Editorial: The 15 Best Films of 2009

The nominations for the 2010 Academy Awards were announced this morning, setting the final nail in the coffin for 2009's movie year. Here now, is my long gestating list of my favorite films of this past year, culled to 15 out of the 80 or so new releases I saw. Click on the film title for my review (if available).

15.    The Girlfriend Experience

Under seen, Overshadowed,  and brilliantly edited, this tiny film from visionary director Steven Soderbergh had a wit about it. The film's tagline, "See it with someone you ****" perfectly captured the ambiguous line between love and sex that Chelsea (Sasha Grey) faces balancing life both as a girlfriend and a for-hire simulator of The Girlfriend Experience.

14.    Trouble the Water

After a limited release and Academy Award nomination in 2008, this film finally made it to DVD this year giving me a chance to catch it. Heartbreaking, moving, and inspiring, Trouble the Water is a documentary that follows the Roberts family in New Orleans' 9th Ward as they survive Hurricane Katrina. The most remarkable thing is that Kimberly Roberts had been filming the whole experience with her own video camera, giving a firsthand view of the entire ordeal, before the professional filmmakers joined them and chronicled the rest of their story.

13.    Where the Wild Things Are

An emotional rollercoaster that plunges the audience right into the mind of a frustrated young boy like no other. Maurice Sendak's famous book is expanded and riffed upon to create a story that captures the emotions, from nervousness to anger to fright that one can feel when abandoned by the word they know. A technical achievement that felt much more real and weighty than the other CG meets actor meets performer film from this year, Avatar.

12.   The Boat that Rocked (Pirate Radio)

"It's fun, fun, fun 'til your daddy takes the T-bird away." So went the Beach Boys song, which sums up this electric, often silly film that tells the story of a pirate rock n' roll radio station off the coast of England in the mid-1960's. Propelled by the music of the era, it overcomes the faults in story that it may have by sheer will alone. The performances by a great cast full of comedians and a few serious actors (Philip Seymour Hoffman, Kenneth Branagh) who are just looking to rock out. Unfortunately, I've heard that the U.S. version, renamed "Pirate Radio", had cut 14 minutes out of the film, which I imagine could only hurt it. Seek out the British cut if you can find it.

11.    Black Dynamite
I haven't laughed this hard in years. Black Dynamite is going to get the little orphan children off smack, solve a murder, and have time to have sex with many women at once. He will do it with his karate moves, a gun and some pimpness. For anyone who grew up watching shlocky kung fu or blaxsploitation movies, this is the one we've been waiting for. If you love the absurd humor of Anchorman or The Kentucky Fried Movie, don't miss Black Dynamite, who responded to my review with "I can dig it".

10.    Up in the Air

Of all the films I've reviewed this year, few feel like they capture living life in 2009 like Up in the Air. A perfectly played trio of stars under the direction of getting-better-every-movie Jason Reitman. The third in his trilogy of "America Now" films, which balance an emotional and comedic story simultaneously. George Clooney recently was quoted as saying he is only as good as the film that surrounds him, and that is true here of his capturing the character Ryan Bingham's life Up in the Air.

9.    Food, Inc.

Food, Inc. is looking to change the way you think of food. Some have claimed it is preaching to the choir, but that's downplaying how effective the statements made in the film truly are. My favorite documentary of 2009, what grabbed my attention is not only the message it sends about how we can improve the state of our food, but also how even handed it is. The film speaks specifically to its potentially harshest critics, who might claim the film as liberal left wing propaganda. The actuality couldn't be further from the truth, and on top of it all it is a slick, technically well made film.

8.    Adam Resurrected

One could have claimed prior to this year that the Holocaust film was dead, that after 60-plus years nothing more could be said to bring across the true horror that was inflicted under the Nazi regime. But Adam Resurrected brought such pain and such heart to the tale of a German Jewish comedian and performer who is treated as a dog in the labor camps and ends up being the hero of his mental rehabilitation center in Israel years later. It is a unique story that balances the comedy and tragedy that make up all great stories. Jeff Goldblum gives a career best performance under the direction of Paul Schrader, who is (believe it or not) lightening up for this film. I know it sounds like a very heavy subject matter, but I implore you to see this great film which has been unreasonably ignored.

7.    Moon

Sam Rockwell gives an amazing (and woefully ignored come awards season) performance as Sam Bell, the lone worker on a moon base that collects energy for use on Earth. His only companion is Gerty, coolly voiced by Kevin Spacey, a robot who helps manage the station. One day, just a few weeks from finishing his stint on the base and returning to his family on Earth, an accident happens. What transpires from this point is some of the most suspenseful and artfully accomplished moments in cinema this year. Part 2001: A Space Odyssey, part Primer, a great entry into the sci-fi genre under the direction of  first time filmmaker Duncan Jones, who said of my review "thank you sir, very enjoyable read".

6.    In The Loop

A worthy heir to Dr. Strangelove, In The Loop follows what happens when government employees are just as incompetent as the news media that blow their words out of proportion. A cast made up mostly of British unknowns to an American audience, save James Gandolfini as a military liaison, it is full of humor that anyone who appreciates a good satire can enjoy. Best of all is the screenplay, which is brought to life with a fitting documentary style, and a standout performance from Peter Capaldi, who has the most creative expletives you've ever heard streaming out of his mouth at every turn.

 5.    The Messenger

I suppose one could say I feel about The Messenger what the consensus seems to be about The Hurt Locker this year. It is powerful, brilliantly acted, and surprises you when you least expect it. It knows how to use the camera for each and every moment and feels true, not artificial, when showing you the life of the modern soldier. First time director Oren Moverman draws on his own experiences as a former military man to truly capture the feeling of life after war, and the effect that losing a loved one can have on people. Stars Ben Foster and Woody Harrelson were never better, and it's sad that they have been overshadowed by some other (in the case of Harrelson, he has been consistently the runner up to Christoph Waltz) strong performances this year.

4.    Inglourious Basterds

Speaking of Christoph Waltz, here he is in Inglourious Basterds, stealing every scene he is in by playing a character so well written in a screenplay full of gems. Quentin Tarantino's film is his best to date in a career that has pushed cinema forward while pulling from behind. Not the Jewish revenge film it was advertised as, it is instead a series of many slow building suspenseful vignettes, now a Tarantino staple, which all form one cohesive story out of building to violence after long, intricately written conversations. The message it sends in the end may be muddled, but the cinematic genius on display here is unmatched.

3.    L'Heure D'ete (Summer Hours)

Olivier Assayas' excellent film is about life, art, and family. I wasn't completely sold on this film going in, but it grabbed my attention and never let go, even as the final scene, which hammers home the beauty and the metaphor at play here. The film, and the portrayal of three grown children with families of their own now, shows how difficult it can be to finally transition from being a child to being an adult when your parents are finally gone.The art, and the summer home that houses it, shows us the worth that we ascribe to any number of objects that hold sentimental value to us, and how that too evolves as the generations do. Few films can capture so much about life as a whole and what it is like to be part of a family in the way that Summer Hours does.

2.    Up

It is a common and stereotypical slogan to say "I laughed, I cried" but Up did precisely that for this film reviewer. The first 20 minutes of this film is so good, that I have watched it over and over and over more than any film clip in recent memory trying to learn exactly how it works as well as it does. The rest of the film is an excellent adventure piece, which Pete Doctor does so well. The balance between genuine heartfelt moments and exciting movie stuff is struck, here even better than Doctor's previous film, Monsters Inc. and anyone who thought that a grumpy old man flying away in a house lifted by thousands of balloons was a bad idea for a film was proven wrong immediately. Every time I hear the Michael Giacchino's theme music for Ellie, which is but a part of the best score of 2009, I am lovingly transported back to the film in my mind.

1.    A Serious Man

I could write a thesis on this film, but I'll wait til you see it first. What can be said about this film that I haven't blathered on about to any person who would listen since it came out? Drama and comedy coexist in a perfect way taking on the entire Jewish concept of G-d and His works in such a brilliant, if backhanded way that I'm still in shock. No other film has encouraged such deep discussion amongst myself and my peers, while making us all laugh simultaneously.The ambiguity we are left with at every turn here is the mystery that those of us who search out meaning in our own lives deal with on a daily basis. The film is scarcely explains itself, but gives us each and every clue necessary to understand it all and that is why it is my favorite film of 2009.



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Star Trek – “More Like, Start Wreck”

Directed by J.J. Abrams
Written by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman

A trend has arisen in films recently that in order to reboot a concept, you have to go back to the beginning. Some people see this as “back to basics”, but it seems others view it literally. Tell the origin. Show us how Macgyver first acquired a paperclip, how Big Bird moved to Sesame Street. It has worked to varying degrees for Batman, James Bond, and now- Star Trek. Rebooting a franchise that has a rabid fanbase is a tall order. But I’m not here to review whether fans were pleased. I want a good film. For the second time this year, the masses who demanded I see a hit summer blockbuster were proven to have no concept of what makes good cinema (the other, for the record, was the utterly terrible “The Hangover”).

Much like with ‘A Serious Man’, which made me wonder if non-Jews could possibly understand the film, similarly I would question if people who have never cared about Star Trek would begin to now. The new film is so deeply trying to reference the past incarnations of Star Trek that I began to play a game: Try to ignore the winks and nudges to see if anything made sense. Sadly, the answer is “no”. While the film admirably tries to get out of the rut set by the last several Star Trek films, everything ultimately comes down to story. Maybe I expect too much from a film getting back to the extremely campy basics of the original series, but when the concept of “logic” is thrown around endlessly surely they must have considered factoring the concept into the screenplay?

I constantly found myself questioning motivation for scene after scene where the only answer is “because it would be cooler that way” or “this one is for the fans” (what follows is a series of spoilers). Why, if the recruits haven’t reached the Federation academy yet, are they dressed in military attire in the bar scene where we first meet the adult James “thrice cliffhanger” Kirk? And why are they in Iowa at all when they’re out of towners on their way to school in San Francisco? What does Kirk study at the academy once he’s there, besides being a douche bag, and how did he sabotage the programming of the “Kobayashi Maru” when it’s clear he has no engineering skills whatsoever? I could go on, and I will. Why does Scotty get beamed to the Enterprise with Kirk, when he’s clearly been assigned another active duty, and for that matter, why is he then instantly a crewmember? Also, he is apparently the only engineer on the ship, despite the presence of many others, because he is both in charge of the transporter and the engines as different convenient moments. Here’s another one: Why does Captain Pike request the use of any bridge members who have combat skills to beam down and stop the Vulcan planet drill when he has an entire security team as part of his crew? What sense does it make to remove the ship’s pilot for this duty instead? Why does chief medical officer “Bones” McCoy hang out on the bridge in the second half of the film instead of being in the sick bay? And for that matter, he’s only afraid of space travel in the first scene but is totally cool with it from then on? The biggest one that irked me was why is Spock’s human mother on the council for the culture of all of Vulcan? The list just goes on and on but I think the point has been made.

The actors do their job with the material given; mostly acting as reflections or referential mouthpieces for the original cast (everyone has a catch phrase they have to utter at some point). The technical side of the film is very admirable. I actually came to appreciate the cinematography on the whole, lens flares in every shot and all. Unfortunately, when I’m sitting there thinking to myself “hey, there’s no lens flare in this particular shot” I am obviously being taken out of the cinema experience. Production design and costumes play a big role here as well, and do a good job in both updating and referencing the original series. These aspects, as well as the excellent CGI, help to pull the film from the one star range to get some points for production. I will also say that the direction of J.J. Abrams is good as well. The man knows how to tell a story and everyone knows this film was a challenge from the beginning. However a producer and director of his renown knows that story is king, and this script was a stinker almost all the way through. Suspension of disbelief is an essential part of cinema, and despite accepting this future world full of starships and aliens, I just couldn’t get behind it being so highly illogical.


** Two Stars – Watch it if you Must


Star Trek is now available on DVD and Blu-ray.

A Serious Man - "When the truth is found to be lies, and all the joy within you dies… Then what?”

Originally published at Frum Satire.net

My philosophy with film is that at its best, it can have many layers of understanding and enlightenment, much as the Torah does. The new film from brothers Joel & Ethan Coen, ‘A Serious Man’, not only fulfills that idea, but has a story that is intimately Jewish on the surface as well. Anyone who grew up in a semi-religious home or went to Hebrew school is going to immediately find this world hits extremely close to a reality we all know too well. For one who additionally grew up in a suburban Midwest Jewish community, this is pretty much family.

The film opens with a quote from Torah commentator Rashi, considered the greatest of all commentators. “Receive with simplicity everything that happens to you.” Is it an actual quote? Perhaps, perhaps not. But like their 1996 film ‘Fargo’, which opens with “Based on a true story” (it wasn’t) the opening text is simply there to set the stage. Similarly, the first scene of the film is a mashal (parable) not unlike any one might be familiar with from Jewish lore. A Yiddish speaking man returns home to the shtetl telling his wife that he received assistance fixing his cart on the way from such and such a man. His wife claims that that man has been dead for some time and must be a Dybbuk. Is he? The point is never definitively resolved and veteran actor Fyvush Finkel, who plays the ghostly Rav, is even credited in the end credits as “Dybbuk?” But what is left ringing in our ears as the audience is the Shtetl wife’s assertion that they must be cursed by Hashem (G-d).

Flash forward to late-1960’s St. Louis Park, Minnesota and we meet both Physics Professor Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg) who is undergoing a medical exam and his son, Danny Gopnik (Aaron Wolff), who is in Hebrew class, secretly listening to (perpetual theme song of the film) Jefferson Airplane’s “Somebody to Love” on a pocket radio. From there the film takes off as we focus mainly on Larry’s troubles on all sides of existence. Struggles at work with students and the tenure board, struggles at home with his wife, his goy neighbors, his lay about brother who is staying with them and of course Danny’s upcoming Bar Mitzvah (Danny is hilariously learning to lein from a record of “Rabbi Youssele Rosenblatt Chants Your Haftorah Portion”). On top of all this of course are struggles with faith and with Hashem. No stone is left unturned and the hits just keep on coming leading Larry to seek the council of his local Rabbeim.

Each Rabbi shown in the film is of a different ilk. One is the young upstart Junior Rabbi. Another is the older leader of the Reform Congregation Bnai Abraham that the Gopniks attend who tells his own mashal of a local dentist who received a sign from Hashem on the teeth of a goy patient (the gamatriah used in this scene is incorrect to the corresponding letters, but it’s used to humorous effect). The third, Rabbi Marshak, is an ancient sage who no longer does much but sit in his office. As seen in the trailer, when Larry tries to seek his sage advice, the secretary turns Larry away because “The Rabbi is thinking.” Each kernel of wisdom we receive from these three Rabbeim seems absurd on the surface, supplying our protagonist and us as the audience with more questions and no answers. But upon deeper inspection, I feel that everything we need to crack the code is right there, much as the entirety of the Torah is built into the letters themselves.

Physics also plays a key part in the film, always with Kabbalistic undertones painted in. We see Larry teaching twice, one lecture is about Schrödinger’s Cat and the other on The Uncertainty Principle. Addressing a student, he tells the student that he received a poor grade on the test because he understood the simple parables like “the cat” but not the math that lies deeper below the surface. This is one of many lines of dialogue that allude to our own attempt at a deeper understanding both of Torah as Jews and this film itself (another is when Larry is talking to a woman at the beach, and she says “it can take a while before you feel what was always there, for better or worse.” As well as “We’re Jews, we have that well of tradition to draw on, to help us understand. When we’re puzzled we have all the stories that have been handed down from people who had the same problems.” Larry is essentially a modern era Iyov). Without delving too far into it, Schrödinger’s Cat relates directly to the deaths that occur in the film, as well as the idea of Larry as entangled in this mess he finds himself in. In the case of The Uncertainty Principle (which, when scrolled across an entire blackboard, curiously contains a number of Hebrew letters involved in the math), “It proves we can’t ever really know what’s going on.”

Is Larry a descendant of the Yiddish couple, cursed for all time? Or is a point simply being drawn about Jews in general? Is existence one horrible occurrence after another? Do curses really exist or are we simply being tested? Where is Hashem in it all? All these questions are valid thoughts to keep in mind in this complex film, which despite its surface humor (and don’t get me wrong, the film is extremely hilarious) really has an existential tone running throughout. The film ends on a question mark much like the mashal at the beginning of the film or the Coen’s Academy Award-winning ‘No Country for Old Men’. Don’t feel that this is a cop out. The film ends where it is meant to end. It simply drives home a theme that I saw throughout, which is what does it take to make a person put a continuing series of uncertainties into context?

***** Five Stars - Do Not Miss This Film


‘A Serious Man’ is playing in limited release currently and continues to expand to theaters all over the world. For a listing of where it is playing near you, see Film in Focus.