My Favorite Movies of 2009

So the Academy Awards were on last night, and, after reading who won (frankly, I've given up on watching the ceremony, it's too long, it's on too late, and it's quite boring), I thought it appropriate to (finally) sit down, and make a list of my 10 favorite movies from 2009.

First off, here's how I make my list. In the last couple of months (actually, since I started to really get into twitter), I've been using facebook less and less, as time goes by. By now I rarely, if ever, log on to facebook, save for sending messages to people on the site, whose e-mails I do not have handy. The one thing I do use the site for is listing the movies I like, immediately after watching them. My facebook favorite movie list proves to be pretty handy for keeping a list of the movies I like, which is useful for buying DVD's and, in the future, making lists like this one... So, I went on the facebook, made a short list of all the movies I liked that came out last year, and, since by now I'd seen most of them more than once, I could seriously consider which ones I liked better than the others, and ranked the best 10 I liked the most...

10. The Brothers Bloom (Rian Johnson)

This spot was the hardest to pick. Being the last one on the list means that it's taking the place of all the other movies that could make the list, so it's a hard choice to make. But, the second film by Rian Johnson (directed "Brick" one of my favorites from 2005) won out over the other ones because in the end, it made me smile a little more that the rest of the lot. From the opening narration by Ricky Jay, the snappy dialogue, the Joseph Gordon-Levitt micro-cameo, and the many twists and turns, this movie is just plain old fun. I think it's a nice little con movie that pays tribute to the greats ("House of Games," "Nueve Reinas," "Paper Moon"). Instead of going for the usual dark tone of those classics (except for "Paper Moon" of course) the movie opts for being fun, as fun as it is to watch those great con movies unfold. And I think that's where most of the critics got it wrong. Most of them focused on the whole "looks like a Wes Anderson (Whose "Fantastic Mr. Fox" would probably be on this list if it were out on bluray and I had seen it more than once) knock-off"aspect of the movie, and missed the big picture: cons are fun for the audience (who are represented in the movie by Rachel Weisz's character), and the movie's visual style is in service of that premise. It's also a movie that rewards multiple viewings, since once you know where it's going, you can pick up all the subtle hints and clues that set up the end con, and prove Stephen Bloom's genius.

9. Drag Me to Hell (Sam Raimi)

This was perhaps my most anticipated movie of 2009. Sam Raimi's return to horror, the genre he cut his teeth on, and the one which saw him put out, in my opinion, his best work., because he was free to do whatever he wanted. It was with horror movies and comedies that I grew to love film, and Raimi was a master. Ever since "A Simple Plan" came out, everyone was hoping Raimi would go back to horror (specifically with a fourth "Evil Dead" film), and boy, did he not disappoint. With all the clout he's won making the "Spider-Man" movies, he had free reign to make whatever he wanted, this time, with a budget. "Drag Me to Hell" was, by far, the most fun I had at the movies last year. It was scary, funny, slapsticky, gross... everything a great Raimi horror film should be, with his trademark Raimi cam (as seen in the "Spider-Man 2" Doc Ock intro), and his penchant for beating the living shit out his lead actor (kudos to Alison Lohman for being such a good sport and taking a Bruce Campbell stile ass whooping for our entertainment). And making the Alison Lohman a mortgage banker lets us enjoy the horrible "Curse of the Lamia" without feeling guilty. "Here kitty..."

8. Adventureland (Greg Mottola)

I loved this movie to pieces. Greg Mottola's follow up to "Superbad" (which I loved) was, in my opinion, much better than it's predecessor. It's a great look back at the 80's, without being condescending, overtly nostalgic, and, most important in my book, without giving in to the whole "oh, look how crazy people dressed back then, and what terrible music they listened to." In other words, without calling attention to the fact that it's set in the 80's, yet in fact looking as if it was really made in the 80's (like "Freaks and Geeks" did with the early 80's, and "Dazed and Confused" did with the 70's). That, and it's really funny, without ever losing it's huge heart. Jesse Eisenberg is good in the movie, so is Martin Starr, as the highly intelligent and educated guy, stuck in a town where that isn't a admirable quality, but I knew they were good. The movie really introduced me to Kristen Stewart, who I am convinced can act, after her portrayal of the confused Em here, and her small role in "Into the Wild." Most of all, though, you could tell that most of this really happened to Mottola, his choice of music is note perfect (proving that some people actually made and listened to good music in the 80's, and Mottola was one of them), and James' decisions in the movie seem so true to his character, that you can tell this was an extremely personal movie for the director, and, isn't that the best kind?

7. District 9 (Neil Blomkamp)

In my opinion, what makes this movie even more impressive, is the fact that it's a huge scale sci-fi action movie by a director, Neil Blomkamp, that had only done 3 (I think) short films before this one. The movie deftly mixes sci-fi and social commentary (of course), with heart pounding action, a very convincing documentary style, and amazing visual effects (I thought the special effects for this movie were better than "Avatar's," because for that one, the special effects were made for its cgi world, and they interacted with other creatures in the CGI world, on the other hand, "District 9's" prawns were made to interact with humans in the real world, and damned if those fucking prawns weren't right there, giving performances next to humans...). It's all brought together by great performances, particularly by Sharlto Copley (also in his feature film debut!!) who somehow manages to make the disgusting, racist, David Brent-like, Wikus likable by film's end (I think he deserved, at least, a nomination). Credit for this should also go to Blomkamp, for having the balls to make such an emotionally ugly person the lead in his movie, which makes the horrible things that happens to him ok, and eventually making his redemption believable. The only reason this movie doesn't make it much higher on the list is the fact that it kind of fucks up a bit... You see, the movie sets itself up as a documentary, and the first half of it is done completely as a one, but then, after Wikus starts changing into a prawn, it sticks with the style, but it completely dumps the documentary film, having the camera do stuff, and go places, that a documentary camera could never do, or go, only to return to it in the end. This was a little lazy, and it takes away from what could have been a perfect movie... maybe even the best of the year...

6. Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (Werner Herzog)

Now, I've only seen this movie twice (I had to see it in New York to see it in the big screen) and I couldn't wait until April (when it comes out on dvd) to see it again... What a fucking awesome movie... And what a great fucking performance by Nicolas Cage. He is such a great actor, but he does so much shit (I guess now we know why) that you often forget how good he can be. Well, here, with a great director (Werner Herzog) Cage fucking knocks this film out of the park! Honestly, this is, by far, my favorite performance of the year (ok, maybe a tie with Christoph Waltz). His Terrence McDonaugh is such a terrible person, committing horrendous acts, which I can't remember any actor as famous as Cage having the balls to do what he does, and he still makes you care for this pig of a cop. And he does it with no subtlety at all, and the only way this could work (and it does) is if there was a master behind the camera that can guide us through his insanity, and who better than Herzog, also a madman by any account, but one well trained at getting fantastic performances from a borderline schizophrenic. Herzog fills the movie with these slight flourishes of madness (the iguana scene is one of my favorite of any of his movies) that take us on a paranoid ride with Lieutenant McDonaugh. He makes you root for this bastard, and then makes you sorry that you did. They say the producer wants to make a franchise out of this movie, if that means Herzog and Cage work together again... count me in!

5. A Serious Man (The Coen Brothers)

What more can you say about the Coen Brothers? They've made some of my favorite movies of the last last 20 (closer to 30 now) years, in almost every genre. They're one of the few filmmakers that guarantee that a film, if not great, is at least going to be good. This one, though, goes in the former category. If the idea of the Coen Brothers making a dark comedy about a Jewish physics professor set in Minnesota in the 60's doesn't immediately make you want to watch it, move along, I have a feeling this isn't going to work out... As with "Adventureland," this movie works so well because you know the Coens lived in this world. Not a single note in this movie, no matter how absurd, or preposterous, seems false. And boy is it funny! Watching Larry Gopnik deal with the shit storm that god (the Coens) rain upon him, with that look on his face! And the fact that he tries so hard to be a serious man all through the movie, that he tries to do right by everyone, even his wife, who's cheating on him with his friend (who everyone believes is a serious man!!), and just keeps coming out like a schmuck, even though he tries to be a good man, makes it even funnier. And, in the end, when he is pushed to do something that isn't quite right, well, I won't ruin it... As with every Coen movie, this one demands, and rewards, multiple viewings. Sure it's good the first time around, but you keep finding stuff in there that works so much better every time you see it (I particularly love the different rabbis' stories, and Larry's reactions to them). I have to single out Michael Stuhlbarg as Larry Gopnik, his performance is so good in this movie. You can see his frustration building up, his wanting to do the right thing, no matter how much life shits on him... You can tell there is a conflict between his intelligence (he is a physics professor) and his faith, that he doesn't want to admit. It's a shame the academy doesn't respect comedies (more on that later) because I think his performance is as good as Jeff Bridges'.

The movie is so good, it makes me want to give "Burn After Reading" another chance, surely I must have missed something when I saw it in the theater...

4. The Hurt Locker (Katherine Bigelow)

I can't say much more about this movie than has already been said. I hope now that Bigelow won an oscar, whichever studio that holds the rights to "Strange Days" decides to release it on bluray. The movie was great at the theater. It keeps you in a state of tension from the opening frame right up until the last (and if you think about it, it's pretty much the same 4 scenes), and makes you want it, so when Jeremy Renner is shopping for cereal, you know exactly that he wants to go back, and you get it, cause you want to go back to that tension as well. The movie had me on the edge of my seat the entire time, when I saw it in the theater. But, the true test: having seen it already, would it keep me as tense again at home? I've seen the bluray twice, and I can say without a doubt, that, even though I know exactly what is going to happen, I still clench my teeth through most of the movie... and that's very hard to accomplish. Still... best original screenplay? Not by a longshot! Over "A Serious Man" and "Inglorious Barterds"? No fucking way!

3. In the Loop (Armando Iannucci)

Best comedy of the year! There was not a single movie I laughed at so hard this year. Forget "The Hangover," Iannucci's brilliant satire of government officials (sure, it'll never be as good as "Strangelove," but nothing ever will, although this comes closer than any other movie has) and the lead up to an England-U.S.A. war in the middle east is so funny, that the first time you see it you miss more than half of the jokes, for laughing at the rest of them. It is comedy at its finest, without having to resort to slapstick (which has its merit, don't get me wrong) and gross out humor (ditto). It's all about the actors' timing and delivery, and of course the dialogue. I think almost every single bit of dialogue in this movie is quotable... The faux documentary stile gives the comedy an air of reality that makes it that much funnier, and lifts it up to that realm of genius. Even though what is going on is so absurd, by the end you actually come to the sad realization, that this is perhaps exactly how the government is run, and how policy that affects the entire world is made. Everyone is on the top of their game here. Gandolfini sheds his Tony Soprano persona and gives a hilarious performance, but its Peter Capaldi who steals the show as Malcolm Tucker, who is a machine gun, delivering some of the best lines and insults you've ever heard!

A short aside on the Academy and their refusal to honor good comedies. The academy snobs seem to think that comedies are beneath them, and they are all gross out, sophomoric drivel that are made for the masses. And sure, most comedies are, because, lets face it, the majority of people are morons and apparently like drivel, but I think one of the hardest types of movies to make is a good comedy. Everything has to be just right for it to work. The dialogue, the actors' timing, the editing, the score, the performances... more than any other genre, if any one of these things is off in a comedy... it'll screw up the entire movie. And the actors are a big part of it. A great comedic performance should be honored just like any great dramatic performance. It's so hard to have that timing, to hold yourself back, or be big when necessary, one misstep, and you risk ruining not only your entire performance, but everyone else's around you. But, the academy doesn't seem to think so, so fuck 'em anyway...

2. Inglorious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino)

Tarantino at the top of his game. And when Tarantino is at the top of his game, there is no one out there who can best him. He can create the same tension Bigelow created with a guy diffusing a bomb, but with two guys sitting at a table just talking. That first scene with Landa and Lapedite is so fucking good... There wasn't a better one all year... Tarantino is so good (and he knows this) that he takes such an intense scene, breaks the tension with a sight gag (the reveal of Landa's pipe), and then sucker punches you right into the tension, when Landa starts to reveal his intentions. There is no way this movie should work. A movie where suicide bombers who collect the scalps of their enemies are the heroes, a war movie that has no war scenes in it, and a movie that spends a lot of time discussing the merits of 1940's German cinema. How on Earth did this movie get made? Because Tarantino can write just about anything, and make it into a fantastic movie (I really hope he makes a horror movie). He knows (like Spielberg does) that if you make the bad guys Nazis, you can get away with doing to them whatever you want, no matter how disturbing, and get the audience to root for it. But, anyone can do that, the one thing that Tarantino (with the help of a fucking amazing performance by Christoph Waltz) can do, is make the most interesting character in his WWII movie a Nazi, who dedicates himself to killing jews, is at the same time funny and fucking terrifying, and then make the titular "Basterds," lead by über star Brad Pitt, almost secondary to Landa, and totally make it work.

1. Moon (Duncan Jones A.K.A. Zowie Bowie)

Another fantastic debut by a director, who just happens to be David Bowie's son (of course he is)! The more I see it, the more I love this movie. I saw it in a shitty theater in Puerto Rico, with a screen that's all fucked up, a theater (I kid you not) with a fucking hole in the roof so big, they had to cordon off a whole section of seats, no air conditioning, and a print that looked like it had been brought to Puerto Rico dragged behind a boat, then beaten dry with a broom. And I still thought it was a great piece of sci-fi, and an good movie. But, when I got the bluray, I saw it, and had to immediately see it again. I couldn't tell in the theater how amazing the model work for this movie was. I'm still dumbfounded at how real the models look, I can't find a single frame where I can tell this wasn't really filmed on the Moon... and it only cost $5 million bucks! CGI may be the standard now, but it still isn't doesn't look as real or as convincing as the model work in this movie ("District 9's" prawns were close though). And the set design, holy shit! If we were to really have a mining station in the Moon, there is no way it wouldn't look exactly like the one in this movie. Not only that, but after multiple viewings, I keep thinking that this is the best science fiction movie since "Blade Runner." It's a great movie about loneliness (up there with "Solaris," trust me), and how it affects the way we'd handle certain situations, and about our perception of life, and what it means to be an individual. If Philip K. Dick were still alive, he probably would have written the short story that inspired "Moon" (it was actually written by its director). What makes it so great is that it borrows from (more like, pays tribute to) other sci-fi movies ("2001" and others), builds from those ideas, updates them, and makes them its own. Take G.E.R.T.Y. It's obviously inspired by H.A.L., but it updates it in a simple but brilliantly obvious way... I mean, if we were to build a faceless talking computer to keep someone company right now, wouldn't you expect it to use emoticons?! It also takes whatever expectations you have from such a H.A.L. like computer, plays with it and drops it on its head. And Sam Rockwell's performance... I've liked him in pretty much everything he's been in (can't wait to see him in "Iron Man 2"), but his work here is his best to date. I don't want to say anymore, in case you haven't seen it or read about it (which you probably haven't) but you'll get it if you see it... I really can't speak highly enough about this movie, even after writing so much about 9 other movies... It's that good!

Well, it's that time of year again, and, since I am yet to see "The Road" or "Up in the Air," and I refuse to make my top of the year film list until I see them, I thought I'd make a list of my five favorite holiday movies, which I like to revisit around this time every year...

("The Nightmare Before Christmas" isn't on this list, because it can be considered both a Halloween movie and a xmas movie. If I was considering it for this list, it would be up there at number 2)

5- "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation"

I know, I know, Chevy Chase stopped being funny way before this entry in the "Vacation" series (I think he is good in "Community"), but I have a soft spot for the Clark W. Griswold character (I even kind of like "Vegas Vacation," believe it or not... Hey, we're all allowed our guilty pleasures). Sure it's a dumb script, with predictable, and recycled gags, but I can't help but laugh at Clark fumblingly flirting with the counter girl at the mall ("Can't see the line, can you Russ?"), or the ridiculously blinding xmas lights... I can see why people wouldn't like it, and I can't say much more to convince you than this:

"The shitter was full!"

4 - "A Christmas Story"

Ah, who can forget the Red Ryder BB Gun, the leg lamp ("fra-gi-le, it must be Italian!"), the triple dog dare, Santa kicking Ralphie down the chute... they're too many to list. Definitively the xmas movie with the most iconic scenes. It's about as sweet and innocent as any movie has the right to be, but I'll be damned if I still fall for it hook, line and sinker... every single time. It feels more like a bunch of little sketches, but they all tie the movie together so perfectly, and feel so very true: from that terrifying Santa visit, to the ups and downs you felt as a kid opening presents on xmas morning. All the beats are perfect, leading up to the great ending: a xmas dinner of Peking Duck at a Chinese food restaurant!

"You'll shoot your eye out!"

3 - "Elf"

Honestly, this movie shouldn't have worked. A movie about a grown man who lives in the North Pole, and thinks he is an elf, it should have been as bad as all the other stupid, gimmicky, xmas movies the studios dump on us, year after year... It should have been as bad as "Jingle All the Way" or the dreadful "Fred Claus." But, take Will Ferrell (in what I think is up there with "Anchorman" and "Stranger than Fiction," as one of his best roles) playing Buddy the man-elf without a hint of sarcasm, which I believe would have destroyed the movie's earnest tone, and Jon Favreau deftly directing Ferrell, letting him go crazy and holding him back, at just the right moments, and creating my favorite North Pole so far, and you've got yourself a truly funny, and touching, movie. Add great supporting roles by James Caan and Zooey Deschanel (who in my mind is a close second only to Natalie Portman in my "Most Beautiful Woman in the World" list), and you've got yourself a xmas classic.

"You sit on a throne of lies!"

2 - "Bad Santa"

From the opening shots of Billy Bob Thonrton as Santa throwing up in an alley, and then pissing himself, with a kid on his lap, I knew this movie was going to be a blast. I'm not a big fan of Billy Bob, but I do admit, that with a good director guiding his performance, this guy can act the shit out of any role (take "The Man Who Wasn't There," "A Simple Plan," and he's actually not bad as coach Buttermaker in Linklater's "Bad News Bears" remake). In a movie produced by the Coen brothers and directed by Terry Zwigoff, Billy Bob Thornton gives his best performance EVER, as a depressed, alcoholic, suicidal, misogynistic, ass freak, mall Santa. If reading that last sentence didn't want to make you watch that movie right now, then, my friend, move along, you don't belong here. Now, sure, watching Santa call little kids shitheads, tell obese women they wouldn't be able to shit right for weeks after an ass fucking, pissing himself, and drinking himself to death, would have made for an awesome 90 minutes, but we're lucky to get a whole movie happening around Thornton's Santa, with fleshed out characters, that drive the movie to a great, dare I say it, traditional xmas ending. I love the odd little scenes between the late Bernie Mac, and the late John Ritter (also in his best performance ever), which Zwigoff holds for a couple of seconds longer than they should, making the scenes that much funnier. And the weird, fat little Thurman Merman, who makes Santa a wooden pickle as a xmas gift, along with Marcus the elf, his Asian-Latina wife, and Lauren Graham's Santa fetish bartender, all adding to the movies wit and hilarity. What I like the most is that the characters stay true to themselves, never resorting to cheap Hollywood tricks to bring us to a happy ending. Case in point: towards the end of the movie, when Thornton's Santa is "redeeming" himself by getting Thurman Merman (that's such an awesome name!) his xmas present, instead of getting what the kid wanted, true to his character, he fucks up, and he gets him the wrong fucking pink elephant!! But still, this is an xmas movie, and you do get the obligatory happy ending, with Turman Merman kicking a kid square in the nuts, and riding off in his brand new bike!!

"I loved a woman who wasn't clean."

1 - "Scrooged"

Well, what can I say about what I consider to be the best adaptation of Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" ever committed to film. My complaint with other versions of "A Christmas Carol" is that they always go out of their way to give Ebenezer Scrooge some sort of likable trait at the beginning, so that we at least identify with him, somewhat, from the get-go. In my mind, Scrooge has to be the most despicable individual in the planet, so as to make his conversion in the end that much more inspiring, and Bill Murray gets this... Boy does he ever get this. From the very opening of the movie, he sells Frank Cross as a fucking despicable human being, without a single redeeming value (sound familiar?). And this was not an easy feat, because, c'mon, it's Bill fucking Murray, this is Peter Venkman, Carl Spackler, Tripper, et al. Even when he plays asshole characters, he still comes across as really likable, Phil Connors, Ernie McKraken, Steve Zissou. But not Frank Cross... Cross is a mean spirited, heartless, soulless bastard, who doesn't come across the least bit likable, and Bill Murray doesn't let an ounce of his natural charm seep in at any moment before he goes back with the ghost of xmas past. He even changes his voice, making it a little coarse, as if to isolate everyone that loves the Bill Murray persona. And he HAS to be truly evil, in order for us to accept all the horrible shit that this guy goes through... and horrible it is! All the ghost torture this sadistic fuck, because he deserves it, and they know that he is such an evil prick that he cannot be redeemed merely by showing him some sad shit from his life. And Richard Donner (My third favorite Donner movie, after "Superman," and "The Goonies." The Omen is a close fourth) makes sure the shit we see is really horrifying: from Lew Hayward's repulsive, rotting, ghost; a waiter setting himself on fire; an eyeball in Cross' drink, Herman's frozen death; and to the ghost of Christmas future's terrifying insides. Murray and Donner make us watch as Frank Cross the evil prick's protective shell slowly crumbles away, but always true to his character. Sure I could go on, and on, about how funny the movie is (and it is really funny), how good the dialogue is, and how great the effects are, but, what keeps the movie alive, what makes it ultimately work, and makes it my favorite xmas movie ever, is Bill Murray's performance as Frank Cross. He totally committed to this role, and made himself a completely fucking evil bastard, in a xmas movie, in order to make the payoff at the happy ending seem completely earned, and, in my opinion, it truly was...

"You've got a program featuring America's favorite old fart. Reading a book in front of a fireplace. Now, I have to kill all of you. "

Runner-ups: "Die Hard," "The Office Christmas Special," "Extras Christmas Special," all of the "Futurama" xmas episodes, "A Very Sunny Chirstmas," "A Charlie Brown Christmas" (sure it has a full on jesus freak message, but it still manages to be awesome), and "The Ref."

How twitter got me to start a blog...

I write for a living.

I'm not an author, a poet, a journalist (thought sometimes I wish I had studied journalism, and worked for a newspaper), a critic, or a screenwriter (if only). Nope, I am in the most boring profession one can be in, and still claim that they write for a living: I am a lawyer. As a lawyer, I tend to spend most of my day writing motions, appeals, letters and memoranda. Exciting, right? It's so exciting, that, at the end of my days, the last thing in the world I want to do is write more. That is... until I started twittering (tweeting?).

I heard of twitter for the first time, around January of this year, and I, of course, was skeptical and dismissive. I thought: "how arrogant does one have to be to think everyone has to know their personal information all the time."

Yeah... that lasted for about a month...

So, in February, I opened an account (a little intrigued, but still skeptical), and off I went. The first couple of tweets (twitters? twits?) were, as they are wont to be, awkward and a bit sparse. I didn't write much, because I didn't have any followers. But, as time passed, and I started reading other twitters, and became more comfortable with the 140 character limit, I started to get into it, I started to tweet more. Sure I only had a couple of followers (and I still don't have many followers), but I began to realize that, for me at least, that wasn't the point.

I was just enjoying writing! I was actually enjoying writing outside of work (albeit 140 characters at a time).

I then began to think about blogs...

I've been reading blogs for, almost, as long as I've been using the internet (1997, 56k dial-up, the internet stone age). Whilst in college (early broadband, hooray!), I'd spend some time on LiveJournal, blogger.com, aintitcool (while not technically a blog, in those days, it was close) and what not. I always thought: "It'd be nice to do that, but who cares what I have to say?"

As I started to enjoy writing outside of work, and realizing that I didn't care that no one read what I wrote on twitter, I began to think that, from time to time, I could sit down, and write more than 140 characters. I'd write a blog just for the sake of writing.

So, here we are, I've started this blog for my own benefit, but, if some people happen to stumble in, and actually read my posts, hey... even better!

I'll be writing about pretty much anything that comes to mind. I guess most of it will be stream of consciousness type stuff. I'll blog about some politics, some sports, probably some musings about films, flicks and movies (maybe I'll get into this enough that I'll write some actual reviews, but don't get your hopes up), and who knows what else.

If there is anyone out there reading this, welcome, and feel free to let us know what you think...