Best hollywood movies of 2009
The time has come to cast our eyes back over the last 12 months and decide if 2009 was a vintage year for cinema. There were Terminators and Transformers, vampires and werewolves, not to mention more 3D movies than ever before. How many films, though, really cut the mustard? Here are 15 that did...
An Education
If there was an award for the most striking debut of the year it would surely go to actress Carey Mulligan, a puckish delight as the precocious '60s schoolgirl given a crash course in life and love in Lone Scherfig's spiky yet generous rite-of-passage tale. Nick Hornby's script, based on Lynn Barber's memoir, beautifully caught the tone of the times.
District 9
We have Peter Jackson to thank for bringing this startling sci-fi allegory to a worldwide audience. Had the Lord of the Rings man not put his imprimatur on Neill Blomkamp's debut feaure, we might never have thrilled to a deft skewering of South Africa's racist past that cleverly put persecuted bug-like aliens in the shoes of its vast black underclass.
Frost/Nixon
Unaccountably passed over at the Oscars, Ron Howard's film about David Frost's iconic interviews with ousted president Richard Nixon was a masterclass in theatrical tension as well as a splendid vehicle for its two powerhouse stars. Michael Sheen perfectly captured Frost's oily charm, while Frank Langella made 'Tricky' ****y a bruised but defiant giant haunted by the spectre of failure
The Hurt Locker
Director Kathryn Bigelow wisely sidestepped politics and morality in her gripping drama about the Iraq war, concentrating instead on the palm-sweating tension experienced by a team of bomb disposal experts as they wage a daily battle against ****y traps, IEDs and their own private terrors. The result was the first movie about the conflict that you really wanted to see.
In The Loop
Transplanting BBC sitcom The Thick Of It to the big screen could easily have backfired on writer-director Armando Iannucci. Instead he produced the year's sharpest comedy, a brilliant dissection of Westminster powerbroking and international diplomacy that left no target unsavaged. Peter Capaldi was in his element as spin doctor Malcolm Tucker, while Tom Hollander was hilarious as a gormless minister.
Le Donk & Scor-zay-zee
Another homegrown comedy that tickled the funny bone was Shane Meadows' black and white romp about a hapless roadie, played to the hilt by Paddy Considine, and the rapping newcomer he takes under his wing. Largely improvised in a mere five days, this modest affair packed more laughs into its trim 70 minutes than films with 10 times its resources.
Moon
Just as creative with its limited budget was this melancholy sci-fi from Duncan Jones, a film of sufficient class for him to finally banish the 'Son of Bowie' tag that has hounded him since the cradle. Sam Rockwell played a lonely astronaut who comes to realise all is not well on the lunar base he shares with a HAL-like computer.
Orphan
Built around the mother of all unexpected twists, this schlocky horror gave The Omen a run for its money with its tale of an angelic young orphan who turns out to be a devil in disguise. That was bad news for hapless parents Vera Farmiga and Peter Sarsgaard in a smart thriller that tapped into contemporary concerns about celebrity adoption.
Paranormal Activity
The biggest horror of the year, though, was this box-office phenomenon, a Blair Witch-style chiller about a young couple haunted in their beds by a malevolent poltergeist that doesn't take kindly to having its nocturnal pranks caught on camera. Made for $15,000 and change, Oren Peli's shocker ended up making more than $100m worldwide. It also scared our pants off.
Star Trek
In a summer dominated by underwhelming blockbusters, JJ Abrams' spirited overhaul of the moribund Trek franchise hit audiences like a phaser set on stun. Charting how James Kirk, Mr Spock and Bones McCoy first came to be on the Starship Enterprise, this time-warping adventure brought new life to this intergalactic warhorse with pace, humour and intelligence. Roll on Trek 2!
Up
Pixar's 10th feature - their first in 3D - was a glorious fantasy about a grumpy old gipper who attaches balloons to his house and flies to South America, finding out too late he has a junior stowaway on board. That, though, was just the start of an endlessly creative treat for all the family that kept delivering surprise after colourful surprise.
Vick Cristina Barcelona
Not half as surprising, though, as Woody Allen's belated return to form, the veteran New Yorker following three lifeless British efforts with a vivacious romantic comedy infused with Mediterranean passion. Penelope Cruz won a hatful of awards as the fiery Spaniard less than thrilled by her beau Javier Bardem's casual seduction of Scarlett Johansson and Rebecca Hall's thrill-seeking American fillies.
Wendy And Lucy
From canine tear-jerker Marley and Me and kids' frolic Beverly Hills Chihuahua to Up's talking mutts, dogs were all the rage in 2009. Best of the bunch, though, was this low-key heartbreaker about a young homeless woman whose fragile life falls apart when she loses her beloved pooch. Michelle Williams gave an enormously moving performance in Kelly Reichardt's understated gem.
The Wrestler
Comeback of the year? It could only be Mickey Rourke, who returned from the dead to remind us exactly what we loved about him in the first place in this tale of a washed-up pugilist who refuses to go down without a fight. Years from now, they'll still be asking how Sean Penn beat him to the best actor Oscar.
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