I didn’t hate Avatar, but I didn’t love it either. I understand why there is hype. I also understand Avatar’s place in movie history. But I don’t agree that it was one of the best films of the year. Visually stunning, yes. But in reality, I think the movie is a one trick pony. If Cameron is setting out to make his “Trilogy” then I think he needed to add, you know, some drama to a very – “we’ve already seen this 100 times” – type of script. But that’s just me. Here are 20 Films I thought were better in 2009.

1. Precious – Easily the most powerful film I saw this year. Mo’Nique’s performance is a tour-de-force like we have not seen in film in quite some time. Go see this, but don’t expect to come out feeling like a million bucks.

2. The Inglourious Basterds – The return of Quentin Tarantino and he comes out with guns blazing. Literally. The ending is a little crazy, but I think it works.

3. The Fantastic Mr. Fox – Wes Anderson did a kids movie. Think Tannenbaums, with puppets. Glad to see he kept his style.

4. Up in the Air – Mr. Clooney is fantastic in this. Not a complicated movie, nice and simple and an excellent follow up to Juno from Jason Reitman.

5. District 9 – The best sci-fi movie of 2009 didn’t need an astronomical budget and fancy glasses. Just a solid story and some characters you could care about.

6. Zombieland – Easily the best opening credit sequence of any film this year. Funny and very witty. I can see this being a profitable franchise for 1 or 2 more flicks.

7. Up! – Pixar knows how to pull the heart strings. The first 30mins or so are some of the most touching I have ever seen in an animated feature. Thought it lost a little steam at the end, but still one of Pixar’s best.

8. Away We Go – Nice performances from John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph in this as a couple of parents-to-be in search of a place to live. This had a shot at being my number 1 for a good bit of 2009. Soundtrack is solid too.

9. Drag Me to Hell – Sam Raimi’s return to horror. The fight in the parking garage was one of the most entertaining 7 minutes of screen time this year. Over the top at times, but in a good way.

10. Sugar – This movie might have beaten out The Wrestler for me had it been released in 2008. The story of a young Dominican baseball player’s journey through the minor-league baseball system from the team that brought you the also underrated Half-Nelson.

11. Moon – The best movie released in 2009 by David Bowie’s son. Sam Rockwell is great playing clones.

12. 500 Days of Summer - I actually enjoyed this more than I though I would, but I think I would watch Zooey Deschanel do just about anything. Thought Cobra Commander was solid in this as well.

13. The Informant! – Matt Damon is fantastic in this. His character’s inner thoughts and tangents are what I like best about this movie. Interesting story too.

14. Where the Wild Things Are – Wasn’t sure how they were gonna turn a kids book with about 10 lines of text into a feature length film. Spike Jonze nails it, but it’s certainly not for kids. Loved the monsters in this. Thought the costumes were perfect.

15. Crazy Heart – Jeff Bridges is fantastic in this and so is Maggie Gyllenhall. Maybe the Dude finally gets his due. I thought the music was decent too. Colin Ferrel was a bit of a surprise, wasn’t sure how he’d pull of “country western” but he nails it.

16. The Hangover – Probably the funniest movie (next to I Love You Man) to come out in 2009. This one will be quoted for years to come and will get even better with time.

17. Star Trek – JJ Abrams Trek reboot had me wishing that George Lucas had turned the keys over to him in 1999. I can only dream of a world with no Jar Jar Binks.

18. The Road – Viggo and his son go on a post-apocalyptic road trip. This movie kind of fizzled at the box office. I liked it a good bit and it was actually higher on my list until I started putting it together. Might hit closer to home if you actually have a kid.

19. Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans – It’s not a sequel nor is it a reboot of the barely watchable Harvey Keitel film. It is a Werner Herzog retelling of drugged-out cop story, starring Nicholas Cage and he is NUTS. Features one of the best shaving scenes in 2009 as well.

20. The Hurt Locker – Saw this in 2008 at the Toronto Film Festival. I almost wish I would have watched it again before putting this list together, it might have been higher. I really hope the ex-Mrs. Cameron beats out James Cameron  for the Oscar with this film.

Just Missed
The Watchmen,  I Love You Man,  More Than a Game,  Sherlock Holmes,  Taken,  Avatar

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