Top 10 films of 2009

MARGARET AGNEW

As the last year of the noughties draws to a close, it's time to ponder the films of the year.

MARGARET AGNEW's  top 10 films of 2009 (in no particular order) are:

(500) Days of Summer
(500) Days of Summer is a fickle, flighty thing that dangles true love within reach then whips it away, laughing. Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays Tom Hansen, a bored greeting-card writer. His humdrum existence is brightened by the appearance of his boss' new secretary, Summer (Zooey Deschanel). The only problem is Summer doesn't believe in love. Since this is told from the guy's perspective, boyfriends and husbands should also enjoy this funny anti-romcom. Sweet, sad, bitter and funny, sometimes all at the same time.

Doubt
The devil may be in the detail, but there's a little piece of intricately detailed heaven right here for anyone who appreciates a highly intelligent script and acting with a capital A. Set in 1964, the strict principal of a Catholic school in the Bronx, Sister Aloysius (Meryl Streep), is sharply wary of the new ideas of progressive Father Brendan Flynn (Philip Seymour Hoffman). Innocent Sister James (Amy Adams) tends to think the best of everyone, but begins to have her doubts when Father Flynn's favourite pupil seems distressed after a meeting with the priest. Doubt is a stunning morality tale which doesn't shy away from tackling big subjects.

An Education
The memoirs of journalist Lynn Barber are poignantly, prettily and wittily brought to life by writer Nick Hornby, director Lone Scherfig and the acting talent of Carey Mulligan and Peter Sarsgaard and others. The `60s coming-of-age tale is a cut above with style intelligence, grace, wit and wisdom aplenty.

The Escapist
Whenever Brian Cox turns up in a major role it's always worth paying attention. Here Cox plays lifer Frank Perry. We never discover his crime, but when we meet him, he's resigned to the fact that prison is his home for the rest of his days. That changes when he learns his only child is critically ill from a drug overdose. Wanting to make amends before she dies, Frank hatches a plan to escape. At first glance, The Escapist seems like a straightforward prison-break thriller, but it's not. Featuring a non- linear plot, it's a stunning, yet restrained, feature-film debut for British director Rupert Wyatt.

Inglourious Basterds
Quentin Tarantino's audacious rewrite of history sees the World War 2 film become a bloody tale of Jewish vengeance. It's also a heil of a good time. This Nazi-sploitation film opens with fairy-tale and spaghetti Western connotations: "Once upon a time in Nazi-occupied France . . .'' and then takes viewers on a trip through an alternative history of World War II. Basterds follows two main plot threads. If you can handle the gore and you're not German, you're in for an audacious, rip-roaring time. If the scarily charming baddie of the piece, Christoph Waltz, doesn't get nominated for an Oscar for his brilliant role as a Jew-hunting Nazi, then there's no justice in the world.

Up
Pixar has done it again. Up is wonderful. Up is moving. Up is uplifting metaphorically, spiritually and thematically. Retired balloon seller Carl Fredricksen (voiced perfectly by Ed Asner) is hoping to fulfil his lifelong dream of a great adventure, when he ties thousands of helium-filled balloons to his house. His plan is to fly to South America's mysterious, unexplored Paradise Falls. However, soon after lifting off, Carl realises he isn't alone. The ever-enthusiastic Russell, a boy 70 years his junior, has inadvertently become a stowaway on the trip of a lifetime. Covering diverse subjects such as loneliness, loss and growing up without a dad, Up could have been a cloying mess. Instead, it's a fabulous film for adults of all ages, which children will enjoy too - a terrific tale. 

Gran Torino
Opened here in 2009, Clint Eastwood's Gran Torino was, surprisingly, far better than the Oscar-nominated Changeling, which gained more attention. Aged a sprightly 78 at the time, quadruple Oscar-winner Clint Eastwood has declared this film to be his acting swansong  and what an emotionally powerful adios it is. Gran Torino must also be a farewell to the tough-yet-good-guy characters that resonate through Eastwood's five-decade acting career. Here we have a showdown between an old bigoted Korean War veteran and the modern multi-cultural world encroaching on his front porch. Gran Torino's bittersweet tale of an unlikely friendship and old-fashioned heroism would look at first glance as if Dirty Harry got old and moved to suburbia.

Coraline
Coraline is a fabulously creepy tale of a little girl's adventure into a tempting dreamworld where nothing is quite what it seems. Coraline Jones (voiced by Dakota Fanning) lives with her preoccupied parents, in a big old pink house. One rainy day, bored Coraline decides to open the secret door. When her mother unlocks it, it reveals a brick wall, but when Coraline opens it later that night, it reveals a tunnel to another world where her other mother (voiced by Teri Hatcher) and other father lavish her with attention and treats. But what does the other mother really want? Why do they all have button eyes in the Other Mother's world? And what does the cat know? Fabulously detailed and creative, the animation in Coraline is so smooth at times that it looks like it might be CG. It's not. I loved the super-creepy book, and the movie does an excellent job of living up to it. Coraline is a captivating heroine, although parents of small or nervous children should be aware there is some very creepy stuff in here. Coraline is the first stop-motion feature to be conceived and shot in stereoscopic 3D. Eerily eye-popping, Coraline is a story you won't forget.

District 9
District 9 is a strikingly good, documentary-style, science-fiction film that manages to draw some incredibly diverse themes together into a thoroughly entertaining package. In 2010 South Africa, a slum called District 9 is home to one million illegal aliens who are, literally, aliens. A spaceship hovers above Johannesburg, while its inhabitants have been stranded as refugees in a shantytown below for the past 20 years, with no solution in sight. The MNU (Multi-National United) is brought in to evict all the slum-dwelling aliens, led by Wikus van de Merwe (Sharlto Copley). The film-makers have done brilliantly with a relatively small budget, choosing a compelling, slow-building storyline over big bangs and dizzying effects, although it has those too.

Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls
This is the very funny, very moving story of two extraordinary Kiwis. This documentary about the lives of New Zealand's favourite yodelling, twins, Jools and Lynda Topp, covers everything from their idyllic rural childhood to their political activism to fighting cancer. This year the Topps wowed Toronto, beat Michael Moore and broke box-office records, as well as presenting the WOW Awards and touring the country with their latest live show. Beating cancer is just another of their many achievements. 

Best sci-fi: Moon

Best Kiwi drama: Dean Spanley

Best international doco: The Cove

Best horror-comedy: (tie) Zombieland/Drag Me To Hell

Best art-house film: Hunger

Best not-really-aimed-at-kids movie: Where the Wild Things Are

Best comeback film: The Wrestler

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