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Our favorite movies of 2009 belie a diverse appreciation ranging from a quiet rumination on death to gruesome horror; from a partly ad-libbed, low-budget character study to the most expensive movie of all time. There are four movies made, at least in part, with children in mind. There are several Hollywood movies alongside films from the rest of the U.S., Austria, the U.K., Japan and South Africa—plus three from France. Our top pick was a late addition to the list, so the print version looks a little different than what you see here. We love most types of movies and believe each of these to be among the best of its style from 2009. Let us know what we missed in the comments section below.
25. Drag Me to Hell (Sam Raimi) [Universal]
Drag Me to Hell is a delirious horror film, but it’s no trifle, for the sole reason that Raimi’s creativity suddenly seems reinvigorated, no longer bound by a comic book template. Each action sequence is a model of wit. You can almost hear Raimi laughing when his heroine, Christine, discovers that her assailant is standing conveniently beneath an anvil hung from the ceiling by a rope, or when a fierce fight in the interior of a car manages to incorporate both staples and dentures as weapons, or when a creature tries unsuccessfully to gum its victim’s face off because said dentures are at large, or when a possessed goat calls our heroine a bitch in exactly the way you’d expect a goat to speak: bi-ii-ii-ii-tch. Robert Davis
24. Beeswax (Andrew Bujalski) [The Cinema Guild]
In his first two features,_ Funny Ha Ha_ and Mutual Appreciation, lo-fi trailblazer Bujalski spearheaded the mumblecore movement, funneling untrained actors and quarter-life ambiguity into a surprisingly rich product. Beeswax continues Bujsalski’s history of creating domestic visual poetry that borders on novelty. The story documents the relationship of twin sisters Jeannie and Lauren (Tilly and Maggie Hatcher) as they cope with twentysomething trials of lost wallets, lukewarm lovers and tentative lawsuits. While the script (or lack thereof) reins in its players from divulging openly, each subtle facial expression and stuttered line is its own monologue in this affectionate anti-drama. Despite the ADD conversations and lax plot, the earthy performances are endearing enough to reverse years of big-budget desensitization. Sean Edgar
23. Ponyo (Hayao Miyazaki)
Like Disney’s The Little Mermaid, Ponyo is the story of a fish-person who becomes a human and must find true love. But Miyazaki’s take is personal and whimsical. There’s an irresistible passion to every frame, regardless of whether or not what’s happening onscreen makes any sort of sense. Even as he ages, Miyazaki’s children remain an accurate portrait of youth without becoming mere nostalgia. Simply put, no one seems to understand the wonders of childhood better. Sometimes it’s enough to just sit back and let a beautiful work of animation wash over you, letting the troubles of the world slide past as the pictures take you out of this world. Ponyo is just that sort of film. Sean Gandert
22. Food, Inc. (Robert Kenner) [Magnolia Pictures]
Kenner creates a persuasive and utterly effective diatribe against 21st-century food production and eating practices in the U.S. He travels from slaughterhouses to agricultural conglomerates to family farms to explore the fallout of the ways we consume food. Discussing the obesity epidemic, health disasters like e. coli outbreaks and political apathy, Kenner highlights the crises that have come from the corporatization of food production in this country. Kenner makes no attempt to veil his personal opinions on the subject, but his effective interviews make a convincing argument. He uses witty illustrations and some eccentric but lovable small-time players in the production chain to make an impressive case for a movement to non-mass-produced food. Emily Riemer
21. Where the Wild Things Are (Spike Jonze) [Warner Bros.]
Spike Jonze and Dave Eggers’ re-imagining of a childhood classic garnered a wide range of reviews and opinions, even within our office. It’s not just that the film isn’t really geared towards kids—mine fidgeted throughout. It’s the complete absence of the feeling the trailer gave us—one long wild rumpus coming to life to Arcade Fire’s “Wake Up,” a song that doesn’t actually appear in the film. That sense of triumph and whimsy is the exact opposite of the actual movie. It’s an angry, frustrated angst-filled movie because it’s a angry, frustrated, angst-filled book. Jonze masterfully brings all of the inner turmoil of Max’s childhood to life as Maurice Sendek’s creatures make a glorious jump onto the screen. They have names now! And they’re every bit as wild as we all imagined. Josh Jackson
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After reading Time's dismal top 10 films list, you've given me hope in the cinematically educated human. Avatar as #1 is an odd choice, but close to the entirety of my top 15 was here (the 2 misses being The Hangover and (500) Days of Summer). Also so glad to see The Road getting the credit I'm certain it deserves - as well as Where the Wild Things Are.
But you did kind of miss out on one thing I think.
You might want to re-watch a lot of old, classic, and cult westerns then come back and watch Inglourious Basterds again. Allusions abound, my friends.
So, thank you once again.
Glad to see a good list.
i would have put The Brothers Bloom and Public Enemies on there somewhere
I may have contributed to the list, but color me surprised nonetheless. ...And now my interest catching Avatar for a review this weekend has gone from 0-100.
These are all great choices. Conspicuously missing, though, is "Public Enemies." Other than that, fabulous.
Yeah, I'm surprised, too, Sean. I haven't seen _Avatar_.
By the way, I'm pretty sure that _Beeswax_ is scripted.
Hey Robert,
Bujalski definitely wrote a script for it, but the actors do a load of improv on top of it.
I'm going to go ahead and assume that none of you saw Moon. Because if you had, and chose not to put it on here I would be flabbergasted.
Sean, yeah, but I don't think it's "mostly ad-libbed" -- or maybe the intro is referring to a different movie.
Kevin I'm not sure if Michael Saba contributed to this list, but he reviewed it here. Sounds like he liked it more than I did (I saw the premiere at Sundance).
Rob, I was indeed referring to Beeswax, so I've changed that to read "partly ad-libbed." Thanks for the correction.
I'm sure plenty of folks will disagree once they've seen Avatar. As Tim says, it's fairly conventional Hollywood storytelling. But it's well-crafted Hollywood storytelling with visuals that are so much more than just technical eye-candy. They're stunningly imaginative. The Star Wars comparison feels dead on.
You guys really nailed it with this one. Probably the best year-end movie list I've seen so far, with plenty of interesting choices. Great to see "Anvil" and "Revanche" getting some well-deserved attention.
The most notable omission for me was "Bright Star," which I thought was just about a perfect film--beautifully written, acted and directed.
But the inclusion of "That Evening Sun" in the top 5 more than compensates. It's about time someone mentioned this outstanding film among the year's best. Well done!
Yeah, it's improvised in the same way the second version of Shadows was improvised ... which is to say not.
Robert, I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on Avatar after you check it out. What was the top 10 list you submitted? I get the feeling mine was a bit off from the group this year ... and was generally disappointed with 2009 in film. Maybe it was just because 2008 was pretty phenomenal, but nothing unexpected was blowing me away and what I was looking forward to generally disappointed.
I think I submitted something pretty similar to this along with a list of 20 or 30 more films and later some feedback on the drafts. Paste's lists never match mine directly, but I like the mash-up of tastes. I like a list that has, for example Beeswax and Drag Me to Hell (side by side), Forbidden Lie$ and Anvil: The Story of Anvil (side by side), and Revanche, Star Trek, Sugar, and A Serious Man (side by side by side by side). Nice (except that I still need to see Star Trek.)
The two I most need to catch up with, based on this list: That Evening Sun and Avatar.
I thought it was an odd year, with a long tail. No huge standouts but lots and lots of good movies. You could reorder my top 50 and aside from the first few I probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference. That makes it hard to come up with a list of just 10 top movies, like indieWIRE requires.
I'll have some more comments on my own faves in this week's Film Friday.
BTW, this is Sean G (as was the above post--sometimes it just leaves me in as news).
Interesting list. I think the only two of yours I had in my 10 were A Serious Man and Up, though I still haven't seen Summer Hours. Also generally convinced that Inglourious Basterds is far more interesting to talk about and dissect than to actually watch.
Looking forward to your column Friday.
I don't care whether it's a good movie or not, but this series of sentences is a train wreck:
"A combination of unflinching brutality and father-of-the-year tenderness lies at the heart of the latest film inspired by Cormac McCarthy’s apolocliterature, and the result is a victory in every sense. Mortensen’s performance humanizes the experience, but the real star—and omnipotent villain—is Hillcoat’s geographic skeleton of a world, stranding its travelers in a horizon of bleached Appalachian ruins and physical entropy."
I _think_ Sean Edgar's review intended to coin a word like 'apocaliterature' (apocalyptic + literature = 'apocaliterature'?). I'm afraid to ask just what 'apolocliterature' is about.
I'm not sure what McCarthy's Stephen King-like penchant for recombining 'unflinching brutality' & 'tenderness' is supposed to accomplish, other than making it fit for today's insatiable appetite for cynical theatrical and potboiler ying yang, but I guess it pays the bills.
Finally, isn't entropy, when referring to the environment, usually 'physical?' Isn't Edgar's use of this phrase actually referring to psycho-social notions of entropy represented by the desolate landscapes used by Hillcoat?
Reading these comments is quite funny. When did everybody become an editor? I missed the memo but I won't be doing any editing myself.
I think Paste always gives great lists and this one is no exception. Perhaps we should pay more attention to the actual movies on the list and leave the editing up to the people who actually work for Paste, before we all drown in our own pretension.
"Roger"- I think we all understood what was meant by "apolocliterature", so was it your boredom or the fact that the word could be a reference to female genitalia the real reason you decided to point out the obvious?
Great job on the list, Paste!
JSW. I think your use of the term memo is really transparent. By using an antiquated form of communication in your comment you are clearly trying to provide yourself a sense of weight in your statement and therefor some form of high ground. We see through it JSW and it is shameful
Chas-
My point was to make others feel small while simultaneously referencing genitalia. I guess I just got wrapped up in wanting others to know how important I think my opinion is.
I am ashamed.
Oh, the fun we'll have with typos! That one's been fixed now. Thanks for the amusing commentary, folks.
WTF??? Have you people even READ "The Road"???? Have you read ANYTHING by Cormac McCarthy????
They stuck a friggin' happy hopeful ending on it. Cormac McCarthy and a happy ending??? Epic fail.
Best of the year? Maybe in a very very very very bad year. If that's your contention for 2009 well...I have no hope for the future of Hollywood.
I agree on the lameness of the happy hopeful ending to The Road. I would not blame Hillcoat, though, or the writers at paste, as the ending of the film is the exact same ending as the novel (which I know the good people at paste have read). I would ease up on the WTF's and work on finishing novels
Note also that opinions about the ending of The Road (film) differ. For what it's worth. I haven't seen the movie, myself.
Interesting idea. I clearly wasn't smart enough to pick that up. There's always a price to pay for snarky posts.
The ending's not exactly the same, and it's the way it's PRESENTED that's the issue. When I got the end of the book I was left with a feeling of hopelessness. I actually perceived it as somewhat circular in nature.
The damn director is definitely playing it for melodrama.
This is a good list. Thank you, Paste, for having such good taste. I miss (500) Days of Summer here, though. That was a beautiful film.
district 9 is by far underrated. absolutely top10. it´s not only a scifi movie. dear editors - please watch again ;) ... greetings and a good 2010. jojo
The Brothers Bloom and Public Enemies deserved inclusion and The Fantastic Mr. Fox and The Road were number one and two for my favorite films of 2009
Another great list. Loved District 9. But I thought Paranormal Activity was a grand effort, and Moon starring Sam Rockwell was mezmerising!
AVATAR #1 ALL THE WAY!!!
(quite possibly in the top 10 movies ever, seriously)
Avatar as the best? Idiot. The list was for the best movies of 2009, not the best VISUAL EFFECTS. For christ sake.
I hereby dub Paste's film critics completely irrelevant.
Really, nothing about Avatar seemed stupid to you? Not the plot, the script, the acting, the score, the directing, any of it? 'Oh, but it fully realized the alien world!' So, it looked like an alien planet. Cool. Congrats. You know what else had really good special effects? The Star Wars prequels. And those were equally stupid. If visuals were the only element of film, this wouldn't be a problem. But other than the special effects and the 3D, literally nothing about that movie was good. Not one thing. Ugh.