Top 10 Films of 2009

10. Moon
Wow. The feature debut of Duncan Jones is pretty freakin' amazing.
Echoes of 2001 lead the mind to expect a couple of scifi conventions.
Most of these prove wrong and the story takes you in a genuinely
interesting and unexpected direction. I think there could be much more
done with the concept that surrounds the main character, but regardless
I feel like this is such a strong outing that there is nothing but the best to be expected
from Mr. Jones.

9. Watchmen
Okay, a lot is working against this movie at first glance.
There are some crappy performances at some points,
but at the same time there's so much to applaud. The theme
in cinema nowadays is dark and gritty. This film
is more fitting now than ever. The design and
craftsmanship that went into the film is so
fantastic I don't think you can deny how beautiful
it looks. The very fact Snyder tackled this film
and did so with a passing grade is amazing.
Like it or love it, squid or no squid, this is one of the best
superhero films ever......right behind The Dark Knight.

8. A Serious Man
The Coen Brothers! To be honest, I wasn't even sure if
this would scratch top ten quality. Then I got to the
ending. Overall it seems on the surface level a
well rounded production that is better than your average
film. The thing that pushes above and beyond is
the nature of the ending and how well that ties
into the theme of the film. I applauded the damn
thing when nobody else did. It's pretty good.

7. Inglourious Basterds
Thank you Tarantino. Thank you very much. Honest
to god this is the first film since probably Pulp Fiction
that has justified his use of Earth's oxygen. Great
script and enjoyable performances across the board.
Seriously, if you're not into the scifi/fantasy of the rest
of the list, at the very least check out this and number 2.
Oh Brad Pitt you amuse me so.

6. District 9
Oh district 9. I barely knew if I wanted to watch it, but when I did I was
not sorry. It's a quaint little film that is most certainly made for those
who are baptized in the world that is scifi. I have to say though, that the
way it was shot and the story that was told was pretty memorable. It's not
so much what's going on, but the fact that somebody bothered to tell a
story like this. It's fitting in nicely with the gritty and dark nature of cinema
(which I think will run its course soon enough). Great little movie, up this far
on the list because I think it truly deserves it. Good day.

5. An Education
Wow. This was one of the last films I watched. Not as late in the game
as Moon, but still I found it to be fantastic. Seriously it's beautifully shot
scripted, and acted. The score is nothing too spectacular, but it is again
another well done part of the production. Seriously, go watch
this film. I mean, watch all of my top ten, but this is on the same level
as the next few choices in that I don't think I could be more pleased
by the quality of it.

4. Neon Genesis Evangelion 2.0: You Can (not) Advance
Most of you will not see this for a while. I loved Evangelion as a
television series, and End of Eva was amazing. When 1.0 came out
I was sort of struck by the....that was nice..I guess bug, and it was, honest.
It was a decent retelling of the first five episodes of the series, but 2.0
does what every good sequel should. It's bigger, louder, and a thousand
times more dynamic than 1.0. Also, this is where Eva begins to divert into
a new set of stories and possibilities. It's awesome, and I highly recommend
this to any fan of animation, but see the first movie.

3. Star Trek
HECK YES! The first Trek film (remember...I'm a TOS-y sort of
Trekkie, not TNG) since the original or Undiscovered Country
to be truly awesome. The first Trek film tried to emulate 2001 and
some people dug it, and a whole lot didn't. This one pulls an emulation of
Star Wars and I dig it....as do a whole lot of others. The thing that makes
the film work, aside from the AMAZING score by Giacchino, is the nature of
a reboot that is actually not a reboot. It's a branching off from a pre-existing
continuity. It's unique and I love it. Also worthy of praise is the script, while
not that amazing manages to convey so much of what the characters
represent. The performances by Quinto and Urban are of the best
in the film. My only complain is that Nero sucks as a villain...

2. 500 Days of Summer
For all who roll their eyes at my number one choice
feel free to consider this the best film of the year.
Why? It has all the makings of the best film of
the year, but it didn't have the extra umf for me.
Excellent performances by Joseph Gordon Levitt,
who boggles the mind with his work in Rise of Cobra.
Seriously, why waste him on that movie? The script
and direction is all tight and hip and I'm unashamed
to say I love it. Also....Zooey Deschanel. Nuff said.
She's been designed for a film like this and finally
she's been put to excellent use.

1. Where the Wild Things Are
Okay, why do I enjoy this film so much more than all other
films this past year? Probably a lot of it has to do with some
darker aspects of my childhood and the rearing tactics
of my mother. A lot of it has to do with that actually.
In fact that element of the film, coupled with the superb
visuals and music make me love it on a level
most would roll their eyes at. Also, I feel like putting it at
the top may make the two or three people who have
seen this question their own dislike of the film. It's hard to
identify with if you have an exceptionally pleasant relationship
with your parents.I'm usually very much against allowing the
judgement of a film to become so subjective as this, but
I'm allowing it this once simply because it speaks to the
imaginative child within me. That, and I'm glad somebody outside
of japan is using Suitmation.

Fall Film Viewing List 2009.

September 9th
"9" SEEING IT
Saw the short film forever ago, and am watching this
primarily as a result of that. Hopefully it's decently
entertaining. If not, I'm going to be okay.

September 13th
"Whiteout" RENTAL
Probably won't see this, but I kind of want to rent it.
The trailer misleads the fuck out of you and makes you
think it's a rip off of the Thing.

September 23rd
"Astroboy" SEEING IT
Huzzah! Hopefully it's as amusing
as TMNT was. Regardless I am
glad this got made and hope the
Gatchaman film will somehow get
made as a result.

September 24th
"Psalms of Planets Eureka Seven: Good Night, Sleep Tight, Young Lovers" SEEING IT
Yay! The Eureka Seven movie. Already have
tickets bought for this thing. Can't wait. :D

September 25th
"Surrogates" SEEING IT/RENTAL
Meh, whatever. If we have money and a slow weekend
I'm going to check this out if not, rental
fodder. I'm drawn to the scifi nature, but
Bruce Willis pushes me away from the film.

October 2nd

"Capitalism: A Love Story" SEEING IT
Can't resist a Michael Moore documentary
unless it's not available around here.
Which could be possible. Still I'll do
my best to view it.

"Serious Man" SEEING IT
It's the Cohens. While Burn After Reading
was rather forgettable, I'm hoping somehow
this is a tad bit better. I like the trailer
if that counts for anything.

October 16th
"Where the Wild Things Are" SEEING IT
Loved the book when I was little
and I endorse any kind of Suitmation
even with CGI enhancement. So this is
completely something I'm looking forward
to.

October 23rd
"Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant" SEEING IT/RENTAL
I'm intrigued. However, I'll probably be much too busy watching
other films to see this. I'll give it a try though.
Mainly because of John C. Reilly.

November 6th
"A Christmas Carol" SEEING IT
I love Christmas, and animation. So I'll
watch this mainly for the eye candy.
I wonder how it'll turn out.

"The Fourth Kind" SEEING IT/RENTAL
Will watch if I have nothing else to
do. It's about Aliems. Aliems is cool.
You know it's the truth.

"The Men Who Stare At Goats" SEEING IT
It looks goofy, and it has Ewan McGregor
who usually entertains me. Odds are I'll
resort to buying the damn thing because it
won't come near me.

November 13th
"2012" SEEING IT
Yeah. It'll be crap. But if Emmerich is
good for one thing, it's spectacle. If
Bay is the prepubescent boy who is obsessed
with sexy women and violence, Emmerich is the
nerd who believes his science fiction trilogy
idea is the best thing since Return of the Jedi.

November 20th
"The Fantastic Mr. Fox" SEEING IT
It looks unusual, and creeps my beloved out.
We'll probably watch it.

"The Twilight Saga: New Moon" SEEING IT
Why? Oh, it'll be horrible, of that I have
no doubt. However I read the book series, my
woman read the book series. We're both ready
for horrible cinema. So what's the worst
that could happen?

K-On's Footsteps.

So I watched K-On when it first started airing, but sort of trailed off.
Now I'm catching up. I've noticed that the sound effects for them walking
around suck. They were walking on pavement, and what looked to be something
similar to cobblestones and it sounded like they were on a hollow stage structure.
Come on Kyoto Ani. The show looks beautiful and is well voiced, but pavement
does not sound like that....anywhere.

Movie Reviews XXI

The Philadelphia Story
A-
Wow, what a movie? At first I didn't really seem to
enjoy it. It started out kind of slow. Also, I've never
been a big Hepburn fan. Cary Grant even started to
disappoint, but once the story moves into full swing
it becomes one to last for ages. Quite possibly the
best George Cukor film I've seen and highly recommended
to all you film lovers out there!


Kingu Kongu no Gyakushu (1967)
C
Toho's second Kong outing is considerably more
entertaining than their first. In my eyes, anyway.
This movie's Kong suit looks terrible in comparison
with the 62 version, but the movie makes up for it.
We have the evil Dr. Who, played by the ever enjoyable
Esei Amamoto, who has built a giant Mechani-Kong!
Also, see the first appearance of Gorosaurus, one of
the coolest kaiju of the Showa era. A cool movie, and
soon to be re-released on DVD with King Kong vs.
Godzilla.



Furankenshutain Tai Chitei Kaijū Baragon (1965)
B-
I absolutely love this movie. Seriously. This movie
is everything right about 1960's Showa. Frankenstein
whilst a crazy concept to grapple turns out pretty
well mainly due to the surrounding cast and story
direction. Baragon is an awesome kaiju and a
welcome addition to this universe. Seriously, if
you want a fun night of movie watching, check this
thing out!


Gojira: Fainaru Uozu (2004)
C+
You know, I should honestly give this a lower grade,
but I do have fun watching it. The dub job is terrible so
stick to japanese. Kitamura's all style and absolutely
no quality in this film. As the last outing for Godzilla I
find myself wishing for Tezuka back. While a lot of the
kaiju look cool basic things like....acting, script, score,
and direction all take a back seat. It's rather action packed,
but I feel that for a 50th Anniversary film we should've
seen more Big G. Sadly, this is still one of my top 10
favorites. lulz.


Frankenstein no Kaijū: Sanda tai Gaira (1966)
B-
While I find the first film, Frankenstein Conquers
the World (1965), to be a better one I still can't
say I don't enjoy this movie. Sanda, Gaira are
beating the crap out of eachother and the psuedo
science behind their genesis is probably some
of the coolest in a Toho film. I'm also genuinely
impressed with Honda who has some great shots
in this film. This, along with King Kong Escapes,
and Frankenstein are probably my favorite non-
Godzilla Toho Scifi outings.

Movie Reviews XX

Gojira X MekaGojira (2002)
C+
Tezuka has improved. Oshima has improved. Unfortunately
whatever Tezuka told Kitagawa to do has ruined his perf-
ormance as Godzilla. He barely moves at all in this film,
which is sad because this revised MechaG is so much
better than what we got in 1993. It's good to see improvement
in the director. It's also interesting to see the subtle
changes for the Kiryu-Goji suit. Worth checking out, especially
if you enjoy MechaGodzilla.


Gojira X Mosura X MekaGojira: Tokyo S.O.S. (2003)
B-
This is by far pinnacle of Tezuka's Godzilla directing
career. This film, along with GMK, and maybe if I'm
particularly in bad judgement, Final Wars do the best
job of mimicking the feeling of the Showa series since
Terror of MechaGodzilla in 1975. Mothra looks amazing,
and quite possibly the best its ever looked. The Godzilla
suit acting is much improved. I do feel the whole "Life
should be lived in the time allowed" thing to be terribly
forced, but it fits with Tezuka's other stuff. It tries too hard
some times. Still a worthwhile fillm to check out.


The Giant Gila Monster (1959)
D
I've known about this movie since I was around five years
old. I just watched it. It's terrible. There's barely any
monster action. The small town feel that they attempt to
recreate is just aggravating and poorly done. I also dislike
how sloppily the few miniatures are. Sorry, I grew up on
Tsuburaya's brand. There are a lot of songs in the film
that are embarassing and...well...just bizarre. Pass this
one up for sure.


Sora no Daikaiju Radon (1956)
B
Rodan was one of the first non-Godzilla monster movies
from Japan that I watched. It was really neat. I enjoyed it.
Well as I grew up I watched it less and less. Now I've re-
watched it and my god is it gloriously underrated in my
mind. The score is quite possibly my favorite from Ifukube.
Rodan looks the best here that it will ever look. How sad/
strange. Still, this movie is just...so well done, on so many levels.
This, along with Mothra are what make the Toho solo effects
films just as great as the Godzilla series.


Notorious (1946)
B
You know...Hitchcock hasn't really impressed me. I mean
not since I watched North by Northwest. Cary Grant is
fun to watch as always, but I can't help but not care
about the characters or the story. Maybe I just have
terrible taste? I dunno, it's highly possible. I'm sure
this is great for true Hitchcock fans, but whatev.

Movie Reviews XIX

Gojira tai SupesuGojira (1994)
C-
This film was created primarily because the
American film was going nowhere at the time.
The rushed production shows. SpaceGodzilla
while visually satisfying is obviously not as
well though out as say...Battra, Biollante, or
Destroyah. Moguera is brought back and the
two vehicle combination is actually really cool.
Over all a disappointing, but satisfying monster
romp.


Gojira tai Desutoroia (1995)
C+
Godzilla's last outing in the Heisei series. Godzilla
DIES yells the posters. And so he shall, fighting
a new kaiju incarnation of the weapon that stopped
him in 1954. Godzilla Jr. proves himself the better
of Minya once and for all in this film. The score, and
Burning Godzilla all work to make this film greater
than it truly is. Sure there are better Godzilla films,
but this is a decent way to end the series.


Godzilla (1998)
C
Oh GINO. Godzilla In Name Only. The movie starts
out pretty well. It's got a great build up for the monster.
Then, things start to slip. We have a Godzilla that
lays eggs, it runs away from the military, and has
absolutely no weaponry. The CG is all over the place
and the best moments are when the animatronic or
man in suit were used. It's a shame that this is
what we got as an American Godzilla film.


Gojira ni-sen: Mireniamu (1999)
C+
Created in response to GINO being panned by
fans the world over, the Japanese attempted to
show the real Godzilla. While I love this film a
great deal...there are a couple of moments that
needed work. The Millenian creatur, and swimming
Godzilla CG look terrible, even in 1999. Overall
the movie is a decent piece of kaiju eiga. It seems
to try and remind us of the Showa series and the
fun it contained. Which is how I'll come to regard
many of the Shinsei films.


Gojira X Megaguirus: Ji Shōmetsu Sakusen (2000)
C
Oh Tezuka. You do try, but you fail. Godzilla 2000 was
a pretty decent return. However, Megaguirus falls short.
A cool looking kaiju, but the plot and characters are
bland and forgettable. I felt the cast last time around was
really enjoyable to watch, but here I just feel annoyed
with them. I don't think I've ever longed more for the kaiju
scenes in a film. Scratch that, forgot about Final Wars.
Also a terrible script.

Movie Reviews XVIII

Gojira (1984)
B-
Ah, The return of Godzilla! The beginning of the
Heisei series is a promising one. The score is
magnificent and there is an obvious attempt to
return to the darker nature of the first film. The
American edit of this is also enjoyable by my
standards. Worth checking out as it begins the
most continuity based series of Godzilla films.


Gojira tai Biorante (1989)
B-
Another great entry. Slightly better than Gojira.
Biollante is a solid G-film because of its use of
science advances of the day. The bioengineering
plot mixed with the solid direction make this movie
so much fun to watch. Biollante looks amazing,
and the new Godzilla suit is preferable to that
which we got in 1984.


Gojira tai Kingu Gidora (1991)
C-
Well, here's a considerable drop in quality. The
film is much loved by fans, but I have a few qualms
with it. My main problems are the futurians and
all that time travel nonsense. It works okay, but
you have to sit and think for a second as its not
really obvious. I don't mind thinking I just like rules
of a universe to be laid out for us. King Ghidorah,
while cool looking doesn't seem as life-like as the
Showa Ghidorah did. Notably good features are
the origin of Godzilla being revealed, and Ifukube's
return to the series.


Gojira tai Mosura (1992)
C
While one of the most successful of the Heisei
series I find it one of the most dull. The Beam
Battles are excessive here, and the Mothra props
look meh. The story is pretty much Mothra vs.
Godzilla meets Mothra (1961). Battra is a unique
addition to the kaiju collective, but overall I'd rather
watch other Heisei films before I see this one.
That's just my two cents.


Gojira tai MekaGojira (1993)
C+
The series has gotten better. Though this Mecha
Godzilla is a lot less impressive in terms of move-
ment it's worth noting that this is MechaG's first
time as a protector of humanity. Rodan looks
fairly terrible in this film. The baby Godzilla is an
improvement upon Minya's design, however. The
Godzilla costume is improved upon as well.
Over all a much more enjoyable outing than the
last two films.