A-Flix - My Top Movies of 2009

I work in the 'biz and am a bit of a movie buff so I couldn't resist making a great list of 2009. Mainly I'm doing this for my own benefit, but I hope it inspires you to check out some wonderful movies from this year.

ANNIE'S TOP 10 (in order, best first)

Up

Harry Potter and the Halfblood Prince

The Princess and the Frog

The Brothers Bloom

Up in the Air

Avatar

Away We Go

The Proposal

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

Sherlock Holmes

In making this list and perusing EVERYTHING that was released this year, I realized a few things. 

1) There weren't a ton of notable movies, for example, I never thought I'd put The Proposal  on my list but really, it was a lot better than most of what was released this year. 

2) There are still several films that have major buzz that I've yet to see and are therefore not included above: Invictus, Precious, and The Hurt Locker just to name a few. 

3) I think it's kind of funny that I thought Sherlock looked terrible but ended up seeing it AND liking it enough that I added it.

4) Avatar is only on the list because it was too important to filmmaking visually not to include it.

5) Probably the most important lesson of all, while Princess and the Frog is a Disney classic in my eyes and particularly special since I was working for Disney when it was released- Up is most definitely the best movie made in 2009. Not just animated movie, but movie overall. One of the most heartfelt, genuinely funny, and captivating movies ever - Up has convinced me that Director Pete Docter is truly onto something brilliant and I can't wait to see what he does next.

So how bout you? What made your list this year?

May I Recommend a Movie

This weekend, my friend told me she was in dire need of movie recommendations. Recently, she'd let someone comandeer her netflix queue to somewhat disasterous results: every movie was critically acclaimed for sure, but they have all been downers! 


I told her that me, along with my filmmaking prowess, could conjure up a list of very enjoyable recommendations. Then I got to thinking, perhaps you all would be interested as well. So here you go, movie recommendations from a movie-passionate person - me.

If you're in the mood for

SIDE-SPLITTING COMEDY

Christopher Titus' Love is Evol 

I got this special on DVD for free when I worked at Lionsgate. What a wonderful surprise to watch it and discover a hilarious stand-up comedy special full of amazing truisms about relationships and love. Gus and I watched it together and quote it constantly. 


Here's a quote - "If you are in here tonight and you have never contemplated suicide... you've never truly been in love. If you're in here tonight and you have never contemplated murder... you've never been divorced." 

If you're hungering for an interesting and hilarious

DOCUMENTARY

An Evening with Kevin Smith
Now, I'm not even a huge fan of Kevin Smith's movies. What I am a fan of however, is this incredible 2-disc compilation of Kevin Smith answering the questions of college students from around the company. Sounds like a bland way to spend an evening on the surface but Smith tells so many incredible stories, you may wish there were more discs. This special was so successful, he did another DVD (Kevin Smith: Evening Harder, 2006) as a follow-up. Warning: Lots of profanity in this.

If you want to get into the holiday spirit with a 

CHRISTMAS MOVIE

Miracle on 34th Street (the 1994 Remake)
I'll always have a place in my heart for this movie. My mom and I used to watch it every holiday season and for whatever reason, it always strikes a chord with me and gets me inspired. Some people are sticklers for the original version of this movie - but me, I'm 100% in love with this one and Dylan McDermott in it. Swoon. I may have to do a whole post devoted to great holiday movies - but for now, enjoy this one and believe in Santa again. (Pretty powerful endorsement from a Jewish girl eh? :) I'm a holiday movie junkie!)

If you're looking for something zany and 

ADVENTUROUS

 The Brothers Bloom
I would never have watched this if Gus hadn't netflixed it on a hunch. I'm really glad he did. The Brothers Bloom may not be for everyone but it's an incredible interesting adventure and look at the life of two con men brothers as they attempt to pull off the last con of their lives. Surprisingly funny and heartwarming at the most unexpected times, I think you should give it a whirl.

That's all for now. Let me know if you rent any and/or enjoy these by commenting below. If so, I'll do more posts with more movies and categories.