Top 25 Movies of 2009: Honorable Mentions and Movies #21 – 25
So many worthy movies, a top ten just wasn't enough
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What's your overall opinion of the movies of 2009? I ask because moving into December I would have called it a downer year, and if you base your opinion of a year's worth of movies on the blockbusters of the year you may be a bit mixed. While films such as Star Trek, District 9 and Avatar found fans all around the world, films such as Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Terminator Salvation, G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra, Angels and Demons and Watchmen were met with mixed-to-highly-negative reviews from critics and filmgoers alike. A lot of money was made, but I think we all know money doesn't always translate to quality.
There were some out of the blue surprises such as The Hangover and Paranormal Activity and Pixar again impressed us all with Up. Personally, it's the smaller to mid-level films that won me over and won me over big. So much so, I couldn't stop at just ten films and had to list out 25. I just simply couldn't allow for certain films to be forgotten by limiting things to a top ten.
So, over the next week, here's the schedule:
Monday, Dec. 28: Honorable Mentions and #21 – 25
Monday, Dec. 28: Nominations for RopeofSilicon Users Top Ten « UPDATED
Tuesday, Dec. 29: #11 – 20
Wednesday, Dec. 30: Movies #1 – 10
Thursday, Dec. 31: Round 2: You Vote for the Best Films of 2009
Monday, Jan. 4: The 2nd Annual RopeofSilicon Awards
Considering this is going to be a rather slow week for movie news I figured we may as well take advantage of it with a solid look back at the year that was. If you are unfamiliar with the "RopeofSIlicon Awards" I'm not at all surprised, you can get a look at least year's winners right here to familiarize yourself as last year was my first year taking on the endeavor.
As for the schedule above, I will include it with all of the related articles this week and link to each feature as they go live. I hope this will become a community discussion with opinions from all sides, those that agree with me and those that don't. Of course I just hope things remain civil, which can often be tough when we are getting into discussions of what one believes is the "best". However, hope remains…
My list is a list of films I consider to be my
With that said, today we begin with my list of eight Honorable Mentions followed by the movies I've ranked #21 – 25.
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I hear nothing but mixed sentiments when it comes to hearing folks talk about Adventureland, but then again the more negative comments I hear come from people in their mid-twenties who didn't exactly grow up in the era depicted in this film. Is it possible this movie has about a five-year window of viewers that will enjoy it and laugh hysterically at the constant use of "Rock Me Amadeus"? Perhaps it's because when I was in fifth grade friends of mine and I performed a lipsynch of "Rock Me Amadeus" in a "talent" show in elementary school. Who knows? I enjoyed this film nonetheless and thought it was rather honest and one of the only times I thought Kristen Stewart's uncomfortable performances actually fit the role.
Speaking of negativity, here is another one I seem to be in the minority in liking and it held up after I saw it in theaters as I enjoyed it again on Blu-ray. In fact, I ranked it as my #1 Sam Mendes film earlier this year. However, I feel by the time I turn back into dust I can't help but feel Road to Perdition will steadily climb into that spot. For now, it's owned by Away We Go.
I argued this film with RopeofSilicon's box-office Oracle Laremy Legel for about 30 minutes after watching it. To be honest I'm not sure what actually came out of the discussion other than the fact the film grew on me in that 30 minutes after coming out of the theater a bit mixed. I have the DVD in my house, but haven't taken the time to watch it again, but it's one of 2009's unsolved mysteries for me and I won't soon forget it.
Sam Raimi's return to horror made my Top Ten Movies Midway Through 2009 list at #7, but a second viewing didn't hold up as well as I thought it would. It still remains a favorite from the year, but obviously dropped considerably in my ranks.
The Hangover is another film that fell in my opinion after securing the #3 spot midway through the year. It still remains a funny movie, but the sight gags that dominated much of the film just don't work as well after repeated viewings.
Steven Soderbergh's film makes the list simply because I have only seen it once and feel I was misled by the marketing team at Warner Bros. Billed as a comedy, The Informant! is much more than a comedy, which means going into the theater expecting one sabotages your viewing experience. Once it hits Blu-ray I feel a second and third viewing will help me come to a proper conclusion on how much I like or dislike this film, but it doesn't deserve to be forgotten simply because the studio was more interested in duping audiences and selling tickets than making sure those audiences went in with a proper perspective.
An excellent example of shut it down and sit back and enjoy. If this film didn't have that much-too-long flashback sequence I think it would have honestly found its way into my top 25. However, either David Twohy or the folks at Rogue just felt the audience was so dumb they needed to be beaten over the head with reminders. Too bad, it could have been great, but instead it's just honorable.
World's Greatest Dad is probably the biggest surprise film of the year for me. I am an on/off fan of Robin Williams, a guy that just can't seem to sit down and dial it back a notch. When other people are at 11, Williams cranks it to 17. However, in this film he hits all the right notes, much like he did in Good Will Hunting and the film is better for it. Give it a look on home video, you won't be disappointed.
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I thought Away We Go was one of the best movies of the year and am a bit surprised it missed your top 25 list.
On another note, how about a top 10 list of the decade Brad? seems relevant. The Lord of the Rings trilogy would be on my top spot btw.
I thought it was a good year for films. I agree with you about Drag Me To Hell,but the ending still rocks.
I couldn't agree more with the "honorable mention" list. The hangover is a comedy classic (already?! Whatever.) But its second didn't hold uo as well as imagined. Same thing with "drag me to hell". Sadly rewatchability (who cares if its a word!?) Is important in "best of lists" and you"re right about them both.
The heaped praise makes me want to rent "away we go" immediately, if my tiny town video store has it that is.
Watchmen wasn't met with "mixed-to-highly-negative-reviews", Brad. You may not have liked it, but it scored 65% on RT, 7.9 on IMDb, was appreciated by most fans of the original and was generally considered arguably the best Watchmen adaptation one could have hoped for. To put it in the same league with ROTF, TS, G.I. Joe and A&D is ridiculous.
As to personal lists, well, I got a Top-12 list but I feel like I should wait till the time you put your own Top 10 list out.
As adu said, a top movies of the decade list would be very interesting!
@maja and @adu: I am going to do some kind of retrospective for the decade and it will probably come out the second week of January.
Good picks here. I'm not surprised The Hangover dropped on your list, the first time I saw that film, I knew audiences were on a high and that there was no way a second viewing could match that. I'll be seeing Broken Embraces today, which is one I'm very excited to see. I will as well be doing a bunch of honorable mentions on my list, but I seem to be one of the few people who think 2009 was just an average year for movies. I thought there were many very good pictures, but only a handful of great ones. Oh well, I look forward to the rest of your list.
What about a Top 10 list of the decade??? That should be interesting!!!
Am I the only one who liked The Hangover considerably more on a second viewing?
Where have you seen this criticism of Adventureland? I've seen it almost unanimously praised (as it should be).
Also, Watchmen is excellent, I don't like Up, and damn it all, I enjoyed the hell out of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.
Oh, and I love your reccomendation of World's Greatest Dad. It really, really, really needs a larger audience.
I'm calling it right now. "In the Loop" will be Brad's #1.
@PinstripedJon: i'll take you up on that bet – i believe its going to be Push
How is The Hangover not in the top 25….
I think the repeat viewing effect has a little too much influence on these lists. How is it that one can love a movie the first time and then not like it as much the second time and then change their mind on the movie altogether. Obviously for repeat viewings of certain movies, you already know the punchlines and gags are coming, but it's not like the movie gets worse the second time you know? I find that's why comedies rarely make end-of-year lists.
But how many times can you watch Paranormal Activity? Or Antichrist? It seems to me that those movies will get boring after the 10th viewing…
It's just hard to believe at the halfway mark of the year, The Hangover is almost #1 and in just 6 months, the film doesn't cut the top 25? Weird. The re-watchibility factor plays too much of a large role sometimes for these lists.
I loved The Hangover on a rewatch. The first time I saw it, I merely liked it.
I just got to see the full version of Red Cliff at the Detroit Institute of the Arts this weekend. I don't think you'll be disappointed when you see it. Even at nearly 5 hours, nothing felt unnecessary. It's an amazing achievement, and it's my number one film of the year.