Top 20 Movies of 2009

20. Bad Lieutenant - Port of Call: New Orleans
Nic Cage descent into addiction and his struggle to keep his mind straight is surprisingly engrossing with a top notch supporting cast. Director Werner Herzog puts a lot of style in behind the camera trying to craze the audience at the same time as Cage.


19. Where the Wild Things Are
Turning a six page children's book into a feature film is no easy task. Spike Jonz makes it look easy with this revealing look at a temper tantrum through a child's very vivid imagination.


18. World's Greatest Dad
Robin Williams' best role since Good Will Hunting. He plays a the father of a meddlesome, completely unlikable child. Directed by Bobcat Goldthwaite, this film is easily the biggest surprise of 2009.

17. Bronson
The movie that will shoot Tom Hardy to stardom. It is a crazy and manic movie and title character, but it is not without its gravitas and creativity. Truly an original work resembling the great gritty, mentally unstable anti-heroes of the 70s.


16. Brothers Bloom
The follow up to the very stylish highschool set neo-noir Brick, this adventure story follows 2 con man brothers as they trick an eccentric heiress out of her millions, but as usual life gets in the way. It is a fast-talking and witty style, but it is not without its heart.


15. Antichrist
Lars Von Tier's trippy, surreal journey through grief follows a couple on their therapuetic trip to a cabin after the loss of their child, but it all goes horribly wrong. Woman's manipulative husband and study material is unable to distract her from oncoming madness.


14. Sherlock Holmes
A new take on the fictional detective goes back to its gritty literature roots in Guy Ritchie's first installment to what is hopefully a long franchise. Downey Jr. cements his comeback status with this beautifully scored and set action/mystery.


13. Adventureland
Based on director Greg Mottola's real life summer job experience, a teen witty beyond his years finds himself in a love triangle with an equally witty young woman and his poser mentor, played ultimately charming by Ryan Reynolds.


12. Pontypool
A horror movie flying safely under the rader looks to rewrite the infected/zombie subgenre with this plague passed on through words taking place exclusively in a radio broadcasting booth. Verteran character actor Stephen McHattie is really memorable in his shock jock role.


11. Watchmen
The adaptation of Alan Moore's deconstruction on the comic medium takes few liberties yet keeps all the heart and meaning of the source material. Brilliantly casted and stylishly shot, it is great sister material to Moore's novel.


10. Star Trek
The revived science fiction franchise gets itself a new inspired cast and a sunglared direction by J.J. Abrams. It promises a long future.


9. (500) Days of Summer
Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordan Levitt perform excellently and carry this inntriguing not-love story to the finish. The final moment is a little weak, but it is ultimately heart-warming even in its most depressing moments.


8. Zombieland
Following the succees of Shaun of the Dead, this new zombie comedy pits an unlikely group of survivors against the legion of undead that is currently owning the planet. A very charismatic cast with some decent action and gore do not amount to the greatness of Shaun.. but they come damn close.


7. The Boat that Rocked
aka Pirate Radio. A comedy about the romance between man and his music enlightens and inspires a deep passion for the art of songwriting with the best ensemble cast of the year.


6. District 9
A science fiction metaphor for apartheid throws an average joe office drone, a breakout role for Sharlto Copley, in the middle of a corporate conspiracy and Kafka-esque transformation. It pulls the curtain back on race relations and discrimation.


5. The Hangover
One of the best comedies in years, The Hangover follows 3 groomsmen on their search for the groom in Las Vegas after their wild night leaves them with no memory of the events. Breakout roles for Zach Galifinakis and Bradley Cooper, who both now have projects lined up around the block.


4. Up in the Air
A talkative movie about the interconnectedness of people rests safely on the shoulders of George Clooney and his ability to deliver dialog. Jason Reitman is proving to be one of the best young directors out there.


3. Inglourious Basterds
Quentin Tarantino's ode to spaghetti westerns and WWII movies creates this oddball epic about a group of Jewish-American soldiers who reak havoc on the Nazi soldiers plaguing the land.


2. The Hurt Locker
One of the most tense movies this year, and possibly the decade. Like its subject matter, it is a slow burning fuse that could blow at any minute keeping the audience consistently at the edge of their seats. It does so not just through action and omenous music, but through real emotion from the soldiers. A truly unbiased Iraq War movie that focuses on the effects of war on the human condition.


1. Moon
Soon to be considered a science fiction classic, this film hits all the right beats. Sam Rockwell gives his greatest performance yet, and is easily the greatest performance of 2009.

Top 10 Opening Credits

Here are what I consider the greatest opening credits in cinema history. I put some thought into it and tried not to use the overall quality of the film dictate my options. The opening credits can be a more useful tool than many realize, setting up tone and introducing history of characters and plot. I tried to find all of them on YouTube, but I was not able to find all of them.

10. Sahara (2005)
Sahara starring Matthew MacConaughey and Steve Zahn about the adventurer Dirk Pitt and his search for confederate gold in Africa. The opening sequence is a long shot circling the yacht they call home highlighting pictures and other items of Dirk and his buddy Al's time in the Navy, and their past adventures. Star Wars may have been the obvious choice especially to highlight the history explanation of the soon unfolding story, but there is something about a scrolling paragraph that lacks creativity.

9. Casino Royale (2006)
A Bond flick had to be represented. They have been by far had some of the more consistently memorable openings in cinema history. Most of the time, they are simply a chance to show the credits and spotlight a song. This is by far my favorite. I might be a little biased because its also my favorite Bond flick featuring my favorite Bond (Connery be damned), but Cornell's song is so nostalgically classic rock but oddly fitting. Plus it has some of the more inventive imagery, as opposed to the overused (but always welcome) dancing female silhouettes.



8. Se7en (1995)
I have seen many people credit Se7en with the reemergance of the high concept opening credits. It mixes the hard rock sounds of Nine Inch Nails, with a number of creepy jounral entries and creepier hands sifting through them foreshadowing the events and eventual reveal of killer, John Doe.



7. To Kill A Mockingbird (1962)
One of the more classic opening sequences, it has been paid homage to a number of times most notably with Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous, Crowe being a famous fan of the novel, referencing it in some way. The credits are played against a close-up of Scout, the young girl of the heroic Atticus Finch. It depicts Scout as the vessel for which we experience the story, and defines the subtle veil of childlike innocence in the way the story is presented to us.

6. The Fall (2006)
Director Tarsem Singh described it as "..chaos without energy." A beutiful combination of images and music. Beethoven’s Symphony No 7 sets the stage for a surreal, slow-motion mini-movie, one who's connection to the movie becomes apparent as the movie plays on, and upon second viewing becomes even more beautiful. An ode to falling.



5. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
A brilliant operatic science fiction. Thematically heavy, but still thrilling as the straight ahead horror/sci-fis. The opening is probably one of the most memorable openings of all time. A fantastic score that establishes the sweeping epic proportions the movie depicts. One of the most identifiable theme that makes all the right hits.



4. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is one of the biggest surprises in recent cinema weaving a smart and witty neo-noir that revels in its faults as well as its strengths. The opening sequence is a tribute to classic noir, resembling the old opening credits and retro covers of the detective yarns that spawned this underrated gem. Its jazz theme inspired images of fedora wearing gumshoes and survy seductive dames.




3. Romeo+Juliet (1996)
Baz Luhrman's take on Shakespeare's timeless tale of star cross'd lovers juxtaposes Shakes words over a modern era. In order to make the connection of Ye Olde English and 20th century America, Baz plays over the introduction of the play twice, once as a newscast on a lone television, and then again over a series of images of the movie and general 20th century iconography.



2. Watchmen (2009)
The highly acclaimed graphic novel adapted to celluloid has one of the greatest opening credits in recent time. It very well could be flash-in-the-pan opinion, but the unconventional choice of song in Bob Dylan's "These Times Are A-Changing" played against famous 20th Century iconography only this time with the added appearances of masked vigilantes to introduce us to a world with a vibrant history, a history the same as ours.....but not, leading up to the plot in question. Obviously, I cannot post the sequence, but if you look hard enough, you can still find it somewhere on-line. Thus is the beauty of the internet

1. Lord of War (2005)
Lord of War was pretty cool movie. A little too much coolness in general though. It was a dark comic drama with morally ambiguous characters. Its opening sequence is one of the MOST inventive and creative sequence to ever grace the silver screen. The camera afixed to a bullet starting at the beginning of creation to its killing blow in a war torn foreign world set against Buffalo Springfield's "For What It's Worth."

Top 100 Comic Characters Part 2

Part 1


50. Morph
49. Toyman II
48. Captain America II/ Bucky
47. Gambit
46. Human Torch
45. The Question
44. Medusa
43. Hellboy
42. Cannonball
41. Nick Fury
40. Darkhawk
39. Deathstroke
38. Beast
37. Red Devil
36. Star Lord
35. The Thing
34. Cyborg
33. Rorschach
32. Metamorpho
31. Joker
30. Green Arrow
29. Torick Brown
28. Cal MacDonald
27. Spiderman
26. Captain America I
25. Plastic Man
24. Two Face
23. Robin III
22. Thor
21. Wonder Girl
20. Martian Manhunter
19. Emma Frost
18. Bullseye
17. Lobster Johnson
16. Nite-Owl II
15. Nightwing
14. Green Lantern Guy Gardner
13. Nightcrawler
12. Iceman
11. Superman
10. Alfred Pennyworth
9. Red Arrow
8. Firebrand (I don't know why he's so high)
7. The Flash/ Wally West
6. Iron Fist
5. Wolverine
4. Madrox
3. Hitman Tommy Monaghan
2. Batman
1. Deadpool

Top 5 Most Anticpated Movies of 2009

5) Monsters vs Aliens- Great cast (Seth Rogen, Will Arnett, Stephen Colbert, Keifer Sutherland, Reese Witherspoon, Hugh Laurie, and Rainn Wilson) with a really cool and fun concept (its right there in the title)

















4) Public Enemies- Depp vs Bale, two of the more prolific actors today, in a movie about John Dillinger, one of the most infamous American criminals, directed by Michael Mann, one of the better crime directors out there. How could I resist? Also stars the fantastic and beautiful Academy Award winner Marion Cotillard, and set in one of my favorite time periods other than present. I am a sucker for the noirish Prohibition era type stuff (gumshoes and dames).










3) X-Men Origins: Wolverine- The title is a mouthfull, but Hugh Jackman's Wolverine is probably one of my favorite superhero portrayals of all time. Thank god they recasted Tyler Mane with Liev Shreiber. By the trailer alone I am confident in saying he'll make a better Sabertooth, I don't care how much bigger Mane is. Plus, the movie has Deadpool, and I love me some Deadpool. The fact that he is being played by Ryan Reynolds is as perfect a casting as Ron Perlman as Hellboy.











2) Inglourious Basterds- Despite Tarantino's horrible spelling, I have been looking forward to his WWII epic since back when Mickey Rourke was "attached" (way before The Wrestler). The cast is a bit of a let down except for Brad Pitt considering the likes of Michael Madsen, Sylverster Stallone, and Adam Sandler were once in talks for roles. Nevertheless, a WWII epic with a spaghetti western mentality is a fantastic enough concept to keep me interested.











1) Watchmen- Alan Moore might be too stubborn to watch it, but the "unfilmable" comic being directed by a highly visual director and an inspired cast is finally happening and I cannot be any more psyched. I feel that it has odd placement in the market, but the contrversey surrounding it and the intense visuals of the trailers will probably be enough to snag some unintiated viewers.

This Week in Movies 2/1-2/6

-The Superbowl ads were played. We got a sneak peek at G.I. Joe, Transformers 2, Monsters vs Aliens, Star Trek, Angels and Demons, Year One, Fast and Furious, Land of the Lost, and Race to Witch Mountain. I'm probably looking forward to Monsters vs Aliens the most, but I will certainly see everyone of them before I see the dreadful looking Land of the Lost



- Scorsese picks his next, Silence. Set in the 17th century about two Jesuit priests who face violence and persecution when they go to Japan to locate their mentor and to spread the gospel of Christianity. It stars Daniel Day-Lewis and Benicio Del Toro, top-notch talent. Day-Lewis is pretty picky to so it must be one hell of a script.

- The Flash gets a writer, Dan Mazeau, who recently passed in a draft of Johnny Quest to Warner Brothers.


- John Carpenter picks his next, The Ward, about a women stalked inside an insane asylum. Hopefully he keeps the quality of his Masters of Horror episodes rather than the quality of Ghosts of Mars

- Slap Shot might get a remake. Not ideal in the least. Just go watch the original

- We got a first look at The Black Freighter addition to Watchmen


- People still don't know who Rourke is playing in Iron Man 2. :)

- Bale's temper got the best of him on Terminator: Salvation. Internet nerds are torn between hating and loving the talented actor who's planning on rebooting and improving every beloved film franchise ever. ;)

- Green Lantern gets a director, Martin Campbell of Bond fame (Goldeneye and Casino Royale)


- Disney is actually attempting to adapt Candyland to film.

- Jeff Bewkes, CEO of WB, says they'll make Batman movies until people stop paying. Could this be the next Bond, a franchise with 23 installments and counting.

- This week's releases: Coraline, Push, He's Just Not That Into You, Pink Panther 2, and in limited release Fanboys and Chocolate. If I had to see one, it would be Fanboys, a cool looking comedy that the Weinsteins bounced around for far too long.