Best Movies of 2009

(With some updates when I catch a few I missed.) The best horror movies follow in the post below.

Documentaries

5. Big River Man

4. Tyson

3. Food, Inc.

2. Anvil: The Story of Anvil

1. The Cove

13. tie - Ponyo / Mary & Max - In a year with great animation these were my favorite.

12. District 9 – Utterly original sci-fi movie that ultimately boils down to an action fantasy.

11. Star Trek – The message in this is actually more profound than the previous film: Hard work and the pursuit of excellence will save the world.

10. Dean Spanley – Lord Dunsany makes his cinematic debut, and Peter O Toole exits the stage with effulgence. I couldn’t be more charmed.

9. British Prison Films (tie) – Hunger / The Escapist / Bronson – Hunger is the intense and minimalist one. The Escapist is the best prison escape movie in a decade. Bronson is the Kubrick-esque, riveting character study.

8. Moon – Almost perfect sci-fi with tour-de-force performances [sic] by Sam Rockwell. And Kevin Spacey makes  a great robot.

7. The Road – A faithful recreation of Cormac McCarthy’s novel. Viggo is lights-out in this role,  and the director John Hillcoat mostly nails it.

6. Everlasting Moments – A powerful Swedish film of liberating oneself through technology.

5. The Damned United – The best sports movie since Hoop Dreams. And I don’t really care for sports movies.

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4. Private Eye - This turn-of-the-century detective story puts Sherlock Holmes to shame.

3.5 Departures - I thought this was an absorbing look into Japanese culture and then it sideswipes you with an emotional suplex.

3. Gomorrah – A re-invention of the gangster film that will give youngsters second thoughts about becoming Tony Montana.

2. Avatar – James Cameron’s films have nearly all held up for repeated viewings after years have passed, and this will be no different. Its message to the upcoming generation will be measurable.

1. Inglourious Basterds – An epic revenge-fantasy that fulfilled Tarantino’s lofty ambitions. He knows how to get great performances from actors while creating a manual on how to generate cinematic tension.

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