10) Watchmen (March 6, 2009) A dark and gritty take on the underbelly of superhero life, Watchmen finally hit theaters after years of rumor, turmoil, and wrath of fans at the delay. It was compelling, and fairly faithful (except for the end, but I can see why they took it in another direction) to the groundbreaking graphic novel by Alan Moore. It was also disturbing and sad. Watchmen is one of those movies I would call great, but never feel the need to see again, for my own well-being.
9) Burn After Reading (September 12, 2008) Those wacky Coen brothers, mixing horrifically violent death with ridiculous characters for a comedy that makes as much sense as Metallica kicking back to the Jonas Brothers. Always fine actors, Brad Pitt and George Clooney are comic gold when they let their quirkiness take over, and with a cast rounded out with the likes of Frances McDormand, John Malkovich, Tilda Swinton, and the always excellent J.K. Simmons, Burn After Reading is an offbeat comedy to balance out the Coens' 2007 much weightier movie, No Country for Old Men.
8) Role Models (November 7, 2008) I love Paul Rudd; I have ever since Clueless. That being said, I never feel the need to run right out and see his movies, which explains why it took me just about a year to watch Role Models. There's nothing earth-shattering or particularly profound in this movie about two losers who spend their community service mentoring younger misfits. But it's funny, and there are days when that's all it takes to get on my top ten list. Well, that and an epic final battle. Check and check.
7) Fanboys (February 13, 2009) A good movie that would have been great if it had been released in the heyday of Star Wars fervor, before the cynicism and Jar-Jar hating set in. A surprisingly sweet movie about a cross-country journey to see Episode 1: The Phantom Menace before its release, Fanboys has tons of great cameos and nods to geek culture that will keep its target audience very happy.
6) Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (July 15, 2009) One of the few big movies I did see in the theatre this year, The Half-Blood Prince is the penultimate installment in the enormously popular Harry Potter series. It was a fine movie, which kept the heart of the story while still editing down a very dense story for the screen. However, it did very much feel like it was just there to set up the finale, which, in fact, is exactly what it was doing.
5) Death at a Funeral (August 17, 2008) An overlooked comedy from Frank Oz that, honestly, I only saw because I'm a big fan of Alan Tudyk. As it turns out, it's a pretty funny movie, although the humor is off-beat and a little dark; so it's probably not a movie to pop in with Grandma visiting over the holidays.
4) Away We Go (June 26, 2009) Maya Rudolph and John Krasinski (Jim from The Office) are sweet as a couple expecting their first child who take a road trip to decide where to raise their baby. Funny and touching, with a great cast and soundtrack, Away We Go is a gentle reminder that home is a state of mind, not an address.
3) Where the Wild Things Are (October 16, 2009) This was easily my most anticipated movie for the year. In some ways, it lived up to that anticipation. It was gorgeous, the kid who played Max was phenomenal, and I cried like a baby at the end. On the other hand, Spike Jonze was a little heavy-handed with his Psych 101 undertones and the Wild Things came off as whiny bi-polar messes instead of the awesome creatures they should have been.
2) 9 (September 9, 2009) A beautiful piece of animation and story, 9 is a post-apocalyptic tale of the only surviving creatures—sentient ragdolls. I know it sounds odd, but Shane Acker manages to pack more heart into animated dolls than other writers and directors can manage with a full cast of live actors.
1) Fantastic Mr. Fox (November 25, 2009) Wes Anderson makes some good films, but it usually takes me a few viewings to warm up to them. Fantastic Mr. Fox, however, had me from the start. It's a mix of Roald Dahl and Wes Anderson's humor, with inspired voice acting by George Clooney, Bill Murray, Meryl Streep, Willem Dafoe, and many, many others. The old-school stop-motion will set those in my generation firmly in Rankin and Bass nostalgia land (except better), and younger ones should at least be intrigued. Clever and cool, Fantastic Mr. Fox lives up to its name.
And there it is. A list of movies from someone who just didn’t get out to movies all that much this year. The upside is that it makes for an eclectic list. The downside is I haven’t seen Star Trek or The Hangover. Maybe they’ll make my list next year.