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?

Our last poll has ended. And the movie of the year 2009, according to my readers, is a tie!

A tie between UP, an old man who learns that you're never too old to follow your dream, and Avatar, a young man who learns that its cool to be the human in alien skin.

I'll be releasing my top 10 films for this year soon, but in the meantime, its yet another polll for you! The previous poll asked about the movies you love, but what are movies without the man behind the lens?

so take a look at the list, and see who among them will you be most excited to watch a new film from.

A movie that's getting some groundswell going is Kick-Ass, about a tennage boy who decides to become a real-life superhero. Except he really doesn't have any super powers. However, he inspires a sub-culture of copycats, and meets another pair of vigilantes, Hit Girl and Big Daddy.

Take a look at the trailer and see if you like it. The film is rated 'R' for graphic violence and profanity, which the trailer sadly doesn't convey. The redband trailer, when released, might be a better gauge of the actual film's direction.

With a movie title like "Michael Jackson's This is it", you would have thought there would be no doubts about the finality of the show. The swansong of the decade. BUT when it comes to movie execs, never say never.

Michael Jackson's posthumous film "This is it" has gotten such rave reviews and responses that Sony has decided to come up with a sequel. Titles for the sequel are apparently not confirmed, with some reports saying its called "This is also it", while others are saying "This is more of it".

What do you think of these titles... looks like we're heading for series land.

Here's an idea, why not release a movie each year on his anniversary? Kinda like how Saw pushes out a release each Halloween.

Here are some other titles for your consideration:

- This is it again.

- Is this it?

- It is this!

- OMG what is this?

- This is so it.

- Here it is again.

Yeap, you read it right. Rumours have it that James Cameron's 3-D epic Avatar's budget, has edged close to the 500 million mark. Production of the movie itself is said to hover around the 300 million mark, with the other 200 million supposed to be coming from worldwide marketing efforts.

That's a lot of money!

But not to worry, we're talking about the highest grossing director here. Yeap, Cameron's 1996 Titanic, made for 200 million (the highest budget for a movie at the time), grossed.. wait for it, 1.8 billion worldwide. And till now, its still the highest grossing movie of all time.

Let's break that down for you. its $1,800,000,000.00

Even if NOBODY were to watch Avatar EVER, or buy the DVD.. averaging out his other movies, he's still going to be a pretty decent, bankable director.

So let's see if he can break his own record with this one.

The trailer looks interesting enough, although we can't see any of the 3-D goodness.