Top 10 Films of 2009

For my first post in QUITE some time, I'm going to be discussing my picks for the ten best films of 2009.

10.) (500) Days of Summer, directed by Marc Webb
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1022603/Why it's on the list: It's the best romantic comedy in many, many, MANY years, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt is quickly becoming one of my favorite actors due to his stunning range of roles. The film is a little corny at times, yes, but we care deeply about the characters, and the film makes us laugh and feel in equal parts. And that doesn't happen too often in movies today.
Best scene in the movie: The dance sequence to "You Make My Dreams" by Hall and Oates. Awesome.

9.) Observe and Report, directed by Jody Hill
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1197628/
Why it's on the list: Oh, yes, I will take some heat for this. But hear me out: Observe and Report is a film which flaunts almost all film conventions: it has an unlikeable, borderline hateable "protagonist," a borderline despicable love interest, and a story about a deeply disturbed, ticking psychosis time bomb of a man. It's not what we're used to seeing in movies these days. Maybe I just watched it on a good day, but I found it totally refreshing and hilarious. The key to the film is the comedy. Without it, Hill would have created an entirely depressing film devoid of redemption. But the laughs validate the film, lifting it out of the depths of what is otherwise a really, really f-ed up movie. The final, surreal scenes of the film have drawn comparisons to Scorsese's Taxi Driver, and I don't think that's too far of a stretch. Both films depict deeply deranged men living in their equally deranged worlds, but do it on different terms. I won't say everyone will like it (you probably won't, maybe not even on your most open-minded day), and I won't say it's politically correct (cause it's definitely not), but it's something that ruffles up the feathers of Hollywood, and the mere fact that it got made is remarkable in its own right.
Best scene in the movie: Character actor Celia Weston puts forward a phenomenal performance playing Ronnie's (Seth Rogen) mom. If you're looking for a touch of warmth or human emotion in Observe and Report, it's here. There's not much...but it's here.

8.) Broken Embraces (Los abrazos rotos), directed by Pedro Almodovar
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0913425/
Why it's on the list: As much a story about life as it is about movies, Broken Embraces is a film full of beauty, both in its story and in its visuals. Combining the excitement and intrigue of a thriller with a touching but ultimately tragic story, Almodovar employs some of Hitchcock's techniques of suspense and voyeurism to create a gorgeous - and, yes, sometimes creepy - film. Penelope Cruz is in top form here (as usual), but isn't quite reaching the heights of her astonishing performance in the otherwise okay Vicky Cristina Barcelona.
Best scene in the movie: An elegaic scene on the beach near the end of the movie. Blanca Portillo, playing Harry Caine's producer, is phenomenal. The film belongs to her.

7.) A Prophet (Un Prophete), directed by Jacques Audiard
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1235166/
Why it's on the list: Stunningly detail-oriented and naturalistic (quite the opposite of Broken Embraces), Un Prophete pulls no punches with its violence or with its harshly-drawn characters. The film is not quite glamorizing crime nor is it dismissing it, but you can be sure it will stick with you. Malik is truly a three-dimensional character: one who learns and grows, but whose violent tendencies and instincts plague him until the last frame.
Best scene in the movie: The equal-parts-frightening-and-touching final scene of the movie. Gives me goosebumps just thinking about it. Yeeeeeeesh.

6.) Up, directed by Pete Docter
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1049413/
Why it's on the list: Cliche, cliche, best animated film in years, blah, blah, blah. Point is, if you haven't seen Up yet, you need to. It's hilarious, touching, and the sequence of the film depicting Carl and Ellie's marriage and lives contains more thought, beauty, and story than 95% of the films released in 2009. That's no joke. Pixar has some incredibly talented storytellers working for them, who know how to inject inherently artificial characters with real personalities. Think about how absurd it is to care for animated characters. Caring about a character played by a flesh-and-blood actor is understandable - actors are mirroring reality. Caring about an animated character implanted in an artificial reality is near-impossible. But Pixar does it time and time again. WALL-E in 2008, Up in 2009...hopefully they continue the streak into 2010.
Best scene in the movie: Already told you. That sequence is a tear-jerker.

5.) Fantastic Mr. Fox, directed by Wes Anderson
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0432283/
Why it's on the list: Besides having directed one of my favorite movies of all-time (The Royal Tenenbaums), Wes Anderson has a knack for composing some off-kilter films that aren't afraid to give us even more idiosyncratic characters. However, this isn't where the strength of Fantastic Mr. Fox lies. Four disctinct features make it such a remarkable film: (1) Its stop motion animation which can be considered nothing short of revolutionary, (2) Its voice work, featuring George Clooney, Meryl Streep, and Willem Dafoe, among many, many, others, (3) Its celebration of difference and individuality which is too often ignored in modern films, and most importantly: (4) The fact that it made me like Jason Schwartzman, who played my favorite character - Mr. Fox's son, Ash. Bravo, Wes Anderson. I never liked Schwartzman until now.
Best scene in the movie: Hard to pick just one, but the scene featuring Bill Murray as Badger and George Clooney as Mr. Fox cussin' at each other was hilarious.

4.) Adventureland, directed by Greg Mottola
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1091722/
Why it's on the list: A poignant and nostalgic film, Adventureland caught me completely off-guard. It's very funny, but contains much truth about human emotions (or more specifically, teenage emotions). It perfectly depicts the awkward transition phase between college and adult life (yes, I am avoiding the phrase "coming-of-age"), and Jesse Eisenberg plays awkward more sincerely and MUCH less annoyingly than Michael Cera. Eisenberg transforms his character James into an honest three-dimensional character, avoiding the self-aware quirks of the characters Cera tends to inhabit. Mottola and Eisenberg know how to create pathos, and do it well, without being abrasive or fake.
Best scene in the movie: Any one with the combined trio of Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig, and Jesse Eisenberg.

3.) Inglorious Basterds, directed by Quentin Tarantino
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0361748/
Why it's on the list: It's the most brilliantly written film of the year, and also contains my favorite performance of the year, by Christoph Waltz as Colonel Hans Landa of the SS. Perhaps the most self-referential contemporary director, Tarantino rewrites history and does it with wit, humor, and absurdity. "This just might be my masterpiece," says Lt. Aldo Raine at the end of the movie. Yeah, Tarantino might be the most condescending director working today, but he sure wasn't wrong when he wrote those words.
Best scene in the movie: The very first one, when Landa interrogates a farmer who is hiding Jews in his home. The slow build-up of tension and looming dread is wince-inducing, and if that scene's not proof enough of Waltz's acting ability, then I don't know what is. Thankfully, Waltz has been casted in more movies that should hit American shores. Which is good, cause he is the man.

2.) A Serious Man, directed by Joel Coen
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1019452/
Why it's on the list: Joel and Ethan Coen can do no wrong in my mind. They composed two of the greatest films of all time, Fargo and No Country for Old Men, and now A Serious Man can be added to the list. As many have pointed out, this is the kind of film you get to make after you've won an Oscar. Some say the film is a modern-day retelling of the Book of Job, as Larry Gopnik battles with his faith and his family for his sanity. A Serious Man is a film which deftly explores religion and the existential crises it invokes, and it's also one of the most beautifully photographed films of the year (thanks to long-time Coen collaborator Roger Deakins).
Best scene in the movie: The final scene, with Larry's son transfixed on the tornado. It's a scene that will rock you to your core. You don't have to ask what it means or what it symbolizes - it's what you take from it that matters.

And the best movie of the year...
1.) The Hurt Locker, directed by Kathryn Bigelow
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0887912/
Why it's the best film of 2009: The Hurt Locker is extraordinary. It is not quite an art-house film and not quite a summer blockbuster, but never before has a film drawn such deep and real characters from so little. It doesn't need to be said, but Jeremy Renner is phenomenal in his role as a bomb defusal expert, and the supporting cast is just as good, with cameos from Ralph Fiennes and Guy Pierce, among others. The tension in the film is nearly unbearable, and not just thanks to the editing and performances, but from the screenplay. The stakes are so much higher when we're given characters to care about - you don't want to look but you can't tear your eyes from the screen. Everything from the beautifully gritty cinematography to the heart-stopping editing is remarkably orchestrated by Bigelow - she doesn't miss a beat. It is, simply put, a perfect film, in every way. Perhaps most importantly, it doesn't let politics get in the way of war; there is no take-home message except for the quote which opens the movie: "The rush of battle is a potent and often lethal addiction, for war is a drug." And there's really nothing else you need to know.
The best scene in the movie: Saying every scene is the best scene is sort of a cop-out, but the meticulously constructed bomb defusal scenes are A-MA-ZING. Seriously. They may not revolutionize suspense, but they have figured out the formula for it. Suck it, Hitchcock.

American-izing the un-American

(Before you read this, I have to state that I never mean to offend anyone with my personal rants, heavy sarcasm, or taste in movies. Liking a film or not liking a film is based on personal taste alone. There is no right and there is no wrong, which is why movie criticism is such bulls***.)

Tomorrow, a British drama film entitled Little Ashes (dir. Paul Morrison, 2009) is being released in the US, and it brings up an issue that would appear irrelevant to most audiences. The film concerns the life and work of a young Salvador Dali and his supposed relationship with poet Federico Garcia Lorca while living in Franco's Spain, and although the film concerns Spanish affairs and artists, it was financed and shot in the UK. This, I have no issue with.

The issue is that director Morrison chose to have all the actors, even the native Spaniards, speak accented English instead of, oh I don't know, Spanish? By taking away the language of Spain - the same language that Dali, Bunuel, and Lorca actually spoke - Morrison is also taking away what is inherently Spain's culture. He is displacing a piece of Spain's history that in no way belongs to Britain.

How wrong would it be if a film about the American Revolution were shot using French or German actors speaking in their English-accented native language? And how much of a problem would us Americans have with that sort of a film?

The recent Tom Cruise shitfest Valkyrie (dir. Bryan Singer, 2008) took the same liberty, only telling a German story instead of a Spanish one. However, Singer wholly American-ized it, adding explosions, tension, and a hilarious (not in a good way) Tom Cruise performance. It's laughable to me that films like this can get made. How can people, especially the Germans, be okay that Scientologist (a "religion" considered a cult in many parts of the world, including inside my head) Cruise is playing one of Germany's most honorable men, Claus von Stauffenberg? And without telling the story in German, not even with German-accented English? (In all fairness to Mr. Cruise, he did appear in the so-so The Last Samurai, a film for which he spent two years learning Japenese). Language is an important, nay essential, part of any culture, and taking that away can certainly send a message to some ignorant viewers that the story no longer belongs or is deserved by its native country.

Don't get me wrong, I'm okay with telling stories from other countries. But the key is: If it is to be done, it must be done well, or not at all. De Niro learned Italian for The Godfather: Part II, and even though the film is not centered on a historical figure, Coppola does give us a pretty accurate experience of the feeling and culture of Italy. Julian Schnabel's recent mind-blowing film The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007) was based on the memoir of a French fashion editor, Jean-Dominique Bauby, who suffered from "locked-in syndrome." The film was originally slated to be in English and financed by Universal Studios with Johnny Depp in the lead role. Schnabel admirably contended that the English language could not do justice to the words that Bauby wrote and, despite extreme pressures to the contrary, made the film in French. He even more admirably learned French so that he could direct the film, which later provided him with an Academy Award nomination for Best Director - although it should have been a win as well.

The unfortunate feeling I have is that modern audiences are afraid of the subtitle, now a wholly realized fear as I am seeing signs at the ticket kiosk in theaters reading: Pan's Labyrinth/Y Tu Mama Tambien/The Orphanage/Insert Film Here is in Spanish with English subtitles. If you are dissatisfied, please see the manager for a full refund within the first fifteen minutes of the showing. This disturbing trend epitomizes the contradiction of rampant Americanism, and is certainly challenging, if not outrightly destroying the notion of US hegemony because of Americans' refusal to accept something that is not ours. We are telling stories that don't belong to us and not doing it well, or giving the culture or country the story belongs to adequate credit.

Franquist Spain, I'm sure, wasn't a great place to live for Dali, Bunuel, and Lorca, but is this country full of lazy moviegoers any better?

Fame perceptions

I stumbled across this article online and found it really interesting. The article written about this experiment won a Pulitzer Prize in 2008, and is endlessly fascinating in its implications it suggests for our perceptions of fame, talent, and stardom. The original article was featured in the Washington Post, and this shortened version was taken from Ego Dialogues ( http://www.egodialogues.com/general/violinist-in-metro.php).

"A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousands of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

Three minutes went by and a middle aged man noticed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his schedule.

A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping continued to walk.

A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.

The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.

In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars.

Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston and the seats average $100.

Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of an social experiment about perception, taste and priorities of people. The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?

One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be:

If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?"