Harvey Perr's Cinema List 2009
published March 7, 2010

THE BEST OF 2009

    1.     35 SHOTS OF RUM (Claire Denis)

    2.     SILENT LIGHT (Carlos Reygadas)

    3.     SUMMER HOURS (Olivier Assayez)

    4.     THE BEACHES OF AGNES (Agnes Varda)

    5.     FANTASTIC MR. FOX (Wes Anderson)

    6.     STILL WALKING (Kore-eda Hirokazu)

    7.     LA DANSE: PARIS OPERA BALLET (Frederick Wiseman)

    8.     OF TIME AND THE CITY (Terence Davies)

    9.     A SERIOUS MAN (Joel and Ethan Coen)

  10.     THE WHITE RIBBON (Michael Haneke)

  11.     PONYO (Hayao Miyakazi)

The films listed above represent those films I saw this year in which I felt

that artists were at work. They are the films I will look forward to seeing

again and again.

Below are listed films that did not insult my intelligence

FUNNY PEOPLE (Judd Apatow)

BRIGHT STAR (Jane Campion)

THE INFORMANT! (Steven Soderbergh)

BRUNO (Larry Charles)

THE BAADER-MEINHOF COMPLEX (Uli Edel)

ADVENTURELAND (Greg Mottola)

BAD LIEUTENANT: PORT OF CALL NEW ORLEANS (Werner Herzog)

WHATEVER WORKS (Woody Allen)

AN EDUCATION (Lone Scherfig)

LORNA’S SILENCE (Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne)

UP IN THE AIR (Jason Reitman)

SERAPHINE (Martin Provost)

HUMPDAY (Lynn Shelton)

A TOWN CALLED PANIC (Stephane Aubier and Vincent Patar)

THE HURT LOCKER (Kathryn Bigelow)

CORALINE (Henry Selick)

HUNGER (Steve McQueen)

PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL “PUSH” BY SAPPHIRE (Lee Daniels)

FOOD INC. (Robert Kenner)

In a class by themselves:

3D IMAXexperiences of AVATAR (James Cameron) and A CHRISTMAS CAROL (Robert Zemeckis)

The first fifteen minutes of UP  (Pete Docter and Bob Paterson)

The UCLA restoration of THE RED SHOES (Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger)

Films I actively hated (The Year’s Worst)

THE HANGOVER

THE ROAD

NINE

IT’S COMPLICATED

A SINGLE MAN

THIRST

THE SOLOIST

THE TAKING OF PELHAM 1-2-3

Films I wish I hadn’t missed:

THE SUN

THE HEADLESS WOMAN

A WOMAN IN BERLIN

IN THE LOOP

WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE

INVICTUS

EVERLASTING MOMENTS

So many films are stamped by memorable performances that it seems the sole reason for their existence; these films are less interested in art or even craft than they are in providing a framework for actors. It’s not a bad thing in and of itself. I happen to like actors. So here is a (partial ) list of performances that registered strongly, some of

them in films that also resonated, some in films I didn’t care about in spite of these outstanding examples of the art of acting.

ACTORS:

Hal Holbrook (That Evening Sun);

Yolande Moreau (Seraphine);

Ben Foster (The Messenger);

Meryl Streep (Julie and Julia/Fantastic Mr Fox);

Alex Descas (35 Shots of Rum);

Jeff Bridges (Crazy Hearts);

Nicolas Cage (Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans);

Carey Mulligan (An Education);

George Clooney (Fantastic Mr Fox; Up In The Air);

Michael Stuhlbarg (A Serious Man);

Adam Sandler (Funny People);

Robin Penn Wright (The Private Lives of Pippa Lee);

Abbie Cornish (Bright Star);

Gabourey Sidibe (Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire);

Brad Pitt (Inglourious Basterds);

Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker); 

Michael Fassbender (Hunger);

Jim Carrey (A Christmas Carol);

Colin Firth (A Single Man);

James McAvoy (The Last Station)

SUPPORTING ACTORS:

Samantha Morton (The Messenger);

Peter Sarsgaard (An Education);

Edith Scob (Summer Hours);

Henry Goodman, Liev Schreiber, Imelda Staunton (Taking Woodstock);

Mo’nique (Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire);

Maggie Gyllenhal (Away We Go; Crazy Hearts);

Brigitte Lefevre (La Danse: Paris Opera Ballet);

Christoph Waltz, Michael Fassbender (Inglourious Basterds);

Woody Harrelson, Steve Buscemi (The Messenger);

Ingrid Caven (35 Shots of Rum);

Stephen Lang (Avatar);

Billy Crudup (Public Enemies);

Chris Messina, Allison Janney (Away We Go);

Fred Melamed, Richard Kind, Alan Mandell (A Serious Man);

Eric Bana (Funny People);

Jason Segel (I Love You, Man);

Gwyneth Paltrow (Two Lovers);

Stanley Tucci, Jane Lynch (Julie and Julia);

Patricia Clarkson (Whatever Works);

Vera Farmiga (Up In The Air);

Jason Schwartzman (Fantastic Mr Fox);

Anne-Marie Duff, Kerry Condon (The Last Station);

Julianne Moore (A Single Man)

harveyperr @ stageandcinema.com

John Topping's 2009 Movie List

Kevin Bowen's Top 10 Films of 2009