4th & Short: 12/27/09

The end of the year wrap up is here. The best movies are out. Some of the Oscar hopefuls are back in theatres. We'll be bringing you our Top Ten of 2009 during the next episode of the Punch Drunk Podcast, and since I've been dilligently working on my Top 100 of the decade, I've neglected this year entirely. So this'll be brief so I can get back to work. Dos vadanya!(I learned all my Russian from X-men comic books, so sue me)

3. Up in the Air

A lot of people like to call Jason Reitman's brilliant comedy the film of the moment, and it certainly is. But it's ideas and characters are timeless, and I firmly believe this movie will be talked about and studied for decades. It expanded to more theatres this week, so do yourself a favor and go see it. It's one film I can recommend to everyone.

2. It's Complicated

Nancy Meyer's rom-com for the middle aged wouldn't be nearly as funny if it starred anybody other than Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin, and Steve Martin.  She stars as a divorce, who re-unites with her now married ex-husband for an affair, all the while juggling a relationship with her architect. Sounds like bad sitcom comedy, and some of the jokes do indeed fall flat. There's something real in Streep's performance, though, and that goes for the others as well, that makes this whole zany affair seem plausible and often downright hilarious. Major props to John Krasinsky(The Office) for his funniest turn yet, as Streep's future son-in-law who learns more than he ever could've hoped about his new family.

1. Avatar

Judging by the mile long lines I experenced at the movies yesterday, people are still showing up in droves for James Cameron's technical masterpiece. Then again maybe they were there for Sherlock Holmes? That's a good choice, too, just not on my list today. Avatar is the type of sprawling adventure that only comes out...hmmm...when was Cameron's last movie? 1997? Avatar's story, about a peaceful alien world threatened with destruction at the hands of a ruthless United States military force, isn't new but Cameron's take on it is fresh and presented in a way nobody's ever seen before. The most beautiful movie of the year by far.

DVD Pick: (500) Days of Summer

Not to give anything away, but there's a pretty good chance I'll be talking about this later. Oh screw it, it's my favorite film of 2009. Why wait? 500 Days is hip, sexy, and vibrant but never too cool for it's own good. Joseph Gordon-Leavitt stars as Tom, a man desperately in search of true love. He thinks he's found it when he meets Summer(Zooey Deschanel) and they embark on a roller coaster romance that will change both of their lives forever.  I'm a sucker for new takes on classic love stories, and 500 Days of Summer takes the classic formula and flips it on it's ear. When people ask me why I hate romantic comedies, it's because I can point to movies like this and show them how it could be done with only a modicum of imagination and ingenuity.