the Dead, Drag Me to Hell, Boondock Saints II, The Road, Avatar) so this list could potentially change a bit as I catch up, but this will do for now.
10. Friday the 13th
Jason Vorhees is back, kids. This "relaunch" of the Friday franchise really does sit well with the rest of the films. I felt it captured the tone of the originals, never felt too flashy, and never pretended to be anything more than what it was: a good ol' fashioned slasher flick.
9. Star Trek
I've never been a hardcore J.J. Abrahams fan. I dig Lost but never really got into anything else he's done. And I've never been a Star Trek fan either (I know, geek blasphemy). But this action-packed and fun but still pretty smart flick sucked me right in. It was a breath of fresh air after a relatively disappointing start to my summer (I saw Wolverine and Terminator: Salvation before catching this.)
8. Where the Wild Things Are
I always loved the Where the Wild Things Are book as a kid. I think for a lot of us it was our first introduction to monsters. There was something about this film that just seemed like reliving childhood. I spent the running time grinning from ear to ear. Everything just fit together perfectly from the creatures by Jim Henson's shop, to the voice acting, to the soundtrack by Yeah Yeah Yeahs front-woman, Karen O.
7. Zombieland
Zombieland can be described as many things but the most accurate would be "cute." I know that sounds weird for a horror-comedy. While Zombieland never really delivers any scares the laughs come at a rapid-fire pace. And Woody Harrelson is more than content to steal the show as Tallahassee. This is definitely a zombie-romp worth seeking out.
6. Transformers: Rise of the Fallen
I am, and have always been, an action junky. Every once in a while I love to turn my brain off and watch giant robots beat the shit out of each other. And Transformers delivers that in spades. It's truly a beautiful film to watch and was even better on IMAX. The clincher for me was the fight scene between Optimus Prime, Megatron, Starscream and some other Decepticon in the forest. Just sheer bad-assery on the screen.
5. Trick 'r Treat
Trick 'r Treat had more problems getting released than any movie has any right to endure. But finally after two years of delays it finally came out on DVD. And goddamn am I glad it did. This one of those movies that no description I could give would do it justice beyond to say that Trick 'r Treat is a modern fucking horror classic. An anthology style film in the vein of Tales from the Crypt or Creepshow, Trick 'r Treat blends horror, a dark demented sense of humor, and Halloween into a piece of cinematic mastery. You'd be doing yourself a disservice by not checking this out.
4. Coraline
It's no secret that I'm a fan of stop-motion films. I've always been a fan of films like The Nightmare Before Christmas, James & the Giant Peach, and The Corpse Bride. So, it should be no surprise that I absolutely adored Coraline. Henry Selleck (who directed two out of the three aforementioned films) is a master of stop-motion. Aided by a story written by the ever-amazing Neil Gaiman, Coraline shines in every way imaginable. It's truly a masterpiece.
3. Sherlock Holmes
This is the kind of flick that I thought Hollywood had forgot how to make. A smart, action-packed, period piece with a great cast! Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Mark Strong, and Eddie Marsan all shine in their respective roles. Downey steals the show, of course, but the rest of the cast is all but brilliant. You will not regret checking this out.
2. Inglourious Basterds
Quentin Tarantino is back! After the disaster that was Deathproof (which I really wanted to like, I did), he returns to form with Inglourious Basterds, his World War II epic. The cast is fantastic, the dialogue sharp, and the violence brutal. Everything you would expect from a Tarantino flick. Brad Pitt, of course, stands out as Aldo "The Apache" with his hilarious southern accent but the rest of the cast is brilliant, even Eli Roth (who I loathe as a director) as "The Bear Jew" is awesome.
1. Watchmen
Alan Moore & Dave Gibbon's comic masterpiece is a complete and utter success as a piece of cinema. Admittedly, Watchmen isn't for everyone, but it doesn't make it any less an amazing film. The cast is spot on (with the exception of Matthew Goode as Adrian Veidt, who just didn't fit the role physically). The director's cut filled in a couple of the things that I thought were missing from the theatrical version of the film. Every detail is painstakingly re-created just take a look around the Comedian's apartment during the opening fight sequence. Some super-fans will balk at the changed ending but this is an adaptation and there will always be changes in adaptations. In short, Watchmen is a triumph and the best version of the film we possibly could have gotten.
4 comments:
Well, I haven't seen nearly as many films from 2009 as I should have.
Considering all the positive feedback AND it's amazing financial success, I'd assume AVATAR would probably crack this list of yours when you do see it.
I actually plan on checking it out next week-- gee, hope it's still up... hahaha.
From your list, I'd probably put STAR TREK on my Top 10, too. It was pretty damn terrific!
I saw FRIDAY THE 13TH (and also MY BLOODY VALENTINE). I don't think either would make my Top 10, although I thought F13 was better. But, I thought the killing scene in the motel room of MBV was perhaps a more memorable sequence from either film.
But the ending/explanation of MBV had too many holes and questions, and the very ending made no sense to me.
Whereas I thought F13 was fine up until the very last shot-- wtf!? (And apparently not a dream sequence, neither).
Jeez, after that, I haven't seen ANYTHING else off your list except CORALINE! I suck!
I enjoyed it, but it wouldn't make my top 10. I thought it was extremely imaginative.
From what I've heard about WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE, I'm thinking that would make my list.
I have high hopes for BASTERDS (which I got for Christmas), HOLMES, and WATCHMEN.
A film I DID see, which I thought was Top 10 material: (500) DAYS OF SUMMER, but I don't know if that would even make the viewing cut on a blog called "We're coming to get you...", heh heh. But I thought it was pretty great! And remember, it's NOT a love story.
Okay, this month I'll have to make a point of seeing a bunch of 2009 releases, if I can, and coming up with my own damn list.
I'll be back... uh, later..!
Crap! there were a lot of movies out this year!
Among the ones I think will probably be in my running for Top 10 (but still have to see):
PRECIOUS,
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS,
WATCHMEN,
UP IN THE AIR,
THE LOVELY BONES,
CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS,
IN THE LOOP,
UP,
SHERLOCK HOLMES,
PONYO,
ANVIL! THE STORY OF ANVIL,
DISTRICT 9,
9 (THE MUSICAL),
A SINGLE MAN,
AVATAR,
THE INFORMANT!,
BAD LIEUTENANT:PORT OF CALL, NEW ORLEANS,
MOON,
well, there's a whole shitload of them and I was using this 50 best list as a guide. Plus, there's some I just want to see, like, ZOMBIELAND, DRAG ME TO HELL, 9 (the animated film).
Argh.
Okay. Me again.
First of all, let me just say, I find it fascinating that your handwriting reflects multiple personalities-- and at least two of them are feminine.
Just an observation.
Now, after my last comment, I felt that the content-- the types of films listed, that is-- didn't properly reflect the nature of this blog.
So, to jog my memory some, I consulted a list of the Top 25 Horror Films of 2009.
Well, here's the link:
http://www.horror-movies.ca/horror_17289.html
There's an impressive bunch of titles there, and I would say I only even heard of maybe 20% of them.
But they all seem worth checking out.
Of them, ZOMBIELAND, DEAD GIRL, DRAG ME TO HELL, MARTYRS and [REC] were ones I had heard of and sounded really cool.
I actually saw LET THE RIGHT ONE IN, and while I don't quite share the love that's bestowed upon this film, I did like it alot, particularly as a character study.
Damn! Too many damn movies of the damned!
Well, I saw a few more on films on your list since January!
Finally saw ZOMBIELAND which I thought was great in general, and some moments I thought were pretty terrific and inspired.
Like the "celebrity cameo" and how that all ended up. I say "celebrity cameo" in case there actually is someone out there who hasn't seen the film or read any reviews of it yet. Let them enjoy the surprise.
Okay, there were a few moments in the film when I was going, "uh, that doesn't seem like a wise move..!," particularly in a flick that uses the gimmick of listing ways to survive a zombie attack. My wife kept yelling at the screen at Woody Harrelson's character: "Why is he wasting ammo!?"
But, we both really enjoyed it over-all.
SHERLOCK HOLMES was pretty damn good! Although, for some reason, it took me a while to warm up to Rachel McAdams character-- actually, both female characters (Watson's fiancee), which I'm not sure if that's a remark about the writing or not.
But, this is the second film I've seen Mark Strong in (Lord Blackwood), the first one being another Guy Ritchie film, REVOLVER, and I liked him a lot in both. And now he's in KICK-ASS, yet another reason to see THAT movie.
Although the story was very cool in itself and the way it was told, I liked the relationship between Holmes and Watson, and in this era of slash fan fiction, it was cool seeing the homoerotic tension between the two characters played straight, he said ironically. I mean, they didn't camp it up, but played it genuinely, which I thought was great, so it leaves room for interpretation as to what level their relationship together could operate, whether homosexually or platonically, or both, but either way, meaningfully (emotionally speaking). Which was great.
TRICK 'R TREAT was very good, and a sick little film it was, too! In a good, delightful way. And that button eyed little "kid" was very cool and creepy.
Finally, I saw INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS and as much as I loved parts of it, this is the second Tarantino film I've had some issues with. A good friend of mine, Steve, who writes screenplays, is really not a fan of Tarantino. Occasionally, he'll say something negative about how Tarantino handles exposition, like in KILL BILL, and I'll accept his view that at times QT's writing tends to be very indulgent in the use of flashbacks and introducing new information to catch an audience up with things, but I still enjoy the foot fetishist's movies.
But DEATH PROOF drove me crazy at times, and I thought his writing indulgences got away from him sometimes, like the whole dialgue free-for-all introduction of the second group of female characters (along with a couple of uncharacteristic other issues, which I won't go into here) and I have to say that's my least favorite Tarantino film. And BASTERDS was almost just as schizophrenic. Well, that may be overstating thiings... but I definitely thought the weakest parts of the movie were the Basterds themselves. I think this was due to a combination of how they were handled and also the quality of the performances.
For the most part, I thought everybody else in the movie was very solid or amazing, particularly Christoph Waltz and Melanie Laurent. It seemed like the idea of the Basterds may have given Tarantino the initial inspiration to write his film, but then his additional plotlines and characters took a stronger hold of his attention.
Which in itself isn't an actual criticism, just an observation. But I do think the actors performing the Basterds were the weaker players in the film, including Brad Pitt.
But, anyway, bla bla bla!
Meanwhile, I still haven't seen WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE. Although, I have been listening to more of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs (and Karen O) lately! Hope to eventually check out the film and soundtrack soon(ish).
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