2009 in Review: Part Two. The Best Films...

50) WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE
Directed by Spike Jonze

Yeah, I was disappointed by the film. It doesn’t work in the way that I wanted it to. However, the strength of the trailer alone (the best trailer of the decade?) merits it a place on this list.

49) ROLE MODELS
Directed by David Wain

It was a decent year for comedy, and Role Models got the year off to a good start. Extra kudos for giving Paul Rudd an all-too-rare starring role.

48) CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS
Directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller

Pixar have clearly dominated American animation for years, but this is the best non-Pixar animation in years. It’s very, very funny.

47) I LOVE YOU MAN
Directed by John Hamburg

Just pips Role Models by virtue of casting the great Jason Segel (Freaks and Geeks rules) and the lovely Rashida (daughter of Quincy) Jones from Parks and Recreation.

46) RELIGULOUS
Directed by Larry Charles

Funny and irreverent. Larry Charles, who directed Borat, made a better film this year than his former colleague, Sacha Baron Cohen.

45) BROKEN EMBRACES
Directed by Pedro Almodovar

Average Almodovar is still better than so much else released in a cinematic year. This is heaps of fun, and features another knockout turn by Penelope Cruz, who was even better here than in Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

44) KISSES
Directed by Lance Daly

Gorgeous black and white Irish indie, about a couple of pre-teen runaways in Dublin. Funny, sweet and scary, this is further proof of a burgeoning Irish film industry.

43) FROST/NIXON
Directed by Ron Howard

Seems so long ago (although in fairness, it’s been 18 months or so since I saw it), but this is an impressive and occasionally thrilling piece of work, with a tremendous performance by Frank Langella.

42) PUBLIC ENEMIES
Directed by Michael Mann

One of the year’s biggest disappointments for me, a big Michael Mann fan, but still an impressive film. I’ve just bought the blu ray, can’t wait to give it a second go.

41) RACHEL GETTING MARRIED
Directed by Jonathan Demme

Demme hadn’t made a film for ages before last year’s brilliant Jimmy Carter documentary. This should be the world’s most annoying film. That it isn’t is down to a brilliant performance by Anne Hathaway.

40) PONTYPOOL
Directed by Bruce McDonald

Impressive and stylish low-budget zombie movie, with a wonderful performance by Stephen McHattie as a DJ caught up in an unbelievable turn of events. A future cult classic, and really highly recommended.

39) ENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF THE WORLD
Directed by Werner Herzog

Herzog can seemingly do no wrong at present, and this documentary, while lacking the genius of Grizzly Man is one of the year’s best non-fiction films.

38) THIRST
Directed by Park-Chan Wook

The year’s second best vampire movie (although, in full disclosure: I haven’t seen Twilight). Park is a brilliant director, and this is as stylish as his best work, although the story lacks the power of the Vengeance trilogy.

37) FUNNY PEOPLE
Directed by Judd Apatow

So close to being a third consecutive stone-cold classic for Apatow, this had more good stuff in it than any other comedy this year, but the occasional misfire pulls it back.

36) DEPARTURES
Directed by Yojiro Takita

Winner of last year’s Best Film in a Foreign Language Oscar, where it defeated Waltz with Bashir. While it shouldn’t have done, it’s an affecting, gracious and emotionally involving film.

35) REVOLUTIONARY ROAD
Directed by Sam Mendes

I’m not a massive Mendes fan, but this was his best film to date. It’s based on one of the greatest books of all time, and boasts knockout performances from Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. Not an easy watch, however.

34) FROZEN RIVER
Directed by Courtney Hunt

Melissa Leo won a richly-deserved Oscar nomination for a stunning turn that is the heart and soul of Courtney Hunt’s film.

33) THE INFORMANT!
Directed by Steven Soderbergh

Soderbergh had a wonderful year, and this was a delight from start to finish. Matt Damon is superb as a man involved in the corporate criminal culture in the US.

32) FANTASTIC MR FOX
Directed by Wes Anderson

Another of the year’s disappointments, although it’s hard to see how Anderson could have improved upon this. It looks magnificent, but couldn’t possibly have lived up to the filmmaker’s best work.

31) AVATAR
Directed by James Cameron

It will be interesting to see how history regards James Cameron’s 3D marvel. At its best, it’s the best big movie of the year.

30) IL DIVO
Directed by Paolo Sorrentino

Sorrentino’s a great filmmaker, but Il Divo has faded from my memory somewhat since I saw it. Toni Servillo’s performance is extraordinary, and a rewatch may have moved the film higher up this list.

29) BETTER THINGS
Directed by Duane Hopkins

Sensational, but downbeat debut from British director Duane Hopkins about the effects of drugs on a small Cotswolds community. It’s a massive downer, but seriously impressive stuff.

28) FISH TANK
Directed by Andrea Arnold

Katie Jarvis steals the show in her debut performance as a disaffected teenaged girl in Andrea Arnold’s excellent follow-up to the brilliant RED ROAD. Good support too from Michael Fassbender.

27) IN THE LOOP
Directed by Armando Ianucci

A really good year for British cinema, 2009, and IN THE LOOP is further evidence of that. Not quite as brilliant as THE THICK OF IT, the TV show that spawned the film, but hilarious all the same.

26) THREE MONKEYS
Directed by Nuri Bilge Ceylan

Ceylan is one of Europe’s best filmmakers, with films like DISTANT and CLIMATES among the decade’s best. THREE MONKEYS is just a hair below that quality, but is a terrific piece of work.

25) MOON
Directed by Duncan Jones

I would argue that Sam Rockwell gave the year’s best performance in Duncan Jones’ (the son of David Bowie) directorial debut. MOON is by no means a perfect film, but fits neatly with two of the obvious trends of the year, 2009 was an excellent year for British cinema, as noted in the previous post, but also an excellent year for science fiction. Many compared it to the work of Kubrick, I think it’s more like a cross between SOLARIS and DARK CITY.

24) MILK
Directed by Gus Van Sant

Sean Penn won the Oscar for his portrayal of openly gay US politician Harvey Milk in Gus Van Sant’s least weird film since GOOD WILL HUNTING. It’s a terrific movie, with great performances from James Franco and Josh Brolin in support, while Penn is superb. Only some annoying directorial tricks stop this from ranking higher on this list. It’s hard now to believe that many thought that Penn should have been beaten to the award by Mickey Rourke.

23) ANVIL: THE STORY OF ANVIL
Directed by Sacha Gervasi

Brilliant film this, one where you’re not entirely sure for much of the duration how seriously you’re supposed to take it. There’s definitely more than one moment when you feel like this story simply can’t be true. But true it is, and Anvil, an unsuccessful heavy metal band are among the year’s most engaging screen stories. By turns, this is funny, moving and brilliant.

22) SUGAR
Directed by Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden

HALF NELSON, the debut film from co-directors Fleck and Boden, suggested a coupling of great promise, promise that has been fulfilled by their follow-up: SUGAR. SUGAR is a quiet and brilliant film about a young Dominican baseball player who is moved to the US by the major league franchise that has signed him, and has to cope in a new country. It’s sympathetic, heartfelt filmmaking, which surpasses their debut.

21) THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE WEIRD
Directed by Ji-Woon Kim

Kim has had a great decade (A BITTERSWEET LIFE is a highlight), and he ends it with his most entertaining film to date. THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE WEIRD is a Korean spaghetti Western, which is convinced of nothing other than it’s own insatiable need to entertain. It doesn’t make massive amounts of sense, but, quite frankly, what does that matter?

20) INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
Directed by Quentin Tarantino

A bravura piece of work, by one of Hollywood’s most interesting filmmakers. I reviewed it here, and my memory hasn’t diminished it at all. There are flaws aplenty (Eli Roth, the Basterds are the least interesting characters in the movie, it’s too long), but the opening scene alone is worth anything that could have followed it. Worth commending two outstanding performances as well, from Christopher Waltz (who will win an Oscar) and Melanie Laurent, who, sadly, won’t.

19) TOKYO SONATA
Directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa

Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s (no relation) film is an odd, charming and captivating film about family, obligation and recrimination. It’s also very funny, occasionally shocking and quite beautiful. It’s been a good year for Japanese drama, although the best Japanese film I saw last year (STILL WALKING) isn’t out in the UK for a couple of weeks. As such, TOKYO SONATA is the best Japanese film of the year.

18) SHIFTY
Directed by Eran Creevy

Eran Creevy’s film is one of the best British films of the year, and further evidence that the British film industry is in rude health. Daniel Mays and Riz Ahmed play former friends who have drifted apart, but are reunited for one day. Ahmed is a small-time drug dealer, and Mays accompanies him on his rounds. That may sound like the sort of hackneyed start to a British crime thriller that we all came to hate in the aftermath of Guy Ritchie’s early films, but this has much more in common with the films of Shane Meadows.

17) ADVENTURELAND
Directed by Greg Mottola

In a world where (500) DAYS OF SUMMER can take money, and be regarded as vastly more than it is, the sense of injustice isn’t helped when a film like ADVENTURELAND (in every single way it’s superior) disappears from cinema screens almost immediately. It’s a superb film, with great work from the cast, Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart are great as the leads, but the support from Bill Hader, Ryan Reynolds and the goddess that is Kristen Wiig is flawless. This is sad, funny and emotionally raw. It’s as good an evocation of teenaged life as Hollywood has produced in years.

16) STAR TREK
Directed by JJ Abrams

I suppose that at this stage of the list you could quite easily think that this is a list aimed only at people who don’t watch popular films. Only AVATAR and INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS, so far, have taken more than £10m at the UK box office. However, STAR TREK is the best blockbuster of the year. Funny, exciting and so, so much fun, this isn’t like the STAR TREK films that I grew up on. I’m fairly sure that in my old house the VHS tape of THE MOTION PICTURE that my dad showed me twenty odd years ago still hasn’t finished. This, though, is terrific, and very highly recommended to those, like me, who have no affinity with the franchise.

15) THE HANGOVER
Directed by Todd Phillips

And now the hits keep on coming. I reviewed this here, and since then the film has become even more of a sensation; it’s the highest grossing R rated comedy of all time in the USA, which is even more remarkable because it’s a film where the most famous face belonged to Bradley Cooper (aside from Mike Tyson’s that is). What The Hangover is, is a smartly written, brilliantly played comedy that adroitly follow the lesson that you should leave your audience laughing. Chances are, anyone who you’ve spoken to about the film has told you how much they loved the end credits? Still any film that sends some love the way of the ‘nard dog is ok by me, and I don’t think I had a better time in the cinema all year.

14) AWAY WE GO
Directed by Sam Mendes

Ok, so Revolutionary Road’s reign as my favourite Mendes film lasted for, approximately, six months. AWAY WE GO is the least theatrical of Mendes’ film work, and as such, the most alive. It’s a funny and moving film, with really appealing lead performances by the great John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph, while the likes of Paul Schneider (also brilliant this year in BRIGHT STAR), Jeff Daniels, Allison Janney, Catherine O’Hara and, especially, Melanie Lynskey, give great support. It’s a little indie-by-numbers, but the best indie-by-numbers film of the year.

13) A CHRISTMAS TALE
Directed by Arnaud Desplechin

Desplechin is one of the best filmmakers in Europe. That much is obvious when comparing just his last two features, KINGS AND QUEEN, which is far from the finished article but is so brave, and assured, that it beggars belief, and this, A CHRISTMAS TALE, which is incredibly close to being a masterpiece. A rewatch might have pushed this higher in the list, but even without it stands out as being one of the best films of the year, and one of the best films about family, of the decade. It stands comparison with Olivier Assayas’ SUMMER HOURS or Abdel Kechiche’s COUSCOUS. There are terrific performances as well from Catherine Deneuve, Mathieu Amalric, Melvil Poupaud and Anne Consigny. Quite simply, it’s brilliant.

12) THE COVE
Directed by Louis Psihoyos

Unquestionably the year’s most required viewing. This is a horrifying documentary about the way that whales are systematically butchered in a small fishing community in coastal Japan. The film is set up in such a way that it documents these terrible actions, and the efforts of a small group of activists who attempt to highlight the problem, and put as many obstacles as possible in the fishermen’s way. It’s a brave and brilliant film, never weighed down by the seriousness and harrowing nature of its subject. It’s grisly, but absolutely essential viewing.

11) LET THE RIGHT ONE IN
Directed by Tomas Alfredsson

And, now, we come to the year’s best vampire movie. Stylish, atmospheric and truly unsettling, LET THE RIGHT ONE IN is a sumptuous and brilliant film. It truly understands, and elucidates what it means to be an outcast at a young age, with seemingly your whole future mapped out in front of you. The best Swedish film since Lukas Moodysson’s brilliant SHOW ME LOVE, LET THE RIGHT ONE IN has already been fast-tracked for a remake (due out later this year). You owe it to yourself, however, to see the original, and it is a true original, first.