You put THAT one on your list…seriously? Top 10 films of 2009
By Dennis Hartley
Tonight, I don my Kevlar vest once again, to humbly offer up my picks for the best films that opened in 2009. I should qualify that. These would be my personal picks for the “top ten” movies out of the 50 or so first-run features I have selected to review on Hullabaloo since January. Since I am (literally) a “weekend movie critic”, I obviously don’t have the time (or the bucks, frankly, with admission prices these days) to screen every new release (especially with that pesky, soul-sucking 9 to 5 gig that takes up my weekdays-y’know, the one that pays the rent and junk). I am getting invited to more press screenings these days (and it’s nice to be noticed); but I’m still paying my own way more often than not (I still get the vibe that web-exclusive writers are the second-class citizens of the film critic world-and don’t make me quote Rodney Dangerfield). But hey…enough of my problems.
So without further ado, I submit my list, as usual in alphabetical (not preferential) order:
The Baader Meinhof Complex – Director Uli Edel and writer-producer Bernd Eichinger must have spent some sleepless nights pondering how to market a film in the post 9-11 era that recreates a 10-year reign of terror by Germany’s most notorious (and nihilistic) group of underground radicals. Eichinger (who adapted from Stefan Aust’s book of the same name) has stated that the intention was neither to make “…a didactic film nor a modern morality play about German terrorism,” but rather present events as they actually occurred, and allow the viewer to draw their own conclusion. That neutral approach to the material may or may not be your cup of tea, but the three fearless and incendiary lead performances from Martina Gedeck, Johanna Wokalek and Mortiz Bleibtreu were exciting enough for me to include this absorbing political thriller in my top ten of 2009. Full Review
Inglourious Basterds-Sharing scant more than a title with the erm, correctly spelled 1978 original (which was itself a knockoff of The Dirty Dozen) Quentin Tarantino’s audacious “alternate reality” war adventure is ultimately less concerned with WW2 than it is with giving the audience a Chuck Workman on acid montage spanning the breadth of 20th century cinema. Love him or hate him, there are two aspects of filmmaking that Tarantino has inarguably proven to have a golden ear and an eagle eye for: crackling dialogue and spot-on casting, and he’s in top form here on both those fronts. In the context of purely visual storytelling, this is the director’s most assured, mature and resplendent work to date (beautifully lensed by Robert Richardson). And if the amazing Christoph Waltz does not snag a Best Actor nomination…there is no justice in this world. Full Review
In the Loop– It turns out that the savvy political satire is not dead; it’s just been sort of, er, resting …at least since Wag the Dog back in 1997. Writer-director Armando Iannucci and co-writers Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Ian Martin and Tony Roche (much of the same team responsible for the popular BBC series The Thick Of It) have mined the headlines and produced a nugget of pure satirical gold. I daresay that it recalls the halcyon days of Terry Southern and Paddy Chayefsky, whose sharp, acid-tongued screenplays once ripped the body politic with savage aplomb. I guarantee you haven’t heard such creatively honed insults and deliciously profane pentameter singsonging from the mouths of thespians since HBO’s Deadwood rode off into the sunset. The great ensemble includes Peter Capaldi, James Gandolfini, Chris Addison and Mimi Kennedy. Full Review
The Limits of Control– In writer-director Jim Jarmusch’s universe, the story doesn’t happen to the people, the people happen upon the story; and depending on how receptive you are to that concept on that particular day, you’re either going to hail it as a work of genius or dismiss it as an interminable snooze fest. As it so happened, I was in a pretty receptive mood the day I saw this “existential hit man” thriller (OK, the term “thriller” is debatable). Any Jarmusch devotee will tell you that when you watch one of his films, there are certain things NOT to expect. Like car chases. Special effects. Flash-cut editing. Snappy dialog. A pulse-pounding soundtrack. Narrative structure. Pacing. Not that there is anything wrong with utilizing any or all of the above to entertain an audience, but you will find none of the above and even less. Still, I found the film oddly compelling. And a naked Paz de la Huerta had absolutely no bearing on that appraisal (are you buying this?). Full Review
The Messenger– Someone finally made a film that gets the harrowing national nightmare of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan “right”. Infused with sharp writing, smart and unobtrusive direction and compelling performances, The Messenger is one of those insightful observations of the human condition that quietly sneaks up and really gets inside you, haunting you long after the credits roll. First-time director Owen Moverman and co-writer Alessandro Camon not only bring the war(s) home, but proceed to march up your driveway and deposit in on your doorstep. Ben Foster, Samantha Morton and Woody Harrelson are outstanding. I think this film is to the Iraq/Afghanistan quagmire what The Deer Hunter was to Vietnam. It’s that good…and just as devastating to watch. Full Review
A Serious Man-This is the closest that the Coen Brothers have come to writing something semi-autobiographical (sort of). They do set their film in a Minnesotan Jewish suburban enclave, in the summer of 1967 (when Joel was 13 and Ethan was 10). God help them, however, if their family was anything like the Gopniks (although if they were, it would explain a lot about the world view they expound in their films). Best described as a modern fable (neatly telegraphed by the film’s opening ten minutes-a blackly comic, “old school” Yiddish folk tale) it’s smart, it’s funny, it’s made (gasp!) for adults, and it’s one of the most wildly original films I saw in 2009. And there’s that provocative, enigmatic ending, guaranteed to instigate fistfights amongst cinephiles for years to come. Full Review
Sin Nombre– Every now and then a debut film comes along that has a voice. And when I say “voice”, I mean that the director’s confidence and clarity of cinematic vision has a tangible presence-from the very first frame to the closing credits. Maybe I’m jaded, but it doesn’t happen that much these days. So when I saw Cary Fukunaga’s amazingly assured first feature, Sin Nombre, it made me sit up straight in my seat. This modestly budgeted, visually expansive Malick-esque gem hinges on a simple narrative, but is anything but predictable. It’s an adventure, yet informed by a meditative stillness that makes the occasional frisson incredibly gripping and real. It delves into gang culture, but it isn’t a movie about gangs. It has protagonists who are desperately attempting to immigrate to the United States by any means necessary, yet this isn’t another earnest and preachy message film about the plight of illegal immigrants. It’s a “road movie”, but the future’s uncertain-and the end is always near. One thing I can say for certain-this film’s a winner. Full Review
Star Trek – You can only recycle a movie brand so many times before there is no where left to go but back to the beginning. Gene Roddenberry’s universally beloved creation has become so ingrained into our pop culture and the collective subconscious of Boomers (as well as the, um, next generation) that the producers of the latest installment didn’t have to entitle it with a qualifier. It’s not Star Trek: Origins. It’s just Star Trek. The best Star Trek stories have always been character-driven; specifically concerning the interplay between the principal crew members of the U.S.S. Enterprise. And it is here that director J.J. Abrams and screenwriters Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman have delivered in spades. The film is not without flaws (a lackluster villain, just “ok” special effects) but the tight direction, sharp dialog and an enthusiastic young cast outweigh any negatives. And in the context of pure popcorn fare, this was about the best time I had at the movies in 2009. Full Review
Where the Wild Things Are-This is one of those films that actually got better and better the more I thought about it for days afterwards (usually a sign that a work of art has made some kind of meaningful impact on the viewer; I can’t tell you how many movies I watch these days where I’ve already forgotten what happened by the time the lights come up). Director Spike Jonze and co-screenwriter Dave Eggars get their Inner Child on in a big way in this bold and wildly imaginative adaptation of the classic children’s book by Maurice Sendak. Blending live action with expressive CGI/Muppet creations, they construct a child’s inner fantasy world that lives and breathes, avoiding the mawkishness that has been the ruin of many children’s films. In actuality, this arguably may not qualify as such in the strictest sense; perhaps no more than Pan’s Labyrinth) can be labeled as a “children’s” film. An insightful, compassionate, and strangely haunting “inner” journey. Full Review
The Yes Men Fix the World– What do you get when you throw Roger & Meand The Sting into a blender? You get this alternately harrowing and hilarious documentary featuring anti-corporate activist/pranksters Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonanno. This is a more focused follow up to their ballsy but uneven debut, The Yes Men. In that 2003 film, they established a simple yet amazingly effective Trojan Horse formula that garnered the duo invitations to key business conferences and TV appearances as corporate “spokesmen”. Once lulling their marks into a comfort zone, they would then proceed to cause well-deserved public embarrassment for some evil corporate bastards, whilst exposing the dark side of global free trade. (Most amazingly, they have managed not to suffer “brake failure” on a mountain road, if you know what I’m saying). By the end of their latest film, the Yes Men may not actually “fix the world”, but they succeed in giving it hope with their sense of compassion and infectious optimism. And that’s a good thing. Full Review
