MOVIES GROWNUPS AWARDS for THE NINTH-ANNUAL ®
Whatever happened to escapism? In a year when we craved feel-good films,
Hollywood seemed determined to rub our noses in raw reality. As our editors
screened dozens of contenders for 2009’s best movies, we endured deftly
directed yet deeply disturbing views of Armageddon (The Road), incest
(Precious), and child murder (The Lovely Bones). And those were movies with
happy endings! Luckily, by year’s end a cluster of upbeat films—including
Invictus, Julie & Julia, and It’s Complicated—showed us that grownups don’t
have to check their optimism, joy, or sense of humor at the theater door.
BY BILL NEWCOTT / PHOTOGRAPHY BY TERU ONISHI
Fromleft:George Clooney and Vera Farmiga
in UpintheAir;the animated cast of Up
(featuring the voice of Ed Asner); Matt Damon
and Morgan Freeman in Invictus;Jeff Bridges
in CrazyHeart;Meryl Streep and
Stanley Tucci in Julie&Julia.
TK CREDI T
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