“Yes, Im finally doing this write up. Okay, I guess 5 days isnt all that late. Certainly better than last year. January was just about over by the time I posted.
Instead of going by release date, Im counting the year based on when I went to the theater. So, for example, even though Avatar was released on Dec 18th, I didnt see it until Jan 3rd, so for me it isnt eligible until next year’s recap. I did notice on last year’s recap that I included some of those gray area timeline films, so I wont take those into consideration when ranking my faves. Example: Revolutionary Road was out last Dec, I saw it in Jan but ranked it as an honorable mention. I’ll list it, but wont rank it.
First off, here’s the list of what I saw at the theaters, with links to their write ups. Most of these are on my old blog
Okay I’ll stop with all the arbitrary guidelines I’ve set for myself. No one else cares.
Seven Pounds
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Rachel Getting Married
Revolutionary Road
Gran Torino
The Wrestler
The Reader
Defiance
Taken
Push
Coraline
Fanboys
The International
Watchmen
Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li
Confessions of a Shopaholic
Duplicity
Sunshine Cleaning
The Great Buck Howard
I Love You Man
Monsters Vs Aliens
Adventureland
Observe and Report
17 Again
Crank 2: High Voltage
Fast & Furious
The Soloist
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Star Trek
Angels & Demons
Terminator: Salvation
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
Up
The Hangover
Land of the Lost
Year One
Moon
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Public Enemies
Bruno
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
I Love You Beth Cooper
(500) Days of Summer
Funny People
Julie & Julia
G-Force
GI Joe: Rise of Cobra
District 9
Inglorious Basterds
Gamer
Taking Woodstock
Extract
The Informant!
9
Jennifer’s Body
Surrogates
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
Fame
Zombieland
Whip It
Paranormal Activity
The Invention of Lying
Toy Story Double Feature
Where the Wild Things Are
Law Abiding Citizen
Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant
Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day
The Box
The Men Who Stare At Goats
A Serious Man
2012
Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
The Messenger
The Fantastic Mr Fox
The Twilight Saga: New Moon
Brothers
The Hurt Locker
The Blind Side
Everybody’s Fine
Up in the Air
The Princess and the Frog
Invictus
—–
\m/ shit that’s 82 times I went to the movies. Although Im slightly disappointed. I expected to break 100. Not complaining though. Still averages to more than once a week. And Im sure the Regal Fenway, which is where probably at least 50 of those occurred, isnt complaining either.
Before I most my top picks, gotta give the usual DISCLAIMER. Im actually gonna steal the same one I wrote last year. These are my personal favorites of the year. Not necessarily the best movies. Just the ones I enjoyed most or felt some special attachment to. I’ve said this many times before, but I can recognize a movie as bad and still enjoy it for its entertainment value. Likewise I can recognize a movie as good, and hate it. Without further ado
**drumroll please**
Dawn Dawn’s top 5 for 2009
1-Star Trek
2-Zombieland
3-(500) Days of Summer
4-The Hangover
5-(tie)-Inglorious Basterds
5-(tie)-Up in the Air
Honorable Mention: I Love You Man
Almost Honorable Mentions: Fanboys, District 9, The Messenger
Some comments on the above.
-Was back and forth between on which order to put 2 and 3. Ultimately I put Zombieland higher because that was far more of a Dawn movie.
-Was also a bit torn about The Hangover vs I Love You Man making it into the actual top five. Decided on The Hangover because that one surprised me in how awesome it was. While …Man was great, I expected no less from Paul Rudd and Jason Segal.
-Really wasnt sure which I prefered between Basterds and Up in the Air. I’d originally been a bit harsh on my judgement of Basterds, mostly because Tarantino has set the bar so high for himself. But thinking back on it later, yes that movie is brilliant. If its not as good as the ones I consider his top 3 (Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill) thats because those 3 are really \m/ good. On the other hand, I did love Up in the Air as well. Timely, quirky, fun, deep. Thats the contender with the possibility of winning that Im backing for the Oscars this year
-I was also a bit harsh on The Messenger when I first wrote it up. I dont even think I gave it a full 4 \m/ but I really should have. That was one damn good movie. I mostly wanted to include it so it gets a bit more very deserved attention.
And now, for good measure, the not so good ones.
Bottom 3
-I Love You Beth Cooper
-Year One
-Bruno
Dishonorable Mentions:
Observe and Report, Land of the Lost, A Serious Man
Comments
-I know someone’s gonna wanna come and choke a bitch for me including A Serious Man on the list. Dont hate. It just wasnt my style. Yes, I do think the Coen bro’s are movie gods, but this one wasnt for me
-I somehow still ended up impulse buying Land of the Lost on Black Friday, even though I know it was kinda bad
Yeah so movie-wise, 2009 was a pretty good year. Some highlights (cause I like bullet points)
-Actually blogged every last movie I saw in theaters
-Started a new, more hardcore blog
-Earned some street cred watching AFI movies, and will continue to do so until I finish the list
-Upgraded my entertainment center
-Reached 1000 items in the movie wall of doom
-Got a private screening of a movie. How cool is that?
-Watched a movie at Grauman’s Chinese Theater, also wicked cool
-Tied for second (only behind by one point) in the usual Oscar prediction game
I know I had more, but I can’t think of ’em right now. And bed time is rapidly approaching. Here’s hoping 2010 is even more epic!
\m/