What is the fascination with the number 10? Why is it always a “Top 10″ list? There are 12 months in the year and there are four six-packs to a case of beer – which is 12 x 2 for those keeping score (and trust me, you want the case discount because the savings do add up). In my case (excuse the pun), I’ve got 12 now under my belt, but still have another 12 lined-up and ready to go.

Let me start by glossing over my top 12 yet-to-see. Some of these I still hope to catch on the big screen. Others will have to wait for my home-viewing pleasure. And, yes, there’s a good chance that they may fall from favor once viewed, but I’m still pretty sure they’ll rank somewhere in the upper tier of the cinematic food chain for 2009.

Up – I hear it starts out with a surprisingly heart-breaking beginning. Ah, a bit of maturity in a family film, always a good sign.

Moon – A loving homage to Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey directed by David Bowie’s son? Sign me up!

Fantastic Mr. Fox – I’ve always liked the mix of humor and magical melancholia that Wes Anderson brings to the table.  Which, come to think of it, are words that might also be used to describe the work of Roald Dahl. It seems a promising fit.

Ponyo – Hayao Miyazaki is a master of his art. My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery Service, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle,… how can you see any of these and not want to see more? If I had kids, Miyazaki’s entire oeuvre would be mandatory viewing.

Inglourious Basterds – I don’t always care for Tarantino’s coke-fueled glib and giddy celluloid pastiches, but he is never less than interesting and his encyclopedic knowledge of film allows him to deftly combine multiple genres to produce multi-layered work. He is a provocateur who infuses his work with enthusiasm and passion, and I sometimes have to admire the gusto with which he ticks off both liberals and conservatives.

Extract – I was never a fan of Beavis and Butt-Head, but warmed up to Mike Judge with King of the Hill. And then there was Office Space and Idiocracy and suddenly I’m a die-hard fan.

35 Shots of Rum – Claire Denis! Ah, how long it’s been. I’ve booked so many of your films, and sometimes felt like maybe I was the only one paying attention. Nenette and Boni, Beau travail, Trouble Every Day, these are all films I programmed on the big screen – and always to smaller and smaller audiences. But as long as you believe in visual poetry, I will believe in you.

Where the Wild Things Are – I still have my 7-minute-long 16mm film of Gene Deitch’s version of Maurice Sendak’s story. It was animated by Bohumil Sejda, and was as faithful to its source as can be. Now here’s a live-action version by Spike Jonze and Dave Eggers that takes various liberties, and word-of-mouth so far is a bit mixed. Still, I remain intrigued.

The Maid – Shot in Chile and directed by Sebastián Silva (who also co-wrote the script), here’s a film that won both the 2009 Grand Jury Prize and Special Jury Prize at Sundance. More tellingly, it swept major awards at four different Latin American film festivals. What a coup for small distributor Elephant Eye Films! The film is currently enjoying a nice buzz and limited theatrical release.

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus - Pretty much what I said about Mike Judge holds true for Terry Gilliam too. Except that in Gilliam’s case he only had to direct Brazil for me to pay attention to his entire career in perpetuity. And how could it be that I was the only one that seemed to love Tideland? A film that eerily mirrored Pan’s Labyrinth, but whereas the latter was showered with accolades Gilliam’s films was smashed down by the angry shovels of critics quick to take offense to a fascinatingly grim fairy tale.

Il Divo – A black comedy that garnered great reviews and is based on a true story that Roger Ebert suggested would also appeal to fans of The Godfather? How on Earth could this have bombed during its limited release? I programmed it for my series and was sad to be called away for out-of-state travel during the time it screened. It was poorly attended, but I did get an email from one enthusiastic customer who said: “Ah, Il Divo sono grande! A stylized documentary crossing Reservoir Dogs with The Godfather.” I personally, can’t wait to see this on Blu-Ray.

Sleep Dealer – This film by Alex Rivera is set in the near future and deals with the militarization of water supplies, border issues, and hi-tech migrant labor. Also now on Blu-Ray.

Reading the list above I have to shake my head in shame. How is it that I managed to drag myself to the theater to see The Final Destination (which was complete garbage), and yet miss so many films that clearly had higher promise? The list below rectifies that situation somewhat by proving that I did get off my duff to see some quality fare. Here, in no particular order, is my top-12 for the year:

Orphan – Praise be, and finally! An intelligent horror film that delivers the goods. I had such high expectations for Drag Me to Hell but was ultimately disappointed to see Sam Raimi go soft (PG-13?!) and lazily resort to a bunch of CGI. Zombieland had a great premise and visual flair, but makes a joke of death and is ultimately a commercial for Twinkies and Hummers. Paranormal Activity? Another Blair Witch-like wannabe one-trick pony that’s proud of its no-budget shakey-cam “aesthetics” – barf. So a tip of the hat to Orphan director Jaume Collet-Serra for delivering a smart and genuinely suspenseful story with great cinematic verve. Also: boffo performances by Isabelle Fuhrman, as little orphan Esther, and  her adoptive parents played by Vera Farmiga and Peter Sarsgaard.

The Cove – Director Louie Psihoyos lives here in my hometown of Boulder, Colorado and I remember meeting him at my favorite brewpub by chance one day just over a year ago. At that time he told me he was working on a documentary that he was going to submit to Sundance and I remember being somewhat jaded in my thoughts – “yeah, right.” (I hear that a lot.) Lo-and-behold, his doc about dolphin slaughter not only gets in, it goes on to receive standing ovations at the largest theater in Sundance (The Eccles) and wins the Audience Award.

The Hangover – Not only was The Hangover one of the big surprise hits of the summer, it has now entered the history books as one of the top grossing R-rated comedies of all time. And while the tropes for both “the buddy film” and “road-movie” are well-worn, The Hangover exceeds all expectations by eschewing well-known stars and weds together a riotously funny script with a thrill-ride of memory reconstruction the likes of which has not been seen since Memento. And, like The Cove, this film also has a home-town connection: screenwriter Scott Moore took film classes here at C.U. Boulder. I guess I should add a disclaimer because when I brought him out for a Q&A I found out we had friends in common. Small world!

Gomorrah – Director Matteo Garrone tackles Roberto Saviano’s incredible book about modern-day crime families in Italy, with devastating results. It’s a gruelling 137-minute ride, but once you get past the half-way mark all the characters come out from the blurred craziness and become distinct and hauntingly memorable.

Adventureland - I was a fan of director Greg Mottola’s The Daytrippers, and laughed my ass off throughout Superbad, so no surprise that I should like this coming-of-age story with a carnival backdrop set in the summer of 1987. Soundtrack choices here are top-notch: original music by Yo La Tengo and choice cuts from The Cure, The Replacements, Hüsker Dü, Lou Reed, The Velvet Underground, and gotta mention the hilarious flipsides too: Judas Priest, Whitesnake, and, of course, Falco.

Coraline – I was genuinely transported into Neil Gaiman’s otherwoldly creation, the 3-D was fun, and for a PG-rated film this had a cool and creepy side that was wonderfully unsettling. Kudos to Henry Selick for not sliding into CGI and instead favoring stop-motion animation. Of course, I expected nothing less from the director of The Nightmare Before Christmas. Selick proudly carries the torch once held by Ray Harryhausen, and his work stands out as a result.

The Hurt Locker - Kathryn Bigelow set herself apart early on with such films as Near Dark, Blue Steel, Point Break, and Strange Days. And yet despite all these interesting films, The Hurt Locker is arguably her best-to-date. This view into the world of the elite few who work on Bomb Squad Units in war zones is riveting and wallops you at every turn. If you don’t have goosebumps on your skin by the time the end-credits role, there is something wrong with you.

District 9 - I’ve already discussed Neil Blomkamp’s hugely successful film in a previous post. This mockumentary about space aliens herded into a South African ghetto is problematic, in parts, but not easily dismissed.

Antichrist – Lars von Trier’s controversial film takes no prisoners. As usual. The opening scene alone features the nasty death of a child intercut with graphic sexual scenes (Willem Dafoe offered to step up to the plate, but von Trier insisted on using a porn star for the only body-double shot in the film). This opening scene is also filmed in heartbreakingly beautiful black-and-white, slow-motion cinematography accompanied by Georg Friedrich Händel’s Lascia ch’io pianga’ from Rinaldo. It’s a crazy and mesmerizing train-wreck. The derangement goes further, but the director known for spearheading the oftentimes rough and sparse Dogma 95 movement gives this film so many unique visual polishes I was always visually entranced (well, maybe not always – the talking fox may have gone too far). It is equally fascinating to think that von Trier was struggling with deep depression while making the film, which was famously booed at Cannes. But von Trier didn’t just unapologetically defend his latest creation, he crowed that it was the best film he’d ever made. You can always really on Lars von Trier to “keep it real” – real interesting.

Food, Inc. - Robert Kenner’s documentary about America’s corporate-controlled food industry is relevant viewing for anyone who wants to know more about the machinations behind the food that finds its way onto everyones plate. Fast Food Nation author Eric Schlosser gets both a production credit and some screen-time. Interesting tidbit on Schlosser: he was also an executive producer on Richard Linklater’s Fast Food Nation (no surprise there) and Paul Thomas Anderson’s There Will Be Blood (!).

Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans – Werner Herzog directs an over-the-top Nicholas Cage in this delirious look at the lengths one law enforcer will go to feed his drug habit. A unique mixture of dark comedy mixed with a classic Herzogian chase for sublime shots that is surprisingly hilarious. Horny lizards, the dancing soul of a recently gunned mobster, and Cage putting the screws to an elderly woman on a ventilator all come together for unique bedlam.

A Serious Man – Sometimes the Coen brothers go over-the-top, sometimes they get a bit slapsticky, and sometimes they go for something a bit more understated. They are deft in all areas, albeit not always successful. But A Serious Man shows them to still have a firm grasp of their instinctual filmmaking; sometimes going for a shot not because it makes sense (and maybe even quite the opposite), but rather because it adds a visually poetic motif that feels right to them. They are also brazen enough to challenge their audiences by feeding them more questions than answers. I overheard various people walking away from my screening with their own interpretations of what was meant by the end, and each was different. We need more films like this in our Western culture.

Let’s make it a Baker’s Dozen for those of you who scrolled all the way down:

Séraphine – This film by Martin Provost won seven Césars and is based on the life of French painter Séraphine de Senlis. I had a hard time choosing between this one and Revanche – both are very moving and make exquisite use of exterior locations. But ultimately the mad artist got a bit deeper under my skin than the repentant bank robber, plus Revanche already got plenty of attention as a Best Foreign Language nominee at the Oscars.