The Second half of my list begins with the film that rejuvenated the summer movie season after the attrocious G.I. Joe. District 9 was a shining reminder of what a summer action film can be if they pay attention to the story first and foremost. District 9 has substance, emotion, logic, action, political allegory... Oh, and aliens. That's more or less the formula for a great movie. Based on the trailers District 9 looked like one of two things. It was either going to be a boring 2 hour fake documentary on the politics of this alien slum, or it was going to be another senseless action riot. Now we can say it was both, minus the boring, and minus the senseless riot. District 9 doesn't have you completely bored with the film until the last 40 minutes of the film. It's controvercial in how the aliens are treated by us humans. Like the movie Avatar, the aliens are at our mercy, but unlike the movie Avatar they are on our turf, and they are the ones with the high tech weapons. When you are frightened into a state in which you are too afraid to use your super-alien-laser-gun that could kill dozens of the people who are abusing you then you know that something is seriously wrong. The thing is that there are a million and a half of them, and we have atomic bombs. Chances are we would probably go that far. Sharlto Copley is the real star of the film as the man in charge of movie the aliens out of District 9 and into a smaller and worse concentration camp at District 10. He really goes through such a change emotionally throughout the film. He is at first apathetic to these prawns and is willing for them to die if necessary, but when he's the one pointing the gun he really sees the injustice of what they are doing. Ultimately we are left with many questions, and the beauty of action films such as this is that they will make a sequel.4.Star Trek
It's not often in which a film can destroy a planet with 6 billion people on it and still be called optimistic. Thankfully J.J. Abrams walks that fine line between brutality and beauty, and comes back with amazing results. Not only has he revived the long thought dead Star Trek franchise, but he has done so in a way that opens completely new doors for the series. Wisely returning to the team of Kirk and Spock, they start their relationship in a way that one could say isn't really that smooth. However as the fate of the universe is in peril they reconcile their differences in time to take on the bad guys. This film is paced at lightspeed, only yielding for a short venture on an ice planet, in which the film is actually paced like a regular movie, and then is right back to its original pace. The film is so emotional in a way that many action films have forgotten how to be, and the opening sequence offers that with an equal dosage of action, and tension. As somebody who is familiar with the franchise but not an outright fan of it, I was devastated to learn throughout the movie that things weren't happening as they should be and that kept me in my seat. Stupendously they wrap up the film in a way that justifies the previous events of the film, and makes us feel that what we've already seen is nothing compared to what comes next. I dearly hope they are right.3.Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
The strange beauty of the Harry Potter films is that they keep getting better, and the sixth film is no exception. Finally the series has learned how to have films that stand on their own, yet integrate flawlessly into the rest of the franchise. After a rocky start, Director David Yates has found his footing. The flaws with the film are flaws not of script, acting, visual effects, cinematography, or direction, but simply things that were present in the original novel. In many ways the film is even better than the book it is based upon. Of course the film isn't exactly the same as the book but if it was there would be even more problems with it. A film needs to function not as a companion to the book, but as its own sort of animal, otherwise it is simply retelling an old story. The attack at the Burrow was one of my favorite scenes in the movie and didn't at all feel like it was shoved in there. Many scenes lead directly into the next scene and it gives the illusion of a faster pace than the past films. It may seem useless and highly unlikely but i'm going to put it out there that Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince should be nominated for best picture. It has nearly the same critical status as Avatar, and even better reviews than Invictus. One could easily say that it is a better film than Nine, so I say put it up there as the fantasy film nominated for Best Picture because it rightfully deserves it. It is amazingly emotional, extremely real, and visually magical. However in all likelyhood I'm just talking to nobody, so like Dumbledore at the end, I leave it all to fate.2.Inglourious Basterds
Quentin Tarantino has made his cinematic masterpiece in the form of Inglourious Basterds. Ever since his previous Best Picture nominee Pulp Fiction came out he has brought us many amazing modern cinema classics like Kill Bill and.... the other Kill Bill movie. However now he has taken the best aspects of his past films and blended them into one kick-ass film whose premise is surprisingly simple and easy to remember, a first for Tarantino. This film is a straight story with no real side plots or goals. It is simply about two seperate attempts to kill the Nazi High Command. Most interestingly, the key to the success of the two plans comes in the form of their greatest enemy, Han Landa played in a groundbreaking performance by Christoph Waltz who is destined for an Oscar for his role. Tarantino's goal in this film, unlike most of his other films, is not to kill a ton of people in style. He does that but it's not the main focus of his work. Much of the film exists to create the most extreme tension ever felt in a movie. It's not the loud chaos of the battleground. It's the calm silence before the guns go off. Tarantino drags his scenes out just long enough to create that certain mist of fear, and maybe a little more so. But when the guns go off it is a feat of pure movie magic which Quentin has captured. Several powerful performances can be found in this film, because Quentin isn't really known for having simplistic characters. Avatar would've probably been the best movie ever if it were written by Tarantino.
Yeah, there's still more. I'll be back tomorrow with my best film of the year. I'll give you a hint. It begins with a U.
Quentin Tarantino has made his cinematic masterpiece in the form of Inglourious Basterds. Ever since his previous Best Picture nominee Pulp Fiction came out he has brought us many amazing modern cinema classics like Kill Bill and.... the other Kill Bill movie. However now he has taken the best aspects of his past films and blended them into one kick-ass film whose premise is surprisingly simple and easy to remember, a first for Tarantino. This film is a straight story with no real side plots or goals. It is simply about two seperate attempts to kill the Nazi High Command. Most interestingly, the key to the success of the two plans comes in the form of their greatest enemy, Han Landa played in a groundbreaking performance by Christoph Waltz who is destined for an Oscar for his role. Tarantino's goal in this film, unlike most of his other films, is not to kill a ton of people in style. He does that but it's not the main focus of his work. Much of the film exists to create the most extreme tension ever felt in a movie. It's not the loud chaos of the battleground. It's the calm silence before the guns go off. Tarantino drags his scenes out just long enough to create that certain mist of fear, and maybe a little more so. But when the guns go off it is a feat of pure movie magic which Quentin has captured. Several powerful performances can be found in this film, because Quentin isn't really known for having simplistic characters. Avatar would've probably been the best movie ever if it were written by Tarantino.Yeah, there's still more. I'll be back tomorrow with my best film of the year. I'll give you a hint. It begins with a U.
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