Matt Shea
RubySoho
Morgan Bell
Cibbuano
David O'Connell
Mountain Fog
The Best Films of 2009: 20/20 Filmsight's Top Ten
December 22nd 2009 04:59
By David O'Connell, Mountain Fog, Cibbuano and Matt Shea
Nutting out a top ten with a bunch of salty film reviewers can be an unforgiving task. Not everyone’s seen everything and, of course, one person’s Aguirre is often another’s Maid in Manhattan. So it was with some trepidation that Cibbuano, David O’Connell, Mountain Fog and Matt Shea retired to their secret archipelago for a weekend of fencing, polo and arguing over James Cameron’s facial hair.
The final result was the list below, but it didn’t come without cost. Cibbuano blew himself up when attempting to smoke one of his own exploding cigarettes and Fog came off second best in an underwater battle against some frog skinned bad guys. Dave’s utility belt broke mid trapeze, sending him plummeting into an active volcano, while Matt confused the plunge pool with the piranha pool, surviving without his legs only long enough to hammer out this post.
There were a lot of fine films in contention for our list, but in the end only ten could be chosen. We think they’re quite worthy; have a read and see what you think.
10. GRAN TORINO
Clint Eastwood is like a great year of Grange Hermitage red wine, he just keeps getting better as he gets older. Walt Kowalski (Eastwood) is a gruff, bigotted ex-Korean War veteran emotionally stuck in the past and with only one passion left in his life: the last car he helped build, the 1972 Ford Gran Torino – one big muscle car. Kowalski hates his new neighbours, who are Hmong immigrants, and lets them know it. The film illustrates how one old bigot eventually comes to terms with modern America, and how his forgotten paternal instinct is revived, even for the 'enemy'. - Mountain Fog
9. BRONSON
Rarely does an individual performer hold audience attention as Tom Hardy does in Bronson, a visceral, searing invasion of the spectacularly deluded mind of Britain's most celebrated inmate. Filmed mostly in a single location, Nicolas Winding Refn's sure-to-be masterpiece ranks alongside his Pusher trilogy in its embodiment of men compelled to extremes of behaviour. With its caustic commentary on the madness that subverts infamy, and overpowering but persuasive use of classical music, Bronson may be too confronting and lacking in formal narrative technique for some, but as it winds down, Refn somehow brings all his ideas to a miraculous single point of transformative high art. And Tom Hardy can now justifiably set his sights on filling the shoes of Mad Max! - David O'Connell
8. MOON
Director Duncan Jones moved mountains with small change in Moon, his hypnotic, micro-budgeted sci-fi debut, never wavering in homage to genre forebears and yet igniting his story of a lonely man trapped in an artificially-created limbo with unexpectedly fresh insights. Sam Rockwell's dominating central performance of a lifetime may be the one that finally, and deservedly, anchors him in the big league. Rich with ideas and the kind of looping, dreamy texture associable with outer space, Jones utilised Gary Shaw's first-rate cinematography and composer Clint Mansell's subtle melodies as enhancements to a story he pared back to its sturdy fundamental parts. He even allowed a strangely alluring, humanistic streak to take hold in what proves to be a brilliant examination of identity. - David O'Connell
7. STAR TREK
Half reboot and half re-imagining, it’s difficult to see Gene Roddenberry disagreeing too much with this modern take on his carefully tended Star Trek universe. Television super producer JJ Abrahams took the original series, stripped it down, greased the parts and expertly put them back together again to create the Trek equivalent of a hotrod. What resulted was a riotous, high rolling sci-fi blast, equally at ease with both dedicated Trekkies and the more casual fans. Perhaps overly beholden to its time-travelling subplot, the device was nevertheless understandable, allowing the screenwriters to make a major change to the milieu inhabited by Roddenberry’s characters and thus laying the groundwork for a fresh series of big budget Star Trek bonanzas. - Matt Shea
6. RED CLIFF
I've never seen the edited version, nor do I want to, as I saw the two-part, 5 hour epic that John Woo constructed out of a maelstrom of famous Chinese actors. Western audiences are, perhaps, perplexed at the tangled characters, but this is a story that has been told countless times, and nearly every Chinese moviegoer knows the characters by heart. Take a Chinese friend, pause often to get the skinny on the background, and a delicious enjoyment will bubble to the surface as the fierce battles play prominently in the foreground. Our superheroes are merely underwear perverts compared to the grand mythology surrounding the Romance of the Three Kingdoms! - Cibbuano
5. THE HURT LOCKER
In recent years you’d think a posse of sweaty-trigger-fingered Basrah guerrillas were the ones making movies about the Iraq War. The pictures released have frequently been spray-and-pray affairs, loaded up with subtext and rolled towards wary audiences like creaking shopping trolleys. It’s taken Kathryn Bigelow’s The Hurt Locker to change the formula, although this film’s lukewarm popular reception indicates Hollywood has some way to go before they manage to turn people on to Iraq. Regardless, this is a keenly delivered film featuring a clutch of scenes that will have you peeling away your own fingernails. In between times it softly massages its subtext through the weary trio of bomb disposal experts central to the narrative. A stunning effort, and perhaps the most underrated picture of 2009. - Matt Shea
4. UP IN THE AIR
An acerbic comedy drama that can knife deeply into the ribs of anyone who has suffered the fate of being unexpectedly fired. Up in the Air looks into the life of a man happy in his work; Ryan Bingham (George Clooney), travels nearly all year round, state to state, hired by gutless bosses to fire their devoted employees. Bingham likes the impersonality the constant travel gives his private life, yet prides himself on the compassionate approach he brings to his job. He prefers to skim the surface of life's emotional ponds, keeping his interpersonal interactions brief and uninvolved, until.... - Mountain Fog
3. WHATEVER WORKS
Woody Allen's latest film was a celebratory look back at Allen's own life, fraught with smashed hopes and angry jeers. Critics quickly dismissed this, finding the ending to be too manufactured and upbeat, but Whatever Works was good news from the opening credits: a witty comedy with an interest in examining why we are this way, and how unreasonable it is to fight against your own nature. - Cibbuano
2. A SERIOUS MAN
Though likely to have the unconverted tearing their hair out with its plodding dissection of a Jewish everyman's life, the Coens’ latest was a masterful illumination of the pointlessness of probing the universe for answers to our biggest questions. Meticulously shot by Roger Deakins and directed with almost mathematical precision, the film pivots on Michael Stuhlbarg's memorable lead turn. There are astute musical choices, including Carter Burwell's sparse but sublime score, typically compelling, eccentric minor characters, as well as a hint of the Coens own youth breaking through their narrative wall. With a staggering concluding shot that only confirms, rather than neatly denying, its accumulation of bleak assertions, A Serious Man made a strong argument for being the film of the year. - David O'Connell
1. DISTRICT 9
Sci-fi made a stunning comeback in 2009, and while the movement was spearheaded by the Star Trek reboot, it took District 9 to nail home the genre’s renaissance. The product of a collaboration between Peter Jackson’s WingNut Films and a bunch of talented young filmmakers spearheaded by South African director Neill Blomkamp, District 9 took its paltry $30 million budget and became a big action film with big ideas. At the centre of the frame was the luckless, bungling bureaucrat, Wickus (Sharlto Copley), seemingly the wrong man to be the catalyst for an alien uprising in near future Johannesburg. Throughout the film, though, Wickus would steadily become a true hero, whilst audiences would be blown away by District 9’s series of heart stopping set pieces and enlightened by its clever tailoring of subtext concerning refugees in modern-day South Africa. Priceless filmmaking and a true modern classic of the genre. - Matt Shea
Of course, there were plenty of films that came close to our top ten. Honourable mentions are in order for the following:
Big River Man, Tyson, Up, Balibo, The Wrestler, Shall We Kiss?, Last Ride, An Education, Revolutionary Road, Samson and Delilah, Appaloosa, Van Diemen's Land, Detroit Metal City, Capitalism: A Love Story, Disgrace, and Mary and Max.
*This image is from fataculture
*This image is from We Are Movie Geeks
*This image is from Slashfilm
*This image is from Fanboyz.net
*This image is from Brian Kant's Blog
*This image is from Joyhog!
*This image is from AceShowBiz
*This image is from BrightYoungThings.com
*This image is from Sci Fi Scoop
Nutting out a top ten with a bunch of salty film reviewers can be an unforgiving task. Not everyone’s seen everything and, of course, one person’s Aguirre is often another’s Maid in Manhattan. So it was with some trepidation that Cibbuano, David O’Connell, Mountain Fog and Matt Shea retired to their secret archipelago for a weekend of fencing, polo and arguing over James Cameron’s facial hair.
The final result was the list below, but it didn’t come without cost. Cibbuano blew himself up when attempting to smoke one of his own exploding cigarettes and Fog came off second best in an underwater battle against some frog skinned bad guys. Dave’s utility belt broke mid trapeze, sending him plummeting into an active volcano, while Matt confused the plunge pool with the piranha pool, surviving without his legs only long enough to hammer out this post.
There were a lot of fine films in contention for our list, but in the end only ten could be chosen. We think they’re quite worthy; have a read and see what you think.
10. GRAN TORINO
Clint Eastwood is like a great year of Grange Hermitage red wine, he just keeps getting better as he gets older. Walt Kowalski (Eastwood) is a gruff, bigotted ex-Korean War veteran emotionally stuck in the past and with only one passion left in his life: the last car he helped build, the 1972 Ford Gran Torino – one big muscle car. Kowalski hates his new neighbours, who are Hmong immigrants, and lets them know it. The film illustrates how one old bigot eventually comes to terms with modern America, and how his forgotten paternal instinct is revived, even for the 'enemy'. - Mountain Fog
9. BRONSON
Rarely does an individual performer hold audience attention as Tom Hardy does in Bronson, a visceral, searing invasion of the spectacularly deluded mind of Britain's most celebrated inmate. Filmed mostly in a single location, Nicolas Winding Refn's sure-to-be masterpiece ranks alongside his Pusher trilogy in its embodiment of men compelled to extremes of behaviour. With its caustic commentary on the madness that subverts infamy, and overpowering but persuasive use of classical music, Bronson may be too confronting and lacking in formal narrative technique for some, but as it winds down, Refn somehow brings all his ideas to a miraculous single point of transformative high art. And Tom Hardy can now justifiably set his sights on filling the shoes of Mad Max! - David O'Connell
8. MOON
Director Duncan Jones moved mountains with small change in Moon, his hypnotic, micro-budgeted sci-fi debut, never wavering in homage to genre forebears and yet igniting his story of a lonely man trapped in an artificially-created limbo with unexpectedly fresh insights. Sam Rockwell's dominating central performance of a lifetime may be the one that finally, and deservedly, anchors him in the big league. Rich with ideas and the kind of looping, dreamy texture associable with outer space, Jones utilised Gary Shaw's first-rate cinematography and composer Clint Mansell's subtle melodies as enhancements to a story he pared back to its sturdy fundamental parts. He even allowed a strangely alluring, humanistic streak to take hold in what proves to be a brilliant examination of identity. - David O'Connell
7. STAR TREK
Half reboot and half re-imagining, it’s difficult to see Gene Roddenberry disagreeing too much with this modern take on his carefully tended Star Trek universe. Television super producer JJ Abrahams took the original series, stripped it down, greased the parts and expertly put them back together again to create the Trek equivalent of a hotrod. What resulted was a riotous, high rolling sci-fi blast, equally at ease with both dedicated Trekkies and the more casual fans. Perhaps overly beholden to its time-travelling subplot, the device was nevertheless understandable, allowing the screenwriters to make a major change to the milieu inhabited by Roddenberry’s characters and thus laying the groundwork for a fresh series of big budget Star Trek bonanzas. - Matt Shea
6. RED CLIFF
I've never seen the edited version, nor do I want to, as I saw the two-part, 5 hour epic that John Woo constructed out of a maelstrom of famous Chinese actors. Western audiences are, perhaps, perplexed at the tangled characters, but this is a story that has been told countless times, and nearly every Chinese moviegoer knows the characters by heart. Take a Chinese friend, pause often to get the skinny on the background, and a delicious enjoyment will bubble to the surface as the fierce battles play prominently in the foreground. Our superheroes are merely underwear perverts compared to the grand mythology surrounding the Romance of the Three Kingdoms! - Cibbuano
5. THE HURT LOCKER
In recent years you’d think a posse of sweaty-trigger-fingered Basrah guerrillas were the ones making movies about the Iraq War. The pictures released have frequently been spray-and-pray affairs, loaded up with subtext and rolled towards wary audiences like creaking shopping trolleys. It’s taken Kathryn Bigelow’s The Hurt Locker to change the formula, although this film’s lukewarm popular reception indicates Hollywood has some way to go before they manage to turn people on to Iraq. Regardless, this is a keenly delivered film featuring a clutch of scenes that will have you peeling away your own fingernails. In between times it softly massages its subtext through the weary trio of bomb disposal experts central to the narrative. A stunning effort, and perhaps the most underrated picture of 2009. - Matt Shea
4. UP IN THE AIR
An acerbic comedy drama that can knife deeply into the ribs of anyone who has suffered the fate of being unexpectedly fired. Up in the Air looks into the life of a man happy in his work; Ryan Bingham (George Clooney), travels nearly all year round, state to state, hired by gutless bosses to fire their devoted employees. Bingham likes the impersonality the constant travel gives his private life, yet prides himself on the compassionate approach he brings to his job. He prefers to skim the surface of life's emotional ponds, keeping his interpersonal interactions brief and uninvolved, until.... - Mountain Fog
3. WHATEVER WORKS
Woody Allen's latest film was a celebratory look back at Allen's own life, fraught with smashed hopes and angry jeers. Critics quickly dismissed this, finding the ending to be too manufactured and upbeat, but Whatever Works was good news from the opening credits: a witty comedy with an interest in examining why we are this way, and how unreasonable it is to fight against your own nature. - Cibbuano
2. A SERIOUS MAN
Though likely to have the unconverted tearing their hair out with its plodding dissection of a Jewish everyman's life, the Coens’ latest was a masterful illumination of the pointlessness of probing the universe for answers to our biggest questions. Meticulously shot by Roger Deakins and directed with almost mathematical precision, the film pivots on Michael Stuhlbarg's memorable lead turn. There are astute musical choices, including Carter Burwell's sparse but sublime score, typically compelling, eccentric minor characters, as well as a hint of the Coens own youth breaking through their narrative wall. With a staggering concluding shot that only confirms, rather than neatly denying, its accumulation of bleak assertions, A Serious Man made a strong argument for being the film of the year. - David O'Connell
1. DISTRICT 9
Sci-fi made a stunning comeback in 2009, and while the movement was spearheaded by the Star Trek reboot, it took District 9 to nail home the genre’s renaissance. The product of a collaboration between Peter Jackson’s WingNut Films and a bunch of talented young filmmakers spearheaded by South African director Neill Blomkamp, District 9 took its paltry $30 million budget and became a big action film with big ideas. At the centre of the frame was the luckless, bungling bureaucrat, Wickus (Sharlto Copley), seemingly the wrong man to be the catalyst for an alien uprising in near future Johannesburg. Throughout the film, though, Wickus would steadily become a true hero, whilst audiences would be blown away by District 9’s series of heart stopping set pieces and enlightened by its clever tailoring of subtext concerning refugees in modern-day South Africa. Priceless filmmaking and a true modern classic of the genre. - Matt Shea
Of course, there were plenty of films that came close to our top ten. Honourable mentions are in order for the following:
Big River Man, Tyson, Up, Balibo, The Wrestler, Shall We Kiss?, Last Ride, An Education, Revolutionary Road, Samson and Delilah, Appaloosa, Van Diemen's Land, Detroit Metal City, Capitalism: A Love Story, Disgrace, and Mary and Max.
*This image is from fataculture
*This image is from We Are Movie Geeks
*This image is from Slashfilm
*This image is from Fanboyz.net
*This image is from Brian Kant's Blog
*This image is from Joyhog!
*This image is from AceShowBiz
*This image is from BrightYoungThings.com
*This image is from Sci Fi Scoop
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Comment by Morgan Bell
Science News
Deep Pencil
Business News
Movie Train
in no particular order i probably would have said:
Inglourious Basterds
Bruno
Zombieland
Star Trek
and then im kind of struggling to think of anything else
i think because there is a 3-6 month delay on films being released in the US and Australia, and the higher quality films having their US release delayed until the last few weeks of the year for Oscar season, most of the films i liked from this year were actually from last year . . . and i wont know about this year until next year . . . if you know what i mean
Comment by Mountain Fog
I am really fired up to see the ones I have not seen as yet.
By the way, Rob from Paramount sent me bad news about our clips, bliptv has dropped Paramount, see my take on it here,
BlipTV clip probs
and my follow up to that;
all BlipTV clips
It affects all clips from bliptv, which has screwed me properly. I now have to source elsewhere, and dailymotion won't work on my site.. the player doesn't appear, just a link to their site to see it.
I took the display down to 420 X 300, as dictated by the formula you gave me, so anyway, Rob sent me another site to try, metacafe.
cheers
fog the frogman!
Comment by ant
Comment by Janet Collins
Acceptable Etiquette
The Social Critic
Janet Collins Blog
And good to see you around, Cibbuano. I thought you'd gone AWOL
Comment by RubySoho
Music Zone
Thought Zone
And I'm going to pretend I didn't see Whatever Works on that list.
Comment by Matt Shea
20/20 Filmsight
I know exactly what you mean when it comes to the release dates and it's something we tried to take into account when compiling this list, only including films that had their general release this year. There were still a few grey areas of course - the extended version of Red Cliff being the biggest one, having been initially released in China in two parts over this year and last, before the shorter, inferior version got an international release this year.
Regardless, thanks for stopping by and reading.
Comment by Matt Shea
20/20 Filmsight
Comment by Morgan Bell
Science News
Deep Pencil
Business News
Movie Train
Comment by Matt Shea
20/20 Filmsight
Comment by Matt Shea
20/20 Filmsight
Comment by Matt Shea
20/20 Filmsight
Comment by Matt Shea
20/20 Filmsight
Comment by RubySoho
Music Zone
Thought Zone
Comment by Someone
Evil Pleasures
Random Musings on Life, Love and Everything
Let's Get Down To Business
I'm with Morgan on Zombieland.... It has displaced [i]Shaun[i] as my favourite horror/comedy, definitely one of the best movies this year.
Comment by Mountain Fog
cheers
fog de frog
Comment by Journeywoman
Great Hair Style Tips
The Mama Sutra
I Dream of Hollywood
Fashion Peach
Comment by Journeywoman
Great Hair Style Tips
The Mama Sutra
I Dream of Hollywood
Fashion Peach
Mao's didn't rate for Filmsight??
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
I'm compiling my Horrorphile list for posting next Monday, but the criteria is a little different. As for my overall faves of the year I'd have definitely included The Wrestler ... Moon, yes, District 9, oh yes ...
But did any of you include the re-release of Wake in Fright?? Probably my pick of the year, but technically it's a movie from 1971.
I have still to see Inglourious Basterds, I've heard such mixed reports ... also Samson and Delilah and Mary & Max I've still to see.
Comment by Morgan Bell
Science News
Deep Pencil
Business News
Movie Train
Comment by David O'Connell
Screen Fanatic
Comment by Matt Shea
20/20 Filmsight
None of us had seen Avatar at the time of writing (last week). I went to see it last night in 3D and I'm not sure it would have made my top ten. Cameron's still got it, but it had too much fat for my liking and was, unusually, a touch plot-holey for him.
As for Zombieland: I personally wasn't a big fan - not scary enough, not funny enough IMHO.
Comment by Matt Shea
20/20 Filmsight
Re: Mao's Last Dancer - I thought it was pretty good but not quite in my personal top ten. I'm pretty sure Dave would be about the same, if my memory serves me correctly.
Comment by Matt Shea
20/20 Filmsight
Comment by Journeywoman
Great Hair Style Tips
The Mama Sutra
I Dream of Hollywood
Fashion Peach
Beautiful Kate just blew me away. It's unbelievably well made - photography, acting, music, everything - and the story is totally unique. It's a must-see.
Morgan, yep my boyfriend's in film so I usually see movies in advance, and get the occasional premiere invite too.
Bright Star was beautiful, a bit slow for most audiences I'd say but a must for any Keats fan. Or Abbie Cornish fan for that matter.... can't believe she's been snubbed for awards but she may still get an Oscar nom - here's hoping!
Comment by Jason King
Sydney Table
Salty Popcorn
Total Randomness
In Australia Up in the Air will be a 2010 release
Not having Avatar in the list hurts and is sacrilige but then most of you will vomit because I have New Moon in mine - hahaha. But we do agree on three films. To suss out my Top Ten if keen clickety click HERE
Merry Xmas Guys.
Comment by Matt Shea
20/20 Filmsight
We hadn't seen Avatar at the time of writing, but for me personally it probably wouldn't have made my top ten. I just thought it was a bit flabby and a bit too black and white with its characters. I still enjoyed it but didn't quite love it. Haven't seen New Moon
Will be checking out your ten shortly!
Comment by Optomistic Opportunism
Bohemian Hiphop
Japanese Jazz Funk
Optomystic Opportunism
The best films are always either Italian or French for me, but this year Mao's Last Dancer was right on the money.
Its all about dropping the capital incentive and increasing the emotional capacity of a film. Nah Mean? GET HUMAN.
Loved the pre-rant on this one. Colloborative, or an outsider?
Comment by Someone
Evil Pleasures
Random Musings on Life, Love and Everything
Let's Get Down To Business
Comment by Someone
Evil Pleasures
Random Musings on Life, Love and Everything
Let's Get Down To Business
Comment by Matt Shea
20/20 Filmsight
Personally, I didn't think it was such a strong year for international cinema - no The Lives of Others to blow us away and Waltz With Bashir just snuck into 08 rather than 09 (would have been in my top 3). There were a few hanging around the top ten though - besides Red Cliff, Shall We Kiss? and Detroit Metal City both made our 'honourable mention' list. I haven't seen Detroit (Cib's entry) but Shall We Kiss? is frequently hilarious and has a nice depth to it.
Totally agree with your comment on increasing the human side of things in film, and I'd say that's why District 9 came out on top in this list.
I wrote the intro - glad you enjoyed it
Comment by Matt Shea
20/20 Filmsight
Comment by RubySoho
Music Zone
Thought Zone
Comment by Janet Collins
Acceptable Etiquette
The Social Critic
Janet Collins Blog
I have not seen Waltz with Bashir but I would have to agree The Lives of Others makes it to my top films list of the decade. Pity it had very little publicity really.
Comment by Morgan Bell
Science News
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Movie Train
i hired District 9, Goya's Ghosts, and the Sandra Bullock rom-com The Proposal, and i would rate District 9 as the least good of those three
Comment by Matt Shea
20/20 Filmsight
Comment by Matt Shea
20/20 Filmsight
Comment by Optomistic Opportunism
Bohemian Hiphop
Japanese Jazz Funk
Optomystic Opportunism
Comment by Matt Shea
20/20 Filmsight
Comment by Matt Shea
20/20 Filmsight