Doug's Favorite Movies of the Decade

A History of Violence
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Spiderman 2
Kill Bill: Vol 2
Bad Santa
Sideways
The 40 Year Old Virgin
Amélie
Mulholland Drive
Memento
The Five Obstructions
Lars and the Real Girl
The Mist

Honorable Mention:

The Wrestler
Slumdog Millionaire
Black Hawk Down
A Serious Man
Solaris
Wall-E
The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters
Forgetting Sara Marshall
The Rules of Attraction
Pirates of the Caribbean
Ratatouille

Doug's Favorite Movies of 2009

Hurt Locker
A Serious Man
Avatar
Youth in Revolt
Zombieland
World’s Greatest Dad
Inglourious Basterds
District 9
Black Dynamite
Moon
Drag Me to Hell
Watchmen

Honorable Mention:
Duplicity
Star Trek
State of Play

Sherlock Holmes

More or less enjoyable, but it’s not going to shed any new light on the Sherlock Holmes legend, other than that he apparently knew karate. Robert Downey, riding the wave of his new leading-man status, plays it a little too roguish and over-the-top. Perhaps he’s holding on too tightly to his zany supporting character technique. It’s fast moving at times, and painfully dull in others. But as a popcorny adventure, it won't resonate, but it’s perfectly suitable.

Avatar

Amazing. Beautiful to behold and full of wonder. (I’m not being sarcastic.) It’s full of enlightening juxtapositions and contradictions. Filmmaker James Cameron loves all things military: protocol, barking orders and uniforms. But based on the themes of almost all of his movies, he detests the military industrial complex, and sticks-it to war mongering and imperialism as often as he can. He loves machines and metal, but also biology and life. He loves weapons, but he’s also a sucker for a sappy love story. It’s all in Avatar, and he is absolutely DETERMINED to give you your money’s worth.

The story is pat, there’s no doubt. It’s Pocahontas or Dances with Wolves. But the story almost HAS to be standard so we the audience will find something familiar to hang on to while filmmakers inundate us with so many new concepts and creatures in an entirely brand new world. Archetypes are archetypes for a reason. Star Wars did it. Blade Runner did it. Who Framed Roger Rabbit did it. But even if the story in Avatar is by-the-numbers, the science fiction concepts are off the charts, original, and untried. Substantial screen time is dedicated to introducing and expounding on the ecosystem of planet Pandora, the unique setting which can best be described as having a singular central nervous system for every living thing on the planet. Neopagan symbolism is everywhere, as is the very transparent allegory to the war in Iraq. Performances from the principal cast are top notch, especially considering the unique technical challenges to this kind of acting. Unfortunately, there is an evil, one-dimensional military dude who comes off as ridiculous. But you have to have a villain, I guess, and maybe Paul Reiser wasn’t available.

It’s an absolute must-see in 3-D. See it now -- it just won’t be the same on video. The previews on TV make it look corny and videogamey, but in the theater it’s truly stunning. And it’s not just eye-candy. Perhaps one of the most emotional moments, as cheesy as it sounds, is when a certain, special tree gets wiped out. My heart sank. Yes, it’s long. Yes, at times, it’s sappy and clichéd. But I’ll be damned if it’s not the best value around for seventeen dollars.

The Lovely Bones

Disappointing. There’s no one driving the story. Performances from good actors are smothered because of a weak script that lacked character development and a forward-moving plot. Sure it’s sad, but it’s emotionally hollow, as there’s no satisfying resolution. Susan Sarandon’s the one bright spot. She lights up the screen as a groovy grandma in what is otherwise a down, dour, and pointless meditation on the afterlife. (You’re better off renting The Frighteners!)

Also, for anyone who cares, it's NOT a good DATE MOVIE!

The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans

Nic Cage is rusty. No doubt about it. He’s been in so many crappy movies lately, none of which have allowed him to tap into all of those weird ticks and quirks that USED to make him an interesting actor, and now days make him a parody of himself. But in this, Werner Herzog and company let him loose, and the lunacy is inspired. Yes, the movie’s too long. It drags at times. But the magical moments when Cage is on and it starts getting crazy, it’s hysterical. The rest of the ensemble is surprisingly good, and the story is strong, even if the pace is sluggish. Not a home run. Not a classic. But a nice reminder of the Nic Cage of yore; Raising Arizona, Birdy, Vampire’s Kiss, Wild at Heart, and Leaving Las Vegas come to mind. For a second, you can actually forget National Treasure.

Up in the Air

** SPOILER ALERT!

George Clooney is great in this and completely embodies his laid-bad, non-committal hatchet-man. He makes it look so easy. Watching him train his over-zealous underling, Anna Kendrick, is the nucleus of the story and these are the best scenes in the movie. When he’s met his match in a female counterpart, Vera Farmiga, the possibilities are infinite and it’s a delight to watch it all unfold. But then, two-thirds of the way through, his character becomes secondary and passive while we’re forced to sit through a bunch of wedding-movie clichés involving a bunch of peripheral characters we don’t care about. What a downer. The movie never fully recovers from this awkward detour. It starts to get clunky and predicable until it finally just fizzles out. Clooney’s final scenes redeem it a little, but it still leaves a bad taste, especially knowing how good the first two-thirds were. Despite the bad plot detours, though, it’s a must see for Clooney and Kendrick, and the way they navigate the sad world of layoffs rampant in this shitty financial era.