With the Academy Awards coming up this weekend, I wanted to give my best movies of 2009. The big talk in 2009 was about the success of Avatar and the future of 3-D filmmaking. But the best movies of the year were great because of the acting, directing, and stories; not their overwhelming special effects.
The other big story is the ten Best Picture nominees. It does seem like that there was more award-worthy movies in 2009 than most years. I personally was not able to keep up with all of them. So, here a few notable movies I have missed that may have changed my list: An Education, Crazy Heart, Fantastic Mr. Fox , The Messenger, Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire , A Single Man, Up in the Air.
5. Star Trek
With this reboot of the Star Trek franchise director J.J. Abrams made a number of smart choices. The time travel setup allows hardcore Trekkies to take or leave the film as canon. The tone of the movie feels more like a big action film than a overly serious sci-fi movie. Where the old Trek properties could sometimes be boring, this movie never was and there was legitimately awesome action scenes. The younger Spock and Kirk are more interesting characters than the iconic versions, largely because they are more fallible and human. The greatest accomplishment of the reboot is that it made many new fans interested in the franchise.
4. Big Fan
If there was an Oscar-worthy performance that was not recognized this year it was Patton Oswalt’s in this movie. He portrays an obsessive sports fan who lets his obsession consume and ruin his life. His performance is believable, manic, and tragic. The film is a dark look at fans, celebrity, and the relationship between fan and celebrity. It is easily the most incisive look at that relationship since The King of Comedy.
3. (500) Days of Summer
Despite all of its quirkiness this romantic comedy is a realistic look at relationships. It captures the joy, pain, hope, and disappointments of one. Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt pull off the feat of showing the cute side of their characters and the unbearable ones. You can understand why the characters were attracted to each other, and also why it was never going to work. The split-screen scene of one evening’s expectations and its realities may be the most impressive moment of film in 2009.
2. The Hurt Locker
This movie grabs you from the opening scene. It follows a bomb squad in Iraq for one deployment. Director Kathryn Bigelow effectively puts the audience in their shoes. You feel their adrenaline, fear, and exhilaration. By the end of the story you feel like you know the characters, what makes them tick, and why they do what they do. Or why they have to do what they do.
1. Inglourious Basterds
Director Quentin Tarantino takes the sacred cow of the WWII movie and turns it into an exploitation film. It is audacious not only in tone but in the way if rewrites history. That loose feel is what makes it the most entertaining movie of 2009. It is also Tarantino’s most complete movie. Audiences expects his films to have flashy dialogue, over the top action, and iconic characters. What may not be expected is such great acting and a tight narrative. It may not be everyone’s favorite Tarantino movie but it may be his best one.
Honorable Mention: Avatar, District 9,Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, The Hangover, Up