TOP 10 MOVIES OF 2009

Now that it's March, I've waited an absurd amount of time to give my top 10 list, as this really should have been done 2 months ago. So while it's kind of irrelevant at this point, I figure as long as I slip them in before the Oscars it still counts, right? Plus, as some of these won't be rewarded tonight, I can still give them something.

1. Up in the Air

At one point this was poised to be the one to beat for best picture, and I'm not really sure why that changed. Up in the Air is a movie that feels simultaneously timeless and timely. It's the kind of impeccably written and acted adult comedy/drama that they just don't make like they used to, and the movie to best use our current economic troubles in a meaningful way. It was a very tough choice between this and my #2 pick, but ultimately this is the one I'll keep re-watching in years to come.

2. The Hurt Locker

The Hurt Locker's had so much acclaim elsewhere it can settle for #2 on my list. Still, in so many ways this is the movie people have been waiting for. For those craving a classic war like the Vietnam films of the 1970s, here you go. For those wondering if anyone could find a way to turn the Iraq War into art instead of a sermon, here's your answer. And if you want to see the most suspenseful movie of the year with the kind of knockout breakthrough performance that comes along very rarely, well, this is the one.

3. Avatar

There's a reason this is now the highest grossing movie of all time: it offers a cinematic experience unlike anything I've had before. It's easy to laugh off 3-D as a gimmick meant only for kids at an amusement park until you see how James Cameron used it to such stunning effect in creating an entirely original and believable world. Avatar certainly doesn't feature the most original story of the year, but it is the kind of big, epic narrative that demands to be taken seriously. In a year where so many big blockbusters failed to deliver, Cameron proved that the popcorn flick can dazzle instead of just amuse.

4. Up

Pixar has had such an insanely consistent record of excellence that Up isn't even my favorite of theirs and it still makes my top 5. It earned its spot with that early five-minute sequence alone, which created such a strong foundation for the rest of the movie you felt you knew everything about the character. Easily the best sequence of any movie this year. But they went the extra step in making sure the quality lasted for the rest of the film, giving a fun update on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World along with one of animation's best characters ever in Dug the dog. I may be too old for the Happy Meal toy, but I still love shouting "Squirrel!"

5. A Serious Man

The Coen Brothers love to spice things up, playing with different genres and styles in every one of their movies. Yet despite returning to the world of their youth, every frame still feels like a Coen Brothers movie, with the same wry and absurd sense of humor and same attention to visuals. There's a lot of ways this movie divides people, but its intelligent and hilarious script combined with the extraordinary way the Coens captured this time period proves they should keep trying new things, as I'll certainly be watching.

6. Inglourious Basterds

When I first heard this movie announced, I thought "Quentin Tarantino, Brad Pitt, and World War II. None of these things go together." I was wrong. Tarantino took the set-up of all those old classics and gave it his own unmistakable spin. He created so many amazing characters they could probably front their own movies, and his signature dialogue is far better served than in the unfortunate lark that was Death Proof. Here he definitively silenced anyone calling him a director of the '90s, as he once again created a defining movie for this past decade.

7. (500) Days of Summer

Following Little Miss Sunshine and Juno, some felt Summer was just another overly precious indie that wasn't as good as its fans made it out to be. Obviously I'm not of that camp. Summer took the most traditional of movie plots and made it feel fresh. Sure, gimmicks like the time jumping and split screen scene helped, but what really caused all the love was its sincerity. In a time when so many similar movies are filled with quirkiness and snark, real characters and feelings make this one stand out.

8. District 9

The other big alien movie of 2009 was pretty much unlike Avatar in every other way, with its relatively tiny budget, no name cast, and grittier style. It was also the far more successful allegory, teaching me more about apartheid in South Africa than Invictus ever did. Everything about District 9 was untraditional, from its unlikable protagonist to its documentary style opening. Which is why District 9 kept me guessing more than anything else from the year.

9. An Education

Like (500) Days of Summer, An Education is a movie that seems simple at first but actually has more going on. The traditional coming-of-age movie has been done to death, but rarely with all the elements in such fine form. Between Nick Hornby's humorous and touching first screenplay and Carey Mulligan's breakthrough role, there was plenty to freshen up this tale. And by really going into the time period, it played almost like a British, female Mad Men. With such a strong supporting cast, this gem still feels overlooked despite the Oscar nods.

10. Star Trek

To this day I've still never seen a single episode of any Star Trek TV show nor any of the other movies. So the fact that I was able to enjoy this just as well as hardcore Trekkies (or, sorry, Trekkers) shows J.J. Abrams can do a reboot like no other. With its very appealing cast and great action, it was both a perfect summer movie and the kind of strong franchise-starter that leaves me eager to see what comes next.

Honorable Mentions: The Hangover, Food Inc, The Princess and the Frog, The Informant, Fantastic Mr. Fox

Best Picture: Up in the Air

Runner-Up: The Hurt Locker

Best Director: Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker

Runner-Up: James Cameron, Avatar

Best Actor: Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker

Runner-Up: Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart

Best Actress: Carey Mulligan, An Education

Runner-Up: Maya Rudolph, Away We Go

Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds

Runner-Up: Peter Sarsgaard, An Education

Best Supporting Actress: Mo'nique, Precious

Runners-Up: Anna Kendrick & Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air

Best Original Screenplay: Inglourious Basterds

Runner-Up: Up

Best Adapted Screenplay: Up in the Air

Runner-Up: An Education

Best Animated Film: Up

Runner-Up: The Princess and the Frog

Best Documentary: Food, Inc.

Best Song: "The Weary Kind," Crazy Heart

Runner-Up: "All Is Love," Where the Wild Things Are

The Ricky Gervais and James Cameron Show

When it comes to the Golden Globes, we watch more for the show than the awards. After all, it's supposed to be the more fun, wacky version of the Oscars, with alcohol actually served and everyone taking their wins a little less seriously. In that respect, tonight's entertainment factor was, as usual, less than might be hoped for. Sure, there was some incoherence (Felicity Huffman) and clearly under the influence of something speeches (Kevin Bacon), but generally it was the same old same old of awards shows.

Which is why it was nice to have Ricky Gervais there to keep things a little more interesting. Usually hosts are expected to follow the Billy Crystal or, more recently, Neil Patrick Harris model, keeping things positive and fun. Anyone who gets a little too snarky (Jon Stewart or Chris Rock, for example) get called a bad choice. So I fully expect most of the media to dismiss Gervais for either being too insulting, or, more likely, not going far enough.

But Gervais' "I don't give a shit" attitude, whether sincere or feigned, was refreshing for a job usually suited by those eager to please, and gave the show a different kind of energy. Whether making jokes at Mel Gibson's expense or bringing up UK vs. US Office yet again, he consistently made me laugh. And in a night filled with routine and unmemorable speeches (except for Robert Downey Jr., obviously), somebody had to. Although what is entertaining is seeing whose speeches they cut off and whose they don't. Meryl Streep? Can talk as long as she wants. Drew Barrymore? Martin Scorsese? Same deal. Everyone else? No such luck.

As for the awards themselves, they brought the usual mix of the expected and the unusual. I was fairly satisfied with the TV awards. Very happy with the well-deserved Dexter double dip for John Lithgow and Michael C. Hall (how is this his first win?). Probably should have taken best drama as well, but I won't complain about Mad Men's win. Also great to see Glee taking best comedy, but seriously, Chloe Sevigny over Jane Lynch for supporting actress? I realize it's hard to compare drama and comedy, and that I haven't watched Big Love since season 1 so how can I judge, but it still should have been Sue Sylvester.

In the movies things got a little more interesting. First of all, a big hooray for Nine's well-deserved shut-out in all categories. I guess the voters actually saw the movie. Or they listened to their friends and didn't. On the fully expected and deserved front, Mo'Nique, Christoph Waltz, and Up continued their awards sweeps that will continue through the Oscars. In toss-ups, Up in the Air stood out in a combined screenplay category cause it's really that good, Up got recognized for its great score, and Jeff Bridges got properly appreciated for Crazy Heart (though between here and on Conan, I'm starting to wonder if he's turning into Bad Blake). Crazy Heart also got recognition for having the only good song in the best song category, so suck on that "Cinema Italiano."

Moving to the odder wins, who would have expected The Hangover to take the top comedy/musical award? Certainly it wouldn't have been Nine, but I would have expected something a little more serious-seeming, like maybe (500) Days of Summer. So kudos to the Globes, then, for changing things up a little. The Hangover was just part of a streak towards more popular movies, which included Sandra Bullock winning for The Blind Side. Now, I haven't seen The Blind Side, and maybe her performance really is better than what's featured in the trailers, but this feels like the same instinct the HFPA had to give her 2 nods in the first place. Star whoring.

Of course, the biggest wins were Avatar's in drama and director. I have to admit, I'm disappointed that The Hurt Locker didn't take director, or anything for that matter. But my theory on the Globes is that their drama prize goes to whatever they think is going to take the Oscar. That explains past wins for movies that once seemed hot than faded by Oscar time, like Babel and Atonement. But since the foreigners have a less populist streak than the Oscars, if they're putting their bet on Avatar, it may really be unstoppable. Barring a surge from Hurt Locker or, looking less likely by the day, Up in the Air, this may just be a practice round for James Cameron before repeating at the Oscars.

Hurts So Good

Grade: A

I know, I know, you're sick of people telling you to see The Hurt Locker. You know that every single critic thinks it's the greatest thing on the planet, but that didn't get you to see United 93 or any of those other depressing critics' picks either. Well, here's the thing: The Hurt Locker is not that movie. It is not a serious drama about the politics of Iraq. It is not moralistic and "good for you." It is a kick-ass action movie that is easily the most suspenseful thing you will see in any medium this year. And now that it's out on DVD, you've run out of excuses.

After an opening scene that puts you right into the action as an army squad's bomb defuser (Guy Pearce, in a cameo) is killed in an explosion mid-job, Sgt. William James (Jeremy Renner) is brought in as his replacement. He immediately butts heads with team leader Sgt. JT Sanborn (Anthony Mackie), who's immediately put off by James' cavalier and unorthodox ways. James lives for his work, determined to work on the bomb til the last second no matter how many men with cell phones may be lurking in their perimeter.

The only real overall plot comes in the form of a counter telling how many days are left in the squad's rotation, but before they can come home there's a whole bunch of action sequences to survive. Each bomb defusion sequence is an exercise in pure suspense. Of course there's the expected suspense of which wire to cut and the wrong wire could lead to an explosion, but here the setting makes it a lot more than that. Because any cell phone can trigger the alarm, any random person could kill them all with the push of a button. So for any witness, it's always "what are they holding, what are they doing." And when Sanborn decides an area isn't safe enough to continue and James keeps on working anyway, there's drama.

A series of bomb defusing sequences sounds like it should get repetitive. And it would if that's all there was, but there's a lot more going on. No two defusion scenes are alike. In one, what seems like a single bomb turns out to be a whole lot more, and in another there's a person strapped to it. In between, there are a number of other events that occur - a desert stand-off, a friendship between James and a street urchin, the growing camaraderie between the teammates, and more.

Because although the action is topnotch, it's the characters that elevate this to something truly special. James is a classic American hero - the rugged individualist who breaks the rules to get the job done right. And Renner's performance is truly the definition of a star-making role. Handling both James' badass-ness on the job and his inner confusion over his priorities, Renner continually made me think of Paul Newman in Cool Hand Luke or any other case where an actor broke onto the scene with an iconic character. We'll be seeing a lot more from him.

James' two teammates have less showy roles, but the interactions between the three of them are what make the movie. The relationship between James and Sanborn could be the conventional "clash at first but then become friends," but it's a little more complicated than that. There's always that slight distrust, and the danger that one of them might really act against the other. And despite often siding against James, Mackie makes Sanborn far more sympathetic and complex than his role might suggest. The third man in the troop is Spc. Owen Eldridge (Brian Geraghty), the greenest and most fearful of the three. Through him, the other two get to act the mentor and we get to experience the dangers of war.

Not enough can be said for Kathryn Bigelow's direction, as who could have guessed she would make this movie? Not only is she most known for the Keanu Reeves surfing movie Point Break, but it's hard to imagine any woman directing so masculine a movie that the big emotional bonding scene involves everyone punching each other. But she nails the macho characters, she orchestrates the action scenes to maximum suspense, and she provides some truly amazing visuals. War may be hell, but there's a lot of beauty in her shots.

In many ways, The Hurt Locker feels like one of the great Vietnam classics - Apocalypse Now, Platoon, and especially Full Metal Jacket. Which makes The Hurt Locker not just "an Iraq movie," but the first classic war movie for the Iraq War. Many have said The Hurt Locker could take place in any war, which is both true and false. Certainly the biggest components of the movie - bomb defusing suspense, trust between soldiers, fears of war, the comforts of home vs. the rush of action - have nothing to do with Iraq. But the Iraq setting does influence the movie in many positive ways, from the added suspense of the potential terrorist with the cell phone to the eery arid landscapes to the complex relationships with the locals.

So if you've delayed seeing The Hurt Locker because you think it's of the same cloth as Rendition, Lions for Lambs, or any of those other moralistic flops, set aside your fears. This is a movie for anyone who's been waiting for a great war film, who likes suspense, or just wants to see some of the best developed and well-acted characters in any movie this year. Unless you want me and the critics of America to continue to harass you, you might as well go ahead and watch it. Then you can be the annoying one telling all your friends to see it.