Your Top Ten of 2009

[dreamdead]

1. Inglourious Basterds - 8
2. Coraline - 7.5
3. Fantastic Mr. Fox - 7.5
4. Thirst - 7
5. Sugar - 7
6. Two Lovers - 7
7. The Box - 7
8. Up - 6.5
9. (500) Days of Summer - 6.5
10. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - 6.5
11. Watchmen - 4.5
12. Funny People - 4.5
13. Transformers 2 - 1.5

Enjoyed The Box a lot more than I thought I would.

[Rowland]

So it turns out Sita Sings the Blues is being considered a 2009 release because of a minor last-minute theatrical run:

1. Inglourious Basterds
2. Martyrs
3. Sita Sings the Blues
4. Julia
5. Adventureland
6. District 9
7. Up
8. Coraline
9. Cargo 200
10. Crank: High Voltage

Still have a ridiculous number of movies to catch up with, I'd expect only 3-4 of these to remain on a really developed top ten.

[The Mike]

1. Moon
2. Watchmen
3. Inglorious Basterds
4. Drag Me to Hell
5. The Hurt Locker
6. Observe and Report
7. District 9
8. Knowing
9. The Men Who Stare at Goats
10. A Perfect Getaway

HM: House of the Devil, The Box, Trick 'r Treat, Where the Wild Things Are, Zombieland, The Tournament, Paranormal ActivityUpdated. The Top 6 are far ahead of the rest, which are pretty interchangeable.

[balmakboor]

1. Ponyo on a Cliff by the Sea
2. Munyurangabo
3. Tulpan
4. Goodbye Solo
5. Fantastic Mr. Fox
6. The Informant!
7. Treeless Mountain
8. Funny People
9. Bright Star
10. Adventureland

Made some changes. And yes, one is from 2007 and two are from 2008 according to imdb. No way seeing them until 2009 except maybe New York or something. They didn't even play Seattle -- where I saw them -- until 2009.

[MadMan]

Tonight I viewed some really great/awesome movies, and I plan to continue catching up on 2009. Ratings wise, my Top 10 is skewering towards the 90s, ever so slowly.

1. Up-97
2. Inglourious Basterds-95
3. District 9-95
4. Where The Wild Things Are-94
5. Partly Cloudy-94
6. Public Enemies-93
7. Zombieland-91
8. Will Ferrell: You're Welcome America - A Final Night with George W Bush-91
9. Watchmen-90
10. Star Trek-88

[ContinentalOp]

I rearranged things up top. Can't seem to get Where the Wild Things Are out of my head, in a good way. Was also pretty impressed with Paranormal Activity's slow build-up and subtle scares.

1. Where the Wild Things Are- ****
2. District 9- ****
3. Two Lovers- *** 1/2
4. Up- *** 1/2
5. Moon- *** 1/2
6. Inglorious Basterds- ***
7. Star Trek- ***
8. Taken-***
9. Paranormal Activity- ***
10. Bruno-***

1. Where the Wild Things Are- ****
2. District 9- ****
3. Two Lovers- *** 1/2
4. Up- *** 1/2
5. Moon- *** 1/2
6. Sugar- ***
7. Inglorious Basterds- ***
8. Star Trek- ***
9. Taken-***
10. Paranormal Activity- ***

[origami_mustache]

updated
Antichrist
Phantoms of Nabua
The White Ribbon
City of Life and Death
Hunger
You, The Living
Love Exposure
The Fantastic Mr. Fox
Where The Wild Things Are
Treeless Mountain

HM:
The Limits of Control
A Serious Man
Sugar
We Were Once a Fairytale
Bad Lieutenant: Port of New Orleans
The Informant!
Mother
Two Lovers
Gomorrah
The Headless Woman
Goodbye Solo
35 Shots of Rum
Still Walking
Sin Nombre
Thirst
Summer Hours
Mammoth
Inglorious Basterds
The Road
Avatar
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

Still want to see:
Adventureland, Three Monkeys, The Box, Ponyo on a Cliff by the Sea

[Ivan Drago]

Edited list:

1. Inglourious Basterds
2. Avatar
3. Watchmen
4. Crank 2: High Voltage
5. The Box
6. Star Trek
7. The Informant!
8. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
9. The Princess and the Frog
10. Brothers

11. Two Lovers
12. The Hangover
13. Paranormal Activity
14. Up
15. I Love You, Man
16. Where The Wild Things Are
17. Gamer
18. Moon
19. Terminator: Salvation
20. The Last House on the Left
21. (500) Days of Summer
22. A Christmas Carol
23. Bruno
24. Taken
25. Adventureland
26. Public Enemies
27. Zombieland
28. Land of the Lost
29. Monsters vs. Aliens
30. The Blind Side
31. He’s Just Not That Into You
32. Observe and Report
33. X-Men Origins: Wolverine
34. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
35. Fantastic Mr. Fox

Unrankable: 2012, New Moon

[Kurosawa Fan]

Update:

1. Goodbye Solo
2. Moon
3. Drag Me to Hell
4. Sugar
5. Adventureland
6. Sin Nombre
7. Summer Hours
8. Coraline
9. The House of the Devil
10. Fantastic Mr. Fox

Again:

1. Goodbye Solo
2. Moon
3. Drag Me to Hell
4. Sugar
5. Inglourious Basterds
6. Adventureland
7. Sin Nombre
8. Summer Hours
9. Coraline
10. The House of the Devil

[balmakboor]

1. Ponyo on a Cliff by the Sea
2. Munyurangabo
3. Tulpan
4. Goodbye Solo
5. Treeless Mountain
6. Fantastic Mr. Fox
7. The Informant!
8. Funny People
9. Bright Star
10. Adventureland

Re-watched Treeless Mountain and bumped it up some. I truly consider my top five to be films for the ages. The other five are just terrific films for 2009.

[Dukefrukem]

updating my list... bold is new

1. Avatar Cameron 2009 99
2. Star Trek J. J. Abrams 2009 96
3. Drag Me to Hell Raimi, Sam 2009 95
4. (500) Days of Summer Webb 2009 94
5. Thirst Chan-wook Park 2009 91
6. District 9 Blomkampm Neill 2009 90
7 Zombieland Fleischer, Ruben 2009 89
8 the Hangover Phillips, Todd 2009 88
9 Taken Morel, Pierre 2009 86
10 The Last House on the Left Iliadis, Dennis 2009 79

[baby doll]

Re-watched Treeless Mountain and bumped it up some. I truly consider my top five to be films for the ages. The other five are just terrific films for 2009.I suppose I'll have to take another look at it, but I thought it was a real disappointment after Kim's first film. The same tight handheld compositions, same kind of story about absent parents. I wish she had tried to do something a little different this time around.

[balmakboor]

I suppose I'll have to take another look at it, but I thought it was a real disappointment after Kim's first film. The same tight handheld compositions, same kind of story about absent parents. I wish she had tried to do something a little different this time around.

I guess I just keep benefiting from not having seen Kim's first film. Then again, Ozu made very similar films most of his career and I love every damn one of them.

[Fezzik]

1. Inglourious Basterds
2. District 9
3. Adventureland
4. Up
5. Where the Wild Things Are
6. Avatar
7. Coraline
8. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
9. The Princess and the Frog
10. Up in the Air


Honorable Mention:

11. Watchmen
12. The Hangover
13. (500) Days of Summer
14. Star Trek
15. I Love You, Man
16. Zombieland
17. 17 Again

Meh. Ok, I Guess:

18. Funny People
19. Public Enemies
20. 9
21. Nine
22. The Informant!

Ugh. Just stop. Please

23. G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
24. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
25. X-Men Origins: Wolverine
26. Terminator Salvation



Updated with Nine and Up in the Air. Rethought a couple after some rewatches.

[number8]

I've decided to do a Top 10 Movies Most People Missed than my actual favorite top ten.

[ContinentalOp]

1. Where the Wild Things Are- ****
2. District 9- ****
3. Two Lovers- *** 1/2
4. Up- *** 1/2
5. Moon- *** 1/2
6. Sugar- ***
7. Inglorious Basterds- ***
8. Star Trek- ***
9. Taken-***
10. Paranormal Activity- ***

1. Where the Wild Things Are- ****
2. District 9- ****
3. Avatar- *** 1/2
4. Two Lovers- *** 1/2
5. Up- *** 1/2
6. Moon- *** 1/2
7. Sugar- ***
8. Inglorious Basterds- ***
9. Star Trek- ***
10. Taken-***


Consider me another one blown away by Cameron's visual spectacle and storytelling.

[balmakboor]

1. Ponyo on a Cliff by the Sea
2. Munyurangabo
3. Avatar
4. Tulpan
5. Goodbye Solo
6. Treeless Mountain
7. Fantastic Mr. Fox
8. The Informant!
9. Funny People
10. Bright Star

[eternity]

1. Adventureland dir. Greg Motolla
2. Moon dir. Duncan Jones
3. Avatar dir. James Cameron
4. The Box dir. Richard Kelly
5. A Single Man dir. Tom Ford
6. The Brothers Bloom dir. Rian Johnson
7. Inglourious Basterds dir. Quentin Tarantino
8. Paranormal Activity dir. Oren Peli
9. Mary and Max dir. Adam Elliot
10. Watchmen dir. Zack Snyder


11. Ponyo on a Cliff By the Sea dir. Hayao Miyazaki
12. World's Greatest Dad dir. Bobcat Goldwaith
13. (500) Days of Summer dir. Marc Webb
14. The Soloist dir. Joe Wright
15. Funny People dir. Judd Apatow
16. Up dir. Pete Docter
17. The Girlfriend Experience dir. Steven Soderbergh
18. The Limits of Control dir. Jim Jarmusch
19. Bart Got A Room dir. Brian Hecker
20. Drag Me to Hell dir. Sam Raimi
21. District 9 dir. Neill Blomkamp
22. Observe and Report dir. Jody Hill
23. The Hurt Locker dir. Kathyrn Bigelow
24. Julie & Julia dir. Nora Ephron
25. Broken Embraces dir. Pedro Almodovar
26. Julia dir. Erick Zonka
27. Whatever Works dir. Woody Allen
28. Fanboys dir. Ryan Newman
29. Jennifer's Body dir. Karyn Kasuma
30. The Hangover dir. Todd Phillips
31. Extract dir. Mike Judge
32. I Love You, Man dir. John Hamburg
33. Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans dir. Werner Herzog
34. In the Loop dir. Armondo Iannucci
35. Phoebe in Wonderland dir. Daniel Barnz
36. Food Inc. dir. Robert Kenner
37. The Informant! dir. Steven Soderbergh
38. The Boat That Rocked dir. Richard Curtis
39. Zombieland dir. Ruben Fleischer
40. Antichrist dir. Lars von Trier
41. Where the Wild Things Are dir. Spike Jonze
42. Star Trek dir. J.J. Abrams
43. Public Enemies dir. Michael Mann
44. Bruno dir. Larry Charles
45. 9 dir. Shane Acker
46. The Twilight Saga: New Moon dir. Chris Weitz
______________________________ ______
Rotten:
47. Capitalism: A Love Story dir. Michael Moore
48. Orphan dir. Jaume Collet-Serra
49. Invictus dir. Clint Eastwood
50. The International dir. Tom Twyker
51. The Young Victoria dir. Jean-Marc Vallée
52. Don't You Forget About Me dir. Matt Austin
53. The Informers dir. Gregor Jordan
54. Whip It! dir. Drew Barrymore
55. Obsessed dir. Steve Shill
56. An Education dir. Lone Sherfig
57. Terminator Salvation dir. Joseph McGinty
58. Away We Go dir. Sam Mendes
59. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince dir. That Goddamn Sucker Fucker David Yates
60. Confessions of a Shopaholic dir. P.J. Hogan
61. Taken dir. Pierre Morel
62. The Burning Plain dir. Guillermo Arriaga
63. Good Dick dir. Marianna Palka
64. The Blind Side dir. John New York Literati Hancock
65. Powder Blue dir. Timothy Linh Bui
66. The Obama Deception dir. Alex Jones
67. The Pink Panther 2 dir. Harald Zwart
68. Van Wilder: Freshmen Year dir. Harvey Glazer
69. X-Men Origins: Wolverine dir. Gavin Hood
70. Bride Wars dir. Gary Winick
71. Sorority Row dir. Stewart Hendler
72. The Ugly Truth dir. Robert Luketic
73. My Sister's Keeper dir. Nick Cassavetes
74. Precious dir. Lee Daniels
75. Paul Blart: Mall Cop dir. Steve Carr
76. The Unborn dir. David S. Goyer
77. The Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience dir. Bruce Hendricks
78. Dragonball Evolution dir. James Wong
79. The Proposal dir. Anne Fletcher
80. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen dir. Michael Bay
81. He's Just Not That Into You dir. Ken Kwapis


NEW: Don't You Forget About Me, An Education, A Single Man

[dmk]

1 . The Limits of Control
2 . Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans
3 . The White Ribbon
4 . Dogtooth
5 . Where The Wild Things Are
6 . Police, Adjective
7 . Public Enemies
8 . Nymph
9 . The House of the Devil
10 . Inglourious Basterds

11 . Anti-Christ
12 . J'fais du porno et j'aime çÃ*
13 . It Felt Like a Kiss
14 . Mary and Max
15 . The Messenger
16 . Tales from the Golden Age
17 . The Girlfriend Experience
18 . Adventureland
19 . Samson and Delilah
20 . The Man Who Came with the Snow
21 . The Dark House
22 . The Milk of Sorrow
23 . A Serious Man
24 . Eccentricities of a Blonde-haired Girl
25 . Moon
26 . Ruhr
27 . The Maid
28 . In the Loop
29 . Mother
30 . Humpday
31 . Drag me to Hell
32 . Tetro
33 . The Darkness of Day
34 . Stingray Sam
35 . District 9
36 . The Fish Child
37 . Fish Tank
38 . Mammoth
39 . Bright Star
40 . Looking for Eric
41 . Coraline
42 . Like You Know It All
43 . About Elly
44 . Balibo
45 . Avatar
46 . Extract
47 . The Box
48 . Can Go Through Skin
49 . À l'aventure
50 . Gigante
51 . Nine Miles Down
52 . Room and a Half
53 . Observe and Report
54 . Wuthering Heights
55 . The Hangover
56 . Sweet Rush
57 . Weekend with my Mother
58 . Double Take
59 . Ice Age 3
60 . Up
61 . Modern Love is Automatic
62 . Prey
63 . Secret of Their Eyes
64 . (500) Days of Summer
65 . Knowing
66 . Serious Moonlight
67 . The Vicious Kind
68 . Blessed

[angrycinephile]

I don't even live in the US and regardless I'll always go with IMDB years but since clearly everyone else here is going by US release dates I guess I'll make an exception.

1. Where the Wild Things Are (Spike Jonze)
2. Goodbye Solo (Ramin Bahrani)
3. Antichrist (Lars von Trier)
4. Up (Pete Docter and Bob Peterson)
5. Two Lovers (James Gray)
6. Moon (Duncan Jones)
7. Sin Nombre (Cary Fukunaga)
8. Watchmen (Zack Snyder)
9. Public Enemies (Michael Mann)
10. World's Greatest Dad (Bobcat Goldthwait)

[Boner M]

1 . The Limits of Control
2 . Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans
3 . The White Ribbon
4 . Dogtooth
5 . Where The Wild Things Are
6 . Police, Adjective
7 . Public Enemies
8 . Nymph
9 . The House of the Devil
10 . Inglourious Basterds

11 . Anti-Christ
12 . J'fais du porno et j'aime çÃ*
13 . It Felt Like a Kiss
14 . Mary and Max
15 . The Messenger
16 . Tales from the Golden Age
17 . The Girlfriend Experience
18 . Adventureland
19 . Samson and Delilah
20 . The Man Who Came with the Snow
21 . The Dark House
22 . The Milk of Sorrow
23 . A Serious Man
24 . Eccentricities of a Blonde-haired Girl
25 . Moon
26 . Ruhr
27 . The Maid
28 . In the Loop
29 . Mother
30 . Humpday
31 . Drag me to Hell
32 . Tetro
33 . The Darkness of Day
34 . Stingray Sam
35 . District 9
36 . The Fish Child
37 . Fish Tank
38 . Mammoth
39 . Bright Star
40 . Looking for Eric
41 . Coraline
42 . Like You Know It All
43 . About Elly
44 . Balibo
45 . Avatar
46 . Extract
47 . The Box
48 . Can Go Through Skin
49 . À l'aventure
50 . Gigante
51 . Nine Miles Down
52 . Room and a Half
53 . Observe and Report
54 . Wuthering Heights
55 . The Hangover
56 . Sweet Rush
57 . Weekend with my Mother
58 . Double Take
59 . Ice Age 3
60 . Up
61 . Modern Love is Automatic
62 . Prey
63 . Secret of Their Eyes
64 . (500) Days of Summer
65 . Knowing
66 . Serious Moonlight
67 . The Vicious Kind
68 . Blessed
Hmm, lots of Aussie films on that list. Are you a resident? Ex-pat?

Seeing Blessed at the very bottom makes me glad I didn't trust the strong reviews. Kokkinos' The Book of Revelation was jaw-droppingly horrid.

[Torgo]

Based on U.S. release dates:

1. Anvil! The Story of Anvil
2. A Serious Man
3. Inglourious Basterds
4. The Hurt Locker
5. Ponyo
6. Coraline
7. Drag Me To Hell
8. Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans
9. Avatar
10. Goodbye Solo

[balmakboor]

1. Ponyo on a Cliff by the Sea
2. Munyurangabo
3. Anvil! The Story of Anvil
4. Avatar
5. Tulpan
6. Goodbye Solo
7. Treeless Mountain
8. Fantastic Mr. Fox
9. The Informant!
10. Funny People

[baby doll]

US Dates:

1. Adoration (Atom Egoyan)
2. Tony Manero (Pablo Larrain)
3. A Serious Man (Ethan and Joel Coen)
4. Silent Light (Carlos Reygadas)
5. You, the Living (Roy Andersson)
6. Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea (Hayao Miyazaki)
7. La Frontière de l'aube (Philippe Garrel)
8. The Bad Lieutenant—Port of Call: New Orleans (Werner Herzog)
9. Moon (Duncan Jones)
10. Bright Star (Jane Campion)

I also liked Antichrist, Brüno, Food, Inc., The Girlfriend Experience, The Hangover, The Hurt Locker, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Inglourious Basterds, The Limits of Control, Liverpool, Lymelife, Revanche, Le Silence de Lorna, Sugar, Three Monkeys, Two Lovers, Tulpan, Up, and Whatever Works.Not top ten worthy, but both definitely worth checking out.

[NickGlass]

Hmm, lots of Aussie films on that list. Are you a resident? Ex-pat?

Maybe he just thoroughly enjoys Aussie cinema.

::snicker::

Yeah, he must be a resident.

[B-side]

1. Inglourious Basterds (Tarantino)
2. Antichrist (Trier)
3. A Serious Man (Coen)
4. Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (Herzog)
5. Can Go Through Skin (Rots)
6. Moon (Jones)
7. Collision: Christopher Hitchens vs. Douglas Wilson (Doane)
8. Broken Embraces (Almodóvar)
9. The White Ribbon (Haneke)
10. Phantoms of Nabua (Weerasethakul)

Impossible to rank: OneDreamRush Segment: Crutchnap (Korine)

11. The Little White Cloud That Cried (Maddin)
12. Glorious (Maddin)
13. The Fish Child (Puenzo)
14. Coraline (Selick)
15. Vengeance (To)
16. Capitalism: A Love Story (Moore)
17. District 9 (Blomkamp)
18. The Limits of Control (Jarmusch, 2009)
19. Where the Wild Things Are (Jonze)
20. Up (Docter)
21. Star Trek (Abrams)
22. Funny People (Apatow)
23. Mammoth (Moodysson)
24. Watchmen (Snyder)
25. Inventorium Sladów (Quay)
26. Adventureland (Mottola)
27. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Yates)
28. Louis Theroux: A Place for Pedophiles (Theroux)
29. Sweet Rush (Wajda)
30. Whatever Works (Allen)
31. À l'aventure (Brisseau)
32. Black Dynamite (Sanders)
33. Grace (Solet)
34. Brüno (Charles)

[Dukefrukem]

updating my list... bold is new

1. Avatar Cameron 2009 99
2. Star Trek J. J. Abrams 2009 96
3. Drag Me to Hell Raimi, Sam 2009 95
4. (500) Days of Summer Webb 2009 94
5. Thirst Chan-wook Park 2009 91
6. District 9 Blomkampm Neill 2009 90
7 Zombieland Fleischer, Ruben 2009 89
8 the Hangover Phillips, Todd 2009 88
9 Taken Morel, Pierre 2009 86
10 The Last House on the Left Iliadis, Dennis 2009 79

looks like this is my final list.....


1. Avatar Cameron 2009 99
2. Star Trek J. J. Abrams 2009 96
3. Drag Me to Hell Raimi, Sam 2009 95
4. Inglourious Basterds, Tarantino 2009 95
5. (500) Days of Summer Webb 2009 94
6. Thirst Chan-wook Park 2009 91
7 District 9 Blomkampm Neill 2009 90
8 Zombieland Fleischer, Ruben 2009 89
9 the Hangover Phillips, Todd 2009 88
10 Taken Morel, Pierre 2009 86

[Grouchy]

All right, last day of the year and my list says:

1. Inglourious Basterds
2. Coraline
3. District 9
4. Up
5. Adventureland
6. The Brothers Bloom
7. Drag Me to Hell
8. Public Enemies
9. Crank: High Voltage
10. 9

32 movies seen.

[balmakboor]

I don't intend to finalized this until well into 2010. I'll get a chance to finally see Moon in a bit over a week. I'll be seeing Up in the Air this weekend. Plenty of other things as well still to see.

1. Ponyo on a Cliff by the Sea
2. Munyurangabo
3. Anvil! The Story of Anvil
4. Tulpan
5. Goodbye Solo
6. Treeless Mountain
7. Avatar
8. Fantastic Mr. Fox
9. The Informant!
10. Bright Star

[balmakboor]

All right, last day of the year and my list says:

1. Inglourious Basterds
2. Coraline
3. District 9
4. Up
5. Adventureland
6. The Brothers Bloom
7. Drag Me to Hell
8. Public Enemies
9. Crank: High Voltage
10. 9

32 movies seen.

I must say our lists are very, very different. I did have Adventureland in my top ten for a while though, am still looking forward to District 9, and haven't seen Public Enemies yet (and don't have much desire to do so).

I do want to rewatch Inglourious Basterds soon to see if this time I can find much to like about it beyond its extraordinary first chapter.

[dreamdead]

1. Where the Wild Things Are - 8.5
2. Inglourious Basterds - 8
3. Coraline - 7.5
4. Fantastic Mr. Fox - 7
5. Avatar - 7
6. Sugar - 7
7. Thirst - 7
8. Two Lovers - 7
9. The Box - 7
10. Up - 6.5
11. (500) Days of Summer - 6.5
12. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - 6.5
13. Sherlock Holmes - 5.5
14. Watchmen - 4.5
15. Funny People - 4.5
16. Transformers 2 - 1.5


Added Avatar and Sherlock Holmes. It's about time to start working on some of the earlier films of the year now...

[number8]

My top ten, sort of... (http://www.justpressplay.net/movies/movie-news/6267-top-ten-overlooked-films-of-2009.html)

[Grouchy]

I must say our lists are very, very different. I did have Adventureland in my top ten for a while though, am still looking forward to District 9, and haven't seen Public Enemies yet (and don't have much desire to do so).

I do want to rewatch Inglourious Basterds soon to see if this time I can find much to like about it beyond its extraordinary first chapter.
Yes they're very very different, but I haven't seen much of your list and I have Goodbye Solo and Ponyo high on the 2008 one.

I expect the list to change a lot once I get to watchin', what with the film festival and all.

[dmk]

Hmm, lots of Aussie films on that list. Are you a resident? Ex-pat?

Seeing Blessed at the very bottom makes me glad I didn't trust the strong reviews. Kokkinos' The Book of Revelation was jaw-droppingly horrid.
Yeah, Melburnian.

You probably heard the critics labeling 2009 in Australian cinema as a wonderful return to form. Dirty Lies!
In my opinion 2008 was the finest year in Australian film since... the early 90's or something. Both Bitter & Twisted/Three Blind Mice were my favourite Australian films of the decade - and, well, no one saw them. :eek:

[Boner M]

Yeah, Melburnian.

You probably heard the critics labeling 2009 in Australian cinema as a wonderful return to form. Dirty Lies!
In my opinion 2008 was the finest year in Australian film since... the early 90's or something. Both Bitter & Twisted/Three Blind Mice were my favourite Australian films of the decade - and, well, no one saw them. :eek:
Saw Three Blind Mice; it made my list for this year. Wonderful flick. Didn't see Bitter & Twisted but it's now on my radar.

I suppose 2009 was a banner year as far as the dovetailing commerical & critical success of many of the films released last year, and I think things are looking somewhat bright for the future for once, but there wasn't so much stuff I couldn't be bothered seeing. Samson & Delilah is a very promising debut, but I wasn't surprised to see it written off as generic festival-filler by some prominent US blogger-critics (Darren Hughes, Mike D'Angelo) when it premiered at Toronto.

[Boner M]

Btw, what else from 2008 made it a standout year for you? The only other highlight of that year I can think of is Men's Group.

[Boner M]

btw, I'm gonna do the top 20 countdown w/ surprise host + crudely captioned/photoshopped screen caps + et al at the end of the month.

[balmakboor]

1. Ponyo on a Cliff by the Sea
2. Munyurangabo
3. Anvil! The Story of Anvil
4. Tulpan
5. Goodbye Solo
6. Sin Nombre
7. Treeless Mountain
8. Avatar
9. Fantastic Mr. Fox
10. The Informant!

[Ezee E]

Surprise host guesses...

James Cameron?
Megan Fox?

[The Mike]

1. Moon
2. Watchmen
3. Inglorious Basterds
4. Up in the Air
5. The Hurt Locker
6. Drag Me to Hell
7. Observe and Report
8. A Perfect Getaway
9. District 9
10. Knowing
Updated. Still have plenty to see, but I dig this 10.

[balmakboor]

1. Ponyo on a Cliff by the Sea
2. Munyurangabo
3. Anvil! The Story of Anvil
4. Tulpan
5. Goodbye Solo
6. Sin Nombre
7. Treeless Mountain
8. Up in the Air
9. Avatar
10. Fantastic Mr. Fox

[B-side]

1. Inglourious Basterds (Tarantino)
2. Antichrist (Trier)
3. A Serious Man (Coen)
4. Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (Herzog)
5. Can Go Through Skin (Rots)
6. Moon (Jones)
7. Collision: Christopher Hitchens vs. Douglas Wilson (Doane)
8. Broken Embraces (Almodóvar)
9. The White Ribbon (Haneke)
10. Phantoms of Nabua (Weerasethakul)

Impossible to rank: OneDreamRush Segment: Crutchnap (Korine)

11. The Little White Cloud That Cried (Maddin)
12. Glorious (Maddin)
13. The Fish Child (Puenzo)
14. Coraline (Selick)
15. Vengeance (To)
16. Capitalism: A Love Story (Moore)
17. District 9 (Blomkamp)
18. The Limits of Control (Jarmusch, 2009)
19. Where the Wild Things Are (Jonze)
20. Up (Docter)
21. Star Trek (Abrams)
22. Funny People (Apatow)
23. Mammoth (Moodysson)
24. The Messenger (Moverman)
25. Watchmen (Snyder)
26. Inventorium Sladów (Quay)
27. Adventureland (Mottola)
28. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Yates)
29. Louis Theroux: A Place for Pedophiles (Theroux)
30. Sweet Rush (Wajda)
31. Whatever Works (Allen)
32. À l'aventure (Brisseau)
33. Black Dynamite (Sanders)
34. Up in the Air (Reitman)
35. Grace (Solet)
36. Brüno (Charles)

Added the 2 latest.

[Fezzik]

This is probably my final Top Ten.

There's a detailed write up here (http://www.reelfocus.org/?p=732), but for brevity's sake:

1. Inglourious Basterds
2. Up
3. District 9
4. The Hurt Locker
5. Avatar
6. Up in the Air
7. Adventureland
8. Where the Wild Things Are
9. (500) Days of Summer
10. The Hangover

[origami_mustache]

1. Antichrist
2. The White Ribbon
3. City of Life and Death
4. Hunger
5. Trash Humpers
6. You, The Living
7. Revanche
8. The Fantastic Mr. Fox
9. Love Exposure
10.Where The Wild Things Are



11. A Serious Man
12. The Limits of Control
13. Treeless Mountain
14. Sugar
15. Bad Lieutenant: Port of New Orleans
16. The Informant!
17. Tyson
18. Two Lovers
19. The Headless Woman
20. 35 Shots of Rum
21. Mother
22. Inglorious Basterds
23. Sin Nombre
24. Goodbye Solo
25. Summer Hours

HM:
Still Walking
Halloween II
Gomorrah
The Road
Thirst

Shorts:
I Am So Proud of You
Phantoms of Nabua
We Were Once a Fairytale
Glorious
Tell Them Anything You Want: A Portrait of Maurice Sendak
Last Day Dream
Crutchnap
Elapse
Night of Pan
The Little White Cloud That Cried

the rest:
Up
Mammoth
Ponyo on a Cliff By the Sea
Rudo y Cursi
My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Avatar
Bruno
I Love You Man
Funny People
The Informers
9
Broken Embraces
Tetro
Frontier of Dawn
Looking For Eric
Paper Heart
Up In The Air
Adoration
Taking Woodstock
Lymelife
Watchmen
The Last House on the Left
The Goods: Live Hard Sell Hard
Whatever Works

Need to See:
Three Monkeys
Air Doll
Face
Life During Wartime
A Prophet
Police, Adjective
The Hurt Locker
Fish Tank
Bright Star
Red Cliff
The Box
Lorna's Silence
The Sun
Wild Grass
Moon
Public Enemies

[B-side]

1. Inglourious Basterds (Tarantino)
2. Antichrist (Trier)
3. A Serious Man (Coen)
4. Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (Herzog)
5. Can Go Through Skin (Rots)
6. Moon (Jones)
7. Collision: Christopher Hitchens vs. Douglas Wilson (Doane)
8. Broken Embraces (Almodóvar)
9. The White Ribbon (Haneke)
10. Phantoms of Nabua (Weerasethakul)

Impossible to rank: OneDreamRush Segment: Crutchnap (Korine)

11. Fantastic Mr. Fox (Anderson)
12. The Little White Cloud That Cried (Maddin)
13. Glorious (Maddin)
14. The Fish Child (Puenzo)
15. Coraline (Selick)
16. Vengeance (To)
17. Capitalism: A Love Story (Moore)
18. District 9 (Blomkamp)
19. The Limits of Control (Jarmusch, 2009)
20. Where the Wild Things Are (Jonze)
21. Up (Docter)
22. Star Trek (Abrams)
23. Funny People (Apatow)
24. Mammoth (Moodysson)
25. The Messenger (Moverman)
26. Watchmen (Snyder)
27. Inventorium Sladów (Quay)
28. Adventureland (Mottola)
29. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Yates)
30. Louis Theroux: A Place for Pedophiles (Theroux)
31. Sweet Rush (Wajda)
32. Whatever Works (Allen)
33. À l'aventure (Brisseau)
34. Black Dynamite (Sanders)
35. Up in the Air (Reitman)
36. Grace (Solet)
37. Brüno (Charles)

Added Mr. Fox.

[Bosco B Thug]

1. Inglourious Basterds - 9
2. Two Lovers - 8.5
3. Tokyo Sonata - 7.5
5. Antichrist - 7
5. Where the Wild Things Are - 7
6. Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans - 6.5
7. Coraline - 6.5
8. Adventureland - 6.5
9. Star Trek - 6.5
10. Up - 6.5
----
11. Sherlock Holmes - 6
12. Paranormal Activity - 5.5
13. Drag Me To Hell - 5
14. (500) Days of Summer - 4.5
15. District 9 - 4.5
16. Brüno - 4.5

Impending/Eager-to-view: Fantastic Mr. Fox, Thirst, Lovely Bones (even though it's going to suck), White Ribbon, Ponyo, Headless Woman

Less-Impending: White Ribbon, Limits of Control, Hurt Locker, Moon, A Serious Man

[B-side]

1. Inglourious Basterds (Tarantino)
2. Antichrist (Trier)
3. A Serious Man (Coen)
4. Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (Herzog)
5. Can Go Through Skin (Rots)
6. Moon (Jones)
7. Collision: Christopher Hitchens vs. Douglas Wilson (Doane)
8. Broken Embraces (Almodóvar)
9. The White Ribbon (Haneke)
10. Phantoms of Nabua (Weerasethakul)

Impossible to rank: OneDreamRush Segment: Crutchnap (Korine)

11. Bluebeard (Breillat, 2009)
12. Fantastic Mr. Fox (Anderson)
13. The Little White Cloud That Cried (Maddin)
14. Glorious (Maddin)
15. The Fish Child (Puenzo)
16. Coraline (Selick)
17. Vengeance (To)
18. Capitalism: A Love Story (Moore)
19. District 9 (Blomkamp)
20. The Limits of Control (Jarmusch, 2009)
21. Where the Wild Things Are (Jonze)
22. Up (Docter)
23. Star Trek (Abrams)
24. Funny People (Apatow)
25. Mammoth (Moodysson)
26. The Messenger (Moverman)
27. Watchmen (Snyder)
28. Inventorium Sladów (Quay)
29. Adventureland (Mottola)
30. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Yates)
31. Louis Theroux: A Place for Pedophiles (Theroux)
32. Sweet Rush (Wajda)
33. Whatever Works (Allen)
34. À l'aventure (Brisseau)
35. Black Dynamite (Sanders)
36. Up in the Air (Reitman)
37. Grace (Solet)
38. Brüno (Charles)

Added Breillat's latest.

[ContinentalOp]

1. Where the Wild Things Are- ****
2. District 9- ****
3. Avatar- *** 1/2
4. Two Lovers- *** 1/2
5. Up- *** 1/2
6. Moon- *** 1/2
7. Sugar- ***
8. Inglorious Basterds- ***
9. Star Trek- ***
10. Taken-***


Consider me another one blown away by Cameron's visual spectacle and storytelling.

1. Where the Wild Things Are- ****
2. District 9- ****
3. Avatar- *** 1/2
4. Two Lovers- *** 1/2
5. Up- *** 1/2
6. Goodbye Solo- *** 1/2
7. Moon- *** 1/2
8. Sugar- ***
9. World's Greatest Dad- ***
10. Inglorious Basterds- ***

Satisfied by my list. Anything else great I see will be the icing on the cake.

[MadMan]

1. Up-97
2. Inglourious Basterds-95
3. District 9-95
4. Where The Wild Things Are-94
5. Partly Cloudy-94
6. Public Enemies-93
7. Zombieland-91
8. Will Ferrell: You're Welcome America - A Final Night with George W Bush-91
9. Watchmen-90
10. Paranomal Activity-90

Well this list is far better than what it was at the start of 2009. But it could sure use a lot of work. The Hurt Locker and 500 Days of Summer will hopefully be my next viewings for 2009.

[ledfloyd]

1. A Serious Man
2. Summer Hours
3. Two Lovers
4. Love Exposure
5. Inglourious Basterds
6. Adventureland
7. The Limits of Control
8. In the Loop
9. The Hurt Locker
10. The Fantastic Mr. Fox
new best of the year.

[The Mike]

1. Moon
2. Watchmen
3. Inglorious Basterds
4. The Hurt Locker
5. Up in the Air
6. Drag Me to Hell
7. Observe and Report
8. A Perfect Getaway
9. Knowing
10. House of the Devil

HM: The Men Who Stare at Goats, Avatar, District 9, The Box, Trick 'r Treat, Where the Wild Things Are, Zombieland, The Tournament, Paranormal Activity, Big Fan
I'm rewatching Hurt Locker soon to see if it slides either way, but I think this is my "final" list.

[dreamdead]

1. Where the Wild Things Are - 8.5
2. Public Enemies - 8
3. Inglourious Basterds - 8
4. Coraline - 7.5
5. Fantastic Mr. Fox - 7
6. Avatar - 7
7. Sugar - 7
8. Thirst - 7
9. Two Lovers - 7
10. The Box - 7
11. Up - 6.5
12. (500) Days of Summer - 6.5
13. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - 6.5
14. Sherlock Holmes - 5.5
15. Watchmen - 4.5
16. Funny People - 4.5
17. Transformers 2 - 1.5


Though I'm a contemporary Mann fanboy, I rather loved PE.

[Ezee E]

1. Inglorious Basterds
2. Two Lovers
3. Public Enemies
4. Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans
5. A Serious Man
6. Broken Embraces
7. Drag Me To Hell
8. The Road
9. The Hangover
10. 500 Days of Summer

[eternity]

1. Adventureland dir. Greg Motolla
2. Moon dir. Duncan Jones
3. Avatar dir. James Cameron
4. The Box dir. Richard Kelly
5. A Single Man dir. Tom Ford
6. Watchmen dir. Zack Snyder
7. The Brothers Bloom dir. Rian Johnson
8. Inglourious Basterds dir. Quentin Tarantino
9. A Serious Man dir. Joel and Ethan Coen
10. Paranormal Activity dir. Oren Peli


11. Mary and Max dir. Adam Elliot
12. Ponyo on a Cliff By the Sea dir. Hayao Miyazaki
13. World's Greatest Dad dir. Bobcat Goldwaith
14. (500) Days of Summer dir. Marc Webb
15. The Soloist dir. Joe Wright
16. Funny People dir. Judd Apatow
17. The Fantastic Mr. Fox dir. Wes Anderson
18. Up dir. Pete Docter
19. The Girlfriend Experience dir. Steven Soderbergh
20. The Limits of Control dir. Jim Jarmusch
21. Bart Got A Room dir. Brian Hecker
22. Drag Me to Hell dir. Sam Raimi
23. Observe and Report dir. Jody Hill
24. The Hurt Locker dir. Kathyrn Bigelow
25. Julie & Julia dir. Nora Ephron
26. Broken Embraces dir. Pedro Almodovar
27. Julia dir. Erick Zonka
28. I Love You, Man dir. John Hamburg
29. Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans dir. Werner Herzog
30. In the Loop dir. Armondo Iannucci
31. Whatever Works dir. Woody Allen
32. Fanboys dir. Ryan Newman
33. Up in the Air dir. Jason Reitman
34. The Lovely Bones dir. Peter Jackson
35. District 9 dir. Neill Blomkamp
36. Jennifer's Body dir. Karyn Kasuma
37. The Hangover dir. Todd Phillips
38. Extract dir. Mike Judge
39. Phoebe in Wonderland dir. Daniel Barnz
40. Food Inc. dir. Robert Kenner
41. The Informant! dir. Steven Soderbergh
42. The Boat That Rocked dir. Richard Curtis
43. Zombieland dir. Ruben Fleischer
44. Antichrist dir. Lars von Trier
45. Where the Wild Things Are dir. Spike Jonze
46. Star Trek dir. J.J. Abrams
47. Public Enemies dir. Michael Mann
48. Bruno dir. Larry Charles
49. 9 dir. Shane Acker
50. The Twilight Saga: New Moon dir. Chris Weitz
______________________________ ______
Rotten:
51. Capitalism: A Love Story dir. Michael Moore
52. Orphan dir. Jaume Collet-Serra
53. Invictus dir. Clint Eastwood
54. The International dir. Tom Twyker
55. The Young Victoria dir. Jean-Marc Vallée
56. Don't You Forget About Me dir. Matt Austin
57. The Informers dir. Gregor Jordan
58. Whip It! dir. Drew Barrymore
59. Obsessed dir. Steve Shill
60. An Education dir. Lone Sherfig
61. Terminator Salvation dir. Joseph McGinty
62. Away We Go dir. Sam Mendes
63. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince dir. That Goddamn Sucker Fucker David Yates
64. Confessions of a Shopaholic dir. P.J. Hogan
65. Taken dir. Pierre Morel
66. The Burning Plain dir. Guillermo Arriaga
67. Good Dick dir. Marianna Palka
68. The Blind Side dir. John New York Literati Hancock
69. Powder Blue dir. Timothy Linh Bui
70. The Obama Deception dir. Alex Jones
71. The Pink Panther 2 dir. Harald Zwart
72. Van Wilder: Freshmen Year dir. Harvey Glazer
73. X-Men Origins: Wolverine dir. Gavin Hood
74. Bride Wars dir. Gary Winick
75. Sorority Row dir. Stewart Hendler
76. My Sister's Keeper dir. Nick Cassavetes
77. Precious dir. Lee Daniels
78. Paul Blart: Mall Cop dir. Steve Carr
79. The Unborn dir. David S. Goyer
80. The Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience dir. Bruce Hendricks
81. Dragonball Evolution dir. James Wong
82. The Proposal dir. Anne Fletcher
83. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen dir. Michael Bay
84. The Ugly Truth dir. Robert Luketic
85. He's Just Not That Into You dir. Ken Kwapis


NEW: The Fantastic Mr. Fox, A Serious Man, Up in the Air, The Lovely Bones

[B-side]

1. Inglourious Basterds (Tarantino)
2. Antichrist (Trier)
3. A Serious Man (Coen)
4. Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (Herzog)
5. Can Go Through Skin (Rots)
6. Moon (Jones)
7. Collision: Christopher Hitchens vs. Douglas Wilson (Doane)
8. Broken Embraces (Almodóvar)
9. The White Ribbon (Haneke)
10. Phantoms of Nabua (Weerasethakul)

Impossible to rank: OneDreamRush Segment: Crutchnap (Korine)

11. Bluebeard (Breillat, 2009)
12. Fantastic Mr. Fox (Anderson)
13. The Little White Cloud That Cried (Maddin)
14. Glorious (Maddin)
15. The Fish Child (Puenzo)
16. Coraline (Selick)
17. Vengeance (To)
18. Capitalism: A Love Story (Moore)
19. District 9 (Blomkamp)
20. The Limits of Control (Jarmusch, 2009)
21. Where the Wild Things Are (Jonze)
22. Up (Docter)
23. Star Trek (Abrams)
24. Funny People (Apatow)
25. Mammoth (Moodysson)
26. The Messenger (Moverman)
27. Watchmen (Snyder)
28. Inventorium Sladów (Quay)
29. Adventureland (Mottola)
30. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Yates)
31. Louis Theroux: A Place for Pedophiles (Theroux)
32. Sweet Rush (Wajda)
33. Whatever Works (Allen)
34. À l'aventure (Brisseau)
35. Black Dynamite (Sanders)
36. Big Fan (Siegel)
37. Up in the Air (Reitman)
38. Grace (Solet)
39. Brüno (Charles)

Added Big Fan.

[baby doll]

new best of the year.Yeah, seriously. I still have it at three, but after looking at Adoration again a few nights ago, it's just not as mind-blowing on second and third viewing, so I'm definitely in the market for a new number one. And depending on how A Serious Man and Tony Manero hold up on second viewing, either one could take it. Then again, they might also be somewhat of a let-down on second viewing (which was to some extent the case with Burn After Reading), so who knows? I'm not committing either way.

[Pop Trash]

Added Mr. Fox

9/10
1. Where the Wild Things Are

8/10
2. Inglourious Basterds
3. Adventureland
4. Two Lovers
5. Goodbye Solo
6. Fantastic Mr. Fox
7. Drag Me to Hell

7/10
8. 500 Days of Summer
9. Up in the Air
10. Up



11. Star Trek
12. I Love You, Man
13. The Girlfriend Experience
14. The Hurt Locker
15. Tyson
16. Bad Lieutenant: POCNO
17. Humpday
18. Avatar
19. Sugar
20. Funny People
21. Public Enemies
22. Observe and Report
23. Bruno

6/10
24. Away We Go
25. Pirate Radio
26. Crips and Bloods: Made in America
27. Brothers
28. Sunshine Cleaning
29. My Bloody Valentine 3D
30. Wolverine

5/10
31. The Box
32. Friday the 13th
33. The Last House on the Left
34. Terminator Salvation
35. He's Just Not That Into You

4/10
36. Zombieland

2/10
37. GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra

[Stay Puft]

1. Tokyo Sonata
2. Summer Hours
3. The Limits of Control
4. 24 City
5. My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done
6. Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans
7. Big Man Japan
8. Birdsong
9. Two Lovers
10. Moon

Rearranged, updated with Two Lovers.

edit:

Rearranged and updated again. Didn't realize 24 City and the other Herzog saw 2009 releases.

[Boner M]

I'm gonna tally these lists in the next week. Any objections?

[Spinal]

Crap. Guess I should get to watching The Hurt Locker soon then.

[Boner M]

Also, 5-10 worst films of the year will be tallied, as usual.

1. Transformers 2
2. Amelia
3. Cold Souls
4. Paranormal Activity
5. An Education

[Watashi]

I have actually stayed away from most of the big clunkers this year (Transformers, Lovely Bones, etc), but I guess here are my Top 5 Worst:

1. An Education
2. Angels and Demons
3. Taking of Pelham 123
4. Knowing
5. Taking Woodstock

[Spinal]

Looks like I only have a top 8 so far. I'd rather not dip below ***1/2.

[Winston*]

Worst

1. The Lovely Bones
2. Paranormal Activity
3. Duplicity
4. Departures
5. Secret of Kells

[Ivan Drago]

Worst:

1. Fantastic Mr. Fox
2. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
3. The Girlfriend Experience
4. X-Men Origins: Wolverine
5. Observe and Report

[Boner M]

Looks like I only have a top 8 so far. I'd rather not dip below ***1/2.
You can list just those 8, if ya want.

[Boner M]

Worst:

1. Fantastic Mr. Fox
Umm... what.

[Ivan Drago]

Umm... what.

Let's just say I'm not a Wes Anderson fan.

[Spinal]

You can list just those 8, if ya want.

I did. Edited them in. Hopefully have a couple more by the end of the week.

[Melville]

Will you be starting a separate thread for final lists, as you did last year? In any case, this is probably my final list:

1. Two Lovers
2. Bright Star
3. Inglourious Basterds
4. Antichrist
5. Phantoms of Nabua
6. Public Enemies
7. Whatever Works
8. A Serious Man
9. The Hurt Locker
10. The Cove

HM: 500 Days of Summer, for perfectly capturing so many moments and feelings. Too bad it also stuffed its every nook and cranny with obnoxious bullshit.


Worst:
1. Up in the Air
2. Capitalism: a Love Story
3. Where the Wild Things Are

[Boner M]

Will you be starting a separate thread for final lists, as you did last year?
Probably a good idea. I'll do it now.

[ContinentalOp]

Bottom four
1. The Limits of Control- * 1/2
2. Crank: High Voltage- **
3. The Hangover- **
4. Drag Me to Hell- **

Didn't see/finish a lot of bad stuff from last year.

[Boner M]

Other thread, dude!

Can we lock this one?