Best Films of 2009

In Films by Brock Bourgase

I see a great deal of films so I decided to rank the forty-four that I had seen so far. These are all films that received their major North American distribution in the past year. I tend to extensively self-select the films which I see and aim to avoid films which are daft, dreary, or dilettante.

2009 List:

  1. Leaves of Grass **** Compelling
  2. An Education **** Enlightening
  3. The Disappearance of Alice Creed **** Innovative
  4. The Damned United **** Inspiring
  5. La Donation **** Selfless
  6. Sin Nombre **** Depraved
  7. The Invisible City **** Revealing
  8. Up in the Air ***½ Pertinent
  9. A Single Man ***½ Passionate
  10. Gomorrah ***½ Violent
  11. Crazy Heart ***½ Redeeming
  12. In the Loop ***½ Insincere
  13. The Road ***½ Hopeful
  14. Harvard Beats Yale 29-29 ***½ Clever
  15. Flame and Citron ***½ Determined
  16. The Hurt Locker *** Relevant
  17. A Serious Man *** Deadpan
  18. Invictus *** Incomplete
  19. Avatar *** Spellbinding
  20. Shadow Billionaire *** Insidious
  21. Up *** Charming
  22. Capitalism: A Love Story **½ Mischeivious
  23. Public Enemies **½ Disappointing
  24. Star Trek **½ Novel
  25. Bright Star **½ Patient
  26. Inglourious Basterds **½ Flippant
  27. Big River Man **½ Disturbing
  28. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince **½ Predictable
  29. Precious **½ Conventional
  30. Les Herbes Folles **½ French
  31. The Brothers Bloom **½ Circuitous
  32. Crude **½ Depressing
  33. 69 **½ Rebellious
  34. The Watchmen ** Cynical
  35. The Men Who Stare at Goats ** Weird
  36. Where the Wild Things Are ** Disappointing
  37. Act of God ** Arbitrary
  38. Collapse ** Pessimistic
  39. Tulpan ** Desolate
  40. Hunger ** Empty
  41. Sherlock Holmes *½ Obvious
  42. Countdown to Liquor Day *½ Conclusive
  43. The Pool *½ Wishful
  44. Face 0 Abominable

For Your Consideration:

The actors, directors, screenwriters, and films listed below merit Academy Awards in my judgment.