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ON FILM: Basterds, Hurt Locker, Up get most tallies by our folk
This article was published January 1, 2010 at 2:26 a.m.
LITTLE ROCK — Continuing our New Year’s tradition, I’m turning this week’s On Film column over to our ad hoc panel of engaged moviegoers. We asked them for their lists of the best films of 2009. This is what they sent in.
Paige Murphy, entertainment editor of Central High’s newspaper, The Tiger: 1. (500) Days of Summer 2. Avatar 3. Star Trek 4. My One and Only 5. The Princess and the Frog 6. Brothers 7. Zombieland 8. Adam 9. Away We Go 10. Julie & Julia 11. The Hangover 12. Sunshine Cleaning
Blake Rutherford, Movies in the Park founder, blogger, Director of Public Communications at Stone Ward:
1. The Hurt Locker 2. Where the Wild Things Are 3. An Education 4. Summer Hours 5. Bright Star 6. Adventureland 7. Precious 8. Fantastic Mr. Fox 9. Public Enemies 10. Inglourious Basterds
Five I didn’t get to see: Up in the Air, Crazy Heart, Nine, A Single Man and The Last Station
Sam K. Blair, semiretired college counselor, armchair critic: 1. The Hurt Locker - The finest Iraq war film yet. 2. Goodbye Solo 3. Up in the Air 4. An Education - She’s not Audrey Hepburn after all, but 2009’s flavor of the year Carey Mulligan is pretty swell. 5. A Single Man - Poignant performances by Colin Firth and Julianne Moore. 6. Precious - Absorbing, ultimately hopeful film with fine ensemble acting led by an amazing Mo’Nique. 7. Inglourious Basterds - Ignore the stupid spelling and bogus plot and watch Christopher Walz steal the film from Brad Pitt. 8. The Maid - Dark comedy inSpanish about a maid with a bad attitude. Will be remembered for one thing: Catalina Saavedra. 9. Julie & Julia 10. (tie) The Messenger and That Evening Sun.
Honorable Mention: Invictus,In the Loop, Nine, The Last Station, Up
Want to see: The Lovely Bones, White Ribbon
Jay Russell, director, My DogSkip, Ladder 49, The Water Horse etc.:
OK, you asked about my Top 10 List. And this list could change by this afternoon, as I change my mind about them. Also my list is made without yet seeing A Single Man, Nine, The Last Station, almost zero foreign language films and still a few others. You may publish these if you like, at your own risk and with the above caveats.
In alphabetical order - 1. (500) Days of Summer 2. A Serious Man 3. An Education 4. Avatar 5. District 9 6. The Hurt Locker 7. The Road 8. Sugar 9. Up 10. Up in the Air
Special Mention for Ponyo, which could replace any of the above.
Danny-Joe Crofford, producer, The Show With No Name, KABZ-FM 103.7 the BUZZ: 1. The Hurt Locker 2. The Blind Side 3. Up 4. Star Trek 5. The Proposal 6. It’s Complicated 7. The Hangover 8. Up in the Air 9. Inglourious Basterds 10.Precious Karen Martin, Movie-Style founder, closest friend: In no particular order, Julie & Julia, Fantastic Mr. Fox, An Education, Crazy Heart (Jeff Bridges runs away with this tale of a washed-up country singer who stumbles upon an undeserved chance at happiness, then continues stumbling) and Up.
Noel Murray, Conwaybased freelance writer who contributes regularly to The Onion’s A.V. Club and The Los Angeles Times: 1. Inglourious Basterds 2. A Serious Man 3. Public Enemies 4. Up 5. Still Walking 6. Julia 7. Duplicity 8. Fantastic Mr. Fox 9. Funny People 10. Passing Strange Spencer Gregory, senior at Episcopal Collegiate School: I’d really like to have seen Up in the Air, Avatar and Nine before having to do this, but ah well. 1. Precious 2. Inglourious Basterds 3. The Hurt Locker 4. (500) Days of Summer 5. Ponyo 6. Watchmen 7. Where the Wild Things Are 8. District 9 9. Public Enemies 10. Up/A Serious ManLevi Agee, Little Rock Film Festival programmer, Cameras on the Radio founder and co-host: 1. Where the Wild Things Are 2. Inglourious Basterds 3. District 9 4. Up - First 10 minutes were moving and Oscarworthy, the rest of the movie was fun and Oscar-worthy. 5. (500) Days of Summer 6. Zombieland 7. Fantastic Mr. Fox 8. The Hurt Locker 9. The Informant 10. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince - I know it seems a little fanboy-ish to choose a franchise-based juggernaut like Potter but this film got to me. The dark tone and sense of isolation was chillingly rendered yet again by the solid David Yates.
Still need to see Avatar, The Road, The Messenger, A Serious Man and An Education but I think these sum up the year well with whimsical blockbusters and honest and specific tales of humanity. BoondockSaints II is the absolute worst film of 2009, hands down.
David Bazzel, Arkansas treasure, former Razorback, co-host The Show With No Name, KABZ-FM 103.7 the BUZZ : Up - Was shocked how much I loved this film yes loved this film! Star Trek - grew up a huge fan of the series - amazing casting job. The Blind Side - Football, A true Story (with embellishment of course!)and HDN quoting “There’s plenty of lions, bears, and tigers but there’s only one razorback! Put me in coach!” The Soloist - I know some of the movie is fabricated but I’m a sucker for “based on a true story” movies! TheTaking of Pelham 1 2 3 - In such a weak year in movies, anything that has Denzel and Travolta, I’ll take it. Michael Jackson’s This Is It - being a huge Elvis fan, I’m jealous that MJ has this film for us to see all his talents in his last days. Elvis’ last concert footage not near as kind.
Hannah McSpadden, cinephile: 1. Inglourious Basterds - What excites me about Basterds is the shift inthe familiar and the possible “new horizon” that Tarantino is exploring. The movie is not over-the-top with its violence and language as many of us have come to expect, but thoughtful and drawn out, using atmosphere, dialogue and inferred knowledge to enthrall us from one chapter to the next. 2. A Serious Man- A dark and funny portrait of a Jewish man dealing with a world that is coming undone around him. 3. Moon - It says something when one actor (in this case, Sam Rockwell) can carry a movie for the entire 97 minutes all by himself. A beautiful score and the fact that, while set in outer space, director Duncan Jones does not rely on flashy special effects to tell the story makes this a rare and unique little gem. 4. Fantastic Mr. Fox 5. Big Fan - A bizarre story centering around Paul (played by Patton Oswalt), the titular “big fan” of the New York Giants football team. The movie depicts Paul’s obsessive nature and the traumatic results of meeting his sports idol for the first time. Kevin Corrigan gives an offbeat, but terrific performance as well as Paul’s best friend, Sal, who indulges in similar behavior but refuses to come to terms with the extent of Paul’s obsession.
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MovieStyle, Pages 35 on 01/01/2010
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