10 Movies That Made My 2009

In 2008, I talked about my favorite movies of the year. It's only apt that I continue in that vein this year and talk about the 10 movies that were my favorites of 2009. The following movies are ranked based on multiple factors like how much I enjoyed the movie and how good I thought the movie was.

Also, it's important to bear in mind that I'm making this list without having seen many movies that would make this list if I had seen them. If that even makes sense. For example, I have yet to see Up, Avatar, A Serious Man, Crazy Heart, Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call- New Orleans, Precious, Up In The Air and (500) Days Of Summer. I will eventually watch those movies but until then, shall we get started on the movies I did watch last year? Let's go!

The following content contains spoilers.

#10. The Hangover

The Hangover has definitely got to be the comedy of the year. It may be a little bit stupid but it’s amazingly funny as hell thanks to a good plot and a great cast. If you have not seen this, you have to see it.

 

#9. Star Trek

What made Star Trek such a good movie was the fact that it not only was a film for the Trekkies but also for the general public. Also, I thought the performances by Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto were top notch. Has this movie turned me into a Star Trek fan? No it has not. But it definitely makes me anxious to catch the next J.J. Abrams directed Star Trek. Check out my Star Trek review right here.

 

#8. Knowing

This film might not be on many people’s lists, but it’s on mine because I was too blind to see the twist at the end of the movie. In the end it really took my by surprised and gave me all the more reason to love this movie. This may not be a very good movie, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. If you want to check out my full review of this film, click here.

 

#7. Moon

2009 was a year for sci-fi lovers with movies like Star Trek, Avatar and District 9. Another sci-fi gem to come out of 2009 was Moon. This is a one man show and is carried on the shoulders of Sam Rockwell and his incredible performance. I really believe he deserves an Oscar nomination. Seriously, check this film out.

 

#6. Adventureland

Adventureland is really sweet and funny in parts. But the best thing about the movie is how it hit home with me and how it has the ability to connect with you on so many different levels. Unfortunately, Kristen Stewart’s performance was no where up to par with the rest of the cast, especially Jesse Eisenberg’s and Martin Starr’s. But that doesn’t take much away from an excellent movie.

 

#5. District 9

What Neill Blomkamp did with District 9 blew minds, mine included. The visual and sound effects in the movie were just incredible considering the budget for the film. Not only do the visuals hit you really hard but the story is so compelling it drags you in emotionally and you start to really feel for the main character Wikus van der Merwe along with the Prawns. Check out my review of District 9 here.

 

#4. The Hurt Locker

The Hurt Locker was, without a doubt, the most intense and riveting film I saw in 2009. Everything, right down to the nerves and danger, felt so real. Ultimately, in a war movie, that’s what you want. And The Hurt Locker definitely delivers in that regard. Also, great performance by Jeremy Renner. Check out my short review of the movie here.

 

#3. Watchmen

I’m not a comic book fan so I had never heard of Watchmen before the movie. So I had no expectations coming into the movie. I absolutely adored the movie and am glad I watched the movie without having read the graphic novel. If I had read the novel first, I would not have enjoyed and appreciated the movie for how good it was. I was also glad the movie was rated R because it would not have worked any other way. All in all, Watchmen had an awesome gritty and compelling look to it. I got so much satisfaction from watching it. Check out my review of the movie here.

 

#2. Zombieland

Producing so many laughs and also delivering satisfying zombie gore and violence makes Zombieland one hell of a zombie movie. That aside, the performances from Jesse Eisenberg, Abigail Breslin and Woody Harrelson only made this movie better. The cameo by Bill Murray was amazing. 2009 could have very well been Jesse Eisenberg’s break out year with his success with the two ‘land’ movies and landing the role of Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network. At the end of the day, Zombieland proved to be the most enjoyable and entertaining movie of 2009.

 

#1. Inglourious Basterds

I simply adored Inglourious Basterds. Everything about it was right. The opening sequence to the movie is just about the best opening to any movie out there. And I loved how the film had few action scenes but had plenty of controlled, intense one-on-one conversations scenes. Brad Pitt did an excellent job, as usual, but not as excellent as Christoph Waltz who made such a believable and epic villain in the film. This film, I think, is Quentin Tarantino’s masterpiece and will last for a long time.

 

Special Mentions

The following are a few movies I liked but could not find space for in my top 10.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

The 6th installment to the franchise was arguably the best of all 6 so far and one of the best movies of 2009. Tom Felton gives a stand out performance and the plot of the 6th book really gets transformed well for the silver screen. Read my review here.

 

Drag Me To Hell

Drag Me To Hell was not only scary and terrifying but also quite good fun. The sense of humor meshed in with the terror did great for the movie. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie and I highly recommend it if you’re looking for a fun movie. Check out my review here.

 

Paranormal Activity

Paranormal Activity was probably the success story of the last year, if not the decade. It was so simplistic, yet genuinely scary. A well made movie considering it was made for only $11,000.

 

Let The Right One In

OK so this movie might not have been made or released in 2009 but I saw it in 2009, so sue me. I was so impressed with this Swedish movie about 12-year old kids, one of which is a vampire. If you’re looking for brilliant child acting, Let The Right One In is the movie for you. This movie takes you on an emotional ride among other things and I implore you to get your hands on this movie before Hollywood remakes it and releases Let Me In this year.

So that’s that. I hope all of you had a great 2009 and here’s to hoping 2010 will be even better, both in the movie world and otherwise.

Happy New Year!

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Review

[This review contains spoilers]

The sixth Harry Potter book is by far the best of the series. And now, the sixth Harry Potter movie is my favorite and best of the franchise so far. Quite simply, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is one of the best movies of the past seven months. Let me try to tell you why I think so.

WARNING: If you have not followed the franchise, I highly recommend you watch the previous five movies before you enjoy this one. If you plan on watching Half-Blood Prince without having a shred of Potter knowledge in you, you will not only have absolutely no idea what is going on, but you will also have spoiled the wonderful experience that is the Harry Potter experience. Just to give you some perspective, an item from book/movie 2, Chamber of Secrets, is talked about in book/movie 6 Half-Blood Prince. What I’m saying is that Half-Blood Prince cannot be enjoyed if you have not seen the previous movies.

Lord Voldemort is back and is building his army. Back at school, in his 6th year, Harry is instructed by Professor Dumbledore to obtain precious information from the new Professor Horace Slughorn. Information that will prove crucial in the attempt to defeat the Dark Lord.

As usual, the music of the movie hits you right from the get-go. As we’ve gone from the first movie, to the sixth one, the music has gotten much darker and more haunting but at times very dreamy and warm. It’s good that by just the music alone, the aspect of the joy of being at Hogwarts, this fantastic and magical place, is preserved in spite of the plot taking a very dark turn.

This movie, like many others, is not perfect. But what flaws it has is incredibly smothered by the sheer brilliance of the storyline. I guess that’s why J.K. Rowling is the richest lady in Britain. Maybe it’s because its been a while since I read Half-Blood Prince, but I was so compelled by the storytelling ability of the movie, I could not stop wanting to know what was going to happen next. Most of the previous movies, especially the first two, had extremely chopped up, directionless and episodic ways of interpreting the story. Half-Blood Prince is nothing like that. The movie flows beautifully from event to event without seeming static. There is less focus on the normal everyday magical stuff that really wowed us back in the first few movies. This allows the movie to have a firm direction, more focus on the essential parts of the story and lead the audience appropriately.

In Half-Blood Prince, we really see a lot of Tom Felton as the plot follows Draco Malfoy very closely. It is very obvious that his acting has improved dramatically and he’s matured a great deal. Unfortunately, I can’t really say the same for Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter), who in my opinion, is not a very good actor, although he does have a very good scene where he drinks the Felix Felicis (read the book or watch the movie to know). I can see Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley) having a relatively successful comical acting career ahead of him and as for Emma Watson (Hermione Granger), she seems to be a fan favorite and has decent acting skills. Along with Tom Felton, I was most impressed with Michael Gambon’s (Professor Albus Dumbledore) and Alan Rickman’s (Professor Severus Snape) acting in the film.

The way this film was shot was nothing less than spectacular. I believe the Potter films were all shot in Scotland and if the film failed as a Potter film, it could double as a “Visit Scotland” promotional video. Some shots of the scenery as just incredibly breathtaking. And this only contributes to the fantasy of Harry Potter. However, I did spot some scenes that I could tell was shot in front of a green screen.

The special effects of the movie as a whole is undoubtedly very good and believable, but as always, it could have been better. What really caught me was the cinematography of the film and the colors that are used. Basically, there are two sets of color schemes. When it was needed, the film is covered in grey, green and black, making the thoughts of Voldemort, cold, evil and Slytherin pop into mind. On the other hand whenever gold and red engulf the screen, it really transmits the feeling of warmth, joy, good and Gryffindor. I guess this is typical in all the other Potter movies, but it really got to me in this film and I loved it.

Half-Blood Prince is first and foremost an action-adventure and fantasy movie but it is also a very big romance movie. In this movie we see Harry, Ron and Hermione fall in love. David Yates does well in unveiling the relationships at the right time but leaves little traces and hints throughout the whole film. The romance in this film may be nice and sweet and yada yada yada, but I doubt it will be winning any Twilight fan girls (and fanbois?) any time soon.

To describe Half-Blood Prince in one sentence, it is like Order of the Phoenix, except an astronomically better movie. Being one, I can safely say that Potter fan s all over the world will be satisfied, if not extremely happy with this movie. As for the general audience, I cannot say because like I said before, nobody can sit through this film without having already seen the previous five.

I loved the movie. It is highly recommendable. Take your whole family, although the young ones as well as the old ones would probably need some explaining to. I have to say that this is my third favorite film of the year and second of the summer. I can barely wait for the next two films which are, unfortunately, a year and a half and two years away, respectively.

I give Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince 8/10 Popcorns

Opening This Week: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

This post is overdue enough. So let's cut the crap and get straight into things. Let's go!

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Michael Gambon, Tom Felton, Alan Rickman, Bonnie Wright, Jim Broadbent
Director: David Yates
USA release: July 15
Msia release: July 16
Genre: Fantasy, Adventure, Action
Runtime: 2 hours 32 mins
Rated in USA: PG for scary images, some violence, language and mild sensuality
Rated in Msia: PG-13
IMDb User Rating: 8.4/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 96%

Lord Voldemort is back and is building his army. Back at school, in his 6th year, Harry is instructed by Professor Dumbledore to obtain precious information from the new Professor Horace Slughorn. Information that will prove crucial in the attempt to defeat the Dark Lord.

I have already seen the movie so I will reserve my thoughts for my review, which should be up on the site by tonight. I will say this though, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was, by a mile, the best Potter film so far. And if you have the chance to get your hands on tickets for the movie, don't give it up. Highly recommendable.

New Harry Potter 6 Posters

Check out these new Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince posters featuring Harry and Ginny; Ron and Hermione; Ron, Lavender Brown and Hermione; Luna Lovegood; and Draco Malfoy.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince gets a worldwide release July 16, about one month from now.

2009 Summer Blockbusters Part 3

I have been bringing you the posters and trailers as well as a few details to some of this summer's hottest movies. In this post, we continue with part 3 of the list of the most anticipated summer movies of this year. Only five movies, so enjoy the posters and trailers.

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
Msia release: July 1
USA release: July 1
I absolutely loved the first one. Second one, not so much.
Not too sure about this one. Hasn't been much buzz about it.
The original cast returns to voice the characters, with the inclusion of Simon Pegg.

Public Enemies
Msia release: July 2
USA release: July 1
I've always loved 1930's American gangster movies. If you do too, you'll love this one, starring a certain Johnny Depp.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Msia release: July 16
USA release: July 15
What can I say about Harry Potter? Everybody loves him.
Half-Blood Prince was my 2nd most favorite book from the series,
Deathly Hallows being my favorite. And I think a lot of you out there would agree.
This movie looks darker, more ominous and definitely more epic than ever before.

The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3
Msia release: July 23
USA release: June 12
Denzel Washington and John Travolta team up
in this remake of the 1974 classic by the same name.
One thing though, what is it with Denzel and hostage movies?

The Hangover
Msia release: July 30
USA release: June 5
This could very easily be the funniest movie of the year.
Just watch the trailer. A complete riot!

New Half-Blood Prince Posters

These posters come on the back of an amazing new trailer I posted just a few days ago. If you missed it, you can check it out here. Now for these new posters, I think they're pretty much match the trailer in epic-ness.

There are four of them, with two characters in each. Harry and Professor Dumbledore; Ron and Ginny; Hermione and Professor Slughorn; Snape and Draco. Click to enlarge and feel free to download them.

New Half-Blood Prince Trailer

The latest and probably final trailer for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince in HD is now on the web. Without a doubt, this trailer is by far the best. Check out the previous trailers here, here and here. Only one word can describe this trailer and that is EPIC. It makes the latest movie looks much different and much darker than previous ones. And lets face it, after Order of the Phoenix which was arguably the worst movie of the series, all Potter fans need Half-Blood Prince. The USA finds out if it is on July 15 and it hits theaters here in Malaysia July 16.

So what did you think of the trailer? Was it epic? Best of them all?

New Half-Blood Prince Character Posters

Before getting into today’s post, let me remind you that Earth Hour is happening tomorrow. In support of Earth Hour, DoctorPopcorn will be inaccessible from 830pm to 930pm Malaysian time (GMT +8) on March 28, 2009.

I urge all of Doctorpopcorn’s faithful readers to turn off your lights, don’t surf the internet and don’t watch television just for 60 minutes. Earth needs a break. This is our chance to let her have that break.

Now onto the awesome, awesome new Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince character posters. Check ‘em out here.

Harry

Hermione

Ron

Dumbledore

Draco

Snape  

Remember people, 830pm to 930pm March 28th, turn out your lights!

Wolverine vs. Harry Potter vs. James Tiberius Kirk

If Wolverine, Harry Potter and James T. Kirk were to face off in battle, who would win? Wolverine has his indestructible skeleton, healing ability and of course the retractable claws. Harry would have his magic and the fact that he's "The Chosen One". And James Kirk simply has ray guns and the super-massive USS Enterprise. Taking all of those into account along with anything that would aid them in battle, who would win? I wanna know what you think. So let me know in the comments.

A couple of days ago I said that there was another trailer about to be released. Well I finally have it. And 2 more. Looks like studios are releasing lots of trailers lately, gearing up for the summer blockbuster season which officially starts on May 1 with the release of X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

Enough talk, more trailers already! OK OK, keep yer' pants on. I give to you, 3 brand spanking new trailers for the movies X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and Star Trek.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine ETA 1 May 2009

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince ETA 17 July 2009

Star Trek ETA 8 May 2009

So what do you think huh? Don't hesitate in leaving comments on which trailer you liked the best. I personally liked the Wolverine one the best. The Harry Potter one was pretty good too.

Anyways, please go ahead and comment and share. Hope you're having a smashing weekend.

DoctorPopcorn. Out.

New Half-Blood Prince Posters

I don't know about the rest of you guys but I personally love movie posters. Maybe even better than trailers. Okay, maybe not. But I do love them very much. Check out three of the new HP6 posters. I like the first one the best.



Also you can check out the teaser trailer, international trailer and Japanese trailer for Half-Blood Prince.

Another Awesome Trailer From Japan

This time its Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Enjoy.

2009 Must-See Movies Part 3

July 1
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs

(trailer)

Public Enemies

July 10
2012

July 17
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
(trailer)

August 21

Inglorious Basterds

September 9
9

Terrific Trailer Treat

Sorry i havent posted since...when ah? Wednesday? Yeah. Been busy. Not to mention stupid internet acted up yesterday. Didn't get to post the Heroes recap this week. I'll do that maybe tonight or tomorrow. But to end this mini hiatus of mine, here's a trailer treat. Not 1, not 2 but 3 brand spankin' new trailers for you to check out. Sorry if they load slow. I just couldn't resist posting all three at once.

First one is....WATCHMEN.

I didn't know of this movie til quite recently and when I did, I thought 'oh boy, another comic book movie'. Like we haven't been swamped with those lately huh? But since then I've been waiting for the trailer to be released. And I was not disappointed. So, Watchmen is based on a DC "graphic novel" (just a fancy-schmancy name for comic book). The movie is from the director of "300" and you can definitely see that is very apparent in the trailer. There are some awesome shots where the effects are so 300-ish. But something is so so wrong. The superheroes in this look so lame and stupid. The costumes look horrible. Especially the Batman wannabe dude. But overall, the movie looks like its gonna be soo good. Cant wait til it comes out on 5 March 2009 in M'sia and a day later stateside.

"The world will look up and shout SAVE US. And I'll whisper...No."

The Half-Blood Prince

This is a brand new trailer. Different one from before. Promise.

"But I am the Chosen One". Hahaha.

Dance Flick

Being a Wayans Bros. movie, you can count on this one to be stupid but funny. I think this is a spoof on previous dance themed movies like "Step Up" and "You Got Served" but I'm not sure. It is, however, definitely a dance themed stupid comedy. Look out for this one in February of next year.

"Mommy loves you, pumpkin."

Half-Blood Prince Trailer

Set for release 17 July of next year. I can't wait. It looks so dark. Oooh.