Henry's Top Ten of 2009

While 2009 was a disappointing year for movies, there were some definite standouts, and the very best film of the year ranks among any other year's best...


*DISCLAIMER* - Please note that this is not my ranking of the "best" movies in terms of overall quality. This is a list of the films that most stood out for me, that I most enjoyed, and that most represent the past year in cinema. I will get to what I think the highest quality films were when I list what I believe should be nominated for the Academy Awards. That's later. These are my favorite films of 2009...

First, here is 20-11 in my ranking of the top movies of the year:

20. Antichrist

19. Public Enemies

18. Up in the Air

17. Precious

16. The Hangover

15. The Damned United

14. Up

13. Moon

12. Zombieland

11. Drag Me to Hell


Now onto the Top Ten of 2009:



10. Coraline - This movie just hit the right notes for me. I loved the animation, I really enjoyed the dark story-line, and thought the whole thing had a really good feel to it. A mature children's film, but still a children's film, and a movie that can sit proudly next to The Nightmare Before Christmas. That's saying something. (Original Review)



9. Crazy Heart - This film is all about Bridges' performance but that's enough. It's filled with solid music, good chemistry among its leads, and a predictable but effective story of redemption. An indie success. (Original Review)



8. District 9 - A movie that I wasn't quite sure what I thought of until I watched it on DVD. It really works. There's so much energy and originality in every frame that its flaws are easy to ignore. While I still don't love the action beats, the rest of it works so well, and it is easily one of the most exciting films of the year for more than just its content. The fact that it could be made on such a small budget, and could be the debut of a great filmmaker in Neill Blomkamp, makes it one of the most memorable movies of the year. (Original Review)



7. Inglourious Basterds - A real gem from Tarantino who does the best directing of his career with this World War 2 epic. While I still think Pulp Fiction is a better film, Inglourious Basterds has sequences of sheer brilliance that rival Pulp Fiction's best, and it blows Pulp Ficiton out of the water on a technical level. Christoph Waltz steals the show as the "Jew-Hunter" Colonel Landa and Melanie Laurent is impressive as a young Jewish girl out for revenge against the Nazi party. It's not a movie I will be re-watching in its entirety very often, there are too many scenes that go on for too long and don't have enough energy, but the best scenes in the film are among the best scenes of the entire decade. (Original Review)



6. Star Trek - In a year where Avatar got all the press and the buzz...Star Trek was the best science-fiction film of the year. I'm still surprised by this one. I had very little hope of liking this film and I came a way really enjoying it. It's a "winning" film as Ben might say. It's formulaic, but J.J. Abrams uses the formula perfectly, and it really is this year's Iron Man (if not quite as good). I can't recommend this film enough as a Friday night rental when we are in the dark days of cinema in January and February. I promise it will win you over. (Original Review)



5. In the Loop - The best adult comedy of the year and contains the best lines of any film in quite some time. Featuring fantastic comedic performances from Peter Capaldi, James Gandolfini, and Paul Higgins among many others, this was my favorite "find" of the year. While it's a little too long for its own good, it's always entertaining, and deserves as much attention as it can get on DVD. (Original Review)



4. Fantastic Mr. Fox - If I was surprised by Star Trek then you would have to say I was shocked by Fantastic Mr. Fox. I was not a big fan of Wes Anderson's last two films...actually I really hated his last one (The Darjeeling Limited)...but I loved his first entry into the stop-motion animation role. Fantastic Mr. Fox is retro, original, funny, actually kind of exciting...it's a total delight. (Original Review)



3. An Education - At first I thought I liked An Education so much because I saw it after an absolutely brutal run of films. Well, having seen it twice, that's not it. I loved it because it's just a great little film. Featuring a star-making lead performance from Carey Mulligan, standout performances from Peter Sarsgaard, Alfred Molina, Rosamund Pike, and Dominic Cooper, and a fantastic screenplay from Nick Hornby, this was a smart and charming movie that I enjoyed nearly every minute of. If not for a weak ending this might very well have ranked even higher on the list but, as is, it still stands as one of my very favorites of the year. (Original Review)




2. Taken - That's right. Taken. You have a problem with that? Well, then I have someone who has something they want to say:



Yes, this is my second favorite film of 2009 and definitely the most fun film of the year. I won't try to defend this film to you...you either get it or you don't. It's the best film of its kind in a very long time and any flaws it has are erased by how goddamn bad-ass the whole thing is. I loved this movie. (Original Review)



1. The Hurt Locker - This is by far the best film of 2009. It's a film that has sat very well with me and that I've reflected upon multiple times in the months since I saw it. It stands as one of the three best war movies of the decade (Black Hawk Down and Letters from Iwo Jima being the other two) and the only quality movie to tackle the Iraq war. It does so by not bothering with the politics at all. The Hurt Locker is focused solely on the soldiers and the s*** they have to deal with. An expertly directed film by Katherine Bigelow, who I expect will win Best Director, and the only truly great film of the year. Appropriately, the one image that will stick with me most from all the films of 2009 is the final shot of The Hurt Locker. (Original Review)

Well that's it for 2009. Yes, I still have some movies I'll be seeing that were released this year...Nine, The Lovely Bones, Sherlock Holmes, The White Ribbon, etc....but I felt pretty safe in posting this now. I'm sure you disagree with my rankings...I know Ben will...but I thought about this list a long time and feel pretty certain that this is the proper order for me.

Let's hope 2010 is a stronger year.