Coming to you weekly from my vantage point in good old Blighty, it's Slashfilm UK. Anglos and Anglophiles rejoice as every Friday I'll be bringing you a round up of news, links and coverage specific to the motion picture comings and goings here in the UK. Well, except for this Friday because hardlty anything has happened. This week, then, a special edition that covers the film folk recognised in The Queen's New Year's Honours and then, my pick of the best films of 2009.
The New Year's Honours for the year have been unveiled, and here's a quick list of the film folk to get the nod:
- Phyllida Lloyd, director of Mamma Mia
- Tessa Ross, Channel 4 director of film and drama
- Actress Margaret Tyzack, from 2001 and A Clockwork Orange
- Patrick Stewart, Star Trek, X-Men and RSC actor
- Nicholas Hytner, director of The Crucible and The Madness of King George
- Graham King, producer of The Young Victoria, Next and The Departed
- Christopher Hilton, former manager of The Odeon Leicester Square
- Peter Jackson has been made a Knight too, seeing as New Zealand is part of the Commonwealth.
…and I think that's the lot. Congratulations to all. I bet it's rather nice knowing that the Queen and her crew like you.
On to a rather lower-key set of New Year's Honours.
What follows is my list of the best films of the year. All of the following were released into British cinemas or direct to disc here in the year 2009. As a result, a number of these films will have appeared on other lists this time last year.
Every film in the entire selection has qualities for which it can be recommended and I hope you adopt this same attitude of positivity when reading along. Obviously, we could take pot shots at a number of the films, particularly those in the lower reaches, but just because a film has failings it doesn't mean it is a failure per se. I'm sure I'll watch every single one of these films again, and enjoy doing so too.
I've divided the films into three sections.
The "Quite Good" listing contains films that can be commended for their construction or ambition, and in most cases both. Check these out if you're a particular fan of their respective subgenres, or simply like to watch a lot of movies. I'd imagine you fall into the latter category, right?
The Boat that Rocked – Dir. Richard Curtis
Broken – Dir. Simon Ellis
Carriers – Dir. Alex and David Pastor
Cheri – Dir. Stephen Frears
Coco Before Chanel – Dir. Anne Fontaine
Confessions of a Shopaholic – Dir. PJ Hogan
Crank: High Voltage – Dir. Neveldine/Taylor
Dorian Gray – Dir. Oliver Parker
Frost/Nixon – Dir. Ron Howard
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince – Dir. David Yates
Ip Man – Dir. Wilson Yip
The Final Destination – Dir. David R. Ellis
Last Chance Harvey – Dir. Joel Hopkins
My Bloody Valentine 3D – Dir. Patrick Lussier
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day – Dir. Bharat Nalluri
Monsters vs. Aliens – Dir. Rob Letterman and Conrad Vernon
Nowhere Boy – Dir. Sam Taylor Wood
Paranormal Activity – Dir. Oren Peli
The Reader – Dir. Stephen Daldry
Repo! The Genetic Opera – Dir. Darren Lynn Bousman
Role Models – Dir. David Wain
17 Again – Dir. Burr Steers
Star Trek – Dir. JJ Abrams
State of Play – Dir. Kevin Macdonald
Shuttle – Dir. Edward Anderson
Stuck – Dir. Stuart Gordon
Timecrimes – Dir. Nacho Vigalondo
Zombieland – Dir. Ruben Fleischer
The "Rather Good Indeed" section contains the next tier of films, better made and greater in reach without quite earning gold star status. I would recommend any of these to pretty much any viewer.
Antichrist – Dir. Lars von Trier
An Education – Dir. Lone Scherfig
Bunny and the Bull – Dir. Paul King
Che – Parts 1 & 2 – Dir. Steven Soderbergh
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs – Dir. Phil Lord and Chris Miller
Deadgirl – Dir. Marcel Sarmiento and Gadi Harel
The Disappeared – Dir. Johnny Kevorkian
District 9 – Dir. Neill Blomkamp
Doubt – Dir. John Patrick Shanley
Duplicity – Dir. Tony Gilroy
Franklyn – Dir. Gerald McMorrow
Funny People – Dir. Judd Apatow
The Girlfriend Experience – Dir. Steven Soderbergh
Hannah Montana: The Movie – Dir. Peter Chelsom
The Horseman – Dir. Steven Kastrissios
The Hurt Locker – Dir. Kathryn Bigelow
In the Loop – Dir. Armando Iannucci
Jennifer's Body – Dir. Karyn K
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