My Best Films of the Year. Just maybe not this year.

As we approach the end of the year and we all take stock of 2009, I thought I might over the course of a week or so talk a little bit about my own highlights of the year. As this is my blog, I can do that sort of thing.
So to start things off, I will talk about my personal favorite films of this past year. Of course, that isn’t all that accurate either. I didn’t get out to the theater much this year and I tend to watch a lot of things on Netflix, so some of these films….ok most of these films didn’t come out this year. But I did see them this year, so in my mind that counts. Again, my blog, I can do what I want.
Besides, isn’t really sort of arbitrary that we HAVE to talk about the films of this year? In this age of DVD and online viewings, why can’t someone’s favorite film of the year be from 20 years ago? If it’s the first time they saw it, it’s new to them.
So here are my personal faves of 2010.

Star Trek – C’mon. You didn’t see this one coming? I’m a dork, OF COURSE I was gonna love the hell out of this film. J.J. Abrams and associates really managed to energize and totally recreate the Star Trek universe without alienating the hardcore Trekkies out there. I am not a Trekkie; frankly those guys scare the living hell out of me. But I have been a Star Trek fan through its ups and downs. By jettisoning a lot of the history of the franchise and starting fresh, all of a sudden you were watching a film where anything could happen. Destroy Vulcan? Sure. Kill Spock’s mom? No problem. Spock bangs Uhura? Ok dokey. Old fans could expect something new, and people just wanting a good time at the movies could enjoy it without having to try and understand who all these people were. It was fresh, fun, and exciting.

The Wrestler – I used to laugh at Mickey Rourke, especially at his face that has become stretched too tight. His career had fallen apart, and despite enjoying him in Sin City, I pretty much felt that his days as a star were behind him. But with The Wrestler, he not only proved me wrong, he showed me something that I hadn’t seen from him in a long time: the man can act. His Randy the Ram was a man haunted by age, the demands he has put on his body, his loneliness, and the mistakes he has made with his life. Probably the best thing you can say about a performance like this is that you forget that it is a performance and just become lost in the story. And wow, about halfway through the film I realized that I had totally forgotten that this was all make believe.

The Hangover – It’s such a guy film. Look, I am no fool. I know that this will by no means be a cinematic masterpiece. It’s goofy, sick, twisted guy humor. But I am a guy and I haven’t laughed this hard at a movie in a really long time. So for my money it was the best $10 I spent at the movies this year.

The Beat My Heart Skipped – Many years ago, I enjoyed a small cult film called Fingers, starring a young Harvey Keitel and directed by James Toback. The story of a young pianist who also works for his loan shark father offered a fantastic performance by Keitel. I finally caught the French “remake” The Beat My Heart Skipped this year and as much as I enjoyed the original, I was bowled over by this reimagining of the story. Romain Duris’s performance, just embodying all the hope and anger and anguish of the main character as he is torn apart by his conflicting worlds, was hypnotic. Jacques Audiard’s direction was stylish but also subtle, not allowing anything to take away from the acting.

The Host – Joon-ho Bong’s monster movie was a surprise for me. I figured it would be mildly amusing. But I really enjoyed this tale of a family hunting down a monster that has kidnapped their sister more than a lot of the regular “blockbusters” being made nowadays. It wasn’t the special effects or the action scenes, or even that ominous tension as they start swimming through the sewers. It was the heart at the center of this film. Ultimately it was a tale of fractured family trying to heal, hidden in the trappings of a monster movie. There was a level of empathy achieved in this film. When a character dies, you felt it. Can you say the same about G.I. Joe?

The Lives of Others – I don’t think I was more totally captivated this year then I was by The Lives of Others. Winner of the Foreign Film Academy Award, the film is the story of a German Secret Policeman, a master at interrogation and surveillance that begins to see things differently when he is forced to bug a playwright, who’s only real crime seems to be sleeping with an actress the Minister of Culture wants for himself. The film comes alive in the actor’s beautifully complex characters, each one capable of deception, manipulation, and love. Ulrich Mühe’s policeman was spellbinding. His transformation from villain to hero was so slow and subtle and believable, I just didn’t want this movie to end.