by Josh Slates
Josh Slates is a local filmmaker (Exasperado, Ponkutsu Park, Odyssey Of Oddities, 89 Gator Mine), creator of the film zine Travels Through Elsewhere Cinema and a film critic for WYPR's show The Signal.
1. INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
Quentin Tarantino makes it look just so damn easy. Hooray for movies!
2. DISTRICT 9
This was pretty much the best sci-fi film since "Starship Troopers," unless I'm forgetting something (and I probably am). While I admire "Primer," I also must admit to falling asleep in the middle of it at an evening show at the Ritz at the Bourse way back when. I certainly did not fall asleep during "District 9"!
3. THE HURT LOCKER
Real-life Iraq war vets tell me that, of all of the current films about the Iraq war, this is the most unrealistic and far-fetched of them all. Not that they don't like it, they do ... but that's probably why this is a such a good movie, it's like a psychological booby-trap where you don't have a lot of time to ponder why we're there or how we got there. Kathryn Bigelow pretty much schools everyone with this one.
4. IN THE LOOP
On the subject of "how we got there," may I direct you to "In the Loop"? One morbidly trenchant setup after another and almost every line is a keeper (although I could probably watch British people swear at each other for 103 minutes on any unrelated subject and I would probably be delighted). Plus, Anna Chlumsky is back!
5. RED RIDING: 1974
"Red Riding" is a three-part, six-hour BBC drama that spends nine years (1974-1983) with the Yorkshire Ripper and the corrupt and ruthless police department that inexplicably shields the crimes from justice. The first installment, "1974," stars Andrew Garfield as a snoopy scoop who runs afoul of a shady land developer (Sean Bean) who himself has a shady history with the mum (Rebecca Hall) of one of the killer's victims. One of the most stunning British ensemble casts you're likely to see.
6. BURMA VJ
Totally riveting and one of the most claustrophobic films I've ever seen. A mixture of "real" documentary footage collected from anonymous citizen journalists detailing everyday life under the military leadership of Burma/Myanmar alongside "re-enacted" connective tissue detailing the efforts of the Democratic Voice of Burma's efforts to smuggle the footage to safety in Oslo.
7. THE WHITE RIBBON
Michael Haneke's least provocative but possibly most precious puzzle yet. It takes a certain undeniable genius and skill to pull off this two-hour-plus black-and-white period thriller about a rural pre-World War I German village that is plunged into an almost paranormal hysteria with a plague of disappearances and irrational violence.
8. ANTICHRIST
[Insert catch phrase!] Love it or lump it, one of the few truly unforgettable films of 2009. This year's Best Actress Oscar definitely belongs to Mandy Starship in the role of "Body Double For Ms. Gainsbourg."
9. MY SON, MY SON, WHAT HAVE YE DONE
I've discovered, apparently, that there are only two people in the world who like this movie: me and Werner Herzog. So, if there is anyone else out there who likes this movie, please email The Mobtown Shank and give them a glimpse into your secret world of shame.
10. FISH TANK
Non-professional British teen actress Kate Jarvis and the suddenly ubiquitous Michael Fassbender tear an Essex housing project asunder in a battle-of-the-sexes tale for the ages (but especially the '00's). Shot in defiant 1.33:1 and pretty much the worst date movie of the year.
Honorable Mention: ANVIL:THE STORY OF ANVIL
Has Neil Tobias seen this? I'd like for him to write a column about his thoughts on these Canadian rock icons and their decision to cancel their recently scheduled Baltimore appearance. Were pre-sales discouragingly slow? We missed out on potentially witnessing Lips Ludlow put the door manager of Sonar in a headlock.
Special Jury Prize: BIRDEMIC
There are no words ... I mean, that I can think of to describe this movie. There are some words in "Birdemic," but there is mostly just the inexplicable sound effects of WWII German bombers, some lazy Photoshop maneuvers and a severe shortage of animation cycles. While there also is a gratuitous amount of lead actress Whitney Moore in her underwear, not even that can fill out one of the most sadistically padded (and, come to think of it, ineptly directed) home videos you will ever see.
As always, a few regrets. Sadly missed but wish I had seen: a holly jolly double feature of "Mother" (Bong Joon-Hoo) and "I Killed My Mother" (Xavier Dolan); plus, Kore-eda Hirokazu's "Air Doll," Harmony Korine's "Trash Humpers" Sean Byrne’s “The Loved Ones” and Gaspar Noe's "Enter the Void."
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Over the next several weeks, we will be regularly posting Year End Wrap Up lists from our friends, readers, and regular Shank contributors. So please stay tuned...
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