InfoAnda - AP critics Germain, Lemire pick top films of 2009

Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case
Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They

Taiwan denies boycotting Australian film festival
Thursday, August 6, 2009

AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e

Merkel's support dips, regional ally resigns International
Thursday, September 3, 2009

By Sarah Marsh and Noah Barkin

BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German

Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who

Asian markets mixed after Wall Street rally
Wednesday, March 18, 2009

By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an

Zimbabwe court keeps activists in custody | International | | 31 December 2008
Johnny Cash memorabilia up for auction in L.A. | | 26 October 2010
Protests at Prince Charles, Camilla Montreal visit | 11 November 2009

Brazil under fire for World Cup slum evictions | | 11 May 2011

Forum Views () Forum Replies ()

Read more with google mobile : AP critics Germain, Lemire pick top films of 2009

Yahoo! My Yahoo! Mail More Yahoo! Services Account Options New User? Sign Up Sign In Help Yahoo! Search web search Home Singapore Asia Pacific World Business Entertainment Sports Technology Asia Pacific World AP critics Germain, Lemire pick top films of 2009 By DAVID GERMAIN and CHRISTY LEMIRE,AP Movie Writers - Saturday, December 12 Send IM Story Print The top 10 films of 2009, according to AP Movie Writer David Germain: 1. "The Hurt Locker" _ The first great Iraq war film proves so universal that it can stand among the classics from past wars. Director Kathryn Bigelow drops viewers in at ground zero for a disturbingly close and claustrophobic look at the stresses and strains of disabling bombs for a living. Ably supported by Anthony Mackie and Brian Geraghty, Jeremy Renner is fierce, frightening and fearless as a sergeant so addicted to the adrenaline rush of defusing explosives that he can no longer conceive of another way of life. 2. "Precious: Based on the Novel `Push' by Sapphire" _ An HIV-positive, illiterate Harlem teen impregnated by her father, twice, and relentlessly abused by her abominable mother. Out of this nightmare, director Lee Daniels crafts a magnificent story of resilience about a girl who discovers there really are decent people out there _ lots of them. Gabourey Sidibe bursts forth with a masterful screen debut in the title role, while Mo'Nique makes up for a career of lowbrow comedy, performing like a woman possessed as the hateful mom. 3. "The White Ribbon" _ Director Michael Haneke's masterpiece, a grim yet glorious study of guilt, distrust and malice as unexplained violence and other mishaps befall a pre-World War I German town. A portent of things to come, the mystery seems rooted in the town's children, a generation destined to unleash savagery such as the world had never known. Yet Haneke points a finger at everyone, his closing image in the film's gorgeous black-and-white palate an unforgettable tableau of reproach and incrimination. 4. "Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans" _ Some films are just a hoot, and this is one of them. Filmmaker Werner Herzog takes the notion of a corrupt cop from 1992's "Bad Lieutenant" and twists it into one of the most blackly humorous crime tales ever. Nicolas Cage does his best work in years as a maniacal, drug-gorging detective racing through a murder investigation in a hallucinatory haze, playing every angle, dodging every impediment and spouting such wicked gems as, "Shoot him again. ... His soul's still dancing." 5. "Up" _ By now, saying "the latest from Pixar Animation" should be enough to justify a movie's top-10 status. Director Pete Docter and his Pixar pals beguiled young and old with this story of a bitter widower who renews his sense of adventure by airlifting his house via helium balloons on a romp to South America. Voice star Ed Asner conjures up the patron saint of lovable grouches, and a segment encapsulating the lost decades with the love of his life is one of the sweetest, saddest montages in film history. 6. "An Education" _ Carey Mulligan is exquisite as a whipsmart 1960s British teen who jeopardizes her Oxford college future by taking up with a slick-talking older man (Peter Sarsgaard). Working from a sparkling script by Nick Hornby, director Lone Scherfig creates a rich portrait of free-spiritedness in stuffy Britain before the sexual revolution. Buoyed by Sarsgaard's slippery charm and an impeccable supporting cast led by Alfred Molina, Mulligan graduates to the big time with a star-making performance. 7. "(500) Days of Summer" _ What guy could resist a woman who thinks "Octopus's Garden" is the Beatles' best song and declares that sexual gymnastics in a porn video look "pretty doable"? Zooey Deschanel bewitches as the dream woman of a lonely romantic (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, the "3rd Rock From the Sun" co-star who reveals depths his sitcom never plumbed). First-time director Marc Webb's clever rewind, fast-forward style and enchanting fantasy moments capture the soaring highs and miserable lows of that thing called love. 8. "Passing Strange" _ Spike Lee oversees a blast of stage energy, his filmed version of the Broadway show so up-close and intimate that the players' sweat practically drips onto the audiences' lap. Musician Stew is the big-voiced master of ceremonies for his play, whose final performances Lee filmed to craft the movie. The small cast leaps seamlessly through multiple roles as they trace an artistic young black man's journey to find his creative soul with grand humor, deep insight and songs that truly rock. 9. "Anvil: The Story of Anvil" _ THIS is Spinal Tap. Rob Reiner's mockumentary about a band's hapless struggle to regain past glory has a real-life counterpart in Sacha Gervasi's documentary about metal band Anvil. It's a fantastic chronicle of the fraternity and enmity of close friendship as singer Steve "Lips" Kudlow and drummer Robb Reiner (really, that's his name) toil on nearly 30 years after an early brush with success. Whether or not you think Anvil's music is art, this portrait of the artistic spirit is not to be missed. 10. "The Damned United" _ Michael Sheen cops an ego the size of Montana as British soccer coach Brian Clough during his short, disastrous tenure with Leeds United in the 1970s. Sheen is a marvel of hubris as the new cock of the walk trying to erase _ and sully _ the memory of his predecessor (Colm Meaney). With Timothy Spall providing the heart as Clough's underappreciated deputy and Sheen providing everything else, director Tom Hooper lovingly presents a friendship that somehow survives the most self-destructive brazenness. ___ AP Movie Critic Christy Lemire: 1. "Moon" _ The year's best film upends your expectations about science fiction and repeatedly surprises you. Melancholy and mesmerizing, equal parts mystery and character drama, it keeps you guessing until the end. The intelligent, assured debut from director Duncan Jones harkens to the fundamentals of the genre, in which people and provocative ideas mattered more than splashy effects. Sam Rockwell gives a subtle yet powerful performance, doing double duty as an astronaut working on the moon and a younger, fitter version of himself. Clint Mansell's haunting score fits the beautifully bare-bones visuals. 2. "An Education" _ Carey Mulligan is radiant as Jenny, a curious, clever teenager in 1961 London who gets whisked away to an exciting new life by a glamorous and much older man (Peter Sarsgaard). Director Lone Scherfig and writer Nick Hornby find just the right touch here with some tricky material. The challenge: how to make this man, and this ill-advised relationship, seem thrilling rather than creepy? Through Jenny's eyes, we get caught up in the excitement, too, but as bystanders we know it can't last. That gives "An Education" an inescapable tension. 3. "The Hurt Locker" _ Director Kathryn Bigelow's film is by far the most effective yet on the Iraq war, but its insights and reach extend beyond what's happened there over the past several years. Jeremy Renner dazzles as the swaggering sergeant on an elite U.S. Army bomb squad. The other members of his team (Anthony Mackie and Brian Geraghty, both solid) don't quite know what to make of him; he might be a genius at his job, an egomaniacal show-off or a little bit of both. The script from journalist Mark Boal, who spent time embedded with this kind of bomb squad, presents him as a fascinating but always believable jumble of contradictions. 4. "Up" _ The title is deceptively simple, which is fitting, because the latest achievement from Pixar Animation is deeper and more complex on every level than it would initially appear. It's a classic B-movie exotic adventure, but it's told through the most high-tech, gorgeous 3-D animation. It's a mismatched buddy comedy, but the buddies are a curmudgeonly 78-year-old man (voiced by Ed Asner) and a tubby 8-year-old boy (Jordan Nagai) _ who wind up together in a flying house, traveling to South America. Between the richness of the characters, the meatiness of their interaction and the authenticity of the details, it doesn't take long to forget that "Up" is a cartoon and become immersed. 5. "District 9" _ An intense, intelligent, well-crafted action movie _ one that dazzles the eye with seamless special effects but also makes you think without preaching. Like "Moon," it has the aesthetic trappings of science fiction, but first feature from commercial and music-video director Neill Blomkamp is really more of a character drama. Aliens who arrived in their spaceship more than 20 years ago have now been quarantined in cramped and dangerous South African slums; the nerdy bureaucrat charged with moving them to new quarters (the tremendous Sharlto Copley) is transformed in the process. 6. "A Serious Man" _ The Coen brothers' most personal film yet ties together some of their frequent themes: The universe is random, it gives you insurmountable challenges, and there's nothing you can do about it. They're clearly having a little fun in making life so difficult for the nebbishy Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg), a physics professor raising his family in a predominantly Jewish suburb of Minneapolis in 1967. Watching and wondering how and when he'll snap provides laughs, but also a mounting sense of unease, and it should provoke lengthy debate about the nature of faith. 7. "Fantastic Mr. Fox" _ With its deadpan humor and minute details, this is a Wes Anderson movie through and through. But it's also crammed with the kind of heart and humanity that have been missing from the director's most recent offerings. That's ironic, given that Anderson's latest is a stop-motion animation version of Roald Dahl's illustrated children's book about wily foxes. George Clooney's smooth voice work is as good as his starring performance in "Up in the Air," with Meryl Streep and Anderson pals Bill Murray and Jason Schwartzman all excellent in supporting parts. 8. "Sugar" _ In telling the story of a Dominican pitcher rising through baseball's ranks, writing-directing partners Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck have taken an overly familiar, potentially cliched sports story, stripped it down and, in doing so, completely reinvented it. The filmmakers take the same no-nonsense approach they used with "Half Nelson," their 2006 feature debut, and their gimmick-free storytelling only makes the trajectory of Miguel "Sugar" Santos seem more dramatic. But "Sugar" is also about immigration and, more universally, finding your place in the world. 9. "Passing Strange" _ It's easy to see why Spike Lee was drawn to Stew, the one-named musician and mastermind behind the Broadway production "Passing Strange." Like Lee, the artist formerly known as Mark Stewart possesses a powerful and singular voice, one he uses to express vividly his own experience of growing up black in America. In bringing Stew's Tony-winning musical to the screen, Lee took the wise and uncharacteristic step of staying out of the way. The crisp, intimate result makes you feel as if you're on stage with Stew and his formidable cast. 10. "Drag Me to Hell" _ Sam Raimi takes all the technological tricks he picked up while directing the blockbuster "Spider-Man" franchise and applies them to the horror genre he loves, the one he made his name with decades ago. But typical of Raimi (and his brother Ivan) and their cheeky sense of humor, this story of an innocent bank loan officer (Alison Lohman) under a gypsy's curse is packed with absurd images and twists. You'll squirm, you'll scream, you'll laugh your butt off and beg for more. Recommend Send IM Story Print Related Articles Novice Uruguay director becomes Hollywood sensation AFP - Saturday, December 12 US-ENTERTAINMENT Summary Reuters - Saturday, December 12 Correction: Decade-Film story AP - Saturday, December 12 Taylor Swift reflects on 'crazy dreams' come true Reuters - Saturday, December 12 AP critics Germain, Lemire pick top films of 2009 AP - Saturday, December 12 News Search Top Stories US House passes historic financial sector overhaul Developing nations slam EU climate fund pledge Iran, Afghanistan, threaten Gulf security: Kuwaiti minister US extends executive pay limits at 4 bailed-out firms Greek PM rules out appeal to IMF More Top Stories » ADVERTISEMENT Most Popular Most Viewed Most Recommended New Russian missile failure sparks UFO frenzy Tiger Woods' girlfriend apologizes in TV interview Iraq strikes deals with Big Oil on southern fields Expel chocolate milk from school lunches: activist Goldman Sachs to pay bonuses in stock More Most Viewed » Global stocks mixed amid Dubai debt crisis Tiny magnetic discs could kill cancer cells: study Virgin unveils spaceship to offer space tourism Mankind using Earth's resources at alarming rate Dubai blackout over debt plans to hit Gulf markets More Most Recommended » Elsewhere on Yahoo! Financial news on Yahoo! Finance Stars and latest movies Best travel destinations More on Yahoo! News Home Singapore Asia Pacific World Business Entertainment Sports Technology Subscribe to our news feeds Top StoriesMy Yahoo!RSS » More news feeds | What are news feeds? Also on Yahoo Answers Groups Mail Messenger Mobile Travel Finance Movies Sports Games » All Yahoo! Services Site Highlights Singapore Full Coverage Most Popular Asia Entertainment Photos Copyright © 2009 Yahoo! Southeast Asia Pte. Ltd. (Co. Reg. No. 199700735D). All Rights Reserved. Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | Community | Intellectual Property Rights Policy | Help

Other News on Saturday, 12 December 2009
Defense secy tells US troops Iraq mission critical
Ultra-Orthodox rabbis decry Internet's 'terrible impurity'
Six killed in bombings near Baghdad
Greece will not default or seek IMF aid: PM
Amnesty blasts Iraq over treatment of Iran exiles
India 3G auction to be held on schedule: minister
Greek PM rules out appeal to IMF
Settlers suspected in West Bank mosque attack
Apple hits back against Nokia in patent row
Turkey's top court bans pro-Kurdish party |
Apple countersues Nokia over 13 patents
Trial ordered over aged French billionaire's gifts |
Poland, U.S. sign deal on troop deployments |
Postal services get exclusive '.post' address
Zimbabwe blood diamonds dispute breaks out at U.N. |
Apple hits back against Nokia in patent row
US-TECH Summary
Apple countersues Nokia over 13 patents
Verizon CEO says no need to buy DIRECTV |
Missing Yale employee is found near home
NKorea to work with US to resolve 'differences'
Casey Anthony sobs at account of daughter's death
Text of divorce statements from SC first lady, gov
Japan emperor to meet Chinese VP: officials
Threatened Buddhists to leave Vietnam temple: Abbot
NYC mayor on deadly shootout: `Too many guns'
Senators propose new approach to climate issue
US men held in Pakistan will not be deported: minister
Treasury pay czar limits pay at automakers, banks
Rapprochement as pope meets Vietnamese president
CDC: Fewer states seeing widespread swine flu
UN envoy: Child recruitment continues in Sri Lanka
Top UN official in Afghanistan to leave in March
Police still looking for missing Utah mom
Officer slain in Wash. remembered at Pa. funeral
Indonesian pilot in deadly crash wins court appeal
US health care tab to keep growing under overhaul
Indonesia hospital drops patient defamation suit
Woods wins UK court ban against nude, sex photos |
Michael Jackson to get lifetime achievement Grammy |
Japan rejects US carmakers' complaint over incentives
Club Med plans ski village in China
Sawyer move to evening alters TV news landscape |
Consumer prices rise as China powers out of crisis
Indonesia holds 47 suspected Afghan asylum seekers
Mariah Carey announces Angels tour dates |
Teen actress Saiorse Ronan carries heavy roles lightly |
Chanel cleared in French counterfeit case
Down but not out: embattled Kazakh paper fights back
Sarkozy relieved that rocker Hallyday doing better |
A Minute With: Tom Ford on dressing his Single Man |
Stage set for Miss World finale in South Africa
Charges dropped in Illinois taping of 'New Moon'
That's just the way it is with Bruce Hornsby
Former Met museum director Thomas Hoving dies
Clinton urges Pakistan to fight Taliban
Faithful are not freaks: Archbishop of Canterbury
US-TECH Summary
Saddam ouster right, even without WMDs: Blair |
Israeli minister
Developing nations slam EU climate fund pledge
Mafia don casts doubt on alleged Berlusconi link
Apple fires back at Nokia in patents battle
EU concerned over ban on Turkish pro-Kurd party
Iran, Afghanistan, threaten Gulf security: Kuwaiti minister
Craigslist founder says kept eBay doubts to himself
Costs and security fears weigh on Iraq oil auction
US extends executive pay limits at 4 bailed-out firms
Ukraine says selling $550 mln of arms to Iraq
Verizon CEO says no need to buy DIRECTV
Turkey's top court bans pro-Kurdish party |
Oil firms bid low to bag Iraq oilfields
China moves to trial of prominent dissident |
No real freeze on settlement: Israeli minister |
Drone strike believed to kill senior al Qaeda plotter |
Apple fires back at Nokia in patents battle
Taiwan checking report of Iran nuke equipment sale
Iran agrees to nuclear fuel swap, with caveats
Rebel Abkhazia elects president in 'illegitimate' vote
Thai authorities hold crew of plane after arms find |
US House passes historic financial sector overhaul
Pakistan eyes new offensive after South Waziristan |
Hardliners: Iran opposition seeks leader's removal
Philippines hostages likely to be freed soon: government |
Crew missing after ship capsizes off Lebanon |
Iran needs up to 15 nuclear plants: foreign minister |
Philippines says to lift martial law in south |
Libya still jailing dissenters: Human Rights Watch |
Kurdish MPs to quit after Turkey bans party |
Madagascar government row strands politicians |
China's Xi urges deeper Japan ties ahead of visit |
Obama applauds House passage of financial overhaul
Thailand detains plane with weapons cache from N.Korea
Philippine hostage crisis close to end: government
Man convicted of murder during 2006 Indy robbery
Craigslist CEO: EBay's Whitman turned back on us |
Hong Kong shocks Japan on penalties at E.Asia Games
Questions, answers on Wall Street regulation bill
Highlights of $1.1T spending bill
US: Time for 'strategic patience' with NKorea
Asian activists keep pressure on Copenhagen talks
Senate set to advance $1.1T spending bill
Arroyo lifts martial law in Philippine massacre area
US military: Soldier dies in Iraq
Philippines hostage crisis 'should be resolved soon'
Mumbai attack suspects challenge Pakistan indictment
Tenn. demonstrates trend of looser guns laws
Ministers resign over decision on new Indian state
Kitten apparently rides 120 miles in wheel well
US men held in Pakistan 'had contacted Al-Qaeda'
VW starts production of first Indian-made Polo
Iraq eyes top spot after oil auction 'victory'
Volkswagen starts production of first India car
Deal to relax limits on flights between US, Japan
Novice Uruguay director becomes Hollywood sensation
Bangladesh sends 252 workers to Iraq
S.Korea finmin sees 90 trln won govt bonds in 2010-Yonhap
Japan firms owed $7.5 bln by Dubai: report
Michael Jackson to get lifetime achievement Grammy |
No more beef: Wendy's burger chain leaves Japan
Tiger Woods taking break from golf, admits infidelity |
CORRECTED-Obama eyes arms sales to Taiwan, official says
Complicated simplifies mature romance |
Unilever drops palm oil supplier criticised by Greenpeace
Taylor Swift reflects on 'crazy dreams' come true |
Coins flow in to help Indonesian Facebook Mum
Novice Uruguay director becomes Hollywood sensation
US-ENTERTAINMENT Summary
Correction: Decade-Film story
Taylor Swift reflects on 'crazy dreams' come true
AP critics Germain, Lemire pick top films of 2009
'Avatar,' '2012' among films seeking effects Oscar
'Twilight' studio to distribute Polanski film
Legal case debates classiness of Flynt family smut
'Complicated' simplifies mature romance
Liza Minnelli not over the rainbow for 'Oz'
Strange Spiraling Blue Light Over Norway Likely A Failed Russian Missile Launch
U.S. Coast Guard Rescues Cruise Ship Crew Member Who Went Overboard
6000 Students Participate In Flash Mob Library Rave In Virginia
Grave Robbers Steal Body Of Former Cypriot President Papadopoulos
'Not Guilty' T-shirts Freedom Of Speech
Brooklyn High School Site Of Alleged Sex Scandal Involving Three Female Teachers
Toronto Woman Jailed For Being A Witch
Family Finds Explosives In House; Calls Bomb Squad
Researchers Analyze Ancient Peruvian Hair, Conclude Stress Was Part Of Their Daily Lives
Bikini Baristas Ruled Adult Entertainment
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights

USD EUR - 1 year graph	VPN on MacOSX	BlogMeter 1.01