So, 2009 was an odd year for my movie watching. In the past, I saw enough movies to make a full to 10 list. This year, though, by my recollection, I have seen 5 movies in the theatres. I might be forgetting one or two, but I definately have not even been to 10 movies. So, instead of a full top 10 list, I'm just going to list the 5 movies I remember seeing, and give a brief review of them (along with my rating out of 10, as always). This year they will be listed in chronological order.
Fast and Furious (8/10) - The first movie I saw this year was the latest sequel to the Fast and the Furious series. This movie brought back Vin Diesel and Paul Walker, as well as the lovely and talented Jordana Brewster! All in all, it was a solid effort. If you like the Fast and the Furious movies, then you will like this one. It was enjoyable to see Dom's character back, as the other two F&F movies that Diesel was not in just didn't have the same flavor. It was entertaining, even if it wasn't a cinematic masterpiece, and that's really all I can ask for!
Star Trek (9.5/10) - I really really really enjoyed the "restart" of the Star Trek series. JJ Abrams did a very good job bringing Star Trek to the masses with a good storyline, a young cast of rising stars, and more action and drama than ever before. The special effects, of course, are much better than in the past. But he also made sure to pay homage to the original series and movies. It was just a really entertaining movie. It's set up, now, to do as many sequels as he wants...and based on the initial effort, I'll definately be lining up to see any they put out.
The Hangover (10/10) - The comedy of the year, and possibly the comedy of the decade! The Hangover was hilareous from beginning to end. I can't remember the last time I laughed this hard at a movie. I saw it twice in the theatres, and it was still as funny the second time through. And then I got the Blu-Ray for it last week, and it was still just as hilareous as I had remembered. It's really quite phenomenal the staying power The Hangover had. They made the movie for $35 million. It opened at $43 million its opening weekend, which is a very good opening, but not legendary, by any stretch. But it was so good, as so funny, that word spread, and more and more people went to see it. In the end, it ended up taking in over $459 million between domestic and international box office totals. Just obscene.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (8.5/10) - Be warned, I'm a Harry Potter fan. So I read all the books and see all the movies. It is what it is. Accept it! The latest in the series of Harry Potter flicks was a good one, although not as good as previous efforts. When they were following the story line of the 6th book, I thought they did a pretty good job with it. The visuals were really good. Unfortunately, they took a few too many liberties in tweeking the storyline away from the book. There was one scene in the middle of the movie that was like 15 minutes long...and none of it was from the book. They also completely effed up the Harry-Ginny storyline...but I guess it got where it needed to in the end. And, they left out the funeral for Dumbledore, which really pissed me off. All in all, it was a pretty good movie...I was just disappointed in how loosly they followed the book.
The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day (9/10) - The sequel to my favorite movie of all time finally came out this Fall, and I was not disappointed. I have to say, the first 10-15 minutes were kind of weird. I did not really know what to expect, and was really fearing that it was going to be terrible. However, they finally got back into their groove, and I must say, I really enjoyed the progression of the characters in the flick. The new Willem Dafoe is played by a chick, and her role is overly corny, but otherwise, they really did a good job, IMO. They also left it open for another sequel to complete the trilogy, so we'll see if that ever comes to fruition (since this sequel took 10 years after the first one to come out). It wasn't nearly as good as the first movie, which, as I said, is my favorite movie of all time...but it was a solid sequel for fans of the first movie.
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And that's it for the movies. If you saw any other movies this year, or disagree with anything I said about the few movies I did see, please do not hesitate to chime in!
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