10 Best Movies Of 2009

Picking the 10 best movies of 2009 out of all the deserving contenders is like having to choose the hottest girls in a room packed with them. Impossible! Why not take them all home? Other than space constraints in your coackroach-infested apartment, it’s a fact of life that sooner or later hard decisions must be made. But you can always catch up with the other hot chicks once you’re through with the top ten, right?

1. “The Hurt Locker” Not a well-known movie, it won some obscure industry award called the Oscar. (The what, you ask?) The proverbial David in the Goliath-dominated best movies of 2009, this tale about the leader of a bomb-disposal unit deserved all the recognition it received. The most poignant mix of suspense and drama to come along in years, you will think about this movie for weeks afterward.
2. “Up” The saddest first ten minutes in cinema history, it’s also the perfect setup for a tale about hope in the midst of grief. When an elderly widower feels disconnected from the world, he sets out to accomplish the dreams that eluded him and his departed wife. Not a downer by any means, there is plenty of fun and laughter to turn “Up” into a maestro of the ol’ heartstrings.
3. “The White Ribbon” When a German village in pre-World War I experiences a slew of strange deaths, long-held secrets threaten to surface. But who will they implicate, and will the town ever be the same again? Those are just a few of the questions in the achingly suspenseful “The White Ribbon”, an excellent foreign film and one of the best movies of 2009.
4. “District 9” Like most newbie screenwriters, you probably have a work-in-progress about a government worker who catches an extraterrestrial disease while corralling space aliens from one earth ghetto to another. Well, shred it right now. There will be no one-upping “District 9” anytime soon. One of the most inventive movies of 2009.
5. “A Serious Man” The story of one man’s life as it crumbles to the ground around him. The kicker is he’s trying really hard to be a good man despite it all. Based on the book of Job from the Bible, “A Serious Man” is the Coen Brothers’ latest film to be fraught with drama and smart humor.
6. “Moon” Imagine taking a three-year trip to Wal-Mart. You’re alone except for a creepy robot and glitchy communication system that keeps you from regular human contact. Oh, and then a dude shows up who looks like you and suddenly you can’t be so sure that you’re the real you. An excellent study of humanity and the meaning of life sprinkled with just enough comedy.
7. “Up in the Air” Rediscovering relationships was a theme in many of the best movies of 2009, and “Up in the Air” fits the bill. A salesman who travels more than 300 days a year loves his noncommittal lifestyle. Until he allows himself to fall head over sneakers for a fellow traveler, that is. Very funny and intelligently written, it’s the least chicky chick-flick you’ll see for a while.
8. “Black Dynamite” The most criminally overlooked of the best movies of 2009. Black Dynamite, a former CIA agent, seeks revenge after learning The Man killed his brother, filled orphanages with drugs, and watered down the neighborhood’s malt liquor supply. A spoof of blaxploitation flicks, “Black Dynamite” is a laugh riot that isn’t afraid to pull punches.
9. “In the Loop” A British official trips over his words on national TV and appears to indicate England’s involvement in a Middle Eastern War. U.S. government bigwigs who happen to be visiting pounce on the mistake to secure England’s involvement. The resulting bumbling between the two nations is an uproarious send-up of politics and political leaders.
10. “Zombieland” A breezy flick about learning to trust after a lifetime of hurt. Oh yeah, and zombies! Four social recluses band together to survive both the isolation of the apocalypse and the zombies about to munch them at every stop. A fun, funny, warmhearted undead romp that pairs well with family, close buds, or the girlfriend.