Reconsidering Our Top Films From 2009 - 2012

I realized something important when perusing through all the films of 2013 while making my obligatory "Best Of" list this year - looking back on some of my selections filled me full of rage and shame. It's the tricky thing about lacking the benefit of hindsight - some films even from just a few years ago haven't held up, and others that I thought were trash have grown on me. So I decided to do some revisionist history here. I went back the past four years and looked at my Top 10 Lists from 2009 - 2012. Now, it may just be the fact that it hasn't really grown on me yet, but 2012 still looks pretty good. I may not be changing that too much. But you had better believe I'm scrapping the rest.

Here, with the benefit of digesting and discussing each film for a little while longer, are the new rankings:

Original 2009 List:

#10: AVABAR
#9: Observe and Report
#8: I Love You, Man
#7: The Great Buck Howard
#6: Up in the Air
#5: Funny People 
#4: Zombieland 
#3: A Serious Man
#2: Inglourious Basterds 
#1: District 9

This isn't altogether awful, and one reason I'm pumped for looking back at these things is remembering films such as The Great Buck Howard. That certainly isn't a flick though that I've really seen or thought about in four years. I can't even understand why AVABAR is here at all, I suppose that, even though I only placed it at #10, I was somewhat swept up in the sheer spectacle of its release, like literally, billions of other people worldwide. Four years on, though, I can judge it for how hollow it really is. So, here's my revised list:

Updated 2009 List:

#10: Where the Wild Things Are
#9: UP
#8: Observe and Report
#7: The Road
#6: Funny People
#5: The Hangover
#4: Adventureland
#3: The Hurt Locker
#2: A Serious Man
#1: Inglourious Basterds 

The good ninja wears white, of course

I was tempted to include other flicks like G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, which is actually turned out to be one of the most enjoyable and re-watchable Sunday afternoon movies of the past five years. I just still couldn't really add it, though. I did add the most depressing film of all time, The Road, which I still think about, and Spike Jonze's Where the Wild Things Are, which really frustrated me by not meeting my expectations the first time I saw it, but also made me think a lot to figure it out. There were also some films whose greatness I didn't buy into in December, 2009 like The Hurt Locker and UP. Finally, the original installment of The Hangover deserves its place as one of the more tightly written comedies of the past decade, as well as one of the most debaucherous and influential.

Even though I think I Love You, Man did have some staying power, it's been overshadowed a bit by superior Paul Rudd buddy movies like Role Models (2008) and Dinner for Schmucks (2010). Even though I still love Zombieland, I do think that continued permutations of the zombie genre have lessened the tremendously fresh impact it had on me. Finally I scrapped my #1 pick, District 9 just because, ultimately four and a half years on, I don't really care about it other than the fact that at the time it was an astoundingly new movie. Maybe Elysium (2013) drained the appreciation of its unique aesthetics out of me.

Original 2010 List:

#10: Exit Through the Gift Shop
#9: Toy Story 3
#8: Cyrus
#7: True Grit
#6: Hot Tub Time Machine
#5: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
#4: Black Swan
#3: MacGruber 
#2: Inception
#1: The Social Network

Updated 2010 List:

#10: Exit Through the Gift Shop
#9: Black Swan
#8: Get Low
#7: Jackass 3D
#6: The Other Guys
#5: Get Him to the Greek
#4: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
#3: Hot Tub Time Machine
#2: Inception
#1: The Social Network

Featuring Grammy Award-winning robots

My horrible blockbuster that I actually think is pretty decent now is going to be Tron: Legacy. I can also watch that just about any time of the year. Looking back on it now, I'm surprised how many great comedies came out of 2010. Even though I did really dig MacGruber, it definitely didn't stay with me as much as Get Him to the Greek or The Other Guys did. I was tempted to also throw in Dinner for Schmucks, but I think that has some years to go before it overtakes anyone. I also don't think anyone cares about Cyrus, and even though it was pretty epic, I've found I haven't really cared about Toy Story 3 since that summer three years ago, which isn't really true for other Pixar films like UP or Brave (2012).

I had this really odd debate within myself whether to include Get Low or Easy A. They really couldn't be farther apart. Ultimately thought I think it may be a pretty good movie, Easy A just went down too easy for me. Eh. So I threw in Jackass 3D, because it's still one of the best 3D experiences I've ever had at the multiplex (how many blogs use that terminology), and one of the finest uses of slow motion technology ever. You'll note that my #1 and #2 selections haven't changed. I still think those are the tits.

Original 2011 List:

#11: A Dangerous Method
#10: Hugo
#9: The Rise of the Planet of the Apes
#8: The Descendants
#7: The Artist
#6: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo 
#5: Bridesmaids
#4: Attack the Block
#3: Rango
#2: Drive
#1: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

Updated 2011 List:

#11: X-Men: First Class
#10: Bridesmaids
#9: Fast Five
#8: The Tree of Life
#7: The Descendants
#6: The Rise of the Planet of the Apes
#5: Moneyball
#4: Attack the Block
#3: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
#2: The Muppets
#1: Rango

Mostly because I can't get over
the name, Imogen Poots.

There were a lot of great films in 2011 as I'm looking back on it, now. My rainy day film is the vastly underrated Fright Night, while we wait for underappreciated comedies like Hall Pass, The Sitter, and Our Idiot Brother to mature. I also remember really digging Johnny Depp in The Rum Diary at the time, but I can't say I've really thought about it since. Let me also hit you quick with Cedar Rapids, Midnight in Paris, and Contagion that all really tied for the #11 spot, but haven't really been relevant since. So, I've thrown out a lot of the overhyped Oscar-bait muck here and added some of the finest blockbusters that have emerged in the past couple years, including Fast Five and X-Men: First Class.

I'm not so sure about The Tree of Life, but I still think it's worth noting, even if some of its fire may have dissipated. I still love everything on here, and as Jonah Hill's brand gets stronger, so does Moneyball. And yes, I ranked The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo right next to The Muppets. There's no accounting for my taste in film.

Original 2012 List:

#10: Haywire
#9: Silver Linings Playbook
#8: The Grey
#7: Argo
#6: Looper
#5: Lincoln
#4: 21 Jump Street
#3: The Cabin in the Woods
#2: Django Unchained
#1: The Master

Updated 2012 List:

#10: The Grey
#9: Ruby Sparks
#8: The Dark Knight Rises
#7: Dredd
#6: Zero Dark Thirty
#5: Seven Psychopaths
#4: 21 Jump Street
#3: Goon
#2: Django Unchained 
#1: The Master

Escape from Space!

My total underrated good time romp is clearly Guy Pearce having the time of his life in Lockout, which is as 80s throwback as you're going to get. This year wasn't as strong for immortal comedies, although I might contend that The Campaign does its part. So I swapped out a bunch of those Oscar Winners that I don't care about any more for some that seemed more prescient - Zero Dark Thirty and Dredd, of course. And even though The Cabin in the Woods was a game-changer and remains one of my favorite films of the year, I couldn't see myself watching it again after knowing the twist. That being said, I have replayed the twist's dire aftereffects countless times on YouTube. To be honest, the same goes for Looper. It was an incredible movie, but do we care in 2014?

Goon ended up being my favorite movie of the year, and it's a delight to watch every hockey season. Alongside fare like The Grey, I added the intricate, surprising romantic comedy Ruby Sparks. I was tempted to add Moonrise Kingdom, but it's a bit too much like The Midnight Coterie of Sinister Intruders. Finally, with all this other nonsense, I thought The Dark Knight Rises proved itself to be at the top of the superhero game and deserves that recognition here. Bane was a bigger threat than the Joker in a better movie. Deal with that.

Looking Back on Looking Forward: The Final Critical Look at 2013's Most Anticipated Cultural Events

Two-Thousand and Thirteen brought us many things, and a year ago today we were highly anticipating a whole smorgasbord of great movies and television. While some of these turned out pretty great, many more were a big let down, but more than anything, our Big 2013 Moments were really full of meh. As we look back on looking forward today, let us remember how everything was kind of good.

#13: Oz the Great and Powerful (03/08)

We should know better. This looked pretty okay, and it turned out...pretty okay. It's not an aggravatingly stupid blockbuster (see: Jack the Giant Slayer [2013]), but it really didn't knock it out of the park either. It certainly looked pretty and had some pretty cool moments, especially its ending, which was real solid. Other than that this ain't reviving Oz. Or Sam Raimi's cultural adoration.

#12: Warm Bodies (02/01)

I was pleasantly surprised by this take on the ever growing star-crossed monster horror romantic comedy genre. Rob Corddry offers an unexpectedly good supporting turn here, and the film made us sympathize with zombies like we never believed we could. I'm not sure if we'll be talking about this ten years down the line, but for now, I'm happy with the call.

#11: Pain & Gain (04/26)

Michael Bay's best ever movie, a dark action comedy that scews real dark and cray all the time. Mark and the Rock have never been more ripped while the film actually rips apart expectations towards conquering the American dream and the true meaning of fitness. You need to be a little touched in the head to really enjoy this thing, but if you're on board, it's a trip.

#10: Star Trek into Darkness (05/17)

Here's our first major disappointment. See, there's really two movies here. The first is an intriguing, mysterious set-up with political undertones and unspeakable violence. The second is an inverse re-make of Wrath of Khan (1982) with softer balls and tons of uncomfortable 9/11 imagery. It's not great. Here and there this film found the energy of Abrams' first Star Trek (2009) that made the geekiest sci-fi franchise cool again (or for the first time?), but this is just another mindless tentpole begging for its scraps.

#9: Iron Man 3 (05/03)

Superhero villains forever upended in a film that's way more fun than it deserves to be. Every problem here stems from its forced collusion with The Avengers (2012), which points more to the fault of giant self-sustaining immortal franchises than anything in Shane Black's writing. Everything original here (yes in a threequel. Yes, using every technique Shane Black used 25 years ago) works and breathes some life into what could have been a damned stale Marvel cookie cutter film. Now if only Stark's fully articulated character arc could stick through The Avengers 2: Age of Who Cares (2015).

#8: The Wolverine (07/24)

When your last film is X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), there's not much room to go besides up. The second solo James Howlett flick ditched just about everything comfortable, including familiar characters, actors, and settings, and set out to tell a bold story from the Wolverine canon, essentially showing where these superhero films can go when there's a lot less pressure to be big and dominating. There were some problems with plot, acting, and just about everything else, but I dig the ground uncovered. More please.

#7: The Return of Community (02/07)

Here's an incredible let down. The Fourth "Gas Leak" season of Community was tepid at best, with a continual effort to try way to hard that feel short just about every damn time. It was nigh unbearable to suffer through the mangled tone from a Harmon-less world that couldn't find its footing between heartfelt, hilarious, and sappy. Season 5 actually premiered this evening, and delivered two episodes better than this whole sorry lot.

#6: Elysium (08/09)

With some pretty high hopes Blomkampt and Damon delivered a pretty fun late summer flick, even if its political subtext was pushed a little too heavy for it to be as subversive as District 9 (2009). Sharlto Copley probably delivered the villain of the year, but in general, we forgot about this film as soon as September hit. Actually, I totally forgot to place that facial reconstruction scene on our scenes of the year list. That's exactly what I'm talking about - a generally mediocre film overshadowed its variable really cool moments.

#5: Pacific Rim (07/12)

Here we saw some promises finally delivered. There were actually a good amount of big original movies this summer, although conceptually, many were pretty derivative of what's come before (Oblivion [2013] and Elysium may be the biggest offenders). Pacific Rim was more an entry into the underdone Kaiju genre than a total rip-off, even if it was full of clever homages. It was probably the funnest damn blockbuster of the whole year, even if Charlie Hunnam may join Taylor Kitsch and Garrett Hedlund as horrible stereotypical angsty white protagonists that I do not care about ever seeing in a movie again.

#4: The World's End (10/25)

And we even got it early - The World's End was so worth a very long wait after Hot Fuzz (2007) and blew our pretty high expectations out of the water. It was original, culturally significant, witty, engaging, and hilarious - the perfect late summer comedy riff. Anticipation delivered.

#3: This is The End (06/14)

I don't actually think we'll have an issue differentiating these two end-of-the-world comedies, because both were so good yet so different. The is The End reached the highest peaks of meta-comedy with humour as block as the demon cock that rapes Jonah Hill. Just picture him in The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), he deserved it. I'm not sure I've ever laughed so hard in a movie theater, although I may have been the only one. Consistently rude, insane, and full of obscure Pineapple Express (2008) references, this was a perfect film for niche Apatow fans and a damn confident directorial debut from writing partners Rogen and Evan Goldberg.

#2: Anchorman: The Legend Continues (12/20)

I was never sure what to really expect out of this one. What they ended up churning out was this extremely silly but politically poignant 2013 answer to Network (1976), with more ridiculous cameos than any movie will ever have ever. Everything clicked, even the stuff that didn't quite work, and without a whiff of caring about the hype, this one knocked it out.

#1: The Hangover Part III (05/24)

I feel pretty ashamed that I listed this as #1. It was pretty torrid, all things considered, largely because they attempted the same basic formula without the well-used pretense. It makes sense that the best scenes in this flick were the shoudy Chang opening and the re-hash wedding credits aftermath scene. Debauchery is all this is good for, and in a year where so many other black comedies got it right (in addition to Pain & Gain and This is The End, see the aforementioned Wolf of Wall Street. Or even You're Next [2013]), it's even more pathetic that this got it so wrong.

Stay tuned for what we're looking at in 2014! Onward, Commander!

First Impressions: Elysium

Years on down the line when we're all nestled in to watch The Avengers 8: M.O.D.O.K.'s Beach Party (2033), we'll look back to a summer twenty years earlier and wonder where all the original blockbusters had gone. Via Oblivion, After Earth, Pacific Rim, and Elysium, this is our death sentence to a life of bland comic book sequels forever.

And that's not entirely fair. Out of that lot, the only really bad film is After Earth, and all of the rest performed pretty decently. None, however, have really caught on the way original properties used to, and for now it's a decent measuring stick demonstrating that the next big thing in mainstream cinema isn't going to come from a writer's head - it will come from toys made in the 80s.

Elysium arrives from the mind of Neill Blomkamp, who wowed everybody in 2009 when District 9 dropped and hundreds of prawn exploitations later, is still a pretty radical film and a nice hit. It's easy to see Elysium as the natural extension of that film and in many ways it's his version of Pulp Fiction (1994) or Mallrats (1995) - a solid follow-up film to a surprisingly good first film that is still a little derivative of the first in theme and setting. At the heart of District 9 was this analogue to South African apartheid, and institutionalized racist political and social structure built on a baseline inequality and substantial fear of a foreign "other" - in this case, SUPER-foreign hordes of destitute aliens. This review is meant to open up a thoughtful discussion of Elysium, so obviously, SPOILERS from here on out, folks.

We've had more Robot fights this summer...

Elysium sticks with humans, but remains in the science fiction wheelhouse, transporting us to 2154 (the same year that AVABAR [2009] takes place in by the way - this could be the Earth from that film! No, probably not), where he haves live in a huge floating space station and the have-nots apparently all live in Los Angeles, which now looks like Mexico City. Which is actually where they filmed those scenes.

It's a jarring contrast for sure - the spacestation Elysium is a sprawling Stanford Torus (although most people's first reaction [including mine] would probably be more like "Cool! Halo!") filled with the richest people from Earth. It looks like the greatest vacation spot in history, with sprawling Romanesque mansions, swimming pools, and a continuous flow of luxury. It's also distinctly American, with a President (although he's Brown president played by Faran Tahir of Iron Man [2008] - naturally, things don't go well under his leadership) and even a Director of Homeland Security, played with a sinister edge by Jodie Foster. It's this evil Department of Homeland Security that causes most of the conflict in this film.

Back on Earth, LA is a shithole. Something always seems to be on fire, hospitals are overcrowded, and work is tough to come by. Similar to last year's Looper (2012), it's surprising and frightening how easily this future seems possible. Like its Pakistani President, there is a nice mixing of races here, though, which is always refreshing in a Sea of Blockbusters that tend to be male and white. Everybody speaks Spanish, including our hero, Matt Damon as Max Da Costa, who appears to be Latino or something, despite being Matt Damon.

At first this appears to be a role a little outside of Damon's usual bag, but the street-tough punk is really similar to a little Good Will Hunting (1997) action. Except that Da Costa isn't really a genius janitor. You could say that those nifty Bourne films helped Damon's action creds, but this is more R-rated badassery than Damon has ever done before. Apparently, this role was originally supposed to go to Eminem, so chew on that for a little bit. Damon does a fine job, gets a nice shirtless scene to show off the hard work he put in on his pecs and abs and plays gruff and scared in fine equal measure. Da Costa isn't a particularly interesting character to begin with, and honestly, isn't even really that heroic. This selfish protagonist is actually fairly inline with Sharlto Copley's Wikus van de Merwe from District 9 who is really just a huge asshole.

Speaking of Sharlto Copley, he returns here all jacked up and crazy as the rogue-ish agent Kruger, who basically kills his way through life under the shady employment of Jodie Foster. In the miserable tough life of the future, he's the one dude who seems to be enjoying himself - he's wild and animalistic, a perfect fit for the brutal life of 2154 Los Angeles. In a way he actually reminded me of Danny McBride in the last few moments of This is The End (2013) - totally in his element during the apocalypse and unsuitable for normal society.

While his character isn't totally developed, he doesn't need to be. Through and through he's the menacing badass he needs to be. More often than not it seems as if recent movies have jammed down our throats words describing how evil villains are instead of actually seeing them do evil things (one major example this summer was Star Trek Into Darkness [2013], where we're continually reminded that James Harrison is one bad dude, without ever really seeing it demonstrated). Elysium counters this by being virtually all plot. We're introduced to Kruger as he's blowing up illegal transport ships to Elysium, and every appearance after that we're seeing his evil ways on screen, instead of talking about it. It's a very astute and effective way to develop a character.

The film shoe-horns in a love interest (Alice Braga) and her cancer-ridden daughter (Emma Tremblay) for Matt Damon to deal with, which kind of sidetracks things a bit from the main story, which is really just Damon trying to save his own damn life at any cost. Because, you know, he's literally got nothing to lose. After a lethal dose of radiation (which was meant to be applied to Robots. Who knows what that radiation would do the Robots or why they needed it, but whatevs), he's got a 5-day countdown till his death. Since all his organs are failing he's outfitted with a robot exo-suit to give him increased badass abilities to complete one last job for underground hacker / arms dealer / Harriet Tubman Spider (Wagner Moura), who is kind of a skeezeball, but is ultimately a bit more noble than Max when concerned with helping out society.

When Elysium is in ashes...then you have my permission to die.

And then we can get into the core themes of this film, which really makes it the most liberal movie ever. The central political conflict of the film is that the poor people of earth keep trying to sneak into the rich land of Elysium, mostly for their free beds that instantly cure anyone of any illness. The Department of Homeland Security makes sure to blow up any intruding immigrants and keep their spectacular medical technology to themselves while hospitals overflow on earth and Matt Damon gets little in workman's comp from his injury. It's certainly a jab at anti-immigration and anti-health care laws, although by the end of the film, its ham-fisted handling of its own themes and over the top bludgeoning over the head with its message trumps its ideology. I half expected Matt Damon to die in a cross position.

This is tough to criticize because immigration reform is integral to global society, and the socialization of health care is a complex issue that is largely simplified in the world of Elysium through the insta-heal med beds. Of course, in the real world, health care could be much more affordable and available than it is now, so there is some argument to be had both ways. At any rate, while District 9 was a thorough meditation on race relations through a Kafka-esque cinematic experiment, Elysium is clumsier in managing and expressing its political constructs.

Still, there are tons of cool stuff in this movie. Like District 9 the technology remains pretty realistic but also really cool. From the Robo-Suit duel to the exploding machine gun bullets and brain-downloads, the technology is sweet. One of the more badass moments, though, happens after Sharlto Kopley literally gets his face blown off from a grenade. It seemed like a very anti-climactic ending for the main villain, then it turns out that he survived, because he's just all kinds of awesome. He gets his face reconstructed (looking less scared, dirty, and younger in a very cool touch), and gets back into the action. It's a great gross-out moment.

This is also a fine film for anyone who hates Matt Damon and wants to watch him get brutalized for two hours. Seriously, he gets his arm broken by Robot Policeman in the first five minutes. From there he's poisoned, stabbed, has his head drilled into, shot at, smacked around, and eventually dies. It's total cray cray.

All in all this is a solid film with decent plotting, nice action, and a strong adherence to a "show, don't tell" philosophy that pays off. Its characters are a little whatever, and although it hits on important themes, it's all a little too obvious to be really insightful. I'm still looking forward to Blomkamp's next outing, but for now, Elysium is a fine late Summer Entry.

What did you think of the Bald Matt Damon flick?