My Top Ten Films of 2009! Part 1 of 2

Merry Christmas to all of my 3 followers. Sorry I haven't been posting lately. I've pretty much been taking my holiday vacation early. I could go on about how awesome yet unoriginal Avatar was, or how the recent precursors have pitted Up in the Air and The Hurt Locker at each other's throats for best picture, or the emergence of Fantastic Mr. Fox as a possible upset to Pixar's winning streak, but I'm not here for that. I just want to give my top films of the year before the year is over so here is goes. (Keep in mind this is only the films I've seen so far. I haven't seen Precious, or Up in the Air, or Invictus, or A Serious Man, or Nine, so relax. I'm not hating on any of them, yet.)

10.Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

You may be doing a double take on this, or reuploading the page because there's got to be some sort of mistake, but alas no, you are not misreading this. I've got this in my top ten simply because it was one of the most enjoyable movies of the year. Personally I did not enjoy the first Transformers movie. I found the humor just distracting and it had so much promise to being on a level of epic. I came down from those delusions quickly. After seeing the first trailer for this film I didn't think it was going to suck. I knew it was going to suck. I was in the point of mind where there was nothing that could redeem it for me. But something did. Michael Bay successfully parodied his own film without getting rid of the key things that will get an audience for the film. It was everything I wanted from a dumb action film, and nothing that I didn't want from a dumb action film. They stuffed in a whole lot of sexual innuendos, and drug references that I just couldn't stop laughing, and the action was just amazing. I didn't see it on an Imax screen but I kind of wish I had because it would've been simply majestic. This was possibly the second best Live-Action comedy of the year. It didn't take itself too seriously, and it knew what it was trying to be. If you are a member of the 1% of America who didn't see this movie, you just gotta see it.

9.Where the Wild Things Are
I didn't know how Spike Jonze was going to pull this off but he did. He made a film that maintained the spirt of the beloved childrens book and actually captured the raw spirit of childhood. It wasn't all happy-go-lucky like Shorts. It was a portrait of what it was like when we were kids. It's still the real world that we live in, but it inserts a few fantasy elements into it and sees how they stand up in our world. The acting is simply superb, and thanks to Jonze's use of live puppets there isn't a moment when the wild things don't feel real, so in total you actually feel and empathize with these characters. Max is the center of this fantasy world, and he is somebody who you feel sorry for throughout this entire film and you are genuinely concerned for his life in certain parts of this film. The fact that a childrens film can still do that in this day and age is amazing and I hope it's something that stays with us.

8.Drag Me to Hell
This spot could've gone to Paranormal Activity, which was very creepy and did successfully make you think twice about going to sleep that night, but Drag Me to Hell was just so much more than that. Sam Raimi showed us once more that he can indeed still make a good and scary movie. The cheesy effects don't hinder the film at all. In fact they somewhat heighten the experience. This film is campy, funny, and frightening and can definitely make you reconsider ever doing anything mean ever again. This is the type of film that I think should be required viewing for kids in Christian Elementary Schools, because after seeing it they will never want to sin ever again. This is the type of film that if fed to people at a young age, could bring the world to its knees. Christianity would easily be able to enslave the world with this movie. That is how effective it is. But don't take this to mean that you should in any way take this film seriously. To say that this film is or will ever be serious is to say that Terri Schuester on GLEE ever had a baby inside her. The beauty of this film is that it isn't a film that you are too afraid to see. It's a film that's so scary that you have to see it and you can make it through the entire film because of all the humour in it. At it's best times it is hillarious and scary at the same time, and that is something it should be applauded for.

7.Zombieland
Just when we thought the zombie genre had been drained of all its originality... well it wasn't, and it's safe to say that it still isn't and there is room for more. Where Drag Me to Hell went more of the Horror route, Zombieland goes for comedy while laying in a few scares amongst them. The script isn't what makes it amazing. The script could so easily have been coal, but the four main actors of the film (and the celebrity cameo obviously) do a genuine jesus-christ miracle and turn it into gold. Woody Harrelson especially is worthy of praise for his work here. He came in very late in the year but has been continually wowing us with his performances, even in such trash as 2012, or such art-house works as The Messenger. First time director Ruben Fleischer seems to understand this script all the way through to its core and knows just the right nerves to hit. The comedy, the horror, and the emotion shine through the screen. He sets up a family who we really will follow wherever they go. The fact that the finale begins and ends just as you'd expect, and keeps us interested all the way through is proof of that. With a sequel slowly underway, being filmed in 3D, I think this is just a taste of what we can expect from the future.

6.The Hangover

Capping off the first half of my list is the best live-action comedy of the year, The Hangover. Unlike the other notable comedies I've mentioned, The Hangover's single genre is comedy and it isn't trying to be anything else. Every single plot string has a place in the story and every loose end is tied up in the quick 100 minute running time. Zach Galafinakis is the true catalyst for most of the zany mishaps the characters find themselves in, and he is so childish that you cannot help falling in love with him. He has the best intentions, and if everything went as planned... well lets just say the film wouldn't have grossed over $300 million. The laughs are thrown in at 5 per minute, and you leave the theatre more than fully satisfied. Somehow the film finds a narrative ground that not only works, but exceeds expectations. There are enough WTF moments to kill thousands of old people with poor health problems. I could go on about this film but it really is a simple premise executed perfectly. This film makes final proof that R-rated comedies are indeed the most profitable.

Expect the second half of this list within the next week.