The Best of 2009, For Sure

And finally, after much delay and suspense, my Top Ten Films of 2009. These are the movies what made me happy that I spend as much time at the movies as I do. It's no coincidence that I experienced all of these in a movie theater -- it is, after all, the way films were meant to be experienced. I've struggled with my Top Three, having changed and rearranged it multiple times. Hell, my ranking of those three could change between now and now-oh-one. But I'm going to commit myself.

My Top Ten Films of 2009:

10. JENNIFER'S BODY

For nailing the insecurity of adolescence. For using horror to explore eating disorders, perceptions of beauty, and teen sexuality. For the subtle looks between Needy (Amanda Seyfried) and Jennifer (Megan Fox). For proving Diablo Cody earned that Oscar. For "Through the Trees", one of the best songs written for a movie ever.

9. EASY VIRTUE

For bringing classic wit to a modern screen. For its gorgeous production values. For making every character real human beings instead of comic caricatures. For revealing Jessica Biel's gifts as an actress. For making "Car Wash" and "Sex Bomb" into 1920s foxtrots.

8. UP IN THE AIR

For knocking the wind out of me with its finale. For making George Clooney vulnerable. For fine supporting turns from Vera Farmiga and Amy Morton. For delighting and upsetting me simultaneously. For a surprisingly great score.

7. THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG

For bringing Disney magic back into my life. For the incredible voice cast. For fantastic songs like "Dig a Little Deeper". For the sheer beauty of 2D animation. For an ending that got me misty-eyed.

6. JULIE & JULIA
(Number Nine on 25 Most Anticipated)

For making something delightful and fun out of an atrocious book (the titular one, not Julia Child's memoir). For the costumes. For Alexandre Desplat's score. For the chemistry between Stanley Tucci and Meryl Streep. For being worth three viewings.

5. BRIGHT STAR

For engaging performances by its ensemble. For the sexless yet sexy passion between Fanny (Abbie Cornish) and John Keats (Ben Whishaw). For Greig Fraser's breathtaking cinematography. For Jane Campion's light yet ever-present touch. For haunting me with its beauty.

4. A SERIOUS MAN

For finding the absurd in the awful. For its use of Jefferson Airplane. For the Rabbi scenes. For an ensemble firing on all cylinders.For "accept the mystery".

3. (500) DAYS OF SUMMER
(Number Ten on 25 Most Anticipated)

For giving me just what I need at the time I saw it. For a realistic portrayal of a modern relationship. For that dance number. For using wardrobe and set dressing to accentuate Zooey Deschanel's eyes. For being a romantic-comedy that didn't condescend to the audience.

2. FANTASTIC MR. FOX

For dancing foxes. For Wes Anderson finding the perfect medium for his style. For that wonderfully offbeat sense of style. For making a kid's movie into a caper comedy for adults. For being a cussing great movie.

1. PUBLIC ENEMIES

For Colleen Atwood's costumes. For Johnny Depp's haunted performance. For turning a mainstream genre into cinematic art. For Elliot Goldenthal's period-perfect score. For that devastating final scene. For playing with the facts to give us a gripping story. For just being the best at what it did.

Song Short List

Yesterday the Academy announced the 63 songs that will contend for one of the three or five spots that Best Original Song has open this year. The list:

"All Is Love" from “Where the Wild Things Are”
This is a pretty cute song. I think I preferred the reprise, but I believe this is the one they actually campaigned.
“Almost Over You” from “My One and Only”
“Almost There” from “The Princess and the Frog”
Fine by me. Tiana's only solo number in the film deserves the love. As I've said before, you could make all the Song noms The Princess and the Frog and I'd be fine. Well, no, but I wouldn't be pissed.
“AyAyAyAy” from “The Maid”
“Back to Tennessee” from “Hannah Montana The Movie”
Second best song this year. I can't stop listening to it.
“Being Bad” from “Duplicity”
“Blanco” from “Fast & Furious”
“Brothers in Arms” from “Brothers at War”
“Butterfly Fly Away” from “Hannah Montana The Movie”
Cute if forgettable.
“Cinema Italiano” from “Nine”
Heard the song, though I haven't seen the movie. I hope it's better in context, because egghhh....
“Colorblind” from “Invictus”
Crap. Utter crap.
“Depression Era” from “That Evening Sun”
“Don’t Walk Away” from “Hannah Montana The Movie”
I don't even remember this one. When I hear those three words, I think Xanadu. Anyone else?
“Dove of Peace” from “Bruno”
Ha.
“Down in New Orleans” from “The Princess and the Frog”
Of course! But now we're past the "D's" and my favorite song from the movie, "Dig a Little Deeper", is nowhere to be seen. The fuck?
“Fly Farm Blues” from “It Might Get Loud”
“Forget Me” from “I Love You, Beth Cooper”
“God Bless Us Everyone” from “Disney’s A Christmas Carol”
Transplendent, as Shelley Duvall would say. In Annie Hall only, though. Ooh, or maybe not?
“Here” from “Shrink”
“Hideaway” from “Where the Wild Things Are”
That's fine. I don't remember it exactly. Time to open up the iTunes.
“Hoedown Throwdown” from “Hannah Montana The Movie”
Catchy little ditty. I kind of hope it manages to find a way in.
“I Bring What I Love” from “Youssou N’Dour: I Bring What I Love”
“I See You” from “Avatar”
Haven't seen the movie (it opens tomorrow!), but I like this song. A lot. But then, I was a huge fan of "My Heart Will Go On" too.
“(I Want to) Come Home” from “Everybody’s Fine”
Anything connected to this movie should be shamed out of memory.
“If You’re Wondering” from “The Lightkeepers”
“Impossible Fantasy” from “Adventures of Power”
“Innocent Child” from “Skin”
“Invictus 9,000 Days” from “Invictus”
Derail the Invictus train at whatever cost.
“Legendary” from “Tyson”
“Let Freedom Reign” from “Skin”
“Loin de Paname” from “Paris 36”
“Ma Belle Evangeline” from “The Princess and the Frog”
Hm. Yeah.
“My One and Only” from “My One and Only”
“Na Na” from “Couples Retreat”
“Never Knew I Needed” from “The Princess and the Frog”
Oh, this is the Ne-Yo song! Yeah, I totally dig it! Give it a nom!
“New Divide” from “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”
“New Jersey Nights” from “Adventures of Power”
“New York Is Where I Live” from “Did You Hear about the Morgans?”
“No Time for Love” from “Simon & Malou”
“One Day” from “Post Grad”
“Only You” from “The Young Victoria”
“Other Father Song” from “Coraline”
Is this song even half-a-minute long? Glad to see it here, really, but wish "Dig a Little Deeper" was in.
“Petey’s Song” from “Fantastic Mr. Fox”
Oh thank Heaven. Integrated ingeniously within the story. Awesome, awesome, awesome.
“Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea” from “Ponyo”
"Possibility” from “The Twilight Saga: New Moon”
New Moon had a bitching soundtrack. I like this song a lot, and I remember expressing this affection in the theater.
“Raining Sunshine” from “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs”
“Running Out of Empty (Make Ourselves at Home)” from “Lymelife”
“Smoke without Fire” from “An Education”
Hail Duffy.
“Somebody Else” from “Crazy Heart”
“Stu’s Song” from “The Hangover”
Yes, yes, yes! "What do tigers dream of/When they take a little tiger snooze?"
“Take It All” from “Nine”
Great song. Much better than "Cinema Italiano." Marion helps, of course.
“Through the Trees” from “Jennifer’s Body”
Best song of the year, in my opinion. Glad it got shortlisted. Probably won't make it in, but it should.
“Trust Me” from “The Informant!”
Old-schooly, which is fun. Kind of forgettable, though.
“Un Bouquet des Violettes” from “New York, I Love You”
“We Are the Children of the World” from “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus”
“We Love Violence” from “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus”
“When You Find Me” from “Adam”
There was a song in this movie? Was it the very literal one that came at the end? I fucking hate Adam.
“Winter” from “Brothers”
“The Word Is Love” from “Oy Vey! My Son Is Gay!”
“You Got Me Wrapped around Your Little Finger” from “An Education”
Beautiful song. Always surprised to be reminded that it's written for the movie. Deserves to be in.
“You’ll Always Find Your Way Back Home” from “Hannah Montana The Movie”
OK, this is fine.
“You’ve Been a Friend to Me” from “Old Dogs”
“The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)” from “Crazy Heart”

Can You See Jennifer's Body Hanging Over Me?

So...Jennifer's Body is actually really, really great.

It took me long enough to see it, I know, but there were several factors involved. Some friends of mine needed to be available first. It had to be a night where I had free time. And it had to be in October, because Halloween and all that.

Maybe that's why it performed so dismally at the box office. Horror movies without established cult followings should just stick with October. Hell, it was hard enough for a horror movie with an established following to make it in August -- though that was probably because it was a sequel to a shitty movie. Why studios decide to release horror films in September and November releases is just perplexing. This is why crap like the Saw franchise does so well -- it's the only horror movie out at the proper time. Also, people like me go to see it.

Jennifer's Body should have been an early or mid-October release. Hell, maybe even a Halloween one. Because it deserves an audience.

The film follows Needy (Amanda Seyfried), a nerdy high schooler whose best friend is resident babe Jennifer (Megan Fox). Things go awry after an up-and-coming indie band, a fire, and a waning moon all come together one fateful night -- and Jennifer soon starts cannibalizing local boys. Like, hardcore. I'm talking disembowelment, blood-slurping, guts-everywhere cannibalizing. And always with their pants down.

And in the midst of all the carnage, we get a pretty smart screenplay penned by Oscar Winner (and Hollmann Award Nominee) Diablo Cody. Yeah, there are occasional lines that take one back to the "Honest to Blog" days of Juno, but for some reason, they come out more believably here than in that better-received film. I think it's because most of these lines come from Jennifer, making me think that perhaps the problem with the dialogue in Juno was that the characters were too smart, not shallow enough, to make bizarre pop cultural references disguised as smart snark. Whereas with a superficial beauty queen like Jennifer, we can see how these phrases sound smart and sassy in her head, and when delivered with confidence, actually come out effectively.

Boy, I hope that last paragraph was clear. I'm trying to convey two things. First, Cody's screenplay is intelligent, well-crafted, and shows a growing maturity in her writing. Second, Megan Fox pulls off Diablo dialogue so naturally that I was almost convinced that she was a pretty good actress. I'm not a fan of hers traditionally, but damn if she didn't nail most of her scenes here. And some people are going to say, "Well, yeah, she was playing a hot bitch, not much of a stretch," to which I would say, "Neither is George Clooney playing a suave Cary Grant-type, and he has an Oscar." God forgive me, I'm going to side with the Fox Fans on this one.

I mean, she's no Amanda Seyfried or anything. That girl just amazes me each time I see her. She dons glasses and bad hair this time around, movie-speak for smart and plain. It's in her body language and line delivery, though, that we see the quiet, protective Needy. Not to be confused with the insecure, needy Needy, because she comes off as more confident and assured than her name suggests. Sure, she changes her plans to hang with Jennifer, but she is her best friend, and most of us are susceptible to BFF pleading. Seyfried, Cody and director Karyn Kusama craft a far more complicated character than we traditionally see in high school horror films, one that is refreshingly intelligent, kick-ass, and protective -- and not in the "movie-speak" way, but in a believable, three-dimensional way.

One of the more daring aspects of this film is its treatment of the quasi-sexual friendship between hormonal teenagers that is so familiar to the high school scene. I know a lot of girls who "experimented" in high school, and perhaps one of the cleverest aspects of Jennifer's Body is its exploration of these feelings. We see it start in a flashback of Needy and Jennifer as children, when even then, Jennifer is the dominant female, with Needy ready to please her. I mean, with that, it's just the dressing of a wound, but when they're teenagers, there are weird feelings and moments, and...

OK, yes, there is a same-sex snog between the lead actresses that is intense and sexy. But more than that, there is a scene where they're at a concert, and Jennifer holds Needy's hand. And the look on Needy's face when she turns to Jennifer is just so full of love, and not entirely friendshippy love. Then when she realizes Jennifer's just reacting to the hotness of the lead singer (a deliciously funny Adam Brody), the disappointment on Needy's face -- this is one of those great moments, those scenes that keep people coming back to a movie time and time again.

There is so much going on. The fad of public grieving could not have come at a better time than the year Michael Jackson died. The fine line between frendsies and backstabbers is neatly and realistically illustrated. To top it all off, there's an original song that's actually pretty good, called "Through the Trees". Yeah, I already have the soundtrack. Because it rocks.

I know this movie won't work for everyone, but it was magic for me. Give it a shot; you may be surprised.