Springfield Film Critics – The TAGsgf Team

It took awhile since the boys are busy launching their new website – TAGsgf.com – but I finally collected the Top Films for 2009 list as compiled by the players involved. And here is their list:

When I tallied up the 2009 released I saw it came to 9, and that would have meant including Transformers 2 and My Bloody Valentine 3-D. I can’t put either of those on my best-of list in good conscience, so I called in the rest of the TAG crew for an assist. What follows is the list Brett, Scott and I (Allen doesn’t see movies in the theater, so he bowed out) came up with after voting and deliberating:

1. Up – Maybe the first children’s animation about an old man. Incredible with enough humor for adults to enjoy along with the kids.

2. The Hangover – Brett’s stomach hurts from remembering how hard he laughed. Scott calls it the best comedy he has seen in more than a decade.

3. Watchmen – All three of us saw it, and we all thought it was miscast in trailers as a typical comic-book movie. The book wasn’t a typical comic book, either. The movie didn’t live up to that, but that was impossible, anyway.

4. The Road – A tense story showing man at its worst and Viggo Mortensen’s acting at its best.

5. Where the Wild Things Are – No movie I have ever seen captures what it is to be a kid, with all the imagination and intense emotionality involved, as beautifully or clearly.

6. Inglorious Basterds – Trademark Tarantino: vice-grip tension with moments of brilliantly subtle humor to take the edge off. Yes, humor and Nazis fit into the same movie. Credit Brad Pitt for making that happen.

7. Food, Inc. – A must-view for every American, Brett says. A very well-produced documentary, though not in the same vein as Michael Moore. It will light a fire under you.

8. The Soloist – Jamie Foxx played an insane man and Robert Downey, Jr. played a sane one. By the end of the movie, you can relate to Foxx’s rationality and to Downey’s crazy whims–NOT an easy feat.

9. Public Enemies – Even better than Michael Mann’s handheld camera use was how he captured the media frenzy that accompanied outlaws in John Dillinger’s era. It was nice to see Johnny Depp not wear an eyepatch, too.

10. I Love You Man – A comedy with the clever slant of dudes courting dudes. Hilarious concept, and it worked.

This sparked so much discussion we’re thinking of doing a podcast about it. If you’d like we can send you that when it’s done, too. Thanks again, Steve! This was really fun!

TAG Magazine’s four staffers–Chris DeRosier, Brett Johnston, Scott Perket and Allen Vaughan–are veterans of covering entertainment in Springfield, whether it be music, sports, arts, movies or more. Combining the forces of popular local sites The FourFour, Res Specs Online and S.A.U.C.E. Magazine, the staff is dedicated to bringing you everything fun to experience in the city–from the inside. They have more than a little fun doing it, too.