10. None more black. That’s how black the comedy is in Bobcat Goldthwait’s third feature. He’s already tackled drunk clowns and girls who suck off dogs, so naturally the grief industry was next for him. The movie has a mean spirit trapped inside a high school comedy; some viewers were thrown off by the fact that Bobcat uses the tropes and cliches of the high school genre – especially pop music montages – to make his point, but I think it’s all in service of bile. There’s a lot to like about this film, from the unrelentingly dipshitty dead kid to the fact that it never follows narrative convention, but what makes it all work is that it’s mean without hate. Or hateful without being mean. I’m not entirely sure, but whichever it is, Bobcat doesn’t get into smugness but rather finds an almost desperate exasperation with humanity and makes lots of jokes with it.
Contributing Factors: The script refuses to let anyone off the hook; every character in the film is myopically selfish and filters every single event only through their own wants and needs. That relentless view of humanity makes the whole film feel honest and true, even as it’s wringing jokes out of everything.
Performance to Savor: Robin Williams almost gets out of the “Actors Whose Very Attachment To A Project Gives Me Hives” camp with this one. Remember when you really liked Robin Williams? Well, he reminds you of it here, being funny without being too broad and without ever doing Black Guy Voice, Old Jew Voice or Crazy Guy Voice.
CHUD.com Pull Quote: “Winner of the Kyle Clayton Memorial Award for Excellence!”
9. A Town Called Panic (my review)(pre-order the DVD/pre-order the Blu-Ray)
Cinema is boundless. That’s what I took away from this sugar-rush of silliness, a completely madcap children’s movie that’s a paean to the overstimulated imagination of a 9 year old waking up early on a Saturday morning. The adventures of Cheval, a horse, Cowboy, a cowboy and Indien, an Indian, as they make their way through a bizarre world of free association and weirdness and fun and crudely animated toys, A Town Called Panic could be 2009’s Movie I’m Most Convinced I Simply Dreamed Up. There’s no way to really get across to you the visceral delight you’ll get watching these plastic figures amble from scene to scene, but it, along with The Fantastic Mr. Fox, make strong arguments that it isn’t the seamless realism of the effects that make a movie work, it’s the characters and their world.
Contributing Factors: There’s an inventiveness in A Town Called Panic that is usually absent from narrative cinema. Anything can and will happen, and you’ll be glad for it. The rough animation really sells the world of possibility. Just be sure to see it in the original French for the voices.
Performance to Savor: Co-director Vincent Patar is wonderful as the always-cool Cheval, but my favorite is Benoit Poelvoorde as Steven, who says every single one of his lines in a shout, who eats a giant piece of toast UPSIDE DOWN and then drinks a giant cup of coffee by running through the side of the mug.
CHUD.com Pull Quote: “Panic if you don’t get to visit this town!”
8. In The Loop (my review)(Pre-order the DVD/Pre-order the Blu-Ray)
In The Loop represents the pinnacle of insult comedy. It’s also the most quotable film of the decade, by a long shot, and it’s a movie that needs to be seen multiple times, as the roar of laughter will make you miss other, even better jokes. This sounds like I am selling it too highly but I swear to you, In the Loop isn’t just the funniest movie of the year, it’s easily one of the funniest of the past ten. It’s scathing beyond belief, and even filthier than that. And to top it off, it’s really, really smart. A satire about how the dummies who run our countries get us into wars, In The Loop is surgical in the way it cuts to the heart of the absurdity of politics, while taking the time to get in lots and lots of cheap shots at people based on their appearance. I don’t know that I’ll ever stop thinking of James Gandolfini as General Flintstone.
Contributing Factors: This film contains possibly the most creative use of obscenities in the history of language. It’s like Beethoven’s Ninth of swear words. Like the Michaelangelo’s David of the word ‘fuck.’ The script is astonishing, and the low key directing of Armando Ianucci keeps the focus on the wordplay and the comedy. It’s brilliant and I want to watch it right now.
Performance to Savor: Peter Capaldi. Peter Capaldi. Peter Capaldi. Imagine if instead of the thing with the loaves and fishes Jesus had turned his powers to perfecting the use of the word ‘cunt.’ Then he would be Peter Capaldi.
CHUD.com Pull Quote: “Just fucking see it! Otherwise you’ll find yourself in some medieval war zone in the Caucasus with your arse in the air, trying to persuade a group of men in balaclavas that sustained sexual violence is not the fucking way forward!”
7. Moon (my review)(pre-order the DVD/pre-order the Blu-Ray)
You know how when you watch a really smart, engaging, laser-blast free scifi movie and say to yourself ‘They don’t make ’em like this anymore’? Now you’re wrong, because Duncan Jones is making ’em like this anymore. His feature debut is brainy but not cold, and while he gets the science part of it all right, he never forgets the thrilling story and the human connection. Sam is a man finishing out a three year tour of duty as the sole human on a moonbase, and things start getting weird. To give away anything that happens beyond the first act is a crime, but know that Jones is just as much a fan of the genre as you are, so he’s aware of every trope he’s using and how to subvert them. He’s also aware that an indie scifi movie can look good, and he goes out of his way to get every penny of his budget on screen while not losing sight of the character of Sam and his unique dilemma.
Contributing Factors: Wonderful set design and smart use of models makes Moon feel much more expensive than it is. Kevin Spacey does tremendous work as the voice of GERTY, Sam’s robot companion. And Duncan Jones’ brilliantly twisty script keeps you on your toes throughout, even on multiple viewings.
Performance to Savor: Sam Rockwell, of course. Especially since he’s one of the only humans in the movie. Without giving too much away I’ll just say that Rockwell delivers one of those performances they call a tour de force, and in a better world he’d be the guy to beat at the Oscars this year. A performance filled with depth, nuance and humor.
CHUD.com Pull Quote: “When the Moon hits your eye like a great work of scifi!”
6. Where the Wild Things Are (my review)(Pre-order the DVD/Pre-order the Blu-Ray)
After I saw this film I totally got why Warner Bros was afraid of it. This isn’t a kid movie, it’s a movie for people who used to be kids. Gorgeous and sensitive, Spike Jonze’s adaptation of Maurice Sendak’s minimalist classic doesn’t want to decide if it’s for the arthouse or the playhouse, and I love that about it. Jonze understands what it’s like to be a troubled kid, boiling over with anger because you can’t express yourself or your fears. He is sympathetic but realistic about it, and he creates a movie that will speak deeply and intimately to generations of latchkey kids. Jonze has also taken major steps as a filmmaker, putting himself out there in ways he never has before. There’s no ironic distance in Where the Wild Things Are, and the movie feels completely autobiographical. As autobiographical as a movie about an island of monsters can be, anyway.
Contributing Factors: Dave Eggers makes another appearance on this list! His adaptation of Sendak’s seriously slim book adds many dimensions and lots of weight while never disrespecting the original. One of the things that caused trouble for the film was the attempts to get the CGI animation of the Wild Things’ faces to work, and it was worth the delay. The creatures look incredible, obviously man-in-suit Henson creations but with seamless and utterly real faces. Added with the level of voice acting and each of the Wild Things becomes a complete, three dimensional character.
Performance to Savor: He didn’t get the special mention for In the Loop, but he gets called out here: James Gandolfini is perfect as Carol, the leader of the Wild Things. He has a softness in his toughness that translates so well, and kudos to the visual effects artists who gave Carol a permanent runny nose to go with Gandolfini’s stuffy style.
CHUD.com Pull Quote: “The wild rumpus has begun – come join it!”