Minneapolis Michael

The Ten Best Films of 2009

1. “The Hurt Locker”
2. “Funny People”
3. “Fantastic Mr. Fox”
4. “District 9”
5. “Up”
6. “(500) Days of Summer”
7. “Avatar”
8. “Adventureland”
9. “Star Trek”
10. “Inglourious Basterds”

“The Hurt Locker” was this year’s best film, by a wide gulf. Kathryn Bigelow’s film captured what no other Iraq war film has this decade. It gave us a glimpse of what it takes to be a hero in war. It gave us a glimpse of how tense, confusing, tiring war really is. She gave us a film that left me dazzled, breathless and pissed off. A nearly perfect film.

*There are a handful of films I didn’t get a chance to see in their initial first runs, and a few films that haven’t opened in our fine city. They include: “Where the Wild Things Are”, “The Messenger”, “The White Ribbon”, “The Informant!”, “Crazy Heart”,