It's been quite an amazing decade for lovers of film. While Hollywood pumped out monstrosities like Transformers and G.I. Joe, real filmmakers continued to make both large and small masterpieces, both inside and, more often, outside the Hollywood system.
So, below are my picks for the best 100 films of the past 10 years. However, instead of one list I've decided to make five: 70 Best Films, 10 Best Comedies, 12 Best Documentaries, 5 Best Animated Films, and 3 Best Musicals.
Gus Van Sant
My Picks For The Top 100 Films of The Decade
My Picks For The Best Films of 2009
My Picks For The Best Films of 2009... and late-2008
Ok, people, this year I'm making two separate lists. Rather than mixing the Best Films of 2009 together with all the great films that were released in late-2008 that I never had a chance to see before posting my Best Films of 2008 list, I'm simply dividing them into two different lists: "Best of 2009" and "Best of Late-2008".
And of course, as is the case every year, there are a few late-2009 releases that I have yet to see that could very well have made this list had I had a chance to see them, most prominently Up In The Air, A Serious Man, An Education, Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire, The White Ribbon, Broken Embraces, Bad Lieutenant, and Crazy Heart.
So, here they are, my picks for the best films of the past year:
TOP 15 FILMS OF 2009
The Milk Rave: Harvey Milk, Little Baby River and The Missing Scene
One man come in the name of love
One man come and go
One man come he to justify
One man to overthrow
In the name of love
What more in the name of love
In the name of love
What more in the name of love
Free at last, they took your life
They could not take your pride
- U2, "Pride (In The Name of Love)"
By now I'd hope that everyone has seen Gus Van Sant's magnificent film Milk, about the life and death of gay rights activist Harvey Milk, the first openly gay elected official in American history. And if you have seen the film then you know what a truly brilliant piece of filmmaking it is. I finally saw it the other day, after it had been released on DVD, and I found both the film and Sean Penn's performance in it to be absolutely enthralling.
