Remakes ruled (The Taking of Pelham 1-2-3, Fame) in 2009, vampires took a big bite of the box-office (New Moon), Quentin Tarantino nailed the Nazis (Inglourious Basterds), and Michael Jackson made a posthumous comeback (This Is It).
The past 12 months also saw a surge of dazzling 3-D movies (Up, Where the Wild Things Are, A Christmas Carol, Avatar), comic book-based flicks (Watchmen) and spinoffs (X-Men Origins: Wolverine), and more post-apocalyptic hell (The Road, 2012).
Another sign of the times: Socially conscious documentaries moved into the mainstream and gave Michael Moore, back this year with Capitalism: A Love Story, a run for his money: Fuel, Food, Inc., and The Age of Stupid.
No movie year would be complete, of course, without a flood of horror flicks -- the good (Orphan), the bad (Sorority Row) and the ugly (remakes of Friday the 13th, Halloween, My Bloody Valentine: 3-D and Last House on the Left).
And tucked into a crowded slate of usual suspects were at least a few contenders for my annual Top 10 list ...
1. The Hurt Locker. Kathryn Bigelow triumphed where others failed, in pulling off the quintessential Iraq war movie. Anchored by Jeremy Renner's superb performance as a dangerously gung-ho American bomb-disposal expert who personifies journalist Chris Hedges's observation that "war is a drug," this haunting slice of life delivered a human perspective on a complex conflict. Bigelow's double-whammy was both a suspenseful action flick and an uncompromising portrait of the camaraderie and dangers facing soldiers who defuse bombs in Baghdad.
2. Julie and Julia. Scrumptious! Nora Ephron's flavourful crowd-pleaser was a recipe for success, paralleling the struggles of cheerfully eccentric culinary legend Julia Child in post-Second World War France with those of Julie Powell, the New York blogger who half a century later vowed to tackle 524 recipes from Child's landmark book Mastering the Art of French Cooking in one year. Ephron's soufflé-light but surprisingly filling foodie flick surely inspired amateur cooks everywhere to tackle boeuf bourgignon and sole meuniere once we had finished marvelling over Meryl Streep's pitch-perfect Child's play.
3. An Education. Winsome newcomer Carey Mulligan's star-making performance as a 16-year-old British honours student smitten with a charming older man (Peter Sarsgaard) who gives her unexpected life lessons in London in the early 1960s was just one of many assets -- Nick Hornby's witty, smartly revealing screenplay was also noteworthy -- that made Danish filmmaker Lone Scherfig's exquisitely evocative coming-of-age film such a satisfying experience for grownups.
4. Every Little Step. If you missed it at Cinecenta, be sure to rent this terrific, by turns hilarious and heart-breaking documentary that recounted the genesis of Michael Bennett's landmark musical A Chorus Line, and offered a fascinating behind-the-scenes glimpse of the exhaustive, months-long casting process for the 2006 Broadway revival. Like the singular sensation that inspired it, this celebration of the lives, hopes and dreams of soul-baring singers and dancers was irresistible.
5. Precious. This gut-wrenching portrait of a pregnant, illiterate and dangerously obese Harlem teenager (magnetic newcomer Gabourey Sidibe) who was raped for years by her father and endured physical and mental abuse from her monstrous, vitriol-spewing mother (an electrifying Mo'Nique), was tough sledding. The soul-crushing horror eventually gave way to flashes of humour and hope, however, as director Lee Daniels's innovative dramatization of the glam fantasies that Precious escapes into, among other inventive flourishes, allowed some light into the darkness.
6. 500 Days of Summer. Cleverly confounding expectations, this quirky romantic comedy was notable mostly for its playful mockery of genre conventions, hopscotching back and forth in time to chronicle the ups and downs of the relationship between a greeting-card writer (Joseph Gordon-Leavitt) and Summer (Zooey Deschanel), the less romantic girl of his dreams. Filling in the blanks that so many rom coms ignore, this inventive, achingly honest gem was an Annie Hall for a new generation.
7. District 9. With its cheeky parallels to apartheid, surprisingly sympathetic aliens and the sense of urgency generated by its South African director Neill Blomkamp, this smart, mesmerizing sci-fi B movie and social satire was in a league of its own as it chronicled humanity's paranoid reaction to crustacean-like creatures who inhabit a massive spaceship stalled over Johannesburg. You knew Blomkamp was doing something right -- or different, anyway -- when he had you rooting for the mysterious, cat food-addicted aliens confined to shantytowns by suspicious earthlings.
8. State of Play. Call me sentimental (I do work for a newspaper), or just a sucker for media and conspiracy thrillers, but I was able to overlook the credibility gaps that threatened to derail this otherwise taut, riveting newspaper flick starring Russell Crowe as a dishevelled, ethically challenged Washington reporter who reluctantly partners with a gossipy Capitol Hill blogger (Rachel McAdams) on a hot story (is there any other kind in Hollywood?) This all-star gripper was no All the President's Men, but it was a sharp, brainy puzzle picture laced with compelling commentary on print versus online media.
9. Star Trek. Everything old was new again in J.J. Abrams's inspired and brilliantly cast (the return of Leonard Nimoy, Simon Pegg as Scotty!) reboot of the venerable sci-fi saga for a new generation. A surprisingly satisfying and respectful homage to Gene Roddenberry's classic 1960s TV series, with some nifty twists, this emotionally involving and visually dazzling "origins story" moved at warp speed while working in alternative realities. Best of all, you didn't have to be a geek to appreciate it.
10. The September Issue. R.J. Cutler's documentary capturing the passion behind the production of Vogue's 840-page September 2007 edition was a revealing glimpse of life inside the fashion bible presided over by Anna Wintour, the frosty editor-in-chief who inspired Meryl Streep's character in The Devil Wears Prada. It's endlessly fascinating and fun, especially when the micro-managing "Pope of fashion" is upstaged by Grace Coddington, Vogue's exasperated, straight-shooting creative director. By the end, I had newfound respect for a much-scorned industry -- even if the film didn't provide deep insight on "the most powerful woman in the United States," as someone laughably describes Wintour.
