2009 in film. A disappointment?

[Romulus]

As a whole, compared to previous years, it doesn't seem that this year has been good for film.

I'm certainly not saying their haven't been any good movies at all. Up, Star Trek, Moon, The Hurt Locker, District 9, Inglorious Basterds, and Zombieland are the only films I feel like I can list and not have much disagreement on whether they were good or not.

It seems to me there have been more disappointments than anything. Public Enemies? This nearly bored me to tears. Terminator Salvation? Bad. Transformers 2? While no one was expecting something extraordinary, a coherent plot would have been nice. Where the Wild Things Are? Horrible. What about Watchmen and Harry Potter? While I enjoyed both of these films (Watchmen to a lesser extent), they certainly haven't been liked by everyone.

It doesn't stop their either. Usually in the fall we see the arrival of truly great films. In 2007, we got No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood. In 2008 we had Slumdog Millionaire, The Wrestler, Milk and a few others. 2006? Children of Men, Pan's Labyrinth, The Departed, etc. What about this year? The Lovely Bones looks it's going to disappoint (sitting at 56% at RT). Invictus, while I'm sure will be good, looks pretty predictable. I'm not sure anyone knows how Avatar will end up doing. I also highly doubt that Sherlock Holmes or Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus will join the elite ranks.

What about some of the smaller releases from this fall? A Serious Man looks to be the deepest Coen Brothers movie yet, but again it may polarize viewers. Precious while good, wasn't extraordinary in my eyes. I'm sure others will really like it, but is it one of the best of the decade? It's hard for me to agree. A Single Man looks like it's going to be great, but I haven't seen it yet. Crazy Heart looks like it could be this years Wrestler, whether that's good or not remains to be seen. An Education was quite good, but again, not one of the best movies I've seen this year.


To expand on my point a little bit more, here are my best films of 2008 compared with 2009.

2008

1. Slumdog Millionaire
2. The Wrestler
3. The Dark Knight
4. Milk
5. In Bruges
6. Doubt
7. Let the Right One In
8. Waltz with Bashir
9. Frost/Nixon
10. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

2009

1. District 9
2. Moon
3. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
4. The Hurt Locker
5. Up
6. Star Trek
7. Fantastic Mr. Fox
8. An Education
9. Inglorious Basterds
10. Zombieland

Now I know that this year isn't over, and I still have some films to see... but to me 2008 is much more stacked with quality films. I would put all 10 of the 2008 films above Fantastic Mr. Fox minimum and a bunch would be placed higher than District 9.

Does anybody else agree? Sorry for the huge wall of text. I know I'm going to get a wide variety or remarks here, agreeing and disagreeing. I just want to see how everyone stands on the issue.

[Batman1980]

I disagree actually, I think this was a much better year for movies than 2008. 2008 has one of the most over-rated movies ever in Dark Knight, 2009 has a lot of movies I really liked.

[jhiggy23]

Originally Posted by Romulus

As a whole, compared to previous years, it doesn't seem that this year has been good for film.

I'm certainly not saying their haven't been any good movies at all. Up, Star Trek, Moon, The Hurt Locker, District 9, Inglorious Basterds, and Zombieland are the only films I feel like I can list and not have much disagreement on whether they were good or not.

It seems to me there have been more disappointments than anything. Public Enemies? This nearly bored me to tears. Terminator Salvation? Bad. Transformers 2? While no one was expecting something extraordinary, a coherent plot would have been nice. Where the Wild Things Are? Horrible. What about Watchmen and Harry Potter? While I enjoyed both of these films (Watchmen to a lesser extent), they certainly haven't been liked by everyone.

It doesn't stop their either. Usually in the fall we see the arrival of truly great films. In 2007, we got No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood. In 2008 we had Slumdog Millionaire, The Wrestler, Milk and a few others. 2006? Children of Men, Pan's Labyrinth, The Departed, etc. What about this year? The Lovely Bones looks it's going to disappoint (sitting at 56% at RT). Invictus, while I'm sure will be good, looks pretty predictable. I'm not sure anyone knows how Avatar will end up doing. I also highly doubt that Sherlock Holmes or Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus will join the elite ranks.

What about some of the smaller releases from this fall? A Serious Man looks to be the deepest Coen Brothers movie yet, but again it may polarize viewers. Precious while good, wasn't extraordinary in my eyes. I'm sure others will really like it, but is it one of the best of the decade? It's hard for me to agree. A Single Man looks like it's going to be great, but I haven't seen it yet. Crazy Heart looks like it could be this years Wrestler, whether that's good or not remains to be seen. An Education was quite good, but again, not one of the best movies I've seen this year.


To expand on my point a little bit more, here are my best films of 2008 compared with 2009.

2008

1. Slumdog Millionaire
2. The Wrestler
3. The Dark Knight
4. Milk
5. In Bruges
6. Doubt
7. Let the Right One In
8. Waltz with Bashir
9. Frost/Nixon
10. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

2009

1. District 9
2. Moon
3. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
4. The Hurt Locker
5. Up
6. Star Trek
7. Fantastic Mr. Fox
8. An Education
9. Inglorious Basterds
10. Zombieland

Now I know that this year isn't over, and I still have some films to see... but to me 2008 is much more stacked with quality films. I would put all 10 of the 2008 films above Fantastic Mr. Fox minimum and a bunch would be placed higher than District 9.

Does anybody else agree? Sorry for the huge wall of text. I know I'm going to get a wide variety or remarks here, agreeing and disagreeing. I just want to see how everyone stands on the issue.

I still have to catch up on the films from this year, but at the moment it seems to be a significant decline from past years. There have been several years in the 2000s that have been incredibly deep. Last year did not produce a classic, but there were at least 10 very solid films (Wall-E and TDK were ranked 12th and 13th on my list). That does not seem to be the case this year, with no sure-fire best picture winner or even nominee except Up. I find it amusing and it actually makes me a bit glad since the Academy's decision to expand best picture to 10 films is an utter travesty.

[Batman1980]

Originally Posted by jhiggy23

I still have to catch up on the films from this year, but at the moment it seems to be a significant decline from past years. There have been several years in the 2000s that have been incredibly deep. Last year did not produce a classic, but there were at least 10 very solid films (Wall-E and TDK were ranked 12th and 13th on my list). That does not seem to be the case this year, with no sure-fire best picture winner or even nominee except Up. I find it amusing and it actually makes me a bit glad since the Academy's decision to expand best picture to 10 films is an utter travesty.

Yeah it kind of reduces the honor of being nominated but you can tell it was done to boost flagging ratings.

[Foggy]

you forgot the hangover and watchmen

[Blu-Benny]

Originally Posted by Wolverine1980

I disagree actually, I think this was a much better year for movies than 2008. 2008 has one of the most over-rated movies ever in Dark Knight, 2009 has a lot of movies I really liked.

wrong!! it was a great movie, not the greatest, but a great movie.

[jhiggy23]

Originally Posted by Wolverine1980

Yeah it kind of reduces the honor of being nominated but you can tell it was done to boost flagging ratings.

Oh absolutely, the Academy readily admitted that it was brought back to boost ratings and to allow films like TDK and Wall-E to be nominated (as mentioned by the Academy). However, like you said, it completely reduces the prestige of being nominated. A best picture nomination for be a tremendous achievement, not a given for films that are merely good. My annoyance at the decision honestly cannot be transcribed via computer.

Their other decision to either include or omit the best song category, at their discretion, is another terrible decision due solely to ratings.

This is film. Films should be judged on their merit, not on how many people will watch or not watch to see if they win.

[jhiggy23]

Originally Posted by Blu-Benny

wrong!! it was a great movie, not the greatest, but a great movie.

Let's not get into another TDK discussion. It was a good film but far from a great film.

[Romulus]

I definitely agree that having 10 pictures nominated for Best Picture is a travesty.

BTW, jhiggy what was your list for Top 10 films of 2008? I'm curious to see.

[jhiggy23]

Originally Posted by Romulus

I definitely agree that having 10 pictures nominated for Best Picture is a travesty.

BTW, jhiggy what was your list for Top 10 films of 2008? I'm curious to see.

Ahhh, I'm gonna have to search for it. I'll get back to you!

[dvd_mazter]

I agree with OP, I thought overall 2008 was a better year for film... I wouldn't call 2009 a disappointment but there wasn't as much "great" films as 2008. I still have yet to see a few of the films in 2009 that will probably be great such as Hurt Locker and Inglorious Basterds but out of every thing I have seen, 2008 is better.

Example my top 5 from last year consists of more films that I consider brilliant works of art while my 2009 film list are mainly films that were fun and exciting:

1. The Dark Knight
2. Wall-e
3. Gran Torino
4. Tropic Thunder
5. The Wrestler

2009:
1. Star Trek
2. Up
3. The Hangover
4. I Love You, Man
5. Zombieland....................(but Moon is a very close 6)

[surfdude12]

yeah, especially when you go back 2-3 years to '06-'07, two incredible years for film-making: There Will be Blood, Babel, Pan's Labrynth, Lives of Others, No Country for Old Men and The Orphanage (sure I'll think of more). No film in '08-'09 that I've seen touches any of them.

[CZAR]

Originally Posted by Wolverine1980

I disagree actually, I think this was a much better year for movies than 2008. 2008 has one of the most over-rated movies ever in Dark Knight, 2009 has a lot of movies I really liked.

+1 and the highly overrated Slumdog Millionaire as well! Got Em!!

[jhiggy23]

Here ya go Romulus:

2008

The top 5 are not in order, but are simply the 5 best picture nominees. 6-17 are listed in order.


1) Slumdog Millionaire
2) Milk
3) Frost/Nixon
4) The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
5) The Reader

6) Changeling
7) Revolutionary Road
8) The Wrestler
9) The Visitor
10) Elegy
11) Doubt
12) Gran Torino
13) Vicky Cristina Barcelona
14) In Bruges
15) The Dark Knight
16) Man on Wire
17) Wall-E


The fact that I have In Bruges, which I think is an excellent movie, at 14 tells me that last year had many very good films, even if it is deficient in classics. Also note that I did NOT include foreign films, but I DID include documentaries.

[SquidPuppet]

Something I noticed, and was botherd by, this year had a lot of movies not getting wide releases. At least ones I wanted to see. The Hurt Locker, Moon, A Serious Man, The Road. These are movies I would have gone to the theater to see, but they never made their way to my area.

[Lepidopterous]

I wouldn't say this year was underwhelming in the quality of films, but I agree with Romulus that 2007 and 2008 were better than 2009. However, we will never know for sure until the year is up. For example, The Road (although ironically meant to be released in 2008), I anticipate will be one of the year's best films from the reviews I have read. Nine will also probably win many awards from the looks of it. Films like those have potential to be very memorable and definitive joining movies like Inglourious and Star Trek for the 2009 year in films.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by jhiggy23

Here ya go Romulus:

2008

The top 5 are not in order, but are simply the 5 best picture nominees. 6-17 are listed in order.


1) Slumdog Millionaire
2) Milk
3) Frost/Nixon
4) The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
5) The Reader

6) Changeling
7) Revolutionary Road
8) The Wrestler
9) The Visitor
10) Elegy
11) Doubt
12) Gran Torino
13) Vicky Cristina Barcelona
14) In Bruges
15) The Dark Knight
16) Man on Wire
17) Wall-E


The fact that I have In Bruges, which I think is an excellent movie, at 14 tells me that last year had many very good films, even if it is deficient in classics. Also note that I did NOT include foreign films, but I DID include documentaries.

Revolutionary Road has no business being rated higher than Doubt, Elegy or The Wrestler. NONE. IMO

[Batman1980]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Revolutionary Road has no business being rated higher than Doubt, Elegy or The Wrestler. NONE. IMO

I haven't seen Doubt but I agree on Wrestler. Mickey Rourke is one of the best actors I've ever seen and his performance in that movie would make his career even if he hadn't had any good performances before it. Truly one of the best blind buys I've ever made, seeing Marisa Tomei nude was just icing on the cake.

[Lepidopterous]

Originally Posted by jhiggy23

Here ya go Romulus:

2008

The top 5 are not in order, but are simply the 5 best picture nominees. 6-17 are listed in order.


1) Slumdog Millionaire
2) Milk
3) Frost/Nixon
4) The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
5) The Reader

6) Changeling
7) Revolutionary Road
8) The Wrestler
9) The Visitor
10) Elegy
11) Doubt
12) Gran Torino
13) Vicky Cristina Barcelona
14) In Bruges
15) The Dark Knight
16) Man on Wire
17) Wall-E


The fact that I have In Bruges, which I think is an excellent movie, at 14 tells me that last year had many very good films, even if it is deficient in classics. Also note that I did NOT include foreign films, but I DID include documentaries.

I disagree. I think with time, Slumdog and Ben Button have the potential to become classics.

The Wrestler is the best film of 2008 imo, but I also have a biased opinion toward movies built around character development and depth.

[jhiggy23]

If I had to list them completely in order, from 1-17, it would look like this:



1) Slumdog Millionaire
2) Changeling
3) Revolutionary Road
4) The Wrestler
5) The Visitor
6) Milk
7) Doubt
8) Elegy
9) Gran Torino
10) Vicky Cristina Barcelona
11) In Bruges
12) The Reader
13) Frost/Nixon
14) The Dark Knight
15) Man on Wire
16) Wall-E
17) The Curious Case of Benjamin Button


Once again, foreign films are not included, but documentaries are. I have actually seen all of these films. I also do not think that Slumdog is an all-time classic, but I do think it is def the best film of the year, all things considered. People can say it is overrated all they want, but most ppl say this based on the awards it won. With the exception of best picture and best cinematography, NONE of the awards it won are even remotely debatable.

I also think that Angelina Jolie should have absolutely won best actress over Kate Winslet (who I think is a much better actress), because she was just flat out better in Changeling than Winslet was in The Reader. Winslet was better in Rev. Road.

This list reflects my honest belief of what the objective top 17 films were of last year, and in no way reflects my subjective feelings of the films. If it did, the list would look a bit different, but not drastically so.