The Wasteland Reviewer

The Wasteland Into the Past: 2009

Welcome to The Wasteland into the Past! Join this journey backwards in time as I take a cinematic look at years past. Each article will focus on a singular year and my Top 5 films from that year. Turn back the clock with me…and let’s get started! 

2009

Inglourious Basterds

Who doesn’t love a bit of alternative history? There have been plenty of creative ways that filmmakers have explored other outcomes to major historical events. One such filmmaker who loves to dabble in this alternate reality is Quentin Tarantino. Long gone are the times of his LA crime thrillers and for the last 15 years or so, he has been turning the clock back and turning history upside down. The purest and most perfect form of this storytelling is the crowning achievement that is Inglourious Basterds. A tale of Jewish revenge against the Nazis and Hitler is quite compelling and fully engrossing. Inglourious Basterds shows how the world could have been different if Hitler died violently in a movie theater by the hands of a Jewish survivor and Jewish/American soldiers. But what leaves such a lasting impression is the impeccable filmmaking that Tarantino delivers. From the opening sequence, you know Inglorious Basterds is going to be special. The tension building. The dialogue. Christoph Waltz. This all coverages deliver one of the most intense opening scenes of any movie ever. The entire arc that Melanie Laurent’s Shosanna does on is absolute cinema. All the way up to her giant cackling projection as the Nazi Party burns alive in the cinema is just chef’s kiss. Waltz’s performance is one of the greatest antagonist roles ever delivered on screen with Colonel Hans Landa being such a dynamic and compelling force in every scene with such a range of tone and emotion. Brad Pitt captures the dark yet zany tone perfectly with his peculiar and precise performance as Lieutenant Aldo Raine. The look. The accent. Perfection. There are other standouts from Michael Fassbender to Dian Kruger to Daniel Bruhl. The cast is just impeccable from top to bottom (including some great voice cameos like Samuel L. Jackson and Harvey Keitel). The music is fantastic as Tarantino weaves in spaghetti western core from Ennio Morricone while also delivering some great song choices including “Cat People” by David Bowie (Shosanna’s “suit up” sequence is excellent). The cinematography is precise and immaculately done in every scene with the crispest editing you are going to find. Endless personality and plenty of emotions…Inglourious Basterds just might be Tarantino’s masterpiece.

Fantastic Mr. Fox

Who should be the exclusive adaptor of Roald Dahl stories? Wes Anderson. He just fully understands the tone and personality that Dahl injected into his stories. There are so many iconic books written by Dahl that became iconic films on the silver screen as well. His four short films from two years ago were fantastic…but THE most fantastic of all of Dahl’s adaptations goes to Fantastic Mr. Fox. This is a short, concise, and fun children’s book that doesn’t have the most narrative to work with. The story is the perfect concept for a film. One fox takes on the evil farmers in the area. But Anderson expands upon this fun set up and delivers a charming and hilarious ride from start to finish. First off, the stop motion animation is impeccable with impressive technical prowess and such a singularity brought to life. The specific colors of orange, brown, and yellow make this film feel so warm and engaging. The retro look matches perfectly with the period in which Dahl crafted this story. The great needle drops capture a specific period of British Invasion rock music and other 60s hits while also delivering a charming score with plenty of personality as well. The humor of the film is so sharp and hilarious. The running gags in the film are excellent with the “cuss” replacing curse words is certainly the peak. Letters made of letters cut out of magazines. Signature moves. Growling while devouring food. Bandit hats. They all hit. The characters are a wonderful bunch of personalities all led by the smug, charismatic, and ego-centric Mr. Fox. George Clooney is inspired by casting for sure as he is just endlessly charming and full of himself so perfectly. Meryl Streep brings grounded weight to the film that balances out the madness. Wallace Wolodarsky’s Kylie is neurotic and reliable in all the best ways. Jason Schwartzman is one of the real gems of the film as the son Ash who is desperately trying to get his father’s attention while being a terrible cousin. Willem Dafoe and Michael Gambon bring some great menace to the film as the rat and farmer antagonists. This masterful animated tale balances zany shenanigans with some genuine family drama as this film crescendos into a bonkers go-for-broke rescue mission filled with gunfire, flaming pinecones, and explosions.

Up in the Air

Wait a minute…we have more George Clooney? What a year for this beloved leading man who shows that he can carry a film with just his voice while also delivering a compelling performance leading a nuanced drama about relationships and the evolving world around us. Up in the Air is a film about a man who has one job…firing people. What he does takes plenty of tact and understanding and puts him on the road all the time going from city to city. His life is on a plane and out of a suitcase with a life that lacks connection to people in general. But Jason Reitman’s film focuses on a few key changes in his life. First, a young woman (Anna Kendrick) comes into his life who has invented a remote version of his work, and he must take her on the road to practice. Here presence creates much of the film’s drama and tension as she is there to ground his life as reflected by the title AND challenges him on his personal life as well. Then you have a career woman who is also “up in the air” (Vera Farmiga) who is making Clooney’s Matt question his whole idea of no connections in life. What Reitman can deliver is a mature, engaging, funny, moving, and thought-provoking film. Oddly enough, this film’s perspective on remote work is even more resonant and impactful in 2025 due to our post-pandemic existence. This reframes the film so much and challenges viewers to think about their expectations of work and can and should be switched to remote which saves the company money and time. One of the best storytelling devices is the way Reitman wrangles plenty of familiar faces to come in as employees being laid off. The scene with J.K. Simmons is amazing. His performance brings so much emotion and depth to the film and adds layers to this layoff culture and the tact needed to bring humanity to it. There is a strong sense of humor while also tackling meaningful themes in a mature and engaging way. The performance that Clooney delivers is fantastic as he balances the cool, snarky charm that we know him for while also injecting some genuine emotion into it. Farmiga is alluring, charming, and so damn cool. The chemistry between her and Clooney is electric (especially their first scenes of meeting each other). Their fantastic connection makes it even more devastating once their relationship runs its course. Kendrick is a wonderful addition to the cast as well as bringing all layers of emotion and her specific type of charm. The supporting cast is stacked as well with the likes of Jason Bateman, Sam Elliot, Danny McBride, and many more. What comes off as a cool and funny film turns out to be so much more than that with this being Reitman’s crown jewel.

A Serious Man

What is the most personal and authentic film in the filmography of the Coen Brothers? A Serious Man. This drama draws upon their Jewish upbringing in the northern Midwest. This is a fully Jewish film that explores what it means to be a good and honest man as it focuses on a college professor whose wife discloses an affair. A parallel element of the narrative follows their son as he works towards his Bar Mitzvah. The Coens can capture the feeling of the 1960s with some great music choices (“Somebody to Love” by Jefferson Airplane is the key standout). This film is certainly filled with interesting characters (like any Coen Brothers film) but this one is different from their usual genre tales. First, we have Larry Gopnik’s story, our cuckolded professor. Michael Stuhlbarg, who has had plenty of supporting character actor roles to shine in, finally gets his moment to be a true leading man. He captures the confusion and struggle in Larry with such authenticity. Larry struggles to comprehend why his wife wants to leave him. Fred Melamed is impeccable as Sy Ableman, the titular “Serious Man”, who brings a level of confidence and wisdom that Larry struggles to have. Larry also struggles with the health of his brother Arthur (Richard Kind is such a strange and offbeat performance that lasts with you) and must confront how far he is willing to go to support him. But the big morality tale of the film is Larry struggling with the grade of one of his students. Stuhlbarg captures the frenetic energy of Larry’s anxiety as he struggles through this journey. His son also navigates the journey to becoming a man throughout this film. The biggest recurring theme is Larry and his son Danny conferring with different rabbis (including George Wyner, Simon Helberg, and Alan Mandell). The Coens are notorious for not focusing on making their films say too much through themes. What is interesting regarding A Serious Man…there are plenty of conflicting and ambiguous teachings from the Rabbi. The Coens force their characters and the audience to struggle with these ideas and themes. But it is always so compelling. The book-ending scenes of this film will stick with you as well. There is an intriguing and mysterious opening scene about a potential Dybbuk which builds paranoia in a struggling couple visited by a stranger. The final sequence of an incoming tornado which threatens Danny and the rest of his school. Does Larry’s actions influence this? Who knows…but it is fascinating to explore through this thought-provoking film.

Watchmen

What is Zack Snyder’s magnum opus? Snyder is a polarizing figure in cinema…to say the least. There are Snyder fans who believe he has cracked a secret code for a whole other level of filmmaking. Others find him to be all style and no substance. My perspective is certainly closer to the latter. Snyder has a great eye for aesthetics and no matter how boring, messy, and dumb his scripts may be, his visuals will always please and grab your attention. His epic approach to his DC efforts gained him many fans (including a whole online community who aggressively pushed for its resurrection). But his best comic book adaptation is not Superman, Batman, or the Justice League. Watchmen takes that mantle for sure. His adaptation is not the most faithful, but he captures so many great elements from this iconic and groundbreaking graphic novel. This book is one of the most compelling, complex, and thought-provoking graphic novels about superheroes ever. The registration act. The dubious behavior and personalities of some of the Watchmen. The challenging and morally grey conflict at the heart of the film. How far should someone go to save the world? Does truth mean more than survival? How important is the well-being of one person in comparison to the greater good? The novel confronts all these themes and so does Snyder’s film. This is honestly his most compelling and thought-provoking film in his whole career. He may have given these heroes more physical powers than they are supposed to possess (making better action sequences for sure) but that does not take away from the towering and compelling thematic work. The film has its flaws for sure. There are a few weaker casting decisions, and the one sex scene set to “Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen are not great. But there are so many elements that make this an incredible experience. The visuals are striking in every frame, and Snyder captures the spirit of the graphic novel so well. The opening montage to Bob Dylan’s classic “The Times They Are A-Changin’” is breathtaking, harrowing, and does impressive narrative heavy lifting. This is one of the greatest montages in the history of film…period. The casting of Jackie Early Haley is incredible as his gruff and brutal turn as Rorschach is bone-chilling and haunting. Jeffrey Dean Morgan is The Comedian in all his dark humor and disgusting and offensive behavior. Billy Crudup captures the hollow feeling and presence of all the powerful and mysterious Dr. Manhattan. But the morality tales threaded throughout this film are what keep you grounded and absorbed in the drama. The needle drops (for the most part) are unmatched) and this alternative history world is fully realized and compelling. This is a towering achievement that is more than its flaws.