So July 1st officially marked the passing of the halfway point of 2009. It seems like just a couple of weeks ago we were posting our top ten of 2008. But here we are again half-time is list time and couple of us thought we’d look back at all the 2009 released titles released thus far and put together our five favorites.
This might seem pointless as why not just wait for the end of the year and post the usual top ten. Valid criticism, but A) I simply look for all opportunities to post any new list. And B) very few films from the first part of the year ever make my year end top ten (usually only one or two). So why not recognize a few gems of 2009 that are not likely to be talked about much come the end of the year.
ANDREW:
5) Moon
4) Up
3) Surveillance
2) Drag Me to Hell
1) The Girlfriend Experience
– - honorable mentions: Away We Go, Public Enemies, Adventureland
MIKE:
5) We Live in Public
4) Dear Zachary
3) Wendy and Lucy
2) The Limits of Control
1) Away We Go
KURT:
Moon
The Limits of Control
Objectified
The Girlfriend Experience
Public Enemies
– - Most Fun in the theatre: Drag Me To Hell
– - Confirmation of continued quality: Up
Upon quick inspection, a general consensus would be for Moon, Limits of Control, Away We Go and The Girlfriend Experience as our favorite films thus far. How bout everyone else? What are some of the best films released this year. What have we missed?
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For me the highlights of the year so far, in no particular order, have been (NOTE: Some of these will have been 2008 movies for those in the US, but since I live in the UK that’s the release schedule I’m sticking too:):
The Wrestler
Watchmen
Revolutionary Road
Pontypool
Frost/Nixon
Public Enemies
Black Dynamite
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Synecdoche, New York
Drag Me To Hell
Moon, Limits of Control and The Girlfriend Experience haven’t dropped this side of the Atlantic yet, here’s hoping they will make an impression on the end of year list.
Anyway, the top bananas so far are:
5) Bronson / The Damned United
4) In the Loop
3) Drag Me to Hell
2) Looking for Eric
1) Crank: High Voltage
Sugar is by far the best I’ve seen this year, though I liked One Week, The International, and Taken quite a bit. I have a lot of spring releases I still need to catch up with when they come out on DVD.
That reminds me, I owe you a Top 5 list, Andrew.
Top 5 for me this year:
1. Moon
2. Up
3. Drag Me to Hell
4. Star Trek
5. The Hangover
For Danmark, the best movie released was The Wrestler. For America, the best movie released in the last 4 years is The Wrestler. THE WRESTLER. Fuck.
The Wrestler.
acting as if its year end:
1. Adventureland
2. Anvil! the story of Anvil
3* The Class (technically not 2009)
3. Moon
4. Watchmen
5. Away We Go
6. Drag Me To Hell
7. Observe And Report
8. The Hangover
9. Flight 666
10. Up
Decent but middling disappointments:
Coraline, Bruno
King of shit:
Transformers 2
Wanted to see most but missed:
Pontypool
Man, lots of good responses. I love our readers.
I wanted to put Anvil! and The Class on my list too Goon, wasn’t sure if it counted as a 09 or not. Very cool. Great movie.
Lee: I haven’t heard of a couple of those. I loved the first Crank movie for what it was. Was part 2 that good? It looked kind of hokey to me.
Ross/Henrik –
I can feel the love for The Wrestler. I just watched it again a couple of weeks ago. Not sure how, but somehow it got better in this third viewing. LOVE that movie.
And the more love for Pontypool the better. Bruce McDonald brings it.
Matt – yes. Send it soon. ’03.
1. away we go
2. observe and report
3. moon
4. brothers bloom
5. drag me to hell
6. up
I just realized I blinked and missed Tetro.
I didn’t see Tetro come out in Toronto.
I am a broken record on this point, but 2009 best first half of a year for movies I can ever remember. There is a lot of people down on the year but I am continually overwhelmed by what I am seeing. Maybe the second half will be all shit and things will even out or maybe I will need a top twenty by years end.
also, the selection of solid documentaries has never been better. I have a review for one to post tomorrow, watched twice, going to watch it a third time, in love with it. stay tuned.
Tetro doesn’t even open in Mpls. for another week or two. I plan on seeing it asap however.
Was supposed to go see “Whatever Works” tonight. Went to a block party instead. Always tomorrow I guess.
Tetro’s actually still playing at this one theater where they show movies on dvd and charge full price. Cause it’s “upscale”
I call it the bullshit theater.
Andrew, I didn’t really like the first Crank, but the sequel is an exploitation masterpiece. Lean and incredibly mean filmmaking, all of it propelled by a phenomenal Mike Patton score and a great cast of caricatures. It is in essence a Looney Toons action film for adults.
Been a pretty good year so far! The titles start to blend over the years and festivals and such but according to the release here, I’m going with:
1. Pontypool
2. Every Little Step
3. Star Trek
4. Up
5. Moon
No release of Tetro in Toronto by my records, and I can’t wait for In the Loop!
My ranking so far this year:
1. Away we go
2. Up
3. Moon
4. Coraline
5. Adventureland
I am looking forward to seeing 500 Days of Summer,
District 9, In the Loop, and documentarie The Cove and Food Inc. along with Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (with my kids) within the next couple of months.
so far:
1. Public Enemies (love it so much, I doubt I’ll see a better film this year)
2. Adventureland
3. Two Lovers
4. Brothers Bloom
5. Fighting
I’m quite stoked to finally see BRONSAN when it opens here. Ditto on Refn’s Viking epic Valhalla.
For me, Wendy & Lucy, Brothers Bloom and Pontypool are all 2008 films. (Festival Circuit, rapid release on Toronto, etc.)
But Moon and The Hurt Locker took forever to get here. I’m looking forward to sitting down with Ms. Bigelow’s new one later this week.
I would be interested to see a list that takes all of these commenters top fives with ours and see what is the consensus. maybe try it out tonight.
keep sending your picks.
I now have a top ten, and if Hurt Locker is 10th, this is a damn good year:
1. Away We Go
2. The Limits of Control
3. Wendy and Lucy
4. Dear Zachary
5. Rip! A Remix Manifesto
6. We Live in Public
7. Adventureland
8. Star Trek
9. The English Surgeon
10.The Hurt Locker
Yea, I’d throw Black Dynamite in a top 10 list. Damn fun film.
saw the Girlfriend Experience today. Very solid Soderbergh film, engrossing, but I dont see in it what one would make a no.1 film of the year (so far) out of. I enjoyed it as it happened, it ended, but I dont know if I’d think much of it again.
4/5
I don’t completely understand your comment Goon, but I get the feeling behind it. Glad you liked it and like Grey’s performance, I’m not sure themovie will hold up on multiple viewings. But as of now, top 5 material.
yeah i came home kind of tipsy.
the jist of it was that i enjoyed it as i watched it, but not long after it was over i was pretty much done thinking about it. Not much to say really
Bullet points
- snapshot of a specific time
- Grey is an android, but it works for the character
- boyfriend is a douche even when he’s not in the wrong