NERDY CINEMA: Jared’s Top Ten of 2009

This is a post from our sister site NerdyPerv. Since we love movies, we thought we'd share Jared's list. Enjoy! Leave comments if you want to argue....

A Quick Disclaimer: Sorry it’s taken me so long to get to this. I had to wait until the rest of 2009’s movies trickled down to Houston (I swear we’re the anus of the cinematic release system). So, here are my top ten movies of 2009…

10. THE IMAGINARIUM OF DR. PARNASSUS – Dr. Parnassus (Christopher Plummer) and Mr. Nick (Tom Waits) continue their infinite battle; this time the wager is the first to capture 5 souls, with Parnassus’ daughter (Lily Cole) being the prize and imagination the battleground. Along the way they find a stranger (Heath Ledger, in his final role), who decides to help them with their traveling sideshow, but is it for good or evil? Terry Gilliam has a way of taking a simple conflict (in this case, good vs. evil) and using fantastic imagery to tell the tale. The last 30 minutes are a barrage of symbolism, which I can’t get enough of as a fan of film. Favorite Scene: The first meeting between Parnassus and Mr. Nick.

9. (500) DAYS OF SUMMER – Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) dates Summer (Zooey Deschanel) for 500 days and consequently breaks up with her (spoiler alert?). The movie is an account of their relationship and the steps Tom goes through to cope with the end of it. An original love story in 2 main ways: 1) It skips around different days just like one would in remembering a relationship, and 2) It’s from a guy’s perspective, breaking the traditions of romantic comedies. Summer’s not necessarily a bad person, but the movie is biased because Tom is biased. No one ever wants to admit it when they both fail at it, but we have to come to that understanding sometime, including Tom. Favorite Scene: The morning after Tom sleeps with Summer and bursts into a musical number (thus making me conclude that Hall & Oates in the soundtrack never fails…they are the bacon of movie soundtracks).

8. THE ESCAPIST – Released in 2008, this British gem finally made its way stateside last year. Frank (Brian Cox) is in his 60s and has been in prison for quite sometime, content to pay the penalty for his crimes. But when he gets word that his only daughter is dying, he decides to break out in order to see her one last time. The movie starts with the escape and cuts back to the plotting done by Frank and his crew. First-time director Rupert Wyatt has put himself on the map with a gritty and suspenseful caper-type drama that is built around a stellar performance by Brian Cox, and a twist that ends the film on a peaceful and poignant note. Favorite Scene: The ending.

7. MOON– With 3 weeks left to go on his rotation at a lunar mining station, Sam (Sam Rockwell) starts to experience unusual circumstances, leading him to realize that he’s not alone on this rock and that he’s part of a corporate underlying that’s been occurring for years. This movie is all about Rockwell’s performance and conveying the mind-trip his character endures should have garnered him more acclaim. A great debut from director Duncan Jones; uses models for exterior shots when Sam leaves the station, which gives the film a special nuance. Very original and very intriguing. Favorite Scene: Sam goes to fix a harvester and comes to a disturbing realization.

6. UP – In my opinion, Pixar’s best movie to date. It has adult-oriented themes to build the characters but doesn’t make it too much for kids to handle. Carl Fredricksen (voiced by Ed Asner) misses his wife terribly. When city planners want to tear down his house, he realizes that he intends to fulfill the promise of going to South America he made to her before her passing, and does so by an intricate carrier system: balloons. As he makes his way through the sky, he finds a boy scout on his porch named Russell (voiced by Jordan Nagai), who just wants to earn his “Helping the Elderly” badge. The movie’s design are vibrant and colorful, balancing out the dull emotions that Carl has since his wife’s death. Carl and Russell embark on a whirlwind adventure and realize they need each other to help heal the holes in their lives. Favorite Scene: Rescuing Kevin (I laugh every time Russell slides along the glass…it lasts just long enough to make it hilarious).

5. AWAY WE GO – Sam Mendes’ first shot at making a comedy is incredibly on the mark. Burt (John Krasinski ed's note: Gwen's love) and Verona (Maya Rudolph) are having a baby, but want to search for a better environment to raise it. They embark on a road trip, trekking to various cities that friends/relatives reside, trying to find the perfect place to settle. All too often in a movie, it’s the main couple who have their separate issues and it gets in the way of their relationship. Burt and Verona get along and have a fantastic relationship. They just want a better place to raise their kid. Mendes uses his trademark of soft tones to film this movie, but is very lighthearted and made me laugh a whole lot more than I expected. Favorite Scene: Burt and Verona visit Burt’s hippie relatives.

4. PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL 'PUSH' BY SAPHIRE – Precious (Gabourey Sidibe) is a teenager growing up in ‘80s Harlem, is pregnant with her second child by her father, and is constantly abused by her mother (Mo’nique). She wants to make her life better, and doesn’t know how until she starts going to an alternative teaching school. Before I saw this movie, I thought it had the framework of a melodrama, and Precious’ issues would be knocked aside for the “happy ending”. I was completely taken aback by how raw it was and that it didn’t pull punches. I loved the use of editing involved when something disheartening would happen to Precious, cutting to a happy place that she envisioned her life should be. It’s dramatic to be sure, with several emotional punches to the gut, but Lee Daniels’ direction and the fine acting involved made this a well-done and artistic film. Favorite Scene: Precious is finally on her own.

3. INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS – A complete retelling of world history, I didn’t care. The movie is fantastically outlandish and a lot of fun. The movie is centered on two stories in Nazi-occupied France: one being the American-Jewish vengeance group called the Basterds (as dubbed by the Nazi party), the other focuses on a woman trying to escape from the brutal slaying of her family. The Basterds, led by Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt), are to do one thing: kill some Nazis. The Basterds devise a plan to kill the heads of the Nazi party, and Shoshanna (Melanie Laurent) devises a plan to kill everyone, especially the man who killed her family, Col. Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz). Tarantino’s film has a lot of style and verve, complete with his trademark tongue-in-cheek humor and homage to cinema. Favorite Scene: Shoshanna gets the last laugh.

2. UP IN THE AIR – Simplistic in its story, yet complex in its characters, I greatly enjoyed the subtlety of this movie. Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) lives to travel for his job. Anything permanent is a hindrance…he even wrote a book about it. However the emergence of two women in his life, a love interest in Alex (Vera Farmiga) and an apprentice in Natalie (Anna Kendrick), have made him question the counter productivity his life represents thus far. I loved the camerawork Jason Reitman used, which interpreted the characteristics involved within Bingham. The acting and screenplay were honest and real, and that’s all you could ask for in a movie. Favorite Scene: Natalie uses her system for the first time
on the road.

1. THE HURT LOCKER – An original, engaging thriller revolving around an Army bomb technical unit (Anthony Mackie and Brian Geraghty) and its volatile leader Sgt. Will James (Jeremy Renner). They know that they need to stick together as unknown situations arise, but James is more focused on the rush and the addiction disposing bombs has developed within him. Even though the film is set in Iraq, it doesn’t go into political agenda. It focuses on the film itself and the life or death situations that can impact a soldier. Kathryn Bigelow’s direction is tight and tense, relaying the suspense of whether or not an explosion will end their lives. Cutting from the situation to various Iraqi citizens also implants the possibility of enemies nearby, and adds to the suspense ten-fold. A brilliant film and one I’ll watch repeatedly. Favorite Scene: The sniper stand-off.