After seeing the trailer to this film for the first time, the thought never crossed my mind that it would be my number 1 film of 2009. I guess the director of Old School proved to me that if you can get a SUPER CLEVER script, great actors, and awesome locations, its possible to come out with GREAT results. Don't forget, I'm not the only one that LOVED this film. The audience loved it enough to make it the newest highest grossing R rated film of all time. Not only that, it won a frickin Golden Globe award for Best Picture Comedy/Musical AGAINST (500) Days of Summer. That's an awesome twist I'll never forget. No matter how raunchy this movie gets, I'm still 100% invested in what goes on with the story and characters. I myself like the director of this (Todd Phillips) was not expecting the great results it got. Well Todd, you not only managed to receive a Golden Globe but also the number 1 spot on my list of top films of 2009. You deserved it buddy. Your film is THAT good.
2. Up in the Air
George Clooney I believe gives the performance of his career in the movie. Also not to mention a perfect screenplay adaptation by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner. I was literally shocked when this didn't win Best Adapted Screenplay at the Oscars. Thankfully it's still known to be the better film. I mean I was blown away by this film from start to finish. A man who travels around the U.S to fire people has got to be the hardest job anyone could ever do, but George Clooney's character does it so perfectly enough to make him look as convincing as Danny Ocean. Also great supporting performances by Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick especially. I never would've thought a chick from the Twilight movies could be that good of an actress. Comes to show, Jason Reitman knows his actors. A flawless film that perfectly defines what the economy went through in the late 2000s and early 2010s.
3. (500) Days of Summer
Definitely a well thought out original comedy. In fact I look at this film as like Annie Hall, only it's a lot better and more clever with its message and dialogue. I love the way this film begins with the narrator saying that this film isn't a love story, which it's not in case you're still wondering. Like Annie Hall, the story does jump around in times to where the main characters of Tom and Summer are together and not together only it creates better build up in their characters as to why. Terrific screenplay by Scott Neustadter and Michael Weber which I still can't figure out why they weren't nominated at the Oscars. Also great direction debut by Marc Webb which I'm looking forward to see how he does with the Spiderman reboot. If you think this movie is full of cliches from every romance movie you know of, it isn't. It's that good.
4. Zombieland
My new favorite among all zombie films. This movie I could literally watch over and over and still not be bored with at all. Talk about a great cast, AND THERE'S ONLY FOUR OF THEM! All great at playing their characters, especially Harrelson with Tallahassee. I never would've thought Jesse Eisenberg who plays Columbus would've starred in a Best Picture contender the next year and also get nominated for Best Actor as well. That's quite an achievement. Now about this movie, it sets itself up well for everything that happens in this. I mean you have the main character of Columbus listing all these rules he made for Zombieland that come in handy throughout the movie. It's also amazing that Eisenberg actually did a better job at playing a Michael Cera ripoff role than Michael Cera himself. I'm not calling it sad or anything, I'm just saying the guy can really act. Well I know a lot of people still prefer Shaun of the Dead over this, but for me I believe the opposite. I still love both films but this one did it for me not just because of the clever jokes put into this, but also because of the characters. I feel like they have well thought out development and found myself really invested in them. Overall, definitely a film not to miss out on.
5. Fantastic Mr. Fox
When I first saw the trailer for this film, I thought that it just seemed like a silly film like Wes Anderson was trying to speak to kids after making all those R rated films for adults. When I actually saw the movie, I was completely blindsided and saw that this film spoke to adults more than kids. I mean the film is made for all ages, but I could clearly see that you would at least have to be at least 12 years old to get half the jokes in this movie. The reason I say that is because Wes Anderson usually writes clever jokes that you have to read into and not just wait for it to be said. That's what this film is. If you understand sarcasm and have a sense of humor or at least a heart, you'll probably really like this movie. Amazing how much the trailer made it look totally different than what it really is. I can now see why it got nominated for Best Animated Feature. Hell I wish it could've beat Up in that category, even though that was also a great movie.
6. Funny People
I would say 2009 was the year for the most misunderstood films that didn't do as well as they should have. You had Watchmen, Where the Wild Things Are, Whatever Works, but the biggest among all misunderstood films that year that doesn't begin with a 'W', Funny People. I don't get why so many audiences HATED this movie. Did they not even get by watching the trailer that this wasn't just a comedy but also a drama? I also kept hearing that the movie was too long and that there was no need for the second half of the movie. Well yeah, the movie was long but you wouldn't see any breakthrough with any character at all if it weren't for the second half, not to mention that the CLIMAX is always in the second half of a movie! Well needless to say, I enjoyed it and at least most critics gave this movie a great response. Even if it's also a drama, it's still funny. I loved the stand up routine scenes, and not to forget the character who's on this horrible disney like show "Yo Teach!". Hilarious but also with a heart of gold in the characters.
7. The Hurt Locker
This film has the perfect tagline among all modern war films, "war is a drug". I was so glad this film won Best Picture knowing it had an early release, not to mention the first female director ever to win an Oscar. Kathryn Bigelow did a great job at directing this movie, and of course my favorite about this movie, Jeremy Renner did an excellent job at portraying his well written lead character who disarms bombs for a living. The film is intense at a level to where you (or at least I) show empathy to all the characters in this movie. You understand their situation on why they're there and how one speaks to another. This is not one of those films like Top Gun that makes war look cool and makes you want to join. It's pretty much the exact opposite. Great movie and I hope Jeremy Renner wins an Oscar at some point. Thankfully he's showing progress by getting nominated again this last Oscars ceremony.
8. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
After seeing the 5th one, I was hoping this one would be 10 times better and could live up to the 3rd and 1st one. Thankfully, my wish came true. It's interesting because a lot of people hated this one and called it "too boring". Well that's a shame because the best part for Harry Potter films to me is the dialogue, not the action. This one felt a lot like a Sherlock Holmes movie, ironically better than the one that came out this same year. It had that mystery solving feel to it than just wondering when the hell Voldemort is gonna pop up. In fact, it's better to see how Voldemort can influence evil on other wizards like Snape and Malfoy and not just have him do all the dirty work to become supreme ruler among all witches and wizards. I have no problems with this movie which is enough to take the number 8 spot on this list.
9. An Education
Nick Hornby writes a lot of terrific screenplays, but this I think is his best work. A terrific coming of age story about a girl named Jenny (Carey Mulligan) who's life changes after she dates this man named David (Peter Sarsgaard). She also has interesting relations with her parents, particularly her father (Alfred Molina) who have mixed thoughts about her current lifestyle. The plot may sound simple, but it goes deeper enough to where you get to know each character a lot more than the way they appear at the beginning. Fine performances from the whole cast of this film, especially newcomer Mulligan.
10. 2012
First off, I'll say that I do not believe in the world ending in 2012. What I do believe is that this is the mother of all disaster films and I mean that in a good way. For those that are disaster movie fans like myself, if you think seeing cities being destroyed is cool? Try watching this film and see the whole frickin' world get annihilated. Now I still can't see why people hate Roland Emmerich so much. His films are supposed to be fun. Why do people try to put so much focus on the acting and writing? You're not gonna get much enjoyment out of his films if that's ALL you do. If you still want to look for good actors in this movie even though you won't find much, try John Cusack because he always pulls off every role he plays no matter how silly it is which is why I think Nicolas Cage should do a Roland Emmerich film. Right, anyways the production is also amazing and I'm still bummed that this didn't get any Oscar nominations for sound or effects. Interesting that people hate his films yet they gross over $700 million dollars.
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