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I'm a bit of film nut:
OK so what are your top five films of 2009, to date?
Mine in order best to worst:
*The Wrestler (yea I know but I saw it this year)
*Monsters vs. Aliens
*Hangover
*Star Trek
*Public Enemies

*District 9 (not top 5 actually, but I think I would have liked better had I HAD MY FRIGGING WINE AND POPCORN)

(not seen yet: Drag me to Hell, 500 days, Hurt Locker, Moon-all their rentals are belong to us!) I am betting Hurt Locker will be #1.

Big disappointments
*Transformers
*Wolverine
*The Spirit (actually not-I knew it would suck smelly ones but I was forced to see it, it FAR exceeded my expectations of awfullness)
Still to see
*Cloudy with Chance of Meatballs
*Agorra
*Zombieland (it just speaks to me)
*Avatar-maybe
*Planet 51

Biggest Q?
Avatar-I'm getting increasingly anxious about the tree hugger ferngully potentiality of it, balanced against the awesomoness of Cameron.

Haven't really gone to the cinema much but...

Watchmen was amazing.

Transformers 2 was dire.

Dug Watchmen, In the Loop, Dead Snow, Star Trek, Frost Nixon and W ( the latter surprisingly sentimental I found).
Depressed by The Spirit and the success of Transformers 2. Disapointed by "My Name is Bruce" ( still perhaps hope for Bubba Ho Tep 2 then ! ).

....quite enjoyed the animated WW feature, it's no JLA/JLU but still good. Bloodier than I was expecting though. Outlander was pretty cool..better than I thought it would be anyway, want to see Moon and Battle for Terra.

Oh..and capitalism : A love story..just to annoy Frazzled.

The Spirit was 2009? Must confirm then adjust hate list.

I think it was 2008 upon reflection but didn't have the heart to...to.... ..still wish I hadn't.

Watchmen, Hurt Locker, Frost Nixon, (500) Days of Summer, Inglorious Basterds.

I'm still waiting for something especially delicious a la No Country For Old Men or some similar.

Yes, Hangover was the surprise film for me. Star Trek, Wolverine, and District 9 left me strangely empty.

Watchmen was pretty good, and I am definitely going to try and see Inglorious Basterds in the theater.

Beyond this? .... hmmm.... Hollywood sucks maybe?

The amount of tripe I see being made now is quite disappointing, I am just thankful that I manage to avoid most of those films.

The Johnny Depp gangster flick was fail... total fail. I actually left the theater twice during the gunfights because they were so epically deafening. I literally got a headache from the crapiness of that damn film.

Terminator Salvation and Inglorious Basterds were my highlights.

I was not particularly impressed by the new Terminator flick, it just lacked any passion of the first two. The last one sucked too, but I actually enjoyed it a lot more than this one.

As soon as they actually get full force into the big future fights with the rebels and the flying rocket pods and the other stuff that goes bang over a truly apocalyptic landscape...

Meh... Transformers was better.

Top 5:
Watchmen
Inglorious Bastards
District 9
Star Trek
It Might Get Loud




Also liked:
G.I.Joe (a LOT! better than I thought it would be...}

Big pile of Meh:
Harry Potter 6 (really could have used another half hour to an hour. The books are getting too big for single moveies to cover them. I am rather glad they are splitting the last one)

Sucked:
Transformers 2 (all I can say is it was good looking in Imax)
Terminator Salvation
didn't even bother with Wolverine... that had gonna suck on it from the get go. might rent to torture myself.

Bronson, District 9 and Moon are the only films I've really rated this year

I saw Dorian Grey last night, it was ok, nothing stunning, feths with the book a bit. I'm Looking forward to The Men Who Stare at Goats and I want to see The Hurt Locker.

Watchmen was dry and I didn't get past the credits to Wolverine, Transformers sucked.

Assembly was good, not sure if it was 2009 though.

Fallen668 wrote:Top 5:
Watchmen
Inglorious Bastards
District 9
Star Trek
It Might Get Loud




Also liked:
G.I.Joe (a LOT! better than I thought it would be...}

Big pile of Meh:
Harry Potter 6 (really could have used another half hour to an hour. The books are getting too big for single moveies to cover them. I am rather glad they are splitting the last one)

Sucked:
Transformers 2 (all I can say is it was good looking in Imax)
Terminator Salvation
didn't even bother with Wolverine... that had gonna suck on it from the get go. might rent to torture myself.

I've heard it might get loud to be intensely good if music/guitars are your bag. I've recommended such to Wife and a comrade who are more into that.

I very much enjoyed it and it made me pretty much go out and buy every CD I could find with Jack white on it. I picked up a lot of respect for him and have really come to like his music. It is also the type of movie that really starts making me think again that I really wish I had been in a band just to be playing music.

If you know people who are music Fans... tell them to go see it.

Watchmen
Drag me to hell
District 9
the hangover

cant think of a 5th.

My top five (1 being the best)

5.Terminator Salvation
4.Watchmen
3.Star Trek
2.Transformers 2: RotF
1.Flight 666

Watchmen
Monsters vs Aliens
Star Trek

Can't think of anything else.

I mostly watch films on the plane or DVD. I've only been to the cinema twice this year.

George Spiggott wrote:Assembly was good, not sure if it was 2009 though.

Assembly was an amazing film (if by assembly you mean the chinese civil war film). It was a 2007 movie though, I watched it this year when I bought it on DVD.

MeanGreenStompa wrote:Assembly was an amazing film (if by assembly you mean the chinese civil war film). It was a 2007 movie though, I watched it this year when I bought it on DVD.

That's the one I mean MGS, I spotted it in a trailer on the Days of Glory DVD (also excellent), I only watched it recently.

Up. Which, I think is the only film that I've seen beginning to end all year.

I love going to the cinema although their prices make GW's look like a bargain, especially at the concessions stand. However I only saw the below four movies this year so here they are from best to worst:

1. Star Trek - I actually saw this movie THREE times (once on the IMAX, its quality was significantly improved and you can tell the director utilized IMAX technology) and I'm a Star Wars fan. These kind of movies are right up my alley: a fun flick in a great setting with an awesome cast of characters that has a utopian yet still militarisitic flavor.

2. Inglorious Basterds - Closest thing to Pulp Fiction, QT's style is always refreshing in the world of connect-the-dots storytelling. Could've used some more Nazi scalps but I see myself watching this movie a hell of a lot more once it comes on DVD.

3. District 9 - Slightly disappointed but I saw it after it was hyped up; still a great flick but I left this movie feeling like how I left after the Matrix since I saw that one after it was hyped up to the extreme. Hype can be a damning thing sometimes.

4. Transformers 2 - Its Michael Bay, the Transformers franchise, and its a sequel = one of the most mindless movies ever but imo in a fun and entertaining way. Was not disappointed and along with Star Trek saw it on the IMAX - incredible effects and makes true Transformer fans feel old and wet their pants at the same time.

Cane wrote:QT's style is always refreshing in the world of connect-the-dots storytelling.

He's actually coppied the style of inglorious almost completely from Sergio Leone. But he's done that very well I must say.

whatwhat wrote:He's actually coppied the style of inglorious almost completely from Sergio Leone. But he's done that very well I must say.

There were a lot of influences in there beyond Leone. There were throwbacks to films from all kinds of genres, action, spy thrillers, and revenge flick just off the top of my head.



Anyhow, Inglorious Basterds is the best film I've seen this year. It's funny, it's cathartic and gives us the best villain in years. Simply a great film.

Second is Balibo. Might only matter to Australians, but it is about the murder of Australian journalists during the invasion of East Timor in the 70s. There are plenty of complaints about the accuracy of specific events portrayed but they don't matter. The film builds itself around the simple, undeniable truth that Australian citizens were murdered and our government tried to pretend it didn't happen.

Third is Public Enemies. Michael Mann made the absolute best cop vs robber movie with Heat. Here he's basically made the same movie again, only set it in the depression, giving everyone tommy guns and long coats. It isn't as good as Heat, mostly because Mann wanders a line between action film and biopic, not quick ticking off all the boxes in either. But it's possibly a lot more substantial, offering commentary on crime & justice, but never taking the easy road of excusing or justifying the actions of violent man.

Star Trek can have fourth spot. It's exactly what big blockbusters should be. Great spectacle, larger than life characters and good laughs. It looks so simple to do the blockbuster when it comes out like this that almost take the skill involved in it for granted (or with GI Joe, which probably could have taken this spot just as easily). But then you get something like Transformers, which shows how easy it is to screw up the blockbuster so badly.

Last spot I'm giving to Che. Most people probably found it really boring, and I can understand why. But Che is a fascinating character, and the slightly distanced approach taken by Soderbergh means there were no false explanations given. It doesn't hurt that I'm a Soderbergh fanboy.


Honourable mention to Anvil: The Story of Anvil.

Looking forward to A Serious Man because it's a Coen Bros film.

A serious man? more detail?

sebster wrote:

whatwhat wrote:He's actually coppied the style of inglorious almost completely from Sergio Leone. But he's done that very well I must say.

There were a lot of influences in there beyond Leone. There were throwbacks to films from all kinds of genres, action, spy thrillers, and revenge flick just off the top of my head.

Oh no doubt. Most of the character names for example are nods to notable people in the film industry. But me personally, I came out thinking I had just seen a spaghetti western. The long drawn out scenes. His trademark close ups. Tension building pauses. Some of that stuff is pure Leone, and it's not surprising considering Tarantino himself said he wanted it to be a spaghetti western set in WW2. Apparently he even tried to hire Ennio Morricone.

Watchmen
Inglorious Bastards
Drag Me to Hell


G

whatwhat wrote:...and it's not surprising considering Tarantino himself said he wanted it to be a spaghetti western set in WW2. Apparently he even tried to hire Ennio Morricone.

Sounds like the premise to Kelly's Heroes (and Saving Private Ryan).

Wo wo wo I'd proffer Saving Private Ryan is anything but a speghetti western type.

Frazzled wrote:Wo wo wo I'd proffer Saving Private Ryan is anything but a speghetti western type.

That's because you're from Texas, it's a little clearer from here. The film's plot is based upon an American Civil War concept. Don't get caught up in the scenery, look at the characters and the plot. Saving Private Ryan is as 'cowboys in France' as it gets.

Respectfully, what are you talking about?
*Literal onto the beach DDay invasion.
*Mosaic of smaller actions reminiscent of some of the everyday action that actually occurred.
*Awesome platoon level fight replete with better than Baysplosion explosions.

What civil war concept?
What cowboy stereotypes? There's not even a bad guy. The good guys aren't invulnerable. the good guys don't particularly care.
Spielberg himself stated he was trying to get some of themoral ambiguity of Vietnam into the middle of the picture replete with the horrors of war, while at the same time not coming off as some hippy treehugger.