The Best Movies of 2009

The New Year is already in full swing and that means a fresh new crop of movies are awaiting their silver screen treatment. But we, at "The Voice," are not about to let the popcorn pleasers of yesteryear go unnoticed. That's why our resident movie critics have compiled lists of their 'Top 10 Movies of 2009.'

JAKE'S TOP TEN OF 2009

1. “(500) Days of Summer” – A couple days before I saw “Inglourious Basterds”, I decided to see a small indie rom-com from a first time director for no other reason than nothing else was out. I came out of this Sundance discovery, “not a love story but a story about love”, completely exhilarated, shocked by the risks within the filmmaking and the perfectly handled creativity of the extremely non-linear script. Almost an unexplained collection of memories, the film, among other things about The Smiths, “The Graduate”, and the evils of Greeting Cards, is an amazing deconstruction of the whole romance genre, with an inventive and open ended conclusion to boot. My top two choices could probably change every time you asked, and maybe even in time for my “best of decade” list, but nothing surprised me this year like Webb’s incredibly cinematic 500 days, and I can’t wait to see more work film’s extremely from this young creative crew.

2. “Inglourious Basterds” – Quentin Tarantino’s “men-on-a-mission” picture turned out to be anything but, instead a wonderfully acted, amazingly tense, and shockingly sparse deconstruction of the night World War II came to a close. Tarantino’s film, as much a spaghetti western as a war picture, is a triumph on every level that managed to please mainstream audiences despite a no-name supporting cast and a surprising lack of wall-to-wall action. The story is in the moments between the violence, with the character’s truly coming to life, if anyone this year should compete with Christoph Waltz, the Jew Hunter, for Best Supporting Actor, it should probably be Brad Pitt’s turn as the Nazi-carvin’ Lt. Aldo Raine. Tarantino’s picture very well may be his “masterpiece”, but maybe even more impressive, it may be his most original work yet.

3. “A Serious Man” – Now we’re getting into the really great stuff. You would think everyone would watch the Coen brother’s read the phone book after “No Country for Old Men” a couple years ago, but a trek to Cambridge was necessary to even see this picture in our city when it was released this September. The Coen’s brilliantly minimalist comedy harkens back to their classic early works, and dares to take risks from the first frame to the closing credits. Of all the films on this list, time will be very, very kind to “A Serious Man”, as people discover this under-distributed classic from two of this generation’s most visionary filmmakers.

4. “Up in the Air” – Most point to George Clooney as the heart of this year’s Oscar frontrunner but Jason Reitman’s topical script, which could have been preachy at so many points but always hits the right notes, is what drives the film. By introducing two life changing female characters into a novel about a disconnected man, he’s created an incredible portrait about a man in a position as uncertain as the people he so smoothly fires. Anna Kendrick and Vera Farmiga bookend Clooney perfectly, and the story always feels genuine and never veers into cliché. Undoubtedly Reitman’s best film yet.

5. “The Messenger” – Another small film driven by moving performances, “The Messenger” gives stars Woody Harrelson and Ben Foster the roles of their careers. A moving portrait of two deeply damaged men with the most thankless job in an army full of thankless jobs. The film can skew towards the melodramatic but always seems to stay grounded thanks to a smart script willing to take chances and surprise its audience at every turn. Also unfairly overlooked as the “other” war drama this year, “The Messenger” is an incredibly written film directed with a subtle hand not looking to smash the audience over the head with messages (hello, “Precious”!)

6. “Away We Go” – The “other” travel movie of the year may have seemed a little elitist at times, but as was the theme in indie filmmaking this year. The acting carried the show and turned what could have been a good movie into an excellent one. John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph are always believable as the hard to pull off “unbreakable couple” and the revolving door of scary futures, highlighted by turns from Chris Messina, Maggie Gyllenhal and Melanie Lynskey bring reality through Sam Mendes’ subtle direction. This year’s unfairly forgotten summer picture.

7. "Fantastic Mr. Fox” – Many saw 2009 as the year of the animated film inlcluding “Up”, “Coraline”, “Ponyo” and the “Meatball” picture, but it was Wes Anderson’s output that beat them all in charm, wit and by going back to the very basics, extremely inventive filmmaking. With George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Owen Wilson and the legend himself Bill Murray, the cast clearly brings the funny and the script, penned by Wes and Noah Bombach, is as inventive as the film’s old-school stop motion animation. With soundtrack cuts ranging from the Beach Boys to the Rolling Stones, “Mr. Fox” will entertain any age willing to watch.

8. “Observe and Report” – The slightly less successful mall cop film of this year was also by far the most underrated; a shockingly dark yet deeply layered character study framing Seth Rogen as Travis Bickle with a rent-a-cop badge. The soundtrack and editing keep this quick film moving at a brisk pace, and the supporting cast, including Anna Faris and Ray Liotta, all carry more than their weight. Jody Hill said he set out aiming to make a “comedic ‘Taxi Driver’” and this bleak but hilarious picture hits the mark while giving Rogen his most interesting role yet.