Top ten films of 2009

10. A Serious Man (B)

Ethan Coen and Joel Coen direct this subtly funny yet a serious depiction of a man and his relationship with his religion and people around him. The dark comedy is one very special and unique presentation this year especially because it was played by a lot of  unknown actors and also the prologue is a nice touch. But the ending was too inconclusive even by the Coen Brother's standard. Starring: Mike Sthulbarg. Directed by: Coen Brothers

09. Bad Lieutenant (B+)
A story about a crooked cop dealing with his problem of drug addiction and his ambiguous cooperation with the outlaw to make extra money ilegally in a dillapidating city of port call of new orleans after the katrina disaster. Not a movie for everyone especially due to its criminal-fueled theme. The movie is a loose adaptation of the 1992's version played by Harvey Keitel as the rogue detective but that version directed by Abel Ferrara has a stronger sexual content. This one has more violence and drug content. Nicolas cage plays very convincingly as the degrading detective who despite of his reckless and abusive behavior over his position can getaway with those illegalities and come out promoted. Starring: Nicolas Cage,Val Kilmer, Eva Mendes.Directed By: Warner Herzog

08. Inglourious Basterds (B+)

A come back of the super genious master of story-telling , Quentin Tarantino in a revised lesson of world war II history in a spagetti western style with stylish action violence that surely quench my thirst of awesome classy action adventure drama film. The downside is too many unnecessary dialogues among the characters which i am not nearly engrossed by as i was for Pulp Fiction. Starring: Brad Pitt, Christoph Waltz. Directed by: Quentin Tarantino.


07. The Informant! (B+)
A very engaging and engrossing dark comedy of the year with a brilliant performance by the bloat Matt Damon, this movie tells an odd based on true story of Mark Whitacre PhD, a top level executive at Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) corporate who whistleblow the illegal price fixing practice of is company to the FBI when he himself embezzle money from his company. The man suffers from bipolar disorder of manic depression which impede him from telling the truth and distinguish the real world reality from the reality he created himself. Matt Damon performance was uncanny. Too bad he missed the award, probabaly because it is too comedic rather than a preferred dramtic role. Starring Matt Damon, Scott Bakula. Directed by Steven Soderbergh.

06. (500) Days Of Summer (A-)

One of the best romantic comedy of the decade. It tells a very honest story how skewed a perspective of viewing lightning-can-strike-only-once kind of love with let's-have-fun kind of "love". I love it... truly honest. Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Joey Deschanel. Directed by: Marc Webb.

05. The Hangover (A-)

A very funny comedy about Vegas trip gone awry. Not a typical bachelor party holocaust, it is smart and entertaining form the beginning until the end. If you like American Pie when you're 20, then defenitely you're gonna love this film on your 30s Starring: Bradley Cooper, Justin Bartha. Directed By: Todd Phillips.

04. Up In The Air (A-)
With a clever theme and smart plot, this is the most personal and most honest film of the year. The film cannot be released at any appropriate time to depict U.S' most difficult financial times. Thanks to clever direction from Jason Reitman, the same person behind Juno (2007), this is one of the most embracable dialogue-oriented movie about life, job and being connected with people. The peformances are also well done. Starring: George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick. Directed By: Jason Reitman.

03. Up (A)

A very uplifting "Married-Life" sequence at the beginning alone has escalated this animated feature up into the sky amidst all other live-action movies despite of its children friendly theme, most adults will actually love this film than children do. Directed By: Pete Docters.

02. The Hurt Locker (A)

The best film about Iraq war. A very subtly intense drama that bring me back to the memories of such similar theme movie like Black Hawk Down in 2001. Only, this one is twice better. More human element of the movie. I can't nearly believed that this male-driven drama thriller was directed by a woman. But I have my two thumbs up for her work here. Starring: Jeremy Reiner. Directed By: Kathryn Bigelow.

01. Avatar (A)

There is no question that this is one of the best science-fiction movies of this decade. The groundbreaking visual effects and other technical-related accomplishment has eclipsed Titanic as the highest grossing picture of all time in the box office. It breaks the record that no other film has done in the last 12 years. Both films directed by the same man, James Cameron and he really has proven that he is the king of the world of box office once again. This is a must see picture of 2009. If you choose to see only one film in 2009, this is it. Starring: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana. Directed By: James Cameron.