THE HURT LOCKER  (1/16/2010)
Finally got to check The Hurt Locker.  Loved it; an excellent film that deserves all the accolades it's been getting.  AICN's Henry Krinkle sums it up pretty well:  "Plot-wise, there's not much to report. The film has sort of a loose, episodic structure that was, for me, reminiscent of Sam Fuller's The Big Red One. It's just a story of a group of guys (in this case, a three member bomb squad team in Iraq) going about their day to day, trying to stay alive until it's time to go home. No identifiable villain, no mission, so no real forward plot momentum. These three soldiers (all played by actors I wasn't at all familiar with) spend their days defusing the wide range of improvised explosive devices littering the streets of occupied Iraq, and we just follow them in their daily work.

[Director Kathryn Bigelow] uses the Iraq situation to craft a good old fashioned war movie, one that's largely devoid of politics, but filled with plenty of tension, action, and some well-drawn characters.  The tension bleeds into every scene; Bigelow does a great job creating a constant sense of impending danger, where every pile of garbage or parked car is a potential bomb, and every Iraqi is a potential bomber or gunman. You feel this basically from the very first scene to the very last."

What I liked best about the film was how varied the set pieces were.  Each mission called for a different course of action, lending an air of necessary immediacy, and unpredictability to every situation.  Some of the more memorable ones break away from the bomb-defusing, including an enduring long-range sniper battle, and an on-foot chase at night.  It's a tough movie to watch in places, particularly during one unflinchingly gory extraction sequence, but it remains poignant and riveting throughout.

SHERLOCK HOLMES  (1/13/2010)
So it's been a few weeks, and I'm still trying to draw up a definitive conclusion on Sherlock Holmes.  Up front, I'd say I really enjoyed it.  Guy Ritchie's adaptation has been, for the longest, touted as being the "action side of Holmes" -- and while there are certainly more than a few fisticuffs, chases, and occasional big, explosive sequences to go around, the film as a whole is a far more cerebral outing than one may suspect.  It's still very much rooted in the solving of the murder mystery, the crux of the storytelling propelled by the deductive reasoning and improvised know-how of the good detective.  I had seen the term "fiercely intelligent" being used to describe the film.  That may be a great way to put it.

The plot is ridiculously convoluted, almost to the point of being labyrinthine, but that's actually a good thing in this case.  The movie lives for the details, the red herrings, the double twists.  The pseudo-horror supernatural element brings to mind hints of The Hound of the Baskervilles, and keeps one guessing till the last explanation is rattled off.  This layer of density, I think, will make for terrific repeat viewings. Downey's take on Holmes is pretty awesome, his oft slovenly showcase masking the character's true brilliance.  There's a sequence early on in the film, shortly after we're introduced to Irene Adler, where this is firmly established.  This is a man who's intellectual facilities are constantly firing on all cylinders, even when he's in an apparent drunken stupor.  It's a ballsy approach, and it works.  Likewise, Ritchie's direction keeps this badboy afloat.  He definitely plays it fast and loose, and the overall pacing alludes to that.  Modern camera shifts, quick-frame zooming and the occasional slow-mo effect are the norm, but it's an effective way to visually interpret Holmes' thought processes and steel trap mind.

It's fascinating to view period films from a production point of view, and most everything here is on point.  The costumes, props and locations look reasonably authentic, and as this is London set forth during the industrial era, there's a realistic soot-filled, grimy, machinery-laden feel to the film's world.  The presence of trip explosives, remote-controlled devices and homemade tasers are as groundbreaking to our characters as they are to the audience as used in the film.  The only thing that breaks the cinematic illusion are some glaringly obvious use of CG for a select few sequences.  Its infrequency in that regard, however, aren't enough to dock points.

And then there's Zimmer's and Lorne's music score, which manages to become obnoxiously addicting.  They play an innovative hand here; aggressive orchestrations are joined by an experimentative set of instruments, including accordions, banjos, out-of-tune fiddles and violins, and, from what's being reported, a broken pub piano.  It's off-kilt, quirky, plucky, and folksy all at the same time.  (The CD release's track titles and ordering are completely screwy, though.)

Having said all that, I don't think the film holds a candle to many of the classic movies or television series that had come before it.  Barry Levinson's Young Sherlock Holmes holds a special place in my heart, and many of the Jeremy Brett-related works are too heavily-ingrained to shrug off so easily.  It's still a solid detective story, certainly an entertaining one, and a lot smarter than the pre-hype and trailers painted it out to be.  It's just missing a lot of the endearment and rich character beats from previous works in the medium.

Continuing on with the year-end write-up, next we have the films of 2009.

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THE BEST FILMS OF 2009:

5) Avatar - James Cameron's return to the silver screen proves to be a largely fruitful, if highly derivative endeavor.  The film treads on a well-worn cinematic trail, the outsider-turned-native plot, and one can practically tick off each and every one of the genre's structure beats.  It's the insanely detailed sci-fi fantasy world of Avatar that sets it apart from the rest, and at a hearty two hours and forty minutes, it's portrayed in an incredibly satisfactory manner.  The concept of the titular Avatars, how the world of Pandora and its many inhabitants function, the rite-of-passage montage, the obligatory turn of betrayal and redemption, and then the massive, showstopping battle at the end.  While the movie gets points docked for its lack of originality, the much-touted visual technology more than picks up the slack.  Weta's work is an impressive tour de force of consistently believable CG and live-action integration, and the motion capturing is the finest seen to date.  The supporting cast is generally good all around; Zoë Saldaña makes for a wonderful Na'vi: graceful, lithe, but kickass when she needs to be.  Sigourney Weaver also has a meaty supporting role here, while Stephen Lang is a generally one-sided but great love-to-hate villain.  Even Michelle Rodriguez has a couple of cool cheer-worthy moments.  And despite my reservations with Sam Worthington's performance (I just can't get past his stumbling Australian/American accented delivery), he does a more than serviceable job as hero Jake Sully.  For better or worse, this is very much a Cameron flick.  There's little innovation in terms of overall plot, and the dialogue could've used some punching up, but the visual world he's created is impeccably beautiful (made all the better in 3D), and the action sequences are totally top-notch.  At nearly three hours, this is definitely my most bang-for-the-buck movie of the year.

4) The Princess And The Frog - Although it's extremely formulaic, fully embracing the Disney animated princess fairytale template (with light influential sprinklings of Shrek 2), The Princess and the Frog is a splendid film, gorgeously animated, and filled with colorfully likeable characters.  The cast is pitch-perfect, especially Anika Rose as Tiana and Keith David as the villainous Shadow Man.  Jim Cummings also turns in a particularly memorable performance as Ray, as does Michael Leon-Wooley as the exuberantly-goofy Louis.  It's Randy Newman's score, though, that really offers the film its own distinguished flavor.  His naturally upbeat style is a perfect match for the swinging, big Broadway jazz production numbers, absolutely nailing the 1920s New Orleans setting.  When We're Human and Friends On The Other Side are definite standouts, as is the gospel-heavy Dig A Little Deeper and the showstopping "Down In New Orleans."  Hell, they're all terrific.  Hand-drawn animated films like these have become such a rarity; I'm kicking myself for missing Ponyo this year (will be picking up the home release the first day it hits in March), but Princess and the Frog is a stunning return to form by Disney.  It left me feeling good by the end, much like how 2007's Enchanted was.  I guess a good fairytale just does that to me. 

3) Star Trek - This long-awaited reboot of a long since fledgling series has been praised to high heaven.  And rightly so; Abrams and his team have belted out one hell of an enjoyable Star Trek, striking that precarious balance between capturing both non-fans and hardcore Trekkies alike.  The result is a lean, warp-speed paced action adventure that never forgets to ease up on its thrusters for crucial character moments and story development.  As an origin tale, the coming together of the USS Enterprise is superbly handled, thanks to a well-written script that's played up by a terrific cast.  Although this is primarily a Kirk/Spock story, everyone has pivotal roles, sparking a wonderful group dynamic that's consistent throughout.  I was especially surprised (and delighted) at how much humor was imbued into the movie, which only adds to the fun, lively experience.  Giacchino's music score is a treat, with mind-melding new themes to accompany a stunning arrangement of the original Alexander Courage theme.  Finally, special mention goes to the Blu-ray release this year, which not only brings home reference quality picture and audio, but is packed with a deluge of worthwhile special features. 

2) Inglourious Basterds - This is, hands-down, my favorite Tarantino film to date.  It surprises, because its emphasis doesn't rely on the whole revenge/man on a mission adventure the trailers painted it out to be.  Basterds plays off more cat and mouse, opting instead for mood-building dialogue exchanges, consummated by small but intense bursts of action.  At two and a half hours, I can see some folks not digging the talky (and subtitle-heavy) nature of the film, but the patient pacing exudes confidence, while still managing to be edgy.  Of course, a big part of that is the casting.  You'll hear a lot about Christoph Waltz's performance as Hans Landa, and rightfully so: he totally makes the movie.  He's the antagonistic foil for just about every character confronted in the film, and when his presence is made on screen, and he begins speaking, you know the scene is going to spark something fierce.  Mélanie Laurent deserves mention, too.  She can express so much while saying so little, a product, perhaps, of Tarantino's natural affinity for nuance direction.  Much of the rest of the cast follows suit, though Pitt plays it more straight.  His Aldo Raine actually has some of the better comedic moments.  People expecting an accurate portrayal of WWII should look elsewhere.  This is very much a Tarantino-driven fantasy outlook of the era -- or, as one reviewer put it, "This isn’t so much a movie about World War II as it is about World War II movies."  I saw this thrice in theaters.  A repeat cinematic viewing, to me, so often requires a film to either be a visual spectacle, a rush to the adrenaline senses, or a fun and likeable story -- this would be the first time in a long time where I came back to what's essentially a character piece.  The performances on display here are so engaging, that to be able to watch them again, to catch every nuance and spoken word, is a thing to be relished.

1) Coraline - In truth, Coraline wasn't a film I was looking forward to, if for the simple fact that I wasn't even aware of its existence until its eleventh hour release.  The prospect of a new Henry Selick driven stop-motion animation, based on the written works of Neil Gaiman, however, had instant appeal written all over it.  The end result is a movie that readily joins the small handful of stop-motion animations that have come out in recent times, and even smaller handful of truly high caliber films in the genre.  Coraline is a beautiful piece of work, brilliantly imaginative, and masterfully crafted.  Its world drips with artistic imagination, comparatively sharing more in common with The Nightmare Before Christmas than Corpse Bride.  The movie definitely has that Selick touch: the same sort of fantastical, off-kilted enchantment and expert direction that he graced Nightmare (and James And The Giant Peach) with.  The set pieces and characters all have their place in the film, so they're not there just for shock value. (Though there's plenty of that to go around.)  The movie's a lot of fun, simply because the stark contrast between Coraline's reality and "other reality" is so enjoyable to watch unfold.  The parents are the kind of "I just don't have time for you right now" douche-bags that any kid would love to substitute in a pinch, and seeing the rest of the supporting cast's colorfully alternate sides is a joy.  There is some strong imagery, as well as an aggressive underlying tone of eeriness - things I wouldn't deem suitable for a younger audience, but for the adults, it's all pretty thrilling.  By the time Coraline participates in "the game", the film had me completely under its spell.  A film for brave boys and girls, indeed. 

Coraline has proven itself to be in the top-tier league of stop-motion animated films.  The Nightmare Before Christmas and Wallace & Gromit: Curse of The Were Rabbit are in stellar company now.


OTHER FILMS OF 2009:

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian suffers from a classic case of sequelitis.  It's basically more of everything, which, in this case, wasn't necessarily the best way to go.  While it was great that they got just about every character to return for continuity purposes, they've opted to add a new batch of historically-iconic characters to the mix, and the "cast of thousands" mentality of the film makes the whole thing feel entirely too bloated and exhausting.

I had missed The Hangover in theaters, but its resoundingly positive reviews and huge box office success demanded a rental.  It's decent, but certainly not the be-all end of comedy pictures.  While the characters are painted in unfortunate broad strokes, the film still holds your interest as a quasi-detective story; following the boys as they chase after lead after lead to make sense of what transpired the night before is an intriguing thread worth following.  It's just a shame that practically all the great parts are spoiled by the trailer.   Also, is it wrong that the best thing I dug about the movie was the presence of Bradley Cooper? He's such a dick here, but he's made the inherent bastard-loving trait in me come out in full. Plus, he's hot as all hell. :D

My anticipation for Up was sky-high. (No pun intended.)  The film certainly went over well with critics and Pixar fans alike -- so why does it end up resting on the lower tier of my personal faves?  With Monsters, Inc. stubbornly continuing to hold top rank, I think I was expecting a bit too much out of Pete Docter's second directorial debut.  Despite the film's elegant tackling of complex adult themes, it never quite held the same emotional resonance of the simple but effective bond between Sully and Boo.  Dashed hopes, lost love, heartache..... along with the conflicting juxtaposition of keeping a deeply-rooted promise while also letting go of what once was is a tremendously weighty theme that is undoubtedly masterful in execution, but makes for something of a less enjoyable film.  Russell was a potentially interesting character study, but I dunno.... his child-like naivete at times came off as being more annoying than endearing.  Kevin and Dug (especially Dug) stole the show, as well as Muntz' trio of hunting dogs.  A lot of great 'isms' stay with you, too; cross your heart, the Cone of Shame, and "Squirrel!!" all readily come to mind.

As a film that serves as the introductory bridge for the final leg of the series, Harry Potter The Half-Blood Prince does an admirable job.  Yates is seemingly more confident on his second outing; the steadier direction, deliberate pacing, and overall mood is head and shoulders above The Order of the Phoenix.  The young cast have certainly matured to an impressive level.  They've done a wonderful job at emoting the proper balance of nuance acting in this one; the furtive glances, the uncomfortable reactions, and the remarks laced with subtle sexual innuendo are a joy to watch.  Above all, Half-Blood plays up like a terrific thriller, fueled by the mysterious nature of Malfoy's mission, Snape's increasingly questionable allegiance, and the dark, crucial secret beheld by Professor Slughorn.  Fans may cry foul at the film's additions and exclusions, but I applaud them.  I loved the edgily shot Burning of The Burrow sequence, for example.  And it makes sense to take out the battle at Hogwarts; from a cinematic view, a large scale confrontation so soon before the final chips are laid might prove to be anticlimactic, especially when we know there's a big one waiting in The Deathly Hallows.

Labeled as "the action side of Holmes", Guy Ritchie's adaptation of Sherlock Holmes proved to be a lot more cerebral and densely layered than initially expected.  So while there's still a lot more wham-bam action sequences than your typical Holmes outing, the film is still very much rooted in the solving of an intricately played murder mystery.  Downey's take on the classic detective is a ballsy one, his oft slovenly showcase masking the character's true brilliance.  Likewise, Ritchie's direction plays it fast and loose, and the overall pacing alludes to that; modern camera shifts, quick-frame zooming and the occasional slow-mo effect are the norm, but it's an effective way to visually interpret Holmes' thought processes and steel trap mind.  I'll have a more detailed write-up entry soon.

As for the rest, individual entries can be previously found for the following: X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Monsters vs Aliens, Revenge of The Fallen, Terminator Salvation, Bruno, G.I. Joe, District 9, and Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs.

I missed out on a number of films, which will have to wait for the home releases.  Chief among them are Watchmen, Moon, Drag Me To Hell, 500 Days of Summer, Public Enemies, The Hurt Locker, Ponyo, The Fantastic Mr. Fox, Michael Jackson's This Is It, Ninja Assassin, and Zombieland.