day 52 - Top 5 Underrated Films of 2009

OK film fans, it's Monday night and I'm pretty wiped out. The weekend was fun but not very relaxing and I could have used another couple of days to refill the tank. As such I think it might be time to whip out another top 5 list. And, just a reminder, this is kind of like a piano bar. I'm open to requests, even if I can't get to them all. With the Oscar hype building (the British version was last night and The Hurt Locker cleaned up) it's a good time to look back at 2009 and give you my Top 5 Underrated Films of 2009. An explanation of the rules for the list can be found here.

I have to admit this list was considerably longer and tougher to pare down than I thought it would be. To give you an idea, here's a few of the films I left out for various reasons. Drag Me to Hell, I Love You Man and The Men Who Stare at Goats are probably too well known and successful for this list. Whip it, World's Greatest Dad and Zombieland I've already gushed about so I thought we'd go with a few new films. Let get this thing rolling.

5. Antichrist The latest exploration of film limitations from gifted and controversial Danish director Lars von Trier. Released at the Cannes film festival to decidedly mixed reviews, this art-house horror film begins with a personal tragedy between the films two characters, He (Willem Dafoe) and She (the wonderfully unique Charlotte Gainsbourg), and devolves into a diatribe about the dark history of women persecuted for Pagan and Wiccan beliefs. There are so many themes occurring and interpretations thereof that you'd be hard pressed to find two reviewers with similar takes on this film. Gorgeous cinematography and meaningful conversations abound, but there is also an explicit sex scene (or rather one shot), genital mutilation and talking animals. If you're feeling brave, get your beret, some wine and be prepared for some (pseudo) lofty concepts.

4. The Girlfriend Experience Let's be honest, haven't you ever wondered about the types of people who become high priced escorts? What kind of person gravitates towards that job? What about their personal relationships, do they even have them? And what about the clients, who drops that kind of dough on a pretense they know exists solely due to the exchanged cash? How do they suspend disbelief? Yeah... me either. But talented director Steven Soderbergh made a film about it just in case you're wondering. And despite the fact it stars a real porn star (Sasha Grey) it's a rather cold look at one woman's struggle with the biz. Throw in some timely commentary on the 2008/2009 market collapse, a contrasting look at men selling their bodies as fitness trainers and you've got an interesting experiment that serves as a nice conversation starter.

3. The Invention of Lying OK, this time be really honest. Haven't you ever wondered what kind of world would this be without lying? To be frank, it would really suck. Conversations would be almost stream of consciousness and devoid of any filter to restrict hurtful thoughts from being spoken aloud. The very funny and talented Ricky Gervais co-wrote and directed this film about a man who makes the leap to become the first person, in an alternate reality version of Earth, to say something that wasn't true. And because no one else has ever even thought of lying everyone takes everything he says as absolute truth. This would have been a huge hit, only problem is its primary target for ridicule is religion, specifically Christianity. That's a big no-no in America, home of the free, land of the brave and one nation under God. And don't forget his Americanized son, the light brown-haired, blue-eyed and light-skinned Jesus.

2. Adventureland If you've been paying attention you knew there was going to be an indie film in here, so here you go. It's 1987 and James Brennan (Zombieland's Jesse Eisenberg) was going to travel Europe before he started grad school at Columbia, but his dad's "setback" at work means he gets to find a summer job instead. In just one summer at a crappy amusement park he learns the truth about work, obligation, and love. And of course all of it is set to a great, 80's inspired soundtrack.

1. Observe and Report If you were like me you saw the commercials for this Seth Green vehicle and thought, "Gee, that looks like a hot mess of crap. If I'm not going to see Paul Blart: Mall Cop I'm sure the hell not going to see this." But I've got news for you, we were wrong. This weird, subversive and dark comedy seems bland at the beginning and then about a third of the way in you realize just how disturbed Green's mall security guard/wanna-be police officer, Ronnie Barnhardt, truly is. If you're lucky and your sense of humor is warped (like mine), you'll laugh as it becomes a film that embraces Ronnie's dark side and takes us on a strange journey of redemption you don't see in studio comedies. This is a comedy told through a Taxi Driver filter; nihilistic, violent and funny as hell.

day 22 - Zombieland

OK film fans it's Friday Night, the most glorious night of the week. The work week has ended and the weekend is in its infancy. Since there are endless opportunities available in the night, we'll make this short and sweet.

Zombieland is one of the most recent additions to the genre of the undead and is quite clearly on the zombies are funny side of the fence. With a combination of comedic timing and good acting the main characters are not only funny but, unlike the cast of the horrible remakes of the 80's horror classics (The Fog, Friday the 13th, Prom Night, the list just goes on), we actually come to care about their survival. Our narrator for the film, Columbus (Jessie Eisenberg, if you don't know who he is, see Adventureland) is a survivor heading from college in Austin, Texas to his home in Columbus, hence the name, who meets Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson in Kingpin mode). Columbus has a series of rules created to keep him alive while Tallahassee knows how to "enjoy the little thing", i.e., he loves the creative process of taking out zombies. No sooner do they team up than they run across sisters Witchita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin), a pair who were already surviving as grifters before the apocalypse and thus are cagey beyond their years.

This is flat out a zombie crushing good time with just enough scares to keep you honest. And thanks to its short running time that clips along effortlessly (88 minutes with an Easter Egg at the end of the credits) it doesn't wear out its welcome. There's a hilarious cameo in the film, which if you haven't already heard about I won't divulge here. However, here's a hint, I've listed within this post a film in which the actor has another hilarious role. I have to say, I was surprised to find out how much I enjoyed this film. It's kind of a cross between the fun parts of Shaun of the Dead and the new Dawn of the Dead. Even more surprising is that Zombieland has become the highest grossing zombie movie of all time, not to mention the biggest opening for a film starring Woody Harrelson.

You are now released back into the wild, just make sure you employ Columbus' Rule #31: Check the Backseat.