Quick Poll

Is Memorial Day an 'off day' for you or a 'work day' with your business open?

Recent Polls

Blogs

Angela McRae

Tea with friends

Deberah Williams

Everyday Finesse

Lorrie Lynch

Who's News

Published Friday, January 01, 2010 in Local

Top Ten Movies of 2009 shared

Newnan's Tony Daniel, a movie enthusiast and actor who has appeared in performances with Newnan Community Theatre Company, shares his Top Ten Movies of 2009.

"There is no way to put these in any numerical order, from the greatest to the near great. These are offered, therefore, as the ten I would stash away as the perfect examples of filmmaking to show the distinctive force behind this year's box office totals," Daniel said.

-

1) Star Trek -- It's easy to list this one, based on the hype, the enormous box office totals, and the fact that it was one of the biggest DVD sales of the holiday season. There is a reason all three of these are true, though. It's honestly that good a movie. JJ Abrams took on a task that few people had hope he would carry off - recasting and, in effect, "rebirthing" a classic piece of entertainment history. He cast it with very few notable stars, and the ones that did have name or face recognition were in smaller roles. Instead of trying to bowl us over with CGI effects, he did the unthinkable -- he relied on a tight script to keep the story moving. By doing so, he created a whole new generation of fans for a legendary group of characters.

2) Inglorious Basterds -- Anyone that had succumbed to the theory that Quentin Tarantino was a one-trick pony had to take a step back and see this movie twice. His "golden boy" status after Pulp Fiction may be gone, but with this movie, he proved again he can build a movie that grabs you from the first moments and does not let go until the credits roll. A lead performance from Brad Pitt that went against ANYTHING Pitt has done in years was worth the price of admission alone, but when Christoph Waltz takes the screen, the brilliance of Tarantino as a writer and director comes into shining light again. Are there things that don't work in this movie? Of course. Do they ruin the movie? Not hardly...

3) Up -- It is rare when you can honestly trust a brand name to be nothing but quality every time. Pixar, however, has yet to let their amazing success take away from their standards. Rather, it almost seems that they push themselves harder with each title. When an animated movie can put you in tears, be you a man, woman, or child, it has some power behind it. When you are in tears within ten minutes of it starting? That's mastery of storytelling at its best. If an adventure movie can be seen as "little," this is the best little adventure movie in years.

4) The Hurt Locker -- Kathryn Bigelow is a filmmaker of incredible bravery. She took on a plot within the boundaries of an unpopular war, and managed to tell a compelling story without taking a side. No preaching, pro or con. Instead, she tells the story of one man in the middle of it all, a bomb-disposal expert, in a world that lives and dies by the bomb. The psychological study of one man whose nerves are his only tool against death made for some edge-of-the-seat movie viewing.

5) District 9 -- A social allegory about the politics that controlled South Africa could be done in any of a hundred different ways and be a good story. But Neill Blomkamp took the idea, found a miniscule budget by today's standards, and turned the idea into a science-fiction movie that rivals anything made with the nine-figure budgets that seem to be the norm these days. But you cannot write this movie off as "sci-fi" in the traditional sense, though. This is not all chrome and glitter and laser guns. This is gritty, dirty, and rough-hewn, a science-fiction that looks like a Sergio Leone spaghetti western, one coated in grime and sweat and human ignorance.

6) The Hangover -- Is there anything rewarding about a senseless comedy? One that relies on gross-out humor, alcohol and drug references, profane language, and just about everything else that is protested about on street corners around this country? Yes, yes there is. If National Lampoon's Animal House awakened the college student within back in 1977, then The Hangover was made to let every male between the ages of 25-45 remember what is was like to have that one last night of debauchery before settling down. And it did it perfectly.

7) Watchmen -- As a graphic novel written by Alan Moore, this "comic book" made the grade as literature on many lists of "greatest works of the 20th Century. When it started its way into Hollywood, the comic book purists ducked and covered. It took almost 20 years of switching studios, directors, casting ideas before Zach Snyder was given the reins. He took on the challenge and made it happen. He brought the book to life. And by saying that, I do not mean he made the movie from the book. He made the book come alive on screen. Artistically, thematically, and dramatically, this movie did what it needed to do. A fantastic performance from Jackie Earle Haley steered this story of an alternate world where superheroes existed, and still exist, but under the cover of night.

8) The Fantastic Mr. Fox and The Princess and the Frog -- These two films, as one entry, exist despite every chance available. Was Anderson's The Fantastic Mr. Fox is a movie made in the almost-extinct style of stop-motion animation. The Princess and the Frog marks Disney's return to hand-drawn animation, the style perfected by Walt and done away with by the anti-Walt, Michael Eisner and saved by new studio head John Lasseter, who headed up Pixar until the companies merged in 2007. Artistry is artistry, whether it comes in the form of epic widescreen cinematography or in the hands of filmmakers who still care about their art.

9) Avatar -- There is going to be a day when I finally stop questioning James Cameron's ability. Every time I see one of his films, I think to myself, "Well, that's the top of the mark. He'll never top that." And every time, I am wrong. Much has been made of the idea that Avatar's plot is a spin on every Western that dared to suggest that the "Indians" might have had a legitimate gripe with the "white man." I cannot deny that fact. But, with a story like that, woven into imagery of this magnitude, it becomes more than anyone ever believed it would be. When CGI is questioned as an 'easy way out' for some purists, Avatar shows that it is far from easy to create a masterpiece, whether it is in stone, oils, watercolors, or pixels on a computer monitor.

10) Up In The Air -- The economy has been this country's main focus for over a year now. The word "downsizing" has come to be as ominous as "death sentence." Somehow, a movie about a man who makes his living as a corporate downsizer, who prides himself in frequent flyer miles and loyalty points, has become one of the best movies of the year. George Clooney, whose presence in a movie almost guarantees a likability factor, moves up the list as an actor who makes things seem so easy, no matter how hard they are. Director Jason Reitman does not go for slickness of style or gimmicks with this film. He goes almost the opposite, a straight-forward style, and lets his actors, Clooney and supporting stars Vera Farmiga, Jason Bateman, and Zach Galifianakas, do what they do best.

Comment On This Story

Times-Herald.com does not necessarily agree with the comments posted below. Responsibility of comments rests solely with the writer. Comments posted in ALL CAPS will be deleted.

Submission of a comment does not guarantee publication. Comments will be posted by a moderator after being scanned for abusive language, relevance, etc. See our Comments FAQ for more details.