The 3rd Annual LION Awards: The Top Ten Films of 2009

Without further ado:

There were 49 voters for this award, and the results were tallied with the usual points scoring system used for the Top 10s done previously. First place votes in parentheses:

10. District 9 - 79 points (1)
9. Moon - 81 points (2)
8. Precious - 83 points (2)
6. (tie) A Serious Man - 109 points (4)
6. (tie) (500) Days of Summer - 109 points (2)
5. Avatar - 111 points (1)
4. Up In the Air - 113 points (1)
3. Up - 146 points (4)
2. The Hurt Locker - 262 points (9)
1. Inglourious Basterds - 271 points (9)

Other films receiving first-place votes: A Single Man, An Education (2), Antichrist, Goodbye Solo, Hunger, The Informant!, Let the Right One In, Public Enemies, Star Trek, The Messenger, The White Ribbon (2), Zombieland.

Thanks again to all that voted!

The LAMB Devours the Oscars - Best Picture: Inglourious Basterds

Editor's note: Welcome to the thirtieth of a 33-part series dissecting the 82st Academy Awards, brought to you by the Large Association of Movie Blogs and its assorted members. Every day leading up to the Oscars, a new post written by a different LAMB will be published, each covering a different category of the Oscars. To read any other posts regarding this event, please click the tag following the post. Thank you, and enjoy!










By Adam Cohen of The Jack Sack.

Quentin Tarantino deals in basic human emotions, and that's why his films connect so readily with audiences. One of Tarantino's favorite themes is revenge- most notably told on an operatic scale with "Kill Bill" parts 1 & 2. Revenge is where he returns for "Inglorious Basterds," which is set amidst one of history's greatest crime scenes- The Third Reich. One could argue that making a revenge flick about killing Nazis is kind of a cheat- who wouldn't want to kill some Nazis? Well, that may be true, but Tarantino doesn't go after the Germans, he obliterates them in the most creative ways imaginable. So, on a very basic emotional level, "Basterds" is exactly what it says it is- a movie about killing Nazis. But that alone shouldn't get you a Best Picture nomination. And to that end, there's a lot more to this film than offing brownshirts.

When the film opens, it presents its best character, Best Supporting Actor nominee Christoph Waltz as Colonel Hans Landa of the SS. Landa is the film's main villain- the embodiment of all that is evil in Germany. He hangs over all that takes place for the rest of the movie- from Shoshanna, the sole survivor of a family of Jews hiding underneath the farmhouse (that Landa and his team kill in the film's violent opening scene) to the later showdown between him and Lt. Aldo Raines- who recruits the titular "Basterds" that are dropped into occupied France to kill Nazis. The film is set up and executed brilliantly by Tarantino's sure hand. Nothing in this movie is wasted. No character lacks life- even ones who are more comical than dramatic (the "Bear Jew") are indelible screen presences.


So, what has the Academy so excited about this "pulp historical fiction?" For one, it's a movie about movies- Shoshanna has fled the French country to Paris, where she becomes the proprietor of a quaint cinema. She is a cinephile, as are many other characters in this film. And the love of film displayed in "Basterds" is an odd but appropriate common thread. German cinema preceding the Third Reich was experimental and groundbreaking. Fritz Lang, Germany's most famous director, was squired by Nazi propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels early in Hitler's rule. Lang, like many others, later fled Germany for the West when it was clear that anyone remaining would have to cooperate with Nazi ideology. Leni Reifenstahl remained and became Hitler's most famous and accomplished propagandist filmmaker. No doubt all of these auteurs, and many more were included in British Lt. Archie Hicox's writing for "Films and Filmmakers" (I love everything about Hicox's scene with a silent Winston Churchill).

And "Basterd's" climax exists in Shoshanna's movie house- which I won't ruin for anyone who has yet to see this film. But where fantasy branches from reality, it is wholly befitting that the most ridiculous events occur in this setting. Some may criticize "Basterds" for making some very major departures from actual history. But Tarantino didn't come to this subject to film a "Saving Private Ryan." He purposely plowed through the restrictions a conventional movie might hold itself to and decided "I'm going to let this beast loose." His choice works because he did so with a purpose- to cause the audience to become engulfed in the chaos that exists in a state of war.


I would equate "Basterds" to Tarantino's other most-acclaimed film, "Pulp Fiction" in that it seeks to rip down the barriers that make 99.9% of films safe and predictable. Tarantino wants you to shift in your seat and peek through the fingers covering your eyes. He, like Alfred Hitchcock, embraces the darkest parts of human psychology, and he does so in several brilliantly acted and directed scenes. From the opening farm house massacre, to the most terrifying chat about German pastries ever, and to a gut-wrenching sequence in a lazy pub riddled with drunk German revelers, "Basterds" is a sneaky creation- it's a horror movie, but it's covered in a war movie genre wrapping.

While other films in the Best Picture Category have legitimate claims to the golden statue, "Inglorious Basterds" is the most pure example of movie making among the bunch. It doesn't rely on CGI trickery, nor does it play to safe emotions like finding redemption, etc. Instead, Tarantino uses the film medium to pay a tribute to something old but does so with a modern awareness. I believe its chances of winning Best Picture are strong.

The 3rd Annual LION Awards: Best Cast

Finding pictures of lions and lambs that capture the essence of the award of the day can certainly be a challenge, but I think I've outdone myself today, if I do say so myself. That thing cracks me up. Anyway, 47 votes were, um, cast, for Best Cast, and the winner took nearly half of them, making for the 2nd-biggest blowout of the LIONs, and you can probably guess the first.

The runner-up, with 5 votes: Up In the Air


And the runaway winner, with 22 votes: Inglourious Basterds



Next up... Best Director. Stay tuned to the LAMB for more of the LIONs, culminating with our Top 10 Films of 2009.

The 3rd Annual LION Awards: Best Scene

Some expected choices were submitted for the LION award for Best Scene, but there were also plenty of under-heralded ones, with a few head-scratchers thrown in for good measure. In case there was any debate left as to what the best movie of 2009 really was, see below for now only the winners but the full roster of choices given. Crazy how there wasn't a single vote amongst the 41 total for that crazy blue people movie. Also: a somewhat anti-climactic tie for first!

The runner-up, with 5 votes: "The opening montage in Up"


Tied for first, with 6 votes each: "The bar scene from Inglourious Basterds"


...and "The opening scene in Inglourious Basterds"


Finally, the rest of the scenes voted for (de-spoilered where necessary), in no real order:

* Burning of the cinema, Inglourious Basterds
* THE cameo (Zombieland)
* Mary's confession/breakdown in Precious
* The sniper confrontantion in The Hurt Locker
* Carey Mulligan's confrontation with Emma Thompson on the demerits of formal learning in An Education
* Larry Gopnik's meeting with Rabbi Nachtner & the story of Dr. Lee Sussman in A Serious Man
* Natalie’s breakdown scene and the conversation that follows in Up in the Air
* Date sex scene, Observe & Report
* Opening sequence of Watchmen with the Comedian
* Sgt. James and the suicidal bomber who wasn't so suicidal in The Hurt Locker
* Shosanna eating strudel with Landa, Inglourious Basterds
* The chromatic begining to Antichrist, as von Trier cuts between the couple having sex and the washing machine, depicting the mechanical nature of their connection...as the baby climbs towards the open window
* The final bench conversation: (500) Days of Summer
* The house soars for the first time in Up
* The movie premiere, Inglourious Basterds [Ed. note: debatable as to whether this is the same as the "burning of the cinema" votes for Basterds, but it wouldn't have had an impact on the awards regardless.]
* The plane flying through the lava fields out of Yellowstone in 2012
* The singing iguanas in Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call, New Orleans
* The Taser Scene in The Hangover
* The end scene of A Serious Man

Next up... Best Cast. Stay tuned to the LAMB for more of the LIONs, culminating with our Top 10 Films of 2009.

The 3rd Annual LION Awards: Introductory Ceremonies/Best Poster

Welcome to the LIONs! The field has been expanded slightly this year, with awards to be presented in the following categories:

Best Poster
Best Foreign Film (non-English)
Best Documentary
Best Scene
Best Cast
Best Director
Best Performance by a Supporting Female
Best Performance by a Supporting Male
Best Performance by a Leading Female
Best Performance by a Leading Male
Bottom Five Films of the Year
Top 10 Films of the Year

Many thanks go out to the 49 total voters, representatives of the following sites (in voting order): Insight Into Entertainment, The Flick Chick, Not Just Movies, Nevermind Popular Film, Anomalous Material, The Dark of the Matinee, Random Ramblings of a Demented Doorknob, Cannelton Critic, Big Thoughts From A Small Mind, The Sophomore Critic, The Ludovico Technique, Plus Trailers, Movie Mobsters, Movies Kick Ass, The Moving Arts, Behind the Couch, Keyzer Soze's Place, Fandango Groovers Movie Blog, Marshall and the Movies, Cut The Crap Movie Reviews, Cinematically Correct, Foolish Blatherings, Le Mot du Cinephiliaque, hal0000's Movie Reviews, This Guy Over Here, bip-bip, Korova Theatre Presents, The Movie Encyclopedia, filmicability with Dean Treadway, Radiator Heaven, Invasion of the B Movies, Film Forager, Final Cut, Minty's Menagarie, He Shot Cyrus, Phil on Film, I Rate Films, Movie Dearest, Detailed Criticisms, Encore Entertainment, And All That Film, MiNG Movie Reviews …in about 100 words or less, Journalistic Skepticism, Valley Dreamin', Situated Laundry, Insight into Entertainment, Rachel's Reel Reviews, Reel Whore, & Blog Cabins.

Our first award for presentation is for Best Poster. There were a total of 44 votes for this category (only the Top 10 of the Year was required for all). We have a tie for runner-up, with 4 votes each:




And taking the trophy, with 6 votes:


Next up... Best Foreign Film. Stay tuned to the LAMB for more of the LIONs, culminating with our Top 10 Films of 2009.

LAMBScores: Inglourious Basterds

Movie Mobsters
The Dark of the Matinee


Foolish Blatherings
Plus Trailers
Sarahnomics
Blog Cabins


Big Mike's Movie Blog
Anh Khoi Do and Movies
The Flick Chick
The Film Cynics
Film Forager


Octopus Cinema


Phil on Film


Lets Go to the Movies


Korova Theatre


Average LAMBScore out of five, rounded to nearest half-LAMB: (15 sites)


Median LAMBScore:


Submissions for this film are now closed. To submit your rating & review for other new releases, visit the LAMB Forums (must be an existing LAMB to join).