Top Ten Lists 2009 - 2009's Best  
| This has been an interesting year of movies for me. The decade has come to an end, and while I watched many movies released this year, I was simultaneously watching movies from throughout the decade to try to come up with a “Best of Decade” list. While seeing some of the amazing movies from over the last ten years, made me feel stronger about this decade being one of the greatest decades for movies ever, it also possibly negatively affected my views about this year in film. As of right now no movie released this year is in my top 30 for the decade, and although I shall finalize the list in the next couple weeks, I doubt any shall break through. There were many movies that were good and some that were great, but only couple that came close to truly classic cinema. This year I walked out of many theatres not disappointed at all. In fact I was very satisfied with what I had seen, but rarely did I walk out amazed. Some films such as “Duplicity” that I loved the first time around, didn’t hold up as well on second viewings, others such as Invictus, Precious, and A Serious Man never reached the heights they sought. Overall, this year had many worthwhile films, and I feel my list is one of the most consistent lists in terms of quality that I have made this decade. The following are my favourite performances and my ten favourite films of the year.
Best Actor
Viggo Mortensen – The Road
Best Actress
Carey Mulligan – An Education
Best Supporting Actress
Marion Cotillard – Public Enemies
Best Supporting Actor
Christoph Waltz – Inglourious Basterds
Honourable Mention – Star Trek, Adventureland, An Education, Observe and Report
10. The Road (Dir: John Hillcoat)
One of the toughest and most harrowing movies to watch was also one of the most moving and hopeful films of the year. For two hours we are taken through a post-apocalyptic world where we never find out what caused it, but are shown a desolate place where only a few houses and buildings remain. Viggo Mortensen gives the best performance by an actor this year as a father trying to protect his son from cannibals, starvation, and other dangers lurking around the corner. It is a story about survival, and what is inside us that makes us push and will our way through, when all hope is lost. It’s about the people that fight to remain good, when the easy way out is death or destruction. It’s about the bond a father has with his son, and the sacrifices one will make for the ones they love. It’s about both the high and low extremes humanity can come to during times of conflict. It’s one of the best films of the year.
9. In the Loop (Dir: Armando Iannucci)
The wittiest, sharpest, funniest movie of the year is also one of the least viewed by the general audience. Find a way to watch this film; it easily has the best screenplay of the year. When a minister in the British parliament has a slip of the tongue on a radio show, he says that “War is unforeseeable” and from there we are taken from England to the U.S. as all sides of the political forum try to either silence or take advantage of the minister. This film contains one of the better ensemble casts of the year, but special mention must be given to Peter Capaldi as Britain’s Director of Communication whose foul mouth and fast tongue gives the film its funniest one liners. Seeing the behind the scenes of politicians and how they use each other and go round in circles was truly entertaining. Described as a mix of Spinal Tap, The West Wing and Dr. Strangelove, In the Loop is a modern comic classic and one of the best political satires of the decade.
8. Un Prophete (A Prophet; Dir: Jacques Audiard)
I saw “A Prophet” at the Calgary International Film Festival, and it has stuck with me since. It’s the story of an illiterate Arabic man who is sent to jail, and slowly learns the ropes and rises the ranks in prison, but it’s also so much more. An epic story that takes us through a man’s life (Tahar Rahim gives an amazing performance as Malik, in his first ever movie role) as he fights to survive by completing missions for the largest gang in the prison, and starts to gain favour with the kingpin. The transformation from someone who can barely glance up as he walks down the hall to a criminal mastermind is truly magnificent. He uses his street smarts to come up with ways to stay alive, while learning to read, and making connections with people that may help him in the future. Watching it, I was reminded of “Scarface” and the rise of Tony Montana, while also thinking this was the best prison film I’ve seen since “The Shawshank Redemption.” Although that praise may seem a little premature, “A Prophet” truly is deserving of such mention, and is a movie that I’m confident, will continue to climb higher on the list, the more times I watch it .
7. Avatar (Dir: James Cameron)
As I said in my review of the film, “It’s why we go to the movies.” “Avatar” was an event film that lived up to the hype. It' a visual feast that causes every sense to tingle, and brings awe back to going to the movies. It is a movie that must be seen on the big screen, and is one that both parents and kids can enjoy. There’s a reason only a few movies cause this kind of reaction: few movies reach for the heights that “Avatar” does. Sure the dialogue is cheesy, the story is predictable, and the characters are mostly one dimensional, but there is something about it that puts a smile on your face, drops your jaw to the floor, and takes you to a world you couldn’t even imagine. That is the power of what Cameron has done here, and whether or not the film holds up as well at home, it still will remain one of the best theatre movies ever made.
6. Up (Dir: Pete Docter)
What else can I say about Pixar? They have yet to make a below average film. And somehow, they keep improving film after film. Year after year they take on a subject that seems like it won’t work, or that shouldn’t be entertaining, but they find a way to create not only a great film, but usually one of the best of the year. This time around it was a grumpy, old man whose house would be lifted and transported by balloons. Sound good? Not really. Yet it is one of the best animated films of the decade. Not to beat a dead horse, but the first ten minutes of “Up” remains the most moving, touching and imprinting openings I have ever seen. Although the rest of the film does not hit the emotional climax of that beginning, it still takes us on a journey that we did not expect. From talking dogs to exotic birds, “Up” continuously surprises and excites. It is rare that a family film can be so fulfilling, but when it comes to Pixar I’ve realized not only is anything possible, but it should be expected.
5. Inglourious Basterds (Dir: Quentin Tarantino)
“Inglourious Basterds” is flawed, some chapters are stronger than others, some performances are more charismatic than others, but it is from beginning to end the most entertaining, unpredictable, and exhilarating movie of the year. Purely Tarantino in every dialogue note, plot twist, and bursts of violence make Basterds a movie that may not be Tarantino’s masterpiece, but would be the jewel in many other directors’ canons. Christoph Waltz gives my favourite performance of the year as the “Jew Hunter” Col. Hans Landa. From one moment to the next he transforms from the most charming person in the room, to the most intimidating Nazi you’ve witnessed. His genius as a detective and conversationalist makes him the most watchable character of the year, and it is Tarantino’s eye for world cinema, and actors that fit his writing that makes the film such a thrill to watch.
4. Public Enemies (Dir: Michael Mann)
It took a second viewing for me see how masterful “Public Enemies” really is. Although I enjoyed it the first time I watched it, This movie really clicked with me while watching it for a second time. Questions with motivations of the characters, issues with some of the dialogue and lack of a back story seemed to disappear and I was lost in the world of John Dillinger, Billie Frechette, Melvin Purvis, and Babyface Nelson. Not only do we see Dililnger at the heights of his powers, and his fall from grace, but we see the formation of the FBI, and how things like torture for interrogation, and tapping phones first began. Along with the parallel stories of cops and robbers (Mann’s favourite theme) we see a love story that truly makes this one of the year’s great films. The spotlight was shone on Johnny Depp and Christian Bale in their superb roles as the headliners. However, it is Marion Coitillard’s Billie that puts the emotion in this otherwise cold, calculating movie. Her last two scenes in the film, both in the interrogation room of a prison are tour de forces of emotion, and push Enemies to an emotional climax. The film is also filled with invigorating action sequences full of Tommy gun shootouts, car chases and bank robberies. It is one of the most re-watchable films of the year, and is in the top tier among Mann’s résumé.
3. The Hurt Locker (Dir: Kathryn Bigelow)
How many Iraq war movies have there been? Countless, some good, some not so good. So what is it about “The Hurt Locker” that has captured the critical and public zeitgeist. It’s simple: the simplicity of the movie. We follow an army bomb squad around as they try to disarm bombs throughout a very dangerous and hostile Iraq. There is no need for any plot twists, or any added drama or tension; it’s all there in every job they do. The unpredictability begins with the very first scene, and for the rest of the film the audience remains at unease. We sit on pins and needles as the unit goes from one mission to the next. It is a masterful work of adrenaline pumping tautness and one astounding sequence after the next. The soldiers are normal, everyday people like you or me, except they have something else. Something that makes them tick, makes them able to go out day after day and risk their lives, something that makes them able to do the most dangerous job in the world. Never have we been able to see the psyche of a soldier more clearly than we do in Jeremy Renner’s eyes in “The Hurt Locker”. What seems like an insane, careless individual is actually a person who is doing the one thing he was put in the world to do, something that makes him who he is. He is never the same, compelling, skilful person, even when he is home with his wife and child. “The Hurt Locker” may be the masterpiece of the year, and has already showed up on many best of the decade lists. Its high praise is more than earned.
2. Up In The Air (Dir: Jason Reitman)
The most joyous time I had at a theatre this year was “Up in the Air”. It has everything that makes a terrific movie. Sharp dialogue, an amazing cast led by a brilliant George Clooney, inspired direction from Reitman, and a fast-moving plot that constantly surprises and satisfies. Clooney’s Ryan Bingham is a man who loves his job exactly for the simple reason that he never has to make a real connection, or be involved in a real relationship. He is free to constantly move and constantly keep himself busy without ever committing to anything other than his work. He travels from city to city taking only what he needs in a small suitcase, and fires people for a living. Reitman’s stroke of genius was that, in many cases he used real people who had been fired in the film, and the reactions of each employee is very real, unique and always devastating, no matter what the reason for having lost their job. The strong supporting female performances by Vera Farmiga (Alex) as the girl Ryan has been looking for, as well as Anna Kendrick (Natalie), the bright, young upstart who is trying to change the way that that people are fired are a cherry on top of an otherwise superb ensemble. Each firing is original and heartbreaking in its own way, while the personal life of Bingham is no better. No film this year has a better second act than when Ryan takes Natalie under his wing to show her the ropes of the business; it will truly entertain you. Finally, what makes “Up in the Air” so great, is that after all the ups and downs in the film, it doesn’t compromise itself at the end. It stays the course and gives us a realistic portrayal of Ryan’s life even as he tries to change. Even though we are not given a happy, “everything tied into a neat little knot” ending, it left me with a huge smile on my face and a feeling that I had just seen one of the significant films of the year.
1. Das Weisse Band (The White Ribbon; Dir: Michael Haneke)
This film did not leave me with a smile on my face, but it still remains the most powerful experience I had at the cinema in 2009. “The White Ribbon” is Haneke’s masterpiece, and he has made some remarkable films. It tells the story of a small town that is hit with mysterious events that keep occurring and consequently harming inhabitants. The village people search to find answers and the culprit of these crimes. Haneke gives us tangential storylines of many of the people living in the village, and we see how repressed and repetitive life was in pre WWI Europe. There was no freedom, no such thing as choice or questioning authority. You did what you were told and, depending on which family you were born into, life was the job your class demographic was in. The cast is full of European actors, and perhaps none will be known to the regular North American audience. Yet it is the best ensemble performance by a cast this year. There are many children in this film, and they give some of the most magnetic, and heart wrenching performances I’ve seen, and add a great subtext to the film. They are treated as second class citizens, doing the bidding of their parents, and are constantly abused, both verbally and physically, throughout the film. There are many moments where you want to reach into the screen and pull them out to save them from their parents, but then you realize that this is what it was like at the time. Haneke takes us to many dark, disturbing corners of the psyche of people at this time, but what makes the film so strong is that it never judges the characters. Many of the characters are despicable in their actions, but we also see a side of them that is touching, and that helps us understand that this is all they know, that maybe it wasn’t their entire fault that they are the way they are, and how hard change is when no one allows for it. The only purely “good” person in the film is our narrator, a school teacher who falls in love, and is witness to the “accidents” and forms suspicions of his own. My favourite character in the film is the priest. He rules his house with an iron fist, yet does what he believes is right. He treats his children as employees, yet there are flashes of love in his eyes, and love from his children. It is he also, that ties a white ribbon around his children’s arms when they have committed a sin, and will only take it off once they have proven their righteousness. Evil is a tough thing to show, and even tougher to understand, Haneke never gives us easy answers or solutions, what he does is give us a time, place and characters that feel real and honest, and lets the chips fall where they may. It was only after I had seen the film that I read that Haneke said that this film is also about “The birth of Nazism”, and inferred that many of the children in the film grew up to be Nazi’s in WWII. After reading this, I found an extra layer was added to this masterpiece. The film is beautiful to look at, and its stark black and white picture is piercing. After watching “The White Ribbon”, I knew I had seen something considerable, but didn’t know how much it would affect me. It is the one film that has stayed in my thoughts throughout the year, and a film whose scenes tend to flash in my mind here and there. Its power is resonating, and its effect, everlasting. The White Ribbon is the best film of 2009.
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