The Woody Awards: Best Picture

BEST PICTURE
My Nominees:
Avatar
Away We Go
The Brothers Bloom
District 9
Inglourious Basterds
Moon
Star Trek
Up
Up in the Air
Where the Wild Things Are

Oscar Nominees:
Avatar
The Blind Side
District 9
An Education
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Precious
A Serious Man
Up
Up in the Air

Avatar

I had my complaints about Avatar, but ultimately, it worked for me. Watching it was a genuinely thrilling cinematic experience. In Pandora, James Cameron created a world that is lush and beautiful, and frankly it's no wonder that this film broke the world box office record, so enjoyable is the experience of being immersed in it.

Away We Go

I loved this movie. It is funny, genuine, relatable, and touching. John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph are both excellent as the lead couple, and the characters they encounter on their search for a new home are smartly written and well acted. This is a very intimate film, which allows the audience to really get to know its characters and experience their world.

The Brothers Bloom

Writer/director Rian Johnson's follow-up to Brick is truly unique. It is a comedy, a drama, and a crime caper, yet it is not what I think of when I think of any of those genres. It is a genuinely original and well-made work, filled with interesting, well-crafted characters and driven by a compelling story.

District 9

District 9 is a phenomenal debut by a very promising director. It is the kind of science fiction that I love - a story set in the real world, but with a not unbelievable twist. Writer/director Neill Blomkamp uses the presence of aliens to tell a very interesting character-based story, while at the same time examining what humanity's response to the film's strange visitors says about us.

Moon

Like District 9, Moon is a well-told science fiction story made by a first-time director (in this case, Duncan Jones). Also like District 9, this film is not about flashy special effects or crazy concepts, but is the human story of a well-developed central character. Sam Rockwell's performance is absolutely phenomenal, and the film's eerie mood is very well-crafted.

Star Trek

Watching Star Trek may just be the most fun I had in a movie theater in 2009. This film is everything that a good summer blockbuster should be - funny, exciting, and filled with great characters. J. J. Abrams and his ensemble cast live up to the legacy of Star Trek admirably and make it their own, delivering a compelling new version of the starship Enterprise and its crew.

Up

Pixar does it again! This time with the story of a sad old man and an enthusiastic little boy who find themselves becoming friends as they go on an adventure together. This movie contains moments that will bring tears to your eyes, but it is also very funny. And there is more emotional depth to Up's story than to most of the movies designed for adults which I've seen this year.

Up in the Air

Up in the Air is a fascinating and entertaining character study. Like most of Jason Reitman's films, it is about people. In this case, a guy who doesn't think he needs other people, but who experiences some changes in his thinking when two new women are introduced into his life - a love interest and a (kind of) protege. This movie is a funny, clever, observant story about human beings.

Where the Wild Things Are

It's kind of miraculous that a movie like this ever came to exist. Instead of a sappy, stupid, dumbed down Hollywood version of a beloved children's book, Spike Jonze delivers a very touching and intelligent examination of childhood and all the joys, fears, and uncertainties that come with being a kid. This movie could have very easily gone wrong, but Jonze lovingly crafted something special, that captures the same sense of childhood wonder which has made the book on which it is based so popular.

THE WINNER: INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

I'm sure anyone who's been reading my blog will not be surprised to see this winning Best Picture after winning so many other awards. But what can I say? Inglourious Basterds deserved each and every one of those other awards, and it deserves this one too. I feel like I've already said enough in previous posts about why this movie is so great, so I'll just say this: Inglourious Basterds was the best movie of 2009, and if you haven't seen it yet, you really should.

And that's it for The Woody Awards!