Movies of 2009

The year 2009 is now gone which means loads of top 10 lists about the year. These are my top 10 movies of 2009.

1. Inglourious Basterds

The best movie of the year and an instant classic from my favorite film maker of all time, Quentin Tarantino. Tarantino's WWII revenge fantasy is his best movie since my favorite movie of all time, Pulp Fiction. There are great performances all around including an hilarious Brad Pitt, a beautiful Melanie Laurent who plays perhaps the strongest female character of the year, and Christopher Waltz who is a sure in for an Oscar as one of the best villains in movie history. Of course the dialogue is genius and Basterds has one of the best opening scenes in movie history as well as one of the best climaxes. This is a must see for any movie fan.

2. Up in the Air

Director Jason Reitman does not disappoint with his third feature film following Thank You for Smoking and Juno. Up in the Air is a beautiful film about the meaning of life, relationships, and the flaws of modern society. This movie is so good that it has the rare quality of a movie that can make you cry and laugh at the same time. George Clooney proves that he is one of the best actors working today and the two female leads Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick should both be nominated for Oscars. In 50 years when people look back at the 00s decade, Up in the Air will be watched as a reminder of the times. This is a great movie. It also has a completely unexpected brilliant ending.

3. 500 Days of Summer

This heartbreaking and hilarious film about relationships is one of the most original movies of the year. It is the most clever and offbeat romantic comedy in ages that is refreshingly honest about love. Like Up in the Air it makes you laugh at the most the most unexpected times and it also has a completely unexpected ending. Told in a time warped formula Summer is not only entertaining but it sticks with you. It has a great soundtrack and two great lead performances; I wish there more movies like this.

4. The Hurt Locker

An extremely haunting portrayal of the chaos of war. Brilliantly acted and directed, this extremely intense film is the best movie made about the Iraq war to date. This film literally puts you into the character's shoes and makes you feel what they feel. Locker is powerful throughout, but the last scene will leave you breathless.

5. District 9

The best science fiction movie of the year has kick-ass action as well as thought provoking metaphors. It makes you connect with aliens like no film has since E.T. and it almost makes you feel bad about being a human. I think the aliens in District 9, called prawns, are even cooler to look at then the ones in Avatar. It's always great to see a film with such a small budget have such a powerful effect on the viewers with great effects, a great story, and a great screenplay.

6. Zombieland

This is the funniest movie of the year and one of the best zombie movies of all time. It's an even better zombie comedy than Shaun of the Dead. Woody Harrelson is perfectly cast as a crazy zombie killing machine and Jesse Eisenberg gives the breakout performance of the year as the hilariously awkward, Columbus. Eisenberg reminds me a lot of Michael Cera, just with curly hair. Zombieland has a lot of action but it also has a surprising amount of heart. Also, Bill Murray has the best cameo of the year in one of the funniest scenes of the year. It does not have a deep message and it's not groundbreaking but it's tons of fun. This movie is not for everyone and it's not going to win any Oscars but it was entertaining from start to finish and I had a great time watching it.

7. Precious

Precious is gut wrenching, depressing, sad and very difficult to watch but it is a great story with great performances. The story of an abused, overweight, black, teenage mother living in Harlem is brutally honest and extraordinarily brave. Mo'Nique is excellent as well as Mariah Carey. This movie is is shocking and eye opening and it makes aware the atrocities that children have to face growing up in the inner-city. The best thing Precious does though, it that at its darkest moments, it remains hopeful.

8. Adventureland

This is the second movie starring Jesse Eisenberg that I have on this list and Eisenberg is quickly becoming one of my favorite actors. Adventureland is director Greg Mottola's followup to the classic comedy Superbad. It is not as funny as Superbad but it doesn't try to be, instead it is a poignant coming of age tale about the post college doldrums. This movie took me completely by surprise as it is not at all what I had expected, but I watched it and loved it all the same. Kristen Stewart is so good in this movie that it almost makes you forget about Twighlight (which I have not seen) and Ryan Reynolds gives a great, kind of creepy performance as a man with some dark secrets.

9. Fantastic Mr. Fox

This is the best animated movie of 2009 (way better than the very overrated Up). Director Wes Anderson has made a visually enchanting, heartwarming tale about family and survival and life, with a great voice cast led by George Clooney. This movie is more for adults than kids I think, but there are some funny moments that kids will love. Wes Anderson has always been great at painting portraits of dysfunctional families, and the Fox family is just as dysfunctional as any human family that Anderson has created. I loved this movie and I hope Wes Anderson continues to make movies like this, animated or not.

10. Big Fan

The best sports movie of the year. It's a very thought provoking look at modern sports culture in America, with an excellent lead performance from Patton Oswalt. It's very small and very real, and not at all what you would expect. It's funny at times, but most of the times it's brutally serious.

honorable mention. A Serious Man