Film
I asked around on Twitter what your favorite films of the year were and the most repeated answer was Up. If that’s your final answer you missed some serious beauty this year. Allow me.
Watchmen
Watchmen is the antithesis to your classic superhero story. set in an alternate 1985, it portrays the story of the Watchmen, a group of retired superheroes way past their glory days. When one of the former Watchmen is brutally murdered, masked vigilante Rorschach tries to uncover why this happened. The film constantly shifts from epic scenes to pieces that are so flawed one cannot help but wonder what the director was thinking. Once you assume all of what you're seeing is part of the ironic alternate reality theme, the film is fun again. After I saw Watchmen I bought the original Watchmen comic, which sheds some more light on what happens in the film. Despite its flaws, well worth your time, both comic and film. (trailer)
Moon
Sometimes the best cinema nights are the ones where you walk in with zero expectations and come out with a feeling of "what the f*** just happened, this was brilliant!". If you liked 2001: A Space Odyssey you're going to love this. The opinions on Moon seem to be very divided. Science fiction geeks and computer nerds in general seem to like it. Your mileage may vary. I can't tell anything about the story without giving something away, so the trailer is your best bet.
Inglourious Basterds
In 2003 I watched Kill Bill and liked it. One year later Kill Bill 2. Which was OK. Then what? Some vague 70's grindhouse homage? Ok, I admit, I didn't watch Death Proof. The trailer never managed to excite me.
During the years we heard Tarantino was working on a film set in World War II. In 2009 it was finally released and from watching the trailer I knew this was going to be 2,5 hours of brutal fun. From the opening “Once upon a time in Nazi occupied France…" to the different acts intertwining together to an explosive finale. If you haven't seen this yet, do so ASAP. You won't regret it.
Avatar
From the moment I saw the trailer for Avatar I wanted to see the full film. An extra teaser trailer depicting the main character being chased by a huge beast through a lush 3D forest made me want to see Avatar even more. It has all the elements of your-classic-Hollywood-film. Good: superb atmosphere, great action, environments, a whole universe dreamed up just for this film. Bad: acting, story, especially 2/3 in. Still worth your time and money.
Shorts
- District 9: Too scary for my liking, but the alien realism and overarching message (see: Apartheid in South Africa) made it stand out from the crowd
- Gran Torino: solid story and acting performance by Clint Eastwood.
- The Men Who Stare at Goats: One of the few non-dissapointments at the Ghent Film festival
- Howl’s Moving Castle: Saw it twice in 2009. Twice in 2008. Miyazaki's finest.
- Princess Mononoke: If you liked Spirited Away and/or Howl's Moving Castle, check this Miyazai film out
- Blade Runner: I don't know how it took me so long to see this classic.
- Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis: I hate most French films and I loved this one. Witty and funny.
- De Helaasheid der Dingen: the best Belgian film of 2009. Lonely at the top.