The Best Films of 2009

I was going to do this ages ago, but various things got in the way and so it has had to wait until I am at a loose end. A snowy day when I'm 'working at home' is about as loose an end as I can muster, so here it is - my top 5 films of 2009...

5 - An Education
A young girl comes of age at the start of the swinging sixties and learns a lot about life, people, men and her own future in a short space of time. A brilliant performance from Carey Mulligan underlines this touching drama - although the ending could have been a little tighter.

4 - Zombieland
Comedy of the year is Zombieland. Daftness and poignancy go together so well when the script is right, such as it is here. Plus there's the bit with Bill Murray - officially very funny.

3 - Slumdog Millionaire
It may be 12 months now since I saw Slumdog, but the vibrancy of the direction in the film is still with me. I can still remember the moment when I was in the cinema and realised that all the co-incidences that allow Jamal to know all the answers to the show's questions were not irritating plot points - rather they were part of some wonderful fairy tale. The answer to the film's final question - how come this Slumdog can know all the answers to these questions - gives me a warm glow every time I remember it; the answer is 'D: It is written'.

2 - District 9
Sadly I have didn't get around to seeing 'Moon' in 2009 (I have the DVD now though), so Sci Fi of the year goes deservedly to 'District 9'. It is filled with metaphors for South Africa's apartheid past and the difficulties the nation faces in the modern age, as such the film gets away with being part action blockbuster, part documentary and part political satire.

1 - In The Loop
It was a tough call, but for me 'In The Loop's' mix of sweary comedy and biting satire had enough to make it stand out as my film of the year. It pointed out that political conspiracies do not imply smoke-filled rooms of people trying to fake the moon landings, rather they can be real things in which people are simply trying to further their careers by doing what they think their bosses expect. Plus there's all the swearing, here's a quick clip just in case you've forgotten.



So that's 3 out of 5 British films (well, Slumdog was directed by a Briton), who says the British film industry is dead?!