A quick reminder of my stipulations for the list. I
go by U.S. box office release. If there wasn't one in BoxofficeMojo, then I
stuck with how IMDB had it listed. As a rule, I only make a top 10 list if I've
seen 100+ movies of that type. 2009 checks in with a tally of 109 movies. In
this post, I'll list all 109 movies. So, if you don't see a movie there, that
means I haven't seen it or you are mistaken about the year it was released. By
all means, let me know if I'm missing something you think is an obvious
contender for best of the year that I haven't seen. Lastly, this is my subjective
top 10 list. I try to refrain from looking at "most important" or
"most technically sound" movies, because anyone can come up with that
list. My goal is to come up with 10 good movies that I like better than
everything else in the list. At the end of the day, that's the only measure I
can honestly stand by.
1st Cut
As you can tell by now, half the fun of this for me
is coming up with my way of whittling down my list to 10. I prefer doing head
to head comparisons rather than picking out a list arbitrarily. It keeps me
more honest. This month, my method of choosing was mess. I grouped and
regrouped and had consolation groupings and resortings. In the first couple
rounds of cuts, I wouldn't read too much into the difference between when one
movie was cut versus another.
The first cut does include some real stinkers
though.Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen should be buried and never
spoken of again. X-Men Origins: Wolverine is a complete mess. I've
blocked out so much of Land of the Lost that I can't name anyone in the
cast other than Will Farrell. The movie that will surprise the most people to
see here is Coraline. I know some people really love it. I really
didn't.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
The Twilight Saga: New Moon
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
A Christmas Carol (2009)
It's Complicated
G-Force
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
Law Abiding Citizen
The Ugly Truth
Confessions of a Shopaholic
Old Dogs
Obsessed
Land of the Lost
Jennifer's Body
Gamer
Elsewhere
Fired Up
Pandorum
Post Grad
Dragonball Evolution
Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder
The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day
Bandslam
The Girlfriend Experience
Powder Blue
I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell
Miss March
Naked Ambition: An R-Rated Look at an X Rated
Industry
2nd Cut
By the second cut, I'm already getting rid of some
decent movies. There's a couple RomComs in here that are perfectly harmless. Fantastic
Mr. Fox's only sin is being a Wes Anderson movie. I hold a grudge with Everybody's
Fine for putting me in an awful mood after the one time I watched it.
The Men Who Stare at Goats
Adam
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Monsters Vs. Aliens
The Proposal
Hugh Hefner: Playboy, Activist and Rebel
New Yourk, I Love You
2012
Away We Go
Drag Me to Hell
Couples Retreat
Everybody's Fine
I Love You Beth Cooper
Ghosts of Girlfriends Past
Gigantic
3rd Cut
Several of the movies in the third cut I need to see
again. Watchmen, Fanboys, and Adventureland I all remember
liking but have left little long term impression on me. I don't have an excuse
for Year One lasting this long on the list.
Adventureland
Fanboys
Watchmen
Julie & Julia
Public Enemies
Angels & Demons
Extract
Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by
Sapphire
For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film
Criticism
Sunshine Cleaning
Sherlock Holmes
Year One
Observe and Report
Bronson
Terminator Salvation
World's Greatest Dad
He's Just Not That Into You
Paper Heart
Bride Wars
4th Cut
The last few before getting to outright
recommendation territory. I like a lot more of these in theory than in
actuality. Mystery Team is a nice experiment for Derrick Comedy. I'm
fine with Sandra Bullock getting her Oscar for The Blind Side. More
Than a Game is more than just a Lebron James documentary. In the Loop
I'd probably enjoy more now that I've seen a lot of The Thick of It.
In the Loop
Inglourious Basterds
More Than a Game
Fast and Furious
Brothers
The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard
The Hangover
The Road
The Blind Side
Mystery Team
Honorary Mention
Avatar -
It's hard to argue with how big and beautiful this movie is.
District 9 -
It's a shame Neill Blomkamp keeps finding ways to remake the same more over and
over again. The first movie was pretty good though.
An Education - Carey Mulligan is just great.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - Six movies in, they were really in a rhythm making
these.
The Hurt Locker - I think the movie was massively overrated, but it's
still pretty damn good.
The Invention of Lying - An unshakable movie. I didn't love it when I saw it,
but I keep feeling a pull to rewatch it. Ricky Gervais takes on an almost
impossible premise.
A Serious Man - All Coen brothers movies need at least two viewings.
I've still only seen this once. There's a good chance it breaks into the top 10
whenever I watch it again.
A Single Man - Probably my favorite Colin Firth performance. OK, maybe
second to What a Girl Wants.
Star Trek -
JJ Abrams gave the series the jolt of life that it needed at the time.
Up in the Air - I've never forgiven it for how much it broke my heart
the first time I watched it. Damn, George Clooney and Anna Kendrick are great
in it though.
Top 10
The music is great. I love the New Orleans setting.
While it's normally credited as the start of the new Disney Renaissance, it's
really more of a symbolic end of the old one before moving into a new
generation. It's an animated throwback in the best meaning of the word.
9. Taken
One of my favorite in-movie turnarounds ever. The
beginning of this movie is awful. I remember sitting in the theater a few
minutes in thinking "Oh my god. What have I done?" Remember, this was
before Nesson had reinvented himself as a badass. All I knew was that I
couldn't figure out if Maggie Grace thought she was playing a 15 year old or a
25 year old and Nesson was walking around being awkward. Then the moment
happened. You know the moment. The "particular set of skills moment".
That is one of the scenes of the decade as far as I'm concerned. From that
moment on, the movied kicked ass. Such a simple premise with crisp execution.
8. Zombieland
It's hard to think of a stranger central quartet,
not to mention the fact that they have all been nominated for Oscars. The
chemistry of Emma Stone, Jesse Eisenberg, Abigail Breslin, and Woody Harrelson
mixed with a wicked sense of humor makes this zombie comedy a delight from
beginning to end.
7. Funny People
I admit that I have a soft spot for Judd Apatow and
his gang of collaborators. Funny People is far from perfect. It's badly
in need of an edit, for instance, clocking in at a brutal 2h26m. It's got a
shockingly good (unless you've seen Punch-Drunk Love) Adam Sandler
performance. Seth Rogen got to flex some dramatic muscles. The largely unknown
cast at the time looks damn near prophetic now. If you have any patience at all
left for rich white guy problems, there's a lot about this that's better and
more heartfelt than you'd expect from the guy who made The 40 Year Old
Virgin.
6. Moon
Most of this movie is Sam Rockwell alone on a space
ship. The fact that it's still so engaging is a testement to how good Sam
Rockwell is, always.
I didn't realize how good the best of 2009 would be.
Somehow this fell to 5. This Maurice Sendek adaptation is one of the great
childrens movies from the "more appreciated by adults than kids"
category. Spike Jonze brings Sendek's book to life beautifully. The production
and costume design are perfect. The voice cast, James Gandolfini in particular,
give unbelievably heartfelt performances. I try to not overuse this phrase, but
you really do have to be a little dead inside to come away from this without it
tugging at your heart a little.
4. Paranormal Activity
I love horror. I love found footage. The simplicity
of this is what I love the most. I just watched this the other night, and even
though very little happens most of the time, the movie races by. Any list of
greatest movie scares that doesn't include this ending is incompete.
3. I Love You Man
Sometimes, the greatest measure of a comedy is how
long and how often you quote it. I've internalized so much of the dialogue for
this that when I rewatch it, there's always a few moments that make me ask
"Is that where I got that phrase from?". Paul Rudd and Jason Segel
are a perfect odd couple. The movie is densely populated with great characters.
It's loosely structured enough that it can go in any direction it wants at any
time. Mostly though, it makes me laugh. A lot.
2. (500) Days of Summer
I've had one break up of any sort in my life and it
coincided with when this movie was on constant loop on HBO. You do the math.
I'm a big fan of Joseph Gordon Lovett in general.
Zooey Deschanel gets to have some fun with the manic pixie dream girl archetype
that she's fallen into a lof in her career. This is when I first became aware
of a foul-mouthed young Chloe Grace Moretz. This has one of my favorite movie
soundtracks. I'm a big fan of movies that play with structure like this one
does. So much of my love though comes from being the right movie and the right
time.
1. Up
A movie always gets bonus points for surprising me.
Back in 1994, there's an infamous lunch after finishing Toy Story, in
which the Pixar heads sketched out the ideas for A Bug's Life, Monsters,
Inc, Finding Nemo, and WALL-E. Before 2009, the history of
Pixar movies was this: two movies directed by the incomparable Brad Bird, two
from the Toy Story franchise, and four movies from that lunch. I was
convinced when I heard about Up that they were out of ideas. It was a
great streak for 14 years, but this floating house movie looked silly. I was
sure it would flop.
Then I watched it. 10 minutes in, I was convinced
that Up was something special. You really can't praise Up enough
for the heart-shattering efficiency of the beginning of that movie. That said,
take out the first 10 minutes and Up is still a top 5 Pixar movie in my
book. I love everything about this movie. So much dog humor for one. Dug is the
best. Ed Asner is perfectly curmudgeony as Carl. Jordan Nagai is delightfully
annoying as Russell. The beginning of the film sets the tone for the heartfelt
moments, but the rest of the film has plenty of other touching moments. This is
the film that made me believe in Pixar magic.
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