Good Movies 2009 on DVD

Thursday, October 29, 2009 at 3:11 pm

If you’re looking for good movies 2009 on DVD, then you’ve come to the right place. All the films on the list below were released on DVD this year, and many are also available on Blu-ray. If you’d like to enjoy them in the privacy of your own home, you should consider taking advantage of the free trial offer from Netflix.

Frost/Nixon – Television personality David Frost wanted to make a name for himself in America. Disgraced former leader Richard Nixon wanted to tell his side of the story plus make a few extra bucks. This brought the two together for a series of historical interviews and a battle of wills. Frank Langella does a superb job of portraying Nixon as a conflicted and complicated man. Plenty of historical inaccuracies abound, but it’s still an entertaining film.

Doubt – Meryl Streep plays Sister Aloysius, a nun who suspects inappropriate behavior between Father Flynn (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) and one of his altar boys. Unwilling to let the matter drop, she becomes obsessed with getting to the truth. Plenty of acting firepower on display, as evidenced by four of cast being nominated for acting Oscars.

wrestler

The Wrestler – Mickey Rourke plays a once-famous wrestler, Randy “The Ram” Robinson, who has since fallen on hard times. Now working at a deli and wrestling on the independent circuit, he still dreams of once again rising to the top of the sport. He also attempts to romance an aging stripper (Marissa Tomei) and establish contact with his estranged daughter (Evan Rachel Wood). An anguished performance from Rourke, and Tomei shows that her multiple Oscar nominations over the years are certainly deserved.

Let the Right One In – Part horror and part twisted romance, Let the Right One In is a highly-original Swedish film which tells the story of the developing relationship between 12-year-old Oskar and a youthful androgynous vampire named Eli. While the bizarre romantic is enough to hold your interest, horror fans will also love the associated gore of the vampire genre. People burst into flames, cause animals to react violently, and even get strung upside down for a little blood draining. One of the best vampire films ever made and certainly deserving of a place on this list of good movies 2009 on DVD.

Traitor – Don Cheadle drew strong reviews for his work as Samir Horn, a Sudanese-American who falls in with a group of terrorists. He’s pursued by FBI agent Roy Clayton (Guy Pearce), but Horn’s hiding a few secrets which turn the second half of the film on its ear. The movie progresses at a fast pace, and Cheadle’s performance holds things together nicely. The film was based on an idea from comedic actor Steve Martin, who also serves as one of the film’s producers.

Man on Wire – James Marsh directs this work like a heist film, which is interesting considering it’s a documentary about the 1974 high-wire walk between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York. The film appeared on 76 top-10 lists submitted by critics, and it went on to capture the Best Documentary Oscar at the 2008 Academy Awards.

Watchmen – After his success on 300, director Zack Snyder had the Hollywood juice to finally get the film adaptation of Allen Moore’s legendary graphic novel into theaters. The result is an ambitious and epic superhero film which sadly failed to make a huge impact at the box office. But Watchmen remains a solid work in spite of its gross, and hopefully it will inspire a new generation to discover the brilliant source material.

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Gran Torino – In what may be his final acting role, Clint Eastwood plays a retired auto worker who also happens to be a bigot. But some of his notions begin to be challenged when he saves a local Asian neighbor from gang members and becomes the hero of the neighborhood. Eastwood also directed, and it’s hard not to like his spirited performance.

Defiance – Daniel Craig and Liev Schreiber star as two of the four Bielski brothers, Polish Jews who take to the forest in order to avoid being killed by the Nazis. They soon encounter other survivors, and a loose-knit community begins to form in the wilderness. Before long, the group begins to fight back against their enemies in an effort to help end the war. Based on a true story, although a number of facts have been changed or omitted for “dramatic purposes.” Not the best movie to hit DVD in 2009, but fans of the war or historical genre should still find plenty to like.

I’ve Loved You So Long – This French drama stars Kristin Scott Thomas as a woman being released from prison after serving 15 years for killing her six-year-old son. Moving in with her younger sister’s family, she slowly begins to adjust to life outside the prison walls. Thomas gives a incredibly delicate performance as a woman living with guilt and regret, and trying desperately to reconnect with the world around her. A magnificent directorial debut by Philippe Claudel.

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Now that you’re more familiar with good movies 2009 on DVD, take a look at these other lists which provide solid film recommendations:

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 29th, 2009 at 3:11 pm and is filed under Good Movies, New DVD Releases. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

4 Responses to “Good Movies 2009 on DVD”

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October 30, 2009

Ballard Andy White

I thought Defiance was a 2008 movie?

October 30, 2009

Shane

It was released on DVD in 2009.

October 31, 2009

Ballard Andy White

I thought it kinda sucked.

November 2, 2009

FilmFan123

I liked Doubt, but it was so depressing that I had to fight back the urge to hang myself afterwards.

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