movies seen in 2009

fun, but a bit unbelievable.

it's true what they say about windex, you know.

I'm really not a horror movie fan, but I liked this a lot. almost as funny as Hot Fuzz.

extremely disappointing, especially after watching Bobby.

surprisingly well done film.

as depressing as the real thing. does it deserve more stars, or less, for that?

really funny stuff. i'm holding out for a dvd release of the dracula puppet musical. :)

so sad! :(

"grow up or die."

he makes a good point in the end.

humorous account of the development of Califiornia's wine industry in the 1970's.

Pullman and Rickman are always favorites of mine.

eh. good casting. weak story.

surprisingly not horrible.

not nearly as bad as I'd feared, with some surprisingly very funny parts.

well done, but predictable and really long. the kid who played young Jamal should have gotten the award.

heartbreaking film with strong performances all around.

predictable, slow, and depressing, but otherwise very well done.

painful.

actually not terrible.

so-so movie, but great to see poehler and fey team up again. :)

annoying and inane, but has a lot of heart. just like the show.

excellent and riveting. great to see a backstory.

disappointing

silly, but true to the source material.

the previews were funnier than the movie with this one.

outstanding, remarkable performances all around. Streep and Hoffman, as expected, don't disappoint, and Adams and Davis surprisingly don't let the bar drop. friends' reviews of this are universally positive, but the average star rating among them is only 3.5 - not sure why this is. I found this movie to be a riveting, intelligent drama that I'm sure I will be contemplating for months ahead. reminiscent of No Country for Old Men in that regard.

solidly average scifi.

good, but they could have done a lot more with this.

good but long. Blanchett shines.

better than expected. clever and understated mockumentary..

Rourke does an excellent job, but the film's progression is slow and somewhat predictable.

i liked it better than Napoleon Dynamite, that's about the best I can say about it. I really like Rogan, so was really hoping to enjoy this film. Some of the material was just too offensive for me.

hamlet in china.

fantastic special effects and great casting. already itching for a sequel.

great book.

some fun action sequences, but nothing too memorable or impressive.

a far cry from the first one story-wise. great acting though and nice to see the dc museums on the big screen. but UGH what a horrible plot. :(

completely different than I expected, and definitely worth the watch.

really like isla fisher, but this is not her best work.

Very good film, but if you must choose, read the book. It's a truly riveting and stunning story, with a lot of internal dialogue that is just too difficult to translate completely to the big screen.

a bit slow at times, but a pleasure to behold and a great story. Pixar has done it again. The short with this one was also worth the ticket price alone, as usual.

worst bond movie I've seen yet. tedious at best. so bad that I forgot to rate it.

I'm a wuss when it comes to scary movies, so I was a bit concerned going into this one. fortunately for me it's not scary persay, but it definitely has its (perhaps needlessly) creepy moments. I find myself thinking back more on the Rapture scene than on the scare tactics though. and it's that scene that puts this film a notch above average for me.

recommended for scifi fans, fans of Dark City, and science buffs.

not Sin City, but a decent comic film noir in its own right. think adam west batman or Dick Tracy and you won't be disappointed.

fascinating, horrifying, and poignant. Had to see this after watching the HBO take, which is also fantastic. I especially loved the part where Edie cites Robert Frost. Seeing the original made me appreciate Lange's and Barrymore's performances all the more.

good addition to the terminator franchise; I enjoyed it more than T3. Just don't pick it apart.

poor acting and a tired plot. though duchovny and anderson look gorgeous. disappointing overall. the x-files story has so much more potential.

confusing for those unfamiliar with Dylan's life, but well acted. Blanchett's acting especially is riveting, and Bale's singing is quite impressive.

good portrayal and an interesting biography. a bit lengthy at 3 hours though.

way too long and riddled with plotholes.

what napoleon dynamite could have been but wasn't.

hilarious and sweet. even references The Princess Bride.

pretty meh story, but has some neat special effects.

first half has some great comedy but the second half is all uneven drama.

"Oh, to be young and to feel love's keen sting."

not sure what to think of this one. On the one hand, the chemistry was practically non-existent. On the other, much of the comedy was spot on, and, even if you knew the end beforehand, it was still poignant and well done. Still, there seemed to be parts missing from the story, which annoyed me as I hadn't read the book in awhile but could tell something was left out.

didn't like it as much as Phoenix. probably about on par with Goblet for me, or maybe a notch above.

fun kid's action/adventure movie.

should have read the description before renting this, as it's just a collection of clips from the (admittedly excellent) Planet Earth series. I was hoping for new and different footage.

if you've seen the Planet Earth series already, don't waste your time with this. if you haven't seen the series yet, I'd still recommend the series over this movie unless you're short on time.

another excellent Meryl Streep film with strong female roles. Tucci and Adams give stand-out performances as well, while Messina and Lynch provide strong supporting characters.

My only issue with this film is that Julia Child's storyline was much more interesting than "Julie's" storyline. If it had been all Julia Child and no Julie, I think I might have liked it just as well, and possibly even more. Maybe if Julie had ended up actually doing something with herself (become a world-class chef, say, or an actual writer of world-class books) rather than surfing on Julia Child's fame, I might have been more impressed. Streep's spot-on homage saves the day though, as it often does.

not my favorite audrey movie.

stupid is as stupid does.

bonus star for some pretty cinematography.