Here they are!
My favorite movies of the past year. I still have a few I want to watch, so (thorughout January) I reserve the right to juggle.
- Star Trek – Wonderful adaption. The best adaptatiotns remain just faithful enough to the source material, but still manage to offer up a few surprises. By far the best Star Trek movie of the bunch, but a potent adaptation in its own right.
- Inglorious Basterds – Fun to watch, fun to mull over. Once you see it, it’s hard to understand why all WW2 pictures don’t end this way. Now one of my favorite Tarantino pictures.
- District 9 – I loved the inventive transformation of the main character. An ugly little man becomes a humane alien.
- Sherlock Holmes – Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law have a lot of chemistry as Holmes and Watson.
- Fantastic Mr. Fox – Subversive little movie with a lot of heart. I liked the father son relationship. I liked how the boy struggled to be seen by his Dad. I liked how Dad was blinded by his own needs. But most of all I liked watching these characters make the best of their own limitations. “Cluster-cuss!”
- Hurt Locker – The most powerful scene shows Sgt James (Jeremy Renner), who has just returned from a horrifying tour in Iraq, wandering through the supermarket with his wife, staring at a wall of cereal, just before he reenlists. Fascinating portrayal of a smart guy who really has no clue what’s motivating him.
- Avatar – Beautiful movie, engaging if familiar story.
- Watchman – Bold and original.
- Julie & Julia – Meryl Streep is so much fun to watch. Stanley Tucci is a joy.
- Taken – An episode of 24 but with Liam Neeson.
Present Tense 