Here are my Top 10 films of 2009, with several Honorable Mentions as well. It was generally a bad year for American film, but there were a handful of gems.
1. The Hurt Locker (one of the 10 best films of the decade -- Kathryn Bigelow joins ranks of world's top filmmakers)
2. The White Ribbon (brilliant, troubling film from Austria's Michael Haneke that won top prize at Cannes)
3. A Woman in Berlin (from Germany -- most criminally overlooked film of the year)
4. Crazy Heart (small, tremendously authentic film with great performances from Jeff Bridges, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Robert Duvall, plus best soundtrack of the year)
5. Where the Wild Things Are (most under-rated mainstream film of the year -- and second-best soundtrack of year)
6. The Headless Woman (challenging, uncompromising film from Argentina about bourgeois corruption)
7. Cold Souls (U.S./Russian comedy with deep undercurrent of sadness starring Paul Giamatti and stellar supporting cast)
8. Funny People (much more tragedy than comedy with brave, pitch-black, Oscar-caliber performance from Adam Sandler -- yes, it needed better editing, but it also had extraordinary elements)
9. Star Trek (much more than just a popcorn movie -- director J.J. Abrams demonstrates Spielberg-esque talents)
10. Humpday (wildly original and daring handmade film undermining 20th-century notions of sexual orientation)
Honorable Mentions: The Messenger, The Princess and the Frog, Avatar, The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond, Sin Nombre, The Girlfriend Experience, Bright Star, District 9, An Education, The Limits of Control, The Road, Precious, Passing Strange: The Movie, Antichrist, Lorna's Silence, The Soloist, Public Enemies, Two Lovers.
2 comments:
Happy to see Max Farberbock's "A Woman in Berlin" on your list. Such an unfairly negelected movie. Was it even a hit in Europe?
What movies are u looking forward to in 2010?
Glad I'm not the only one who saw Woman in Berlin. I don't know if it was a hit in Europe. But I guess it must have succeeded well enough in Germany for it to be exported to the US. Not many European films get exported, only the ones that are considered major works.
For 2010, I'm surprised at how many interesting-looking films are slated for January release. 'Daybreakers' (horror movie with Ethan Hawke and Willem Dafoe) intrigues me. Another horror film, 'Legion' (with a religious theme), looks interesting. The mainstream romantic comedy with Amy Adams, 'Leap Year', might be enjoyable. I love Adams. There's also 'Extraordinary Measures' with Harrison Ford. And that's just a few. Quite a packed January.
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