The “Must Sees” of 2009
Sadly this past year, I didn’t see as many movies as I would have liked. Then again, if I had it my way I would end up watching movies all day, every day, never venturing outdoors. So, of the movies that I actually managed to see, the next four columns are a round up of what I liked, what I hated, a few that I loved, and a few more that I honestly don’t remember at all.
It’s hard to pick a favourite – if I chose a movie as my favourite, it would be immediately replaced as soon as someone suggested an alternative. The mere mention of a title springs forth a mental montage of the standout moments from that film. With so many different genres and moods, choosing means sometimes comparing totally different things. Like dining room chairs and footballs: I can throw both, but the fun from each is totally dependent on the situation. So, in no particular order, my “Must See” movies were:
9 – I’m a sucker for well done animation and “Tim Burton-y” things.
Adventureland – I wish my teen years were full of angst, discovery, humour, SNL actors, and carnivals.
Bronson – At some points, I forgot about the story and just got lost in how great the movie just looked. This movie and ‘Eastern Promises‘ taught me that you’re not really tough unless you fight a bunch of dudes…naked.
The Brothers Bloom – A rare movie where I was actually rooting for every character in it. It was literally watching a bunch of people that you wish would take you along for one night of drinking and stories, if only for just one night.
District 9 – If they can make a low budget sci-fi movie where the special effects are seamlessly blended in with reality, and the tone matches the visuals perfectly, with aliens tied to a message about racism and apartheid, why did they screw up ‘Transformers‘ so badly? This movie made me hate the bad movies more than I already did.
Moon – Another low-budget, amazing sci-fi movie. This, ‘Lawn Dogs,’ and ‘Galaxy Quest‘ should serve as just cause to keep Sam Rockwell working as long as he wants to. I wish he made more movies.
The Hangover – Ever since I saw Zach Galafianakis cover Kanye’s Can’t Tell Me Nothing video, I’ve been craving more. This movie guaranteed that I still will.
Funny People – My love for this movie is multi-leveled. I really wanted to see it, dragged my ass for no reason, worried that it might not be any good, eventually got around to seeing it, liked it, watched it again with different people, still liked it, bought the Blu-Ray and started watching the special features and then LOVED IT. All the extra stand-up and comedy that you hope for, while watching this surprisingly dramatic comedy, is given to you in spades with the seemingly endless special features on the home version. (Especially rare for a Blu-Ray/DVD.)
Zombieland – Zombies were big this decade. In every medium (except for maybe music), zombies are always there. In this movie, everything that I was hoping for them to do, they did; and everything that I was hoping they would say, they did. Add that to my favourite cameo since Alec Baldwin in ‘Glengarry Glen Ross,’ and you can’t go wrong. Plus, who doesn’t have a soft spot for Woody Harrelson?
Coraline – This movie was amazing in 2-D, but the 3-D version shown in theaters was breathtaking. I have watched and loved it repeatedly since then. It has a special spot in my heart because every time I watch it, I’m reminded of how much the 3-D made me feel like a kid seeing a movie in a theater for the first time. Not since seeing my first R-rated movie (’Runaway Train‘) in the theaters at the age of six, have I watched something that blew my mind.
Where The Wild Things Are – I, like everyone else, grew up on this book. How can you not have high expectations with that to live up to? All I could do was smile when I walked out of that movie and realized that somehow, it hit every emotional chord pitch-perfectly. And there wasn’t a single character in that movie that didn’t remind me of someone, something, or some time. When a movie can pull that off with a G rating under two hours, you can’t help but hold your breath for the next Spike Jonze adventure.
And now for the Late Additions:
It Might Get Loud – I grew up loving Led Zeppelin and was convinced that Jimmy Page might have been the greatest musician ever. As I got older I gave that title to Robert Johnson, who was a direct influence on Page and Jack White, two of the three stars of this incredible documentary. Going into it for Page and White (neither of whom disappointed), I was most surprised by how much the movie made me respect the Edge from U2 as a brilliant musician. If you love music, see this movie. It’s worth it just for the opening scene of Jack White building a guitar.
Avatar – I’ll expand on this one soon, in more detail. You’ve heard different versions of this story a million times. You’ve heard the message a million times. You have NEVER seen something like this. The fact that I knew exactly what was going to happen let me just visually feast on the epic scenes and marvel at the technology. Cameron’s 3D is unrivaled and I’m sad that I’ll never be able to duplicate that experience at home.
– Pig
Coming next week: Part Two – The Likeables
Each movie on this list could have one of three comments attached to it:
1) I saw it and I loved it.
2) I really wanted to see that.
3) I’d never heard of that until now, but you’ve got me interested.
Stealing as many of these as I can as I write this, Word up.
Have you seen Mary and Max? Eric Bana and PSH do some of the voices in it. A claymation feature w/ Philip Seymour Hoffman has gotta’ be good, yeah? (http://tinaathena.tumblr.com/post/294592083)