The Ultimate End of the Year 2009 Movie Survey!

It was a decent year for films, so here is this year’s best/worst movie survey for 2009. Enjoy!

Peter

1. Ten Best Films of 2009:

10. District 9

This was a surprisingly good film. I was iffy about it walking in but the performance by the lead actor and the storyline hooked me early. I was into it right to the very end, which was not what I had predicted which was a good thing! This was one of the better surprises of 2009.

9. Zombieland

I`m going to be up front with you: I hate zombie movies. They give me the creeps and really freak me out. I can`t usually watch them at all… but this movie broke from that mold. The humor and decent writing make a world that wasn`t as freaky as previous films. Movies well made like this make the Zombie genre at least a little tolerable.

8. Ong Bak 2

Forget the best action movie of the year, this was one of the best action movies I’ve seen in half a decade. Tony Jaa is just a few English lessons away from being the next best thing in martial arts. I have not seen martial arts this good since Jackie Chan’s early films. This movie also has something Tony Jaa’s last two films lacked, a decent plot with some rather decent twists. Combine that stuff with the usual outstanding martial arts you would expect from any movie with Tony Jaa, and you’ve got one hell of a film.

7. Sherlock Holmes

I’ve always been a huge fan of the character, reading the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle since I was ten. I’m also a big fan of Guy Richie’s better works (Snatch, Lock, Stock, Two Smoking Barrels) so I held hope this one could live of to some of the expecations some had for this major production. It lived up to them and then some. Unlike many summer box office duds, this film delivered and Downey Jr. must have the best agent in Hollywood right now. Worth checking out as Downey Jr. and Jude Law make a great casting choice for the original dinamic duo.

6. Taken

The first big hit of 2010 set the bar really high, as this movie starring Liam Neeson was a stirring and very kickass film from start to the very end. As a father myself I can’t blame this character for ripping the city apart to look for his child. Anyone would if they had the skills and determination this man had. We also feel nothing when he gives the people who took part in his daughter’s kidnapping what they deserve. Also a very eye opening film to the real issue of human trafficing that does go on in various parts of this world.

5. Star Trek

After making a killer Mission Impossible movie, JJ Abrams was given the keys to paramount and told he could make anything he wanted. As a result Abrams picked up the lifeless Star Trek franchise and breathed new life into it. With a movie that is part reboot and part sequel (you have to see it to know what I`m talking about) the franchise is now in line to make another series of successful films. This is exactly what Trek needed, and it was the best movie of the summer of 2009, hands down.

4. Inglourious Basterds

I was a little hesitant when I heard Tarantino was making a WWII film, but this film delivered big time. The sub-plots were more intreging than the main story itself and it all came together nicely. Another brilliant film from a gifted film maker.

3. Dorian Gray

With a great cast and some fine performances, this was a great retelling of one of my favorite gothic novels. I’m sure many scholars will schoff at it, but I thought it was rather cool. Definitely a film that will make my DVD collection.

2. Invictus

Right now Clint Eastwood is the man. Any movie this man touches seems to turn into gold, and this is another Oscar contender. Morgan Freeman gives one of the best performances of his career as Nelson Mandela… and that man is clearly a frontrunner for Best Actor. This is a great movie that many will find facinating and powerful. Clint has done it again and might win again this year…

1. The Hurt Locker

I was a little iffy about this one cause I thought it would attempt to glorify what the troops were doing. Instead it was a chilling and very sobering tale about a specific group of troops who are fraking insane in what they do day in and day out. During the movie one of the lead characters said ‘there are not many of us left’ and given the job he does (disarming bombs daily) it’s not hard to imagine why. A shocking film that will leave many in awe…

2. Five Worst Films of 2009:

5. Public Enemies

4. Twilight: New Moon (big time Underworld rip off, that whole vampire vs. warewolf thing is so five years ago)

3. Terminator Salvation

2. Confessions of a Shopaholic

1. Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen

3. Biggest Guilty Pleasure of the Year: G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. It was cheesy and very cliched, but the fact that it stuck to the original meterial (unlike Transformers) won it huge brownie points. And Sienna Miller looks smoking hot with black hair!

4. Best Title: Drag Me To Hell (the titled lived up to its name).

5. Worst Title: 500 Days of Summer (super lame)

6. Movie Titles That Could Be Confused with Porn Titles: Jennifer’s Body, Inglorious Basterds, The Girlfriend Experience

7. Sequels We Didn’t Need: Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen, Halloween II, X-Men Origins: Wolverine,

8. Best Sequel of 2009: Star Trek (yes it was a reboot, but it was also a sequel. Confusting, eh?)

9. Worst Sequel of 2009: Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen… just a photochopy of movie #1 and that wasn’t any good either.

10. Biggest Disappointment of 2009: Terminator Salvation. I was hoping for the best, but with McG directing, I prepared for the worst and that’s what we got. That’s what happens when you give the Terminator franchise to the director of the Charlie’s Angels movies.

11. Biggest Breakthrough: Chris Pine. Replacing William Shatner is no easy feet, but the man pulled it off.

12. Most Bizarre Film of 2009: Transformers, same plot, same actors and this is a sequel how? Should’ve just called it a re-release.

13. Best 2009 Acting Portfolio: Zoe Saldana (Star Trek, Avatar) Your agent deserves a raise!

14. Worst 2009 Acting Portfolio: Sandra Bullock (The Proposal, All About Steve, The Blindside) Seriously woman, fire your agent!

15. Most Fun I Had at the Movies in 2009: Star Trek. Even Leah liked it which was amazing cause she hates Sci-Fi!

16. Best Movie I Saw in 2009 (That Wasn’t Released in 2009): That would be ‘The Reader’. A moving and very stiring movie. Had I seen this last year it would have made my top ten.

17. Paris Hilton Award for Worst Movie Premise: That would be a movie titled Orphan. I mean seriously, that twist is so horrible it makes the Happenning from last year seem Oscar worthy!

18. Best Villain: Christoph Waltz (Inglorious Basterds) This man was the best villian by far. The man was so good you loathed him everytime he walked into any scene. He’s my prediction for this year’s best supporting actor for this year’s oscars.

19. Worst Villian: All of the Deceptagons. They still look fake and don’t scare anyone.

20. Best Onscreen Death: District 9. Anyone zapped with the super freaky alien gun were this year’s top deaths.

21. Worst Onscreen Death: Optimus Prime in Transformers. We all knew it wasn’t going to last and he would come back. Super lame…

22. Thora Birch Award for Hottest Female Actress of the Year: Rachel Nichols (Star Trek, G.I. Joe) Not only did she make a smokin’ Scarlet in the G.I. Joe movie… she was the green chick in Star Trek!

23. Best Actor: Morgan Freeman (Invictus)

24. Best Actor Runner Up: Tobey Maguire (Brothers)

25. Worst Actor: Shia LaBeouf (Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen)

26. Worst Actor Runner Up: Christian Bale (Terminator Salvation)

27. Best Actress: Meryl Streep (Julie and Julia)

28. Best Actress Runner Up: Mélanie Laurent (Inglorious Basterds)

29. Worst Actress: Sandra Bullock (The Proposal)

30. Worst Actress Runner Up: The entire cast of ‘He’s Just Not Into You’.

31. Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz (Inglorious Basterds)

32. Best Supporting Actress: Maggie Grace (Taken) watch this character take a huge turn after her kidnapping.

33. Best Screenplay: The Hurt Locker

34. Worst Screenpley: Refer to the worst five films of the year list…

35. Best Director: Clint Eastwood (Invictus)

36. Worst Director: McG (Terminator Salvation) and Michael Bay (Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen)

37. Best Animated Film of 2009: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.

38. Best Horror of 2009: Drag Me To Hell

39. Best Comedy of 2009: The Hangover

40. Best Musical of 2009: Haven’t seen any musicals this year. Might seen one soon…

41. Most Overrated Movie of 2009: Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen. Marketing tricked millions into seeing the worst movie of the year… how dare they!

42. Most Underrated Movie of 2009: The Hurt Locker. A lot of people are missing out on the best film of 2009. See it!

<b>43. Most Overrated Actor/Actress of 2009: Jennifer Aniston. She looks so fake in ‘He’s Just not Into You’. I mean the role wasn’t even that earth shattering and she still managed to make it look so fake. A cardboard cutout could do better. I don’t like Angelina as a person but at least she can act…

44. Most Underrated Actor/Actress of 2009: Chris Pine. A lot of people don’t realize the role he stepped into and took as his own. This is Capt. Kirk we’re talking about here! It’s like replacing Harrison Ford for Indiana Jones… unthinkable, but he pulled it off!

45. Movies From 2009 I Still Need to See:

My current must see hit list (in this order):

1. Up In The Air
2. 500 Days of Summer
3. The Lovely Bones
4. A Single Man
5. The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans