Cinerina’s Best and sort of Worst of 2009
Cinerina’s 2009 Extremes
Some truly terrible movies came out in 2009, so terrible that I refused to see them. This may be the first year in recent memory where I have not rated a film “Avoid At All Costs.” This could mean that I just was less willing to plunk down my hard-earned money for something I can smell is crappy from miles away. I hope you were able to avoid stepping in the poo. Don’t worry, some crappy movies still managed to stink up my evenings.As a result, my “worst” films aren’t really all that bad, all things being equal. I was privileged to see a great deal of excellent films, so this will just be my Top Ten for 2009.
BEST
As usual, I can never put these in any order.
Precious
Take one human life plucked from a statistics sheet and blow it up into full, queasy color, put it in the hands of a director who strips fear from the set leaving only explosive amounts of sheer acting, and wow. Narrowly beats out the Hurt Locke for being the most visceral movie this year.
The Road
Grim, desperate, scary, sad, cold – but gripping. So much of what works for me in The Road is unspoken, is sound effects and mood and visuals, that the words only assist, rather than carrying the burden of impressing me.
Up
The previews said “kooky fun adventure,” and the first few scenes said “love is fragile, promises are life, life is an adventure.” Sad, funny, exciting, and sentimental, Up is a triumph of storytelling and gorgeous filmmaking. Pixar continues to remind us that it’s not the medium, it’s the story.
Avatar
Sure, the dialogue isn’t the greatest, but if you’re going to see a movie like this for scintillating dialogue then you’re kind of asking to be disappointed. Avatar is a revelation and makes you glad to have lived long enough to see it. Eliminating the uncanny valley and still moving me is a massive achievement.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Maybe it was my low expectations after Order of the Phoenix, but Rowling’s best book finally also became Harry’s best film outing. Deftly adapted and fully inhabited, I felt elevated watching it.
Moon
One man playing versions of himself alone on the Moon equals heavy; that man being Sam Rockwell equals rich. Moon is what science fiction has always meant to be.
Hurt Locker
Almost unbearable tension, broken only by the unreal extremes of behavior that keep soldiers’ minds afloat in the field. A film to be reckoned with.
District 9
Perhaps setting the film in South Africa drives the allegory home a little severely, but District 9 is so original and so daring and so perfectly executed that the message is secondary to the thrill of amazement.
World’s Greatest Dad
No one will remember this movie, just like they willfully refuse to remember that Robin Williams actually can act his fuzzy butt off, and he’s doing it here, with black humor and lovely pathos.
WORST THAT I SAW
And I know many will disagree with me on some of these, but these are the ones that were the movies that give me a physical reaction whenever I recollect the time I could have been spent having my teeth cleaned instead.
Knowing
Drag Me To Hell
Alien Trespass
Where The Wild Things Are
Watchmen
Coraline
