The Bestest pt. 3

Movies:

District 9: I had high hopes for this one when I first heard about the premise. Refugee aliens living amongst the human population in South Africa. This with an indictment of mans inhumanity towards ‘man’. I had no idea that I would be pulled into the heartwarming resonant and human-centric opus that is ‘D9’. Not to mention, it is a powerful well-crafted action movie. ‘D9’ is yet another example of using computer FX to enhance rather then to trump story and character. It blended the real with the fantastic and is pure artistic ambition. Sidenote: Blomkamp was going to direct the Halo movie before it got scrapped. Makes you wonder how awesome ‘Halo’ would‘ve/could’ve been.

Star Trek: Anyone who knows me knows that Star Wars KILLS Star Trek on pretty much every level. I have never been a ‘Trekkie’ or avid Trek watcher because I grew up on the monomyth that Lucas spun. That being said, JJ Abrahams’ reimaging of Star Trek pretty much KILLS every Star Wars film/TV show/spinoff except for ‘Empire’ and the animated Clone Wars by Tartakovsky. He made me care about a universe that I could give two ISHTS about before. ‘Trek’ was a warp speed, manic and entertaining ride. I cannot wait to see where the second entry of this new series goes. Kahn anyone?

Up: I’ll say it...If you didn’t tear up from the first ten minutes into “UP’ then you really have no heart. Pixar delivers a gem of a story about human bonds remembered and new ones forged, and never for one moment does it seems insincere or contrived. It’s almost an annual tradition that Pixar has a ‘movie of the year’ contender and ‘Up’ may be one of their best.

Avatar: Shock and awe and they way movies are made will never be the same. Sure, he used a tried and true storyline but as with anything it its what you DO with it that matters. I think Cameron gets a lot of flack for the way he crafts his magic. A couple of things 1) He still knows how to spend money wisely ($500 milly…high risk/higher reward) and 2) We need people to dream big. We need people to ignite their imaginations of what can and should be. Still…the movie runs a little long at times but this is the reason you go to the movies.

Inglourious Basterds: I picked up the Bluray on this when it came out a couple of weeks ago (missed it in theatres…I know, what was I thinking?). A dynamic pop artifact of vengeful fantasy. Scenes like the showdown in the tavern and the movie-premiere finale are inspired and alluring. At the end of ‘Basterds’ Raine says “I think this just be my masterpeice’ as far as Taratino goes I would agree.

Honorable mentions:

Fantastic Mr Fox, Black Dynamite, Watchmen, Where The Wild Things Are, Zombieland, Coraline, Food Inc.

2010 look ahead:

Iron Man 2:Don Cheadle as War Machine!!! I’m there opening day.

Inception: The trailer doesn’t make much sense; neither do the few leaked plot details. Which makes this Nolan film about “architecture of the mind” a must see.

Tron Legacy: Flynn is back, the film is written by LOST scribes Horowitz & Kitsis and Daft Punk on the score. Oh yeah, it’s in 3D as well.

Others…Kick Ass, Alice In Wonderland, Prince of Persia: The Sands Of Time, Shutter Island, The Wolfman.