Best Summer Flicks: 2009

The summer, in terms of film, is always an exciting time for me. There is almost always some franchise that I enjoy that is coming out with a new movie that might crash and burn. Along side it are a dozens movies that are suppose to blow the audience away and make them forget all about the thrills of last year. The summer of 2009 has not been that type summer for me. In general it has kind of been a bland summer filled with movies that just didn't quite make it. There was a whole lot of potential filling up the theaters but few movies delivered and even fewer movies surprised me.

Still there were some diamonds in the rough this summer season. In fact there were some amazing movies that's accomplishments tower over the countless other flicks that were provided. Here is my top five movies of the summer.

1) Up: By far the best movie of the summer and it is defiantly one of my favorite movies of the year. Almost every summer Pixar's production makes it to the top of my list. They make crafting a quality film filled with heart, humor and adventure look like an easy task. It is of course not an easy thing to make movies this good and original but they did it again. Up is a great story, with some really talented voice acting. It filled the screen with original, stunning images and that was a welcomed change from a summer filled with movies that felt like just the same old thing.

2) Star Trek: I was against this movie at first. Mostly because I have grown very weary of old franchises getting rebooted because original work seems to be too difficult for Hollywood at the moment. Also I am not a big fan of Star Trek in general. Out of nowhere this movie ended up being the best popcorn adventure movie of the summer. The adventure is well thought out and executed. The action was great to watch. The acting was stellar. It was the first movie I saw this summer and aside from an old guy with a floating house nothing has beaten it.

3) Food Inc: The scariest movie of the summer did not have any psycho killer in it. The star of this movie was corn and cows yet this documentary about the American food industry scared the crap out of me. This movie gave an unflinching look at what goes into our food. It ends up being insanely affecting without being preachy. It was the most important movie of the summer season.

4) Hurt Locker: I want to gather up all the directors of all the action movies that came out this year and make them watch this movie. With maybe Star Trek right after. It has been a while since I have watched an action movie that had me on the edge of my seat. This clever and pulse pounding movie should be a must for everyone. It is one of the few movies "about" Iraq that does not waste much time trying to tell a message. Instead it tried to tell a story and it did it quite well. If you like action infused with drama, see this movie. It is exciting and affecting.

5) Away We Go: Ok I will admit this movie is a little uneven and forced. I still liked it and maybe that's because I am biased about some of the actors involved. Still I thought this was a quirky and fun little movie. If the summer had been a little better I am not sure if this movie would have made my list but it is still a good flick. Get it the moment it comes out on video. It is well made and filled with genuine fun moments.

Movies that might make my list by the end of summer: Funny People, Cold Souls and The Boat That Rocked.