Perspective
Counting repeat viewings, but not counting short films, I count 195 as the number of feature films I watched in 2009. 58 of those were seen in a theatre. About 40 films qualify as 2009 releases, more or less depending on how one determines these things.
Despite my Cornell time, I didn't watch significantly more films this year than last year. The number was 185 films in 2008. The big difference was that I saw a lot more films at the cinema this year instead of home on DVD. And the other huge difference is that I spent time writing about each one this year.
My upcoming "best of" 2009 list isn't set in stone. I'm looking forward to catching up on films I missed, either because they never played here (35 Shots of Rum, The Headless Woman, The Sun) or because I was too busy to see them (The Box, Where the Wild Things Are, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Coraline). I probably would have made it to those last three or four if Mildred was 14 instead of 7, but I'm definitely not rushing anything. She's growing up too fast already. I'm glad that she loved Ponyo so much, both her and the film brimming with wonder.
There are also current "awards-style" films like Invictus, Up In the Air, and The Road that I'd like to eventually see.
2009 seems like a decent year in film. I need to see two Herzog films before I can know for sure. It might end up being the best year of the decade. I like Herzog documentaries. I adore Herzog narratives. And we got two this year.
I had the special experience of working at Cornell. What made the year great, though, wasn't the quality or the quantity of the films released or seen. The best part of this film year was maintaining this stupid blog and being able to read yours. It's been a lot of fun.
Before my top ten list, here is my top ten UNSEEN films of 2009, ranked according to my burning desire to see each one.
1) My Son, My Son What Have Ye Done
2) Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans
3) Birdsong
4) Police, Adjective
5) 24 City
6) Bright Star
7/8) Fantastic Mr. Fox/Where the Wild Things Are
9) The White Ribbon
10) The Sun
1 comment:
My Top Ten I Haven't Seen (with no pretense added)in no particular order:
1) Antichrist
2) Limits of Control
3) Time Traveler's Wife
4) An Education
5) Precious
6) 500 Days of Summer
7) No Impact Man
8) Terminator: Salvation (if I'm being honest)
9) Fantastic Mr. Fox
10) Men Who Stare at Goats
Runners up: Moon, The Lemon Tree, A Serious Man, The Informant (after listening to the NPR episode), The Princess and the Frog (after hearing it was hand drawn)
I also commented on your Dec 10 entry, so check it out.
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