White Board Mafia

Every year on the message boards and blogs I post on, I usually post 3 messages, one with my top movies, albums and video games of the year. Well, I’m still undecided on the albums and I’m still playing through a lot of 2009’s best games, so I don’t feel I’m ready to write those posts, but in a generally disappointing year of movies, I’m ready to reveal which of the few good ones I saw were my favorites.

Boomaga’s TOP FIVE FILMS OF 2009

5. The Hangover – I usually don’t have any comedies on my yearly list, but that’s because most comedies nowadays kinda suck. I’ll see them in the theaters and they’re one and done affairs, walk away with a few laughs and never need to see them again. The Hangover was different, loaded with enough witty remarks, ridiculous situations and clever jokes to keep me laughing several times through, this movie is something different. It’s a comedy that almost anyone can enjoy, provided they’re not the easily offended type.

4. Up – I don’t think a single movie this year made me laugh or tear up as much as this one. While it’s not Pixar’s best movie, even their worst movies usually end up being some of the best films of their respective years. I never thought I’d want to see the adventures of an old widower and a young cub scout, but I couldn’t help but be drawn into their story of adventure and mutual friendship in a beautifully rendered wilderness.

3. Watchmen – This movie was made for people who read the book. That being said, I read the book and loved this movie. Slavishly loyal to this source material, this was literally the comic brought to life. Now, because of that it became a little long winded and hard to swallow for folks not familiar with the original material, but as a fan of the book I will say I don’t think they could have done a better job. All the intense moments and favorite characters brought to life before me couldn’t make me happier, kudos to Zach Snyder for giving us Watchmen fans the best film adaptation we could hope for.

2. Inglourious Basterds – SPOILER ALERT….

I can’t not like any World War II movie where they kill Hitler. After being sucked into Tarantino’s wild world by Kill Bill and massively disappointed by Death Proof, I didn’t know what to expect from Inglorious Basterds. World War II seemed like a time where Tarantino’s style and scripting wouldn’t really flourish, but I was wrong. From the drawn-out and increasingly tense dialogue in the first scene to our introduction to the titular Basterds to the very last swastika being carved into Hans Landa’s head, this was Tarantino at his finest, a truly interesting and original take on cinema.

1. Star Trek – Of all the movies I saw in 2009, none of them captivated me and kept a smile on my face like JJ Abram’s Star Trek. I was never a huge fan of the original series or any of the Trek material, or anything JJ Abram has done for that matter, but the stars must have aligned for this project. I had seen a couple of the older Trek movies and knew who the main characters were, but I was nowhere near a Trekkie, and this movie managed to blow me away. A fantastic and likable cast, which is uncanny in most of today’s movies, a mix of new and nostalgic elements from the series, great action and special effects and a well-paced storyline that was more likely to keep you enthralled and entertained. It wasn’t trying to be revolutionary like Avatar or pretentious like District 9, it was just trying to be fun, and that’s really what movies should strive to be, they are entertainment after all. I can honestly say I didn’t enjoy myself more at the movie theaters than I did watching Star Trek, and that is why it is my favorite movie of 2009.

Also, here were my biggest disappointments of 2009:

- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: I watched Harry Potter 4 and 5 right before this came out and was actually pretty hyped for it. I’m not a huge fan of the franchise, but I enjoyed the previous two movies and was excited for the new one, which proved to be one of the most boring movies I ever saw. 2 hours long and covered a plot point that could have been wrapped up in like 10 minutes, the rest of the time nothing fucking happened. Just a long-ass teenage snogging Dumblebore.

- Public Enemies – Two of my favorite actors in a real-life gangster drama, sounds sweet to me, too bad neither of the actors played likeable characters and the entire movie seemed to put along at an uninteresting pace. I couldn’t get sucked into it and spent the entire 2 movies battling sleep.

- Avatar – This really shouldn’t be on here because I wasn’t that excited to see it, but this movie was all style and no substance with all the special effects to impress someone who’s never played a Playstation 3.

Although the top films were easily my favorites of 2009, I don’t think any of them would rank within my top 10 films of the decade, 2000-2009. I’m currently trying to break down what’s going to be included in that list but I already know what number 1 is by a landslide, I’ll give you a hint, it rhymes with “Fjord of the Pings”.