Movie Mazzupial's 10 best films of 2009

Last year when I sat down and tried to write a list of the best films of 2008, after about 20 minutes I threw down my pen in defeat. I concluded I couldn’t do it because, put simply, I hadn’t seen enough films to make the call.

This year I feel I’ve seen enough, read enough and written enough about films from a wide range of sources that I don’t feel as inferior when it comes to throwing together my choices of the best in `09. I even put off posting this list to the second last day of the year so I could cram in as many movie screenings as possible, poor me. Basically the titles on this list went beyond the `wow’ reaction; they freakin’ blew me out of the water and most are now permanently embedded on my favourites list. Drum roll please . . .

10. Milk
9. State Of Play
8. Mary & Max
7. Let The Right One In
6. The Lovely Bones
5. Bright Star
4. Zombieland
3. Moon
2. Nowhere Boy
1. THE BROTHERS BLOOM!

Honourable Mentions . . .

Avatar In The Electric Mist
Coraline
Adventureland
Balibo
Watchmen

Where The Wild Things Are

Black Dynamite
Dorian Gray
Whip It
Star Trek
Inglourious Basterds
Sorority Row The Education Of Charlie Banks
The Cove
Fighting
9

The list of best lists of the decade

Seriously, one of the best things about the end of a decade has to be all the lists. Best songs of the decade, best movies of the decade, best list of the decade . . . .I love it! While the thought of putting together a list of the best films of the decade makes me want to have a nervous breakdown, I will contribute my piece to society. And so, I bring you the list of best lists - enjoy!

Fellow movie-lover and underground blogger Last Night With Riviera shows some good ol' Aussie spirit with this spot on look at the Top Australian Films Of The Decade. Oi oi oi!

Online music bible Pitchfork do what they do best with their Top 500 Songs Of The Decade. The beauty of it is not only can you download the entire list in MP3 format, but each choice is teamed with a kick-ass analogy from one of their staff writers. Word.

Pillars of horror movie criticism Bloody Disgusting.com take a comprehensive look at the Top 20 Horror Films Of The Decade with some choices you’ve probably seen and a few undiscovered gems you haven’t.

Rotten Tomatoes have been making maths cool for years with their consensus calculating from critics worldwide, but this allows the RT staffers to share their views - RT Editors Choose Their Favourite Films Of 2009.

Geeks don't get anymore hardcore than the fellas over at Airlock Alpha so it's fitting they have Ten Forward: 10 Best Sci-fi Movies Of The Past Decade.

Might as well keep giving props to BD, so check out another of their brilliant lists; Dead On Arrival 10 Horror Duds Of The Last Decade.

Ah, I love how much this guy thinks like me, Ryan Star's Best Soundtracks Of The Decade.

Since you're down memory lane...Pitchfork again earn their reputation as the online version of Rolling Stone with the Top 50 Music Videos Of The 2000s.

IFC's two editors fight it out for what they think are the Best Indie Films Of 2009, cue The Shins background music.

Every list is subjective, so try and stem your rebuttal and read Moviefone's Best Performances Of The Decade with quiet reflection instead.

No, I’m not re-tweeting, rather pointing to RT’S Best Of The Decade which discusses some of the best remakes, super-hero movies and so forth of the last 10 years according to those with the highest percentage.

You will get enjoyment and disbelief in equal amounts with Pitchfork's Worst Album Covers Of 2009 starring Keith Urban and Chris Brown.

And the worst films of 2009 are . . .

As a bit of an entrée to the main event, before I pump out my list of the best movies of the year I thought I’d share what I think have been the worst films of 2009. There have been plenty of mediocre movies in the past 12 months and while the Chinese would argue it was the year of the Dragon, many would argue it has been the year of the underwhelming blockbuster (hello there Terminator Salvation and co). But without further delay, these are the titles that went above and beyond the standard craptacular -

Fame

Just a thought; if you’re going to remake a movie about the kids at a talent school, you actually need to show some talent in the film.

Old Dogs

It’s almost amazing how a talented group of people (Travolta, Williams, Green and so forth) can create something so painful, even with stellar cameos thrown in for good measure. But nothing, nothing is as painful as watching a stretched Travolta squirm the line “c’mon man, this is my crib man”.

Personal Effects

What happens when you try and cram together some of the most complex human issues with `meh’ chemistry from Michelle Pfeiffer and Ashton Kutcher? A film that's surprisingly worse than the poster.

Transformers 2: Revenge Of The Fallen

Had me crying “WTF!” throughout. Except for the scene in robot heaven, I was speechless then.

Year One

From such a promising trailer to almost two hours of dick and excrement jokes, Year One scored a one star from all film critics with a pulse.

The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button

Most overrated film ever.

The Poker House

Lori Petty utilised her Tank Girl powers with this wannabe drama that, er, tanked (largely due to Selma Blair’s ridiculous wig).

Good things come in three's

Damn right they do. Just look at the facts; three musketeers, three Lord Of The Ring's, three Hanson brothers.....

Moving on, I thought I would treat you to some harmless, speculative fun courtesy of Air Conditioning by Jay Fingers who has thrown together some interesting poster art for Batman 3. And when I say he, I mean Josh MC at DeviantART who is the lad behind the fan made poster art.

Currently Chris Nolan is busy finishing off work on his mysterious Inception , but with that due to finish in the next few weeks people are definitely keen to know when he will be starting work on the third Batman film. According to Michael Cain, Nolan has already finished the final script and is keen to start shooting late 2010. Thing is, I WANT DETAILS! Plot, villains, cast...all of it!

Considering Movie Mazz reckons The Dark Knight is one of the best films ever made (and given the box-office figures so do a lot of other people) I'm desperate for any new goss on the project and how the heck super-Nolan is going to follow up his past two Batman films.

Anyway, until there's some actual, semi-fact based news, at least these fan posters can tease at the possibilities.

Kristen Bell as Harley Quinn

Marion Cotillard as Catwoman

David Tennant as The Riddler

FYI David Tennant can suck my non-existent balls as the only person who might have a chance at equalling Jim Carrey as The Riddler is Eddie Murphy. So there.

Globey Dick

The nominees for the 67th Golden Globes were announced yesterday and upon reading the list, film critics worldwide have had the same reaction `WTF?’ Seriously, WTF? There are some truly, well-deserved nominees on this list but there others where it’s clear selectors have gone “shit, we’ve only got three nominees and we need five, ahhh lets throw her in there, him over there and give that one a nod too.”

Considered a `sort-of, not really' indicator of which direction the Oscars are heading, below is a breakdown of the nominees in the most important categories. I've placed a star next to the ones which, in a perfect world, I would like to win and have included what I think are the major oversight's in each category.

Best Motion Picture -- Drama

Avatar *
The Hurt Locker
Inglorious Basterds
Precious
Up in the Air
Oversight: Moon, The Lovely Bones, Balibo

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture -- Drama

Emily Blunt, The Young Victoria *
Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side
Helen Mirren, The Last Station
Carey Mulligan, An Education
Gabourey Sadibe, Precious *
Oversight: Saoirse Ronan, The Lovely Bones

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture -- Drama

Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
George Clooney, Up in the Air
Colin Firth, A Single Man
Morgan Freeman, Invictus *
Tobey Maguire, Brothers
Oversight: Sam Rockwell, Moon!!! Sharlto Copley, District 9, Oscar Isaac, Balibo, Russel Crowe, State Of Play

Best Motion Picture -- Musical or Comedy

(500) Days of Summer *
The Hangover
It's Complicated
Julie & Julia
Nine
Oversight: The Brothers Bloom, Black Dynamite

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture -- Musical or Comedy

Sandra Bullock, The Proposal
Marion Cotillard, Nine
Meryl Streep, It's Complicated
Meryl Streep, Julie and Julia *
Julia Roberts, Duplicity
Oversight: Rachel Weisz, The Brothers Bloom

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture -- Musical or Comedy

Matt Damon, The Informant
Daniel Day Lewis, Nine
Robert Downey Jr., Sherlock Holmes
Joseph Gordon Levitt, (500) Days of Summer *
Michael Stuhlbarg, A Serious Man
Oversight: Mark Ruffalo, The Brothers Bloom, Michael Jai White, Black Dynmaite

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture

Mo-Nique, Precious *
Julianne Moore, A Single Man
Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air
Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air
Penelope Cruz, Nine
Oversight: Susan Sarandon, The Lovely Bones

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture

Matt Damon, Invictus
Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones *
Christopher Plummer, The Last Station
Christopher Waltz, Inglorious Basterds
Woody Harrelson, The Messenger
Oversight: Woody Harrelson, Zombieland, John Goodman, In The Electric Mist

Best Animated Feature Film

Coraline *
The Fantastic Mr. Fox
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
The Princess and the Frog
Up
Oversight: Mary & Max

Best Foreign Language Film

Barria
Broken Embraces
A Prophet
The White Ribbon
The Maid
Oversight: Let The Right One In

Best Director -- Motion Picture

Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
James Cameron, Avatar *
Clint Eastwood, Invictus
Jason Reitman, Up in the Air
Quentin Tarantino, Inglorious Basterds
Oversight: Duncan Jones, Moon

Best Screenplay -- Motion Picture

Up in the Air
It's Complicated
District 9
The Hurt Locker
Inglorious Basterds *
Oversights: Peter Jackson, Phillipa Boyens, Fran Walsh, The Lovely Bones, Duncan Jones, Moon, Rian Johnson Brothers Bloom

Best Original Score -- Motion Picture

Michael Giacchino, Up
Marvin Hamlisch, The Informant
James Horner, Avatar
Abel Krozeniowski, A Single Man
Karen O. and Carter Burwell, Where the Wild Things Are *
Oversight: Bruno Coulais, Coraline

Best Original Song -- Motion Picture

"I Will See You," Avatar
"The Weary Kind," The Crazy Heart
"Winter," Brothers
"Cinema Italiano," Nine *
"I Want to Come Home," Everybody's Fine
Oversight: "Possibility", Lykke Li, The Twilight Saga: New Moon

There have been so many spanners' thrown in here, I don't even know where to start analysing some of these nominations. I'll launch with Avatar though, which is looking like a promising front runner for the Oscars and it's nice to see it getting the critical acclaim it deserves for literally revolutionising filmmaking and the cinema experience we've come to know. Plenty of nods for Inglorious Basterds too, wahoo, and if Stanley Tucci hadn't been so incredibly brilliant as the serial killer in The Lovely Bones I'd say Christopher Waltz would be a shoe-in for best supporting actor. He probably still is.

But WTF happened to Moon? Yeah, remember that amazing sci-fi slice of excellence which had one of the best performances of the year from Sam Rockwell who's the only actor in the whole friggin' thing! Massive oversight and I really hope the Oscar crew have a deeper field of vision than the Golden Globe douches who are so busy getting moist for Nine and Bullock (The Proposal, really?) that they skim over a bunch of five star offerings. Sigh.

I really could rant on forever, but at the end of the day I only have a passing interest in the globes because there are so many extended categories that fail to exist at the Oscars a lot of the nominees don't matter. Like good ol' Woody Allen says, awards don't mean anything, they don't take away or add to the enjoyment of a film for the audience and just because something gets a shiny, gold statue that doesn't mean it's superior in the scheme of filmmaking. So there *insert tongue poking here*.

I will say this though, the widened field of ten best picture nominees at the Oscars next year is going to make things very interesting (FYI if I had a moustache I'd be stroking it right now). The 67th Golden Globe awards will air on Monday, Jan 17 for us Aussies and Oscar nom's are announced shortly before then.

Oh, and HOORAY FOR JOSEPH GORDON-LEVITT! GO SON! His first of what should have been MANY Golden Globe nominations but it's cool, he's got one now and hopefully his award winning cycle shall begin.

Avatar: futuristic filmmaking

You will be hearing a lot about Avatar over the next few days and probably in a more insightful fashion than I, so I will try and keep this brief. I managed to get along to a critic's screening on Friday night and it was mind-blowing. And yes, I was one of those people who just wanted James Cameron to shut up about how this is going to be the best movie ever and revolutionise cinema blah blah blah.

But if I had a tail, it would be firmly between my legs right now because the technology, the concept, the package, the everything is going to shape the future of movie making. In the past year we have seen 3D movies popping up in cinemas with increasing frequency, most being animated flicks such as Up, Monsters Vs Aliens and Coraline or horror pics My Bloody Valentine and Final Destination. While the latter used 3D technology for cheap thrills like blood splatters and objects poking into the audience, Avatar’s use of 3D is seamless. It sucks you into the world of Pandora and before you know it, you’re amongst Cameron’s vision, watching the story happen around you instead of in front of you.

The story itself is practically identical to Pocahontas, just in a different setting, with the outsider scenario, inner-tribe hostilities and native people vs settlers conflict a doppelganger. But that doesn’t really take away from the spectacle, the plot does what it does and takes the backseat of this effects driven masterpiece. The detail is unfathomable, from the creation of the world as a whole down to the minuscule creatures within it, Cameron has thought of everything.

No doubt you will hear intakes of breath throughout the duration of the movie and you’ll see plenty of figures darting to the bathroom as three-hours is a looooong time to hold it in. There are some great themes amongst the visual splendour, including a few nods to the current environmental crisis, the race debate and the destructive nature of mankind. That’s not to mention Cameron’s tongue-in-cheek commentary on America’s war on terror with the powers-that-be frustratingly small minded and a George Bush-esque villain who proclaims he wants to fight “terror with terror”.

Essentially Avatar is an event movie and in 20-years time you’re gran kids will be asking you about what it was like to see in the cinemas for the first time.

Give a Mazzupial a bone

Okay, look, there’s no need to get all sensy at me just because I haven’t been the most attentive blogger of late. My excuse? I’ve been doing that dream-chasing thing again which I’m sure you care nil about. BUT the good news is I’ve had the opportunity to attend some amazing events which Movie Mazzupial wouldn’t get to go to otherwise, namely THE AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE OF THE LOVELY BONES!

It’s hard to believe I actually got to see the finished product of The Lovely Bones on Thrusday night, I’ve literally waiting with baited breath for two-years since I first heard Peter Jackson was adapting the amazing novel.

Speaking of legendary director Peter Jackson (Lord Of The Rings etc), can I divert your attention to the photograph below, which is me (squeal) with (squeal) friggin PETER JACKSON! IN A PHOTO!

Above: Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!

I was amongst the media throng doing red carpet interviews and after admitting this was an incredibly nerdy request, Jackson was more than willing to be in a quick happy (very happy) snap. He had this to say about The Lovely Bones;

MM: What was it like to adapt such a complex novel?

PJ: You have to make it your personal choice, you read the book just like anyone else does and then when it comes time to figure out what to leave in, what to take out and what to focus on, it’s based on your intuition really. There’s no rules, you can’t make a carbon copy of the book so you probably choose that you’ve got to shorten it and leave lots out otherwise the film would be fix or six hours.

On his decision to gloss over some of the graphic descriptions of violence in the novel:

Any violence in the movie would overwhelm the film and that’s not the point. I wanted to make a film that young adults and teenagers could see that’s got a lot of positive, uplifting things in it. Whenever you make any film with violence like that it, one; it completely stigmatises the movie, and secondly; it’s not something I’d want to make.

Just as lovely as Jackson was Irish lass Saoirse Ronan, who plays the murdered Susie, looking down on her grieving family from Jackson’s Dali-esque version of heaven. She’s seriously so sweet and in her stylish, red jumpsuit I was quite taken back at how frail she is (I was tempted to pull her in to the Hungry Jacks next door and hand her a Whopper but I figured she mightn’t answer my questions if I did that). Anywho, after her Oscar nominated turn in Atonement, Ronan is no stranger to meaty roles and told Movie Mazz she tried not to think of Susie as a “dead girl”.

“She’s someone whose body is dead but her soul is still alive and that’s what’s so great about her.

“It was challenging, it was difficult and I had to go to some very dark places sometimes.

“Other times I got to do a lot of humour, it was great.”

And of course, with my future husband Mark Wahlberg playing her father in the film I had to ask her what it was like to call him `daddy’. Er, well, kind of.

MM: What was it like to have Mark Wahlberg play your father in the film?

SR: It was great, I was really surprised that Mark isn’t offered more movie roles as a dad really because it’s more a natural thing for him I think. And he’s got a sense of humour. I was very comfortable being his daughter and he’s really nice.

After giving me a hug (sweet girl) and moving on to chat with the rest of the press, next up was the big one *drum roll * Susan Sarandon aka my favourite female actress. Seriously, for a 63-year-old the woman is a fox! She rocked up in a flattering, low-cut pink dress, comfortable as ever showing off her impressive collection of tatts; particularly a barbwire wristband and tribal symbol running from the top of her neck down the spine. Like the Hollywood vet she is, Susan was more fan-orientated on the red carpet heading over to sign The Lovely Bones posters and the odd The Rocky Horror Show DVD, before coming to say howdy.

Sarandon lived up to her playful reputation when I asked her what it was like to work with Jackson, quickly looking over her shoulder then whispering “he’s just there you know”.

“No, it was really fun, he’s very collaborative,” she said.

“There’s a lot of physical humour and we had fun doing that, and coming up with all the montage stuff.”

The Oscar winner was happy to be back in Australia where everyone is “always nice” and excited to talk about the role for which Jackson said she was the “one and only choice”.

“I didn’t register it as being that big a deal that she’s such a strange grandmother,” she said.

“She’s not a `granny’ grandmother and I’m old enough to be a grandmother.

“I chatted to my kids about what they would like to see in a really good grandparent and they said most grandparents don’t smoke.”

“I don’t really drink or smoke like her, I certainly think she’s a lot of fun and I would hope that I could come in and help out in such a horrible house.

“I think she’s very strong and has an excellent sense of humour.”

After fulfilling a considerable amount of my `wildest dream come true’ I then headed into the cinema to take a seat, wait 45 minutes and then be treated to an introduction by none other than Jackson, Sarandon and Ronan themselves.

Then IT started . . . .and to be honest, as much as I had tried to resist the temptation of reading early overseas reviews I had peeked at this one from the Sneak and i09, which pretty much said it’s amazing. And it was. Truly. Combining the whimsical afterlife with the bleak reality of life for those below, Jackson shifts between the two with jarring effect as their individual significance can only be fully compared side by side. Wahlberg is spellbinding as the grieving father, Ronan powerful as the victim, Kiwi newcomer Rose McIver in a star-making turn, Sarandon scene-stealing, Weiz a bit flat but Stanley Tucci . . .wooo! Tucci is brilliant, BRILLIANT, as the resident kiddie fiddler/serial killer and at the very least deserves an Oscar nod for best supporting actor. It’s almost impossible to believe he’s the same person who played the gay stylist in The Devil Wears Prada.

Anywho, I don’t want to continue preaching about it so I’ll conclude with this; see it, see it and make up your own mind but remember it has my glowing recommendation.

Now bring the Oscars and don’t let this be another The Dark Knight oversight please.

Showgirls, Teen Wolves and Astro Zombies

Now, now don't try to pretend that title didn't intrigue you. THAT, my friends, is the title of Empire magazine critic Michael Adams' book which is his quest to find and watch 365 bad movies in a year. As the website describes;

"With another year drawing to close, film critic Michael Adams found himself making an unusual New Year’s resolution: in the next 12 months, he would find the answer to the question: ‘What is the worst movie ever made?’ He would do so by watching at least one terrible film per day. For a year. That’s 365 bad movies in 365 days. No fast-forwarding. No pressing the stop button."

I definitely recommend you check out the book's website HERE and shove it in your Christmas stocking. Word.