Every Movie I Saw in 2009

Posted on January 28, 2010 by Gavin

I took a look at all the movies that came out last year and came to the conclusion that, while some were great, most were not. This is probably true of most years, but this one in particular seemed to have its share of turds. I divided some of them into a few lists below, and added some commentary because this is a blog and that's just what we do.

Saw and enjoyed:

Up - Amazing, emotional film. As Pixar offerings go for me, this one takes third place behind Wall-E and The Incredibles.
The Dark Knight - Transformative, poetic comic book film that redefines the genre.
Avatar - Incredible performances and a brand new universe. Can't wait for a sequel.
Watchmen - Tried very hard, walked away with a lot.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine - Didn't expect much, got more than that.
Star Trek - Instant classic that found a way to appeal to everybody.
Public Enemies - Authentic, straightforward storytelling. We need more of this.
Moon - Top-notch indie film, a new sci-fi fav of mine.
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra - Don't expect much, just sit back and root for the good guys.
Inglourious Basterds - My movie of the year. Need to see it again.
Paranormal Activity - Bring a fresh pair of pants.
Sherlock Holmes - Worthy. Not sure I'm interested in a sequel, though.
District 9 - Come for the original story, stay for the biting humor.

Saw, but almost immediately wished I hadn't:

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen - Only saw it on a dare.
The International - Was expecting an action movie, got a boring one with one-dimensional characters.
Knowing - I hear Nicholas Cage has some debt to pay off. Hence this stinker.
Julia - Great performance by Tilda Swinton, she'll probably win an Oscar. The movie was relentlessly depressing, though.
Extract - Wanted to love it, probably expected too much. Might give it another shot sometime.
Terminator Salvation - Should have either removed the John Connor character or the McG director.
Halloween II - Hit a little too close to home for me. Yes, that's sarcasm you're detecting.
The Girlfriend Experience - Just not that great.

Still want to see:

Zombieland - There's always going to be interesting and funny zombie flicks.
The Proposal - Need to see more chick flicks.
(500) Days of Summer - Ditto.
9 - Animated sci-fi story, not to be confused with the Italian musical starring Daniel Day Lewis.
Nine - Italian musical starring Daniel Day Lewis, not to be confused with the animated sci-fi story.
The Lovely Bones - Just because it's Peter Jackson.
Ninja Assassin - Need to see what this one is really about.
Fantastic Mr. Fox - Heard great things.
The Time Traveler's Wife - Hits pretty close to home for me. That might be sarcasm, I'll let you know five minutes ago.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - Need to see the one before it first.
The Hangover - Yep, I'm probably one of the four people who missed this one.
Taken - Liked the trailer. Yeah, that's all it takes.
He's Just Not That into You - I might have a crush on one of the cast members. No, it's not the Mac guy.
The Invention of Lying - Because the poster on this one cracks me up - looks nothing like Ricky Gervais.
Where the Wild Things Are - Liked the book.
Michael Jackson's This Is It - Might wait for the sequel.
The Men Who Stare at Goats - Just because of the title.
The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day - First one was pretty much great.

Movies I don't want to see at all:

Did You Hear About the Morgans? - Judging by the box office, the rest of America agrees with me.
Antichrist - Don't understand the merit of this one.
Saw VI - Unless its title contains "Star Wars", I'm not going to see the "VI" of anything.
Capitalism: A Love Story - I'm not against capitalism in general, just crony capitalism. Rename the movie and I'll see it.
Brüno - Nah.
Angels & Demons - Digitally chop Tom Hanks' hair and I'll revisit this.

The rest:

Posted on January 28, 2010 by Gavin | Posted in Movies

4 Responses to Every Movie I Saw in 2009

Schiessl says:

District 9 was the best movie I saw in 2009 on the big screen. Possibly one of the top ten movies ever.

January 29, 2010 at 7:09 pm
jordan says:

its a good thing your roommate own inglorious basterds

January 30, 2010 at 8:19 am
Andrew says:

OUTSTANDING list.

Also, I like how it tells me what html tags I can use.

January 30, 2010 at 12:33 pm
Leah says:

Time Traveler’s wife. I’m sensing a movie night (maybe this saturday??)

February 18, 2010 at 10:13 am

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Every Movie I Saw in 2009

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