5. Not every movie is for everybody. It doesn’t mean people don’t get the movie, it means it wasn’t for them. That’s okay. Observe and Report is one of those films, but if you are the kind of person for whom the movie was made you’ll recognize a work of sheer, demented brilliance. A comedic version of Taxi Driver, Observe and Report confirms director Jody Hill’s obsession with the self-made wacko, although now he’s getting into dangerous territory. It started with Foot Fist Way and continued in Eastbound and Down, where Danny McBride played delusional but funny guys who were very impressed with themselves. In Observe and Report Seth Rogen busts out of his lovable slacker role and plays a delusional guy who is very impressed with himself… who has violence deep in his heart and a loaded gun at his side. Hill takes the story from funny to disturbing without ever missing a beat, or a laugh. Yeah, this isn’t Knocked Up, Mall Cop, so don’t expect a joke a minute. Expect lots of funny stuff, though, much of it mired in the darkest and creepiest aspects of ourselves.
Contributing Factors: I think Jody Hill might be a genius. He has an understanding of a certain kind of blue collar loser who nobody really examines anymore. There’s something ineffably Great Depression 2.0 about Hill’s characters, and while Ronnie in O&R might be a dangerous lunatic, Hill has a certain sympathy for him. And an understanding of him – how else could Hill manage to score Ronnie’s savage beatdown to Queen’s Flash Gordon theme? He gets this guy.
Performance to Savor: Michael Pena. You spend the first half of the film wondering what the fuck he’s thinking and the second half realizing he was a genius all along. Coming up just behind are The Yuan Twins as The Yuan Twins and Danny McBride as a hilarious crack dealer.
CHUD.com Pull Quote: “You’re not getting Knocked Up – you’re getting knocked out!”
4. District 9 (my review)(Buy the DVD/Buy the Blu-Ray)
A masterpiece of allegorical action scifi, District 9 is a movie that just knocked me on my ass. Worried that it wouldn’t hold up at home I watched it on Blu the other night and found that it once again knocked me on my ass. Neill Blomkamp paces his movie with a breathlessness that doesn’t try to outrun smarts. And it definitely doesn’t outrun character – Wikus is one of the great modern schlub heroes, selfish right up to the end, and the prawns themselves come alive despite first seeming like horrible, disgusting beasts. Blomkamp transports us to another reality and makes it feel solid and present, puts us right in the action through genius use of the faux-doc format for the first act. The designs of the prawn are incredible and their execution photoreal, and Blomkamp holds back enough info to fire our imaginations and keep us wondering about these aliens and their homeworlds. To me that’s the hallmark of great science fiction, that it leaves me wanting more answers and wanting more exploration of the world it creates. Also, it’s filled with messily exploding people.
Contributing Factors: If what I hear about The A-Team is true Sharlto Copley may not end up the next Johnny Depp, but as used here by good friend Blomkamp he’s funny and sad and kind of a terrific dick. Also working in the film’s favor is Blomkamp’s own South African heritage; the film has been accused of being on the nose as well as racist in its own right, but I don’t think those critiques hold up. The movie’s not a 1:1 parallel, and actually uses South Africa’s racial history as a way of informing the reactions of the populace and the government. Just as the apes in the Planet of the Apes films don’t simply equal black people, neither do the prawns in District 9.
Performance to Savor: Christopher Johnson. Never before has a completely non-human character been so fully formed. He has an utterly alien face, but you can read so much from his eyes and his body language that you truly come to care for this insectoid pile of pixels. No other director has been able to make me care so completely about a CG alien before, and it’s probably been since ET that I’ve cared so much for a special effect.
CHUD.com Pull Quote: “A fookin’ great movie!”
3. Antichrist (my review)(pre-order the DVD/pre-order the Blu-Ray)
I’m not particularly a fan of Lars von Trier. I’m not against the guy, but I’m not salivating for each of his films in advance. Antichrist could change that. Evil and surreal and beautiful and terrible, this film is a mindfuck of epic proportions. Is it serious? Is it a joke? Is it misogynistic? Is it crying out against misogyny? This is the kind of film that will first test your ability to watch it – the violence is as serious as you’ve heard – and then test your brainpower as you keep talking about it and going over it in your head. This is a movie that hit me on every single level I would want to be hit – it’s great to look at, it’s totally fucked up, and it has a ton of stuff to ponder afterwards. One part cabin in the woods horror movie, one part art film, one part bizarre head trip, Antichrist is a film that is only for the most serious filmgoer, and one that will push you to the very limits. An amazing, breathtaking work of sheer fucked upedness.
Contributing Factors: The cinematography by Andrew Dod Mantle is as stunning as it is varied. The film has many looks, many moods, even many genres. The performances by Willem Dafoe and especially the ethereal yet earthy Charlotte Gainsbourg are brave and captivating. And sometimes hilarious. It’s that back and forth, the tension within the film itself, that speaks most to von Trier’s sheer brilliance.
Performance to Savor: The fox. Chaos fucking reigns indeed!
CHUD.com Pull Quote: “You’ll believe a dick can spurt blood!”
2. Up (my review)(Buy the DVD/Buy the Blu-Ray)
Yeah, I wept. I wept when I saw the first half of the movie in rough animatic form. I wept when I saw the movie at a press screening. I wept when I saw the movie at 3 in the morning during an all-night movie marathon with friends for my birthday. I could probably weep now if I think about it too much. But none of that weeping feels manipulated; if anything Up undersells its most emotional moments, letting the characters and story do the work. Let’s face it, when you say that this is the best Pixar movie ever, you’re really making a statement. But it is, and it’s a pitch-perfect blend of heart, humor and adventure, all beautifully rendered and animated. But again, the focus isn’t on the whiz-bang, it’s on the characters, and while Pixar certainly offers up lots of eye candy it never, ever skimps on the people we can care about. This is the most adult animated movie I’ve ever seen, and it’s a solid PG. It isn’t tits or violence that make a movie adult, it’s the melancholy themes that Up bravely explores. For that alone, it deserves a spot on this list. But considering the fact that it’s utterly excellent, it gets the number 2.
Contributing Factors: Man, Ed Asner. How good is he in this? At first I was disappointed that Pixar didn’t populate its lost world with dinosaurs and monsters, but then I realized I was missing the point. They flew the dinosaur in and the monster had been living in his blimp for some time.
Performance to Savor: Bob Peterson’s Dug is such a warm and loving character that it’s hard not to fall right back in love with him.
CHUD.com Pull Quote: “This movie will grab your heartstrings and fly them straight Up!”
1. Inglourious Basterds (my review)(Buy the DVD/Buy the Blu-Ray)
When I first saw Basterds I knew it would be on this list. Then I saw it again and I knew it would be high on this list. Then I kept thinking about it and realized it’s the best movie of the year. It’s also the best movie of Quentin Tarantino’s career. It’s an incredibly mature work, a completely assured work and still a totally kick-ass work. After the misstep of Death Proof (great concept, poor execution), Tarantino is back with those trademark dialog scenes, only this time he’s wielding them as weapons of pure tension. It’s hard for me to imagine his other films being called Hitchcockian, but Basterds completely fits that bill. The only other movie this year that comes as close to being as nail-bitingly tense is The Hurt Locker (a movie that just missed being on this list), and that film had bombs in it. Tarantino does The Hurt Locker one better in scenes with people just sitting at tables, talking. And then of course there’s the end – an orgasmic catharsis as well as a stern reprimand, the proverbial iron fist in the velvet glove. Only a master of the cinema could deliver the blow so well.
Contributing Factors: Tarantino has made the ultimate cinephile movie – a film where cinema can end World War II. It’s exhilarating, even though it’s light on actual action. Tarantino promised us a men on a mission movie and he gave us something better. But the men that he gave us are great, and plenty of fun, especially in the final premiere scene. Quotability and rewatchability – Tarantino at his best.
Performance to Savor: Christoph Waltz as Hans Landa, of course. He’s THE character of 2009. But also an amazing character is Shoshanna, played by the luminous Melanie Laurent. The Basterds may get the title, but Shoshanna is the hero of the film and the revenge of her giant face is not just the best cinematic moment of 2009, it tops the decade. When people make their YouTube montages of the 00s, that image of the face laughing on the smoke will be what they use to cap the whole thing off.
CHUD.com Pull Quote: “You get that medal for killin’ Jews… or watching Inglorious Basterds?”
10. None more black. That’s how black the comedy is in Bobcat Goldthwait’s third feature. He’s already tackled drunk clowns and girls who suck off dogs, so naturally the grief industry was next for him. The movie has a mean spirit trapped inside a high school comedy; some viewers were thrown off by the fact that Bobcat uses the tropes and cliches of the high school genre – especially pop music montages – to make his point, but I think it’s all in service of bile. There’s a lot to like about this film, from the unrelentingly dipshitty dead kid to the fact that it never follows narrative convention, but what makes it all work is that it’s mean without hate. Or hateful without being mean. I’m not entirely sure, but whichever it is, Bobcat doesn’t get into smugness but rather finds an almost desperate exasperation with humanity and makes lots of jokes with it.
Contributing Factors: The script refuses to let anyone off the hook; every character in the film is myopically selfish and filters every single event only through their own wants and needs. That relentless view of humanity makes the whole film feel honest and true, even as it’s wringing jokes out of everything.
Performance to Savor: Robin Williams almost gets out of the “Actors Whose Very Attachment To A Project Gives Me Hives” camp with this one. Remember when you really liked Robin Williams? Well, he reminds you of it here, being funny without being too broad and without ever doing Black Guy Voice, Old Jew Voice or Crazy Guy Voice.
CHUD.com Pull Quote: “Winner of the Kyle Clayton Memorial Award for Excellence!”
9. A Town Called Panic (my review)(pre-order the DVD/pre-order the Blu-Ray)
Cinema is boundless. That’s what I took away from this sugar-rush of silliness, a completely madcap children’s movie that’s a paean to the overstimulated imagination of a 9 year old waking up early on a Saturday morning. The adventures of Cheval, a horse, Cowboy, a cowboy and Indien, an Indian, as they make their way through a bizarre world of free association and weirdness and fun and crudely animated toys, A Town Called Panic could be 2009’s Movie I’m Most Convinced I Simply Dreamed Up. There’s no way to really get across to you the visceral delight you’ll get watching these plastic figures amble from scene to scene, but it, along with The Fantastic Mr. Fox, make strong arguments that it isn’t the seamless realism of the effects that make a movie work, it’s the characters and their world.
Contributing Factors: There’s an inventiveness in A Town Called Panic that is usually absent from narrative cinema. Anything can and will happen, and you’ll be glad for it. The rough animation really sells the world of possibility. Just be sure to see it in the original French for the voices.
Performance to Savor: Co-director Vincent Patar is wonderful as the always-cool Cheval, but my favorite is Benoit Poelvoorde as Steven, who says every single one of his lines in a shout, who eats a giant piece of toast UPSIDE DOWN and then drinks a giant cup of coffee by running through the side of the mug.
CHUD.com Pull Quote: “Panic if you don’t get to visit this town!”
8. In The Loop (my review)(Pre-order the DVD/Pre-order the Blu-Ray)
In The Loop represents the pinnacle of insult comedy. It’s also the most quotable film of the decade, by a long shot, and it’s a movie that needs to be seen multiple times, as the roar of laughter will make you miss other, even better jokes. This sounds like I am selling it too highly but I swear to you, In the Loop isn’t just the funniest movie of the year, it’s easily one of the funniest of the past ten. It’s scathing beyond belief, and even filthier than that. And to top it off, it’s really, really smart. A satire about how the dummies who run our countries get us into wars, In The Loop is surgical in the way it cuts to the heart of the absurdity of politics, while taking the time to get in lots and lots of cheap shots at people based on their appearance. I don’t know that I’ll ever stop thinking of James Gandolfini as General Flintstone.
Contributing Factors: This film contains possibly the most creative use of obscenities in the history of language. It’s like Beethoven’s Ninth of swear words. Like the Michaelangelo’s David of the word ‘fuck.’ The script is astonishing, and the low key directing of Armando Ianucci keeps the focus on the wordplay and the comedy. It’s brilliant and I want to watch it right now.
Performance to Savor: Peter Capaldi. Peter Capaldi. Peter Capaldi. Imagine if instead of the thing with the loaves and fishes Jesus had turned his powers to perfecting the use of the word ‘cunt.’ Then he would be Peter Capaldi.
CHUD.com Pull Quote: “Just fucking see it! Otherwise you’ll find yourself in some medieval war zone in the Caucasus with your arse in the air, trying to persuade a group of men in balaclavas that sustained sexual violence is not the fucking way forward!”
7. Moon (my review)(pre-order the DVD/pre-order the Blu-Ray)
You know how when you watch a really smart, engaging, laser-blast free scifi movie and say to yourself ‘They don’t make ’em like this anymore’? Now you’re wrong, because Duncan Jones is making ’em like this anymore. His feature debut is brainy but not cold, and while he gets the science part of it all right, he never forgets the thrilling story and the human connection. Sam is a man finishing out a three year tour of duty as the sole human on a moonbase, and things start getting weird. To give away anything that happens beyond the first act is a crime, but know that Jones is just as much a fan of the genre as you are, so he’s aware of every trope he’s using and how to subvert them. He’s also aware that an indie scifi movie can look good, and he goes out of his way to get every penny of his budget on screen while not losing sight of the character of Sam and his unique dilemma.
Contributing Factors: Wonderful set design and smart use of models makes Moon feel much more expensive than it is. Kevin Spacey does tremendous work as the voice of GERTY, Sam’s robot companion. And Duncan Jones’ brilliantly twisty script keeps you on your toes throughout, even on multiple viewings.
Performance to Savor: Sam Rockwell, of course. Especially since he’s one of the only humans in the movie. Without giving too much away I’ll just say that Rockwell delivers one of those performances they call a tour de force, and in a better world he’d be the guy to beat at the Oscars this year. A performance filled with depth, nuance and humor.
CHUD.com Pull Quote: “When the Moon hits your eye like a great work of scifi!”
6. Where the Wild Things Are (my review)(Pre-order the DVD/Pre-order the Blu-Ray)
After I saw this film I totally got why Warner Bros was afraid of it. This isn’t a kid movie, it’s a movie for people who used to be kids. Gorgeous and sensitive, Spike Jonze’s adaptation of Maurice Sendak’s minimalist classic doesn’t want to decide if it’s for the arthouse or the playhouse, and I love that about it. Jonze understands what it’s like to be a troubled kid, boiling over with anger because you can’t express yourself or your fears. He is sympathetic but realistic about it, and he creates a movie that will speak deeply and intimately to generations of latchkey kids. Jonze has also taken major steps as a filmmaker, putting himself out there in ways he never has before. There’s no ironic distance in Where the Wild Things Are, and the movie feels completely autobiographical. As autobiographical as a movie about an island of monsters can be, anyway.
Contributing Factors: Dave Eggers makes another appearance on this list! His adaptation of Sendak’s seriously slim book adds many dimensions and lots of weight while never disrespecting the original. One of the things that caused trouble for the film was the attempts to get the CGI animation of the Wild Things’ faces to work, and it was worth the delay. The creatures look incredible, obviously man-in-suit Henson creations but with seamless and utterly real faces. Added with the level of voice acting and each of the Wild Things becomes a complete, three dimensional character.
Performance to Savor: He didn’t get the special mention for In the Loop, but he gets called out here: James Gandolfini is perfect as Carol, the leader of the Wild Things. He has a softness in his toughness that translates so well, and kudos to the visual effects artists who gave Carol a permanent runny nose to go with Gandolfini’s stuffy style.
CHUD.com Pull Quote: “The wild rumpus has begun – come join it!”
2009 was a great year for movies. Don’t let anyone tell you different. Yeah, it wasn’t 1999 – nobody had their minds blown and cinema wasn’t changed forever. But 2009 delivered, pound for pound, more excellent movies than I’ve seen in a while. Usually I’m scraping the bottom of the old barrel to get the CHUD standard 15 for my list, but this year I had to leave off a number of great films that would have made the cut any other year. Why are Adventureland, Watchmen, The Hurt Locker or A Serious Man not on the list? Because, quite simply, there were so many great films in 09 that I couldn’t fit them. I could probably do a top 10 runners up list if I wanted to – the year was that strong.
I’m very proud of the list that I have finally assembled; some of these placements may change in the future (I spent forever debating where Precious goes), but the content of the list probably won’t. The year end was weak for me, but that helps me come up with a list of films that mostly stood the test of time – I saw three of these films at Sundance, and many of the others screened before the end of the summer. 2009 was front loaded, but what a front load.
To catch you up, here are my last few top 15s:
My top fifteen of 2008
My top fifteen of 2007
My top fifteen of 2006
My top fifteen of 2005
My top fifteen of 2004
15. Away We Go (my review)(Buy the DVD/Buy the Blu-Ray)
Nobody’s more surprised to see this on my top fifteen than me. Sam Mendes and I don’t see eye to eye, usually – I like films that are good, and subtle, and actually about stuff more than Oscar whoring. Add to that the “I shop exclusively at American Apparel” tone of the ad campaign and this film looked like a big old avoider. Thank God I didn’t, though, as the film is a beautiful, sweet and understated gem. A pregnant couple take to the road trying to find the best place to raise their child-to-be, but the search isn’t really about geography but about philosophy: what kind of parents will they become? The ending is delightfully hopeful and touching, while never getting melodramatic or sentimental. Sometimes, we learn, you can go home again.
Contributing Factors: The screenplay, by Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida, perfectly navigates comedy and emotion. Irony has no place in the film, leading to a really nice sense of earnestness. The actors bring their A-game, even John Krasinski, who manages to somehow not be irritating or smug, but the real stars are the support staff: Catherine O’Hara and Jeff Daniels as Krasinski’s selfish parents, Alison Janney as a truly horrific mom, and Melanie Lynskey as a tragically broken woman who just wants one baby of her own. The soundtrack is a wonder, featuring one of the best George Harrison songs ever, What Is Life. And Sam Mendes steps up, keeping his touch light and his heart true and coming out with his best film.
Performance to Savor: Maya Rudolph gives a wonderfully textured performance as Verona, the pregnant wife. Loving and bitchy and scared and strong, she hits so many notes with perfect clarity that her final emotional moments in the film get right to your heart (and tear ducts) without ever making you feel like you’ve been manipulated.
CHUD.com Pull Quote: “Away we go on a road trip that’s funny and touching and full of pregnant possibilities!”
14. Drag Me To Hell (my review)(Buy the DVD/Buy the Blu-Ray)
In which Sam Raimi puts all the pretenders on notice. This return to his splatstick style may have a PG-13 rating, but that doesn’t mean it’s all that toned down from his Evil Dead II heyday. After all, you always got the feeling that it was slime and bile and ichor that floated Sam’s boat much more than just blood and guts. He likes it wet and yucky, and he delivers that in spades with Drag Me To Hell. He also delivers the spook-a-blast goods; leading up to the release Raimi’s insistence on using this phrase seemed silly, but after watching Drag Me To Hell it’s obvious that it’s the only way to really capture the haunted house on goofballs vibe that the director brings so effortlessly. It’s likely that you saw the ending coming a mile away, but the fun of going on that ride makes it all worth it. I’ve seen the film three times and it never fails to deliver the goods.
Contributing Factors: Raimi’s energy is high. He’s just having fun, and when he’s having fun his lead is being tortured. Allison Lohman is a good sport, getting beat, thrown about, covered in slime and bugs and suffering all sorts of other indignities. One of my favorite things about the film is the way that Raimi has set the story inside of a semi-fully realized occult world, one where the lamia is just a facet of the supernatural.
Performance to Savor: I love two performances in this film. Justin Long does almost superhuman work with his clueless yet caring boyfriend role; never getting to really be part of the Sam Raimi spook-a-blast fun, he nevertheless is completely a part of the atmosphere. You can’t just play a stiff in a movie like this, you have to play a weird funhouse version of a stiff, and Long does it. The other performance is Lorna Raver as Sylvia Ganush, the cursing gypsy. What a grotesquely delightful performance she gives. Oscars for best fake teeth work all around!
CHUD.com Pull Quote: “Drag me back to the theater again and again!”
13. Fantastic Mr. Fox (my review)(pre-order the DVD/pre-order the Blu-Ray)
The first of four ‘kid’ movies clogging up this list, Wes Anderson’s take on Roald Dahl’s better known in England book is a blast. And it sees the director finally finding the right venue for his twee, dollhouse style – stop motion animation. Anderson has been on a downward slope with his last two films – The Life Aquatic had its charms, but Darjeeling Limited, while pleasant on first viewing, has deflated into nothingness. But Mr. Fox is Anderson back where we want him, and maybe with more energy than ever before, bringing us actual hijinks. Who would have thought we would have non-ironic hijinks in a Wes Anderson film anymore? I don’t know how faithful the movie is to the book, but as a standalone work it’s a graceful, modern-feeling story about making do and getting over the bad times. As well as being about father issues. Hey, it’s a Wes Anderson movie, after all.
Contributing Factors: The whole film is made by the stop motion animation. Tactile and immediate to the point that you can see the animator’s fingers mussing the fur on the puppets. The entire world is boldly textured; who needs 3D when you can make a world as full of surfaces and depths as Anderson and his team does here. The script is wryly funny, treading a line between archly knowing and innocently silly. If you watch Fantastic Mr. Fox and don’t replace all your swear words with ‘cussing’ for at least an hour, you’ve missed the boat.
Performance to Savor: Jason Schwartzman as Mr. Fox’s son is the highlight of the movie for me. Angry, dickish and more than a little wounded, he’s a sweet and lovable little guy, running around with a sock on his head. His journey to self-esteem follows a well-worn path, but Schwartzman’s enthusiasm makes it feel fresh and new.
CHUD.com Pull Quote: “Fan-foxing-tastic!”
12. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (my review)(Buy the DVD/Buy the Blu-Ray)
This isn’t right. This isn’t how it should be. Film series – especially film series aimed squarely at younger audiences – simply do not keep getting better. And yet here’s the Harry Potter franchise, hitting the sixth film and making it the best yet. There will always be those who stick with Alfonso Cuaron’s Prisoner of Azkaban as the best in the series, but they’re looking through jaundiced eyes – David Yates and Steve Kloves have taken what was the least focused of JK Rowling’s books and turned it into a movie that is painfully honest about the sexual and romantic passages every young person experiences. All while keeping the mystery and fun of a group of kids at a wizard school. I’m known as a big softie for the Harry Potter films, but I do think that Half-Blood Prince finds the perfect balance between fantasy story and teenage angst.
Contributing Factors: Kloves really trims away a lot of the fat in Rowling’s book, which was largely about getting pieces into place for the finale. Those complaining that the Half-Blood Prince doesn’t really factor into the movie… well, he barely factors into the book, either. David Yates merges lovely cinematography with subtle CG to bring Hogwarts to life in new ways that stun and please. And the other contributing factor is Chris Columbus – he found these kids years ago and set them as the leads in the Harry Potter films. Watching them grow up – and grow into actors ranging from decent to quite good – has been a really unique and exciting cinematic experience.
Performance to Savor: Remember when we wondered who could possibly fill Richard Harris’ shoes as Dumbledore? Michael Gambon has completely and totally made the character his own, bringing the wizard to wonderful life. Continuing the Potter tradition of guest stars stealing the show, Jim Broadbent is a delight as ‘new’ professor Slughorn.
CHUD.com Pull Quote: “Hey Harry, is that a wand in your pants or are you happy to see me?”
11. Precious: Based on the Novel Push By Sapphire (my review)(pre-order the DVD/pre-order the Blu-Ray)
Fair warning: the next few places could possibly switch around depending on my mood. I had Precious in and out of the number ten spot, and I’m still not completely sure I’ve ranked it correctly. There’s been a serious backlash to this movie, and I get why: if the film doesn’t work for you it feels like pity porn, like a great big wallow in someone else’s misery. But if the film touches you, like it touched me, it becomes a bracing look at something that’s all too real. I’m shocked to see people doubting that the story of Precious – an illiterate, obese, abused single teen mom in Harlem in the 80s – rings true, since it’s a story I’ve seen first hand. Before I did this bourgeois film critic shit I was a community activist in New York, and I spent time working with inner city youth. Precious’ story doesn’t even ring unusual to me, and the film’s unflinching dedication to reality can leave your spirit crushed in the end. But it can also elevate you, as the film is all about finding hope in the face of hopelessness. This isn’t The Blind Side, where white people swoop in to save Precious. The only person who can save Precious is herself, and the definition of being saved for a girl in her situation doesn’t fit into the tidy Hollywood happy ending. But it’s not pain for pain’s sake – it’s pain for clarity, and living this girl’s bravery can give you some of your own.
Contributing Factors: Based on a beloved novel by Sapphire, Precious works because it feels true. I’ve compared it to The Wire, and I still think it’s apt. Lee Daniels creates the not-missed Harlem of the 80s without turning Precious into a cheap ad for a soundtrack.
Performance to Savor: It’s true: Mo’Nique gives a performance for the ages here. She’s a monster, but a real, human one. She’s disgusting and horrible and sad and tragic all at once. You’ll hate her and realize that her own backstory probably isn’t that different from her daughter’s.
CHUD.com Pull Quote: “It’s the feel good about feeling bad film of the year!”
52 comments
Interesting list. Can't say that I agree about Inglourious Basterds, although it's grown on me some since I first watched it. I'm a little surprised The Hurt Locker wasn't here somewhere.
Oh, and Observe and Report was a crock of shit.
But I'm glad you put Antichrist in here … it probably deserved to be there simply for that opening sequence, which is the most beautiful and ballsy sequence of the year.
http://www.sammyray.com
Good list, but I will remember this as the year of good disappointments. I think it's because of this site. You made me expect great great things from films like District 9 (which I didn't like) and In the Loop (okay) and Moon (I quite liked it but it wasn't as awesome as I believed it would be. This might change with further viewings). This happened a lot. Adventureland was good, but far too obvious in execution. Brothers Bloom was only pretty good. And on. I will have to learn to control my expectations. HOWEVER, I had no intention of seeing Inglourious Basterds until I read your review of it. The key thing was telling me it was less about gory violence and more about tension. That got me to the theater and it is now one of my favourite films of the year, which I never thought would happen with a Tarantino film. So thanks for that.
agree with sammyray, "observe and report" was damn unfunny and damn terrible filmmaking…i also feel that "order of the pheonix" was better than "half blood prince" and jackie brown still beats out "basterds" as tarantinos best…but bravo devin, a fucking awesome list (your end of the lists always are)..keep up the awesome work (and did we get to see your review for "in the loop" or did i miss it?) kudos, merry gentleman
The Hurt Locker sucked and so did Observe and Report. Observe was absolute shit. The lack of direction didn't do anything for unfunny and boring scrpit.
Observe and Report is an amazingly ballsy movie. It's not often that you watch a comedy and with 10 minutes to go in the film you legitimately believe it might end with the main character in jail or dead. And that's BEFORE he actually shoots someone.
Basterds #1, seriously? It was an OK, basically the same Tarantino movie he always makes, but in WW2. I realize it has the over the top, silly violence that gets Devin's panties wet, but come on, #1? And Harry Potter was utter shite – no plot, no substance, and that Luna character is more annoying than Jar Jar Binks. Devin, you're turning this site into a joke. Please stop, I have no where else to go. 🙁
Observe and Report was way overhated. It made me laugh hysterically in parts, especially whenever Michael Pena was onscreen. I think it definitely shares kinship with World's Greatest Dad. Jet black humor. I don't get the inclusion of Away We Go, Drag Me To Hell, or Anti-Christ since the first is whiney hipster nonsense (duh its Dave Eggers!). DMTH could have been fun with an R rating and a better script, and Anti-Christ was just pretentious, misogynist trash with two really brave performances by its sole actors. I will say that it unnerved me like no other film I saw this year, but it also bored me to tears. Look past the shock value (OMGZ! She smashed his nuts with a concrete slab and he's cumming blood! Oh noes! Where you going with those scissors, Charlotte?!?) and its a empty husk of a film. I would have definitely put The Hurt Locker (which was a tad overrated), Star Trek, Avatar, or 500 Days of Summer in their places. Also, Inglourious Basterds was very good, yes…but best of Tarantino's career? Not even close. Its just that it was such a masterful rebound from the steaming turd called Death Proof that it seemed like a masterpiece. A very good film, but it fell short of true greatness for me.
and how the hell did the movie FAME not make the list? for the love of PETE TRAVESTY YOU ALL ARE GONNA BURN IN HELL!!!! just kiddin.
Devin's love for Harry Potter continues to confuse me and to undermine his own attempts to be self-righteous about his tastes. Otherwise, it's a mostly defensible list. Drag Me to Hell didn't really work as well as he claims, but I can understand wanting to root for Raimi. Away We Go seems out of place, but it was pleasant enough. How Watchmen doesn't make it over some of these, given his own review, is a bit confusing …
Pretty good list. Of course, I'd shuffle the order and put Hurt Locker and A Serious Man on there, but the only inclusions that made me go "huh?" were Where The Wild Things Are (most dissapointing movie of the decade?) and Drag Me To Hell (which was just a plain, old fashioned shitty movie).
I like Basterds, didn't see much that would make me cream my pants over it though, and I'm not sure it'd make my top ten.
Including Observe and Report was great. Really was one of the best movies of the year for me.
No idea about Potter. I've seen the first, second and fourth one, and they were all as fucking awful as the first 3 and a half books.
You rule. Simply that. I haven't seen every film on this list and I disagree with you on some, but where we agree is why I like you and why I come to this site. I do not like Lars Van Trier, but I begrudgingly loved Antichrist. I flat out loved Observed and Report and I, at this point, find Jody Hill to be a fucking brilliant talent that I can't wait to see more from. I find Up to be, quite surprisingly, my favorite film of the year and I did actually weep myself while watching it. AND Inglorious Basterds….I'm a QT fanboy and I still can't believe how much I love this film. My only disagreements are including Hurt Locker and that is barely in my top 15 as I have some of the same faults as you do, but still found it a very strong film. The other is Harry Potter, which didn't measure up quite as much. I think the teenage romance plotlines were very strong, but the normal Potter story seemed to be a bit weak this time. I do owe part of my viewing frame of mind to that, but overall it wasn't as immersive to me in some way. Greay list.
When your otherwise not excessively sentimental and sensitive Jewish wife walks out of a film screening with a haunted expression and tears in her eyes saying that was one of the worst experiences of her life, it's hard to genuinely love a movie. A great example of the craft but underpinned by a dubious moral outlook and a belief that somehow the importance of film is greater than the real horror of the world he used as visual metaphor. Not that he gives a shit, but QT slipped off my "Would like to have a beer list" and found his way on to the "Immature gits who need a swift kick to the reality chops".
Good call on In The Loop. It's about time the US sampled the genius that is Armando Ianucci. And there should be more as I hear he's developing two shows for HBO.
I love your list! I have been saying that Observe and Report was one of the best comedies I have ever seen. It was refreshing to see a movie with so many unexpected and dark moments while still being funny. Basterds is my number one also. I will say that "A Serious Man" and "500 Days of Summer" should have made the list though.
I totally agree with your view on Observe & Report, but although Pena was amazing, I think Anna Faris was the star performer. I have a few gripes with Antichrist being on the list, but that's just a personal opinion. BTW, his name is Anthony, not Andrew…
The wonderfully demented Thirst seems like an omission
I can jve with that list. Basterds wouldn't be #1 for me, it was extremely impresively executed but once the true magic of that first chapter had passed the rest lagged behind it and the climax had too many elements not ringing true to themselves. Up also very good, typically winningly Pixar, but also ultimately felt smaller (both internally and externally) than a film about an epic adventure should have. Pixar are on a run now of films with sublime first acts which dissolve into merely good to great second and third acts. Where The Wild Things Are was the most magical and closest to perfect to me, a film of nature, subtlety and nuance, of understated grace and pure understanding and raw but beautifully focused emotion. Where Christoph Waltz produced one of the top five most fun and superbly measured screen villains of the decade, Max Records produced a character so real he continues to exist long after we've left the cinema. Ultimately Basterds brought us pure cinematic spectacle from a director fully in charge of his faculties. Wild Things brought us that in equal measure and raised by wrapping that craft around a simple and beautiful story of human truth.
Nice set, can understand how a top ten just doesn't cut it anymore (must've been so tempting to do an Avatar Psych at #1). Yeah, Observe and Report was just perfect – wouldn't change a thing.
observe and report is genius. this is a point that i dont think can be disagreed with personally. I have seen it in one mood and been horribly saddened and disturbed, without laughing once. i have seen it in a different mood and laughed hysterically. i have shown it to my friends and every one of them that gets it loves it. its funny, but its strangely heartbreaking at the same time. one of the most perfect character pieces made in a long, long time. and this list? completely fucking respectable, even if myself and others disagree with certain points. this mothafucka gets what makes a movie good, and what makes one special. thats why you gotta have respect
The revenge of the giant face is the movie moment of the decade? Just shows what a sad dude you are Devin. I don't kow, I think the reveal of the mines of moria in fellowship, or bruce waynes training sequence or the start of the battle scene in children of men are better than the giant face.
I must be stupid but I dun get it, what's this got to do with Avatar?
I'm surprised not to see Watchmen when you championed that turd so much.
hmmm, somebody didn't see Bronson
And what about Anvil, the True Story of Anvil?
I am weary of reading that a person's opinion has to be defensible. I love Hudson Hawk and you know I really don't know why. I just do. It is more than acceptable to disagree with someone but why do you believe you have to convince them along the way. Devin's best list wouldn't be my list. I do have to say however, I loved Observe and Report. I thought it was hilarious. I miss the days when a persons opinion was just that and there was a freedom to disagree without getting vilified. Devin continues to love movies like we all do and to be an example for those less fortunate. I, of course mean those without the capacity to understand a differing opinion does not mean right or wrong. It is just an opinion.
James — I'm calling bullshit. As for the trolls, please return to the imdb message boards, you might find things a little easier over there.
Good show Mr. Faraci. Now if I could be so bold, when can I expect a new CHUDSPLOITATION. It has been to long my friend.
Cheers.
Any "Best Of" list that features a Harry Potter movie and not The Watchmen or Public Enemies is deeply, deeply unserious.
I´ve not watch the most of your best of the best choices, but the one I have, I agree.
I really enjoy your work. Don´t mind the haters.
looking forward to seeing In the Loop and Moon, I was not blown away by Hell, but then I never understood the hype around the Evil Dead movies. Good call on Bastards, D9 and Wild Things.
Devin, could you have possibly gobbled more Favreau cock last night on Attack of the Show? A set visit is that much of a bribe to you? Pathetic.
oh, devin – it`s xmas eve and even then I do not mind saying : you are, sir, full of shit !
I fell on sleep on life and times of hans landa, nice of you to weep on up, very very nice – i did too, maybe of different reasons. observe and puke – enuff. harry potter – please. we know you are little missy, you do not have underline it. couple of nice picks tho – moon, etc… wheres : watchmen, let the right one in, che, hurt locker …
Great list. I don't agree with all of the inclusions, but that's the point of these lists isn't it? I am happy to see that your number 1 matches up with mine, and I'll gladly champion Drag Me To Hell and Observe & Report which seem to be two of the choices people are being most vocal about disagreeing with.
Disagree all you want, people. He listed his choices and gave brief (legitimate) reasons for each of them. He's not trying to convince you, he's just sharing his feelings. For once, let's pretend this isn't the internet and we can engage in serious discussion instead of trying to show how much smarter we are than Devin by belittling his choices.
#31 has said it best. I don't really have anything else to add here. Great list, Devin. Just great.
WOW, really, you didnt like The Hurt Locker? This list is pretty shitty by the way.
I HATE to bring this shit up; I really do (fantastic and interesting list by the way) but you can't seriously tell me DISTRICT 9's aparatheid allegory isn't any less obvious or spoonfed as AVATAR's native american one? And yet, one get's roasted for the same thing that's praised in another film. And don't tell me DISTRICT 9's use is more poignant because it isn't. DISTRICT 9 is great DESPITE of it, not because of it. Sorry to stir it back THAT way but I just realized how the two most talked about sci fi films in years have very similar traits, but while one is praised for being 'blatanly obvious' in it's allegory, the other is praised. Food for thought…maybe.
Gee, look at that. A Seth Rogen movie in the top five. Oh, Precious is on the list to make up for the white guilt factor (and sorry, Precious was a shit movie but no one can say that without being called an evil dirty racist).
As dumb as it is for me to even try and argue this, Humbug, if I can hardly think of a writer online LESS disposed toward "white guilt" than Devin. And calling Precious a shit movie doesn't make you racist. It just makes you an idiot. Let's be clear. Happy holidays.
Can't really agree with Justin Long in drag me to hell the guy was just space. Although the movie shows classic raimi, you just feel bad for lohman the entire time, because she doesn't deserve it. not to mention the scene where she accidentally shuffles the papers in Long's car makes the ending plainly obvious.
The cop hiding in the closet in Ray Liotta's office in Observe & Report unwittingly gives the perfect review for the movie he's in: "I thought this was going to be funny, but It's just kind of sad." He left the office. I stayed in the theater. My mistake.
Whatever happened to The Watchmen?? Hmm nowhere to be seen on this list. Strange since I remember you calling it The Godfather of Comic Book films. So Observe and Report deserves to be on your list but A Serious Man doesn't? Jody Hill made a better film in 2009 than the Coen Brothers?? Can I quote you on that? How bout I check back with you in a few years see if you haven't changed your mind about A Serious Man, and The Hurt Locker for that matter?
@37 Brian — I think Justin Long's character just being there and being unable to contribute is part of the point/joke. He's this educated, pseudo-intellectual and is entirely unable to help his girlfriend with her circumstances other than monetarily.
It's all part of the movie thumbing it's nose at people who are "phonies". Just like the Alison Lohmann character was also a "phony" according to the movie.
precious is on here but the true story that is uplifting and gives hope to people isnt on here. it just seems this is a top 15 lothsome movies of the year. and avatar should be here, with zombieland trick or treat was also a worthy surprise this year.
I could complain about your list but really, this is your opinion. It's all good. I will say you gave me a different way to look at Observe and Report. I'm not going to say I ever wanna watch it again but you did bring an interesting point on it being a comedic Taxi Driver.
Great list Devin. You've been a great guide for this past year of movie-going. I'm happy to say I've seen and loved most of the films you listed here. Moon, Antichrist, and Half-Blood Prince (I also thought it was the best Potter so far) being here make me very happy. I'd have put Mr. Fox ahead of Wild Things, and would probably place A Serious Man at number one over QT's Basterds. I confess I didn't fully buy into IB while viewing it (Pitt bugs me), but by the end I was sold. Career best? I dunno. Tarantino's constant re-purposing of vintage film score cues bugs me more than it probably should (seriously, has he ever even tried to hire a composer to write an original score?) but the Coens use of Jimi Hendrix's "Machine Gun" during the rabbi's tale of the goy dentist sent shivers down my spine.
I enjoyed Avatar overall more than you, but too many scenes of the Navi chanting in communal yoga sessions killed any sympathy I might have had for them as relatable heroes. District 9 depicted an alien race better as it didn't romanticize them. In fact it showed them at their most debased, with only a few of them being smart enough to a attempt an escape.
BUT I kinda really hated Away We Go, and rented it mainly on your recommendation. I kept waiting for the turning point in the script when the lead couple (Krasinski & Rudolph, whom I both like as performers) would be revealed as the whining douchebag hipsters they really are ("Are we fuck-ups?"). But no, they end up golden, with a free mansion of a house that was available to them all along. And the soundtrack…"a wonder"? No. I wonder if Nick Drake is spinning in his grave confused as to how someone could be commissioned to score a film completely aping his style but lacking his lyricism. This was a "faux-indie" far more than the superior Up In The Air (which I liked a lot, but was relieved to NOT see in your Top 15).
Hey #39, you may want to take your retainer out the next time you have a spaz attack. You just spit all over us.
good list. In the Loop is fucking genius. Just finished watching the third series of the Thick of It and Capaldi has some absolutely majestic Malcolm Tucker moments. Although none quite as true to life as this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xe3Ou9xBAlI
solid list.. watchmen isn't on the list because its condensed garbage.. coulda been a multi-part epic but no, lets throw a bunch of unlikable "heroes" in a choppy plot that feels like a bad dream.. glad it will be forgotten..
Hey #44 why don't you read what I wrote instead of just giving some clever knee jerk reaction? Sorry if I came off a little strong, I was looking to pick a fight. It's simply that I remember Faraci carrying The Watchmen flag for weeks. Where is that now I'm simply asking. Also I just don't see why the inclusion of Observe and Report at all?? I mean come on! In my eyes that just comes off as some sort of ego massage in the hopes of getting something out of it from the filmmakers, instead of being on the list because the film deserves it. Oh look! I can see into the future! and nobody's talking about Observe and Report!
Yeah, The Incredibles is still waaaay better than Up, which I found disappointing in its metamorphosis from a great drama to a slapstick kids' comedy/actioneer.
And District 9 was just plain hackneyed, with its juggling of cinematic and verite approaches and its unrealistically evil villains.
The Hurt Locker was certainly better than all movies on this list except for Basterds.
Observe and Report is #5. List success
I thought I would like Away We Go. I wanted to. Halfway through I realized I hated both of them, didnt care about the perfect couple and their search for the perfect place to raise what would be their perfect kids with their perfect friends and their perfect jobs while they thumbed their nose at everything and everyone not perfect. Give me Revolutionary.
LOL @ the haters. the article was called DEVIN'S TOP 15, not yours.
while i dont agree with everything on here, i am more inclined to sit through more than the first 10 minutes of anti christ and i might even keep my eyes peeled for in the loop and a few others.
nice article nonetheless dev, as always.
thanks
A little surprised by the lack of Watchmen, as in addition to being a good flick, Devin really seemed to dig it. Tough choices have got to be made at year's end I suppose…
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