The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
3B - Thursday, January 7, 2010
BEST FILMS '09
From Page 1B
"Up" "(500) Days of Summer"
Pixar laps up another victory. Boasting one of the strongest expos-
itory sequences since, um, last year's "WALL-E," "Up" is a giddy,
luminous tale of love and perseverance. 78-year-old Carl Fredrick-
sen lives out the fantasy we all had in our youth: to sail into a billow-
ing ocean of balloons, seeking adventure, and to never come back.
Yet the strongest aspect of "Up" is the economy of dialogue. Those
words left unsaid are powerfully dictated by a glance, a smile or a
sigh. "Up" is easily one of the most heartbreaking and heartwarming
films of the year.
-JENNIFER XU
"(500) Days of Summer" is a mishmash of modern classics, drenched
in the vintage. This tale of boy-meets-girl-loses-girl (that quite insis-
tently proclaims itself to be "not a love story") evokes the old-school
charm of "Annie Hall," the hipster quirkiness of "Punch Drunk Love"
and the modern-age nonlinearity of "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless
Mind." But despite its derivations, director Marc Webb manages to
fashion a film that's refreshingly, lyrically different from its predeces-
sors. It's about falling hopelessly in love and falling hopefully out of
love. And that animated bluebird scene couldn't be better.
-JENNIFER XU
"Up in the Air"
George Clooney's character Ryan Bingham is paid to fire people. He
has spent most of his life alone, in and out of hotels and airports. His
life seems to be a lonely and depressing one, but director Jason Reit-
man, of "Thank You for Smoking" and "Juno" fame, brings warmth
and wit to an otherwise desolate picture. It's a funny movie, but it also
gives reason to look twice at everyday occurrences - especially the
people standing in line at a security check.
-EMILYBOUDREAU
COURTESY OF PARAMOUNT
"Paranormal Activity"
"An Education"
"A Serious Man"
Jenny is a 16-year-old girl who devotes all of her time to getting
into Oxford. When she meets David, a man twice her age, Jenny
starts to see the world around her differently. There's a whole world
out there that has to be experienced, not just studied. Actors Peter
Sarsgaard and Carey Mulligan both show great talent in roles that
aren't easy to pull off, and they both deliver simply stunning per-
formances. Not only are the actors convincing, the film creates an
arresting portrait of London in the 1960s where people are always
conscious of class and change.
-EMILY BOUDR EAU
"The Hangover"
"The Hangover" is one of film's first successful fusions of intelli-
gent humor and outright inebriation. This movie somehow managed
to show us that Mike Tyson's tiger, Vegas weddings and a whole
slew of dental jokes could co-exist with the ideals of close friend-
ship and marital fidelity. But more important than the film itself
was its role in introducing America to Zach Galfianakis, a comedian
whose merit as an actor, while made apparent in "The Hangover," is
yet to be fully realized.
-TIMOTHY RABB
It was rumored that Stephen Spielberg had to wait until daytime
to finish watching his copy of "Paranormal Activity." Whether that
story is true or not, "Paranormal" is without question one of the
scariest movies of the modern era. If it wasn't the midnight-only
screenings or the long, winding lines outside of select theaters that
helped viewers appreciate the film, it must have been a realization
that hit them as they shook under the covers upon returning home:
Their bed - their haven of refuge for all these years - may just be
the last place they want to be.
-HANS YADAV
Editors' choice: "The Hurt Locker"
"The Hurt Locker" is a painful character study of badass Staff Ser-
geant William James, a bomb diffuser who has fallen in love with the
rush of his craft. For James, who has dismantled more than 800 bombs
in Iraq and Afghanistan and keeps a box of his favorite triggers under
his bed, nothing else in life matters. Fellow soldiers and family members
cycle throughout the movie, but you,like James, don't care. Because, like
James, all you really want isto experience the heart-pounding adrena-
line rush of standing over a bomb.
-JACOB SMILOVITZ
"Why do bad things happen to good people?" That is the philosophi-
cal question lying at the heart of the Coen brothers' "A Serious Man."
The directors take us back to the 1960s Minneapolis suburb of their
youth to tell the tale of a mild-mannered physics professor put through
a series of moral dilemmas - drawing obvious parallels to the plight
of Job in the process. Amid their trademark ambiguity, schadenfreude
and eccentric characters, the Coens raise stirring questions about
morality and the role of faith in society. This is the dynamic duo of
directing at their finest. Be sure to bring your Yiddish phrasebook.
-KAVI SHEKHAR PANDEY
Games that pwned '09
Epic "uTue
videos of 2009
"Borderlands"
2K Games
This may very well be the most innovative role-playing game of the
year. Set in the desert wasteland of Pandora, this treasure-hunting epic
has. a fast-paced style that fluidly combines the gameplay fundamentals
of other live-action RPGs ("Knights of the Old Republic," "Jade Empire,"
etc.) with cel-shaded graphics that set it apart. The plot development is
lacking and the cinematic sequences that are usually used to fill in story
details are virtually nonexistent, but it's pure, cartoony fun, and some-
times that's all we should want from a game.
-TIMOTHYRABB
"The Sims 3"
Electronic Arts
With the countless expansion packs already sold for the first two "Sims"
games, some thought the franchise was out of new tricks. They thought
wrong. "The Sims 3" realizes the vision many gainers had when the orig-
inal game came out back in 2000: The whole neighborhood is an active
entity. Your Sims are no longer confined to their homes and lawns by load-
ing screens; they can walk through the neighborhood and even bump into
other Sims on the street. The personality system and the improvement of
"wishes" also makes "The Sims 3" the franchise's best offering to date.
-JAMIE BLOCK
"Inbflat"
Inbflat.net is a collection of
20 YouTube videos that can be
combined in any order to create
a calming and interesting musi-
cal sound. The videos include
instruments and devices rang-
ing from guitars and trumpets
to Game Boys and voice record-
ings. This is a truly one-of-a-
kind experiment, as each video
was submitted independently
with these instructions: play
in B flat, with simple rhythms,
breaks of silence and similar
speeds and volumes to the other
videos. The result is a brilliant,
cacophonous sound.
-BRAD SANDERS
"Blend Your Own
Adventure"
For those who seek the adven-
ture of blending random foods
together and drinking the result-
ing concoction, but fear the
digestive consequences, this
YouTube compilation is your lib-
erator. Minor YouTube celebrity
Corey Vidal arrays an assortment
of different tastes and consisten-
cies on his kitchen counter. Then
you, the viewer, get to choose
which two he blends together
and drinks simply by clicking
your mouse. Not.only does Vidal
break into innovative new You-
Tube territory here, but he does
so with a smile on his face and a
potato-jalapeno smoothie burn-
ing in his belly.
-JAMIE BLOCK
"Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2"
Activision
War games that accurately simulate vehicles, weaponry and the
chaos of battle have become an industry standard. Don't you long for
a game that eagerly explores the aberrant terrorism that has become
the forefront of public debate? "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2" pushes
the envelope by bringing the war a bit closer to home - actually, a lot
closer to home in the D.C. metropolitan area. And it doesn't hurt the
already superb game's reputation to mention that the multiplayer game-
play completely kicks ass.
-TIMOTHY RABB
"David After
Dentist"
What's funnier than the antics
of a seven-year-old and the mus-
ings of your friends when they're
stoned? The antics and mus-
ings of a stoned seven-year-old.
"David After Dentist" details
the journey of our youthful hero
David - high as a kite - after
a tooth removal at the dentist.
David is philosophical and exis-
tential, asking "Is this real life?"
and "Why is this happening to
me!?" while wondering, "Is this
going to be forever?" It's ador-
able, it's hilarious and it makes
going to the dentist sound like
fun for once.
-CAROLYN KLARECKI
Terrific tunes of the yesteryear
Animal Collective
"My Girls"
Hipster boys and girls across America
rejoiced when Animal Collective debuted
"My Girls," accomplishing for the indie
scene what Asher Roth's "I Love College"
did for frat boys. The psychedelic track
served as a call to arms, uniting an entire
subculture and quickly becoming one of
the most frequently hummed songs of
2009. The irrepressible tribal rhythm is
so catchy even the most jaded listeners
will find themselves breaking out embar-
rassingly awkward dance moves. Who
knows - maybe all we really do need is
four walls. And adobe slats ... whatever
those are.
-JASMINE ZHU
Mew
"Introducing Palace Players"
This is a weird one, but it's also one
of the year's best musical curveballs.
The minute-long intro is so rhythmi-
cally off-kilter and jarring that the
song seems fated to self-destruct. But
after those agonizing 60 seconds comes
the "ahhhh" moment, when the chaos
resolves - with unexpected logic -
into a glorious, fist-pumping anthem.
While Mew's unabashed prog tenden-
cies made its 2009 effort No More Sto-
ries... a bit theatrical, "Palace Players"
more than redeems the band's many
indulgences.
-JEFF SANFORD
Passion Pit
"Sleepyhead"
"Sleepyhead" is pretty much every-
thing. It's fun. It's sexy. It's nonsensi-
cal. With a dense glimmer of eclectic
percussion and a complex yet steady
beat, "Sleepyhead" revs up the listen-
er's mojo for a quick jaunt across cam-
pus, a shining moment on the dance
floor or an inspired start to the day.
A floating, lilting and melodic luster
fuses the beat with indiscriminate
vocals and takes the harsh edge off the
constant pounding. Once you pop, you
can't stop.
-,LEAH BURGIN
Neko Case
"People Got A Lotta Nerve"
You don't need the cover of Neko
Case's latest album Middle Cyclone to
be convinced she's a force of nature.
"People Got A Lotta Nerve" is perhaps
her most concise and engaging pop song
to date, thanks in no small part to a pair
of chiming guitars, endearing lyrical
imagery and some carefully placed snare
rolls. With her commanding voice and
nearly untouchable range, Case eschews
classical vocal style for a flat tone based
on-raw power and old country grit. And
when she sings about being a "man-man-
man-eater," you better believe it.
-MIKE KUNTZ
Jay-Z (Ft. Alicia Keys)
"Empire State of Mind"
Amid the lackluster effort of Jay-Z's
The Blueprint3, one cut stands above the
rest. Featuring the gutsy backing vocals
of Alicia Keys, "Empire State of Mind"
is the feel-good radio anthem of 2009.
An ode to the rapper's home city, Jay-Z
gives shout-outs to everything from the
streets of Bedford-Stuyvesant to decked-
out designer cars. However, the true star
here is Alicia Keys, whose boomingvoice
gives life to a track that would otherwise
be overpowered by Jay-Z's notorious
ego. Together, the two create a boda-
cious song that appeals even to listeners
far removed from the Big Apple.
-SASHA RESENDE