Best Movies of 2009

Well, it took all year, but I finally saw every movie released in 2009, except for Twilight and Precious and The Blind Side.

But let's be honest, none of those movies were made for my enjoyment, or really for anyone's in my opinion.

I did really like the preview for Precious though.

As I said before, 2009 was full of shitty movies. However, a few snuck through and really surprised me. This year was interesting in that the best movies I saw also had the best trailers. They set up the story, got you interested, and then left the all the good parts of the movie in the movie. For example, watch the preview for Precious and tell me you don't know everything that happens in that movie.

And so, here are my five favorite movies that came out this year.

5. Drag Me to Hell

It's funny; this summer I went back and watched Sam Raimi's Evil Dead trilogy, and I was a little disappointed. The movies just didn't quite work for me. Combining humor and terror is difficult, and often one overwhelms the other to create a mess of a movie. That's kind of how I felt Drag Me to Hell was going to be.

Wow, what an awesome movie. Now, granted, this one is not for everyone. It is absolutely disgusting, but it is just about as much fun as you can have watching a movie. I think the fact that the movie includes every bodily fluid (including embalming) going into the main character's mouth might have sometime to do with that. Do not see this alone; you will be very tempted to think that it's stupid. But if you give in, watch it with a group of loud, drunk people, it will deliver.

This is what happens when a guy who can make great movies (Darkman, A Simple Plan) makes $100 milion churning out Spidermans and gets that itch like he has something to prove. Congratulations, Sam Raimi, you just got yourself a renewed fan. I'm very happy that he got fired from Spiderman, but I am worried that he's going to make World of Warcraft next. Watching Drag Me to Hell, you realize he's so much better than that.

A final note: don't bother with the unrated version of this movie- the theatrical version is much better. Also, in case I didn't make this clear, this is a comedy.

4. Avatar

You will not have a better theater experience this year, or next, or even last year.

Everything that everyone says about this movie is true.

Also, this movie really washes out the bad taste that Titanic left in my mouth. I knew that James Cameron could make another one of the best movies, and he did it. It has some great unintentionally funny moments- "Trauma kit!", the group prayer sequences, almost everything the bad guy says- the final battle is the best action scene you're going to see this year, and Giovanni Ribisi AND J.P. from Grandma's Boy are in it. In fact, they even give him an Avatar, which is ridiculously funny-looking.

3. Up

This is one of those movies that we will be watching again and again for a long time. Each time a Pixar movie comes out, it becomes my new favorite of theirs, and this had a tough act to follow, Wall-E, my second favorite movie of last year.

But watch the first 20 minutes of this movie, and you're on board. You're so excited to see what happens next. You're so overwhelmed by the colors, the characters, and, of course, the music. You could watch this movie in Hungarian and still feel every moment.

I also love movies with realistic dogs. Some of the best jokes in Family Guy are when Brian succumbs to his true nature, but Dug the dog is the best dog I've ever seen in a movie. If you've ever thought you've had the dumbest dog around, you will love this dog.

Also, in case you watched Gran Torino and wanted more of the growler...

Clint Eastwood in The Growler - watch more funny videos

... he's on full display here, teamed up with his Asian buddy again! In fact, they should just rename Up to Gran Torino 2.

2. District 9

It's always great when your favorite movies are ones you really had no idea were going to be that good. Here's another perfect example of a great preview that gives you all you need to get excited for the movie, and then throws some perfectly executed twists at you.

This is definitely the best action movie of the year, and one of the few movies I've seen recently that went to all the places I wanted it to go, but without me really knowing. It's that feeling you get when, after a scene's over, you kind of sit back and go, "what a good idea."

The fact that this movie is R-rated and from South Africa and has a little bit of meaning tucked away in it is all just icing on the cake. This is just an awesome, action-packed movie with a lot of humor, heart, grit, and cat food.

1. The Fantastic Mr. Fox

I was getting worried about Wes Anderson. I love The Royal Tennenbaums, and The Life Aquatic especially, but after The Darjeeling Limited I was getting the feeling he was burned out. His movies are so specific in style and attitude- no one else is doing it like him- that I figured he had run out of ideas.

And I was half-right. But just like the Coen Brothers making their best movie by adapting the novel No Country for Old Men, Wes found a story that was perfect for him.

Sometimes you gotta throw a bone to the little guy. But this is definitely the best movie I saw this year. The cast is top-notch, all doing roles that they're well-known for, but coming out of the mouth of a little hairball, it completely reinvigorates the performance.

And you can tell that Wes Anderson is having a lot of fun with these characters too. I can see why he didn't want to be around the animation studio, as you can tell this one took a lot of micro-work to create. But after watching this movie, I have no doubt that Wes Anderson knew exactly what he was doing, and what would work... somehow.