The Phantom Tollbooth - Movies Reviews Index


Home Subscribe About Us Features News Album Reviews Movie Reviews Past Movies Movie Resources Concert Reviews Book Reviews Top 10 Contact Us	Ten Best and Worst Films of 2009 by Marie Asner This time of the year come around fast. Not fast enough, though, to outrun the snows that have inundated the U.S. this winter. So, with cocoa in hand, I begin my list of the Ten Best and Ten Worst Films of 2009, listed in alphabetical order. 2009 has not been a stellar year, in my opinion, as far as films that really grab you. Special effects can grab you, but when they disappear without a coherent storyline, what is left? Here are my Ten Best and Ten Worst Films of 2009, arranged in alphabetical order. Ten Best Films Avatar (20th Century Fox)---Not quite reaching “Titanic” proportions, but this film is unique in that it has its own language (for the Klingon lovers out there), a love story between species, good guys and bad guys, plus enough animation and action to go around for almost three hours. Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana come into their own here. Bright Star (Apparition)---poetry a lost art? Methinks not as witness Jane Campion’s script and directing in the story of 19th century English poet John Keats and his lady love. Though the costumes and hats are sumptuous, close your eyes and listen to the enunciation and meaning of poetry. Paris (IFC)---several stories going on at the same time and the audience does not get lost, plus Paris looks beautiful, as always. Who would have thought you could get a balcony apartment with a view of the Eiffel Tower? Going to the market becomes a romantic adventure. Rudo y Cursi (Focus Features)---two brothers who are in sports, compete against each other and argue all the time---in Spanish. You don’t have to understand the language to know sibling rivalry and this film highlights it with pathos and humor. Sin Nombre (Focus Features)---Mexican gangs force people from small Mexican villages to come to the United States for a new life. When one of the gang members begins to help the people, there are problems. You see what life is like, riding on top a moving train. Star Trek (Paramount)---with J. J. Abrams at the helm, the “Star Trek” franchise warped ahead with new life. Chris Pine as the young James T. Kirk with Zachary Quinto as Mr. Spock and Karl Urban as Dr. McCoy made this film a rich science fiction adventure. State of Play (Universal)---the newspaper industry may be teetering right now, but with Russell Crowe and Helen Mirren as experienced news people, you can see life down the path. Good, old-fashioned nose-for-news and the guts to snoop around make this film a winner. The Hurt Locker (Summit Entertainment)---Jeremy Remmer gives us a new war hero. The one who dismantles bombs, and really enjoys his work. This gives “adrenaline rush” new meaning. Nerves of steel doesn’t begin to hack it and the audience holds its collective breath. Tulpan (Pandora Films)/12 (Sony Pictures Classics)---Two foreign language films from the mid-European continent and each with a telling story. “Tulpan” (which means tulip) is about a romance among the nomads of Mongolia, while “12” is a remake of “Twelve Angry Men” and concerns a trial in fragmented Russia in which we get twelve versions of what might have happened in a murder case. Up (Disney/Pixar)---Edward Asner is the voice of Carl, an elderly widower, missing his wife and deciding to go traveling by tying balloons to his house. Innovative idea and the people he meets and collects on his travels are what raise “Up” from ordinary animated film, to stellar entertainment with seniors in mind, too. Next, come the Ten Worst Films of the Year, also arranged in alphabetical order. Ten Worst Films A Christmas Carol (The Disney Company)---We need Marley’s ghost to haunt the Disney Company for making “A Christmas Carol” darker in tone for children, who were the target market. Bruno (Universal), Year One (Apatow), Land of the Lost (Universal)--- indulgent comics allowed to make movies, Sasha Baron Cohen, Jack Black and Will Ferrell need to take time off and re-evaluate how they want to approach acting. Coraline (Focus Features)---an animated scary story for children that frightened me, an adult. Another target audience lost in the wilderness. Saw films (Twisted Pictures)---incomprehensible scripts and at the rate these films are made, at this time next year, “Saw 24” will be out. Are there any limbs left to sever? District 9 (Tri Star)---ambitious film with innovative idea, but digressed into gross-out. Inglourious Basterds (The Weinstein Company)---Quentin Tarentino had a novel idea about WWII, but he went over the top and lost the audience. Jennifer’s Body (20th Century Fox)---saddling a real actress with a pretend actress. There was Amanda Seyfried, acting away, and Megan Fox, trying to, while special effects tried to aid Fox. Didn’t work. My Sister’s Keeper (New Line Cinema)---here is a lesson is taking a top-selling book and turning the plot around (why?) to confuse the audience. For those who had read the book, it was like entering another world, and for those who had not read the book, it was mediocre. Nine (The Weinstein Company)---boring choreography consisting of tossing long hair and twisting torso. Daniel Day-Lewis, as an Italian film director who has writer’s block, would have gone to a deserted island with these antics about. The Informant (Warner Brothers)---when I began to notice Matt Damon’s hair style instead of the storyline, I knew the film was in trouble. See you at the movies.