Day 45: Top Movies of 2009

Well Avatar came out three weeks ago now and I've seen it three times....once by myself...*cough*...I've never seen a movie more than twice in the theaters...

I will be saving my review of the movie for a couple weeks out of respect for spoiling it; however, I'll just say that if you haven't seen it yet, be sure to do it because it is most definitely a movie worth seeing in the theater and in the 3D Imax, if possible.

Though the 2009 year is ALREADY over, I'm going to release this list ranking the best movies of last year and tomorrow will be the best movies of the decade, followed shortly by the best albums of the decade. It looks to be a list heavy week, but thats what happens when you enter a new decade I guess. However, either late this week or early next I will recap what was most definitely an epic New Year's Day (Rosebowl), so stay tuned for that.

2009 was somewhat of a renaissance year or a "Who's who" for big named directors and producers. Films from Peter Jackson, Quentin Tarantino, the Coen Brothers, James Cameron, Judd Apatow and J.J. Abrams dominated the box office. 2009 was also a great year for Sci-Fi fans, in fact, maybe the best year ever for shear quality of Sci-Fi movies released. Though I limited my list to only ten movies here are a few of the other good movies that came out this year that didn't make the cut.

Honorable Mentions:

An Education

The Hurt Locker

Away We Go

Precious

Up in the Air

Where the Wild Things Are

Moon

And the list for Top 10 Movies of 2009:

10. I Love You, Man

In the first in the genre of what I would really consider to be a "bro-mantic comedy", Paul Rudd and Jason Segel are awkwardly perfect in their respective roles. The premise of the movie is the awkwardness that guys experience when they're trying to meet other guy friends to hang out with. It definitely hit home a little bit with me, being a transplant and all, and it kept me interested, though it was formulaic and predictable. Definitely worth the watch if for nothing else than the "SLAPPA DA BAAASSS MIN" scene, which is still hilarious.

9. 500 Days of Summer

One of those movies that I wasn't really sure what to expect going into it, and it completely surprised me. A little bit of a chick-flick probably, but it has one of my favorite actors in it along with Zooey Deschanel (who I can't dislike for some reason). There's a scene towards the end of the movie (no spoilers don't worry) that's shot in split-screen that is fairly incredible. Definitely worth seeing.

8. The Hangover

The biggest comedy of the summer has probably been seen by (or at least should be) nearly everyone who reads this (all two of you). It was the first real break-out for indie darling comedian Zach Galifianidfkdkakasdfsas and had a comedic supporting cast. Zach G. is probably the star of the movie; however, the rest of the cast is hilarious as well.

7. Funny People

One of the movies I was looking forward to the most coming into the year was a more serious attempt at comedy by Judd Apatow. I've always been a fan of Apatow, whether its Freaks & Geeks or 40 Year Old Virgin, he always makes me laugh but also creates some of the best plot driven comedies coming out today. Funny People, while good, was a bit like seeing two different movies and while it felt long and as if it could have used a little more time in the editing room, I did enjoy it and will be seeing it again.

6. A Serious Man

Coen Brothers...I could just leave it at that, but I'll expand a bit more. This is probably the best movie of the year that nobody saw. We were lucky enough to live near a theater that showed this movie and we saw it opening week. Its an intense tale of frustration with an outstanding script and some of the more unheralded and most deserving acting performances of the year. I've only seen it once, though I immediately commented that I needed to give it a rewatch given the level of foreshadowing and metaphor used throughout the movie. Very good movie and deserves Best Picture of the Year consideration.

5. Inglorious Basterds

2009 saw what I consider to be Quentin Tarantino's best film since Pulp Fiction. Granted I never saw Death Proof, but from the reviews and the overall malaise associated with it when I ask people about it I'm fairly certain this is a fact. There was some early criticism of it claiming that its historicity was lacking--obviously you f*cktard. But its his "retake" on the World War II era that really makes the movie unique, it plays out like a parody of something you'd see in the 40's-50's (think Casablanca), but with a twist of Tarantino.

4. Brothers Bloom

The most untalked about film of the year, possibly, was also one of my favorites. Directed by the little known Rian Johnson (director of Brick), it starred Rachel Weisz, Adrian Brody, and Mark Ruffalo in an adventure caper film unlike any in the genre I've ever seen. For anyone who's seen Brick, they probably would expect Johnson's second feature film to possess the same sort of unique dialogue and characters and they would not be disappointed. It's hard not to immediately fall in love with the qwirky Weiss from her first scene and the adventure they take the viewer on is unforgettable. It never gets bogged down by romance and never takes itself too seriously, and you completely get on board with the characters, their dialogue, and the world Rian Johnson has conjured up. Highly recommended.

3. District 9

Peter Jackson wrote and directed one movie and produced another movie this year. The former was The Lovely Bones, and though I have yet to see it the preliminary reviews are not pleasant. The latter was one of the best sci-fi movies I've ever seen. The movie intentionally draws parallels to 1980's Apartheid ruled South Africa, but through the use of an alien race. It's shot like a documentary film and follows around an unknown actor Sharlto Copley who does an outstanding job in his first film as the protagonist Wikus Van De Merwe. The special effects aren't used to wow the audience in this film as much as they are used to make them forget their looking at actors in front of Green Screens for a large part of the film. Great story, great acting, I'm hoping for a sequel

2. Star Trek

J.J. Abrams had to tread lightly when he decided to dabble into the "Sacred" universe of Star Trek. The fans are not known for being very forgiving so to say that Abrams took on some risk by resetting the franchise is putting it very lightly. He also happens to be the director of one of my all-time favorite TV shows (LOST), so I had a little bit of bias coming into this movie (that and I've seen every single episode of ST:TNG and ST:TOS at least five times). So given all of that I may be a bit of a Homer when it comes to this, but I find it hard to believe that even non-trekkies wouldn't enjoy this movie. Mostly because it was fantastically written, cast, acted and directed and will be a surefire candidate for Best Picture of the Year. Remember folks, just because it looks nerdy and probably IS nerdy doesn't make it bad. (The converse of that is also true, just because it looks nerdy and IS nerdy doesn't make it good either: See Twilight).

1. Avatar

At the time I'm writing this Avatar is already the 4th highest grossing movie of all time having earned over $1.03 Billion in just three weeks (2 of which were surely stunted due to massive storms in the Northeast Corridor). That being said, I've waxed poetic multiple times about this movie already and I'm writing a full review of it, to be ready in a few weeks (since it will most definitely include spoilers), but I will say that having seen the movie three times now I can honestly say its fantastic. The 3D effects break down the barrier between the movie and the audience, making the viewer feel fully connected with the film--which is an overall theme of the film as well. Now I'm not sure this will win Best Picture of the Year since its a Sci-Fi movie, but it will most certainly be nominated and definitely deserves serious consideration for the honor. I can't stress it enough, if you haven't seen it in 3D do so before its too late, its the way the movie was intended to be seen and is like nothing you've ever seen before.