Top 20 Films of 2009

The following is a list of the 20 films I enjoyed the most from this past year, 2009. Overall, it hasn't been the best year for movies, and no film stood out enough for me to consider it a true "masterpiece" and award it a perfect 10/10 rating, but overall, it wasn't a bad year either, and we got some really excellent movies, some of which I am sure will stand the test of time and prove to be just as memorable and even more so 10, 20 years down the line, and others which didn't get their proper due. As with many of the previous years this past decade, 2009 was identified by a particularly strong slew of independent films; throw in a few amazing foreign imports and an incredible documentary, and you're only left with a small handful of films on the list that are actually studio productions. Another important characteristic of 2009 was the major comeback of the science fiction genre:no less than four of the year's best films belonged to this genre, and from the looks of it, there is a lot more to expect in the years to come. So, without further adieu, the list:

Director: Jason Reitman

Reitman's third film, this movie really stood out for me above all the other films released this year. It is simple and very precisely calculated in its execution, but is loaded with so much subtext and meaning. First and foremost, it's a grand character study of a fascinating individual, played by Clooney, who has severed all basic human ties in order to live a truly free life. But as he learns, things aren't as simple as he thinks they are, and true happiness is not necessarily found exclusively through personal freedom. Set on the backdrop of the recent worldwide economic recession, the film becomes as topical as it is just a good, old-fashioned entertainment. Featuring fantastic performances and an incredibly well-written screenplay, this is my #1 film of 2009.

Director: Spike Jonze

With his latest film, Jonze has managed to create something very rare: a truly original film. Is it a fantasy? Not exactly - although Jonze also doesn't make it overtly clear if the film takes place in Max's head, or if he actually sails away to a distant island populated by the wild things. What makes this film original and unique is that its plot is entirely irrelevant: its visuals don't depict a story as much as they depict pure, raw emotion. The result is one of the most beautiful metaphors ever committed to film, and also one of the greatest and most encompassing depictions of childhood and what the inner world of a child really looks like. It also features the most beautiful soundtrack of the year, courtesy of Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Carter Burwell.

Director: Marc Webb

Every once in a while, a romantic comedy comes along that isn't quite like the others. It's one of the most tired, worn-out genres that never seems to cease producing the same old dreck, but sometimes, someone will break the mold and depict a romance that, unlike in most films, actually feels like a genuine, realistic, real-life relationship. In 1977, it was Woody Allen's "Annie Hall". In 1989, Rob Reiner's "When Harry Met Sally". And now, it's (500) Days of Summer, a romantic comedy with a very modern twist. Its fractured chronology provides a unique view on what makes and breaks a relationship, and its depiction of the romance between its two main characters is one of the most convincing and flat-out realistic I have ever seen. Funny and charming, this is just a wonderful movie overall, but one that also gets you thinking.

Director: Pete Docter

Pixar have already proven themselves to be the most consistent movie studio out there. They have already completely revolutionized the way animated films are created, on a technical scale but also on a storytelling scale. It amazes me that no matter how many movies they make, no matter how many accolades and awards and positive reviews and box office success they acquire, Pixar never cease to push the envelope and try something new with each subsequent film. If you would have told me that a film in which an 80-year-old man ties balloons to his house and flies it to South America where he meets a crazed old adventurer, a wacky bird and a legion of talking dogs, I would have told you that you were insane. But Docter and his team know exactly what makes a good story run, and they make it work so well, that it's almost not fair to the other animation studios. Almost.

Director: Quentin Tarantino

After the slight mis-step that was "Death Proof", Tarantino is back on track doing what he does best: Delivering balls-out, effortlessly entertaining exploitation movies, providing thrills and laughs and incredible characters while completely ignoring every basic cinematic principle he can along the way. In the vain of his previous successes such as "Pulp Fiction" and the "Kill Bill" films, his latest opus has two major elements working in favor of it: distinct, multi-faceted, riveting characters, and that incredible, whimsical, unique-sounding dialogue that Tarantino is known for. This time, though, and for the first time in his career, he transports the action to the past, and in that creates a film that perfectly combines his distinctly modern style with some speculative history thrown into the mix as well.

Director: Joel & Ethan Coen

The Coen Brothers are among the most interesting directors working today and, like Pixar, although they have already found the formula to success and acclaim, that doesn't stop them from mixing it up and trying something new and daring with each subsequent film. This time around we get what is one of if not their most personal projects yet: A film about Jewish life in Minnesotan Suburbia of the 1960's. In their tale, which draws from the Biblical book of Job as well as from their personal lives, they deliver one of the most cognitive and deeply philosophical films of their career, exploring themes of family life, the American Dream, faith, Judaism, and how all of these elements add up (or don't) to create that ever-elusive term, "happiness".

Director: Lone Scherfig

I just can't help it: I'm a sucker for these kinds of films, the historical period dramas like "Atonement" that excel not only in their lavish and excellent production values - from the costumes and set design to the sleek cinematography and sweeping musical scores - but also in their themes and characters. With this film, ex-Dogme 95 director Lone Scherfig delivers a fascinating look into a very specific point in history: Post-World War II England, on the brink of the "Swinging 60's" revolution but still fastidiously holding on to older, more traditional values, values that the younger generation is trying to break out of. Anchored by a fantastic lead performance by relative newcomer Carey Mulligan and an excellent supporting cast, this film has just so much to offer.

Director: Kathryn Bigelow

This year's Oscar Winner for Best Picture, which as you can see I didn't find to be exactly the "best picture of the year" as its Academy Awards success would lead one to believe it is. That said, this is nonetheless an excellent, fascinating film that does for the Iraq war what Platoon did for Vietnam: showcases very subtly and cleverly what effect war has on the individual soldiers that find themselves caught up in it. It does this not by overtly discussing its themes, but through a fairly straightforward depiction of what life is like for a soldier at war. The film's relentlessly intense sequences are aided by some amazing editing and a gritty, docu-drama-style filmmaking that lends the whole thing a real sense of urgency.

Director: Duncan Jones

As I mentioned earlier, 2009 was the year of the sci-fi resurrection. One of the greatest and long-standing classic genres, it seemed that by the mid-2000's, the sci-fi renaissance that reached its peak in the 1980's was long over. But at the dawn of this new decade, it was resurrected, and the first film to come out and signify this resurrection was Moon. Unlike the other sci-fi films released this year, though, Moon belongs to the "hard-sci-fi" genre, characterized by smaller-scale films with grand ideas. This movie makes you think. Perhaps more than any other movie released this year, it commands your full and utmost attention, and goes to deliver one of the most mind-boggling and thought-provoking narratives of any film this year. Made on a surprisingly low budget and completely carried by Sam Rockwell's incredible, intense performance(s), this is, in my opinion, the most memorable of the sci-fi films this year.

Director: Armando Iannucci

It was a good year for comedies. Early on we got two very different but very memorable successes, in the form of I Love You, Man and the crass, vulgar, hilarious The Hangover. Almost all of my top 10 films have some sort of comedic element in them, be it overt (Up, A Serious Man) or simply in the form of comic relief (Up in the Air, Inglourious Basterds). But out of all the straight-up comedies released this year, this little British gem really stood out as the most memorable. Featuring some of the most outrageously memorable and quotable lines of any movie released this year "In the Loop" managed to find the perfect balance between hilarity and thought-provoking satirical political commentary.

Director: Neil Blomkamp

Another one of this year's immensely successful and memorable sci-fi films, "District 9" serves as an excellent example to all studios and producers out there that they don't need to spend $200 million if they want a successful science fiction film: This one cost only $35 million, didn't feature any recognizable actors, and still went on to become a hit blockbuster. It is also proof that action-oriented blockbusters can also be thought-provoking and feature themes and ideas in addition to explosions and shoot-outs.

Director: Wes Anderson

I think more directors should do this: Take their distinct styles and apply them to a genre that isn't usually associated with them. Wes Anderson's films had always been a little child-like, but I would never have imagined him actually doing a children's film. Well now he has, and the result is an absolutely fascinating, odd, hilarious, twisted version of a children's film, combining Anderson's distinct, whimsical, twee style with a classic children's story. And the jagged, rough-edged stop-motion animation is wonderful, too.

Director: Tom Ford

If I hadn't known that this film was directed by fashion designer and first-time director Tom Ford, I would never have believed someone if they told me that it was. This is one of the most visually stunning and fascinating films of the year, featuring a stellar, career-defining performance from Colin Firth - the best male performance of the year, in my opinion - and some of the most incredibly creative use of color I've ever seen in a film.

Director: Henry Selick

This is the third animated film on this list, the second stop-motion animated film and most interestingly, the third supposedly child-oriented film that really isn't for children but much more for adults after Where the Wild Things Are and Fantastic Mr. Fox. Like those films, Coraline is a deliciously twisted version of a children's film that might be too frightening for actual kids, but serves as a wonderful throwback to what it feels like to be a child for adults. Unlike the rough Fantastic Mr. Fox, the stop-motion animation on Coraline is painstakingly smooth and streamlined, and the result is absolutely stunning.

Director: Greg Mottola

Another personal film based on the director's adolescence (after A Serious Man), Adventureland takes a less cognitive and more whimsical approach, but the results evoke a similar sense of realism and genuine, personal emotions. The characterizations are fantastic and Mottola creates a memorable portrait of life in those times. Featuring a cast of hilarious supporting characters and a strong, identifiable protagonist played by Jesse Eisenberg, this is one of the most underrated and unfortunately forgotten films of the year.

Director: Jacques Audiard

I was absolutely floored by this epic French crime saga, which hopefully will go down in history as one of the greatest prison-set movies ever made, up there with Midnight Express and The Shawshank Redemption. Like the great foreign crime sagas such as City of God or Gomorrah, and what separates these foreign imports from their American counterparts, A Prophet is brutally realistic, and takes no prisoners in its no-holds-barred, gritty depiction of the construction of a crime empire from within bars. The rise of Tahar Rahim's protagonist is fascinating as it is epic, and it all serves to create an incredible, riveting film.

Director: James Cameron

Well, it had to come sometime. Because there's just no way around it - no matter which way I look at it, despite its weak characterizations, predictable plot and cookie-cutter symbolism, this film is an incredible cinematic achievement, and there's no denying that. Aside from its technical innovations and its milestone visual effects, James Cameron managed to do something that I would never guess possible just by judging the sum of its parts: He managed to make a genuinely riveting film that kept me glued to the screen concerned about the characters' fates and swept away in its action, despite all the flaws mentioned above.

Director: Michael Haneke

This is not an easy film to get through: it's intentionally slow, taking its time to revel in its gorgeous scenery, hypnotically beautiful cinematography, and increasingly shocking events that transpire in this small, rural village. There is so much going on that it's sometimes hard to follow - but what I found most fascinating and powerful in this film is what didn't go in - namely, the future repercussions and historical context and importance of the characters and events that are depicted. A hard watch, but certainly worth it for anyone with enough patience.

Director: Sacha Gervasi

I've never understood the ghettoising of documentary films that many people, including many film buffs and critics, are guilty of. Because Sacha Gervasi's poignant and fascinating documentary is the perfect example of how a documentary film can be made that features more genuine emotion and features more realistic and distinct characters than most fictional narrative films made in the same year. Gervasi is a long-time fan of the titular band, Anvil, which renders his brutally honest depiction of their struggles in attempting to achieve lasting success, warts and all, all the more riveting.

Director: J. J. Abrams

Again proving that big names and movie stars are not necessary to make a successful film, Star Trek is probably the most shamelessly, purely entertaining film of 2009. And it's so well-made, so flat-out enjoyable and fun, that its flaws - such as its preposterous, plot-hole-ridden story - are rendered meaningless in the face of its pure, unabashed awesomeness. Featuring an ensemble cast of relative unknowns (who are all big stars by now, thanks to the film), Star Trek also succeeded in invigorating and re-igniting a dying franchise, thanks to J. J. Abrams, who wasn't afraid to deviate from and modernize the series' long-standing traditions.