A few good films in 2009

By Sarah Sluis
Perhaps it's the part of me that grew up in a world where "participant" ribbons were a standard consolation prize, but I wanted my top ten of 2009 to include some movies that won't be seeing much play at the Oscars or in other top tens, but are good films in their own right. In particular, I wanted to reward fine genre works, whether it was an arthouse take on a police procedural (Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans) or that rarest of the rare, a comedy that makes me laugh out loud (almost all of those made the list).

The Hangover: This is not an Oscar comedy. It's not dark and ironic, the protagonists are young, it made lots of money, and it's definitely, definitely not "quiet" or "black." The raunchy comedy earns my top honors because instead of that cringe-worthy tactic of having its characters get into deeper and deeper trouble for laughs (a no-no for sensitive souls like myself), it created humor from having its characters try to pick up all the pieces. Miraculously, it managed to find new ways to shock audiences, and it had the best missing big cat since Bringing Up Baby.

Avatar: James Cameron's work feels like the sci-fi epics I loved

growing up: movies like Jurassic Park and Independence Day that broke

new technological ground and backed it up with a winning story (though

I'm not sure how well Independence Day holds up today). Cameron is a

master at his craft, and no adult will look at 3D the same way. Bonus

points for its environmental bent.

I Love You, Man: Another innovative comedy that turned romantic comedy conventions on their head and used the "falling in love" montage for the film's bromance. Its Rotten Tomato rating (in the eighties) is higher than most "awards" films, but it's received little end-of-the-year love. Having suffered through many terrible romantic comedies this year, it was a pleasure to watch something that was actually laugh-out-loud funny, and a welcome addition to the Judd Apatow-style comedy-bromance genre.

(500) Days of Summer: My indulgent, hipster choice. Young love has never been so ebullient than in this film that mixed up its chronology to make its kiss 'n break-up story novel. Its fantastic musical sequence (staged by director Marc Webb, a veteran of music videos) was proof that good things can come from music video-influenced films. It also violated the most important romcom trope: getting together at the end.

Thirst: Stylistically rigorous, this vampire tale is far, far from New Moon. Its scenes of sex and violence will have you wriggling in your seat in discomfort, but director Chan-wook Park (Oldboy) is truly a master at his craft, taking Asian horror to an artistic high, with a bit of a moralistic bent.

Up: Best thing about Up, #1: It makes you cry. Instead of adding double entendres for adult laughs, Pixar used the wide age range of its audience to make older viewers cry. The little kids next to me didn't get it, but I was wiping away tears underneath my 3D glasses. Best thing about Up, #2? It makes you laugh. The talking dogs were my most memorable chuckle of the year.

Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans: I thought I was so sick of police procedurals, but Nicolas Cage brings the genre back with the baddest, most insane performance of the year. The seediness of New Orleans post-Hurricane Katrina is made absurd by director Werner Herzog's inclusion of iguana point-of-view shots and the depictions of off-the-cuff abuse of power and drugs. A strange, strange movie, in all the right ways.

Precious: Based on the Novel �Push' by Sapphire: A tearjerker with equal parts horror and heart. Precious' world is so foreign to most of us, but director Lee Daniels makes it even more of a nightmare with his use of dream sequences and subjective point-of-view. Mo'Nique put in a jaw-dropping performance, and her final monologue is a gutsy move made by Daniels that raises more questions than it answers.

Up in the Air: Yes, this is one that's on a lot of top ten lists, and its tone of comedy mixed with anomie comes straight from the Academy playbook. But it's good. My favorite sequence was when George Clooney, Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick form their unlikely trio, learning from each other and crashing a party.

Food, Inc.: A well-researched complement to Super Size Me and Fast Food Nation, this documentary covered the food industry from moo to mouth and back again. I spouted "Did you know�?" to friends and families for weeks based on what I learned about the food industry. It's already out on DVD, calling out to me for a second viewing.

Why stop at top ten when there are a few films that deserve honorable mentions, but didn't make it into my rather loose list. An Education: The debut of Carey Mulligan with a fantastic performance from Rosamund Pike. Pike's glamorous and perfectly assembled look made her as attractive to adult-pining Mulligan as Peter Sarsgaard. The Cove: Environmental activism meets Ocean's 11, so controversial it had a hard time playing in Japan. And they're feeding dolphins to your children! The Young Victoria: a decidedly unstuffy costume drama and romance that should make Emily Blunt a star.

'Couples Retreat' has no company at the box office

By Sarah Sluis

Couples Retreat (3,000 theatres) has the benefit of being the only wide release of the weekend. Date-night audiences are expected to bring the weekend total to $20 million. Because it's applying the ensemble premise that worked so well for He's Just Not That Into You, I think the movie could go over that number, especially since those that are "kinda" interested in seeing the movie will have no other material to choose from. On the other hand, Universal just replaced its chairmen, so maybe it's another film on their slate that hasn't been tracking so well. Critic Kirk Honeycutt lamented that "the script...gets pulled in opposite directions" by trying to cover the gamut from potty to sexual humor. He also noted that "the best sections of the film deal with [Vince] Vaughn and [Malin] Akerman, since they represent a critique of the relationship industry that is determined to justify its existence in finding problems even if none exists. The most problematic in comedic terms involves [Jon] Favreau and [Kristin] Davis. No week at a couples retreat is going to solve their myriad problems." The latter observation, according to speculation by Movieline, must have been echoed by focus groups. Favreau and Davis' acts of adultery depicted in the trailer are absent from the film--and Favreau was pulled away from Iron Man 2 for reshoots.

Among returning films, Zombieland is considered a top choice for #2. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs has been beating Toy Story/Toy Story 2 during the weekdays, but perhaps audiences with more time will seek out the double feature for a matinee this weekend. Whip It had a disappointing opening weekend despite positive word-of-mouth. I saw a TV spot last night that de-emphasized the roller derby aspect (apparently a tough sell), so perhaps Fox Searchlight will be able to re-position the movie to take only a small drop this weekend.

On the specialty front, the much-lauded An Education releases. Our critic Rex Roberts found the film "comes close to perfection: inspired casting and performances, exquisite design and photography, witty and well-crafted script, empathic yet nuanced direction." Carey Mulligan has turned more critics' heads than I can count, and Roberts dubbed her "the most interesting ingnue to grace the screen since Audrey Tautou delighted audiences in Amlie." The film will release in 4 theatres in New York and Los Angeles.

Also opening this weekend is The Damned United (6 theatres), a soccer drama that, according to critic Daniel Eagan, "almost brings to life a feud 35 years ago between two notable British sports figures," but is "ultimately too insular to attract many stateside viewers."

After making appearances on all the morning and female-skewing talk shows, including "Oprah" and "The View," Chris Rock releases the documentary Good Hair (185 theatres)--but did he give away all of the best parts already on the television shows? Frank Scheck found it "entertaining and substantive enough to be interesting even for those completely unfamiliar with weaves and relaxers." While Rock is best known as a comedian, his documentary achieves a "pointed sociological examination of its heretofore cinematically unexplored subject"

On Monday, we'll see how successful Couples Retreat was at the box office, which returning films held on, and mull over the opening weekend of An Education.