Good Movies 2009 List

Movie night can sometimes be a real pain in the butt, because it’s often tough to find quality films. To relieve your pain, I’ve put together this good movies 2009 list. The ten films below all have two things in common: (a) they all came out in 2009, and (b) they’re all good movies (at least according to me). Whether you agree or disagree with my choices, feel free to make your voice heard in the comments section.

The Unborn – Gary Oldman as a Jewish rabbi? That’s really all I need to know. But just in case you’re unconvinced, here are a few more reasons: a demonic creature known as dybbuk that’s trying to be born into the physical world, a Jewish exorcism, creepy twins, and a film poster with Odette Yustman displaying one of the greatest asses ever to be used in promotional material.

Taken – Coltish hottie Maggie Grace plays a pampered teen who heads to Europe with one of her friends. But quicker than you can say “Don’t leave America,” she’s captured by a gang of ruthless white slavers. Fortunately, she’s got an ace up her sleeve in the form of her father, a retired CIA agent named Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) who happens to be on the other end of the phone when his daughter gets nabbed. He gives the kidnappers one chance to release her, but they wish him good luck in finding them and hang up. Big mistake. Within hours, Mills is stalking the streets of Paris intent on kicking ass, taking names, and then kicking a little more ass for good measure. If you’ve ever wanted to see Liam Neeson unleash his inner badass, then grab this movie as soon as possible. Luc Besson produced and co-wrote the film.

Sunshine Cleaning – Amy Adams stars as Rose Lorkowski, a former high school cheerleader whose life hasn’t turned out exactly as planned. She cleans houses for a living when she’s not getting together for trysts with her high school sweetheart, a married cop played by Steve Zahn. At his suggestion, Rose decides to apply her skills to the crime scene cleanup business, and she recruits her slacker sister (Emily Blunt) to help her. As the duo clean up brains and pools of blood, they learn a little something about themselves and confront the painful memories of their own mother’s suicide. A touching mixture of comedy and drama, and Alan Arkin adds some class to the proceedings as their father.

Star Trek – Out with the old and in with the new. That must have been the mantra of director J.J. Abrams, as the Star Trek franchise gets a massive facelift for a new generation of fans. Sure, Leonard Nimoy still puts in an appearance as the future version of Spock, but the rest of the cast is filled with fresh faces such as Zachary Quinto, Chris Pine, Zoey Saldana, and Karl Urban. While taking part in Starfleet Academy, the younger versions of Captain Kirk and company must try to thwart the deadly machinations of Nero (Eric Bana), a vengeful Romulan from the future. It’s a gift from the heavens for Trekkies, as the latest entry in the franchise is filled with beautiful faces, superior effects, and plenty of action. One of the monster hits of 2009, expect the sequel within a couple of years.

Up – On the verge of being forced to live in a retirement home, a bitter widower named Carl Fredrickson (voiced by Ed Asner) decides to attach tens of thousands of balloons to his house in an effort to transport it to South America and fulfill a promise he once made to his late wife. He’s joined in the adventure by Russell, a young Wilderness Explorer trying to earn a merit badge for helping the elderly. Along the way, they also encounter Dug, a dog with a collar which allows him to talk; Kevin, a rare female bird; and Charles Muntz, a once-great explorer turned madman. Animated fun for the entire family, with celebrity voices ranging from Christophe Plummer to John Ratzenberger.

The Hangover – Four buddies travel to Vegas for a bachelor party, but the next morning they’re missing the groom and unsure of what happened during their night on the town. There’s a tiger in the bathroom, a baby in the closet, and one of the pals is missing a tooth. As they slowly piece events together, they encounter a stripper named Jade (Heather Graham), a naked man in the trunk of a car, and Mike Tyson. A surprise hit, The Hangover grossed over $450 million at the box office and helped turn Bradley Cooper into a star. Not bad for a script which Lindsay Lohan reportedly passed on, saying that it “had no potential.”

Moon – Sam Rockwell drew rave reviews for his portrayal of Sam Bell, a lone worker contracted for a three-year detail on the surface of the moon. As his term of service draws to a close, he begins to hallucinate and feel ill, and things take a bizarre twist when he comes across someone who appears to be his double. Is he going mad from years of isolation, or does the facility hold a darker secret? Rockwell is a one-man tour de force, and Kevin Spacey adds a nice touch as the voice of the computerized GERTY. Expect Rockwell to draw an Oscar nomination for this performance.

The Hurt Locker – And since I mentioned Oscar nominations, I’d be remiss if I didn’t include The Hurt Locker on this good movies 2009 list. Jeremy Renner stars as the latest addition to an Army bomb disposal unit in Iraq. As he and his fellow soldiers defuse roadside bombs and fight insurgents, tensions mount and threaten their very lives. Kathryn Bigelow directs, and she gets plenty of help from a cast which includes Guy Pearce, Ralph Fiennes, David Morse, and Evangeline Lilly.

(500) Days of Summer – Looking for a romantic comedy that doesn’t insult your intelligence? Try this smart little indy film starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel. Presented in a non-linear fashion, it tells the story of 500 days in the lives of Tom and Summer, a pair of youngsters falling in love in Los Angeles. If you’ve ever had your heart broken, you’ll certainly be able to identify with this one. In addition, there’s a great musical number featuring “You Make My Dreams” from Hall & Oates.

Inglourious Basterds – Ultra-geek Quentin Tarantino takes on the war genre in this film which follows two intersecting plotlines. In the first, a young Jewish girl escapes being murdered, resurfaces in Paris as a theatre owner, and finally gains a chance for revenge against the Nazis. The second plotline involves a group of Nazi-hunting American soldiers known as The Basterds and their efforts to kill, scalp, and generally terrorize the enemy. Brad Pitt is a riot as Aldo Raine, the southern-fried leader of the Basterds, but the real scene-stealer is Christoph Waltz as Colonel Hans Landa, a SS officer with a special talent for sniffing out Jews (and smoking an enormous pipe). The final scene in a burning Parisian movie theater is an entertaining (and violent) bit of revisionist history.

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Now that you’ve completed this good movies 2009 list, here are a few more reading assignments for your enjoyment:

• Interesting Movie Facts
• The French Rate the 100 Greatest Movies

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