2009 Wrap-Up: The Year in Movies
by Ellen Kim
on December 22, 2009
TELL US THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN: Nine / 9 / District 9; A Single Man / A Serious Man; The Uninvited / The Unborn; 12 / 12 RoundsBEST FIRST 10 MINUTES: Up
BEST LAST 10 MINUTES: Duplicity
BEST TITLES: Drag Me To Hell, The Hurt Locker, The Informant!
WORST TITLES: Knowing, Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans
MOST UNDERSTATED TITLE: The Hangover
TITLE TREND: Recycling the original franchise title when you can't come up with any more variations on the name (Fast & Furious, The Final Destination)
TITLE THAT WILL FRUSTRATE SPELL CHECK EVERY TIME: Inglourious Basterds
WINNING THEME: For once, films centered around the war in Iraq were both acclaimed and successful (The Hurt Locker, The Messenger)
LOSER THEME: Prehistoric times (Year One, Land of the Lost)
MOST RANDOM CAMEO: Tyler Perry in Star Trek
CLEVEREST CASTING: Christa B. Allen, who played Jennifer Garner as a 13-year-old in 13 Going on 30, playing Jennifer Garner as a 17-year-old in Ghosts of Girlfriends PastTHE ARMAGEDDON / DEEP IMPACT CONFLICT OF 2009: Paul Blart: Mall Cop / Observe and Report
BEST BATTING AVERAGE: Meryl Streep (Julie & Julia, It's Complicated, The Fantastic Mr. Fox);
WORST BATTING AVERAGE: Dennis Quaid (Pandorum, Horsemen, G.I. Joe); Jennifer Aniston (Love Happens, Management); Milla Jovovich (The Fourth Kind, A Perfect Getaway)
ATTEMPT TO RE-CREATE SUCCESS OF THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA=FAIL: Confessions of a Shopaholic
MOST ADORABLE PAIRS: John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph, Away We Go; Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel, (500) Days of Summer; Meryl Streep & Stanley Tucci, Julie & Julia; Paul Rudd and Jason Segel, I Love You Man
MOVIE YOU CAN'T BELIEVE YOU ENJOYED: Taken
MOVIE YOU REALLY WANTED TO ENJOY MORE: Watchmen
BEST CATFIGHT: Beyonce and Ali Larter, Obsessed
BEST NON-"MUSICAL" MUSICAL NUMBER: The Proposal's Ryan Reynolds singing "It Takes Two" by Rob Base (runner-up later in the film: Sandra Bullock doing Lil Jon's "Get Low")
'80s NOSTALGIA = GOOD: Adventureland
'80s NOSTALGIA = BAD: Fame
WORST FOLLOW-UP AFTER AN OSCAR-NOMINATED ROLE: Anne Hathaway, Bride Wars
CAST THAT MOST EXCEEDS ITS BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE QUOTA: Nine
MOST HYPED NEW A-LISTER: Sam Worthington (Terminator Salvation, Avatar)
MOST SURPRISING NEW A-LISTER: Liam Neeson (Taken)
MOST BRAZEN PLOT DEPARTURE FROM THE BOOK: The ending of My Sister's Keeper
BOX OFFICE WINNERS: Zoe Saldana, Star Trek and Avatar ($334 million--and counting--total box office, will likely surpass $400m by year's end); Ryan Reynolds (X-Men Origins: Wolverine and The Proposal=$342 million); Sandra Bullock (The Proposal and The Blind Side=$329 million)
PROOF GERARD BUTLER ONLY DOES GOOD MOVIES IN A TOGA: The Ugly Truth, Gamer, Law Abiding Citizen
What else would you add? --Ellen
JT on December 22, 2009 at 01:49 PM
Ellen, I love your blogs!
DeAnn on December 22, 2009 at 04:32 PM
Hmm, Gerard Butler didn't wear a toga in the Ugly Truth, and yet he was good in that movie, just as he was great in PS I Love You, where there was no toga-wearing either. Personally, I think the man can wear just about anything (or nothing, which I'd prefer) and look hotter than any other movie actor, but what do I know? Yes, he was delicious in the 300, with all those cyber-muscles, but he was just as sexy in The Phantom of the Opera, and he can sing, which is an added bonus. He was also in Lara Croft, Tomb Raider 2 movie (or maybe it was the third movie, I don't recall) and was insanely gorgeous just wearing jeans and a t-shirt. Add that yummy Scottish accent and you've got a man for all seasons, IMHO.
Shauna on December 23, 2009 at 12:12 PM
This is awesome. Totally helped me fill in my Netflix queue. Funny AND functional! Love it.
sensations on October 29, 2010 at 12:32 AM
However mean your life is,meet it and live it ;do not shun it and call it hard names.It is not so bad as you are.
xiao on November 15, 2010 at 05:29 PM
do not shun it and call it hard names.