2009 In Film: My Top Eleven, The Absolute Worst, and One Big Disappointment

Posted on 13. Mar, 2010 by RachelEli in Entertainment

Summing up the best and worst movies of an entire year is a difficult feat, and I have always hated the confines of “Best Picture,” “Best Actor,” “Best Screenplay,” etc. There is also the problem that despite seeing a lot of movies, there are always many good ones that I miss out on (Precious, Moon, Zombieland).

What I have compiled is a list of films that I loved, one that I absolutely hated, and one that deeply disappointed me in 2009. I have given out many of the usual awards (Best Screenplay, Best Song, etc.), but occasionally I made up new awards for each film. Read it and agree or disagree. The only thing that really matters is that people realize that Roger Ebert was wrong to include Knowing on his top ten list of the year while excluding Pixar’s Up. Roger, what were you thinking?

Favorite Movies of 2009 (In No Particular Order)

1. Away We Go: Away We Go was one of the first movies this year that made me laugh and cry while assuring me that I am not a screw-up if I’m 23 and don’t have all this grown-up stuff figured out yet.

I am awarding Away We Go with Best Original Screenplay, Best Date Movie, Best Break-Out Performance by Maya Rudolph, and Best Cameos. What other movie this year got the likes of Jeff Daniels, Allison Janney, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Jim Gaffigan?

2. Up: Up reminds me why I want to be a storyteller because this film is visual storytelling at its absolute finest. Within a few short minutes, Up tells the most beautiful love story of the year, leaving the staunchest cynics in tears. Up tells a story of love and loss while tapping into a childlike wonder. Everyone deep down wants to fly their house to South America with helium balloons; we just didn’t realize it.

I am awarding Up with Best Montage, Best Musical Score, Best Computer-Animated Feature and Best Animal Sidekicks for Dug and Kevin.

3. Coraline: Neil Gaiman’s dark imaginative story could only be realized through stop-motion animation. James Cameron might take credit for reviving 3-D films with Avatar, but Coraline did it first to great effect. The 3-D gave the stop-motion figures a new life and essence that had never been seen before.

I am awarding Coraline with Best Stop-Motion Animation, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Hair for Coraline’s blue bob.

4. The Princess and the Frog: After years of ignoring what made Disney great in the first place, Disney returned to hand-drawn animated musicals this year, and what a return it was. With music by Randy Newman and the writing and directing team behind The Little Mermaid, The Princess and the Frog was a film that could not lose. Also, I want to give an additional kudos to Disney for creating the smartest princess since Beauty and the Beast. Tiana is smart, hard-working, and a great role model for young girls.

I am awarding The Princess and the Frog with Best Hand-Drawn Animated Feature, Best Female Role Model, and Best Song for “Almost There.”

5. District 9: District 9 was the most creatively-told film of 2009. First, who would have thought that a story about alien refugees could serve as a powerful allegory for apartheid? Second, who would have thought of telling it through a documentary format? I will be keeping an eye on Neill Blomkamp and his future projects.

I am awarding District 9 with Best Action Film, Best New Director, and Best Bang for the Money. Best Bang for the Money is designated for a film made on a tiny budget that looks like it was made on a big budget.

6. Inglourious Basterds: I love Quentin Tarantino, and I adored this movie. Christoph Waltz’s performance is worth the price of the ticket. He switches between German, English, French, and Italian with ease. Tarantino was not kidding when he recently said that he does not work with dumb actors, and Waltz’s performance proves just that.

I am awarding Inglourious Basterds with Best Supporting Actor for Christoph Waltz, Best Grand Finale for the burning of the theater, and Best General Bad-Assness.

7. Avatar: Avatar is the only movie this year that I can classify as an epic. The world that James Cameron has created is so rich and imaginative that I forgave its somewhat predictable plot. Also, I want one of those flying dragon creatures.

I am awarding Avatar with Best Visual Effects, Best Use of CGI, and Best Creatures.

8. The Hangover: If anyone would have told me last summer that this movie would be in my top eleven, I would have called them crazy. I stand corrected. I saw The Hangover on DVD over Christmas, and it really is a perfect comedy. The entire cast is at the top of their game, and they have chemistry on screen that is rare. Zach Galifianakis and Ed Helms are the VIPs here, though. Galifianakis earns it for his hilarious delivery of creepy dialogue. “I’m not allowed within two hundred feet of a school…or Chuck E. Cheese.” Helms earns his distinction for his memorable song, “What Do Tigers Dream About?”

I am awarding The Hangover with Best Comedy, Best Awkward Moments, and Best Naked Attack by Ken Jeong.

9. Let the Right One In: Let the Right One In is the anti-Twilight. Instead of glorifying vampires, this film shows exactly what it would be like to be romantically involved with a blood-sucker. Would an Edward Cullen-obsessed teenage girl be willing to slaughter the local village to slake her vampire lover’s thirst? After seeing this film, I seriously doubt it.

I am awarding Let the Right One In with Best Vampires, Best Foreign Film, and Best Young Love.

10. Where the Wild Things Are: After numerous delays and threats of reshoots, Spike Jonze’s Where the Wild Things Are finally hit theaters just before Halloween, which is appropriate considering the film’s dark and scary side and Max’s beloved wolf costume. Maurice Sendak’s book is genius, and Jonze’s movie brings out the melancholy and loneliness of being young.

I am awarding Where the Wild Things Are with Best Child Actor for Max Records, Best Costumes, Best Heartbreaking Moment for the snowball fight, and Best Movie About Childhood That’s Not For Children.

11. (500) Days of Summer: I realize that most critics have top ten lists, but I am breaking the mold and choosing eleven films. (500) Days of Summer is a movie about love, but the narrator is not kidding around when he says that this is not a love story. I could easily see (500) Days of Summer being the Annie Hall of this generation.

I am awarding (500) Days of Summer with Best Dance Number, Best Breakup, and Best Dresses for Zooey Deschanel. Every girl wants Zooey’s wardrobe from this film.

Worst Movie I Saw In 2009

Knowing: For those who really want to see Knowing, I recommend reading my summary and saving yourself two hours of your life. There are numbers predicting the end of the world, Nicholas Cage tries to stop it, he fails, the earth is destroyed, and aliens show up at the last minute to take the two cute kids to another planet in order to repopulate the human race. There. I just saved everyone time, money, and brain cells.

Biggest Disappointment of 2009

Watchmen: Not all of Watchmen was bad, but the film proved why everyone with a brain said that this story could not be adapted to film. Also, Zach Snyder needs to break out of the films he has been making and prove that he has original ideas as opposed to copying classic horror films (Dawn of the Dead) and graphic novels (300).

Oh, and Zach…everyone is tired of the slow-motion. Cut it out, please. It was cool in 300, but move on.

Tags: (500) Days of Summer, Avatar, Away We Go, best of 2009, Christoph Waltz, Coraline, Disney, District 9, Ed Helms, films, Inglourious Basterds, Ken Jeong, Knowing, Let the Right One In, Maurice Sendak, Max Records, movies, Neil Gaiman, Neill Blomkamp, Quentin Tarantino, Randy Newman, Spike Jonze, The Hangover, The Princess and the Frog, Up, Watchmen, Where the Wild Things Are, worst of 2009, Zach Galifianakis, Zach Snyder, Zooey Deschanel