TOP TEN FILMS OF 2009

by Gordon

 

   Let me start by saying that my top 10 list is naturally flawed in that I haven’t seen all movies of 2009. Four more things: 1) I feel bad not including Funny People, The Hurt Locker, Zombieland, and even Star Trek on the list. 2) Had I seen A Serious Man, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Brothers, or The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, any one of them could have easily made their way onto the list, especially Brothers. 3) Had Gran Torino and Revolutionary Road not seen initial release in late December of 2008 (but rather January of 2009), they would both DEFINITELY be on the list. 4) Please post comments concerning this list’s inadequacies.

10. District 9

Directed by: Neill Blomkamp

Rating: R [bloody violence and pervasive language]

Runtime: 112 min.

Main Cast: Sharlto Copley

Rotten Tomatoes: 90%                    IMDB: 8.3/10

 

   Gives the term “illegal aliens” a whole new meaning. Great unique vision of the possiblities and results of a future alien interaction. 

9. Antichrist

Directed by: Lars von Trier

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 104 min.

Main Cast: Willem Dafoe, Charlotte Gainsbourg

Rotten Tomatoes: 49%                    IMDB: 6.8/10

 

   Brutally sadistic, yet beautifully filmed and artistically crafted. A sick (not slang for “cool”) view of the depths of evil that humans are capable of, but perhaps one not entirely unimaginable.

8. Away We Go

Directed by: Sam Mendes

Rating: R [language and some sexual content]

Runtime: 98 min.

Main Cast: John Krasinski, Maya Rudolph

Rotten Tomatoes: 66%                    IMDB: 7.4/10

 

   A different kind of Mendes film, arguably more “indie”, and consequently more heartwarming. John Krasinski shines.

7. I Love You, Man

Directed by: John Hamburg

Rating: R [pervasive language, including crude and sexual references]

Runtime: 105 min.

Main Cast: Paul Rudd, Jason Segel, Rashida Jones

Rotten Tomatoes: 83%                    IMDB: 7.4/10

 

   “Bromance” well delivered through the hilarious interactions between the unnervingly awkward Paul Rudd and unabashedly goofy Jason Segel. If you’re a fan of the two, you’ll also give a huge seal of approval.

6. Watchmen

Directed by: Zack Snyder

Rating: R [strong graphic violence, sexuality, nudity and language]

Runtime: 162 min.

Main Cast: Malin Akerman, Billy Crudup, Matthew Goode, Jackie Earle Haley, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Patrick Wilson

Rotten Tomatoes: 64%                    IMDB: 7.8/10

 

   For the challenge in pulling off a film adaptation, a surprisingly well filmed, well told, well layered story, even if the acting was, well, bad.

5. Where the Wild Things Are

Directed by: Spike Jonze

Rating: PG [mild thematic elements, some adventure action and brief language]

Runtime: 101 min.

Main Cast: Max Records, Catherine Keener, James Gandolfini, Paul Dano, Catherine O’Hara, Forest Whitaker, Chris Cooper

Rotten Tomatoes: 73%                    IMDB: 7.6/10

 

   Not everyone’s ideal representation of the classic children’s book, but hard to dismiss as missing the mark. It captures the same imagination, wonder, and peculiarness the story’s author first aimed for.

4. The Hangover

Directed by: Todd Phillips

Rating: R [pervasive language, sexual content including nudity, and some drug material]

Runtime: 100 min.

Main Cast: Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis

Rotten Tomatoes: 77%                    IMDB: 8.0/10

 

   Fresh new comedy that’s hilarious for both its writing and the dyamic created between its three main stars. But honestly, take out Galifiniakis, and its heart is gone.

3. Avatar

Directed by: James Cameron

Rating: PG-13 [intense epic battle sequences and warfare, sensuality, language and some smoking]

Runtime: 162 min.

Main Cast: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver, Giovanni Ribisi, Joel Moore, Michelle Rodriguez, Stephen Lang

Rotten Tomatoes: 83%                    IMDB: 8.7/10

 

   Groundbreaking movie whether you’re sick of the hype or cheering on the sidelines. Cameron’s long-term efforts pay off in a mezmerizing spectacle of adventure and romance in epic proportions.

2. (500) Days of Summer

Directed by: Marc Webb

Rating: PG-13 [sexual material and language]

Runtime: 95 min.

Main Cast: joseph gordon-levitt, zooey deschanel

Rotten Tomatoes: 87%                    IMDB: 8.1/10

 

   Joseph Gordon-Levitt surprises everyone (who didn’t already know) by being a great actor. Zooey Deschanel surprises everyone (who didn’t already know) by being your new obsessive crush. The two of them together in one of the most refreshingly honest and unique romance stories equals one of my favorite chick flicks.

1. Inglourious Basterds

Directed by: Quentin Tarantino

Rating: R [strong graphic violence, language and brief sexuality]

Runtime: 153 min.

Main Cast: Brad Pitt, Christoph Waltz, Mélanie Laurent, Diane Kruger, Eli Roth, Daniel Brühl, Michael Fassbender

Rotten Tomatoes: 88%                    IMDB: 8.5/10

 

   Saw it five times in theaters. Spaghetti western with a World War II backdrop. Brilliantly directed and acted. Tarantino more than delivers. Christoph Waltz is one of the best villains I’ve ever seen in my life.

REVOLUTIONARY ROAD

by Gordon

Directed by: Sam Mendes

Released: 2009

Rating: R [language and some sexual content/nudity]

Runtime: 119 min.

Main Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet

Rotten Tomatoes: 68%                    IMDB: 7.6/10

 

   Revolutionary Road isn’t the feel-good movie of the year. In fact, it might be the feel-bad movie of the year. Unless you’re dealing with issues yourself, you won’t find a laugh throughout the entire thing. Bottom line: it’s a depressing movie. Well, it may be for many, but technically, it’s simply a movie about a depressing story (marriage, in short), and that doesn’t have to depress you. In fact, I find it to be a beautiful film, beautifully filmed and acted (and scored by the great Thomas Newman). And though it centers on the harsh realities of dreams lost and love lost through a marriage gained, if nothing else it can serve as a cautionary tale of perhaps “what not to do”.

   Mendes’ most recent brings back DiCaprio and Winslet (Mendes’ wife), more than ten years after their fiery romance in Cameron’s Titanic, and it’s refreshing, if a bit sad, to see the two bring to life an entirely different romantic dynamic. The film opens with the happy and flirtatious meeting of their two characters, Frank and April, at a party in the early 1950s, then skips all the sweet stuff and dives right into their marriage, as the two bicker over April’s failings as an actress, in what escalates into an uncomfortable reminder to almost everyone who’s ever been in love of the steep ups and downs of any relationship.

   Unfortunately for the couple, the Wheelers, there are many more downs ahead. Neither of the two are happy with their place in middle-class suburbia, April as a housewife and mother, and Frank as a marketing employee in the city. Most of the dissatisfaction is expressed through April, reminding her husband of their neglected dreams of moving to Paris, and encouraging them to make the move in a few months. Frank reluctantly agrees, and the new plans give the couple an increased optismism in their relationship, juxtaposed with the reactions of friends and colleagues who can’t relate to the “radical” decision.

   Just as everyone watching starts rooting for the refreshed couple, April admits to Frank that she’s pregnant. That, coupled with Frank’s new promotion offer, causes Frank to back out of their Paris plans. The bickering continues, and without sexual gratification from each other they look elsewhere, be it a colleague or neighbor.

   Adding to the movie’s interest is the presence of local realtor Helen Givings (Bates), who along with husband and mentally unstable adult son John (given a notable performance by Michael Shannon), visits the Wheelers on occasion in what become some of the more tense as well as enthralling scenes of the movie. John, though mentally ill, is perhaps the truest sense of reason of all the characters, badmouthing conformity about as much as most viewers would be by now. With as much bluntness as I’ve only ever witnessed myself perform, he asks the Wheelers direct questions about their life, work, and marriage. Quoting his words to Frank while on a walk in the woods: “Hopeless emptiness. Now you’ve said it. Plenty of people are onto the emptiness, but it takes real guts to see the hopelessness.”

   The questions raised by John only aggravate the Wheelers’ dissatisfaction with each other to impossible levels, and after an explosion of a fight one evening, Frank comes down the next morning to find April calmly playing the part of supportive housewife. But as all will soon find out, the cover doesn’t work for long before things take an even sharper turn for the worse.

   Those who have never experienced the fight for the balance between ups and downs in a relationship, and attempting to maintain personal sanity simultaneously, may not find anything relatable about this movie. Fortunately for the filmmakers, those people are few and far between. Unfortunately for the filmmakers, many would rather escape their marital woes than stare them in the face. But for those who have the capacity to separate life from art, but who can perhaps draw positive influence from the latter for the former, Revolutionary Road is pure art.

ROAD TO PERDITION

by Gordon

Directed by: Sam Mendes

Released: 2002

Rating: R [violence and language]

Runtime: 117 min.

Main Cast: Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, Jude Law, Daniel Craig

Rotten Tomatoes: 82%                    IMDB: 7.8/10

 

   Road to Perdition is an epic movie. Mendes’ follow-up to American Beauty (perhaps an equal masterpiece), it captures mob culture and that of the 1930s Great Depression with both impeccable clarity and a fresh pair of eyes. It’s not a feel-good movie, nor a feel-bad one…just a mesmerizing story of family, betrayal, vengeance and hope, set to a backdrop that embraces imagery over dialogue to convey emotion. The story is made all the more memorable through timeless performances from its all-star cast. And for a story of its complexity, some plot will be useful for a review, so…spoiler alert.

   Hanks plays Michael Sullivan, a mob enforcer and the adopted son of Irish mob boss John Rooney (Newman). To Sullivan’s two boys, “Mr. Rooney” is an authoritative but good-hearted grandfather figure, if a little mysterious. For Sullivan’s older son, Michael, Jr., any uncertainty surrounding the nature of his father’s work is dispelled when he witnesses the impulsive murder of a mob employee by Connor Rooney (Craig), John Rooney’s real son. Upon discovering the young witness, Connor murders Michael’s wife and younger son (mistaking him for the older Michael, Jr.). That’s when Sullivan and his son flee to Chicago.

   It’s not until halfway through the movie that we’re welcomed to Jude Law’s character, the creepy and unkempt psycopathic assassin Harlen Maguire, who is dispatched by crime kingpin Frank Nitti to take out Sullivan and his son when Sullivan’s request to kill Connor is rejected. Realizing Nitti has sided against him, Sullivan and his son rob banks of Rooney’s and their partners’ laundered money. It is here that Sullivan and his son, formerly mere strangers living under the same roof, begin to bond and appreciate each other as support in the wake of their family’s loss. A second failed attempt to take the Sullivans’ lives results in Maguire falling, glass fragments shattering his face, and Sullivan taking a bullet to the arm. The two seek refuge at a country farm owned by an elderly childless couple. It’s here that Sullivan discovers Connor’s faulty business dealings with his father John Rooney back home. After Sullivan’s recuperation, the two set out, leaving the elderly couple a bag of money as they go.

   This is when Sullivan, now a considerably more threatening presence, comes back to finish things with the mob he left behind. He meets with his “father” John Rooney once again, who is both aware that Sullivan won’t stop until Connor is dead, and understandably unwilling to give up his own son. As Sullivan has grown to be the son Rooney wished he had, it is with a heavy heart that he takes this stance. Reflection on the warm relationship between Sullivan and his adoptive father (tenderly conveyed in an early scene as the two share a piano duet in the hushed company of onlookers) makes the ensuing standoff between the two a mournful occurrence.

   From there, business appears finished for Sullivan and his son, Michael, Jr., though a surprise twist belies that fact. But while I betrayed the plot of the better part of the film, its ending is deserving of a treatment only achieved through firsthand experience. I will say, though, that it’s an ending as suspenseful, meaningful, and ultimately bittersweet as the rest of the movie.

   All in all it’s a triumph of a movie, deserving, I feel, higher praise than even the high praise already bestowed upon it. With great performances all around, it’s especially nice to appreciate the fine acting of Paul Newman in a great role (not as easy for my generation), as well as seeing Jude Law step out of his prettyboy persona to play an ugly, menacing killer. A huge nod to my favorite composer as well, Thomas Newman, for adding tremendously to the feel of the movie with his emotionally-driven score. Mendes has created a film as timelessly praiseworthy as the story it enfolds.