Usually year on year, this list is fairly hard to compile however I must admit, I was fairly surprised at how easy it was to come up with this Top 5 List. Of course, “Best” film is just an opinion so there’s really no need to lambast me with criticisms for leaving some films in or some films out. Either way it’d be great to know what your opinion is. So without further adieu, I present my favourite films of 2009:
5 – Ponyo
Forced to play a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse in the chaos of war, an elite Army bomb squad unit must come together in a city where everyone is a potential enemy and every object could be a deadly bomb.
What may look like your run of the mill action/suspense/thriller movie will have you leaving this film with a real connection to the three main protagonists of the film. An incredible onscreen performance by Jeremy Renner who plays the cowboy bomb disposal technician with underlying psychological issues is met with an enticing storyline that leaves you gripped to your seat wondering where the film will turn. I won’t spoil the scene but it leads to an absolute heart wrenching scene with an Iraqi boy that’ll make you feel like as if you were in Baghdad itself.
3 – Star Trek
A paraplegic marine dispatched to the moon Pandora on a unique mission becomes torn between following his orders and protecting the world he feels is his home.
Say what you will about the plotline, but Avatar definitely deserves to be at the top of the list this year even if it’s on sheer visual quality alone. What I’ve said time and time again, you have to see this film on an IMAX screen and in 3D. You just cannot settle for anything less. From the very first scene, you’re left being sucked into the film feeling like as if you’re on Pandora itself. The film is almost 3 hours of engrossing visual effects that you will never have seen the likes of before. The true legacy that this film will leave behind is that it has changed movie making history. This half a billion mammoth of a project that’s spanned 15 years in the making, has revolutionised not only the way technology creates such amazing cinematography but also how directors direct their cameras. Much of the film’s Sure the plotline may have been a little cliched and if anything, runs way too close to the likes of Pocahontas (1995) and the likes of Call Me Joe (1957) but that doesn’t mean to say that it’s a bad story. I think all the hype about it having a bad plotline is simply because the visual effects are so stunning that there’s high expectation for the plot to be “just as stunning”. The casting in this film was almost perfect. Sigourney Weaver as the tough lead scientist should definitely get an award for best supporting actress. Much has been made of Zoe Saldana’s performance as the heroine of the Na’vi people yet I think just as much credit should go to Sam Worthington as his role as the protagonist of the story. Stephen Lang, the face of evil, definitely deserves recognition in what was a very Apocalyse Now vietnam war general-esque role in the film. All in all, this is an absolute must see film.
Most Disappointing Films of 2009
Just thought I may as well throw in my two cents over what I thought was either over hyped or just a plain bad film:
-
Dragon Ball: Evolution
-
Fighting
-
All About Steve
And there you have it, with 2009 now fading in the memory, here’s to 2010 and hopefully a fantastic year for film (that said, Karate Kid looks to be going the way of Dragon Ball =[ ).
(All plot summaries are from their respective IMDB pages)
Subscribe to the Feed