2009 so far

Since I have probably been to the movies for the last time before prestige-season kicks in (unofficially, the beginning of October), it's time to start thinking about the films of 2009 so far. Despite missing the pop culture masterpiece known as "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen", my film-going year has been fairly active. Along with my Netflix account...well... let's just say we've been watching a lot of film this year.
2009 standouts for me are-

"The Hurt Locker"
I'm a sucker for a good war movie, and this definitely does not disappoint. Kathryn Bigelow builds up the tension so well that my nails were digging into the arm rests. The movie works though because it ditched the pretension that bogged down other Iraq films (Lions for Lambs, I'm looking at you) and concentrated on delivering the goods again and again. Bonus points for Jeremy Renner being a crazy motherfucker. My favorite of the year so far.

"Moon"
Science Fiction that does not rely on convoluted plot points, CGI or Megan Fox's female assets. That already makes "Moon" a stand-out, but it is also packing some interesting ideas and fantastic acting by Sam Rockwell. Plus- it's directed by Duncan Jones who just happens to be David Bowie's son.

"Star Trek"
The only official "blockbuster" I saw this summer that was worth a damn. Despite the fact that the plot felt like a poor rehash of "Wrath of Khan", the Enterprise crew was a lot of fun to hang out with for 2 hours. It kind of made me wish that JJ Abrahms had rebooted it as a TV series so we could get more character development, but hopefully we'll get a bigger and better sequel. I also liked that it managed to side-step the over-wraught cynical bullshit with the tormented hero that Hollywood has been churning out post-Bourne. The movie is relatively light-hearted and ridiculously entertaining.

"District 9"
This has obviously been a good year for science fiction. I highly recommend you check this out. It works best if you see it without a lot of background information.

"Still Walking"
See below for my take.

Best Non-2009 films seen in 2009

Talk to Her - The first film that made me cry in recent memory. Almodovar is a master of making you feel compassion for his characters, no matter how heinous their behavior. Also, the kiss between Benigno and Lydia is incredo-hot.

Tokyo Story- I'm glad I saw this before watching any Koreeda. I've heard a lot of people compare him to Ozu. The younger filmmaker seems to get some archetypes from this film (most explicitly, the blameless daughter-in-law). It seems that Koreeda is more of a humanist, while Ozu is a bit more cynical and concentrated on his technique.
Its influence aside, Tokyo Story is a perfect exercise in understatement and exploration of a quietly broken family. While the gradual abandonment of the parents has traces of Lear, Ozu makes his characters completely recognizable (even 57 years later and a culture apart) which makes them all the more heartbreaking.

Days of Heaven- You could watch this with the sound off and still be awe-struck. Malick is a master of capturing the natural world. Stand-outs include copious footage of Texas wheat fields and the fire scene.