Best Movie Scripts of 2009
What Movies to Watch or Give as a Gift over Your Winter Holiday
by Jaden
There are some years that have so many great movies it is tough to choose which one to see when you are at the theatre; this was not one of those years. For this reason, I have to admit that I have not watched too many new movies this year. Although no film rocked my world this year, the movie storylines that intrigued me enough to fork over ten bucks (and that I enjoyed) are these:
# 1 – Inglourious Basterds
Anything with the word “terds” in it pleases me.
The last thing I wanted to see was another Nazi movie, but since it was written by director Quentin Tarantino, I figured it would be an unusual must-see film and indeed it was. Tarantino’s version of the exhausted topic was a Jewish fantasy pushed out to absurd extremities as an unorthodox United States military team go on a secret terrorist mission during World War II.
With old movie references and a stoic meticulous unfolding, Inglourious Basterds is a visually stunning movie made for and by the love of a film geek. The intertwining complex story and clever interconnected subplots feed the hunger of an appreciating screenwriter.
Tarantino is blessed with an ability to pull out unconventional performances from actors, making them behave unlike any other character they have ever played. Christoph Waltz who plays Nazi Col. Hans Landa gives one of the best ‘bad guy’ performances I have ever seen; he just has you on the edge of your seat wondering what he is going to do next because he is so observant and wickedly intelligent. Tarantino takes his time to build tension. The female performances by Mélanie Laurent and Diane Kruger feel like real women with complex psyches, which is refreshing. Brad Pitt gives a fun anti-hero crazy-guy performance.
#2 – The Men Who Stare at Goats
The Men Who Stare at Goats makes my Best Movie Scripts list for two reasons: title originality and because no one else has it topping their list of best movies this year. The three people with whom I saw this movie were mildly entertained by it. Personally, the story concept and its overall awkward delivery amused me plenty.
A reporter’s woman leaves him. To be a tough guy and impress this woman (who could not care any less about him), he sets off to find a juicy story in the danger zone of the Middle East. Through a series of uncanny coincidences, he stumbles upon a mysterious man on a secret mission from a United States special forces paranormal military unit.
Supposedly based on a true story, I love the goofiness of the performances by George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges, and Kevin Spacey — all great actors of our time — as they pitch a light and funny movie.
# 3 — Public Enemies
A classic Hollywood film beauty, Public Enemies was directed by Michael Mann, the screenplay was written by Ronan Bennett, Michael Mann, and Ann Biderman, adapted from the book by Bryan Burrough (“Public Enemies: America’s Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933-34″).
Public Enemies is very much a “Bonnie & Clyde” type bank-robber film. The storyline does a good job of letting you get to know real people of notoriety and understand their personal motivations. For its costumes, cars, props, sets, and handsome actors (starring Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, and Marion Cotillardor), this movie is riveting to watch.
What others have to say about the best movies of 2009:
UK’s TimesOnline 50 Biggest Movies of 2009
This list is nice and long, unfortunately, it is broken up over 11 pages full of advertisements that are slow to upload. I have done the dirty work for you and clicked through them all to find the number one movie and give you that link here.
Best Movies Of 2009 So Far, According To Josh
Josh’s list on CinemaBlend.com is simple and straight to the point, breaks down with a star system a lot of movies in rapid fire order for you without reviews.
The Ten Best Movies of 2009 – That’s Right, 2009
What I like about CoolerKing’s list on movieretriever.com is at the end of each movie selection and review, he has written “Why it Might Suck,” just in case you were wondering; no movie is without its faults, even the good ones.
Best Movies of 2009 (so far)
From discussions and forums, I find this list by Ryan Costantino on Amazon.com to most accurately reflect how most people feel about what are the best movies of 2009, except I have not heard of anyone who agrees that District 9 is the number one movie of the year as Ryan lists it – District 9 does have a solid classic Hollywood script and is a movie worth watching.
What are your top 3 favorite movies of 2009 and why?
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