My Favorite Films of 2009

I enjoy "Best of" lists as much as the next cinephile. This year rather than creating a list of my top five or ten movies of the year I'm going to simply list a few movies that stood out in my mind from 2009. Here they are in no particular order...

You can read my feelings about the film here. It's been a few days now since I've seen District 9 and my admiration for it has only grown.

You can read my original impressions of the film here. I have seen this film many times since that original viewing and my enjoyment and appreciation of it grows with each viewing.

The fact that I liked this film, let alone enjoyed it to the extent I did, surprised me. I am not a fan of Tarentino. The violence was a bit much at times but the film was funny, smart, and very engaging. He has a style that must be bought into to really enjoy one of his films. This time I bought it. While it doesn't change my opinion of his previous films I've seen, I feel like I understand what it is that people like and appreciate about his films.

I watched this with the family last night and we all enjoyed it tremendously. I didn't expect to like it as much as I did but I was won over by the story and the charm the film possesses. Some of my family is from Louisiana, and I have been there many times myself, which I think added an additional layer of appeal to me. I grinned quite a bit throughout the film.

I saw this film primary due to the praise it has received over the last few months. I can honestly say that I feel the praise is well deserved. This film is a peek behind the curtain of some of those things I think people idolize in our society. I don't want to say too much about it for those that haven't seen it, but I appreciate it's honesty and willingness to put a spotlight on the superficiality and emptiness of a lot of communication and interaction these days. This film works on so many levels.

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The following films are not my favorite films of the year, but I thought they are worth mentioning for the reasons listed below...

I really really enjoyed this film. You can read more of my thoughts on it here, but I'm including it because this is the first movie we took Violet to. (Yup, I'm starting them early!)

I don't think Avatar is a bad film. I just think it's story is a little weak. Why then am I including it here? It is a very good film and a very entertaining one at that. Simply... I enjoyed the film and it reminded me of the type of films I fell in love with in my youth. This film is in the same vein as Star Wars, Jurassic Park, The Abyss, and Terminator 2. All of these films captivated me in my youth and in part lead to where I am today. The story is the weakest part of the film, but ultimately I forgave it's shortcomings due to how much I became immersed in it's world. And I think that is what is most revolutionary about this film, not the 3D. I think the fact that it is in 3D has been a big boon to the format, but this films greatest achievement is it's ability to combine live action with CG and make the audience forget that we are basically switching between a live action film and a fully CG film.