List Nausea: 2009

Man. So many goddamn lists. And I've written about half of them, I'd say. Sorry about that. Anyhow, here's another batch. The first two are up at Indiewire with some minor variations back here at Termite Art, since I added some short films that didn't qualify for them. So now my monthly list total is up to 5,667. Approximately.

Ten Best Films 0f 2009 (released in the U.S.)

1. The Headless Woman, directed by Lucrecia Martel

2. You, the Living, directed by Roy Andersson

3. 35 Shots of Rum, directed by Claire Denis

4. Tokyo Sonata, directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa

5. Red Cliff (Parts 1 & 2, uncut version), directed by John Woo

6. The Informant!, directed by Steven Soderbergh

7. Still Raining, Still Dreaming, directed by Phil Solomon

8. The Sun, directed by Aleksandr Sokurov

9. Night and Day, directed by Hong Sang-soo

10. California Dreamin', directed by Cristian Nemescu

Honorable mentions: Orphan, Police Adjective, The Fantastic Mr. Fox, Liverpool, Summer Hours, Armored, Gamer, Crank: High Voltage, Me and Orson Welles, The Limits of Control, Invictus, A Perfect Getaway, Up, Funny People

Best of the Decade

1. Mulholland Dr., directed by David Lynch

2. Platform, directed by Jia Zhangke

3. L'intrus, directed by Claire Denis

4. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, directed by Adam McKay

5. Goodbye, Dragon Inn, directed by Tsai Ming-liang

6. Yi Yi, directed by Edward Yang

7. Exiled, directed by Johnnie To

8. Rehearsals for Retirement, directed by Phil Solomon

9. In the Mood For Love, directed by Wong Kar-wai

10. Skagafjordur, directed by Peter Hutton

Honorable mentions: Crank, The Death of Mr. Lazarescu, Flight of the Red Balloon

Personal Discoveries of the Year

1. Me and My Gal (Raoul Walsh, 1932)

2. The Nickel Ride (Robert Mulligan, 1974)

3. Easy Living (Mitchell Leisen, 1936)

3. Firefox (Clint Eastwood, 1982)

4. Nightfall (Jacques Tourneur, 1957)

5. My Sister Eileen (Richard Quine, 1955)

*Most revelatory retrospective: "American Auteurs: Robert Mulligan" at Lincoln Center

Best Albums of 2009

1. Brad Paisley - American Saturday Night

2. Henry Threadgill Zooid - This Brings Us To, Vol. 1

3. Mastodon - Crack the Skye

4. Darius Jones Trio - Man'ish Boy (A Raw & Beautiful Thing)

5. Nellie McKay - Normal as Blueberry Pie: A Tribute to Doris Day

6. Willie Nelson and Asleep at the Wheel - Willie and the Wheel

7. Vijay Iyer - Historicity

8. Miranda Lambert - Revolution

9. Ghostface Killah - Ghostdini Wizard of Poetry in Emerald City

10. Steve Lehman Octet - Travail, Transformation, and Flow

Honorable Mentions:

Raekwon - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx 2

Matthew Shipp Trio - Harmonic Disorder

Rhett Miller - Rhett Miller

Lil Wayne - No Ceilings (mixtape)

The Thing - Bag It!