The Critics have spoken.
Welcome, fellow cinephiles, to Continuity Film's Critic Consensus Top Ten Films of 2009.
Some of you may not be familiar with this post nor the Critic Consensus, so I will gladly explain myself.
First things first: The Formula.
It's really easy. Even my wife, who is notoriously horrid in math, can figure this out.
I take the Top Ten Lists of the National Critics from The Austin Chronicle to the Washington Post (which are compiled on Metacritic.com) and I allocate the following scores to the list:
#1(10 points), 2(9), 3(8), 4(7), 5(6),6(5),7(4),8(3),9(2),10(1).
Criteria: Some critics have a tendency to bend the rules in their favor. This is like a student not doing the homework assignment. This is a TOP TEN List, not a Top Eleven, or a Top Ten and 1/2, this is not an Alphabetical-Top-Ten either. TOP TEN. Period.
Anyone who breaks that simple rule is DQ'd. Sorry, try again next year.
Coincidentally, the Academy Awards flexed their Nominations from 5 to 10 this year. At first, I was not in favor of the extra Noms (Who needs more? They never get 5 right, let alone 10! They just want to make their own Top Ten and make more money!) but I have come around to the reality that this is a good thing. It is a good thing for Indies, Animations, and Genre Flicks.
However, I see a major problem brewing this year with Foreign Films, but that is a rant for another post for another day.
Upon further ado, here is the Critic Consensus Top Ten Films of 2009.
10. In the Loop (72)
9. The White Ribbon (73)
8. Fantastic Mr. Fox (77)
7. Summer Hours (92)
6. Precious (97)
5. Inglorious Basterds (134)
4. Up (142)
3. A Serious Man (155)
2. Up in the Air (201)
1. The Hurt Locker (296)
This was a banner year for Science Fiction films:
"District 9" was 12th (69), "Star Trek" was 14th (46), "Avatar" was 16th (44), and "Moon" was (39).
I was shocked that Marc Weber's brilliant "(500) Days of Summer" only placed 22nd (34). In my opinion, probably the best and most honest Romantic-Comedy since "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind."
I was not shocked that Clint Eastwood's "Invictus" placed 69th (8) (word around the campfire is that it's nothing more than a polished, yet, cliched sports movie), one notch about Drew Barrymore's "Whip It" (7). However, I guarantee that "Invictus" will sneak into the Academy's Nominations by the end of the year and will pass over a more deserved movie.
In fact, if I was a betting man, this is how I believe the Academy Awards will be when they are announced in February (remember, they display them in alphabetical order first.)
-Avatar (44) 16th
-District 9 (69) 12th
-The Hurt Locker (296) 1st
-Inglorious Basterds (134) 5th
-Invictus (8) 69th
-Precious (97) 6th
-A Serious Man (155) 3rd
-Up (142) 4th
-Up in the Air (201) 2nd
-Where the Wild Things Are (71) 11th
I would be shocked beyond belief if the Academy did not select James Cameron's "Avatar." Sure, the story is recycled from all of his previous films, but the watershed moment that we all experienced while watching the film with sunglasses on in 3D changed the landscape not only of film, but of entertainment in general. ESPN already announced its 3D channel to launch this Summer just in time for the World Cup. 3D-ready TVs will flood the marketplace by the end of the year. Other channels will launch their own 3D stations. Other movies will adopt Cameron's methods and we will see a whole slew of 3D titles. "Avatar" has already altered the path of this entire decade.
Like I said above, "Invictus" (because of Eastwood) will slip past a more worthy nomination ("The White Ribbon", "Star Trek").
That takes us to "Star Trek." I can't see the Academy nominating 3 Sci-Fi films (heck, they may only nom "Avatar"), even though "Star Trek" is an amazing movie.
"Up" will be this year's recipient of the Pixar/Disney nomination slot after the Academy criminally ignored "WALL-E" last season.
"Precious" will be this year's Indie-Darling-Film nomination.
And finally, I have Spike Jonze's "Where the Wild Things Are" edging out the two Foreign Films ("The White Ribbon" and "Summer Hours"). I thought "Wild Things" was technically brilliant, but I wasn't overally impressed by the storyline.
If any of you out there are interested in finding a movie outside of the Critic Consensus Top Ten, write it in the Comment section and I'll respond immediately.
For example, "Hey, I saw 'The Hangover' like 3 times in the theater and I laughed my ass off. Where is it?"
"The Hangover" (6) 81st.
OR, "Yeah, I saw that Adam Sandler movie. Funny something. I don't remember the title, but it was like 30-minutes longer than it needed to be."
"Funny People" (27) 29th.
And finally, "What about 'G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra'? That movie was sick! I mean, it was nowhere near as awesome as the Animated Movie in the late-80s when Sergeant Slaughter beats the shit out of everybody, and then Peter Jackson uses the same exact scene in 'Return of the King', but instead of Sergeant Slaughter, that would be weird, it was that fat guy who was once a skinny kid from 'The Goonies', Samwise, who kills Goblins for the US of A!"
"G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra" (0) N/A.
Any critic that would have voted for that movie would have been brought out to a pasture and shot.
Enjoy the list, I will check back in when the Academy officially announces their Top Ten Nominations.
There's bound to some sort of controversy.
There always is.
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