The Top Ten Films of 2009

Movie City News has compiled a list of the top ten films of the year based on averaging the top critics' scorecards and lists. Check out full scoring details and stats here.

Cumulative Top Ten:
1. The Hurt Locker
2. Up in the Air
3. A Serious Man
4. Inglorious Basterds
5. Up
6. Precious
7. Fantastic Mr. Fox
8. An Education
9. District 9
10. Avatar

Agree or disagree?

I've seen almost all of the films, with the exception of Precious, An Education, and Avatar which I will have to get to soon. I'm not sure about Avatar though--I don't know if I can stomach nearly 3 hours of blue people. I mostly do agree with this list, although I'm a little surprised at some inclusions. I wonder where movies like (500) Days of Summer, A Single Man, The White Ribbon, The Last Station, and Invictus fit in? I mention these movies specifically because they've garnered a significant amount of Oscar buzz and positive reviews. It'll be interesting to see how this list will compare to this year's ten best picture Oscar nominations.

Other great movies I saw this year and worth the rental: The Hangover, The September Issue, The Blind Side, Star Trek, Taken, World's Greatest Dad, Zombieland, Adventureland, and Adam.

Btw--just got back from A Serious Man. The Coen Brothers are genius--their most personal movie yet, and their most relatable. The humor is just so dark and pitch perfect in a style that is so distinct to the Coen Brothers. Seriously it was just so great, definitely go see this and understand why this movie deserves more of a presence during this awards season.

On the flip side, I also went to see Nine recently and I am very, very sad to say that I was disappointed. This breaks my heart a little because I love the cast, especially Marion Cotillard, Daniel D, and Penelope Cruz, and director Rob Marshall--but the movie felt a little forced, especially the musical numbers. Just noticed on Rotten Tomatoes that the movie received a 37%. Ouch! Now that's just too harsh. Pair that with its poor box office showing and recent news of its lowered theater count, it's just not looking too good for the Weinstein Company. The bright spot is that despite all this, the movie is still receiving awards recognition.