Favorite Films (2009)
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- DirectorJason ReitmanStarsGeorge ClooneyVera FarmigaAnna KendrickRyan's job is to travel around the country firing off people. When his boss hires Natalie, who proposes firing people via video conference, he tries to convince her that her method is a mistake.A man who is always on his own, in the sky, never questioning his independence. He sounds like the ideal person, with an impressive paycheck and the gift of gab (which is a typical trait for a Clooney character). Here the audience arrives at his realization that he is merely alone, that the plane hopping has become tiresome, and that his independence is now overshadowed by isolation. Reitman depicts this earnest dramedy, on the mark with contemporary business angst, with a refreshing cast, including an introduction from Anna Kendrick. The film works on every level and what Up in the Air mainly reminds us is that spontaneity is exciting but its not enough to keep one truly happy, or on solid ground.
- DirectorWes AndersonStarsGeorge ClooneyMeryl StreepBill MurrayAn urbane fox cannot resist returning to his farm raiding ways and then must help his community survive the farmers' retaliation.One of the better years for animation, Fantastic Mr. Fox is another quirky success from the mind of Wes Anderson. Characters come in a plethora of different shades and colors, with enough to entertain all ages. It includes an ensemble cast who's voices match the anthropomorphic creatures so well. With any Anderson film, the soundtrack is filled with great British rock and an excellent score from Alexandre Desplat. The film expresses an existential idea of a fox coming to terms with his preternatural instincts and how his old bag of tricks are damaging his family. With a palette of vintage animation, Wes Anderson has reinvented the wheel with this stop-motion endeavor.
- DirectorPete DocterBob PetersonStarsEdward AsnerJordan NagaiJohn Ratzenberger78-year-old Carl Fredricksen travels to Paradise Falls in his house equipped with balloons, inadvertently taking a young stowaway.Another success in the Pixar canon, Up is heartwarming material for the whole family. Its a definitive classic, like most of Pixar's work, because its so simple and original. It also helps when the original score is the best of the year. There is indeed the overlying moral of every Pixar story and in terms with the protagonist, Carl Fredrickson, it is to never forget what truly matters. Carl had forgotten that "getting there" is half the adventure. By quoting the ecstatic boyscout Russell: "That might sound boring, but I think the boring stuff is the stuff I remember the most." The enlightened youth mentions that even the things that may seem insignificant actually have more impact than what we perceive as meaningful. Hopefully the "twitter generation" can appreciate that food for thought.
P.S. Pixar told a better love story in 4 minutes with no words than Stephanie Meyer did in 4 books. - DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsBrad PittDiane KrugerEli RothIn Nazi-occupied France during World War II, a plan to assassinate Nazi leaders by a group of Jewish U.S. soldiers coincides with a theatre owner's vengeful plans for the same.Film buffs celebrate! Quentin Tarantino has created an exploitation film - no wait - war film - no wait - comedy - no wait, eh lets just call it a little bit of everything. Inglourious Basterds never leaves first gear and is masterfully crafted from beginning to end. It features a star making role from Christoph Waltz who's Jew hunter ranges from pure evil to Looney Tunes antics. References ranging from the Wizard of Oz, The Great Escape, Sergio Leone, and yes, even The Breakfast Club, Tarantino salutes the cinephile with this Nazi-scalping masterpiece.
- DirectorYorgos LanthimosStarsChristos StergioglouMichele ValleyAngeliki PapouliaA controlling, manipulative father locks his three adult offsprings in a state of perpetual childhood by keeping them prisoner within the sprawling family compound.This film is about human kind and how it interacts with the environment it has created for itself. It's symbolic, and when you begin to open your mind and associate the events taking place with your own life to the way that human society works, you will read Dogtooth's true meanings. Everything you perceive as twisted, is nothing more than a humorous caricature of things you already experience without realizing how ridiculous they really are. Provocative in its presentation, what is below the surface of this Suburban nightmare is one hell of a thought inducing film.
- DirectorMarc WebbStarsZooey DeschanelJoseph Gordon-LevittGeoffrey ArendAfter being dumped by the girl he believes to be his soulmate, hopeless romantic Tom Hansen reflects on their relationship to try and figure out where things went wrong and how he can win her back.This romantic comedy is an honest portrayal of heartbreak. From first-time director Marc Webb comes a film reminiscent to Annie Hall and When Harry Met Sally. Too many films in the genre get labeled as chick flicks for the mere fact that the studios only consider their audience as females but here we see an innovative approach for both sexes to appreciate. With two likeable leads, the film takes a non-linear story that everyone is familiar with. When one looks for the answer to why their relationship fell apart, they look at pieces rather than the beginning. (500) Days of Summer is unconventional and bittersweet but forgettable it is not.
- DirectorDuncan JonesStarsSam RockwellKevin SpaceyDominique McElligottAstronaut Sam Bell has a quintessentially personal encounter toward the end of his three-year stint on the Moon, where he, working alongside his computer, GERTY, sends back to Earth parcels of a resource that has helped diminish our planet's power problems.This sci-fi film masters the art of deception. Taking the concept of cloning to new heights, Moon is remarkable in exploring the idea and its possible side-effects, physically and emotionally. Although it is an independent low-budget film, one would not know that from the creative filming that really makes one believe that they are in space. Sam Rockwell shows audiences his capability as an A-lister and Kevin Spacey voices the space stations' robot, that is menacing and manipulative like the Hal Computer in 2001.
- DirectorLone ScherfigStarsCarey MulliganPeter SarsgaardAlfred MolinaA coming-of-age story about a teenage girl in 1960s suburban London, and how her life changes with the arrival of a playboy nearly twice her age.
- DirectorEthan CoenJoel CoenStarsMichael StuhlbargRichard KindSari LennickLarry Gopnik, a Midwestern physics teacher, watches his life unravel over multiple sudden incidents. Though seeking meaning and answers amidst his turmoils, he seems to keep sinking.
- DirectorNeill BlomkampStarsSharlto CopleyDavid JamesJason CopeViolence ensues after an extraterrestrial race forced to live in slum-like conditions on Earth finds a kindred spirit in a government agent exposed to their biotechnology.
- DirectorHenry SelickStarsDakota FanningTeri HatcherJohn HodgmanWandering her rambling old house in her boring new town, an 11-year-old Coraline discovers a hidden door to a strangely idealized version of her life. In order to stay in the fantasy, she must make a frighteningly real sacrifice.
- DirectorPedro AlmodóvarStarsPenélope CruzLluís HomarBlanca PortilloHarry Caine, a blind writer, reaches this moment in time when he has to heal his wounds from 14 years back. He was then still known by his real name, Mateo Blanco, and directing his last movie.
- DirectorTom FordStarsColin FirthJulianne MooreMatthew GoodeAn English professor, one year after the sudden death of his boyfriend, is unable to cope with his typical days in 1960s Los Angeles.
- DirectorJ.J. AbramsStarsChris PineZachary QuintoSimon PeggThe brash James T. Kirk tries to live up to his father's legacy with Mr. Spock keeping him in check as a vengeful Romulan from the future creates black holes to destroy the Federation one planet at a time.
- DirectorJohn HillcoatStarsViggo MortensenCharlize TheronKodi Smit-McPheeIn a dangerous post-apocalyptic world, an ailing father defends his son as they slowly travel to the sea.
- DirectorChris SmithStarsMichael RuppertA documentary on Michael Ruppert, a police officer turned independent reporter who predicted the current financial crisis in his self-published newsletter, From the Wilderness.
- DirectorBobcat GoldthwaitStarsRobin WilliamsDaryl SabaraMorgan MurphyWhen his son's body is found in a humiliating accident, a lonely high school teacher inadvertently attracts an overwhelming amount of community and media attention after covering up the truth with a phony suicide note.
- DirectorKathryn BigelowStarsJeremy RennerAnthony MackieBrian GeraghtyDuring the Iraq War, a Sergeant recently assigned to an army bomb squad is put at odds with his squad mates due to his maverick way of handling his work.
- DirectorRobert KennerStarsMichael PollanEric SchlosserRichard LobbAn unflattering look inside America's corporate controlled food industry.
- DirectorLaurent CantetStarsFrançois BégaudeauAgame Malembo-EmeneAngélica SancioTeacher and novelist François Bégaudeau plays a version of himself as he negotiates a year with his racially mixed students from a tough Parisian neighborhood.
- DirectorScott CooperStarsJeff BridgesMaggie GyllenhaalColin FarrellA faded country music musician is forced to reassess his dysfunctional life during a doomed romance that also inspires him.
- DirectorRuben FleischerStarsJesse EisenbergEmma StoneWoody HarrelsonA shy student trying to reach his family in Ohio, a gun-toting bruiser in search of the last Twinkie and a pair of sisters striving to get to an amusement park join forces in a trek across a zombie-filled America.
- DirectorTodd PhillipsStarsZach GalifianakisBradley CooperJustin BarthaThree buddies wake up from a bachelor party in Las Vegas, with no memory of the previous night and the bachelor missing. They make their way around the city in order to find their friend before his wedding.
- DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsCate BlanchettMatt DamonLiam NeesonA five-year-old boy develops a relationship with Ponyo, a young goldfish princess who longs to become a human after falling in love with him.
- DirectorSpike JonzeStarsMax RecordsCatherine O'HaraForest WhitakerYearning for escape and adventure, a young boy runs away from home and sails to an island filled with creatures that take him in as their king.A film that shows a child's pain and suffering while expanding on the world of its source material, Spike Jonze's Where the Wild Things Are is engaging as it is enchanting. As each monster exemplifies the monsters inside the melancholy Max, the child depicted here is suffering and he uses his imagination like we all do, to escape the painful reality of our lives when things become unbearable. A child's best form of understanding is the imagination and in the film it is manifest so woefully.
- DirectorMorgan DewsA grandmother dies and leaves behind hours of secret film and audio recordings as well as an envelope with the words "Must read after my death", which reveal a dark history for her family to discover.
- DirectorSteven SoderberghStarsMatt DamonTony HalePatton OswaltThe U.S. government decides to go after an agro-business giant with a price-fixing accusation, based on the evidence submitted by their star witness, vice president-turned-informant Mark Whitacre.One of those stories that is far too bizarre to be made up, ironically focused around a man who enjoys making everything up, Steven Soderbergh delivers yet another mainstream hit that will have you laughing the whole time.
- DirectorR.J. CutlerStarsAnna WintourThakoon PanichgulAndré Leon TalleyA documentary chronicling Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour's preparations for the 2007 fall-fashion issue.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsMorgan FreemanMatt DamonTony KgorogeNelson Mandela, in his first term as President of South Africa, initiates a unique venture to unite the Apartheid-torn land: enlist the national rugby team on a mission to win the 1995 Rugby World Cup.
- DirectorRon ClementsJohn MuskerStarsAnika Noni RoseKeith DavidOprah WinfreyA waitress, desperate to fulfill her dreams as a restaurant owner, is set on a journey to turn a frog prince back into a human being, but she has to face the same problem after she kisses him.
- DirectorSam RaimiStarsAlison LohmanJustin LongRuth LivierA loan officer who evicts an old woman from her home finds herself the recipient of a supernatural curse. Desperate, she turns to a seer to try and save her soul, while evil forces work to push her to a breaking point.
- DirectorPhil LordChristopher MillerStarsAnna FarisBill HaderBruce CampbellA local scientist is often regarded as a failure until he invents a machine that can make food fall from the sky. But little does he know that things are about to take a turn for the worst.
- DirectorJohn Lee HancockStarsQuinton AaronSandra BullockTim McGrawThe story of Michael Oher, a homeless and traumatized boy who became an All-American football player and first-round NFL draft pick with the help of a caring woman and her family.And the award for best "feel-good" film of the year goes to The Blind Side. Probably the popcorn flick to make you feel warm afterward, its not the most memorable. Just after seeing it in theaters I could only recall the plot. Sandra Bullock is a nice, assertive mom who we all like to see but it seems that her role is what carries the film, nothing else. This "inner city to suburbia" story is too familiar for its own good and plays it far too safe to feel more than just appealing to the masses.
- DirectorGuy RitchieStarsRobert Downey Jr.Jude LawRachel McAdamsDetective Sherlock Holmes and his stalwart partner Watson engage in a battle of wits and brawn with a nemesis whose plot is a threat to all of England.Guy Ritchie shows Sherlock Holmes for a new generation that enjoys cheap thrills and jumpy aesthetics. The film delivers on action and humor from its leads but don't expect the Sir Arthur Doyle stories when you rent this one. The direction is what remains its most potent aspect, and lets face it, Robert Downey Jr. is always fun to watch.
- DirectorJames CameronStarsSam WorthingtonZoe SaldanaSigourney WeaverA 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.This computer generated box office behemoth proves one thing, that James Cameron can sell a film and market it to everyone. People are to fast too claim it "ground breaking" or "one of a kind," where I see it as technologically impressive but gravely unoriginal. Disappointing, especially when all the characters are stereotypes and the 3D is force fed, the film is on this list merely because of the special effects.