Top 10 Films of 2009

I feel it necessary to preamble my list by stating that I’ve only seen about 25 films from 2009 and I’m sure that there are many under hyped, foreign or independent films that could have likely found their way into the top 10. Also, I have a massive affinity towards guilty pleasures like low budget horror/gore or similar one-dimensional efforts on the cinema circuit, so I took the stance of appealing to a broad demographic in my selection process. That said, my top 2 are pretty concrete and I’d be hard pressed to bump any of the top 5 from the list.

1. Up – Without a doubt, this was the diamond of 2009’s cinematic offerings. Though the competition was weak at best, “Up” is yet again a testament to Pixar’s masterful storytelling ability. In fact, when was the last Pixar film that starred human characters that weren’t super heroes? Squirrel!?!
   
2. Avatar - I’m not usually wowed by special effects, but this was truly one of the most amazing visual experiences I’ve ever witnessed. It was even capable of distracting me from the unimaginative dialogue and imagining Giovanni Ribisi as head of a major corporation. My only regret is that there are no listings for “Single Blue Na’ vi” in the personals. Believe me, I checked!
   
3. Star Trek – Not a Star Trek fan but this was successful in both story richness and character development. Oh yeah, visuals were pretty cool too.
   
4. Coraline – More and more these days, my fondness towards animations is growing. With the onslaught of Pixar and the massive void of substantive plots in mainstream film, feature length animations are picking up the slack with complex and thoughtful characters, plot and setting. The entire film was imaginative and captivating with its parallel universes and intricate story development. In addition, the viewer was challenged with adult themes and complicated self reflection as who doesn’t think “the grass is always greener” in real life thus making this, and many other modern day animations, appealing to a rapidly growing demographic.
   
5. Up in the Air – Haven’t seen this but I am quite confident that it would have made my top 10 so I’m putting it right in the middle as a courtesy.
   Harry Potter – Easily the most disappointing of the series, but still a crowd pleaser nonetheless. Why the heck was there no massive fight scene at the end as in the book? That would have easily propelled this into a higher place on my list. Guess we’ll have to hold out for what’s to come.
   
6. Funny People – Adam Sandler should be nominated for an Oscar. I never thought any film could tactfully portray the dichotomy of his crude childish style with a more humanistic reality of his lifestyle.
   
7. Taken – This was hands down my favorite pure action film of 2009. It was extremely fast paced and, with a little suspension of disbelief, you felt it almost plausible that one person could be so crafty, resourceful and downright surgical with his harsh application of vengeance.
   
8. Julie & Julia – Meryl Streep should be on her way to the Oscars due to her performance in this film. While her choice in role is sometimes interesting, this was nothing short of taking a page from Day-Lewis’s book. It made me want to go get “The Art of French Cooking” and do the recipes myself. Aside from her achievement in this film, it was a successful attempt at cross-cutting stories that were inevitably parallel if not for there dissimilarity in history.
   
9. The Hangover – This was by far my most disappointing film of the year as my expectations going in were off the chart. Again, I felt the 2009 crop was poor, being a year of 3D and blockbuster mayhem, but it still made me laugh in places and would have been much higher on the list had it not been victim to the hype engine. Also, it was a much better film when it was call “Very Bad Things”!
   

Honorable Mentions:
- Watchmen
- Public Enemies
- Where the Wild Things Are
- 500 Days of Summer
- Extract