Top 10 of 2009

10. (500) Days of Summer (dir. Marc Webb) — I’ll be honest: I love romance, but I hate romantic comedies. This film deserves credit for having a fresh take on a dead-horse genre.

9. POLYTECHNIQUE (dir. Denis Villeneuve) — This was one of those films that I never want to see again but am completely grateful to have seen. Haunting, to say the least.

8. THE IMAGINARIUM OF DR. PARNASSUS (dir. Terry Gilliam) — Never know what to expect from Gilliam. It was odd seeing Heath Ledger’s final role, but frankly, he wasn’t what made the film for me—Tom Waits as the Devil did. Best casting choice ever.

7. ZOMBIELAND (dir. Ruben Fleischer) — Do I even need to explain why this was great? It just was. In my opinion, better than Shaun of the Dead.

6. BROKEN EMBRACES (dir. Pedro Almodóvar) — Almodóvar’s films always feel more like art pieces than just movies, like he’s articulating some kind of dream. That’s what this felt like. Beautiful, expertly crafted, and a bit surreal. Bravo.

5. THE WHITE RIBBON (dir. Michael Haneke) — I love Haneke, so I am thrilled that he’s getting so much praise for this. He deserves it. Out of all of his films that I’ve seen this one was probably the most mature, restrained, and meticulous. Strangely disturbing, like he does, but intriguing. I’ll be shocked if it doesn’t win Best Foreign Film at the Academy Awards.

4. AVATAR (dir. James Cameron) — I don’t understand why so many people hate Avatar on the basis of an unoriginal plot. Sure, it’s essentially another version of FernGully — so what? This is from the guy who did Titanic. You expect originality from him? Seeing this in 3D was the most fun I’d had in the theatre in ages, and you can’t deny that it’s pretty revolutionary.

3. DISTRICT 9 (dir. Neill Blomkamp) — Brilliant. Just brilliant. More of a full-body experience than anything else.

2. INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS (dir. Quentin Tarantino) — I know that Tarantino is all style over substance, but I don’t care. I love him anyway. Fun, unbridled creativity, and an incredible cast (notably Mélanie Laurent and Christoph Waltz).

1. BRIGHT STAR (dir. Jane Campion) — I don’t think I need to explain much here, seeing as I already did. Bottom line: flawless film.