2009 Top 10 Movies of the Year

I see tons of movies...it is one of my guilty pleasures. Between the movie theater, Netflix, and my absurd DVD purchasing budget, I see the bulk of the popular movies every year. Admittedly, I miss a fair amount of the independent films, so take my list for what it is worth...

Honorable Mention: Watchmen, Inglorious Bastards, Where The Wild Things Are, The Lovely Bones, Sherlock Holmes, Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Road, Disney's Earth, The Hurt Locker, Corraline, Drag Me To Hell.

10. Adventureland - A tribute to the 80s classic movies...this is the movie that Kristen Stewart fans should watch.

9. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - The darkest of the series...until the next two, that is.

8. The Princess and the Frog - Something nice and quaint about still action movies from Disney...and this is the first good one in decades.

7. Zombieland - A roadtrip movie in a world of Zombies. Really. And the surreal scene with Bill Murray...priceless.

6. The Hangover - The one truly falling-out-of-your-seat laughter movie this year...and it has Mike Tyson!

5. Up In The Air - Jason Reitman (Thank You For Smoking, Juno) has developed his own niche of comedies...and this might be his best.

4. Avatar - The beginning of real 3-D movies. The story is so-so...but if you have not seen it in IMAX 3-D...you are missing an cinematic experience. Even the liberal propaganda aside, it is a beautiful movie.

3. Star Trek - A franchise reborn. J.J. Abrams (Lost) created a whole new universe for Star Trek fans to look forward to...without alienating hardcore fans.

2. District 9 - Science fiction at its best: as a social commentary.

1. Up - This will remain a classic for years to come. A brilliant and touching animated movie that both adults and children can love. This goes to the top of the pyramid of the great Pixar movies; somehow, every time they come out with a new movie, we say that, don't we? They are the greatest stoytellers of our generation. Not to mention, look what they accomplished: this is the ONLY movie this year that got the approval of both my son (age 3) and my wife.