How I feel about movies. By Kyle Kernan

When the lights flicker and credits roll I forge the most powerful and intimate connection with a film; because I’m left there completely absorbed, transcended, intoxicated, dazzled, and manipulated. I’m moved somehow, something struck a deep nerve. I’m still lost in a story that wasn’t real, but it was the most real thing I’ve ever felt. I was made to believe this world I was immersed in still exists somewhere intangible, and this realization is both poignant and bitter sweet.

When I think of a transcendental ending I think of Rushmore. When all problems and tensions have subsided and everyone busts out in a communal dance to The Faces “Ooh la la,” Wes Anderson breaks the action into slow motion and you’re left there believing: even though the film is over, this photograph or snap shot of these character’s bliss and happiness will linger on forever after the credits roll. Only a great film can produce such a message. Like Jake Scully putting his mind out of his paralyzed body into a body that can walk again, movies relay a similar power and magic for me: you could say movies are my avatars.

I did my majority of film viewing this decade, and I don’t think there will be a better one for me this lifetime. This was probably my most tender, innocent decade of my life, and so many films had a profound effect on me, either it be good or bad, proactive or detrimental. As you age you learn that movies reflect life: some stray from reality, as others are acute reminders of what life really is. I’ve learned that it’s important to tell the difference while considering a good film from a bad one. I’m going to hold this decade and this year in my heart forever as there were many great moments that came across the silver screen.
(Warning: Contains spoilers in memorable scene sections)

10 Best Films of 2009 by Kyle Kernan 6-10.

6. Coraline
This film has all the imagination and horror of say Pan’s Labyrinth, and it’s not even rated R, its PG. The meticulous 3-D stop motion is enchanting. As moments like a jumping mouse circus is so detailed and real, it will blow you away.

The story’s heroine, Coraline finds a passageway to ‘her other mother’ where she’s spoiled and receives anything her heart desires. If you’re experienced with this story you’ll know that everyone has buttons instead of eyes. This is an interesting symbol for human perspective. Some of us live out illusions and lead fake existences and we may not even realize it. Therefore it’s important to have our eyes open to distinguish the real from the illusion. It’s interesting however that many of the characters who surround Coraline’s family lead lives of illusion according to Coraline, and she finds them to be crazy. There’s a trapeze artist who is trying to train a mouse circus, and two women who still believe their actresses. Still the film teaches us that it’s what we believe in our imaginations sometimes that can be beneficial to us and not detrimental. As Coraline continues to visit this other world, although it becomes intoxicating for her she still has this unbreakable devotion to the genuine essence of her life. She realizes it’s not all perfect but still she realizes this other world is all an illusion. When she becomes trapped within this world, her perseverance to escape and to save others is something to admire and aspire to.

7. Inglourious Basterds
Quentin Tarantino. His attention for building suspense and conflict throughout each scene makes them stand up like they could be their own short films. His dialogue is so dense, snappy and beautiful as it graces French, German, and English. There were so many great moments in this film from the tavern scene, to Landa’s inquisition on the French man in the prologue, to the films glorious vision of ultimate revenge, this is a great reimagining of history that only Tarantino could do.

8. Star Trek
The moment in the beginning of this film where Kirk’s father has to sacrifice himself for his son and wife to survive was probably the greatest cinematic sequence this year. There was this profound, sense of immediate urgency constantly in Star Trek which kept the action reverberating until the closing credits. This movie really left me breathless. J.J. Abram’s like all great action directors understands how to build up action and tension and do it intelligently as well. The film’s premise of changing the order of time also made for an interesting thought provoking story that has more depth than any big summer film this year. Erica Bana’s scenery chewing is also memorable as the villain.

9. (500) Days of Summer
(500) Days of Summer is like the Annie Hall of our time, which chronicles the relationship between an attractive young man, and a supple little cutie. There have been some great dramatic romances this decade, like Before Sunset or Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. However both of these were quite great but were kind of dry and melancholy for me. (500) Days is more comedic and fun, but still real and identifiable. These are two great actors. Joseph Gordon- Levitt and Zooey Deschanel maybe played themselves in this. Anyway seeing the rise the courtship, to eventual decay of the relationship between Tom and Summer is both real and insightful to watch.

The film calls on us to question how initial fondness and admiration for a human being can lead our minds down to degrading illusions after we fully get to know a person. The film also asks us how we put so much stress on relationships and human bonding. However I think the film’s message is: when it’s all said and done in a relationship it’s better to acknowledge what the relationship meant to you and how it made you a better person.

10. Watchmen
This film is sprawling and feels a little disorienting at times but it’s still visceral, raw, and intense. The film is a prolific hyperbole of our times. Through the groundbreaking graphic novel, director Zach Synder was able to capture this grany, distilled look of humanity through great tragic characters like The Comedian and Rorschach. But the film’s overall message of the futile pursuit to change things and how modern nations use fear tactics and formulate false situations possibly to spread fear for control is something scary to think about.

10 Best Films of 2009 by Kyle Kernan 1-5

1. The Fantastic Mr. Fox
The stop-motion rendering of the Fox’s lush golden world is so meticulously realized that it not only captures the essence of Dahl’s story it heightens it. Anderson’s knack for zaniness, humor, and a zipping soundtrack is just pure icing on an already delicious cake.

Believe it or not but the most human characters this year came from stop-motion animals. There’s something about the human like tendencies of the animals that makes you appreciate life and survival. Mr. Fox and a Badger for example could be having a formal, civilized argument, but then it quickly turns into a stand off of menacing growls and clawing. Mr. Fox is a family man who has responsibilities; however he can’t abandon stealing chickens because, he’s a wild animal. Anderson constantly bounces between the human and animal like tendencies of his characters whether it’s out of absurdity or solidifying a tender moment.

I was tickled by Anderson’s wonderful sense for humanity and Dahl’s story: there are so many genuine, subtle moments between two characters that stand to be more real, poignant, caring, and tender than anything I saw on film this year. This film is beyond wonderful; it’s the magic that only great films and filmmakers can capture. Fantastic Mr. Fox is like a dream that you don’t ever want to end. When the credits come up you’re left there wanting to have a life like the Fantastic Mr. Fox.

Memorable scene: When Ash shows Kylie his train set.

2. A Serious Man
A Coen Brothers film captures intimate but unsettling portraits of people in the most peculiar and darkest of situations. And what makes their films unsettling is because these people are like us. This is perhaps the Coen’s most real and captivating slice of existentialism.

The film’s prologue stands to be an insightful glimpse into the minds of the Coens. A Jewish couple in the 18th Century leading a minimalist existence is visited by a strange guest who the wife knows has been dead for three years, from this knowledge she believes this man to Satan coming to curse them. With the husband’s disbelief and reluctance the wife stabs the guest, regardless of who or what he is. This scene sets the stage for the elongated Biblical like parable that is to come.

College professor Larry Gopnik bears the weight of the world on his shoulders as his kids disrespect him, his brother is taking advantage of him, his tenure is being threatened, one of his students is blackmailing him, and his wife wants a divorce, his ass out of the house, while the guy she’s sleeping with wants to move in all the while Gopnik is obsessed in finding the right solution. Throughout the film the Coen’s disrupt your comfort in Gopnik’s struggle as much as they do for Gopnik in the story. The film is deeply thought-provoking as simple situations or mysterious problems loom as deeply contemplative issues, which propel characters to find solutions. But in life there are no simple solutions. This is the irony. Although there are no simple solutions, in a hectic, unforgiving world things are much easier to be met simply rather than seriously.

“A Serious Man,” will make you rethink your existence: it’s fleeting, pointless and the only thing that matters maybe is one’s own pursuit for freedom and pleasure

Memorable scene: When Larry stands on the roof of his home, he has his first moment of freedom as he spies on his attractive neighbor, nude sunbathing.

3. Avatar
There were so many great films this year but Avatar was probably the most exciting. Avatar is a classic story given a modern touch. I’ve never experienced a film in which completely absorbed me in its world. Cameron imagined Pandora from everything between its funnel shaped plants to its enormous rhinos. The final battle is one of the most spectacular ever crafted for the big-screen.

There is a theme of connection here that stands above it’s suggestions of climate change and environmental destruction. This movie is a film about connection on all levels, especially spiritual. This theme of connection seems to be popular this year in film. Maybe through the passing into a new age everyone is starting to question the genuineness of human connection and what’s real or illusion. Here though the world of the Na’vi has this beautiful dynamic with each other that’s about being emotionally connected through being physically connected as well. Survival is determined by one’s bind with something else, which makes for such a stirring message. All of Na’vi have braids in which intertwine with many other living things. It seems to draw a distinction between the ways the Na’vi naturally connects as everything the humans bind with to survive is artificial. For example a Na’vi can bind with a flying creature and direct it where to go, as a human can bind with a super weapon contraption. These distinctions tell us how distant human beings become from spirituality when their connections are artificial and not natural. With the constant progression of humanity we’re losing sight of what makes us human: simply being connected. Our own progression leaves us selfish and always wanting more.

4. District 9
No film this year was more unrelentingly suspenseful than District 9. Scene after scene I was on the edge of my seat. Sharlto Copley gives the surprise performance of the year as Wikus Van De Merwe, who after being exposed to an alien biotechnology begins to transform into an alien himself. There are so many great things working for this film I don’t even know where to begin. The alien presence depicted in Johannesburg South Africa is surreal. Their own survival in the slums of the decrepit city point to our own feuding struggles with racism and South Africa’s own apartheid. The stranded aliens all give so much potential for human selfishness: their technology, weapons, and their own flesh and blood give way to pagan rituals. But the film’s central storyline is Wikus. After his transformation he becomes the most sought after person on the planet. His own struggle to survive is so intense real that it’s staggering to watch. Its heart wrenching when his organs are about to be harvested and this man whose a human being is seen to be some type of medical asset. This is the dehumanization of the society. His own perseverance on screen to survive shows the lengths a human being or any creature can endure. His strength is really unparalleled; however his own survival is compromised when he has to choose to help an alien in a direr situation than himself. Wikus seems like such an unlikely candidate to be in such a situation, which makes this movie all the more awesome.

Memorable scene:
When Wikus pulls his fingernails, and when he starts firing up mother fuckers with the alien technology.


5. Up in the Air
This is one of the most moving and intelligent films of the year. Jason Reitman’s latest chronicles the separated, isolated life of Ryan Bingham, played with a humble dexterity of George Clooney. His job is quite disheartening in a time of economic instability: he flies around the country firing people, but offers proactive solutions for their future. Clooney’s character is like a response to the professor in A Serious Man.

Here, you have a man who sees human connection as arbitrary: it’s suppressing and weighs as much as airline luggage.

I originally felt this film’s premise was a little gimmicky, I mean the previews made it look like a Clooney star-vehicle, with a heartwarming, feel-good premise.

One of the films prime messages is how society has changed since technology’s rapid expansion: it makes life efficient; however it makes human connection dehumanizing and an illusion. Although Clooney leads a fleeting existence while sparking short flings and relationships; he still lives for the ephemeral nature of never settling down and being always on the move. In Up in the Air we see technology’s benefits and detriments: through an airline we can be so many places at once but still never be grounded to make those connections last. Thus when the company decides to ground his firm and conduct the firing via a camera phone, it totally destabilizes his job and his illusion of being connected.
Memorable scene: When Ryan falls for another traveling counterpart, played by Vera Farminga, he decides to maybe take a step to commit to her. So he hastily goes to her home in Chicago to find that their relationship was as fleeting and as illusory as his lifestyle: he finds that she’s married.

At The Movies in 2009: John Carney's Top Ten List

(Note: There may be spoilers, but nothing too revealing that will piss you off.)
5 Honorable Mentions:
These aren't my #11-15 best of the year. Just films I felt deserved to be mentioned for one reason or another.
Zombieland – Hilarious, well-written, and well-cast. Woody Harelson at his best, what’s-her-face from Superbad looking good, and Jesse Eisenburg doing his best to keep up with Michael Cera. But most importantly, it’s the winner of my fake award category “most fun at the movies of the year.”

Julia – An intense performance by Tilda Swinton that should earn attention at the Oscars. Check it out just for that. She’s tall and looks like a bird.

Tyson - A deep look into the mind of the complex man that is Mike Tyson. Emotional, thought-provoking, and tragic. It’s also funny to listen to his voice.

Anti-Christ - Most memorable (trust me, there are some things that you can never erase from your memory), due to the hypnotic photography and unsettling subject matter. Dark and terrifying; at times repulsive and difficult to watch, it’s a study of the darkest parts of humanity.

Funny People - Judd Apatow has clearly refined his writing and directing style, delivering his most emotionally-appealing, well-structured, and diverse film, all the while maintaining the usual hilarity. The stand up comedy is served in generous portions, and the film showcases comedy newcomers Aziz Ansari and Aubrey Plaza.

5 Movies That I Have Not Yet Seen That May Have Shaken Things Up:

Fantastic Mr. Fox directed by Wes Anderson
The Informant! directed by Steven Soderbergh
A Serious Man directed by The Coen Brothers
The Brothers Bloom directed by Rian Johnson
An Education directed by Lone Scherfig


10. Avatar

I could not compile a list of the best films of the year without including James Cameron’s incredible technical achievement Avatar. This film quickly became a cultural phenomenon following its release, and it will undoubtedly have an everlasting impact on the film industry; 2009 will be remembered as the year that Avatar captivated audiences and changed everything by expanding the possibilities of on screen entertainment. That being said, I had some major issues with the film.
James Cameron has set the bar high for himself, directing the highest grossing film of all time with Titanic, as well as (in my opinion) the two greatest action flicks of all time with Terminator 2 and Aliens. So I was a bit disappointed with his latest effort. (I’m sure some will nod their heads in agreement with me, others will shake their heads in disbelief.) The bottom line is that his latest movie was extremely conventional and formulaic; it’s always obvious what is going to happen next. (It’s essentially a retelling of Ferngully, Dances with Wolves, The Last Samurai, Pocahontas, etc.). There is no deep emotional core either (the film’s issues are overtly political), and many characters lack depth as though they are simply cardboard cutouts from any other dumbed-down, generic action movie (the muscle-head marine guy who holds a gun and says “come get some!” and “check it out, meals on wheels” should be a sufficient example of this).
However, like it or not, Avatar is more about the sensory experience and the technological achievement that Cameron is able to craft than it is about telling an original, substantial, deeply thought-provoking story. Sometimes, as is the case here, simplicity is best for such an enormous venture. Cameron’s filmmaking is sensational as the viewer becomes absorbed into the world of Pandora much like the lead character does in the film. Avatar is a completely immersive experience that encourages, if not requires, a trip to the cinema to see it on the big screen.


9. (500) Days of Summer

I have been infatuated by Zooey Deschanel and her deep blue eyes ever since I first saw her in Almost Famous. And you will be too after seeing (500) Days of Summer, which also stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a love obsessed dreamer who reflects on his failed romance with her. The film’s non-linear narrative format is appropriate as he pieces together the memories of his relationship with the girl he thought was the one, sorting through the good and the bad in non-chronological order. Zooey is spellbinding (at least to me) as the fleeting love who flutters about just beyond his permanent grasps. It’s not very often that a film tells the viewer how it is going to end at its start, but (500) Days of Summer makes a point to avoid the typical Hollywood script of “boy meets girl, they fall in love and live happily ever after.” A fresh, bold, honest, and realistic modern day love story that was one of the most original films of 2009.


8. Moon

Who the hell is Duncan Jones? The son of David Bowie for one thing (that must’ve been an interesting childhood), but he is also the director of Moon, his feature film directorial debut. Jones certainly made a great first impression, as his film about seclusion, alienation, and the fragility of the human mind is a must see film of 2009. Sam Rockwell rocks the house in this one (dare I say he ‘rocks it well?’), delivering a convincing one-man show along with Kevin Spacey as a robotic arm reminiscent of HAL from 2001: A Space Odyssey. The white walls of the solitary moon base he is confined to resemble that of an insane asylum and serves as the platform for an analysis of what it means to be human. Also, in a surprise twist, the moon is revealed to in fact be made of cheese.


7. Star Trek

J.J. Abrams breathed new life into the franchise with his recharged version of Star Trek. One of the most complete summer action movies that I have ever seen, the film’s success is especially impressive due to having to stand in the shadow of its enormous legacy and high expectations from its fan base. Nerds can be brutal if you mess with what they hold dear (George Lucas will tell you), but Abrams seemed to emerge unscathed. What can this guy not do? Not only did he please the Trekkies, he rebuilt a film franchise for a new generation of fans. Beneath the special effects extravaganza at the film’s surface is the conflict between Kirk and Spock (and the values of their respective civilizations) and how they must work in unison to defeat a common enemy. Plus there are lazers and lots of shiny lights.


6. District 9

The creative collaboration of Neill Blomkamp and Peter Jackson, District 9 is science fiction perfection, providing action and suspense while dealing with thought-provoking political issues. The film is in an original, immersive format that handles the central plot (an alien spacecraft is forced to land above Johannesburg, South Aftrica) in a cineme verite-style that makes the situation seem real and possible. And although it is about extraterrestrials arriving to our planet, Blomkamp flips the script of generic alien movies by focusing the film primarily on the worst parts of ourselves; greed, racism, exploitation, and a tendency of war. The setting of South Africa is thus appropriate as the film dives deep into these philosophical issues, following the lead character Wikus as he is transformed from one side of the conflict to the other. It takes losing his identity as a human being to, in a sense, become more human than ever.
The majority of the film reaches out to our emotional core and stimulates meditation, while the third act supplies the action sequences we crave in a summer popcorn flick. Part Starship Troopers, ET, and The Fly, District 9 was one of the most inventive films of 2009.


5. The Road

Sometimes hopelessness, fear, and sadness can be the most powerful of emotions. The Road makes you feel all of those things as it tells the story of a father and son trying to survive in a bleak post apocalyptic world. Viggo Mortenson laced up his work boots for this one, delivering an Oscar-worthy performance of a wounded, vulnerable father guiding his young son through what is left of the ravaged landscape. He becomes so consumed with protecting his son that he begins to deteriorate himself, becoming an extension of the dying world around him. Specifically, he loses sight of the principles that he teaches his son as they appear to be less and less relevant. Fear consumes him, while the boy remains optimistic of the good that still exists in the world somewhere amongst them. Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book by Cormac McCarthy, the film version of The Road is a powerful story about the two paths of good and evil. It’ll also make you appreciate that can of cola you’re drinking.


4. Up

As an animated film company, Pixar continues their impressive run of success by utilizing the filmmaking methods of old, cultivating artistry on film that is both aesthetically appealing and smart. The happiest film of the year, Up covers the full spectrum of emotions; you laugh, you cry, you laugh because you’re crying. Not that I cried or anything like that. My uh, contacts were bothering me that day.
Up doesn’t need to rely on zany humor or a sensory overload of visuals and sounds to solicit an audience response. Instead it features a well-refined script, a plethora of consistent, emotionally-linked visuals, and charming characters. Seeing it in 3D was a good choice, too. A near perfect adventure film, Up is a movie about making dreams come true, letting go of the weight from the pain of the past, and cherishing every one of life’s moments. Awww yeeah.


3. The Hurt Locker

Director Kathryn Bigelow proves that female directors can produce in a big way with The Hurt Locker. The best words to describe The Hurt Locker are visceral and real; you won’t find meaningless explosions or giant CGI robots here (Check out every Michael Bay movie for that mindless garbage). The acting performances are noteworthy, as Jeremy Renner makes a name for himself in the courageous role as an anti-hero soldier who has an unquenchable thirst for the adrenaline of war. However, it is Bigelow’s direction that powers this film; she builds suspense and tension by placing the camera in the middle of the action and by offering multiple perspectives in moments where danger is seemingly everywhere. The atmosphere is tense and the surroundings unfamiliar, resembling a version of hell on Earth. There is an eerie calmness to the film as well, which is reflective of the lead character and bomb disposal unit it follows. The best film yet to be made on the Iraq war, Bigelow fashions an exhilarating experience that was a critical gem amidst the weak crop of summer action flicks.


2. Inglourious Basterds

With Inglourious Basterds, Tarantino once again creates his own uniquely stylized world draped in film references spanning the decades, an abundance of significant mise en scene visuals, and his trademark slick dialogue. A film geek's wet dream; a celebration of cinema.
Inglourious Basterds is a revenge flick that takes place in an alternate universe which incorporates real ideas from our own world (much like the tangent reality created in his masterpiece Pulp Fiction), thus allowing for Tarantino to recreate events in history at his own liking. There is so much depth to this film; every scene has substance, every utterance of dialogue has meaning, and every action ties directly to the theme of revenge. However the genius of this film can be broken down simply to the art of performance.

Tarantino emphasizes acting in the sense that the characters themselves exist as actors, just as we ourselves exist at times as actors in real life. In his breakthrough film, Reservoir Dogs, Tim Roth's character must go undercover as a bank robber. To do this, he trains as an actor would; Tarantino shows the process of him creating a persona, rehearsing possible situations, and refining mannerisms. In Inglourious Basterds, Col. Landa, the key villain of the film, furnishes a false image of himself as a calm conversationalist, overshadowing the maniacal "Jew-hunter" persona beneath the surface. Shoshanna, the young Jewish fugitive, seeks refuge in Paris with a false identity as a French woman. Several of the lead Basterds, (Pitt, Roth) act as Italians to escort the spy Bridget von Hammersmark, who is under a cover herself. This theme is most significant smack in the middle of the film, where von Hammersmark and several others play a game with a clearly deranged, suspicious Nazi, role playing by putting playing cards featuring names of characters on their foreheads. It is here with this game of role playing (as well as specifically in the final act, which takes place, of course, in a theater) that Tarantino drives the point home that this film is all about the performance. "Fiction or reality, what is the difference?"- Some Nazi
Throughout the film, Tarantino uses the Nazis as a universally hated enemy, allowing for the viewer to rejoice in their defeat as much as the Nazi-killers within the film. However, he also offers a parallel to our celebration of their destruction with their own viewing of propaganda war films in the movie.
The most powerful scenes of the film all featured Christoph Waltz, who deserves an Oscar Nom for Best Supporting Actor. The scene at the opening in the farmhouse was an excellent way to kick off the film. Landa sucks the calm air out of that farmhouse; his reputation as "the Jew hunter" is immediately felt. The tension created in this scene (as well as each one he is in) is incredible; Landa exerts his dominance with his sly smile, by calmly drinking a glass of the farmer's milk (which has underlying meaning involving the farmer's cows and daughters, who serve him the milk itself) and by packing a giant, comically elaborate pipe to share in a smoke with the farmer, who Landa already knew smoked out of a pipe. He is taunting his prey with these little things; it is all a display of dominance. His hospitable manners and demeanor are merely a ruse to the efficient, methodical hunter who already has what he came for. Once again, it is all just one big performance. In the end of the film, he tries to forge a new public identity as a savior for the resolution of the war. However, Lt. Raine (Pitt) and Tarantino, have other ideas, carving a swastika into his forehead, forever labeling him as the villainous Nazi he truly is. Tarantino's unconventional good guys win and in this brilliantly constructed alternate reality film, it's good versus Nazi.
When Tarantino is this smart, original, and entertaining, few filmmakers can surpass the depth and quality of his work. That is why for 2009, Inglourious Basterds stands above all but one in my opinion...


1. Up in the Air

The last movie I saw in 2009 was the best movie I saw in 2009: Jason Reitman's Up in the Air. Now I'm sure any one reading this has seen advertisements for "the best reviewed movie of the year" or overheard a lot of the hype about this movie and thus would deem this selection as typical. So what is the big deal about Jason Reitman's Up in the Air? I'll tell you. Skeptics, pay attention; if you didn't see the genius in this film, attention was probably your problem. Or most of it may have flown over your head, pun intended.
Up in the Air is a very real film(unlike the #2 on this list) set in a world familiar to us all, involving authentic, relatable human beings while capitalizing on witty yet realistic dialogue; it's not all hipster-cool annoying like the Diablo Cody-written, Jason Reitman directed Juno.
George Clooney's character, Ryan Bingham, spends a majority of his life up in the air (get it?), living in airports and hotel rooms, his entire life packed neatly into a single bag. He is distinctly separate from the world we all know so well; the world of human connection, where relationships with others guide our decisions and the singular place we call home keeps us grounded. In his eyes, human beings are meant to be free-roaming individuals, constantly on the move, devoid of human connections which only weigh us down. "The slower we move, the faster we die. We are not swans, we're sharks."
Clooney's character is a portrait of what can happen to us if we walk the road less traveled; if we decide to reduce our lives to self-serving goals and materialistic pleasures. He meets Alex, played by super hot Vera Farmiga, a fellow frequent flyer who is a compatriot to his life removed from serious human relationships. They speak their own language; discussing airport terminals, cheap kiosks, car rental services, and the various forms of manufactured comforts they see value in. In the world they live in, product placements are omnipresent and brand loyalties define a person. Young Natalie, played by Anna Kendrick, offers an opposite to Ryan, which is best illustrated in a scene where the two must travel together for the first time. Lovingly talking to her boyfriend over the phone, lugging her clunky suitcase into the airport, and getting stopped by security, Natalie contrasts with Ryan's rehearsed, polished approach to moving from place to place.

Natalie, a hardworking, focused brainiac proposes an idea for a computer based system of doing what Ryan does; firing people from their jobs. This technological method threatens to radically revolutionize Ryan's craft, eliminating the human touch and charm he provides and deems necessary to the job. However, he soon learns that the new formulaic method is effective, reducing Ryan's life work and personal philosophy to a mechanical process, bereft of any real meaning or purpose.
Early in the film and throughout, Ryan is shown lecturing about "what is in your backpack," expressing the significance and self-empowerment derived by eliminating every relationship and connection to any single place. While the first half of the film mostly shows Ryan thriving in his life of alienation, Reitman later takes him to the exact opposite environment; his sister's homely wedding in northern Wisconsin. If you watch closely, it is a consistent pattern of Reitman to frame Ryan in front of large maps of the United States. The significance of this is made clear at the wedding, where a large map is filled with photos of the newlyweds placed at every major city as a substitute for a real honeymoon. The lesson here is that there is no value in a life of travels if you cannot share in those experiences with someone else. "Everyone needs a copilot." Ryan's maps are blank, as if he never existed.
By the film's end, he resolves that he cannot change. He will continue to fly above the rest of us, up in the air (get it?) amongst the silence, as we live our conventional lives with families, jobs, and meaningful human interaction.
With Clooney, Farmiga, and newcomer Kendrick, the acting is terrific across the board. The writing is tight, witty, and with purpose. The direction is symmetrical with the writing, executed at near perfection; Reitman never loses focus. Even the soundtrack and musical score is fantastic. It is a film about defining the purpose of life, about dealing with its best and worst moments. At times emotionally and spiritually moving, at all times entertaining, Up in the Air was simply the best of the bunch in 2009.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6PAqnhIK9s

Kicking things off...

A Note from John Carney:
Hello all! We have created this blog to post our thoughts and reactions to movies from the past and present. Movies mean a lot to us; they offer us the chance to escape from reality, but more importantly they allow for us to examine and achieve a better understanding of the world and ourselves. As Steve Martin once said, “You know what your problem is? It’s that you haven’t seen enough movies. All of life’s riddles are answered in the movies.”
Kyle and I have been watching, discussing, and arguing about movies like mad men for years now, and we’ve decided that it’s time to bring our thoughts to all of you. Agree or disagree, like or dislike, we just hope you will take the time to listen to what we have to say about something we are passionate about. We hope you’re entertained and maybe, just maybe, we’ll encourage you to think a little bit more the next time you catch a flick! To kick things off, we’re starting with our Top Ten Lists of Films for 2009. Mine will be posted first, followed by Kyle’s in the next few days. Enjoy and thanks for reading!