1. Avatar – James Cameron’s massive 3-D opus may be short on plot but that doesn’t make it any less entertaining. Pure cinematic spectacle of the first degree.
2. The Cove – Insanely intense documentary that plays more like an Ocean’s 11 style thriller then it does an environmental expose of Japan’s brutal dolphin fishing industry. The final 15 minutes are unlike anything else I’ve seen, my heart still in my throat as I recollect the bloody carnage.
3. (500) Days of Summer – Marvelous anti-romantic comedy that hits all the right notes as Joseph Gordon-Levitt recounts his up and down affair with the whimsically bubbly Zooey Deschanel.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel in Fox Searchlight's (500) Days of Summer
4. Paranormal Activity – Superb low budget shocker that scared me senseless in the movie theater. The year’s biggest and best audience participation extravaganza and experience.
5. A Single Man– Beautiful and poetic adaptation of author Christopher Isherwood’s novel is a treat for the eyes, ears and the heart. Colin Firth and Julianne Moore give two of the year’s best performances.
6. Away We Go – Sam Mendes’ deft comedic travelogue comes packed with the American Beauty director’s trademark cynicism while also displaying a romantic hopefulness that’s wholly sublime.
7. Paris 36 – Musically delicious drama full of laughter, heartbreak and song set inside a Parisian theatre struggling to fill empty seats while laying the groundwork for resistance in case war with Germany breaks out. A mixture of François Truffaut’s The Last Metro and Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge, Christophe Barratier’s latest is a vivacious joy.
The show must go on in Sony Pictures Classics' Paris 36
8. Up in the Air – Timely dramatic comedy from Juno director Jason Reitman that looks at our current economic crisis through the eyes of a man (George Clooney) who fires people for a living, somehow making him sympathetic and endearing in the process.
9. District 9 – Creative and original science fiction spectacle of racism and inhumanity told with visual ingenuity and flair.
10. The Princess and the Frog – Disney’s wonderful return to hand-drawn animation is as magical as the fantastical story of love, music and amphibian tomfoolery it merrily tells.
11. Tetro – Frances Ford Coppola’s captivating and superbly shot peon to Italian cinema and brotherly love featuring performances by Vincent Gallo and Maribel Verdú deserving of being talked about as two of the year’s best.
12. Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire – Not for the faint of heart, Lee Daniel’s bracing yet hopeful chronicle of a teenage girl’s eventual empowerment over a hatefully domineering and abusive mother is a superlative achievement difficult to forget.
Lenny Kravitz and Gabourey Sidibe in Lionsgate's Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" By Sapphire
13. The Damned United – Magnetic chronicle of failure and perseverance set in the world of English football (i.e. soccer) anchored by performances by Michael Sheen and Timothy Spall that are absolutely goal-worthy.
14. Inglourious Basterds – Quentin Tartino takes the WWII thriller and spins it on its head crafting a freewheeling and original entertainment that’s as shocking as it is hilarious.
15. Funny People – Judd Apatow’s uncompromising and intensely philosophical drama of comedians trying to work their magic while their personal lives suffer gets better with every viewing.
16. Food, Inc. – A person will never look at their dinner table in the same way after watching this ghastly yet mesmerizing documentary chronicling the daily meal is delivered to the supermarket.
Dinner is fattened in Magnolia Pictures' Food, Inc.
1. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen – Rancid sci-fi sequel showcases Michael Bay at his worst. Misogynistic, racist, jingoistic, lazily written and edited with the subtlety of a jackhammer, this movie is the nadir of what summertime entertainment used to be.
They can run, but even the actors can't hide from the pummeling of Paramount Pictures/DreamWorks' Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
2. Land of the Lost– Will Ferrell’s hugely unfunny misfire takes a charming Saturday morning favorite and transforms it into a sex-obsessed freak show devoid of laughter.
3. G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra – No film looked more like a video game that no one in their right mind would ever want to play then this one did, and this is coming from a girl who likes to play video games.
4. Love Happens– Disastrous Aaron Eckhart/Jennifer Aniston romantic weeper that’s so dishonest and emotionally bankrupt I imagine having my throat slit by a homicidal killer would be a more enjoyable way to spend an evening then watching this stinker again would be.
5. Miss March – Imbecilic sex comedy from IFC’s “The Whitest Kids U Know” that’s so lame even an appearance by Hugh Hefner can’t save it from unforgivable oblivion.
Zach Cregger, Sara Jean Underwood and Trevor Moore in Fox Searchlight's Miss March
6. Downloading Nancy – Virtually unwatchable melodrama about a woman who hires a man over the internet to kill her during a sex act just so she can leave her humdrum married life behind.
7. Bride Wars – Anne Hathaway and Kate Hudson scrape the bottom barrel with a marriage comedy that’s as lame as it is offensive.
8. The Final Destination – Sub par 3D splatter effects add nothing as this tired franchise sputters along on empty looking for a reason to still exist.
9. Year One– You’d think combing the talents of director Harold Ramis and stars Jack Black and Michael Cera would be a good thing. You’d think so, but then you’d be wrong. Very, very, very wrong.
10. I Love You, Beth Cooper – Chris Columbus’ first comedy in over a decade is a labored, unfunny, painful and obnoxious coming of age misfire that’s so poorly constructed it’s hard to believe this is the same guy who made Adventures in Babysitting, Home Alone and Mrs. Doubtfire.
Hayden Panettiere in 20th Century Fox's I Love You, Beth Cooper
DISHONARABLE MENTIONS
12 Rounds, Alien Trespass, Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, Amelia, Angels and Demons, The Answer Man, Astro Boy, Big Fan, Brüno, A Christmas Carol, Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Confessions of a Shopaholic, Departures, Did You Hear About the Morgans?, Dragonball: Evolution, Extract, Fame, Fighting, Friday the 13th, G-Force, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, Hannah Montana: The Movie, The Haunting in Connecticut, Hotel for Dogs, Inkheart, The International, Jennifer’s Body, The Invention of Lying, The Last House on the Left, New in Town, Next Day Air, Not Easily Broken, Paul Blart: Mall Cop, Post Grad, Push, Race to Witch Mountain, Shrink, Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li, Surrogates, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, The Ugly Truth, The Unborn, Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, The Uninvited, Watchmen, Whiteout, X-Men Origins: Wolverine
- Portions of this article reprinted courtesy of the SGN in Seattle
