Mid-Term Report: 2009 in Movies (So Far ...)

Since we’re approximately half-way through 2009, here’s my mid-year assessment of the year in movies so far:

My Top 10 Films of 2009 (Jan. 1-July 20):

I obviously haven’t had a chance to catch up with all the 2009 films I want to see. Highly-anticipated films from the first half of the year that I need to see include (among others): Adventureland, Goodbye Solo, Sin Nombre, Tetro, Tyson, Anvil! The Story of Anvil, Last Chance Harvey, The Brothers Bloom, Star Trek, and The Great Buck Howard. However, excluding these regrettable omissions by default, here are the ten films that have given me the best experiences at the movies so far in 2009:

#10: Drag Me to Hell
Not a great or profound film by any measure. However, it was a joy to see Sam Raimi finally return to form and make the kind of movie he seems born to create: a masterful mix of horror and comedy. I’ll take this over Spiderman 3 any day.

#9: The Limits of Control
I seem to be a voice calling out in the wilderness on this one. Very few positive reviews have been published in print or on the Internet. I wouldn’t go so far as to say I loved this picture. I’m not even sure that I can say I liked it. However, my response at the end of the film was intellectual curiosity, not outrage (as it seemed to be with so many others who saw the film). At the very least, I have to respect director Jim Jarmusch’s willingness to create a film that will engage a few who see it, yet alienate most everyone else.

#8: Public Enemies
His name is John Dillinger, and he robs banks. That’s about all that happens in Michael Mann’s interpretation of the great Chicagoland criminal who rocked the nation. I was engaged by Johnny Depp’s performance, yet slightly annoyed by Mann’s digital photography and hyperkinetic editing style. Mann’s film was still a lot of fun though, especially the balletic final encounter between Depp and the law at Chicago’s Biograph Theatre. As we all know by now, he fought the law, but the law won.

#7: Gomorra
Gomorra deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as such legendary gangster pictures as The Godfather and Goodfellas. It’s just that good. It’s also more brutal and nihilistic than either of those classic films. Effortlessly weaving five engaging stories together, director Matteo Garrone boldly depicts the harsh realities of Italy’s criminal underbelly. This film makes the supposed “realism” of old Cagney pictures seem like a walk in the park. Strongly recommended for anyone who has every wanted to be a gangster (and anyone else, for that matter, other than the faint of heart).

#6: The Girlfriend Experience
My guess is that a lot of people would avoid this film based upon its subject matter [see the IMDB listing (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1103982/) for more info]. However, know that the film contains no graphic depictions of the protagonist’s professional life. Rather, the movie works as an extended allegory for our current economic situation and the logical conclusions of latter-day capitalism. In addition, film blogger Glenn Kenney gives the best cameo performance of the year. Director Steven Soderbergh continues to explore uncharted territory using consistently interesting experimental techniques. I applaud him for this. I just hope his recent intimations about retirement are merely publicity stunts.

#5: The Class
The Class serves as an anecdote to Freedom Writers, Mr. Holland’s Opus, and every other sentimental film about teaching ever made. Here, we have the stark reality of modern education. Francois Begaudeau plays a high school French teacher working in an inner-city Parisian school. He experiences the frustrations, challenges, and, yes, even occasional joys of teaching. So do we. The winner of the Golden Palm at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival, this gem of a movie deserves to be seen by a larger audience.

#4: 500 Days of Summer
We are told at the beginning of this film that “this is not a love story.” I think that might be overstating the situation a bit. 500 Days of Summer is a love story, albeit a highly unconventional one. Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel carry this hipster rom-com with their amazing performances as two young Los Angolans who find their way in and out of love. Director Marc Webb uses highly unorthodox cinematic techniques, reminiscent of Woody Allen in Annie Hall, to tell their tale. Don’t expect a clear three-act structure or an easy resolution. Do expect some exceptional acting, beautiful (yet unfamiliar) shots of Los Angeles, and a hipper-than-thou soundtrack.

#3: Up
The first fifteen minutes or so of Pixar’s latest animated offering are among the most sublime I have seen in recent cinema. The rest of the film doesn’t quite live up to the standards set in the beginning but, still, it’s good enough. I love Ed Asner’s cranky old man. I love the annoying young Boy Scout. I even love the “talking” dogs. Who among us hasn’t wanted at some point to leave everything and fly our house to a land far, far away?

#2: Wendy and Lucy
Most critics consider this a 2008 film. But, it didn’t arrive in Chicago until 2009 … so there! Michelle Williams bravely plays Wendy, a young woman who has fallen on some very difficult times. On her way to a potential job, her car breaks down and she has no one to rely upon, sans her poor dog Lucy. Wendy and Lucy is not only a film very much of the moment (people in Wendy’s situation are becoming continually more common in our troubled economic times), but also is instilled with a sense of universalism. I immediately thought of such poverty-depicting films as The Bicycle Thief and City Lights.

#1: The Hurt Locker
I gushed so unapologetically in my initial review of Kathryn Bigelow’s Iraq film that I hesitate to say anything more. There is nothing more I really can say, other than this is the best experience I’ve had at the movies this year (and in quite awhile, in fact). Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, and Brian Geraghty all deserve Oscars for their performances as members of an elite Army bomb squad whose mission it is to disarm or safely detonate IEDs. It’s not about Iraq. It’s not even really about war. It’s about how human beings react when they are faced with the proposition of their own mortality.


Most Anticipated Films for the 2nd half of 2009:

The year’s not over yet … right? So, here’s the ten films I am most anticipating for the rest of 2009:

#10: Adam
A New York City, Asperger’s love story? Why not?

#9: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
This looks like way, way too much fun.

#8: Paper Heart
Based on the trailer, this is an early candidate for the “too cute for its own good” award of 2009. But, it’s definitely worth checking out.

#7: Taking Woodstock
Demitri Martin’s one of my favorite comedians. Ang Lee’s one of my favorite directors. Woodstock is one of my favorite overrated, Baby-boomer-merchandising, cultural experiences. Who could ask for more?

#6: Julie & Julia
I like food. I like Amy Adams. I like Meryl Streep. Sure …

#5: Invictus
A Nelson Mandela biopic directed by Clint Eastwood. This sounds fishy too me, but I’m definitely willing to give it a try.

#4: A Serious Man
I haven’t heard a lot yet about the new Coen Brothers movie. I’ve recovered from my disappointment last year in Burn after Reading. Here’s hoping that this one comes closer to the brilliant perfection of No Country for Old Men.

#3: The Road
I think John Hillcoat (who directed the grisly masterpiece The Proposition) can pull off Cormac McCarthy’s dark and nihilistic vision. I feel all the more confident since he has Viggo Mortenson to work with.

#2: Shutter Island
Martin Scorsese and Leo do Boston again? Mine is not to question why, mine is simply to give Marty the benefit of the doubt. He is rarely wrong. Even his “failures” are more fascinating than the successes of most directors.

#1: Inglorious Basterds
Quentin Tarantino + Nazis + Hitler + Brad Pitt + (according to the MPAA) “strong graphic violence” = a little bit of heaven