Well, 2009 has come to an end, and a another year of new films has come to a close. Now that the year is over, I can finally post this thread. So, to the members of the GOF, I ask you: what were your favorite flicks of 2009?
My list:
1) Star Trek-This film has given me hope for the future. This movie single-handedly catapulted an aging sci-fi series back into the modern world. The reboot of the Trek franchise pretty much made my year, and this was perhaps the only film of the year I'd consider to be close to perfect. The casting was fantastic, the story was simple yet engaging, and the dialogue was brilliant. I know some hardcore Trek fans say that the movie messed up in the science department and robbed Trek of its intellect, but honestly, I think the series began slowly losing intelligence from the moment Star Trek V was released, and that the action was a great change of pace from all the usual diplomacy of Trek. Fresh, exciting, and dramatic, Star Trek is without a doubt my favorite film of 2009.
2) Avatar-I'm definitely going to get judged for this, but I really loved Avatar. It's sincere, beautiful to look at, functionally written, rousing in the classic Hollywood sense, and simplistic in the way fables are. It's also a display of genuine vision, something in short supply these days. Cameron's a genius with a tin ear, a master showman who never met a cliche he didn't like. He tells stories visually, with the words as a prop for the feeling. It's pure, visceral filmmaking, and I get that if you don't buy into the sentiment from moment one, Avatar's lost you. I did, and I was moved by it.
3) District 9- District 9 is a grittier, darker version of the usual first-contact with aliens plot, with mankind as the villain. Provocative and deep, it is an allegory for our time, bursting with contemporary themes -- oppression, greed, power, propaganda, and the conflict of dissimilar cultures. All of this is presented from the perspective of one man who is chased by his own species as he slowly becomes one of the aliens, and the entire movie is filmed documentary-style. Thought-inducing and riveting right up until the very end, District 9 is perhaps the best $30 million ever spent in the film making industry.
4) Inglorious Basterds- The best of the Tarantino films, Inglorious Basterds manages to keep its gory violence somewhat in check whilst also showcasing its superb cast and screenplay, which centers on near-perfect dialogue. It's pretentious, narcissistic, and completely unreal, not to mention half it's background characters still get their own intros, but none of that matters. The humor alone carries this movie, even through the boring, unnecessary scenes that were designed to be elaborate but somehow fall short. It's purely outlandish, incredibly violent nature is just something that cannot be replicated, and, despite the film's flaws, it's incredible uniqueness more than earns it a place on my list.
5) Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince- I thoroughly enjoyed the latest addition to the Potter series. This film had a near perfect dynamic between light and dark scenes, and I loved the heavier reliance on characters, dialogue and story. While the action in this film is limited, the tone and writing, along with Rowling's fantastic world, are more than enough to hold a viewer's attention. Now only two films are left in the Potter series, and, after this latest movie, I look forward to The Deathly Hallows Part I with great anticipation.
Well, there's my two cents. What's everyone else's opinion?
