Post by StevePulaski on Dec 23, 2009 13:01:04 GMT -5
We can all agree, between the deaths of 2009, the remakes of 2009, and many other ups and downs of the year. But here we look at some of the best movies of 2009, and what it's had to offer.
The Best Movies of 2009.
1. (500) Days of Summer.
I dont know where to begin with this one. It's not a love story, thats already taken care of. But the uniqueness and extraordinary blend of characters like Zooey Deschannel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. I also have to comment that Zooey Deschannel completely redeems herself after starring in that horrible Comedy Yes Man. This movie was way up her alley and unlike Yes Man, she seems so on with this movies along with her co-star Gordon-Levitt. See this movie.
2. The Hangover.
One of the funniest Comedies of the year, and possibly the decade, is now available on DVD and Blu-Ray. This movie takes a lot of risks and unlike other recent movies, get away with those risks and actually is funny. From director of Old School and the sometimes forgotten 2000 Comedy, Road Trip. My one minor complaint is the "new" music used for scenes in Vegas. I didn't like most of the real current music. Though the credit song (Flo-Rida's "Right Round" I believe) seemed rather fitting for the movie at the end. Still a must see film.
3. World's Greatest Dad.
Robin Williams is an actor with a bad taste. Some movies like One Hour Photo show his dark side, and Bicentennial Man which show the sad side of him. Though movies like Man of the Year, License to Wed, and RV show the stupid side in him and make it seem like his career is done. Though, World's Greatest Dad is one of the best Robin Williams films, I have ever seen. Next to One Hour Photo, it's my favorite Robin Williams movie. The plot seems laughable, but it's really a sad movie and can be considered the saddest Williams movie to date.
4. Michael Jackson's This is It.
Many went in this thinking of a documentary about Jackson, when in honesty its a rehearsal footage of Jackson preparing for what would have been, his final shows entitled "This is It". Jackson died from Cardiac Arrest on June 25, 2009 (my birthday) and it seemed a part of the world died with him. His music is shown in this movie and though Jackson's days were numbered, he seemed at his greatest and just pours his heart and soul into it and not forcing into grueling treatment or frustration. Next to Moonwalker and The Wizard of Oz, it's one of my favorite musicals.
5. Extract.
An overlooked Comedy describes Mike Judge's latest work. For years Mike Judge was in anger after his 1999 film, Office Space, now considered a cult classic, flopped at the box office. I'm glad to see now he's rose from the grave and directed a Comedy with feeling and umph much like Office Space. Mila Kunis, probably one of the most lively female actress working nowadays and Jason Bateman do an excellent job guiding us through this Comedy and make sure we laugh all the way. Plus we got cameos from David Koechener and even Schillinger from the HBO series Oz. Nothing is to miss in this underrated Comedy.
6. Orphan.
Some call it a remake of the 1970s Horror movie with a cult following, The Omen. I say it's a completely different film with a better/more intense feeling. I have only seen pieces of The Omen, and from what I have seen, it's just alright. Even when thinking of the scare factor in the 70s it isn't much. The idea and nostalgia of a child being a killer, was a new concept and being as Michael Myers was around at about the same time. The world had only known at that time that Myers existed in the slasher film genre. But as far as Orphan goes. It was a hell of a movie. Definitely a check out for the modern day Horror fan. Though, sadly, seeing as people found it to closely related to The Omen. It wasnt widely seen and basically flopped.
7. The Collector.
The Collector was yet another underrated Horror film of 2009. My uncle and I had to search around for a place to see it. It was worth the long drive because we saw it in luxury. Extra large sodas and popcorn, and recliners to sit on. That added to the enjoyment, but surprisingly what was originally intended to be a prequel to the never-ending Saw series, turned out good. This movie is filled with endless blood and torture (torture porn). The plot is slim and slender, though the scenes are very upbeat and shockingly scary. I think I nearly puked when the guy was getting his teeth yanked out with pliers.
8. Adventureland.
Marketed at a Superbad follow up, Adventureland is a mild-mannered Drama film about a group of teens working at an Adventureland theme park. Jesse Eisenberg forms a buddy relationship with his friend Kristen Stewart. Eisenberg begins to develop a crush on Stewart's character, and you probably know whats next. It's a shame that because of some of the extended dialog scenes, pot smoking, and no elements to current life today, many people I knew hated this movie. I think you need to have an open mind with this movie. Do not go into it thinking it's a laugh out loud, Judd Apatow like movie. You will have to listen to the dialog to laugh at this movie. I watched this on Blu-Ray and was shocked to see the picture quality wasn't great. It grainy in places, and not top notch. My guess is because they couldn't use HD cameras since they were trying to capture life in the 80s. It's too bad though a lot of teens were more into Twilight than this. This has way more elements and funnier moments than that by a long shot.
9. Zombieland.
It's been called, the most anticipated Zombie film of 2009. I think that it's a tie between this and George A. Romero's Survival of the Dead. Everyone seemed to fall in love with it when the trailer was shown for nearly every movie. It wasn't a bad movie, just not great. It made it into the best list, but I was thinking about putting it just in the middle. It is funny in places, though they were kinda trying to hard to be funny with this movie. Though it's not bad, I think Jesse Eisenberg's best work was in Adventureland. Though in both movies they play similar characters. Plus if you read my blog post about Zombieland 2 possibly being shot in 3d, you know why my love for this movie has somewhat decreased.
10. Midnight Movie.
The first and only Direct-to-Dvd movie in this list, Midnight Movie won an award at the Chicago Horror Festival and is widely liked by websites such as Bloody Disgusting and other main horror sites. Midnight Movie is a strange movie taking place in a theater, with a group of teens, an angry biker, and his wife. The midnight movie playing in the theater has a bad history, it's proven when the killer starts filming his grisly kills inside the theater on each of their friends. A weird little movie, but definitely another overlooked Horror film.
The Best Movies of 2009.
1. (500) Days of Summer.
I dont know where to begin with this one. It's not a love story, thats already taken care of. But the uniqueness and extraordinary blend of characters like Zooey Deschannel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. I also have to comment that Zooey Deschannel completely redeems herself after starring in that horrible Comedy Yes Man. This movie was way up her alley and unlike Yes Man, she seems so on with this movies along with her co-star Gordon-Levitt. See this movie.
2. The Hangover.
One of the funniest Comedies of the year, and possibly the decade, is now available on DVD and Blu-Ray. This movie takes a lot of risks and unlike other recent movies, get away with those risks and actually is funny. From director of Old School and the sometimes forgotten 2000 Comedy, Road Trip. My one minor complaint is the "new" music used for scenes in Vegas. I didn't like most of the real current music. Though the credit song (Flo-Rida's "Right Round" I believe) seemed rather fitting for the movie at the end. Still a must see film.
3. World's Greatest Dad.
Robin Williams is an actor with a bad taste. Some movies like One Hour Photo show his dark side, and Bicentennial Man which show the sad side of him. Though movies like Man of the Year, License to Wed, and RV show the stupid side in him and make it seem like his career is done. Though, World's Greatest Dad is one of the best Robin Williams films, I have ever seen. Next to One Hour Photo, it's my favorite Robin Williams movie. The plot seems laughable, but it's really a sad movie and can be considered the saddest Williams movie to date.
4. Michael Jackson's This is It.
Many went in this thinking of a documentary about Jackson, when in honesty its a rehearsal footage of Jackson preparing for what would have been, his final shows entitled "This is It". Jackson died from Cardiac Arrest on June 25, 2009 (my birthday) and it seemed a part of the world died with him. His music is shown in this movie and though Jackson's days were numbered, he seemed at his greatest and just pours his heart and soul into it and not forcing into grueling treatment or frustration. Next to Moonwalker and The Wizard of Oz, it's one of my favorite musicals.
5. Extract.
An overlooked Comedy describes Mike Judge's latest work. For years Mike Judge was in anger after his 1999 film, Office Space, now considered a cult classic, flopped at the box office. I'm glad to see now he's rose from the grave and directed a Comedy with feeling and umph much like Office Space. Mila Kunis, probably one of the most lively female actress working nowadays and Jason Bateman do an excellent job guiding us through this Comedy and make sure we laugh all the way. Plus we got cameos from David Koechener and even Schillinger from the HBO series Oz. Nothing is to miss in this underrated Comedy.
6. Orphan.
Some call it a remake of the 1970s Horror movie with a cult following, The Omen. I say it's a completely different film with a better/more intense feeling. I have only seen pieces of The Omen, and from what I have seen, it's just alright. Even when thinking of the scare factor in the 70s it isn't much. The idea and nostalgia of a child being a killer, was a new concept and being as Michael Myers was around at about the same time. The world had only known at that time that Myers existed in the slasher film genre. But as far as Orphan goes. It was a hell of a movie. Definitely a check out for the modern day Horror fan. Though, sadly, seeing as people found it to closely related to The Omen. It wasnt widely seen and basically flopped.
7. The Collector.
The Collector was yet another underrated Horror film of 2009. My uncle and I had to search around for a place to see it. It was worth the long drive because we saw it in luxury. Extra large sodas and popcorn, and recliners to sit on. That added to the enjoyment, but surprisingly what was originally intended to be a prequel to the never-ending Saw series, turned out good. This movie is filled with endless blood and torture (torture porn). The plot is slim and slender, though the scenes are very upbeat and shockingly scary. I think I nearly puked when the guy was getting his teeth yanked out with pliers.
8. Adventureland.
Marketed at a Superbad follow up, Adventureland is a mild-mannered Drama film about a group of teens working at an Adventureland theme park. Jesse Eisenberg forms a buddy relationship with his friend Kristen Stewart. Eisenberg begins to develop a crush on Stewart's character, and you probably know whats next. It's a shame that because of some of the extended dialog scenes, pot smoking, and no elements to current life today, many people I knew hated this movie. I think you need to have an open mind with this movie. Do not go into it thinking it's a laugh out loud, Judd Apatow like movie. You will have to listen to the dialog to laugh at this movie. I watched this on Blu-Ray and was shocked to see the picture quality wasn't great. It grainy in places, and not top notch. My guess is because they couldn't use HD cameras since they were trying to capture life in the 80s. It's too bad though a lot of teens were more into Twilight than this. This has way more elements and funnier moments than that by a long shot.
9. Zombieland.
It's been called, the most anticipated Zombie film of 2009. I think that it's a tie between this and George A. Romero's Survival of the Dead. Everyone seemed to fall in love with it when the trailer was shown for nearly every movie. It wasn't a bad movie, just not great. It made it into the best list, but I was thinking about putting it just in the middle. It is funny in places, though they were kinda trying to hard to be funny with this movie. Though it's not bad, I think Jesse Eisenberg's best work was in Adventureland. Though in both movies they play similar characters. Plus if you read my blog post about Zombieland 2 possibly being shot in 3d, you know why my love for this movie has somewhat decreased.
10. Midnight Movie.
The first and only Direct-to-Dvd movie in this list, Midnight Movie won an award at the Chicago Horror Festival and is widely liked by websites such as Bloody Disgusting and other main horror sites. Midnight Movie is a strange movie taking place in a theater, with a group of teens, an angry biker, and his wife. The midnight movie playing in the theater has a bad history, it's proven when the killer starts filming his grisly kills inside the theater on each of their friends. A weird little movie, but definitely another overlooked Horror film.