Posted by 2009′s Ten Best and Five Worst Films (So Far)
We’re technically over halfway through 2009, but a disproportionately large number of great films tend to spring up in the latter months of the year, so let’s call it halfway for the sake of our collective sanity. It hasn’t been a terrific year for filmgoing so far this year, but there have been enough films worth celebrating to justify a roundup. Keep in mind that these rankings are tentative – they’re largely based on single viewings, and my estimates of their relative worth may vary over the course of the year. My principal question when ranking new film is: “which films am I most eager to watch again?” With that in mind, my top ten films of the year so far, in descending order:
10. Star Trek
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If someone had told you back in January that the summer of 2009′a only satisfying blockbuster would be JJ Abrams’ “reboot” of the long-suffering Star Trek franchise, would you believe them? I certainly wouldn’t be inclined to, but that’s precisely what happened, as Abrams and co. slyly retooled the series’ universe without changing the fundamentals of its characters, making for a bold new take on Trek that alienated some fans but struck a nerve with both moviegoers and critics (and me).
9. Summer Hours
I didn’t care for Olivier Assayas’ previous feature, the Asia Argento vehicle Boarding Gate, but I’m definitely a fan of his latest venture, which saw him do a complete 180 from that film’s thriller conventions to something approaching a more reserved take on Arnaud Desplechin’s Conte de Noël (one of my favorite films of last year.) Beautifully shot, thoughtfully written and frequently touching, though its pacing will frustrate less patient filmgoers.
8. Two Lovers
No one believes me when I tell them that this very dour-looking James Gray drama is one of the year’s best films, but no one who’s actually seen it has disputed that fact with me thus far. Two Lovers is a serious, acutely drawn portrait of adult love and loss, and deserves to be seen by a wider audience. It’s unfortunate that Joaquin Phoenix’s ridiculous extracurricular activities completely derailed any public interest in the film, since it contains what is most likely his best performance. People, overcome any prejudices you may have and check this one out on DVD.
7. Drag Me To Hell
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Though it’s marred by some occasionally dodgy CGI, it’s difficult to deny that Sam Raimi’s return to genre filmmaking provided us with some of the year’s most giddily satisfying pleasures, from its many scenes of animal endangerment, to its delicious occult slant, to its rare use of a legitimately believable female lead (a strong Alison Lohman). Drag Me to Hell struck some viewers as too slight or not unsettling enough, but I was taken with its thrill-ride approach, carefully engineered editing, and black humor. Let’s hope he doesn’t take quite so long to get back in the ring next time.
5. UpAudio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Pixar strikes gold again – did anyone doubt it? – with this fanciful, Miyazaki-esque tale of a man, his house and a long-lost dream. Though some younger viewers were audibly distressed by the film’s very dark, very sad opening montage, there’s the unshakable feeling that the studio has produced another family-friendly classic that will resonate with viewers of all ages long after Ice Age: Medieval Mayhem plops glumly into multiplexes.
4. Moon (podcast review)
Duncan Jones’ directorial debut hits so many of my pleasure centers all at once – low-budget wizardry, hard sci-fi, Sam Rockwell – that it was destined to find a place here. Nevertheless, Moon is a startlingly good stab at thinking-man’s sci-fi that contorts its seemingly simple plot in several different and pleasantly surprising directions, and leaves just enough questions unanswered to preserve a healthy sense of mystery. Rockwell proves he can anchor a (good) film and delivers a performance to hang a career on.
3. Inglourious Basterds
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Inglourious Basterds closed off this year’s Fantasia Film Festival, and unlike many film fest big-ticket items, Tarantino’s latest delivered in spades, offering up 150 minutes of great dialogue, a handful of very memorable scenes and performances, and a final reel that will audiences squealing with delight – that is, if they’ve coped with Brad Pitt’s very small amount of screentime, as well as a whole lot of talking. Regardless of how audiences and Tarantino fans will take to the film, Basterds is destined to eventually be accepted as one of Tarantino’s best films, and certainly his purest since Jackie Brown.
2. The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle
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A remarkable Fantasia film that thankfully picked up a Best Director award from the Jury, James Russo’s feature debut juggles so many ideas and plot elements that it’s remarkable that it works at all. It functions equally well as stoner comedy, social satire, tender coming-of-age tale, and unadulterated, 80s-style mindfuck, and it’s one of the most kinetically exciting films I’ve seen in ages, as well as being very, very funny. Psychotropic snacks, subliminal clothing, male pregnancies and corporate misconduct are only a few of the plot threads on offer here, but the film stays remarkably grounded throughout thanks to a very strong set of performances from its appealing young cast. Here’s hoping this gets a distributor soon.
1. In The Loop
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At first I balked at giving this riotous UK comedy the top spot due to its humble TV roots, but then I realized that no other film this year has so thoroughly summed up the zeitgeist while also being incredibly entertaining. Armando Iannuci’s relentlessly funny look at US-UK politics works equally well as a straight comedy and as an angry indictment of the comprehensive failure of government in the face of global disaster. Peter Capaldi’s vulgar, wicked turn as British Communications Director Malcolm Tucker makes the film a must-see all by its lonesome, but he’s also supported by some very funny turns from unexpected performers, including but not limited to James Gandolfini (The Sopranos), David Rasche (United 93) and Anna Chlumsky (My Girl[!]). When you’re too busy laughing to even notice that it’s a film about the world going to shit, you know everyone involved has done their jobs.
And the year’s bottom five…so far:
5. Terminator Salvation Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Its incredible score, courtesy of Boris and SUNN O))), keeps Jim Jarmusch’s maddening, incredibly dull pseudo-political mess from being a total loss, but it’s still unfortunate that the man, who used to impart his philosophies through carefully wrought character studies and wonderfully oblique storytelling methods, has now entered the realm of unadulterated asshattery.
3. Friday the 13th
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This remarkably lifeless franchise reboot is among the least imaginative horror films ever made, which has me worried as to what exactly the studio has planned for the forthcoming Elm Street do-over. Be afraid.
2. Knowing
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AKA Left Behind 7: Still Burnin’, this incredibly disingenuous would-be “sci-fi” “thriller” serves both as Nic Cage career nadir and an epitaph for our lasting, collective hopes that Dark City helmer Alex Proyas might again someday make a great film.
1. Transformers: Revenge of the FallenAudio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Was there ever any doubt? Michael “Nickelback Riff” Bay (thanks Al) returns on a wave of testosterone and other assorted male bodily fluids to deliver (nay, slam) his latest technicolor crapfest. Almost completely unwatchable on a basic, aesthetic level, and is so incredibly racist, sexist and idiotically plotted that even the toys are tired of rolling their eyes at this point.
Simon Howell
Little Dizzle was a horrible bit of misogyny. Women in the film only existed as sex objects for the males. All the bosses were male an all the lead parts were male. Goint to watch some young men give birth to a blue fish out of their anus was not worth leaving my kids home alone.
lol i’m surprised Dragonball Evolution wasn’t up there
Personally wasn’t a fan of In The Loop at all, was watchable – but lacked the viciousness of the TV show (which I was a big fan of) – seemed incohesive too and anticlimatic.
Shifty is my choice for film of the year so far.
Barnstormingly brilliant British cinema with a director/main cast to watch out for.
Proper good debut that smacks you right around the head with an audio/visual mallet.
Just how it should be.
In the loop at number one.. pfft…. Jack Black’s speech in High Fidelity about playing it safe springs to mind.
Nicely put Jon. I really enjoyed In The Loop but my head is still spinning that Simon places this at number one.
Keep in mind it’s a half-of-2009 list, and that my lists are notoriously slippery. (Hell, I forgot about “Humpday,” which is definitely a fave.)
That being said, “In the Loop” really struck a nerve for me. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen political satire so efficient, dark, and hilarious. It stands out in a year of politically lazy (or outright contemptible) cinema. I doubt it’ll still be at the top by year’s end, but it won’t be leaving the list, either.
Still works best as a teleplay and not a screenplay.
Drag me to hell sucked really bad. worse film i’ve ever seen
Two lovers – is an exelent film, I just saw it and I enjoyed really. I think this is the best role of Joaquin Phoenix I saw.
1. Watchmen
2. Moon
3. Up
4. Drag Me To Hell
5. The Hangover
Oh and Land of the Lost is a surefire pick for one of the worst films of the year…right there with transformers 2…maybe even possibly worse
No Public Enemies!!!
what about watchmen that movie was great
LOL – HA HA ! yeah Simon didn’t you love the Watchmen. WTF. Why is it not on your list?
Someone tell me what is racist in Transformers 2? Please reply
The two robots who speak with a stereotypically black cadence, have buck teeth, big ears, gold fronts, continually talk about capping people, and cannot read.
but that doesn’t make it racist, there r plent of white people that o that too, it just made it funny not racist, if it were racist u wouldn’t see all the black people laughing at it too
I think it’s very, very difficult to argue that lumping together a large number of negative stereotypes associated with a particular ethnic group for comic relief is anything BUT racist. Or at least extremely ignorant.
I’m suprised Hurt Locker isn’t up there.
I actually saw Hurt Locker *last* year. Things get tricky that way. Excellent film, though.
People seem to say bad things about Jim Jarmucsh movies, especialy his 1995 film “Dead Man”, which is one of my favorites of his. I’m looking forward to “The Limits of Control”. I can’t see it being worse than “Star Trek”, which I thought was a complete disaster and should be nowhere near the top ten best films of the year. I completely agree with “In the Loop” and “Up” and am looking forward to “Inglourious Basterds”. I thought the screenplay was one of Tarantino’s best. I am also looking forward to Lar von Trier’s “Antichrist” and Michael Haneke’s “The White Ribben”.
I saw Knowing on DVD and actually found it entertaining in an MST3000 fashion….lots of silliness to poke fun at! Frankly I thought The Day the Earth Stood Still regurgitation was a much worse effront to sci-fi film. Terminator was indeed atrocious. GI Joe on the other hand was a silly, action filled, CGI overdose of a film.
Star Trek was a fun romp…going alternate timeline was a prudent way to turn it into something exciting and new. The Red Matter, however, was a joke!
I’ve just watched “Knowing”. I wish I had “knew” about how utterly, God-awful crap it was before I began. Its only redeeming feature was that it has thankfully confirmed what I thought about Cage for years. Utter indescribable tosh. Thank you Simon for defying the insane 6.6 review it currently has on IMDB. I wish I could get those two hours of my life back again.
I am genuinely puzzled as to why you would put Know1ng as one of the years worst films when you have such time wasting gems as “harry potter and the half written script” and the complete murdering of 40 years of startrek history, even though I did like the film.
Know1ng, didn’t try to be anything more than it was, an entertaining take on “prediction type” films and the end of the world, only this time, for once in a Hollywood blue moon, the world actually does end.
I feel you have been too hard on it. Credit where credits due, its a decent flick, was worth the entry fee to the cinema and was most enjoyable, and to boot the ending sequence CGI and cinematic`s were beautiful and quite truthful in some ways, (im talking about society going to hell, not the aliens) unlike harry potter, a film which I thought was so bad that I told them to keep the money and asked for the three hours of my life back.
Who said anything about Harry Potter?
Knowing was great. The Aliens look like Billy Idol and everyone goes to hell including Nick Cage. Also where is G.I. Joe on this list?
You have to consider that at the end, Nick’s (forgot his name in the movie) father said everything was going to be okay, and he replied “I know”.. So I don’t know if we can really say we went to hell.. though I don’t see how they could’ve survived.. But it’s just an interesting thought. I liked the movie, nonetheless.
I really liked Transformers
I completely disagree with putting The Limits of Control on par with Terminator: Salvation and Transformers 2. I understand that it’s not everyone’s cup of tea but you can’t deny that it’s Jarmusch’s most confident film to date. He understands the power of every cut, every shot, and every music cue. It’s not his best film — that honor goes to Dead Man — but I still found it an enthralling and hypnotic experience. But you loved In the Loop so you are forgiven.
My Top 5:
1. The Hurt Locker
2. In the Loop
3. The Limits of Control
4. Up
5. Star Trek
I’m suprised Coraline hasn’t been included.
I really like Coraline – it’s certainly the second-best family film this year, behind Up – but it’s not quite Top 10 fodder for me.
Why does everyone keep insisting that Transformers 2 was racist, a little bit of good clean fun, that’s all folks. It’s not because in the last half hour some people might have had the knack to go a bit epilleptic (I’ll give you that) that it has to be broken down as sexist and racist.
I have no beef with your list, except that I would put “Knowing” at #1, Transformers was really bad but at least it had Megan Fox as eye candy, “Knowing” I couldn’t even finish, gave up after 40 minutes and I’ll never get those 40 minutes back.
I really didn’t see that many movies released this year but here’s the ones I think are worth mentioning:
1- Bronson
2- The Girlfriend Experience
3- In the Loop
I said this on our review on the podcast for Knowing and I will say it again. Bad movie but an awesome score which really picks up at the end. Fantastic new composer who hopefully will get better work in the future.
What the HELL is Bronson and also Marcio, check out our interview with Sasha Grey.
I’ve heard the interview already, good stuff.
“Bronson” is the new film by Nicolas Winding Refn, it’s very kubrickian and has a great performance by Tom Hardy. Check it out if you can it’s well worth the watch.
Here’s the trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMJ1c3qxOWc
Bronson is excellent. It hasn’t been released in America yet but apparently it did quite well in Sundance. It’s like A Clockwork Orange meets Chopper.
Michael, he was obviously defending you so why pick on him?
Totally agree. Though I’d have to say that Knowing was worse than Transformers
Transformers… Racist and Star Trek was good?! I suppose Osama is a hero and North Korea is just misunderstood. (That wasn’t suppose to rhyme). I believe the expression that describes you best is “Opinions are like as*holes, everyone has one but some peoples stink more than others”
you have no idea what you are talking about.
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen was by far the best action movie of 2009 and probably best action movie ever. you are just another michael bay hater and you better learn to live with it because if dont get the big picture then sit home and do not make an other review…
i love my fans. They can’t spell! Yay!
Oh cmon dude… only a guy who barely watch movies can call Transformers 2 a good film…. I admit it’s great on effects, probably the greatest effects i have ever seen. but, the film was too much… it feels like 5 hours, and i’m not even exagerrating. before Transformers 2, Michael Bay didn’t really bother me, but after watching Transformers 2 i understood the hate. i’m not one of those Bay haters before. I love Armageddon when i was a kid(i was 7 when it came out). i was okay with Pearl Harbour because i barely watch good movies at that time. i liked the Rock alot because of Sean Connery(my childhood hero, 007, i always watch him when i was a kid). and i even had a good time watching Bad Boys 2(well, i saw it on TV, switching channels, i probably saw only 1/4 of it). Transformers was a good movie because it was SHORT and the nonsense Jokes didnt really bother me. i’d even say it is Bay’s best film. i’m older when i saw it so i can honestly say that the Bay films that i liked, SUCKED, and the film that i think was a good film of his, not great, was his best. but Transformers 2 is such a pain to watch. calling it the best action film saddens me. what will happen to the film industry if people are like you. c’mon man? even Norton’s Hulk was WAY superrior than Transformers 2. i won’t use TDK as a comparison. TDK don’t deserve to be compared with that garbage
Transformers 2 is not the best movie, but the review above is totally biast. Taking the piss out of someones spelling because they don’t agree with you is a sign of insecurity and nothing to do with movie reviews. Plus in foreign countries they have their own languages and have learnt English because its widely spoken. Inglourious Basterds is a great movie mind you. But having seen most of the original Star Trek as they were actually released in the good old days, I was deeply disappointed by the new one. “Knowing” sux!
Guys, it’s OK to disagree on movies. We always disagree on film on our show. Hell Simon tried to talk me out of seeing three films that thankfully I saw them and loved every single one. Anyhow just remember Simon is always wrong and Transformers 2 is the worst film ever made. Enough said.
Top 5 films of the year are:
1- Inglourious Basterds
2- The Clone Returns Home
3- Moon
4- Love Exposure
5- The Children