vinyarb- you just have to read it

How time flies. We're closing off 2009 soon, and its time yet again for me to name my personal favourite movies of this year.

Join me on this trip and tell me if you agree with my list, and if not, feel free to add in your list of top 10 in the comments below!

vinyarb's top 10 of 2009

10. The Hangover

Everybody wants a fun time at Vegas. And when you wake up in a messed up suite, a tiger in the bathroom, a baby in the closet, a missing tooth coupled with a missing groom-to-be (I don't know which is worse.. but remember, you can always have another groom; a tooth on the other hand..), you KNOW you've had a really, really fun time.

The jokes run at you non-stop, and i can't remember getting tired from laughing on any other occasion.

09. My Sister's Keeper

Everyone's born for a reason. For most, it was because X years ago, their parents decided to have a little fun. For Anna Fitzgerald, it was to keep her sister Kate alive. Kate suffers from acute promyelocytic leukemia, and Anna's needed to provide blood and other body parts to keep Kate alive. If Anna were to donate a kidney to her sister, she would not be able to lead a normal life, or be a mother. So she sues her parents for the rights to her own body. But are things really as simple as it is?

Cameron Diaz is convincing and heart-wrenching to watch as the mother determined to keep her daughter alive. Abigail Breslin and Sofia Vassilievia also play well as sisters. I teared.

08. Moon

A nice little quiet and thoughtful film from Duncan Jones. The film stars Sam Rockwell (and mainly Sam Rockwell) as Sam Bell, an employee of Lunar Industries stationed alone on the Moon to extract Helium3 as an energy source for Earth. He has the company of a robot named GERTY, voiced soothingly by Kevin Spacey. Nearing the end of his 3-year term, he starts hallunicating, which results in an accident.

He later on discovers a horrible secret that threatens and questions his very existence, and must fight to preserve his sanity.

The film was written specifically as a vehicle for Sam Rockwell, and he does well to justify star billing(s).

07. 2012

Despite a film with plot holes big enough for an entire planet to sail through, 2012 was always about the effects, destruction and mega explosions. And on that note, Emmerich does deliver the goods.

06. Taken

A very tightly written and executed action thriller featuring Liam Neeson as a former CIA Operative forced to embark on a personal mission to save her 17 year old daughter (LOST's Maggie Grace) from a bunch of european human smugglers to be sold for prostitution.

Great pacing, greater old-school action.

Only drawback was watching 26 year old Maggie Grace trying to be 17.

05. Star Trek

Directed by JJ Abrams. No need for further elaboration.

04. UP

Alternating between funny and touching, UP is a film about an old man's quest to fulfil he and his dead wife's childhood dream of exploring Paradise Falls. Rather than simply booking a trip with his favourite travel agency, he decides to uproot his house, turn it into a makeshift airship and hurtle straight to adventureland.

03. Avatar

James Cameron's 14-year-in-the-making epic lives up to all the hype, and more. The amazing CG work brings Pandora to life, and its a place I definitely wanna live in, more than Earth! Not too sure about those up-in-the-trees single pod-like beds though.

02. Inglourious Basterds

I never really liked any of Tarantino's previous films. But to be fair, I've only seen his 2 Kill Bill films. But Inglourious Basterds wields you in right from the beginning, and keeps you enthralled throughout the film as the various storylines merge into one bloody night at the theatre.

A totally enjoyable ride. Christolph Waltz deserves special mention for his turn as the villian Hans Landa.

01. District 9

Finally, we've reached the number 1 film, and it belongs to Neill Blomkamp's astounding feature film debut, District 9. It was edge of the seat stuff throughout! From the documentary style setup of the alien mothership left stranded atop Johannesburg scene to the harsh living conditions the alien "prawns" had to grow accustomed, to the increasingly violent protests staged by the africans to evict the aliens to the surburbs, to the actual eviction process, to Wikus's gradual transformation to alien, to the action-packed finale.

Each scene felt raw, gritty and frighteningly realistic.

The fact that the wife and I sat through this film leaning forward in anticipation/excitement/trepidation serves as testament to Blomkamp's directing abilities.

So there you have it. My top 10 of the year.

What do you think?

Spotted in a little provision store in Petaling Jaya, KL.