1. UP (Dirs: Pete Docter & Bob Peterson)
I’m bored, bored, bored of having to repeat with every new PIXAR release the same accolades about how they continue to redefine the boundaries of computer generated animation, let alone the brilliance of their storytelling. Predictably they went and did it again this year with the peerless Up.
The oddball odyssey of Carl Fredrikson and his emotional final pilgrimage tugged at the heartstrings with that incredible life encapsulating montage, and battered the funny bone thanks to a combination of talking dogs, giant multi-coloured birds and the most effective double-act since Buzz and Woody.
Up deserves its rightful place at the top of this illustrious list because it manages to combine all the positive aspects of the other contenders and package them into a movie that transcends genre boundaries in its appeal. Young and old will inflate those balloons and take this journey for years to come, and never once will the affecting impact of the scrapbook scene be dulled. MR
2. LET THE RIGHT ONE IN (Dir: Tomas Alfredson)
Arriving in a year when vampires couldn’t be more in vogue (three TV shows and five films by our count), Let the Right One In is a vampire tale like no other. Less a horror per se and more of a kitchen sink, social realist, life through a lens look at a depression-era Sweden and a close examination of loneliness, longing, companionship and the complexities in relationships both adolescent and adult. Already up for the US remake treatment the early signs are actually good and indicate they might be taking the source material seriously. But you’ve got to ask is it really necessary when the original is as complete as this? JC
3. STAR TREK
(Dir: J.J. Abrams)
The only summer blockbuster that actually delivered the goods, Star Trek: First Class or XI or whatever its actual postfix is, managed the not inconsiderable feat of not only largely satisfying the voracious Trekkers (not Trekkies please) but also bringing in many new fans to Roddenberry’s ever-expanding universe. Captained by J.J. Abrams, the quality should really have never been in doubt but then we’ve been burned by prequels before. Slightly skewed in a less cerebral, more action-orientated direction this is Trek (minus much techno-babble) but not quite as we knew it. It is, however, Trek as we now want it. Beam me up for more please J.J. JC
4. THE WRESTLER
(Dir: Darren Aronofsky)
Criminally robbed of the best actor Oscar, Micky Rourke was still ultimately triumphant with his heartbreaking turn as Randy “The Ram” Robinson in Darren Aronofsky’s Rocky meets 8 Mile wrestling drama. Broken, vulnerable and treading the beaten track since his 80s heyday, Rourke put himself up onscreen for all to see, exposed and raw. It was unfussy, simple storytelling that was inflected with a hugely emotional human core thanks to Rourke and his equally capable tag-team partner Marisa Tomei. Aronofsky brilliantly directs the mundane mechanics of Randy’s life and juxtaposes it with the intensity of the grappling bouts. WWE this ain’t. MR
5. ZOMBIELAND
(Dir: Ruben Fleischer)
Zombies! Huh, yeah. What are they good for? Tons and tons of movies. Uh-huh and this is among the best of the undead: Dawn of the Dead (1978), Night of the Living Dead, 28 Days Later… and, most importantly in reference to Zombieland, Shaun of the Dead. Because purportedly talented writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick were inspired to write this zom-com after watching Pegg, Wright and Frost’s master-falling-to-pieces. Post-modern, hip, ironic and iconic, Zombieland doesn’t put a shuffling foot wrong throughout its all-too-short 90 minutes and without a splatter of a doubt was the most pure, out-and-out fun to be had at the movies this year. JC
6. DISTRICT 9
(Dir: Neill Blomkamp)
Sometimes you just can’t see ‘em coming. Who’d have thought that at the end of the year we’d be celebrating a $30 million, one-of-a-kind, Johannesburg-set sci-fi from a first-time director as not only one of the best films of the year but possibly one of the most influential sci-fis since Blade Runner? An apartheid analogy in alien form, District 9 sees alien “Prawns” becoming stuck on earth, unceremoniously cordoned off in slums and left to fend for themselves. Nothing like a warm welcome, huh? The intelligent, probing and thinking man’s alien invasion for 09 (over Transformers 2) and a worthy but sure to be overlooked awards contender. JC
7. AN EDUCATION
(Dir: Lone Scherfig)
Based on the journalistic memoirs of Lynn Barber and adapted for the screen by Nick Hornby, this coming-of-age tale of a teenage girl getting caught up in high society London during the 1960s, should deservedly feature on most of this year’s top 10 lists. An Education is successful as both a situation comedy and an empathic drama, and is anchored by a star-making turn from the simply amazing Carey Mulligan. It’s thanks to her that what could have been clichéd works incredibly well, and she’s chameleonic in her transformation from innocent schoolgirl to sassy socialite, and back again. Poignant, funny, and essential viewing for anyone that loves films. MR
8. THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
(Dir: David Fincher)
Using the broadest of canvases, David Fincher told the tale of a man “born under unusual circumstances” and created his most accessible morality tale yet with this wonderfully whimsical epic that was so much more than Forrest Gump: the Brad Pitt years.
Nuanced performances and revolutionary age-defying special effects are subtly weaved into this melancholic slice of old-school Hollywood in order to stimulate, amaze, and move to tears. Admittedly not to everyone’s taste thanks to the obvious award-baiting, tick-every-box approach, but the type of pure fantastical escapism that movies were made for. MR
9. PARANORMAL ACTIVITY
(Dir: Oren Peli)
This low-budget shocker was an exercise in everything that classic horror should be. It’s no exaggeration to state that this will elicit reactions in their most primal form. Forget your torture-porn or Michael Bay-produced “re-imaginings”, this tale of “things that go bump in the night” was an onslaught of terror that silenced the giggling oiks in row C, and remained with you long after the lights had come on. Believe the hype.
The horror genre moves in cycles and if this is the jump start that the current movement required then it’s time to pre-order a bumper pack of clean underpants and look forward to it. MR
10. THE HURT LOCKER
(Dir: Kathryn Bigelow)
Butt-clenchingly tense throughout its escalating series of set-pieces, Jeremy Renner’s exploits as bomb disposal expert Sgt William James puts the edge of your seat to use like never before. Perhaps you ought to have asked for a refund at the cinema as you only got to use (at most) half of it. Ladies and gentlemen, from the director of the testosterone-soaked Point Break comes a film that makes those adrenaline-junkie men’s men look like wussies. Less a film about war (despite being set in Iraq) and more a film about obsession and addiction to adrenaline, this is Kathryn Bigelow’s pièce de résistance (so far). JC
