Best Original Screenplay 2009
Runners-up:
#8 - Drag Me to Hell - Sam and Ivan Raimi
#7 - Whatever Works - Woody Allen
#6 - The Brothers Bloom - Rian Johnson
#5 - The Hurt Locker - Mark Boal
Gripping stuff. Yes, I have an issue with the revenge subplot thrown in there, but overall, it's an impressive screenplay.
#4 - Surveillance - Jennifer Lynch and Kent Harper
I recognize that it's complete fluff and perhaps I was just a fool for not seeing what was coming, but this was anything but a boring interrogation flick with some clever turns along the way.
#3 - The Burning Plain - Guillermo Arriaga
Three strong stories that intertwine in some surprisingly emotional ways.
#2 - The Messenger - Alessandro Camon and Oren Moverman
The six or seven scenes featuring the varied reactions of family members who have lost loved ones would've been enough to put it on this list, but the rest of the tale is emotionally wrenching as well.
#1 - A Serious Man - Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
Funny and serious. While some may call it oddly paced, I find it completely engrossing. It takes courage to end a film the way the Brothers Coen did here...and to end it in such a way in successful fashion is a rare feat.
Runners-up:
#8 - Drag Me to Hell - Sam and Ivan Raimi
#7 - Whatever Works - Woody Allen
#6 - The Brothers Bloom - Rian Johnson
#5 - The Hurt Locker - Mark Boal
Gripping stuff. Yes, I have an issue with the revenge subplot thrown in there, but overall, it's an impressive screenplay.
#4 - Surveillance - Jennifer Lynch and Kent Harper
I recognize that it's complete fluff and perhaps I was just a fool for not seeing what was coming, but this was anything but a boring interrogation flick with some clever turns along the way.
#3 - The Burning Plain - Guillermo Arriaga
Three strong stories that intertwine in some surprisingly emotional ways.
#2 - The Messenger - Alessandro Camon and Oren Moverman
The six or seven scenes featuring the varied reactions of family members who have lost loved ones would've been enough to put it on this list, but the rest of the tale is emotionally wrenching as well.
#1 - A Serious Man - Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
Funny and serious. While some may call it oddly paced, I find it completely engrossing. It takes courage to end a film the way the Brothers Coen did here...and to end it in such a way in successful fashion is a rare feat.
Inglourious Basterds is a better written film than every movie you just listed.
ReplyDeleteYou and that Inglourious Basterds love...
ReplyDeleteYes, it probably deserves to be in the runner-up position at #6 (I'm really just forming these lists by looking back at my Oscar thought posts throughout the year and IB never made it there) after my second improved viewing, but Quentin is still a long-winded bugger. While some of the scenes that I hated played much, much better the second time around, I'm still not sure if it's because I knew when they were ending or because they were actually decent.
The true test of IB will be in a few years when I come back to this movie fresh and with a (somewhat) blank slate. We'll see how it holds up then.