2009: Best and Worst

The Best*
1. Where the Wild Things Are. The classic book about a wild child growing up becomes a new classic film about the same. Spike Jonze really needs to work more.
2. (Tie) District 9 and Moon. Two sci-fi flicks that remind us this genre can be as smart as it is cool-looking. I can't decide which I like more.
3. Up. Pixar does it again. The 5-minute marriage montage is beautiful and heart-breaking.
4. Inglourious Basterds. Tarantino returns with an alternate history World War II flick that's cooler than fact. An amazing trick.
5. The Hurt Locker. It might skim on war facts and discipline, but this Iraq drama burns deep and long. The opening is unforgettable.
6. Precious: Based on the novel "Push" by Sapphire. Amazing performances shine with utmost love and evil in this shocking film.
7. Gomorrah. A near-documentary take on mafia crime in modern Italy. I watched it twice back-to-back.
8. (Tie) Coraline & The Fantastic Mr. Fox. Stop-motion animation flicks that brought out the child in me. "Coraline" is absolute genius.
9. Up in the Air. Jason Reitman brilliantly works in real-life laid off workers amid a George Clooney satire about American jobs.
10. Avatar. No one does Hollywood blockbuster like James Cameron. Movie fun galore, and the first and only 3-D must-see.

The Worst*
5. The Twilight Saga: New Moon. How one film can set feminism back by decades. A horrid example for young women.
4. Gamer. The poster child of mindless, soulless violence and debauchery. Ugly, too. I hated this movie.
3. Old Dogs. A family comedy so bad you can see Robin Williams sweat. John Travolta has lost all sense.
2. The Boondock Saints II: All Saint's Day. The vile sequel in a franchise made for bigots who think Jesus packed guns, not love.
1. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. The longest, most painful film I saw all year. My head literally hurt. And I still can't tell the robots apart.

*Always subject to change, and expand.