Now that I got that off my chest, five years is usually enough to evaluate a baseball player's career, and five years is also plenty of time to evaluate movies. Last year I wrote about the Class of 2008, and for this induction to the Movie Porti Hall of Fame again I'm only focusing on the movies that are first year eligibles, the Class of 2009.
Recap
My Top 5 Movies of 2009
1. Inglourious Basterds (dir. Quentin Tarantino)
2. I Love You, Man (dir. John Hamburg)
3. Up in the Air (dir. Jason Reitman)
4. Adventureland (dir. Greg Mottola)
5. Star Trek (dir. J.J. Abrams)
My Top 5 Performances of 2009
1. Christoph Waltz as "Col. Hans Landa" in Inglourious Basterds
2. Colin Firth as "George" in A Single Man
3. Mo'Nique as "Mary Jones" in Precious
4. Paul Rudd as "Peter Klaven" in I Love You, Man
5. Matt Damon as "Mark Whitacre" in The Informant!
Best Performance by an Ensemble in 2009
(tie) The cast of Inglourious Basterds and the cast of Star Trek
Acting MVPs of 2009
Male: Matt Damon (The Informant! and Invictus)
Female: (tie) Zoe Saldaña (Avatar and Star Trek) and Meryl Streep (Julie & Julia and It's Complicated)
How the Academy voted / How I would've voted
Best Picture: Academy: The Hurt Locker / MP: Inglourious Basterds
Best Director: Academy: Kathryn Bigelow / MP: Quentin Tarantino
Best Actor: Academy: Jeff Bridges in Crazy Heart / MP: Colin Firth
Best Actress: Academy: Sandra Bullock in The Blind Side / Carey Mulligan in An Education
Best Supporting Actor: Academy: Christoph Waltz / MP: same
Best Supporting Actress: Academy: Mo'Nique / MP: same
Best Original Screenplay: Academy: The Hurt Locker / MP: Inglourious Basterds
Best Adapted Screenplay: Academy: Precious / MP: Up in the Air
Best Animated Feature: Academy: Up / MP: same
Best Original Score: Academy: Up / MP: same
A Great Year for 3 Different Genres: Sci-Fi, Comedy, and Kids/Family Movies
The year in Sci-Fi gave us 2 Best Picture nominees, Avatar and District 9, plus Star Trek which received 4 Oscar nomination and 1 win, and the underrated Moon. For Comedy, 2009 was the best year in recent memory, with every subgenre covered. We got I Love You, Man("bro rom-com"), The Hangover(raunchy R-rated comedy), Adventureland(coming-of-age dramedy), Zombieland(zombie apocalypse comedy), The Informant!(real life dark comedy), and In the Loop(smart political satire). Unfortunately, the comedy genre was shut out of the Best Picture field in the first year with up to 10 nominees(shocker!). The Kids/Family genre equaled the Sci-Fi genre with 2 Best Picture nominees, Up(the 2nd animated film, and 1st Pixar film to get a Best Picture nomination), and The Blind Side(more on that later). Other solid entries in the genre included: Wes Anderson's Fantastic Mr. Fox, Spike Jonze's Where the Wild Things Are, and 3 other nominees for Best Animated Feature, Coraline, The Secret of Kells, and Disney's The Princess and the Frog
Most Overrated of 2009
1. The Best Picture Debate Between The Hurt Locker and Avatar
Granted, these are not terrible movies. The Hurt Locker is an interesting look at what a bomb squad sergeant goes through with a great Oscar nominated lead performance by Jeremy Renner, and Avatar did wonders with its 3D and motion capture technology and ended up as the Highest Grossing Movie of All-Time at the Box Office. The thing is, neither one of these movies was in my Top 10 for the year, and they weren't even close. The Hurt Locker is a pretty boring film for about half of its run time. Avatar is a heavy-handed environmentalist message movie that totally rips off Fengully: The Last Rainforest. It was fun to see ex-spouses Kathryn Bigelow and James Cameron competing on Oscar night, but these 2 movies should've never been considered for Best Picture.
2. Sandra Bullock
Speaking of movies that should've never been considered for Best Picture ...
With the expansion of the Best Picture field from 5 to 10, The Blind Side somehow managed to get nominated. And worst of all, the Academy decided to give an Oscar to Sandra Bullock for putting on a blonde wig and talking in a bad southern accent. The Blind Side is a simple, by the numbers sports movie and Bullock gives a simple, by the numbers performance. There is nothing special or Oscar worthy about it, and that's putting it nicely. Then there's The Proposal, a bad chick flick with Bullock playing the most unlikeable person in the world that somehow managed to become a hit at the Box Office and also earned Bullock a Golden Globe nomination in the Comedy/Musical category. It really is a testament to Bullock's star power that both these movies turned into huge hits, but let's face it, these are bad movies with bad performances that are nowhere close to being award worthy, and yet, Sandra Bullock was celebrated for having the best year ever. Not. Even. Close.
What a surprise this was! No one had even heard of Christoph Waltz before Inglourious Basterds came out, but right from the opening scene he made sure no one would ever forget him. He completely owns this movie as SS Colonel Hans Landa, aka "The Jew Hunter". But it's the way in which Landa goes about his duty that makes him an iconic movie villain, and Waltz plays him perfectly. He is an eccentric character who speaks French, English, German, and Italian fluently, who goes from charming, to funny, to scary in an instant. This required a multilayered performance from Waltz that not many actors can pull off, and in his first American movie role, no less. What a find by Tarantino!Granted, these are not terrible movies. The Hurt Locker is an interesting look at what a bomb squad sergeant goes through with a great Oscar nominated lead performance by Jeremy Renner, and Avatar did wonders with its 3D and motion capture technology and ended up as the Highest Grossing Movie of All-Time at the Box Office. The thing is, neither one of these movies was in my Top 10 for the year, and they weren't even close. The Hurt Locker is a pretty boring film for about half of its run time. Avatar is a heavy-handed environmentalist message movie that totally rips off Fengully: The Last Rainforest. It was fun to see ex-spouses Kathryn Bigelow and James Cameron competing on Oscar night, but these 2 movies should've never been considered for Best Picture.
2. Sandra Bullock
Speaking of movies that should've never been considered for Best Picture ...
With the expansion of the Best Picture field from 5 to 10, The Blind Side somehow managed to get nominated. And worst of all, the Academy decided to give an Oscar to Sandra Bullock for putting on a blonde wig and talking in a bad southern accent. The Blind Side is a simple, by the numbers sports movie and Bullock gives a simple, by the numbers performance. There is nothing special or Oscar worthy about it, and that's putting it nicely. Then there's The Proposal, a bad chick flick with Bullock playing the most unlikeable person in the world that somehow managed to become a hit at the Box Office and also earned Bullock a Golden Globe nomination in the Comedy/Musical category. It really is a testament to Bullock's star power that both these movies turned into huge hits, but let's face it, these are bad movies with bad performances that are nowhere close to being award worthy, and yet, Sandra Bullock was celebrated for having the best year ever. Not. Even. Close.
Movie Porti Hall of Fame Inductee: Inglourious Basterds
This one is classic Tarantino. His re-imagining of WWII is packed with intense and bloody violence, great dialog in 4 different languages, a split narrative in 5 chapters, a cool soundtrack with an international flair, and a terrific ensemble cast. There are so many memorable moments, from the opening scene at the LaPadite farm, to the shootout at the tavern, the Basterds's introduction, the fire at the cinema, "That's a Bingo!", Shosanna and Zoller in the projectionist's room, etc. As Brad Pitt's leader of the Basterds, Lt. Aldo Raine, says in the last line of the film: I think this just might be Tarantino's masterpiece. The movie received 8 Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Director, Screenplay, Cinematography, and Editing, but it only won in the Best Supporting Actor category for Christoph Waltz's iconic portrayal of "Col. Hans Landa". Speaking of which ...
Movie Porti Hall of Fame Inductee: Christoph Waltz as "Col. Hans Landa" in Inglourious Basterds
Movie Porti Hall of Fame Inductee: Michael Giacchino's Original Score in Up
Just magical! Everyone remembers the Married Life scene. Yes, it's a classic, and the main reason why is because director Pete Docter let Giacchino's score do the talking. But please, let's not forget the rest of the movie, where Giacchino's score only gets better. Remember the first Flying House scene? That's a classic "Magic at the Movies" moment that also has no dialogue. And then there's another flying house scene near the end where Carl goes after Russell in which Carl has to get rid of all the belongings he shared with his wife Ellie. That could be the most important scene in the movie, and again Giacchino's score does all the talking. The movie may have its flaws, but Giacchino's score isn't one of them. In fact, I think it's the main reason many people grade the movie slightly better than it actually is.
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