Up in the Air (2009) Jason Reitman follows up Juno with a film that is both deeper and more mature, and yet still retains the biting dialogue and humour we have come to expect of his productions. Coupled with Clooney at perhaps his best and Reitman’s ability to portray female characters as intelligent, we have one of the best films of the year. It’s a long way from perfect, but the way it taps into the social milieu makes it a must see of contemporary cinema. Essential
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5 Days ago

 
Where the Wild Things Are (2009) Regular readers will know I’m generally not a fan of a) films with angry kids, and b) the fantasy genre. But Spike Jonze has succeeded here in capturing the wonderment of the world of a nine year old - and there are few directors working today who possess the imagination to pull this off. The melancholic tone and themes of escape may be a bit much for the younger audience, but I couldn’t have hoped for a better adaptation of Maurice Sendak’s book. Recommended
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5 Days ago

 
The Blind Side (2009) Based on the true-life story of American football player Michael Oher and his progression from living on the street to college football fame. Sandra Bullock picks up her first Oscar nom for this role, and while her performance is a bit jarring in the early scenes, once the film settles in her performance is genuinely well acted. They story itself is as uplifting as you would expect (though not strictly adhereing to the real life events) and I found it refreshing to see a Hollywood film that promotes hard core Republican values in a positive manner. It’s these values and the way the film makes fun of prejudice that will likely turn a lot of people off, but for the rest it will be a fun heartwarming tale. Recommended
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5 Days ago

 
 
 
 
Invictus (2009) Morgan Freeman is well cast in this hagiographic look at Nelson Mandela who engages with the Springbok captain (Matt Damon) over the course of the 1995 Rugby World Cup to inspire unity in the country. Clint Eastwood does a sound job with direction but the one-dimensional script and complete lack of tension makes for dull viewing. The subject matter would however make for a great documentary where the issue of life after apartheid and “that game” could properly be explored using the perspective of the players and team management. Average
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9 Days ago

 
35 Rhums (35 Shots of Rum) (2008) French auteur Claire Denis presents a beautiful and simple film about the lives of four characters living in the outskirts of Paris. In true voyueristic style you see their ineractions which are not always in context, or full understood, but this just places more emphasis on the atmosphere and the unspoken moments. A bittersweet gem. Recommended
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9 Days ago

 
 
The Limits of Control (2009) Critics may argue that Jim Jarmusch is out of ideas and has resorted to a self indulgent film stripped bare of dialogue and loaded with obscurity in an attempt to snare a little critical acclaim. Perhaps that’s what Ebert was suggesting when he awarded it half a star. Certainly compared to his last film, Broken Flowers, this offering appears to insist more on using whatever you bring to it. I was bringing a lot. The landscape and soundtrack alone make the journey more than worthwhile. Recommended
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15 Days ago

 
The Men Who Stare at Goats (2009) This must have sounded great on paper - a funny and intelligent satire that isn’t too far from the truth. George Clooney playing an agent who is part of an experimental U.S. military unit trained in the use of psychic powers. And parts of it worked - mostly just the parts with goats unfortunately. Average
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15 Days ago

 
 
 
Favourite Albums of 2009
2009 was a great year for discovering new music for me. I bought my fourth iPod, iTunes Genius improved on its accuracy to find gems from my library, and I took a six month break from work to mooch around home. So here are the albums I enjoyed the most - music for every mood:


Junior - Röyksopp
Hard to believe it’s been four years since The Understanding, but the wait has been worth it. The band have described the new album as having a “spring feel” - it’s energetic pace is as good as anything they have done. Guest spots from Robyn, Lykke Li, and The Knife’s Karin Dreijer.

Grace/Wastelands - Peter Doherty
Set aside the Pete Doherty you know from The Libertines and Babyshambles - this is the understated personal album of haunted melodies and simple expression that affirms him among the best songwriters of this generation.

Elvis Perkins In Dearland - Elvis Perkins In Dearland
It seems to me that this is the best folk-rock album from an American singer-songwriter that surfaced in 2009.

Este Mundo - Rupa & the April Fishes
Wildly diverse world music from a San Francisco based band who display influences from French chanson, Argentinean tango, Gypsy swing, American folk, Latin cumbias, and more.

Fever Ray - Fever Ray
The debut solo release from The Knife’s Karin Dreijer Andersson extends the enigmatic mood and dark beats she developed with her brother - though here there is minimalism and isolation.

Lungs - Florence And The Machine
When I think of the albums that became the soundtrack to my year, foremost will be this debut release from London based newcomers, led with energy and passion by Florence Welch.

Also worth a spin...

11:11 - Rodrigo y Gabriela
Hoodoo You Do - The Devil & Abbe May
Sun Gangs - The Veils
The XX - The XX
Mi Plan - Nelly Furtado
Or, The Whale - Or, The Whale
Music For Men - Gossip
Manners - Passion Pit
Luck - Wiretree
She Wolf - Shakira
Josephine - Magnolia Electric Co.
Two Suns - Bat For Lashes
Girls - Girls
Lightning Dust - Infinite Light
Holy Smoke - Gin Wigmore
Frankencottage EP - Dark Mean


See also: Favourite Albums of 2008
23 Days ago
Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009) Wes Anderson’s love for the richness of details combined with Roald Dahl’s unique storytelling abilities are a winning match here. The lovable characters rendered in quirky stop-motion animation appear to have more life in them than anything blue you might see this year in 3D CGI. Anderson sticks with his regulars for the voice talent, and complements the lineup with George Clooney and Meryl Streep. Recommended
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23 Days ago

 
Food Inc. (2008) Perhaps the most unfortunate after-effect of the Michael Moore era of mainstreaming the documentary has been the lack of serious unbiased debate about issues. The corporatisation of the food supply is a great target for discussion, but instead the filmmakers here attacked the subject with a scattershot collection of fears and anti-capitalist rhetoric without any rebuttal. So we end up with a film made by food radicals trying to push an idealist agenda which ultimately damages the credibility of the serious points that needed to be made. For better and more rational coverage check out King Corn made a year earlier. Avoid
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23 Days ago

 
Io non ho paura (I’m Not Scared) (2003) Beautifully set in Southern Italy in the late seventies - a ten-year old discovers a small boy held captive in a hole near an abandoned farmhouse and gets drawn into helping him. It’s a well made coming-of-age thriller with a unique perspective, let down only slightly by a lacklustre ending and, on occasion, a little too much gratuitous imagery of the Italian countryside. Recommended
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23 Days ago

 
 
 
 
 
How the West Was Won (1962) This ambitious Western epic, complete with four directors and an astounding ensemble cast of A-listers from the era, is one of the greatest visual spectacles of cinema history. The story itself is largely inconsequential to the experience, even some of the performances are not up to scratch (James Stewart is never convincing in this genre), but the overall accomplishment is timeless. One of only two dramatic feature films to have been produced using the three-strip panoramic Cinerama process. It has now been restored and had distortion adjustments made for viewing on a flat screen. Essential
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44 Days ago

 
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009) Fans of the first will likely be happy to get more of the same, albiet with a slightly more contrived storyline this time around. All the original cast are back and this time there is the added bonus of Amy Adams who plays Amelia Earhart - and is generally the highlight. It's an easy to watch family drama the plays it close to the well worn formula. Average
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44 Days ago

 
Planet Terror (2007) Robert Rodriguez's zombie comedy/horror half of the Grindhouse double feature. Not as strong as the Tarantino directed contribution, but it works well as a tongue-in-cheek B-movie fantasy. Average
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44 Days ago

 
La Mujer Sin Cabeza (The Headless Woman) (2008) Argentinian film in which a woman hits something with her car, then lapses into a form of amnesiac state. We follow her through an enigmatic dissociative journey and interactions with people. It's a beautifully crafted metaphysical abstract work unlike anything I have seen recently. Recommended
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44 Days ago

 
 
 
A Serious Man (2009) The Coen Brothers are back to their bleak best with this portrayal of 1960s Jewish suburbia. Perhaps it is best described by Todd McCarthy in Variety as "the kind of picture you get to make after you've won an Oscar". On the surface is a comic depiction of isolation and unhappiness (but also hope), yet underneath are many disconnected plot-lines that combine to form an existential riddle. The performances are all strong and technically it's another strong work from the Coens' with Roger Deakins once again on cinematography duties. Recommended
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47 Days ago

 
Avatar 3D (2009) James Cameron, known for big budget 'cautionary tale' films is at it again, this time highlighting environmentalism and indigenous rights, or possibly just the current state of studio effects and sound engineering. It's pure entertainment and delivers on its promise to take CGI to new levels. Alas, it very quickly becomes clear that the story, along with the characters' motivations and the indigenous non-agrarian society, is a complete nonsense and kills any attempt to enjoy the film beyond the surface visuals. I would like to say there are a lot of good ideas here, except none of them are original. The imagery, the struggle, the environmental and anti-war themes - all reduced to their simplest most cliche forms. Average
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51 Days ago

 
The 2009 Film Year in Review
Skip the rest and go straight to number one. Let's be honest, most end-of-year lists are just filler anyway. I've picked just the highest rated films of 2009 from the consolidated critics' lists of Metacritic and Rotten Tomatoes, and the ever-wise voters of IMDb to sum up the year in film.

The Big Three

US Film

Metacritic: The Hurt Locker (94)
IMDb: Inglourious Basterds (8.4)
Rotten Tomatoes: Up (98%)

Foreign-Laguage Film

Metacritic: 35 Shots of Rum (94)
IMDb: Nefes: Vatan sagolsun (8.7)
Rotten Tomatoes: Aruitemo aruitemo (Still Walking) (100%)

Documentary Feature

Metacritic: The Beaches of Agnes (86)
IMDb: Puskás Hungary (9.0)
Rotten Tomatoes: Afghan Star (100%)

Box Office

Despite the recession, the US saw the highest-grossing summer ever at the box office - $4.17 billion worth ticket sales. Top of the list was Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, taking in $402m domestically and beating the next best, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, by close to $100m. Worldwide, Harry Potter cleans up with a $627.4m take.

Other notables

Sight and Sound’s Top Films of 2009 is calculated from 60 critics and placed Un Prophète at number one.
Both the Boston Film Critics and Los Angeles Film Critics have named The Hurt Locker the best of 2009. They also both awarded L'heure d'été (Summer Hours) Best Foreign-Language Film.
New York Film Critics Online Awards picked Avatar for Best Picture and The White Ribbon for Foreign Language Picture.
The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures selected Up In The Air for Best Film and Un Prophète for Best Foreign Language Film.
Lastly, in the European Film Awards, The White Ribbon took the top honour with Michael Haneke also winning best director.
Update: DC Film Critics award Up In The Air Best Film, Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker) Best Director, and the excellent Sin Nombre Best Foreign Film.

My Nine for 2009

At the beginning of the year I posted my top nine most anticipated films of 2009. Of these, Scorsese's Shutter Island and Alejandro González Iñárritu's Biutiful have been pushed into 2010, and of the remaining I have been able to catch four of these in the cinema. I'm not going to post my own list of favourites yet, though as can be seen from my list of 2009 released films seen, I have only rated two films as Essential of the 30 viewed. These are Michael Haneke's Cannes winner The White Ribbon and Un prophète. Although arguably Ramin Bahrani's Goodbye Solo and Kathryn Bigelow's The Hurt Locker are '09 films, I just go by the IMDb release year.

56 Days ago
Un prophète (A Prophet) (2009) Some critics are already tipping this French based mafia prison drama to take out the Foreign Language Oscar - it's easy to see why. A young Arab man is sentenced to serve six years in prison and we follow his induction into the world of organized crime. Strong on all fronts, it is both character and plot driven with tight direction and compelling performances. A times it feels overlong at 155 minutes, there's a lot of ground to cover and director Jacques Audiard is quite a storyteller. Essential
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57 Days ago

 
 
Paranormal Activity (Original Version) (2007) If this were a studio film I would suggest that Hollywood is catching on to the genuinely terrifying minimalist style of Japanese horror. Instead this is the vision of one director, filmed in his own home with actors he found on Craigslist. Shot entirely on one handheld camera we follow a young couple trying to capture paranormal activity in their home. Despite much criticism about the downtime and unconvincing motivations of the characters the film is deserving of much credit for the clever way it plays with anticipation to create fear. Recommended
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58 Days ago

 
The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans (2009) It's difficult to comprehend the type of film Werner Herzog was trying to make here, and whether he thinks he succeeded. Nicolas Cage playing a rogue detective on the edge of sanity is both the best and worst thing going - nobody does crazy quite like Cage. It's dark and messy but entirely watchable. It's good to see Xzibit has progressed from his 'Yo dawg' phase. Average
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58 Days ago

 
 
Goodbye Solo (2008) "Wherever you live, when this film opens, it will be the best film in town" - Roger Ebert. An apt description for a film that I find difficult to describe. We follow a Senegalese cab driver struggling to make good for his family, and an older southern man who looks back on a life of regret. Intelligent, engrossing and yet anti-dramatic - it's an unflattering portrait of the changing face of America. Essential
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62 Days ago

 
Observe and Report (2009) There was nothing redeemable in the 14 minutes I endured. Avoid
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62 Days ago

 
El rey de la montaña (King of the Hill) (2007) A Spanish survivalist thriller about a man who is hunted in the mountains. It's a fun watch and the 'unseen killer' aspect works reasonably well, but the final reveal doesn't deliver on the promise - although in this case, maybe that's the point? Average
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62 Days ago

 
 
 

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