All Time Top 5 (Best and Worst Movies of the Year)

It's the end of the year (well it was a few days ago). Blogs everywhere are releasing best/worst lists at a torrid pace. In fact, bip-bip. has already released our list of the ten best albums of the year. And, as you'd expect, we're bringing you our favorite movies of the year as well. You'll have to forgive the fact that we're not posting it until 2010, but I wanted to wait until I saw Up In The Air because I had a feeling it might make the list (and sure enough it did). We're also bringing you our most hated movies of the year. Now, to be fair to the movies on that list, there were probably worse movies made, but these were the movies that actually had a chance to be good (as opposed to films that were doomed from the start -- think Old Dogs).

Here's the All Time Top 5 (Best Movies of the Year)

5

Zombieland/Adventureland (tie) -- I decided to put both of these at number 5 for two reasons. First, they are both great movies that deserve to be on this list (even though most readers probably never saw either of these). Second, they both star Jesse Eisenberg, an actor who had an absolute breakout 2009.

4

Avatar -- At this point, I feel like there's not much left to say about Avatar. The movie was an absolute smash hit (it's tally is now up to over $1B worldwide) and belongs on a pedestal along with some of James Cameron's other hits.

3

The Hangover -- The highest-grossing R-rated comedy in American history was this year's best comedy by far. I couldn't be more excited for the sequel (scheduled to come out around October 2010). I'd join Alan's wolfpack any day.

2

Up In The Air -- As I said earlier, I specifically waited to make this list because I thought Up In The Air would have a shot to make it. That being said, I still didn't expect it to be as good as it was. Even though this was Clooney's best film ever, the real story to me was a new star being born in Anna Kendrick.

1

Inglourious Basterds -- Perhaps the most polarizing movie on my list, Tarantino's WWII gorefest was an absolutely brilliant piece of filmmaking in this blogger's opinion. Christoph Waltz is almost a guarantee to win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. And I really hope Tarantino wins Best Director.

All Time Top 5 (Worst Movies of the Year)

5

Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen -- Sure, the special effects were what we expected. Sure, I'll go see the next one. But the storyline was one of the dumbest things ever. Don't believe me? Read this FAQ on the film (warning: some foul language).

4

Observe and Report -- Seth Rogen had been in a series of really funny movies, but this mall cop comedy was just plain stupid. I expected bad things from Paul Blart: Mall Cop (I never saw it, but apparently a lot of you did) but had higher hopes for this one.

3

I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell -- As a fellow Duke Law alum, I was hoping for a movie that would at least do some justice to Tucker Max's hilarious stories. Unfortunately, the movie was just plain garbage.

2

The Informant -- How the combination of Matt Damon and Steven Soderbergh resulted in this terribly boring (yet surprisingly well received by most critics) film is beyond me.

1

My Sister's Keeper -- Honestly the worst book adaptation I've ever seen. It's essentially a collection of scenes with sad songs playing that are intended to make women cry but never really develops any characters or a plot that would give them a reason to.

This Week In Movies

Here's this week's edition:

Movies I Want to See:

Avatar -- Unless you haven't watched a TV in the past month, you've seen the preview. And I also blogged about it here. James Cameron's 3D adventure could possibly be the first ever $500 million dollar film, and it better be good.

Crazy Heart (Limited Release) -- Bip-bip. favorite Jeff Bridges stars as a washed up country star in this Fox Searchlight production. He's supposed to give a pretty awesome performance and has already been nominated for an Oscar.

Movies I Would Go See:

Nine (Limited) -- I'm a little confused how a movie starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Nicole Kidman, Penelope Cruz, Kate Hudson, Judi Dench, and Marion Cotillard (A Good Year, Public Enemies) isn't getting more publicity than it is. Yes, it's an adaptation of a Broadway show, but that's a stellar cast. You can find the trailer here.

Movies I Would Never Go See:

Did You Hear About The Morgans? -- I've never really liked anything that Sarah Jessica Parker has done, and the preview doesn't make me think this one will be any different.

A couple of sidenotes:

It's a great week for DVD's too. The highest rated movie of this young blog's life, Inglourious Basterds, comes out on DVD Tuesday. And so does the funniest movie of the year, The Hangover.

A long overdue Pirate Radio review will be coming soon...

The (In)Glourious Basterds

Yet another late post. Sorry. I was in South America and/or moving for most of the last month. But I was able to catch Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds when I returned. And I was definitely glad I did. I should admit. I'm a huge Tarantino fan. I think the man creates some of the most memorable movie scenes (see Kill Bill 2's "The Lonely Grave of Paula Schultz," Reservoir Dogs' earless torture scene, and Pulp Fiction's "I accidentally shot Marvin in the face" scene) of recent memory. And conversations (see Pulp Fiction's closing conversation in the diner and the "Royale with Cheese" conversation and True Romance's conversation between Christopher Walken and Dennis Hopper) in his movies have a strange ability to capture an audience like few writers can.

Basterds (by the way, Tarantino has no explanation for the title's strange spelling) is no exception. In fact, it may be Tarantino's best written work to date. Of course it should be since it took him 10 years to write. But it was definitely worth the wait. The opening scene, "Chapter One: Once Upon A Time... In Nazi Occupied France," is one of the best he's ever created. And that is just the tip of the iceberg. The rest of the movie, including the film's finale and a palpable-tension-filled confrontation between undercover allied forces and German soldiers in a tavern basement, are just as brilliant, and, despite their Tarantino trademark gore, are really beautiful to watch.

The cast is perhaps Tarantino's strongest since Pulp Fiction. Brad Pitt is surprisingly hilarious as Lt. Aldo "The Apache" Raine. And his character's attempts at speaking Italian are sure to please. Eli Roth (of Hostel fame) also shines as Sgt. Donny Donowitz, a Jewish soldier who uses a baseball bat as his weapon of choice. Referred to by German soldiers as "The Bear Jew," Roth's Donowitz is greatly feared throughout the German ranks. Notable performances also include Melanie Laurent as a young Jewish-French theater owner who is on the run after witnessing the murder of her parents and Diane Kruger as Bridget von Hammersmark, a famous German actress working as a spy for the allies.

But the best performance of the movie is almost undoubtedly Christoph Waltz as Hans Landa, "The Jew Hunter." From the moment he steps on the screen, he becomes that character that you absolutely love to hate yet can't imagine the movie being without. He plays a smooth talking, well educated, and awkwardly charming German officer who earned his nickname for obvious reasons. Tarantino reportedly wanted Leonardo DiCaprio for the role, but after seeing this movie, it's difficult to imagine anyone other than Waltz (whose performance was rewarded with a Best Actor award at Cannes) in Landa's shoes.

Bottom line: If you aren't turned off by all the gore (which is actually not that bad in this movie when compared to other Tarantino films), you should absolutely check this movie out. A must see (especially for any Tarantino fan). (A)