This is a very funny and beautifully prouduced piece of whimsy. The characters are interesting, the story is clever, the dialog is witty, and the voice performances are superb.
Here are my favorites among all the films I saw in 2009 (not all of these were released in 2009); my top 5 are tagged with an asterisk (*):
Fritz Lang's “WOMAN IN THE MOON”
This 1929 silent film by Metropolis director Fitz Lang is quite amazing.
Timur Bekmambetov's DAY WATCH
I see elements from The Matrix, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, and Resident Evil. And vampires, of course.
Sam Raimi's “DRAG ME TO HELL”
Sam Raimi’s DRAG ME TO HELL is fitfully entertaining. But it commits what I consider the unpardonable sin for a horror movie:
Mamoru Hosoda's “THE GIRL WHO LEAPT THROUGH TIME”
At first I thought, “Uh-oh, this is another one of those interminable animes about Japanese high school kids dealing with adolescent angst.” Boy, was I wrong.
Ruben Fleischer's “ZOMBIELAND”
Need to laugh? See this movie.
Here are the movie reviews I’ve added since January 1, 2009, starting with the most recent.
Don’t be misled. This is one scary movie.
This animated tale about a young girl growing up in Iran during and after the Revolution as personal freedoms are inexorably removed is simultaneously touching and difficult to watch.
Robert Baca & Josh Rizzo's “WELCOME TO MACINTOSH”
This documentary is by no means a comprehensive history of Apple or even of the Macintosh computer.
Chuck Patton's DEAD SPACE: DOWNFALL
This horror/sci-fi adventure is a prequel to the DEAD SPACE video game.
Brian DePalma's “MISSION TO MARS”
I rented MISSION TO MARS expecting a camp classic, a howler, a real dud.
Pierre Morel's TAKEN
This movie is silly, prepostrous, nonsensical, and the plot has more holes than the strainer I use Sunday mornings to defrost frozen blueberries when I bake muffins.
I loved it.
The Polish Brothers' NORTHFORK
This is a beautiful, entrancing, enigmatic, and mesmerizing movie about death.
Quentin Tarentino's INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
This is some movie. It’s scary, emotionally draining, funny, exciting, tense, thoughtful, violent, whimsical, cruel, and in a few places, just plain weird.
Neill Blomkamp's DISTRICT 9
So many things are done right with this imaginative and exciting film that it’s hard to know where to start:
Peter Docter's UP
I’ve seen this movie twice so far. I’d like to see it again in the theater before it leaves. Why? I just enjoyed it so much. It’s funny, touching, exciting, screwball, warm, lovely, and just plain entertaining.
Saul Dibb's THE DUCHESS
I’m a sucker for 18th Century costume dramas, especially if part of the time is spent in sailing ships. This one, despite being landlocked, is heads above most.
Alex Proyas' KNOWING
In KNOWING director Proyas (Dark City, I, Robot, Garage Days) takes disparate elements (end of world, numerology, randomness vs. determinism, single father raising son alone, calamity, Nicolas Cage, and some of the most visceral and amazing special effects I’ve seen since Benjamin Button) and weaves them into a mix you’ll either love or hate.