In My Opinion: The Best and Worst Movies of 2009 So Far
Opening the floor and looking for your favorites
Recently someone asked in the comments if Paranormal Activity was my #1 film of the year so far and while it is definitely a favorite as evidenced by my A+ review, it won't end up my #1. However, with some time to go in the year I decided to piece together a couple of alphabetical lists of my favorite films and my least favorite films, and open up the conversation to the floor to see where you all stand as we approach the final two months of 2009.
FAVORITE FILMS (in alphabetical order)
- 500 Days of Summer (I enjoyed this film, but I'm worried a second viewing may begin to grate on me a bit)
- An Education (I've seen it twice and it lost none of its charm)
- Bronson (loved it, the character created by Hardy alone was enough to keep me enthralled)
- The Brothers Bloom (I just received the DVD and anxious to give it another turn)
- The Damned United (simply a solid film)
- Drag Me to Hell (one hell of a fun film)
- The Hangover (second best comedy of the year)
- The Hurt Locker (action, thrills, drama, everything)
- In the Loop (best comedy of the year)
- Inglourious Basterds (I have a feeling this one will just get better and better over time)
- Law Abiding Citizen (pure guilty pleasure, a lot of fun)
- Paranormal Activity (most frightening movie I have ever seen)
- A Perfect Getaway (another guilty pleasure, but how pleasurable it will be over time?)
- Ponyo (can't wait to see this on Blu-ray and hope the rest of Miyazaki's catalog follows onto hi-def)
- Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire (the best drama of the year so far)
- Star Trek (my second viewing wasn't as much fun as the first, but still an enjoyable film)
- Sunshine Cleaning (a film from very early in the year that has some legs)
- Tetro (simply a beautiful film that suffered from an over-the-top finale)
- Up (interested to see this one again and see how it holds up)
- World's Greatest Dad (a real surprise, definitely recommend everyone check this out at least once)
LEAST FAVORITE FILMS (in alphabetical order)
- All About Steve
- Bride Wars
- Bright Star
- Confessions of a Shopaholic
- Fanboys
- G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
- The Last House on the Left
- I Love You Beth Cooper
- The Marc Pease Experience
- Whiteout
- Year One
Now you tell me, what are your favorite and least favorite films of the year so far?
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My 4 star films of the year so far (in no particular order):
– Inglourious Basterds (my favorite film of the year thus far)
– Up
– Adventureland
– The Hurt Locker
– The Brothers Bloom
– District 9
– The Girlfriend Experience
– Bronson
– The Informant!
– Whatever Works
– The Boat That Rocked (Pirate Radio)
– Antichrist
3.5 Stars: Harry Potter 6, In the Loop, Assassination of a High School President, Away We Go, Knowing, World's Greatest Dad, Taken, Star Trek, Taking Chance, The House of the Devil, Lovely Still
Least Favorite Movies of the Year:
– Law Abiding Citizen (worst movie of the year thus far)
– Modus Operandi
– Surveillance
– Adam Resurrected
– The Killing Room
– The Edge of Love
– The Burning Plain
– Public Enemies
– Observe and Report
– Terminator Salvation
District 9?
1.The Hurt Locker
2.Up
3.District 9
4.Paranormal Activity
5.Inglorious Basterds
6.Star Trek
There's still a lot I have to see, obviously, like Moon, 500 Days of Summer, Drag Me To Hell.
Public Enemies and The Hangover were just Ok with me, in my opinion.
@Scott: Really? Hated Law Abiding Citizen that much eh? Also I didn't mind The Burning Plain or The Killing Room that much and am anxious to see Pirate Radio.
1.) 500 Days of Summer
2.) Inglourious Basterds
3.) Up
4.) Star Trek
5.) The Hangover
6.) Watchmen
Worst Movie of the Year:
FAME
Top 10 Favorites:
1. Star Trek
2. The Hangover
3. District 9
4. Up
5. Inglorious Basterds
6. Harry Potter: And Half Blood Prince
7. Zombieland
9 Trick R Treat
10. Watchmen
WORST:
1. Wolverine
Favorites:
Inglourious Basterds
The Hurt Locker
Two Lovers
Paranormal Activity
500 Days of Summer
Up
Brad…I'm surprised not to see A Serious Man on there. Based on your review, it might be due to the fact that it's a tough film to form a certain opinion about. Any quick thoughts on that?
Among the worst: Wolverine, The Proposal, The Great Buck Howard.
Among the best: The Road, Tyson, Where The Wild Things Are
The Rake
http://thefilmnest.com
2009 has not been a great year for films for me – so many disappoinments.
However, for a non sci-fi fan, I think this has been a great year for well-made sci-fi movies.
1. Star Trek
2. District 9
3. Moon
What were the disappointments…? Transformers 2, The Hangover, Extract…
My favourites so far are
Star Trek
In the Loop
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
The Damned United
Away We Go
Moon
And, I'm struggling to think of anything else. There are some other films that I've enjoyed, but they're far from my favourites. My most hated film of the year, however, is without a doubt, Taking Woodstock. Appalling film, Ang Lee's worst, that I've seen.
Favorites in alphabetical order:
500 Days of Summer
Duplicity
The Hangover
In The Loop
A Serious Man
Up In The Air (Favorite of the year thus far)
Pretty thin on serious movies, I know, but it's only October.
Least favorite movies:
Funny People (my least favorite of the year)
Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus (it was actually too bad to be 'so bad it's good')
Public Enemies
Taking Woodstock
Whip It!
No District 9 but Star Treks on it?.. I loved Star Trek but it´s nowhere near District 9.. List invalid
6. Drag me to hell
5. Wolverine
4. The proposal
3. Terminator
2. UP
1. Star Trek
Worst movie i've seen this year (possibly ever)
Post Grad (G Force is a close Second)
The best of the year for me may be on the list but then again some of the big ones like avatar and shirlock holmes haven't come out yet
@Danny K.: Considered A Serious Man, but based on my current opinion of the film it just felt like it would be pandering to include it at this point. It's a movie I could end up loving down the road or just dismissing outright. It's one of the reasons I hate it when studios screen their movies once prior to the deadlines to post reviews. I stand by what I said and my opinion at the time I wrote the review, but I would have loved to have seen it again before writing it up. I wouldn't be surprised if I add it to my year-end honorable mention… we'll see.
@pcch7: Good thing it's my list and not yours. Whew!
@Brad Brevet: Good to know. I know how much you value multiple viewings, so I understand.
The Hurt Locker and Star Trek were my two top films this year.
Observe and Report is the WORST–Paul Blart, Mall Cop was even better than this one, and that's saying something because Paul Blart totally sucked.
FAVORITES
1. INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS – My favorite film of the year and definitely one of the best. It has some flaws; like the suspense scenes don't necessarily work as suspense although they do work for the tone of the film. Basterds was the most fulfilling experience I've had at the movies this year. It's my 2nd favorite Tarantino film.
5/5
2. THE HURT LOCKER – The least flawed film of the year. It was absolutely perfect and fresh. It was such an interesting concept to think of war as a drug and all the actors are great. My heart was racing the whole time during the film, and then it was breaking toward the end of the film.
5/5
3. WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE – The most emotional experience I have had at theaters this year. I loved how unapologetically troubled Max was and how he didn't really learn some contrived lesson at the end. The film had something most films don't; Cadence. It brought me back to the place when I was a kid where I was vulnerable and so in tune with my emotions as a kid. Logic didn't weigh me down then. When i was sad I cried and when i was upset I showed. My only problem with Wild Things is that it is about ten minutes too long on the island. it should have been an 80 minute film instead of 90 minute film.
5/5
4. BRIGHT STAR – It's not a very original story or plot, but Jane Campion cares about every character and everything she presents on film so much and it shows. The film is so beautiful and the three main actors; Abbie Cornish, Ben Whishaw, and Paul Schneider; were all excellent. The film never felt melodramatic, which it very easily could have. I never got bored with the characters or the story either. I think it's Jane Campion's 2nd best film behind The Piano and a little better then sweetie and An Angel at my Table.
5/5
5. DRAG ME TO HELL – Sam Raimi back to his old ways. This film was the most enjoyable things I have seen all year. It's funny and scary at the same time and it's all because Raimi is a master of tone and timing. When i say the film is scary I don't mean haunting, but more like a quick leap out of the seat. It's really a perfect film for what it is.
5/5
6. IN THE LOOP – The smartest comedy i have seen this year and also one of the funniest. I don't have too much too say on it, but I think it's great and each actor does great work.
5/5
7. MOON – Sam Rockwell truly showed he could carry a film and Duncan Jones is a director too look out for in the future. One of the best Sci-Fi films I have seen since Children of Men.
4.5/5
8. CORALINE – Henry Selick come s back wit a vengeance taking Neil Gaimon's world of dreams and reality into the best animated film I've seen this year.
4.5/5
9. STAR TREK – The best blockbuster of the year. Great re-imagining of the series making it all the same characters from the show, but having it all happen under different circumstances so they could change the story in the future. I wasn't a big fan of the show, but I like the show. The movie however, is much more like Star Wars, the Star Trek, and I think that's a good thing.
4.5/5
10. (500) DAYS OF SUMMER – This is a movie I wanted to like a lot going into and I did, although not quit as much as I was hoping for. There have been a lot of Indie romantic comedies coming out since Garden State and Eternal Sunshine and this one isn't nearly on the level as the two aforementioned, but it's better then most of the copy cats and the way the film presented it self and what it was about was a fresh kind of take on a romantic comedy.
4/5
Least Favorite
I don't go to see movies that I think are bad so although I'm sure Law Abiding Citizen and Obsessed are awful, I haven't seen them so I can't say. I don't really care about bad films. I'm not a critic so I don't have to see them. There was only one film I saw this year that I thought was truly awful and that Was TRANSFORMERS 2. I hate Michael Bay with a passion, I know how original right? My least favorite films were not the worst films, just the most disappointing films I have seen this year. All these films teased me, but then left me unfulfilled.
1. WATCHMEN – my favorite comic book of all time could have been so much better. It was kind of cool, although not the coolest thing I have ever seen and it was so superficial. And Tonally the film was a mess. And the female roles were awful, especially Carla Cugino and Malin Alkerman. With a different, less of a Duchebag director, it could have been the best comic book film adaptation of all time.
3.5/5
2. PUBLIC ENEMIES – some of the film works and some of the film doesn't, but none of it is new. The film wasn't even new territory for Michael Mann. I think the use of digital camera in that film took away from it being a period piece. The cast was all great from start to finish, but it was 20 or 30 minutes too long and just didn't become a great film. 3.5/5
3. DISTRICT 9 – there was so much hype for the film and I don't think it's awful, I just think it's not all that special. the first 20 minutes were really good, but then the film turned into some standard action scenes and the plot wasn't that interesting.
3.5/5
4. UP – The film didn't move me that much and it didn't make me laugh. I love Pixar. Wall-E was one of the best films of 2008, but this thing has been so over rated.
3.5/5
5. THE BROTHERS BLOOM – The first 40 minutes were truly great, but then the film started to take itself too seriously and tried to change the films tone completely. Some directors, like Tarantino, PTA, and The Coens are good at changing tones, but Rian Johnson is not.
3.5/5
6. THE INFORMANT! – Matt Damon was truly remarkable in the film and some of the film was really funny and it was all presented in a way that I liked, but I didn't love the film at all and it was 20 minutes too long.
4/5
Brad-
I'm surprised Bright Star is on your least favorites. I am no fan of the movie, I thought it was way too melodramatic, but at least it had some good acting and gorgeous cinematography, which is a lot more than anything else on your least favorites list has.
Favorites Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and Inglorious Basterds; least favorites Monsters Vs Aliens and The Time Traveler's Wife
@Zack Solomon: I didn't get to see Tetro or Summer Hours and I didn't see Sugar, Two Lovers, and Sin Nombre.
I till Haven't gotten to see A serious Man and An Education
@Brad Brevet: Everything in Law Abiding Citizen, including its attempt at some sort of theme or message, seemed torn right off the page from the script for The Dark Knight. There were direct plot points that seemed to be taken straight from TDK too (woman dying in explosion, two men discussing whether they brought the chaos on themselves by trying to do good, i could go on and on).
I really didn't like the twist at the end of The Killing Room…I felt it started really strong, but as it went on it became clear that all that would matter in the end was the twist. I'd rather watch Cube or Saw, which I feel are two movies that handle the same type of movie much better.
The Burning Plain I just felt was too depressing. If I had done what she did in the film, I feel like I probably would've just killed myself. I guess the movie was fine but I'm going for more what I liked or disliked the most, so I would put it pretty high on my least favorites of the year list.
The Boat that Rocked is just a rockin' good time (pun very much intended). Awesome music, hilarious performances, and an emotional ending that really got me. And I've never seen a better straight man bad guy than Kenneth Branagh.
My Top Four (no particular order):
The Hurt Locker
District 9
Star Trek
Zombieland
Other Great Flicks:
Inglorious Basterds
Up
The Hangover
Give Bright Star another viewing. It's ridiculous to see it on the Least Favorite. It's one of the year's best films…Give Tarantino a rest, man! I am tired of this "fanboy" obsession with the guy. He hasn't made a great film since Pulp Fiction. Where are the documentaries? More independents? There have been an incredible amount of docs this year that are simply great – The Way We Get By, Tyson, Food Inc.
@Lewis: Tyson was great, but I haven't seen any other doc that has really impressed me yet.
my favorite
district 9
law abiding citizen
bruno
the hangover
monsters vs aliens
the hurt locker
500 days of summer
taken
watchmen
harrypotter
up
paranormal activity
zombieland
worst
transformers(so-so)
terminator(ok)
paul blart(dumb)
year one(crap)
Outside of O'Horten and The Cove, there hasn't been anything thats really floored me. However, I'll be seeing Where The Wild Things Are and A Serious Man this weekend and have high hopes for both…
Worst of the year would be Knowing. One of the worst movies I've ever seen. S.Darko gets up there also
Favorites, no particular order:
Inglourious Basterds
Star Trek
Adventureland
500 Days of Summer
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
The Hurt Locker
Zombieland
The Hangover
Drag Me to Hell
I also really enjoyed Paranormal Activity and Where the Wild Things Are, but I'm not sure if they qualify as "favorites."
My least favorite film of the year is definitely X-Men Origins: Wolverine, followed closely by Terminator Salvation. I was also disappointed by Up, but that's not to say it was a bad film. I just didn't enjoy it a whole lot.
The views are as many as the films. But I wonder: you guys got any jobs? How can you see so many films in a span of just a few months? Any books in your lives?
Faves:
UP
Hurt Locker
Inglorious Basterds
500 Days of Summer
Star Trek
District 9
Paranormal Activity
In The Loop
Moon
The Hangover
The Informant
Least Faves:
Transformers 2 (in a perfect world, this would be on everyone's list)
Where the Wild Things are (Yes, you read it right. I thought it was far overrated. I won't say it was emotionally barren, just that It didn't resonate emotionally for me and I've already forgotten about it the moment I stepped out the auditorium)
Half-Blood Prince
Gi Joe (See Transformers 2 above)
Public Enemies
Wolverine
Top 5:
1. Watchmen (just downright awesome, the best adaption of anything ever made)
2. Underworld: Rise Of The Lycans (not as good as 1 and 2 but still pretty damn good)
3. X-Men Origins Wolverine (so underrated; nobody cares about Bryan Singer)
4. Bionicle: The Legend Reborn (a direct to DVD robot movie superior to transformers on a low budget in every way)
I would add (Yes; get ready for this one) Dragonball: Evolution and Street Fighter: Legend Of Chu Li, but I can't because bad acting makes both nothing but extremely entertaining quilty pleasures, while others mentioned are not.
I also haven't seen Transformers 2, G.I. Joe, or Drag Me To Hell yet and I think all three would rank in the top list (ok, well maybe at least Drag Me To Hell)
Favorites in no particular order=
Hurt Locker
UP
District 9
Paranormal Activity
(500) Days of Summer
Inglorious Basterds
Star Trek
Least faves( the "so-so" and utterly forgettable films)
Transformers 2
Year One
Gi Joe
Half Blood Prince
Wolverine
The Informant
Watchmen
Public Enemies
My top 10 of the year so far:
1. Inglourious Basterds
2. A Serious Man
3. (500) Days of Summer
4. Up
5. Where The Wild Things Are
6. The Hurt Locker
7. The Informant!
8. Harry Potter & the Half Blood Prince
9. Drag Me To Hell
10. State of Play
My Top 10 so far:
1. Where The Wild Things Are
2. Public Enemies
3. (500) Days of Summer
4. The Hurt Locker
5. Up
6. Inglourious Basterds
7. Watchmen
8. Moon
9. Funny People
10. District 9
My Least favorite so far:
1. Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen
2. The Informers
3. Bride Wars
4. Miss March
5. The Ugly Truth
6. New In Town
7. Fast and Furious
8. Fired Up
9. White Out
10. Year One
Most underwhelming film of the year:
In The Loop
#1. DISTRICT 9: a truly revolutionary film! Suck on that budget Bay
#2. Star Trek: J.J. Abrams just revamped the whole franchise with his beautiful filmmaking and excellent casting. Cant wait for the sequel.
#3. Sunshine Cleaning: Adams and Blunt did an excellent job, and Arkin just made the film that much better.
#4 Zombieland: Woody stole this film to me. Just an excellent job of portraying the true, zombie spirit…jk. great movie though. Love Bill Murray!
#5 Paranormal Activity: Those college kids are making bank right now. Great job
#6 Taken: somewhat of a forgotten film now. January was a long time ago, but its pure awesomeness still resonates in October.
#7 500 Days of Summer: Had no idea what to expect walking in, but fell in love with this film from the get go.
#8 Inglorious Basterds: Quentin does it again with his excellent casting and screenplay
#9 UP: Disney/Pixar…need I say more.
#10 The Brothers Bloom: Brody and Weitz were wonderful in this film. Pure cinema enjoyment for me. Well Done
Favorite:
District 9
Least Favorite:
Transformers II
The Boondock Saints 2: All Saints Day by far for me is the best movie of the year, with Inglourious Basterds coming in at a close second
I didn't see many movies this year, but of those I did "Star Trek" was my favorite. It was quite a feat to come up with a film that could please both long-time fans of the original show (yours truly) and those who hadn't ever seen it (my son who went with me).
I also thought "Bright Star" was very well done.
Since I didn't see very many movies, I didn't spend my money on any truly bad ones. My guilty pleasure was "Ghost of Girlfriends Past," which I saw only because I'm married to a rom-com fan. I wouldn't say it was a great film by any means, but I did enjoy it.
My favorite rom-com fan tells me that the absolute worst example she saw of the genre this year was "All About Steve." She found it painful to watch, so I'm glad that isn't one she talked me into seeing.
Favorites:
1. Up
2. Watchmen
3. Star Trek
4. District 9
5. Capitalism: A Love Story
Least favorites:
1. Year One
2. Race to Witch Mountain
3. Night at the Museum II
4. Knowing (Sorry Brad. I know you liked this one. But the ending just ruined it for me.)
5. G.I. Joe
I'll do my top 5, bottom 5 of the year (though I haven't seen a ton of amazingly horrible movies this year).
Best of the Best?
1. District 9
2. 500 Days of Summer
3. Inglourious Basterds
4. The Hangover
5. Star Trek
Runner-Up: Zombieland (because it is awesome, and could be as much of a classic as "Shaun of the Dead" is), and also Up, because…yeah.
Worst of the Worst?
1. Transformers 2
2. Hannah Montana The Movie
3. Year One
4. Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li
5. Next Day Air (anyone remember this one??)
Not the worst, but biggest disappointments go to Extract, 9 and The Informant- I was so hyped for all these films in different ways, and each one found a way to bore me to tears. Let us never speak of these misfires again.
@Vince:
I also would've included this movie in my worst of, had I finished watching it (I'll get to it- I never, ever not finish watching a movie)- "17 Again" is pretty horrendous. I only got to the 30 min mark before I stopped it, but even when I finish it, I doubt it'll get much better.
I'm surprised Transformers 2 Ain't on your list of worst…
For me, "Star Trek" actually improved upon rewatching, which is opposite of your experience. Interesting. My favorites so far:
1) Inglorious Basterds: uproariously fun, shockingly tense, delicious dialogue, and a finale that won't soon be forgotten!
2) Up: Another Pixar gem. Funny, serious, colorful, and earnest.
3) The Hangover: Hilarious. Also, structuring it like a mystery story worked perfectly. But, unlike a mystery, it's highly rewatchable.
4) Funny People: Adam Sandler once again proves that his good roles are his serious ones. Most mature Apatow to date, and if 40YOV wasn't so classic, this one would be his best.
5) Away We Go: Funny and sweet and, however indie it looks, you can still feel the undercurrent of Sam Mendes driving it.
6) Star Trek: I'm not fond of fast editing, shaky cam, lens flare, and camera angles, but somehow this movie made me not only tolerate them, but actually like them. The focus is the characters, all of which are engaging, and this film is the one that broke Star Trek into the mainstream. After George Lucas reached a new low with "Star Wars: The Clones Wars," J. J. Abrams may have done what we never would have believed possible, and made Star Trek cooler than Star Wars.
7) Paranormal Activity: Genuinely scary, and I'm very rarely scared! Also well-acted and well-shot. Going for the tripod was a smart move. Blair Witch was good, but the handheld cam made me feel nauseous.
8) (500) Days of Summer: Funny, sad, and imaginative without being overly quirky. A hard balance to find, especially for the indie genre, which has a reputation for aggressive quirkiness.
9) Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: The second-best Harry Potter film (Prisoner of Azkaban still wins by a considerable margin). David Yates knows the color wheel like the back of his hand, and he focused on everything that made the 6th book good (i.e. not the war, because I don't think J.K. Rowling did a good job with war in books 6 & 7; her forte is mystery, suspense, setting, and amazing characters).
10) District 9: Truly original. The second half was amazing. The movie has allegory written all over it, and in the best way.
Least favorites:
1) Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen: The action was NOT good: it was loud and ugly. And way too busy. The humor missed the mark almost every single time, especially with that goddamned Agent Simmons. Walking out the theater, I thought it was an hour too long. I was wrong: it's 150 minutes too long. The worst blockbuster I have ever seen in theaters, and perhaps the worst blockbuster in the past decade.
2) The Last House on the Left: Disappointing remake. Well-shot, but that's about all you can say for it. The acting was mediocre, and the changes to the story neither added nor detracted. Except for that closing scene which made no sense. The characters didn't pop out of the screen like they did in the original.
3) X-Men Origins: Wolverine: Not spectacularly awful like X-Men 3, but aggressively mediocre throughout. Only worth seeing if you want to see Hugh Jackman naked, and even then you only get his rear end.
4) Adventureland: A downer. Not funny enough to be a comedy, and not serious enough to be a drama. "Funny People" hit that tricky balance, but Adventureland didn't, probably because its philosophical stance was nowhere near as stark as Apatow's.
5) Public Enemies: Okay, so I obviously skipped all the bad movies if this is on my bottom five, but this movie still wasn't impressive. It had great acting and some isolated good scenes, but the whole added up to significantly less than the sum of its parts.
@Raichu:
In a perfect world, "Transformers 2" wouldn't be on anyone's list because it wouldn't have been made in the first place.
;)
is it me or does it feel like bride wars came out seven years ago?
@JM:
Excellent Point!
Favs (In no particular order)
(500) days of summer
Up
District 9
The Hangover
Star Trek
Inglorious Basterds
The Combination (Hooray for Aussie cinema)
Drag Me To Hell
Least Favs
Transformers 2
Wolverine
Terminator Salvation
Land Of The Lost
The Boat that Rocked
Broken Embraces definitely tops the list.
Brad have you seen it??
Excelent film!
one of my all-time favorites!
@junjun: Nice List!! Almost identical to mine except with the 500 Days of Summer cut in the middle. Pretty cool to see a list almost the same. Despite all the rotten movies this year for me (Transformers, Terminator, etc.), the films that I did like made this year quite enjoyable. Sure, it wasn't a Dark Knight year, but still pretty decent with the films that I ended up enjoying.
@Sebastian: Not yet, looking forward to it though.
@Brad Brevet: So you didn't enjoy The Road enough to put this on the list or you haven't reached an opinion on it yet?
@maja: Nope, didn't enjoy it enough to include it unfortunately.
Yay! I love these kinds of lists. :]!
@JAB:
No kidding. I paused for a moment reading Brad's worst list and thought "wait a minute… didn't Bride Wars come out like 2 years ago. haha. gee whiz.
- – FAVORITES – -
"DISTRICT 9" – *MAJOR SPOILER FOR THOSE WHO HAVEN'T SEEN IT!!!* i can honestly say this is one of the most thoroughly fun, enthralling times i've had at the movies this year.
i was SURPRISED! truly, i went in DISTRICT 9 expecting a good film, but i didn't know what exactly i would be seeing up on that screen that night – certainly i didn't expect to see a man in a robotic suit, blowing up enemies, and taking battle in gunfights alongside another alien. truly, that was so awesome to see. and it was a beautiful, ORIGINAL, and heartfelt piece of work. i really loved it and enjoyed it!
"I LOVE YOU MAN" – I'm looking at all these movies on this list, and the one thing they all have in common, is how unbelievably fun they all are. This one included. It was like hanging out with really cool new friends. Paul Rudd gave a hilarious, relatable performance and Jason Segel was just fantastic. Wonderful chemistry between the two. A guilty pleasure formulaic romantic comedy, except between two straight dudes. Pure fun.
"UP" – The only movie I saw this year that managed to make me cry several times (well i cried at the musical scene in Toy Story 2 in 3-D, but that movie is from another year. by the way, Toy Story 1-2 in 3-D was gorgeous). Gosh. So, so relatable and heartbreakingly gorgeous. I loved it. And so very funny too. Well-written characters and dialogue, and honestly… it has everything. Ridiculous action and adventure.. a heart-crushing/melting romance between Carl & Ellie (that is as relatable and heartbreaking as WALL*E and EVE).. sharp comedy… solid drama. PIXAR knows how to do it. Certified pros.
"500 DAYS OF SUMMER" – So, so funny. And I almost cried in this one too (the expectations/reality scene. gosh. that hit SO hard. my heart ached). So refreshingly honest too but not hopeless. Amazingly witty and original. Definitely a new favorite.
"TAKEN" – Honestly, I was just delighted and had a complete blast seeing the fatherly Liam Neeson massacre a legion of stupid pervs. I clapped a lot in the theater each time one was obliterated. I finally managed to get the whole audience to clap with me by the end. haha.
"STAR TREK" – A true, old-fashioned yet extremely cool, modern adventure. That's about all I really have to say.
"HANGOVER" – Yet another incredibly fun time at the movies. You need a lively audience to make it that enjoyable. Really silly and fun.
"CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE" – I don't care what anybody says, i LOVED the zealous creativity and spirit that this film had (much like in "Ratatouille", which I adore). It's also very, very funny and completely likable and ridiculous. No joke – THE film that all ages can love.
"WHIP IT" – I really liked this one. It was sweet, it was innocent, and it was just a lot of pure fun. Definitely worth at least ONE viewing. Come on. Girly movie or not, it was pretty DARN GOOD.
- – THE QUITE GOOD – -
"MONSTERS VS. ALIENS"
JULIE & JULIA
ZOMBIELAND
- – THE NOT SO GOOD, BUT NOT "BAD" – -
TRANSFORMERS 2 – don't know exactly what to say about this one. a good amount of sequences i liked a lot, but gosh… so much boring, and so much cringe-worthingly lame.
TIME TRAVELERS WIFE – it seemed too jumbled. sure, they might say it's "intentional", but i truly doubt it was. so much could've been done here but the opportunity was wasted. i'd have to say it would be much better (and MUCH more successful) as a television show instead.
TAKING OF PELHAM 1 2 3 – Not a bad film. Completely unoriginal and generic. But enjoyable. Fun for a rental if you know exactly what you're getting. John Travolta was a bit too hammy though. And just because you cuss, doesn't make you the ultimate badass. i mean, REALLY! (said like Seth and Amy on Weekend Update).
- – THE WORST – -
"FAST AND FURIOUS" – Oh, i didn't rent this one. I was on the laptop and my brother switched it on. I don't even know if it could qualify as me actually having "seen" it, since I walked out of the room before it even reached 10 minutes. What a piece of crap.
"WOLVERINE" – This one, and the two below… a big question for the three of these movies… WHAT WENT WRONG? A WOLVERINE spin-off should've been SPECTACULAR. Seriously. How disheartening. They give us a sloppy, cheap, pixel-y, hollow piece of slimy dog crap. What a spit in the face.
"TERMINATOR: SALVATION" – Same goes for you too, Terminator Salvation!
"THE LAND OF THE LOST" – Not gonna lie, I think this had some insanely hilarious dialogue here and there ("Oh, so this is one of those times where pouring dinosaur piss on yourself ISN'T a good idea?" – perfect), but that's so little out of so much boring crap. This had SOOOO much potential. It really did. Once again.. WHAT WENT WRONG??
"YEAR ONE" – A revoltingly bad movie. First five minutes or so, I'm thinking "ooh, this is really funny, i wonder why it's getting bad reviews…" and then five minutes later ,it piles on like an avalanche. This is a TERRIBLE film. No exaggeration. Such a waste of time and talent and an opportunity. This should've been GOLD. But instead, it was basically just a golden shower upon all of us. And that's a really lame joke, but that's only what this piece of cat turd deserves, since it gave it to us in the first place.
WHAT I STILL NEED/AM GOING TO SEE BEFORE A REAL, ORGANIZED TOP LIST:
Paranormal Activity
The Christmas Carol
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Invictus (where are the trailers for this…? is it even coming out this year anymore?)
The Lovely Bones
Avatar
Sherlock Holmes
:]
BEST
1. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
2. Star Trek
3. Up
4. Where the Wild Things Are
5. X-Men Origins: Wolverine (seriously)
6. 9
7. Coraline
8. Drag Me To Hell
9. District 9
10. Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
WORST
1. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
2. Dragonball Evolution
3. Year One
4. Paul Blart: Mall Cop
1. Inglourious Basterds. Another masterpiece by Tarantino, one of his best films and definitely my favourite film of the year. Suspenseful, humorous, dramatic, with shots and scenes that we can already call iconic, amazing soundtrack and brilliant acting by everybody. And it sure did grow on me, I watched it three times in the theater and I enjoyed it more every time. Fantastic movie.
FOLLOWERS… IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER
Adventureland – full of nostalgia, very funny and touching indie comedy, and with an awesome soundtrack. Loved every second of it.
Watchmen – I watched it three times and the only flaws I could find are Carla Gugino's acting and the moment when the dude gets his arms cut off, which made Watchmen look like goddamn Hostel. Other than that, it was close to masterpiece. Pitch-perfect acting by Haley, Morgan, Wilson and Crudup, memorable visuals, the choice of songs couldn't have been better, and while it is slow in the middle, I would never call it boring. Overall, a great film and a great adaptation which I believe will become a classic over time, much like Blade Runner, met with mixed response upon its release for being dark, slow and serious sci-fi movie in them Star Wars, Star Trek, E.T. and Tron times.
Drag Me to Hell – simply a great fun, with a fantastic balance between humor and scares, and an ending I admit I didn't expect at all – probably because I was so busy enjoying it. Great flick and a return to form for Raimi.
Up – I didn't think it was a brilliant masterpiece, but it still delivered enough goods to secure its place in my Top 10 of the year. Very funny, very original and very touching, just not as good as Wall-E, Toy Story, Nemo, The Incredibles and Ratatouille in my opinion.
Star Trek – the best summer blockbuster of the year hands down. Hugely entertaining, old-fashioned space adventure with not-so-great script, but truly great characters and performances, great music, and great action scenes. And the opening scene is a masterpiece. Very enjoyable movie that I will rewatch again and again.
District 9 – I'm not a huge fan of this film, and strangely I don't even want to re-watch it anytime soon, but it was a great movie – I guess you can say I admire this movie more than I actually like it. Anyway, I can't not give it props for sheer originality, perfect CGI, great acting by Sharlto Copley, and overall it's a great concept excellently executed, but I can't say I love it or consider it a masterpiece. But it's still great.
The Hangover – simply an excellent and very entertaining comedy. Had a great time.
The Boat That Rocked (Pirate Radio) – best comedy of the year so far to me, all the cast is great (Philip Seymour Hoffman, Rhys Ifans and Kenneth Branagh are stand-outs), the humor is genuinely funny and touching, and the soundtrack is hands-down the best in several years. I had a blast.
Coraline – Henry Selick finally added another great film to his resume. Darkly funny, very imaginative, beautiful animation with great characters (every one of them), very good music and atmosphere. Also, 3-D really added to the experience in this case.
DISAPPOINTMENTS
Wolverine
Transformers 2
AVERAGE MOVIES
Monsters Vs. Aliens
Funny People
Public Enemies
Terminator Salvation
Ice Age 3
G.I. Joe
State of Play
HAVE YET TO SEE (AND REALLY WANT TO)
500 Days of Summer
The Hurt Locker
Black Dynamite
A Serious Man
An Education
Where the Wild Things Are
The Informant
Away We Go
Sunshine Cleaning
Best movies:
- District 9 (but I saw it yesterday, so it may be a tad too soon to say this)
- 500 Days of Summer
- Inglorious Basterds
- Drag me to Hell (funniest movie of year!!!)
- Watchmen
Worse:
- Wolverine
- Os Normais 2 (a brazilian movie that's godawful)
@Nick: Oh. Of course, I have yet to see Paranormal Activity too, and boy, how I want to…
My list goes:
1. Drag Me to Hell (Most fun i've had at the movies in a long time)
2. Where the Wild Things Are
3. Inglorious Basterds
4. The Informant
5. Star Trek
6. Watchmen
Most overrated movie of the year(perhaps of all time) is:
The Hangover
Best Movies of the year:
-Star Trek
-The Hangover
-District 9
-Inglorious Basterds
-Public Enemies
-Knowing
-The Taking of Pelham 123
-Up.
Worst Movies of the year:
-Second Life (a terrible portuguese movie, one of the worst movies EVER!!!)
-Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen
-DragonBall Evolution
-Year One
-O Contrato (another portuguese movie, that also sucks a lot!!)
-Land of the Lost.
Did anybody see SIN NOMBRE ???
This should easily be in the top 10
I still have a ton of stuff to see this year!
Thirst, Nine, 9, An Education, Tetro, Big Fan, The Damned United, In the Loop, Bronson, Worlds Greatest Dad, Whatever Works, Away We Go, Up in The Air, and so on and son and so on.
@Brad Brevet: Anything you've missed thus far into the year you are looking forward to seeing?
I agree with most of the movies on your list, but would also include Moon, Sugar, Sin Nombre, and Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs (unexpected pleasure).
Favorites: Inglourious Basterds, District 9, Up, The Hurt Locker, In the Loop, Adventureland, Crank 2: High Voltage, Moon, Observe & Report, Star Trek, World's Greatest Dad, Trick 'R Treat, Sugar, Humpday, The Informant.
Hon. Mentions: Brothers Bloom, Drag Me To Hell, Watchmen, Coraline, Where the Wild Things Are, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Pontypool, Not Your Typical Bigfoot Movie, Ponyo, Bronson
Worst: Miss March, Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li, All About Steve, Dead Snow, The Final Destination 3-D, The Limits of Control, Friday the 13th, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, Paper Heart, Cold Souls, Paul Blart: Mall Cop, The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard, House of the Devil.
So I've seen some garbage lately. Saw "Cold Souls" last night – what a waste of an interesting premise THAT was.
Here's my updated list:
The Brothers Bloom
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
World's Greatest Dad
In the Loop
Anvil! The Story of Anvil!
District 9
(500) Days of Summer
The Hangover
My Least Favorite Films
Observe and Report
Dragonball: Evolution
Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li
Fast & Furious
The Ugly Truth
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Bright Star
Funny People
Bronson
Yay! My comment
In no order:
Precious
(500) Days of Summer
The Hurt Locker
That Evening Sun
Up
The Cove
Cold Souls
Big Fan
The Boys are Back
Five Minutes of Heaven
Oh, and two honorable mentions: No Impact Man and Morris: A Life with Bells On
My favorite is AVATAR …
Because the 16 minutes I saw in the IMAX back in august were more impressive on all levels than Transformers, GIJOE, District 9, Potter, and Where the Wild Things Are combined.
The worst movie I saw was Land O The Lost, folllowed up by Night At The Museum. At least Transformers and GIJOE were a little better overall than these two were.
The nice thing about Transformers on Blu-Ray which I picked up last night, is you can now skip 70% of the movie that sucks and just watch the scenes that look mighty impressive on a 1080P 46 inch screen.
Favourite 10:
The Hurt Locker
Gran Torino
Inglorious Basterds
Zombieland
Star Trek
Public Enemies
(500) Days of Summer
Anvil!
District 9
Two Lovers
Bottom 10:
Surveillance
Dragonball Evolution
Bride Wars
The Haunting in Connecticut
Paul Blart – Mall Cop
Underworld: Rise of the Lycans
Year One
Lesbian Vampire Killers
Friday the 13th
Knowing
movies so far
1. Harry Potter & the half blood prince (saw it 10 times )
2. Inglorious Bastards saw it twice
3. star trek (i love spock)
4. hangover ( i laughed so hard
5. drag me to hell (love it)
6. taken(so much better than i thought)
7. up
8. whip it (girl power YEAH!)
9. an education
10. away we go. (love an original actress, not the boring cliche)
guilty pleasure:
confession of a shopaholic
bride wars
the last house on the left
paranormal activity
the brothers bloom
worst
transformers 2
bruno
land of the lost
management
paul blart mall cop
fast & the furious
couple retreat
obsessed
most disappointing films
terminator: salvation
night at the museum 2
public enemies
grace
wolverine
watchmen
knowing
the girlfriend experience
didn't even bother with:
g.i. joe
sorority row
white out
perfect getaway
observe & report
funny people
gamer
law abiding citizen
zombieland
Top 10
1 Transformers The Revenge of the Fallen
2 Star Trek
3 GI Joe Rise of the Cobra
4 UP
5 9
6 Harry Potter 6
7 Michael Jackson This Is It
8 The Vampires Assistant
9 Land of the Lost
10 Year One (Unrated Version)
loved 500 days of summer and sunshine cleaning – amazing what little money and a lot of talent can do… both are brilliant films, both a little off the centre in terms of story telling and i loved them both
What about Moon as one of the better movies of the year? Really? And Transformers ROTF is not under worst? And A Perfect Getaway was bad and predictable.
Favorite 10 so far…
Up
The Hangover
Observe and Report (Sue me…I loved it)
500 Days of Summer
Zombieland
Inglorious Basterds
Watchmen
Star Trek
District 9
The Informant!
Worst 10 so far…(I don't see many bad movies so this list may have some movies that wern't "terrible", but had to think of 10 bad to mediocre)
Knowing
Miss March
Fired Up
Ghosts of Girlfriends Past
Transformers 2
Year One
Paul Blart:Mall Cop
The Uninvited
Fast And Furious
Obsessed
(500) Days of Summer
I haven't seen many films this year but ones I liked were "Watchmen", "Inglourious Basterds", "District 9" and "Paranormal Activity". Some of the worst were "The Stepfather", "Transformers pt. II", and one of the worst movies I've EVER seen "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra."
not in exact order
district 9
up
the uninvited
extract
zombieland
where the wild things are
i love you man
bandslam
earth
the informant!
the invention of lying
12 rounds
cloudy with a chance of meatballs
michael jackson's this is it
harry potter 6
julie and julia
star trek
17 again
state of play
race to witch mountain
the proposal
monsters vs. aliens
watchmen
The best
1. Inglorious Basterds
2.Star Trek
3.District 9
4.Zombieland
5. (500) Days Of Summer
6.Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince
7.Up
8.Law Abiding Citizen AND Taken (Tie)
9.The Hangover
10.Watchmen
11. Funny Pepole
The Worst
1.Public Enemies
2.Paul Blart Mall op
3.Observe and report
4.Terminator Salvation
5.Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Really? 'Bright Star' on your WORST of the year list? Have you no soul??
I still have a lot yet to see, but so far my favorites are 'Up in the Air' and 'The Road,' with 'An Education,' 'A Prophet,' and (ahem) 'Bright Star' right behind.
The worst? I don't see a lot of the movie glut garbage, but I can't escape it all. Worst is undoubtedly 'Post Grad.' While 'Fame' and 'The Young Victoria' were also rather atrocious. 'Whiteout' was lame. 'Couples Retreat' was pretty awful. I dislike 'The Men Who Stare at Goats' the more I think about it too.
So, I'm making this list in 2011. So what???
1: Up in the Air
2: Where the Wild Things Are
3: Avatar
4: Adam
5: (500) Days of Summer.
Worst-
Duplicity