The Estimated Prophet Internet Journal

I had promised myself that I would get this list posted on New Years Eve, but things have just been way too hectic.

Overall, 2009 has been a pretty good year for movies.  We’ve seen quirky comedies about Manhattan misanthropes (Whatever Works) and British DJs (Pirate Radio), long-awaited adaptations of classic graphic novels (Watchmen) and detective stories (Sherlock Holmes), the Coen brother’s excellent (artistic, if not commercial) comeback (A Serious Man), the revival of one of science fiction’s greatest franchises (Star Trek), and the Walt Disney company’s triumphant return to traditional animation (The Princess and the Frog).  (Not to mention a work of stop-motion genius from Wes Anderson (The Fantastic Mr. Fox)).  Selecting the top ten movies was especially difficult this year, and I will admit that I cheated a little by putting two movies into one slot when I couldn’t decide which was better.  Also, as in previous years, I have included films which, while technically released in previous years, did not actually receive full distribution until 2009 (that is to say, I didn’t get to see them until 2009).  And so, without further ado, the top 10 or so movies I’ve seen in 2009 are:

10. The Great Buck Howard

You wouldn’t expect much from a coming-of-age drama by a second-tier writer/director who, after more than ten years in Hollywood, has yet to produce anything that could be considered a major success, but you would be wrong.  The Great Buck Howard is a sweet, simple, and sincerely moving story about figuring out what you really want to do with your life.  Over the course of the movie both washed-up mentalist Buck Howard (John Malkovich) and aspiring writer Troy Gable (Colin Hanks) learn that what you think you want may not be what will make you happy.  It is the synthesis that occurs between these two characters (and the excellent performances by Hanks and Malkovich) that raises this film above the ranks of ordinary coming-of-age dramas.

9. Avatar and District 9
    
2009 was a big year for science fiction–there was Star Trek, and Watchmen, and there were District 9 and Avatar.  Avatar and District 9 represent radically different approaches to the genre: Avatar is a slick Hollywood extravaganza in the heroic tradition of Around the World in 80 Days, Lawrence of Arabia, and Star Wars, it is a spectacle so carefully constructed that, although hardly anything you see in the film is real, you never once doubt what you’re seeing; District 9, on the other hand, takes a gritty, documentary-style approach (although the visual effects are no less sophisticated), which renders the scenes of aliens living in a South African slum shockingly believable.  Both represent incredible achievements in visual storytelling, and yet, for all of their differences in style and scope, Avatar and District 9 share a common message about oppression, imperialism, and respect for alien cultures.

8. Nobel Son

Randall Miller’s smart, quirky, and totally crazy thriller languished in distribution limbo for two years before finally getting an extremely limited roll out in the winter of 2009 (mostly paid for with the proceeds from Miller’s 2008 film Bottle Shock).  Randall Miller’s work has never received the appreciation it deserves, and Nobel Son is certainly no exception.  The fast-paced, punchy script is executed to perfection by an outstanding ensemble cast, lead by a bravura performance from Alan Rickman.  It’s a shame that this excellent, engaging thriller (which manages to be convoluted without ever being confusing) never got a chance to find its audience.

7. Pirate Radio (aka The Boat That Rocked)

Pirate Radio (I suppose the original title was too… British?) is the story of group of renegade disc-jockeys operating an unauthorized radio station from a ship anchored in the North Sea, and the British government’s crusade to shut them down.  The pirates represent the one of the strangest collections of screwball characters in the history of screwball comedies, and just watching their interactions (executed by a fantastic ensemble cast) would be enough to keep you entertained for a couple hours, but there’s also Sir Alistair Dormandy (played by a nearly unrecognizable Kenneth Branagh), a draconian minister who will do anything to keep rock and roll off the airwaves, who injects a strain of drama into the pirates antics.  Adventure, romance, comedy (and a soundtrack featuring some of the best rock music of the ’60s), this has everything you could want in a movie.

6. Star Trek

“Mainstream sci-fi filmmaking, done with heart and intelligence…”  That’s how Salon’s Stephanie Zacharek describe Star Trek in her review of the best movies of 2009, and I can not think of any better way to describe this work of science fiction genius.  When it was announced that J. J. Abrams would be directing a new movie featuring the characters of the original Star Trek, most fans (myself included) expected it to be a catastrophe, at best.  Instead, we got one of the best science fiction movies of the past decade, if not the past century (and I’m not just saying that because I’m a big fan of Star Trek).  Abram’s unique style and commitment to realism brings Star Trek a humanity which is often lacking in science fiction these days.  Like Batman Begins, Star Trek succeeds because J. J. Abrams exhibits a great love and respect for his source material, without being trapped by it.  Without being dependent on the Star Trek franchise, Star Trek nonetheless embodies all of the franchise’s greatest qualities.  Whether you love Star Trek or hate Star Trek, if you like sci-fi, you will like this movie.