My Top 10 Films of 2009

Ok, so I was going to do this extravagant 2009 wrap-up, detailing highlights of the last four seasons of my life in blogalicious chunks of sentimentality and whimsy. BUT. Having read over it, it barely skims the surface of what I feel I’ve really experienced this year and so—suffice it to say,I lived in New York City up until late August at which point I moved to South Korea. There you are. Or…there I am.

What I really found myself wanting to wrap-up was this year’s best films. So, I have included my top 10 for 2009. Keep in mind, these are all movies I saw in 2009, though some are listed as having been released in 2008. Also keep in mind that I’ve been away from my beloved indie movie theaters (yeah, they don’t really exist here—and if they did, they obviously wouldn’t have English subtitles). I am aware that there might be a few, perhaps even several, movies missing from this list. I’ve been away from (quality film) civilization for four months- so give me a break!

But first, here are some films that really disappointed me (as in I thought they would be good, but ended up being really painful to watch):

The Disappointments

Watchmen, Nine, 9, The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, New York I Love You, Funny People, Away We Go, JCVD, The Limits of Control, Whatever Works, The Taking of Pelham 1,2,3, The Invention of Lying (to be fair, the 2^nd half of this film really messed things up- the first half was quite good- the first 15 minutes were utterly hilarious), Visioneers, Broken Embraces

Guilty Pleasures, or really good movies that I’m too embarrassed (or snobby) to put in my top 10:

The Guilty Pleasures

Duplicity, Inglorious Basterds, Adventureland, Avatar (solely for the special effects), The Hangover (mostly because of Zach Galifianakis), Julie & Julia, Orphan, Taking Woodstock, Fighting

And now, for the good stuff. These are not ranked, btw. It’d be like some parent ranking which child they like the best. You can’t do that! So, in completely random order, here are my:

Top 10 Films of 2009

Up

As cute and colorful as it was, the inclusion of the wife’s death sequence was still both haunting and deeply moving. The movie as a whole was heartwarming and genuinely unique. Pixar surprised me with this one.

Saw this at the cute little Davis Theatre in Chicago with my Mom. : )

Precious: Based on the novel Push by Sapphire

Precious tells a story that not many of us rush to the theaters to see. Gabourey Sidibe’s portrayal of a 16-year-old, pregnant, obese African American girl living in Harlem with her monster of a mother, however, brings the viewer to his knees—desperately trying to understand why this is not typed as a horror, but rather a more than realistic display of what some American girls actually live through day to day. And by the end, the writer, director and cast manage to convince the audience that Precious will somehow find her way in the world- despite the onslaught of horribleness she has been dealt since birth. An amazing achievement.

Two Lovers

Heartwrenching. And easily Joaquin Phoenix’s best career performance. Easily.

Warning: do not watch this film if you’ve been recently heartbroken. Just…don’t.

It’s rare that I see a film where the main characters’ display of vulnerability leaves no more depth to plumb. At times, it is like witnessing a car wreck—but over and over again and with sympathy for the intoxicated driver- knowing the heaviness in his heart is what makes him wreckless and hungry for validation, even though he knows there is a high likelihood for a fiery wreck. And what flames!

Saw this at the Landmark Sunshine with my good friend, Daniel.

Treeless Mountain

It’s funny (not the movie)—how living abroad can really open your eyes, if only to see yourself more clearly. If this had come out one year earlier, I would have watched this in NYC at one of the countless arthouse theaters I frequented, and would have come away thinking I knew more about this country called ‘South Korea’ and would have been hopped up on how cultured and knowledgeable I was for seeing a movie like this. And I wouldn’t have known that the SK shown in this film is but a small slice of what it really is. To be more clear: South Korea is a country FULL of contradiction.

::A new cellphone comes out every 3^rd day, but there is a mass of payphones everywhere—and people actually use them! South Koreans clock the highest number of hours worked in the world and yet are statistically, the least productive. Can’t talk about mental health—no way, that’s crazy! Yet it ranks 1^st among OECD countries for suicide and last year’s president killed himself by jumping off a cliff—but it was justified because he was trying to ‘cleanse’ his tarnished career.

But before I write a 20-page mini-thesis on what further South Korean contradictions there are, let me get back to the film…

The cinematography and acting were so realistic that I often had to remind myself this was a drama, not a documentary. The two little girls in this were stellar, especially the older sister. It’s a sleeper, no doubt, but it weaves a touching tale of loss, with frequent close-ups of the fragile hopes of childhood, specific to South Korea.

The Hurt Locker

The grocery store scene embodies what scares me to my core about the new, emerging America.

The writer and director do a flawless job of masquerading the war in Iraq and the soldiers fighting in it as what this movie is truly about. …What I saw was this: America in all its shining glory and patriotic glitteriness…and what people do to get away from it under the radar, but in full view. I should be more specific—it’s only those people that are aware, that have woken up from the hazy dream (or nightmare) that is American life. I realize these statements require more throroughness, but I’m afraid it would come off preachy (if it hasn’t already.)

It’s a great movie though.

Saw this at the Lincoln Center AMC (NYC) with Daniel.

Food, Inc.

I had bought a diet coke and my friend had bought some kind of sugary confection at the concession stand. Halfway through, our sipping and munching had come to a halt (and not only because the very things we were consuming were specifically mentioned and deconstructed on the screen).

Elegantly edited, funny, charming and thoroughly frightening in its unapologetic telling of what’s really going on behind the scenes of American dinner tables.

I saw this at the quaint little State Theatre in Ann Arbor with my good friend, Jeremy (as I remember, it was right across the street from the lovely Michigan Theatre.)

In Bruges

I get depressed when I think about all the great movies in the world that I’ve passed up because of how horrid their trailers were. I got lucky with this one. I remember seeing the trailer for it in the theatre and actually said to myself, out-loud, “GOD does that look bad.” But Netflix kept yelling at me to see it with its 4 star rating suggestion and one, cold lonely evening, I decided to give in.

Beautiful. Hilarious. Yes, it’s another tale of compassionate hit-men, but then…it’s not. It’s different.

Brendan Gleeson charmed the socks off me as did Colin Farrell….in his Colin Farrell way. Go see it.

Tokyo Sonata

Not the most together movie, but stirring nonetheless. The Claire de Lune performance at the end makes the film. You’ll have to see it to understand what I mean.

Saw this at the IFC Center (NYC) with Daniel and Laura.

District 9

I am *not* a sci-fi fan. Like, at all.

I’m sure it didn’t hurt that director Neill Blomkamp thematically fused this film with allegory of South Africa’s history of apartheid. Or that the lead actor, Sharlto Copley displayed acting talent I hadn’t seen in awhile. Or that it was produced by Peter Jackson. Yeah—none of these things hurt…like, at all.

Saw this at the CGV at Suwon Station with my co-teacher, Ji-Eun.

Big Fan

Alright, alright. I will admit right off the bat that the appearance of this film on this list was influenced by Patton Oswalt being in it. …and rightly so!

Oswalt (one of my favorite, if not my favorite, comedians), portrays Paul Aufiero, a 30s-ish, portly parking garage attendant, still living with his mother in Staten Island, whose only joy in life revolves around anything and everything New York Giants.

The friendship with fellow Giants fan, Sal (brilliantly played by Kevin Corrigan) put the icing on the cake for me—at times, I wanted to cry witnessing their pathetic lives, but only because they weren’t aware of their patheticness. Having the world meant sitting in the Giants Stadium parking lot, listening in to the game as thousands of fans who actually got to see the game cheered, just several feet away.

There were a couple turns in this movie that I really didn’t expect, especially toward the end. But it all turned out for the best. Great little movie.

Saw this on my last day in New York at the Angelika with Daniel. Got to talk to writer/director Robert Siegel (writer for The Wrestler) after the screening. Honestly, he was kind of an ass, but he’s talented, so what can you do.

Honorable Mentions

An Education, Up In the Air, Adam, The Messenger