Lupe's Top 20 of 2009

20. Funny People (comedy)
The title is apt enough, given that this is the first time in history that Ray Romano has been funny.  And for a guy dying of cancer and wallowing in self pity, Adam Sandler approaches funny for once, too.

19. Where the Wild Things Are (children's fantasy)
Traumatize your child with the fantasy of an abusive ogre for a best friend!  Not only can he punch apart house sized bird's nests, but he's got a real passive aggressive thing going, too.

18. Ponyo (animated, fantasy)
The end times are nigh when the seas begin to rise, boats run on candle power, and toddlers get betrothed to goldfish.  I guess they have some amazing discoveries ahead of them.  The more you know.

17. An Education (drama)
I could give a high school girl some "life lessons."  Oh wait, that's actually covered here.  If her parents took any more of an interest, they'd be even worse at raising their kid.

16. Coraline (animated, fantasy)
Adolescent girls have come a long way since My Little Pony.  When did sewing buttons into kids' eyes become adorable?  Puppies are cuter with bat wings?

15. The Stoning of Soraya M (foreign, drama)
Persia has come a long way in the 2500 years since "The Anointed One" Cyrus the Great.  They gave up that meddlesome rule of law concept and decided to solve all their problems with rocks instead.

14. The Road (sci-fi)
In 1995, I watched a double feature of Leaving Las Vegas and Dead Man Walking.  I really wanted to slit my own wrists after that.  This movie is just about as bleak but way more badass.

13. Star Trek (sci-fi)
Tween James Kirk lives Catcher in the Rye and gets in bar fights because there's no higher calling in Gene Roddenberry's secular humanist utopia.  Spock's the weird one for coming from a spiritual culture, but that gets taken care of pretty handily.

12. Zombieland (comedy, horror)
In a world overrun with zombies, there is a distinct lack of Twinkies, and not even Hollywood celebrities live forever.  But at least there are still euphemisms for poo.

11. The Informant (drama)
This is just the movie for people interested in the lysine industry.  For actual existing people, however, you can enjoy watching Matt Damon play a colossal liar.

10. The Secret In Their Eyes (foreign, mystery)
Shh, the secret is that there is no monster and the town elders are really into playing dress up, and the trees are somehow killing everyone... wait, actually this has a twist ending that arises naturally from the characters and situations as they've been established.  No one told Argentina how it's done, apparently.

9. Me and Orson Welles (drama)
Who knows what you're supposed to do if your married and famously megalomaniacal employer wants to get your girlfriend in the sack?  The Shadow knows.

8. Up (animated)
You know you're a curmudgeon when you'd rather chuck the boy scout out of the floating house and hang with the old geezer.  And this is coming from a former boy scout.

7. The Hurt Locker (war)
Art reflects life in this relatively action packed sequel to Jarhead/Gulf War One.  It's like one of those Tom Clancy video games with all the sniping and disarming traps, except for the long stretches of boredom and lack of an escort mission.

6. The Men Who Stare at Goats (comedy)
I dig all the psych warfare and stuff, but what this movie really needs is more references to the Jedi order.

5. Up in the Air (drama)
With that calm demeanor and reassuring smile, if you have to be fired, get fired by George Clooney.  Just don't let him make an Oscar speech.

4. Moon (sci-fi)
Is mining for helium-3 such a high overhead business that you can't hire new people when the previous guy pukes in his space suit?  Maybe cloning brings down the workers comp claims.

3. The Hangover (comedy)
Remember doing MadLibs as a kid?  No one plugs in boring adjectives and nouns when you could go with black Doug, naked Asian lucky charm, and junk taser.  The tiger seems tame by comparison.

2. Inglourious Basterds (war)
Tarantino spells about as well as Brad Pitt speaks Italian.  I'm not so sure the guy who paved the way for Travolta to make Battlefield Earth has the moral high ground to claim Nazis are a-holes.

1. Fantastic Mr. Fox (animated)
Wes Anderson makes an awfully genteel yet sardonic children's film.  See if your eight year old enjoys watching chickens get mauled and tails shot off as much as I do.

Strat's 20 of 2009

The last year of the decade, while not on the same level as the last of the 90s, certainly had its fair share of strong films from around the world. It's amazing that 10 years ago an independent movie was shot on video (The Blair Witch Project) and 10 years later, several movies nominated for Best Picture were shot on video (District 9 and Avatar).

20. Tokyo! (foreign drama)

What happens when French sensibilities meet Japanese culture? Here's the answer: a little surrealism, a little existentialism and a little artsy in 3 short films about the city.

19. The Informant! (comedy)
Soderbergh is truly a hit or miss director. This is where he returns to the form of making entertaining films.  Matt Damon delivers an wonderful performance as a FBI informant that doesn't quite know how to confess the truth.

18. The Men Who Stare At Goats (comedy)

I'm sure the pitch to make this movie with Ewan McGregor learning "Jedi mind tricks" from George Clooney was enough to get this made. It's almost as funny as "Catch-22" back in the day.

17. The Cove (documentary)
If you've ever wondered why Japanese fisherman are so obsessed with dolphins and the government cover up of capture and slaughter of these creatures this is the definitive take on this matter.

16. Invictus (drama)

Oh, Mr Eastwood has returned to tell us about history, national pride and sports - in South Africa. Or you can just see it because Morgan Freeman is awesome. 

15. Art & Copy (documentary)

If you ever studied advertising or work in the field or just appreciate the emotional power and creativity of ads this is the documentary that you should see.

14. The Fantastic Mr. Fox (animated comedy)

So George Clooney is done trying to rob casinos. Now he does chicken coops. Best stop-motion animated film I have since since Corpse Bride.

13. TiMER (sci-fi/comedy)

I discovered this movie on Netflix so I'm not sure you'll find it through other means. It's very low budget, but the story is simple yet effective. Not often comedy visits sci-fi without being a spoof, but this movie manages to not only do that, but tug at your heart.

12. Gomorrah (foreign drama)

So what would Goodfellas be like if it were set in modern Southern Italy? Here ya go.

11. Funny People (comedy/drama)

I heard this movies wouldn't be that funny. It isn't. However, it is a fine drama with enough comedic touches.

10. Precious (drama)

What can I say? The acting is phenomenal and a testament to the screenplay and direction. I didn't even realize who Mariah Carey was in it, until I looked it up later. Wow.

9. Star Trek (sci-fi/action)

Probably the most "fun" movie of the year. No real message, just a great popcorn movie in space.

8. Avatar (sci-fi/action)

It's definitely a technical achievement that must be seen at the highest quality possible. Cameron paints a beautiful world that you really want to live in if it weren't so damn dangerous.

7. An Education (drama)

So are our parents really looking after our best interests? Do we really know what's best for ourselves? Is education really more important than wealth? Great questions explored here along with the emergence of the film's budding young starlet.

6. Brothers (drama)

Absolutely the best pure dramatic film of the year. Solid acting all around from a star-studded cast including Natalie Portman, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Tobey Maguire in a surprising role. Never in this film do you feel like a choice was made just to try to manipulate you in an insincere way.

5. 500 Days of Summer (comedy)

The best movie I will probably not see again for a long while for personal reasons. Other than that, it's the best tough love indie comedy since Garden State.

4. The Hangover (comedy)

This movie really is the revitalization of the screwball comedy set in the wackiest place on earth for one: Las Vegas. It's fun to watch again and again.

3. Inglourious Basterds (action/comedy)

Tarantino's best movie since Pulp Fiction. It's no surprise that the movie begins with a a pretty evil character engaging in a cat and mouse dialogue with another man, before killing people just like a certain Jules did 15 years earlier. Leave it to Tarantino to make a historical movie that purposely thumbs its nose at major historical facts for story and laughs.

2. Up in the Air (comedy/drama)

Meet Ryan, the man who sits in first class and does the most dastardly deed imaginable - he lays people off for a living. Not only that, but he lives his life without any real connections to other people. Until he picks up a few cute sidekicks out on the road.

1. Up (animated/comedy)

What can I say? After the first 10 minutes of the movie if you haven't cried you don't have a soul. If by the end of the movie, you haven't laughed you don't have a sense of life. Best Pixar movie ever. Probably only until the next one? Those Pixar guys are that good.