The Best and Worst of 2009 So Far

2009 has been a decent year so far. More of the films have been mediocre, but there have been some excellent gems and horrific abominations against humanity. So, let's go with a good news-bad news scenario and start with the bad.

EDIT: I can only put movies on here I have seen. As of this edit, Funny People is the most recent movie I've seen (though District 9 looks awesome!)

Worst of 2009...So Far

5. X-Men Origins: Wolverine

We all hoped this would bring the franchise back from X Men: The Last Stand. Instead, it ended up being far worse. Some might have not had hope, but think about it going in; directed by an Academy Award Winner (to be fair, anyone would have been better than the guy who did the last one), the promise of many of the comic book's best mutants and Ryan "Born To Play Deadpool" Reynolds. Instead, we got a lame 80s action movie plot line, extremely limited screen time for the characters we were so looking forward to and the complete opposite of what we wanted for Deadpool. All this stretches it beyond the typical unfaithful Hollywood comic book movie into a stunning letdown of epic proportions.

4. Paul Blart: Mall Cop

This probably would end up being completely unmemorable and forgotten if not for the fact that it was the first blockbuster of the year. Boring, stale and unfunny, it's a shame that Kevin James has to be in D-Grade Chris Farley type stuff like this.

3. The Uninvited

This could have been your usual J-Horror remake; supposed creepy imagery, scared white girls, rape of the Japanese culture, etc. However, this took it a step beyond with it's ending. This ending is so out of the blue and incomprehensible that it goes into a whole new level of stupidity. The only highlight of this is Elizabeth Banks. Such a shame that she's wasted on this...

2. The Haunting In Connecticut

"Based On A True Story." I love how liberally this term is used. Basically, imagine The Amityville Horror, only far less enjoyable. Co-Host was right; the "scares" look like some grip accidentally walked in frame and in a horror movie, that is the worst thing possible.

1. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

I didn't like the first movie; I HATED this movie. It's the best example of how self indulgent Hollywood can be; it's two and a half ours of frat boy jokes, incomprehensible special effects, glossy women, racist stereotypes and plot less story. One should have taken the $200 million budget of this film and spent it on hookers and blow; that would have been a far more productive use of that money.

Best of 2009...So Far

10. Watchmen

Were there lame slow motion action scenes? Yes. Were there some bland performances? Yes. Were there some bad music cues? All signs point to yes. Despite all this, the film manages to do something no one ever expected; it was very faithful to the source material. Someone in the 80s/90s would never imagine that a book this dark and political would ever be faithfully adapted. Along with this, the images were spectacular and certain performances (particularly Jackie Earle Hayley and Billy Crudup) lived up to they way we imagined the characters would act. While this film probably won't make it onto the Best of The Year overall list, it still deserves praise here.

9. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Having essentially grown up with these characters (saw the first film in theaters when I was 9), I have always been a fan of this series (both in book and film form). Still, this feels like a slight step back. The previous three films (especially Prisoner of Azkaban and Order of the Pheonix) looked incredible and told the book's story in a trunkated, yet well done form. This film did accomplish this, but the story still felt rather thin. It picked up in the third act, but the majority of it was like being in high school...only there's magic involved. However, this remains an good place holder for the shit that's about to go down.

8. I Love You Man

This thing could have sucked if in the wrong hands. Something that could come off as creepy and unsettling is instead turned into a realistic comedy about platonic guy love. Filled with hysterical down to earth observations on male relationships, this movie brings the little talked about social awkwardness and brings it on to the screen for us to laugh at.

7. The Hangover

One of the best non Apatow American comedies in a while. The films works both brilliantly as a comedy and is quite engaged on a mystery level. The story keeps the film at a fast pace and the gags manage to make you laugh and move the story along at the same time.

6. Adventureland

An unfortunately overlooked dramedy from earlier this year. Greg Mattola's films strays far from his modern raunchy classic Superbad, but replaces the raunchiness with almost autobiographical aspects of life. The film manages to balance the realistic elements with hilarious gags that don't seem far fetched at all.

5. Funny People

Despite the mixed reaction to this film, I genuinely loved it. It provides the perfect mixture of comedy and drama in a way I've rarely seen before. It also feels like Judd Apatow's first non-ad libbed focused comedy as the film is much more story driven than his previous efforts. It's his best film and perfectly solidifies Adam Sandler's work as a dramatic actor.

4. Coraline

Stop Motion has been used throughout the noughties to mixed degrees. This film puts it to perfect use and manages to blend the old technique with 3D technology beautifully. It's horrific imagery, simple story and excellent execution make it terrifying for kids and fun for adults. Director Henry Selick proves his worth yet again in the stop motion world.

3. Drag Me To Hell

My younger sister saw this before I did. When she told me that the movie was "stupid", I knew I would love it. My sister was hoping for the usual, bullshit horror movies that she likes (like The Uninvited; grrr...) based on the trailers; her response removed all doubt for me that Sam Raimi had lost his touch at doing what he used to direct and had not been tarnished by what he's been producing lately. It's gooey, disgusting and just plain fun.

2. Star Trek

I wasn't a Star Trek fan. I was a Star Wars kid. This movie made me crossover. The sheer fact that this movie was able to make me cross over gives it a point in my book. It made me invest in characters I never used to care about, made me laugh at jokes I probably wouldn't get and amaze me with visuals that could have left me bored. In the hands of JJ Abrams, this franchise has been steered in a direction I never would have anticipated; for the mainstream and fans alike.

1. Up

It's cliche, but fuck it; Pixar blows us away again. It's true; Pixar's Up deals with mature themes that pass over a child's head and hits us older folks square in the chest. The characters are well fleshed out, the animation is beautiful and the score is some of the best ever written for film period. This is probably the studios crowning achievement... at least until their next film.