The Best Films Of The Year So Far...
I've been neglectful of this blog this year. I've been lazy and not very inspired to write much. It's becoming clear to me that I need to push myself out of whatever funk I'm in and get back to writing. So, this will be fairly short, but something to prime the pump so to speak.
I think 2009, as far as films go, has been fairly amazing. I haven't seen nearly everything that I want to, and most of the films I have seen have been terrific. I figure I'll leave this list to 5 for now, and I anticipate by the end of the year I'll have an awful lot more to add.
In my opinion, Quentin Tarantino's best film. Before IB, I considered him an already great filmmaker, but with this film he eschews much of the pop culture references and instead concentrates on a solid, engaging story. All the characters feel alive in a way that feels very different from his previous works. The performances are top-notch, especially Christoph Waltz as Colonel Hans Landa, the Jew Hunter Nazi investigator. Menacing and intelligent, Landa stops at nothing to manipulate events to get what he wants. And even then, he's caught off guard by the blunt instrument that is Brad Pitt's Aldo Raine. This film's operating on multiple levels - we can cheer the bloodthirsty ending and at the same time question what exactly we're cheering. So far, my favorite film of the year.
Pixar is in the business of making masterpieces, at least so far. UP is no exception. A moving tale of an old man seeking resolution with his loss in life, this could have been a dour, dry enterprise. Instead, it's at times very funny, the imagery is wonderful (especially in 3D) and the story and characters are compelling. I can't ever get tired of proclaiming that Pixar is the best thing since the wheel, and they never cease to amaze me.
A hell of a directing debut by Neill Blomkamp. A science-fiction film that embraces a thoughtful premise instead of just having things blow up (although D9 does blow up things exceedingly well). Sharlto Copley gives a performance that reminded me an awful lot of Daniel Day-Lewis in the fact that he disappears in the part, and you stop thinking that it's "acting." I don't think a studio would have touched this in a million years, so it's a great thing that Peter Jackson and Blomkamp made this film without interference. Only time will tell what kind of filmmaker Blomkamp will turn out to be but you can't ask for a better start out of the gate than DISTRICT 9.
Kathryn Bigelow's Iraq War film is great for one reason - it doesn't pass judgment. That's why all the other films on this subject, in varying degrees, don't work. They pass judgment. Instead, Bigelow makes a film of real verisimilitude. It feels true and accurate. Jeremy Renner's performance of an adrenaline-junkie soldier probably won't be recognized by any awards ceremonies, simply for the reason thathe doesn't show off. Instead, he embodies it. There's action sequences in this film, shot with a first-person view, that reminded me (in a good way) of the intensity of a great video game, but with consequences. Intense and difficult to shake off.
Duncan Jones' debut feature is science fiction in the purest sense. It doesn't rely on explosions or silly toy lines, and Jones understands that the best special effects are the ones in the mind. Sam Rockwell, in an amazing performance, plays a labor worker on the moon who, after three years, is headed back home to his family. But he discovers that he's been manipulated in a way that he never imagined, and to tell more would be cruel. It's a hell of a performance, one that the Oscars simply won't recognize. Jones makes a film about ideas and it feels bigger than it's $5 million budget would suggest. Another amazing debut.
These are simply 5 I've picked for the year. I've left out quite a bit. ADVENTURELAND, WORLD'S GREATEST DAD, IN THE LOOP, WATCHMEN, OBSERVE AND REPORT, and there's still a lot to see this year, like AVATAR, WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE, A SERIOUS MAN, UP IN THE AIR... it's been an exceptional year for movies and I anticipate a lot more good films to come. See you at the theater.
