best movies of two-thousand-nine.

in the spirit of list-making, here is my last list of the first decade of the second millenium. 2009 was pretty “ehh” as far as movies are concerned, but here are some of what i consider to be the high points.

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10. sin nombre

i watched this on the way to uganda last month. i had heard that actor, now producer gael garcia bernal produced this film. i have a place in my heart for stories that don’t have a happy ending, or really any ending at all. a pretty gut wrenching story. moving on.

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9. the hurt locker

i wrote a paper about women directors in one of my cinema studies classes my last quarter in school. kathryn bigelow directs a masterpiece here starring the budding jeremy renner.

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8. (500) days of summer

maria and i saw this together and loved it. seldom are there movies that really really make me want to keep making movies, but this one did. the soundtrack is pitch perfect and the performances are overwhelmingly charming.

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7. up

pixar just can’t miss. i saw this three times in the theater. maria and i cry every time we watch the life-story-in-five-minutes scene at the beginning. the way they balance heavy themes with kid friendly but tasteful humor is mind boggling, not to mention their always perfect presentation and storytelling craft. needless to say, they set the bar very high.

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6. avatar

i was looking forward to cameron’s newest venture, but was very surprised with how entertaining it actually was. a fun movie that will change how technology is utilized in visual storytelling forever.

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5. up in the air

i hated this movie. for the first 20-30 minutes at least. the slick camera movements, the sharp colors, the sheen of the airport. it sounds likeable but comes across obnoxious. trading high-frequency-traveling-tips, having random travel sex, stacking up frequent flyer miles. disregarding all need or merit for family life. it disgusted me. but the notable difference between this and some other movie : it was supposed to. along with clooney’s character, the film began to shift, change, evolve. what was once “sexy” and stylishly uncommitted became insecure and uncertain. the movie wraps up in an intriguing fashion and leaves you a bit breathless. reitman deserves an oscar.

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4. precious

what an experience. i saw this at the savannah film festival and had the opportunity the sit in on a q&a and meet lee daniels, the director of the film. his sunday school teacher from philadelphia happened to be in the audience and stood up and said “the student has become the master,” followed by a crying jag from lee daniels while on stage. the movie was harsh and shocking. mariah carey and kravitz deliver bizzarely fantastic performances along with star gabourey sidibe who steals the show. a must see, but be prepared to grit your teeth. it stirs the emotions.

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3. away we go

it is all very relative. especially when it comes to movies. but maria and i just happened to see this movie right after we found out we were pregnant, giving the film an instant leg up. all things considered, however, sam mendes serves up a fantastic portrait of two “f*** ups” trying to figure out what it means to be parents while juggling where to live and raise their soon-to-be-born child. the performances are generous and real and a little alexi murdoch doesn’t hurt. this one will always have a special place in my heart.

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2. the young victoria

weird, right? for some reason, i just loved it. i have a thing for period pieces, but historically hate anything victorian. i was skeptical going in to it, only going to humor my wife, but ended up falling in love with blunt’s intoxicating performance and the restrained but stellar cinematography. a real dark horse.

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1. where the wild things are

not the best movie of the year. probably. but so much about it was so good and above all made me want to make movies. so, it had to be my number one. the directing just makes me want to curl up in a ball and cry. the vision, the taste, the style, the right decisions that could have so easily been the wrong decisions, all of it = magical. jonze is a master of his medium. done.

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a few honorable mentions:

fantastic mr. fox