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Eug · Dec 2, 2009, 02:25 PM

Moon played in the big theatre chains here (Toronto). It got good reviews, but I didn't see it. Precious is getting some oscar buzz, but I haven't seen that one either.

I liked Children of Men and bought it on HD DVD, but I wouldn't have necessarily put it above District 9. They're both amongst my fave movies. Both also had their problems, in different ways. I find them difficult to compare though, since they're such different movies.

Originally Posted by residentEvil

here is the list of mainstream releases:

Movies 2009

Hmmm... Lesbian Vampire Killers seems interesting.

olePigeon · Dec 2, 2009, 02:41 PM

Originally Posted by The Final Dakar

Has that even shown anywhere outside of a film festival? Or come out on DVD?

It showed at my local AMC megaplex, but not for long.

osiris · Dec 2, 2009, 03:03 PM

Originally Posted by Eug

Hmmm... Lesbian Vampire Killers seems interesting.

Speaking of lesbians:
Actress Meredith Baxter: 'Family Ties' actress Meredith Baxter Birney, who starred as Elyse Keaton with Michael J. Fox, reveals she is a lesbian -- baltimoresun.com

Eug · Dec 2, 2009, 03:48 PM

Yeah, but is she a vampire killer?

If so, tell her there seems to be a new infestation at movie theatres in recent times, esp. amongst teens. It would be nice to rid ourselves of this new vampire invasion.

osiris · Dec 2, 2009, 03:50 PM

One out of three ain't bad. It's miserable.

imitchellg5 · Dec 2, 2009, 04:03 PM

Originally Posted by eug

m

i liked children of men and bought it on hd dvd

whoa, HD DVD!!!

Chuckit · Dec 2, 2009, 04:45 PM

I think the fact that (500) Days of Summer is seriously being considered for Best Picture speaks volumes about how terrible this year in movies has been. Maybe Star Trek.

(Clarification: (500) Days of Summer was not bad. I enjoyed it, and a couple of parts were actually clever. It was just a very average indie flick. To pick a random example, I ♥ Huckabees was a far better indie guy-finding-himself movie and nobody talked about giving it a freakin' Oscar.)

jokell82 · Dec 2, 2009, 05:47 PM

Originally Posted by olePigeon

I'd have to say Moon.

Completely forgot about Moon. Such a great movie.

Rumor · Dec 3, 2009, 03:35 AM

Originally Posted by SpaceMonkey

I guess my favorite film this year was probably World's Greatest Dad.

Good call. Damn that movie was sad though.

spacefreak · Dec 4, 2009, 04:22 AM

District 9 and The Hangover were my favorites, but I didn't really see too many more. I thought Star Trek was pretty entertaining as well.

Hawkeye_a · Dec 4, 2009, 07:59 AM

Yeah i want to see Moon as well, and from what i heard it could have been a contender HAD IT ACTUALLY BEEN AVAILABLE to see.

Someone mentioned "Drag me to hell".... really ? i cant say i was too impressed with that one. i liked the surprise ending, but thats about it...didnt really scare me.

Eug · Dec 4, 2009, 09:44 AM

Originally Posted by Hawkeye_a

Someone mentioned "Drag me to hell".... really ? i cant say i was too impressed with that one. i liked the surprise ending, but thats about it...didnt really scare me.

I mentioned it just as one to see. I haven't seen it yet.

I don't expect it to be an Oscar contender, but expect it to give me a good horror laugh. It's been marketed not as a pure horror film, but as a horror comedy.

jokell82 · Dec 4, 2009, 10:38 AM

Originally Posted by Hawkeye_a

Yeah i want to see Moon as well, and from what i heard it could have been a contender HAD IT ACTUALLY BEEN AVAILABLE to see.

Someone mentioned "Drag me to hell".... really ? i cant say i was too impressed with that one. i liked the surprise ending, but thats about it...didnt really scare me.

I saw it and I'm definitely not living in a place with many independent theaters. How limited was the release?

And I loved "Drag Me to Hell". Thought it completely redeemed Raimi after the steaming pile of **** that was Spider-Man 3.

paul w · Dec 4, 2009, 10:39 AM

Originally Posted by Eug

I haven't seen Drag Me To Hell, The Hurt Locker

My two favorite films of the year.

Hawkeye_a · Dec 19, 2009, 10:32 AM

Originally Posted by jokell82

I saw it and I'm definitely not living in a place with many independent theaters. How limited was the release?

And I loved "Drag Me to Hell". Thought it completely redeemed Raimi after the steaming pile of **** that was Spider-Man 3.

Well i managed to see Moon the other day, and i think it is definitely one of the best movies ive seen this year. it's almost like an homage to 2001:ASO as far as production and pacing.

It's definitely a VERY close second to District 9, for me.

With "Drag Me to Hell", were you actually scared ? i found myself grossed out or laughing usually.

jokell82 · Dec 19, 2009, 10:56 AM

I can't remember any movie that *actually* scared me since I was a little kid. It was definitely quite funny at parts, and there were a few gross moments as well. But overall I loved the style, which was definitely vintage Raimi (more Evil Dead than Spider-Man). I also loved the way it turned the typical horror story hero around and went in a completely different direction.

exca1ibur · Dec 19, 2009, 02:47 PM

I loved Drag Me To hell also. Taken (Unrated Version) was one of my favorites of the year. District 9 might be my pick as well but there were a few good ones that get good recognition.

besson3c · Dec 20, 2009, 04:34 AM

I think that Avatar in many ways was one of the best movies in 2009 in terms of being a completely groundbreaking movie. Not for its story telling, but for its film techniques and setting the bar to new heights in a relatively new genre.

andreas_g4 · Dec 20, 2009, 01:51 PM

I have a hard time to decide between The Hurt Locker and District 9. I admire District 9 for being entertaining every second without being a brainless action flick. The Hurt Locker on the other hand – just too intense.

I've ordered both on blu ray and will watch them again with friends over the holidays. I am so thrilled to see both again.

I also liked The Informant with Matt Damon a lot.

downinflames68 · Dec 20, 2009, 02:02 PM

Originally Posted by besson3c

I think that Avatar in many ways was one of the best movies in 2009 in terms of being a completely groundbreaking movie. Not for its story telling, but for its film techniques and setting the bar to new heights in a relatively new genre.

By new genre you mean using animal people to appeal to nerds who like furry drawings on deviantart, right?

Chuckit · Dec 20, 2009, 02:14 PM

Originally Posted by downinflames68

By new genre you mean using animal people to appeal to nerds who like furry drawings on deviantart, right?

Maybe he means drawing out people's sexual insecurities on Web forums.

That'll be quite enough furry jokes.

Eug · Dec 20, 2009, 02:23 PM

So:

The Hurt Locker - Still waiting for it to be released, in 2010.
Drag Me To Hell - Scary in a few parts and quite funny in others. Good movie, but not really near the top of my list for 2009 though.
Avatar - Storytelling was very mainstream and the human dialogue was bad. Despite that I really enjoyed it, and actually enjoyed it more than Drag Me To Hell. Avatar obviously aimed much higher, and to my surprise, it succeeded in many aspects.

besson3c · Dec 20, 2009, 02:37 PM

Drag Me to Hell, District 9, etc. were all great movies, but fairly forgettable. Avatar's story was also forgettable, but the accomplishments of this movie in terms of Cameron's new movie making technique and the melding of humanity and human acting in virtual worlds I really do think is going to influence many movies to come.

Eug · Dec 20, 2009, 02:40 PM

I don't think District 9 is a forgettable movie. It wasn't subtle, but I walked out of the movie thinking humans are scum. I walked out of Avatar thinking it was a nice and enjoyable Disney fable with groundbreaking effects.

besson3c · Dec 20, 2009, 02:54 PM

The "humans are scum" idea is hardly an innovative sci-fi plot premise, no?

olePigeon · Dec 20, 2009, 03:05 PM

Are movies such sh*t now that Drag Me to Hell and District 9 are Oscar contenders?

This is embarrassing.

Chuckit · Dec 20, 2009, 03:19 PM

Originally Posted by olePigeon

Are movies such sh*t now that Drag Me to Hell and District 9 are Oscar contenders?

This is embarrassing.

I already said that about (500) Days of Summer. In truth, I think it's just the writers' strike. All those movies that weren't being written then are the ones that aren't being released now. A lot of the movies we got this year were rush deals and backburner projects and so on.

Then again, it beats the predictable crap that's usually up for an Oscar. It's like we're more OK with reheated dog poop as long as it involves some big-name actor in heavy makeup looking sad.

Eug · Dec 20, 2009, 03:42 PM

Originally Posted by besson3c

The "humans are scum" idea is hardly an innovative sci-fi plot premise, no?

No, but the point was that I actually felt it in District 9. In Avatar I didn't. The human scum from in Avatar felt more like video game characters to me. I was drawn in to the Na'vi's world, but not drawn into the human world.

In other words, in Avatar the protagonists in many ways felt quite real, but the problem here is that the villains did not. Basically, the villains were a good excuse to explore cool and fascinating world that is the Na'vi.

besson3c · Dec 20, 2009, 05:16 PM

To be clear, I'm not saying that Avatar was necessarily an Oscar winning movie (outside of all of the art and technical stuff), but in a year where it seems like there was a drought of truly great movie making innovation and greatness I would say that Avatar was tremendously important in terms of technical accomplishment and what movies might be made now that Avatar has raised the bar to new heights.

Eug · Dec 20, 2009, 06:56 PM

Yeah, Avatar will undoubtedly win a bunch of awards, and may even win the Best Director Oscar, but I'd be shocked if it won the Best Picture Oscar.

starman · Dec 20, 2009, 09:23 PM

It's like 1977 all over again.

besson3c · Dec 20, 2009, 10:57 PM

Originally Posted by Eug

No, but the point was that I actually felt it in District 9. In Avatar I didn't. The human scum from in Avatar felt more like video game characters to me. I was drawn in to the Na'vi's world, but not drawn into the human world.

Yeah, the main villain was sort of a caricature of himself...

In other words, in Avatar the protagonists in many ways felt quite real, but the problem here is that the villains did not. Basically, the villains were a good excuse to explore cool and fascinating world that is the Na'vi.

Isn't this an interesting observation though? What other movie had artificially rendered characters that seemed more real then the bonafide humans in the same movie? Maybe that was what Cameron was going for, in a way? This was a story about the Na'vis and their world, not a story about human beings. It was sort of Alice in Wonderland in that respect in terms of how it really tried to captivate our imaginations and senses. I felt completely immersed in this beautiful world, all of the incredible trees, flowers, creatures, and other textures. I don't think we were supposed to get too immersed in the lives of any of the humans, the human sets, or anything that was going on in the world of the darker, colder, metallic human world.

Eug · Dec 20, 2009, 11:12 PM

Originally Posted by besson3c

Isn't this an interesting observation though? What other movie had artificially rendered characters that seemed more real then the bonafide humans in the same movie? Maybe that was what Cameron was going for, in a way?

I doubt it. Titanic wasn't exactly great dialogue either.

besson3c · Dec 20, 2009, 11:42 PM

Originally Posted by Eug

I doubt it. Titanic wasn't exactly great dialogue either.

Why do you doubt it, and how does Titanic relate? I'm not following you here...

Eug · Dec 20, 2009, 11:50 PM

Both Titanic and Avatar were written by James Cameron. His movies he writes sometimes have somewhat pedestrian dialogue, that's directed at a very mainstream audience.

besson3c · Dec 22, 2009, 11:44 PM

Upon thinking about this some more, I've changed my mind. My nod is to Moon since it was so provocative and unique (I find myself thinking about it), although I maintain that Avatar is a very historically significant movie.