Cinema Without Borders Blogs

2009: A review

As a new year beckons it’s always a delight to look back on the great films from the past 12 months and celebrate the finest pieces of cinema in anticipation of a great 2010.

One of the contenders for best film of 2009 has to be The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, a lovingly told story with some visually impressive computer imagery. Starring Brad Pitt as the lead, this simple tale explores the life of a man born with a unique defect that causes him to age backwards. Benjamin Button truly engages the imagination it’s a fairytale for the 21^st century, displaying real heart with fantastic graphics. A definite must see.

Another film I particularly enjoyed was Milk. Sean Penn’s performance really gives this film spark, portraying historical figure Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man to be elected into Office in the United States. Penn portrays Milk as a loveable eccentric, flawed but passionate in his cause, never flinching or comprising who he is in the face of adversity. Penn’s performance transforms Milk from simple bio-pic into something endearing and touching.

On the more light and frothy side, the cooking based comedy Julie and Julia was a particularly bright, breezy and fun film with parallel stories starring Amy Adams and Meryl Streep.  Streep’s larger than life performance as over the top real life personality and celebrity chef Julia Childs practically spills of screen. It’s hard not to get captivated by her lovable foibles, whilst Adams compliments this as the sweet natured and aspiring Julie, a modern day call centre worker who attempts to cook a different dish from her hero Julia’s cookbook every single day. It’s a light hearted affair with plenty of tender moments.

Woody Allens Vicky Christina Barcelona is another great film from 09, telling a love parable of two best friends with very different views on love both falling for the same man. The sun soaked Spanish scenery makes this a very pleasant film on the eyes, but it’s truly Penelope Cruz’s fiery performance as the volatile and sultry ex wife that steals the show.

This was also the year Tarantino released a war film in the form of Inglourious Basterds. Complete with his usual mix of violence and strong female characters, Tarantino mixes scenes of true tension with outbreaks of humour. It’s Christopher Waltz performance as the ‘jew catcher’ that really makes this film worthwhile though. It’s both charming and menacing, making his every appearance on screen subtly chilling yet mesmerising.  And on the subject of great performances, it would be criminal not to mention Mickey Rourke’s portrayal of a washed up eighties icon in The Wrestler. It’s tragic but touching, as Rourke plays Randy ‘The Ram’ a man whose life has revolved around wrestling at the expense of family or relationships. You may have no interest in wrestling but I guarantee you’ll still find this film hugely involving, a testament to how fitting Rourke is for the role.

 2009 also provided a few must see horror treats. My personal favourite would have to be the terrific Paranormal Activity, a low budget, simplistic film that packed plenty of tension and chills. Despite its no thrills plot revolving around one normal suburban couple setting up a handheld camera to capture ghostly goings on, Paranormal Activity blurs the line with voyeurism so successfully it feels spookily real. The frightening nature of the escalating events will have you hiding your eyes behind your hands as it builds to a tension fuelled crescendo. Equally fantastic is Swedish vampire film Let The Right One In, which puts a fresh spin on the vampire franchise of late by making the central ‘villain’ a 12 year old girl. This film displays some real touching moments as the vampire child struggles to cope out in the world alone, befriending a bullied school kid neighbour who helps her in her plight. The relationship between the two makes for intriguing viewing, with the most outstanding scene involving what really happens when a vampire crosses your threshold uninvited. It’s captivating viewing, and the backdrop of a snow covered, icy cold Swedish landscape adds to the stark and foreboding feel of the film. Other highlights for me include Zombieland and Drag Me to Hell. These films really bring the humour into horror. Where Paranormal Activity has shocks, Zombieland and Drag Me to Hell have laughs. They offer their own little post-modern lampooning of the genre without crossing over into silly or spoof.

It would be difficult to talk about great films of the last year without also mentioning James Cameron’s latest offering Avatar. This is a Blockbuster of epic proportions, with jaw dropping computer effects that are particularly astonishing in 3D. It’s a sweeping tale of love and war on a distant planet that really comes to life through the computer imagery and technology. The story isn’t anything particularly mind blowing, but the special effects certainly are.

I’ll also remember 2009 for the progression made in family films, with some beginning to appeal more so to adults than children. Disney Pixar exceeded themselves with Up, which I would argue is perhaps their finest offering ever and perhaps even the best film of the year. Up blends so many themes and stories together effortlessly that by the end of it I felt like I’d been on a journey. It’s heartbreaking, it’s action adventure, it’s comedy. The transition from one to another is so seamless that Up truly deserves all the praise it gets. It’s the tale of one curmudgeonly pensioner trying to honour the life long dream of his late wife and getting much more than her bargained for. I also thoroughly enjoyed the stop animation treat that was Coraline, the closest thing to a subversive kids film there’s been in many years. Corlaine is a modern day nightmarish fairlytale, the story of one troublesome little girl whose ungrateful for the life she has. She then finds an alternate and ideal version of reality through a secret door in her house, only to discover there’s a price to be paid for such perfection. It’s menacing and beautifully animated and lacks the saccharine edge so many other family films are dripping with. Similarly is Fantastic Mr Fox, a fairly heavy and atmospheric stop motion animation that’s perhaps a little too adult in it’s themes and dialogues for children. The animation has great charm though and the banter between the characters makes for fun viewing.

And the final film I’d like to recommend is my own guilty pleasure, 500 Days of Summer. As a fan of Romantic Comedies this film was the breath of fresh air the genre so desperately needed. It has quirk, it has humour, but best of all it has imagination and the two leads play their parts at just the right amount of quirk that they become likeable and engaging. I personally find it slightly reminiscent of Annie Hall, it certainly pushes the boundary of what has come to be expected in this genre and hopefully Hollywood will take note and produce more classics in the same vein.

 

Tagged as: 2009, 500 days of summer, Benjamin Button, julie and julia, let the right one in, paranormal activity, tarantino, up