Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Top 10 UK releases of 2009

12:23 PM / Cinema / Comments5 Comments

Top 10 UK releases of 2009

My fellow DVD Times contributors and I were asked to provide a list of our top ten films of 2009. Obviously, DVD Times is a UK-based site and as such goes by UK theatrical release dates. Whenever I personally put together lists like this, I prefer to go by the release date of each film's country of origin (so, for example, Martyrs would normally count as a 2008 rather than a 2009 film). However, for the purposes of DVD Times' feature, which goes up at midnight tonight, I've put together a Top 10 which corresponds to the UK cinema release schedules. I'll be doing a more conventional Top 10 (going by release date for country of origin) for Land of Whimsy before the end of the year, but for now, here's my UK Top 10:

  1. Up (Pete Docter)
  2. Coraline (Henry Selick)
  3. Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist (Peter Sollett)
  4. The Red Riding Trilogy (Julian Jarrold, James Marsh, Anand Tucker)
  5. Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino)
  6. Sunshine Cleaning (Christine Jeffs)
  7. Let the Right One In (Tomas Alfredson)
  8. Slumdog Millionaire (Danny Boyle)
  9. Moon (Duncan Jones)
  10. Martyrs (Pascal Laugier)
 
5 Comments

1. FoxyMulder said:

I watched Coraline in 3D a few days ago. ( Blu Ray )

I liked it. Very quirky and i don't think the usual type of film released these days but i liked it a lot.

The 3D was much less showy than normal and more about depth of field. Wait until the end titles are over and you get the most showy 3D effect, i imagine though that most people would not watch the end titles
( i always do )

For those expecting another Nightmare Before Christmas they will be disappointed but i think Coraline is a very good film and i hope Henry continues to make stop motion as it's a dying art these days.

(Posted on Tuesday, December 22, 2009 at 3:02 PM)

2. Count Fosco said:

Nice list Michael. I never realised the Red Riding Trilogy received a theatrical release and whilst I think it is excellent I was surprised to see it rank so highly. I saw horrors Martyrs and Let The Right One In in 2009 and fully expect them to be in my Top Ten list if I get around to writing one. I also found Moon and Slumdog Millionaire to be original and inventive films from British directors. Pixar's UP was wonderful for its opening montage of the old couple's relationship, possibly my favourite sequence from a film in 2009 but the film as a whole fell short of WALL-E's majesty by a gnat's wing. As for Sunshine Cleaning, Inglorious, Nick & Norah and Coraline I have still to see them despite them being on my anticipated films of 2009 list I conjured at the start of the year. Hopefully, the fact you hold them in such high esteem will motivate me to seek them out.

Keep on trucking...
and Merry Christmas matey and a Happy New Year!

(Posted on Wednesday, December 23, 2009 at 11:25 AM)

3. Author Profile Page Michael said:

FoxyMulder:

It's interesting, a work colleague told me that Coraline's 3D was a lot more in-your-face than anything from Disney and Pixar. I didn't see it at the cinema, and the 3D version offered on BD is the usual crummy two-colour format, so I've only ever seen the film in 2D.

I actually consider it to be strongly reminiscent of The Nightmare Before Christmas - not quite as good but pretty damn close. Coraline left me in little doubt that Selick was responsible for the lion's share of Nightmare's appeal. Conversely, I found Tim Burton's Corpse Bride to be utterly charmless.


Count Fosco:

Red Riding is a slightly tricky one. It was first seen by a wide audience on TV, but was made in anticipation of a theatrical release (which I don't believe ultimately came to pass) and premiered at the European Film Market, a full month ahead of its television premiere.

Up is indeed in Wall-E's shadow, but I would still class it as one of the best films of the last few years. In fact, the only reason I kept it out of my "Top 10 of the Decade" list is because I wanted that list to offer some degree of variety, rather than being clogged with Pixar movies, which would otherwise have been a very real possibility.

Merry Christmas to you too!

(Posted on Wednesday, December 23, 2009 at 11:35 AM)

4. FoxyMulder said:

I view The Nightmare Before Christmas almost as a broadway musical but Coraline is more of a dramatic piece.

I have Journey To The center Of The Earth, My Bloody Valentine, The Polar Express and Coaraline all in 3D and out of all of them i thought Coraline had the least showy type of 3D.

You get a pencil poking out of the screen during the opening moments but other than that i don't recall any real coming at you moments other than the scene during the end credits.

I have never seen a Disney/Pixar 3D movie so cannot compare them. I am not much of a fan of Pixar and prefer the hand drawn Disney movies.

(Posted on Wednesday, December 23, 2009 at 4:10 PM)

5. FoxyMulder said:

I haven't touched a drop i swear.....My typing gets worse with each passing day though.

(Posted on Wednesday, December 23, 2009 at 4:11 PM)

 
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