Antichrist

Peter Debruge’s Top 10 of 2009

by Peter Debruge    Posted: December 30th, 2009 at 11:08 pm

A rough year, you say? Maybe for your 401(k). Hollywood raked it in, enjoying record box office numbers, while the indie and foreign lineup (though spread between fewer companies perhaps) yielded an unprecedented number of treasures. To be honest, I can’t remember the last time I had such a hard time cutting my best-of list off at 10. Surveying my choices, I’m hard-pressed to find a common theme. In fact, if I didn’t know better, I might even wonder what kind of critic can love a G-rated Japanese-animated cartoon and Lars von Trier’s genital-mutilation opus in the same breath, or reconcile the esoteric with the popcorn populism of James Cameron’s Avatar. But there you have it. Of the 274 first-run and festival films I saw last year (that’s as many movies as qualified for Oscar consideration in 2009 – though not the same ones), the 10 best are listed after the jump:

John Waters Lists His Top 10 Films of 2009

by Ramses Flores    Posted: December 15th, 2009 at 9:30 am

Yesterday, we brought you Quentin Tarantino’s Top 8 Films of 2009 and today we have John Waters, another film buff/director, listing his best of the year. I always find anything that Waters writes or says to be entertaining and his thoughts on these ten films are no different.  Here’s what he thought were the Top 10 Films of 2009:

1. Import Export (Ulrich Seidl)
2. Antichrist (Lars von Trier)
3. In the Loop (Armando Iannucci)
4. World’s Greatest Dad (Bobcat Goldthwait)
5. Brüno (Larry Charles)
6. Lorna’s Silence (Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne)
7. Broken Embraces (Pedro Almodóvar)
8. The Baader Meinhof Complex (Uli Edel)
9. Whatever Works (Woody Allen)
10. The Headless Woman (Lucrecia Martel)

To read Waters’ thoughts on each film, head over to ArtForum.

Lars von Trier to Make a Sci-Fi Disaster Film Called PLANET MELANCHOLIA

by Ramses Flores    Posted: October 9th, 2009 at 11:02 am

Love him or hate him, Lars von Trier is one of the most interesting directors working today.  The director caused some minor controversy this year with “Antichrist”, but at least he takes chances.  Now we have news that von Trier is planning to take on the “sci-fi disaster film” genre with his next film called, “Planet Melancholia”.  I never thought that I would one day see a Lars von Trier end of the world disaster film, but I’m definitely curious.  You can get all of the details when you click on the jump.

Fantastic Fest 2009, Day 2 – HARD REVENGE MILLY, ANTICHRIST, THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: September 29th, 2009 at 9:05 pm

Today’s festival titles I doubt could have been any different from one another.  I had a gruesome revenge thriller, goat staring, and something that demands all kinds of adjectives and discussions. Click the jump for Fantastic Fest Day 2, where you can read my reviews for “Hard Revenge Milly: Bloody Battle”, “Antichrist”, and “The Men Who Stare at Goats”. And keep checking back for more coverage of the Austin, TX genre festival.

Michael Haneke’s THE WHITE RIBBON Cannes Win The Palme d’Or

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: May 24th, 2009 at 10:07 pm

Michael Haneke, a director whose films are quite good but not for those looking for a nice, pick-me-up (“The Piano Teacher” has nothing do with piano lessons or teaching, I assure you), took home the Palme d’Or, the top prize at the 62nd Cannes Film Festival for his film “The White Ribbon” which is a stark black-and-white drama set in a rural German village on the eve of WWI…so still probably not a laugh-a-minute romp.

This is Haneke’s first time taking home the Palme but he’s received love from the festival before, winning Best Director in 2005 for “Cache” and the Grand Prix for “The Piano Teacher”.  Actress Isabelle Huppert, who won Best Actress for “Piano Teacher” at Cannes and served as President of the Jury this year, bestowed the award on a delighted Haneke.

Other awards include the Grand Prix for Jacques Audiard’s tough prison drama, “A Prophet,” and Sony Classics must be pretty happy right now since they bought the rights to both “Ribbon” and “Prophet” before either film screened at the festival.  That’s some nice foresight on their part.

Adding fuel to the Oscar-buzz he’s already gaining for his performance in “Inglourious Basterds”, Christopher Waltz took home Best Actor for his portrayal of Col. Landa, a Nazi “Jew Hunter” (please let the film have bagels on fishing hooks; pleeeease let the film have bagels on fishing hooks) and while Lars Von Trier’s “Antichrist” provoked strong reactions from its audience, Charlotte Gainsbourg won Best Actress.

Finally, Grand Jury prizes were given to Andrea Arnold for “Fish Tank” and Park Chan-wook for “Thirst”.

Click here to see the full list of award winners.

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