Before I begin my list of the top ten movies of 2009, I want to say a quick summary of what i thought this year was good for and how it compares to other years in the cinema world. Just like all the other years in movies, it begins off rather distasteful and bitter but as it further progresses down the road, it gradually gets better. The summer movies of 2009 as a whole were a lot more satisfying than 2008 because that summer only had two truly great and wonderful movies that made it into my top 10 of 2008(The Dark Knight and Wall-E). 2009 had the upper hand with an astonishing five movies that I will get into later because i do not want to spoil it for you too soon. Now comes Oscar time and i feel happier with 2009 a lot more than i was with 2008. 2008 still had some really amazing movies but i feel 2009 stepped it up in terms of satisfaction because there is a movie for everyone to root for come Oscar time instead of people not knowing what the hell is even nominated. Not only was 2009 a really great year for movies but it was also a record breaker in terms of people attending movies. It made a remarkable $10.6 billion and in the process shattering every other yearly record that was set before it. This was the year where originality really took place and fresh new takes on cinema sky-rocketed into the terms of, dare I say it… “Revolutionary.” Now lets take a look at the movies that deeply affected me and had a fresh new take on films.

10. The Hurt Locker

Why it’s so great? The Hurt Locker is the very first Iraq war movie to achieve such success. The movie relies very heavily on character development and how they interact with each other during heated situations. It is a nail-biting, edge of your seat suspense action with a lot of meaning and heart. With a few recognizable cameos and a powerful performance by the lead Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker is one of the years finest and well made movies of the year. The best part of it all is that a women (Kathryn Bigelow) directed this instead of a man, which in my opinion is outstanding and shows that women directors are just as talented as any man director.

9. Zombieland

Why it’s so great? Zombieland had many elements as to how a movie should be done and the movie just about completes all those tasks. It is extremely creative, it has a very fresh and original plot where we also can relate to the highly likable characters. The action is very fun to watch and not to mention that this movie is downright 100% absolutely positively hysterical. I laughed very hard through the whole thing and the one benefit that Zombieland has that no other movie in the world is one memorable cameo that goes down as one of the best in the history of film.

8. Precious

Why it’s so great? the one thing that i really love about these super-powerful dramas is that they tend to be filled with phenomenal performances and this is surely one of them. One in particular is Mo’Nique who plays an abusive mother and I honestly still have trouble to this day saying to myself “Was that really Mo’Nique?” She delivers a powerhouse of a performance and i am still shocked to this day that Mo’Nique, who also starred in such bad films as Phat Girlz and delivered some of the worst performances of the lifetime, is delivering us one of the finest and most exeptional performances of a lifetime. Bravo Mo’Nique, I did not think you had it in you.

7. The Hangover

Why it’s so great? The Hangover is a very original movie and i come to really like that when it comes to films. Sometimes though when a movie is original it can have the tendency to fail due to poor performances, non-adventurous and overall just not that funny in general but every once in a while there comes a movie that is original, adventurous, hysterical, clever, and has a great cast, The Hangover is one of those movies and it sure damn delivers on every front in a way I have never seen comedies before. I believe that as the years come by the comedy genre will have deeply been affected by The Hangover as we will see a bunch of shamelessly lousy rip-offs just to make profit for the studio.

6. Fantastic Mr. Fox

Why it’s so great? Fantastic Mr. Fox has a lot of soul to it and I come to love that in a movie. Whats really fascinating about this movie though is that it is all stop-motion animation which i come to really love in a movie if it is done right and this movie surely did it right. I felt more human emotion with this movie than I have ever felt with a live-action movie. To top it all off, it also has some of the finest voice recording work to date with the thanks of George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman, and many others. It was a fantastic stylish movie with a lot of meaning and soul and i could watch this movie any time of the day.

5. Up In The Air

Why it’s so great? I am really starting to love George Clooney and his acting abilities because he is on fire and so is this movie. It has this very articulate pace to it and at times it has heart-warming comedy but the main reason why this movie is so great is because of the scriptwriting, which is just about perfect I must say.

4. Up

Why it’s so great? Up is a wonderful movie with just about everything mixed into it. It has comedy, adventure, action, drama, and most of all it has a heart. I fell in love with this movie mainly due to the characters and the creative adventures that they go through. I think that the plot is very original and the ending could not have been any better. I loved this movie from start to finish and can not complain about anything that went wrong because nothing went wrong. It’s a fine film that’s for sure.

3. District 9

Why it’s so great? WOW!! is all i can really say with this very fine film. I have a huge weakness for sci-fi action movies and when you throw in a completely original plot, realistic characters, great acting, creative film techniques, exceptional CGI and special effects work, great action and then you have movie that will blow your mind away and i can safely say my mind was blown. The best part of it all is that the film only cost $30 million to make and it honestly looks like it cost at least in the $100 mill range.

2. Avatar

Why it’s so great? Usually i do not like movies that are not completely original and the dialogue comes out less than fair but there is always an exception and that exception is Avatar. Sure it was pretty much like Dances with Wolves but only with a green screen but so what? Sure the dialogue could have been a whole lot better but so what? Avatar has so many other great things going for it that in the overall manner the experience is what counts and i must say that Avatar in 3D at a midnight show was easily one of the greatest movie experiences of my life. The visuals is what really got me in this movie because they are hands down the best and the absolute best I have ever seen on the big screen. The filmmaking is superb and the human interaction with one another is very heart-warming. Throw in some amazing action to the mix and we have a revolutionary groundbreaking film that will change the course of cinema 10 years from now. Just wait and see.

1. Inglorious Basterds

Why its so great? “This just might be my masterpiece.” is what Lt. Aldo Raine says at the end of the movie right before Written and Directed by Quentin Tarantino pop up on the screen and i must say that this is hands down a masterpiece on every account. It is a perfect film with so many things to root for. I’ll begin with the dialogue because nobody can write dialogue like Quentin and he is so clever at doing it. Ever piece of line that is spoken is pure genius coming from the characters. I absolutely adored all the characters especially Hanz Landa played by Christoph Waltz who comes off as pure evil genius and will go down as one of the greatest performers of the decade. Not to mention that this movie is completely original in every way shape or form and that is a huge win in my book. Bravo Mr. Tarantino for bringing us the finest and absolute best film of 2009 and also one of the best in the history of movies.