2009 Movies
The Year in Review
I didn't see a lot this year but it was mostly quite good. It was difficult to pick between Avatar, Star Trek and Terminator Salvation. Ultimately, I settled on Avatar because it's the movie which will have the greatest impact on the future of Cinema. 2009 was the year that 3D Cinema matured.
My Top Picks
Avatar: I didn't really expect anything to top Star Trek (and it's a very difficult choice since Trek had a better story). Avatar however is a ground breaking film in so many ways that I guess it earns the top spot. It had a great message too. The story was simple and lacked emotion but at least the story and concepts were present.
Star Trek: Wow. This wasn't really high on my "want to see" list but I loved it.
Up!: Pixar seem to have outdone themselves again - and I have a soft spot for scouting based movies.
9: Wow. This was some amazing animation and storytelling.
Terminator Salvation: Very Gritty. Not something that the fans were going to accept (and that Transformers style scene is silly) but the rest of the film is interesting and tells a very different part of the war.
Zombieland: This was amazingly funny. A film to watch while eating twinkies.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: Not as good as I was hoping for - but my expectations were way too high. I think I need to watch it a few more times yet before I make up my mind where it sits in the list.
Knowing: There were a couple of good "shock" surprises in this film and the ending wasn't exactly predictable - plus, it wasn't a remake.
Ponyo: Not up to Hayao Miyazaki's usual standards but pretty good anyway.
Notable Mentions ("Surprise" Films)
District 9: It didn't look that interesting but the film was "layered".
Agora: Science and History together. A compelling story with some truly amazing points of view.
Precious: Some really inspirational storytelling here.
Antichrist: I'm not quite sure what I was expecting from this - but it certainly wasn't anything like it delivered. The "famous" scene in this film didn't shock me at all because I'd only recently watched Nekromantik which did the same thing. The fox was the "wow" moment for me. One thing is for sure, it's a film that will still be in my head a decade from now.
Carriers: A zombie movie without the Zombies. Refreshingly "real" science fiction and horror. Where the worst horror of all is callous human nature.
Moon: A refreshingly low budget science fiction film.
Fanboys: The Star Wars fan in me loves this movie.
Orphan: It had a hard time living up to the hype but I enjoyed it anyway.
The Taking of Pelham 123: A remake but a good one.
Couples Retreat: I really wasn't expecting much from this chick flick but it turned out to be quite funny.
The Fourth Kind: I accidentally borrowed this because it looked like Paranormal Activity. It was better than expected (better than Paranormal Activity) and it had the "always watchable" Milla Jojovich in it).
Push: I thought it was a superhero movie but it was more like a Stephen King film.
The Biggest Disappointments
Hurt Locker, The: No, this wasn't a terrible film but given the hype and expectation surrounding it, I was ready for something great. In that sense, it fell flat for me.
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen: I was expecting something really, really bad. It was worse. Dull, Dull, Dull. All special effects, no interesting characters, no interesting story. Nothing to keep me engaged.
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra: I was expecting bad, just not this bad.
The Box: All that anticipation for nothing.
Watchmen: After all of the hype it was bloated long and boring.
The International: Spy thrillers don't come much duller than this.
12 Rounds: With a cover that looked like a cross between Die Hard and the Bourne films, I was ready for action. There wasn't much in the film though.
Where the Wild Things Are: A great book and good film... until it got boring.
Crank: High Voltage: It had a lot to live up to - and it failed. Miserably. Suspension of disbelief was just too difficult in this film.
Land of the Lost: It would have been much better if they'd seriouly just tried to remake the Saturday morning show without the comedy - and without Will Ferrell.
2012: Normally I like popcorn flicks and I can safely check my brain at the door. 2012 really pushed its luck though - particularly taking off from a disintegrating runway three times. It just got repetitive.
Sherlock Holmes: Possibly a decent film but way overlong and certainly overhyped. There was no way this was going to live up to my expectations.
Paranormal Activity: Somebody told me that this was supposed to be scary but my seven year old watched it with me in a dark room and said at the end... "well, that wasn't scary was it?"
All the films I've seen from 2009 at the Cinema
Knowing
New In Town
Star Trek
Night at the Museum 2
Terminator Salvation
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
District 9
Up (3D)
2012
The Final Destination (3D)
Couples Retreat
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel
Avatar (3D)
All the films I've seen from 2009 on the small screen
12 Rounds
9
Adam
Adventureland
Agora
Antichrist
Astro Boy
Blood: The Last Vampire
Brüno
Carriers
Christmas Carol
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Coraline
Crank: High Voltage
Dead Snow
Did You Hear About the Morgans?
Donkey Punch
Drag Me to Hell
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Fourth Kind, The
Gamer
G-Force
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
Hangover, The
Haunting in Connecticut, The
Horsemen
Hurt Locker, The
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
Inglourious Basterds
Inkheart
International, The
Invention of Lying, The
Jennifer's Body
Land of the Lost
Lovely Bones, The
Messenger, The
Monsters vs. Aliens
Moon
My Bloody Valentine 3D
Ninja Assassin
Orphan
Outlander
Pandorum
Paranormal Activity
Paul Blart: Mall Cop
Perfect Getaway, A
Planet 51
Ponyo
Precious
Push
Race to Witch Mountain
Road, The
Saw VI
Sherlock Holmes
Surrogates
Taking of Pelham 123, The
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Twilight Saga: New Moon
Unborn, The
Uninvited, The
Underworld: Rise of the Lycans
Watchmen
What Goes Up
Where the Wild Things Are
Whiteout
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Zombieland
What's left to see from 2009
There's obviously a lot I haven't seen from 2009. The bold one are the ones I'm most interested in.
(500) Days of Summer
12
17 Again
35 Shots of Rum
Aliens in the Attic*
All About Steve
Amelia
American Casino
American Violet
Amreeka
An Education
Answer Man, The
Armored
Art & Copy
Away We Go
Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans
Bandslam
Bart Got a Room
Battle for Terra*
Beyond A Reasonable Doubt
Big Fan
Billu
Black Dynamite
Blind Side, The
Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day, The
Bride Wars
Brief Interviews with Hideous Men
Bright Star
Broken Embraces
Bronson
Brothers*
Brothers at War
Brothers Bloom, The
C Me Dance
Cake Eaters, The
Capitalism: A Love Story
Cargo 200*
Casi Divas
Chandni Chowk to China
Cheri
Cherry Blossoms
Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant
Class, The
Coco Before Chanel
Cold Souls
Collector, The*
Confessions of a Shopaholic
Corso: The Last Beat
Cove, The
Crazy Heart
Crossing Over
Crude
Dance Flick
Damned United, The
Dragonball Evolution
Duplicity
Earth
Earth Days
Easy Virtue
Echelon Conspiracy
Education of Charlie Banks, The
Every Little Step
Everybody's Fine
Extract
Fame
Fast & Furious*
Fighting
Fired Up
Five Minutes of Heaven
Food, Inc.
Friday the 13th
Funny People
Gentlemen Broncos
Ghosts of Girlfriends Past
Girlfriend Experience, The
Gomorrah
Good Hair
Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard, The
Grace
Great Buck Howard, The
Halloween II*
Hannah Montana: The Movie
He's Just Not That into You*
Homecoming
Hotel for Dogs
Humpday
I Can Do Bad All By Myself
I Hate Valentine's Day
I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell
I Love You, Beth Cooper
I Love You, Man
I Sell The Dead*
Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, The*
Imagine That
In the Loop
Informant!, The
Informers, The
Invictus
It Might Get Loud
It's Complicated
Janky Promoters
Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience
Julia
Julie & Julia
Killshot
Last House on the Left, The*
Last Station, The
Law Abiding Citizen
Let Them Chirp Awhile
Limits of Control, The
Little Ashes
Love Happens
Luck by Chance
Lymelife
Madea Goes to Jail
Maid, The
Make the Yuletide Gay
Management
Me and Orson Welles
Men Who Stare at Goats, The
Merry Gentleman, The
Michael Jackson's This Is It
Miss March
Missing Person, The
Motherhood
My Life in Ruins
My One and Only
My Sister's Keeper
New in Town
New York, I Love You
Next Day Air
No Impact Man
Not Easily Broken
Not Forgotten
Notorious
Observe and Report
Obsessed
Old Dogs
Ong Bak 2: The Beginning
Paper Heart
Phoebe in Wonderland
Pink Panther 2, The
Pirate Radio
Post Grad
Powder Blue
Princess and the Frog, The*
Private Lives of Pippa Lee, The
Proposal, The
Public Enemies*
Rudo y Cursi
Serious Man, A
Sherman's Way
Shorts
Shrink
Sin Nombre
Single Man, A
Skin
Soloist, The
Sorority Row
Spread
State of Play
Stepfather, The
Stoning of Soraya M., The*
Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li
Sunshine Cleaning
Surveillance
Taking Woodstock
Tetro
That Evening Sun
Thirst*
Time Traveler's Wife, The*
Tokyo!
Tormented
Transylmania
Trucker
Two Lovers
Ugly Truth, The*
Uncertainty
Up in the Air
Whatever Works
Whip It
White on Rice
White Ribbon, The*
Women in Trouble
World's Greatest Dad
X Games 3D: The Movie
Year One*
Young Victoria, The