2009 Capsule Reviews

Inglourious Basterds
rating: *****
review: To my mind, the point where Tarantino stopped screwing around being cool and instead just plunged into making a great movie, built around Christoph Waltz's startling, breakthrough performance.

(500) Days of Summer
rating: *****
review: Rewrote the rules of movie romance, an updated When Harry Met Sally...staring the unique talents of Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel.  This is what La La Land was chasing almost a decade later.

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
rating: *****
review: Heath Ledger's last movie, a role he didn't get to complete, but how Terry Gilliam solved that is just one of the ways this became his best and most breathtaking cinematic achievement.

Star Trek
rating: ****
review: The most complete Star Trek movie experience to that point, possibly even since.

Watchmen
rating: ****
review: Zack Snyder gambled that after Dark Knight audiences were ready for a mature superhero movie.  This was his first attempt, and it improves on its famous comic book source material.

The Proposal
rating: ****
review: Sandra Bullock finds her first huge success in years playing totally against type, and letting Ryan Reynolds needle her the entire movie over it.

The Hurt Locker
rating: ****
review: Kathryn Bigelow gambles on Jeremy Renner to sell the first great Iraq War movie, and is hugely rewarded.

Moon
rating: ****
review: Duncan Jones and Sam Rockwell start the ball rolling that would lead to Gravity, Interstellar, The Martian, and Arrival.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
rating: ****
review: The sixth Harry Potter movie bets that you're totally invested.  Most dramatic moments are Dumbledore risking everything for one of the horcruxes, and then his death at the end of the movie.  Really, this is the Dumbledore entry.

The Time Traveler's Wife
rating: ****
review: Funny enough, Rachel McAdams later makes another time travel movie, About Time.  In this one, she romances Eric Bana, who keeps popping up randomly in her life.  The book is truly transcendent.  The movie is close enough to be well worth savoring, too.

Bronson
rating: ****
review: After years of chasing after a defining role, Tom Hardy finds one, and now he's been chasing its legacy ever since.

Red Cliff
rating: ****
review: John Woo's big Chinese epic.

Funny People
rating: ****
review: My favorite Adam Sandler movie, kind of channels Warren Zevon's death beautifully.

Terminator Salvation
rating: ****
review: This is one of those movies that got overshadowed by production matters, that incident where Christian Bale loses his kit.  The movie itself is a totally fresh look at the franchise, with Sam Worthington turning in his first notable performance as a kind of prototype Terminator.  The result is the Blade Runner of Terminator movies.

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
rating: ****
review: Surprisingly entertaining thanks to Channing Tatum and Sienna Miller anchoring the more cartoonish elements around them.  Joseph Gordon-Levitt whiffs as Cobra Commander.

Crazy Heart
rating: ****
review: Jeff Bridges settles into the grizzled version of his social deviant archetype.

State of Play
rating: ****
review: Russell Crowe and Ben Affleck in a rousing political thriller.

The Pink Panther 2
rating: ****
review: Not as surprising as its predecessor, but as a fan of the series I still wildly appreciate Steve Martin's contributions.

The Hangover
rating: ****
review: One of the iconic comedies of the modern era.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine
rating: ****
review: It's been typical to say Hugh Jackman struggled to find a worthy Wolverine solo vehicle, but this first attempt is already up to the task, recruiting the always-charismatic Liev Schreiber to play opposite him.  Really hard to not appreciate that.  Forget about Ryan Reynolds' first Deadpool.  That's just an excuse everyone likes to use. 

Angels & Demons
rating: ****
review: The second Hanks/Howard Robert Langdon movie is not the revelation the first one was, but recruiting Ewan McGregor was smart, and the movie later helped inspire the inspired ending of The Dark Knight Rises.

Killshot
rating: ****
review: Great ensemble, underrated entry in the Mickey Rourke comeback tour.

Two Lovers
rating: ****
review: Devastating romance between Joaquin Phoenix and Gwyneth Paltrow.

A Perfect Getaway
rating: ****
review: Breezy ensemble thriller with a great cast.

Avatar
rating: ****
review: Immersive new vision of a blockbuster epic.

Fast and Furious
rating: ****
review: The unlikely fourth in the series, and the first in a hugely successful revival that eventually weaves the first three into a working tapestry unrivaled in cinematic history.

The Soloist
rating: ****
review: Moving social drama featuring Robert Downey Jr. and Jamie Foxx.

Fantastic Mr. Fox
rating: ****
review: Wes Anderson at his most fun.

Underworld: Rise of the Lycans
rating: ***
review: Serviceable look back at this franchise's origins, a tad overestimating how epic it seemed.

The Slammin' Salmon
rating: ***
review: A scaled back comedy from Broken Lizard.

Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans
rating: ***
review: Nicolas Cage in a kind of remake that allows him to do his world-weary version of Nicolas Cage.

Land of the Lost
rating: ***
review: Will Ferrell gets to have a lot of fun in this remake.  Kind of the template for Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, minus the strong supporting cast.

Zombieland
rating: ***
review: Cult style zombie comedy.  Best part is the hilarious Bill Murray cameo.

Up in the Air
rating: ***
review: George Clooney in his groove, waiting for a movie to find itself around him.

Where the Wild Things Are
rating: ***
review: Really, really should've been transcendent.  Instead it's just ambitious.

Taken
rating: ***
review: I don't know if the other two movies in the series have a story that's truly worthy of the instantly iconic Liam Neeson performance.  Maybe someday I'll find out.

Invictus
rating: ***
review: Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela.  I think it's kind of a waste to pin the first big Mandela movie on a rugby story.

Pirate Radio
rating: ***
review: Good screwball material, excellent cast.

Everybody's Fine
rating: ***
review: Robert De Niro as a dad who disappointed his kids, and trying to make right with them.  Worthwhile material.

The Men Who Stare at Goats
rating: ***
review: I'm not sure the movie totally nails that its insane events are based on a true story.  So instead have fun with that great cast!

Race to Witch Mountain
rating: ***
review: Dwayne Johnson beginning to figure out that if he's a tough guy in the movie, the movie around him has to make that idea rewarding.

He's Just Not That Into You
rating: ***
review: Great cast!

District 9
rating: ***
review: Great story.  Nothing in it is as fantastic as Sharlto Copley.

The Princess and the Frog
rating: ***
review: Vaguely racist but classic Disney princess flick.

Surrogates
rating: ***
review: Bruce Willis is ultimately too grim to sell this as a sci-fi adventure.

The Blind Side
rating: ***
review: Nothing in this is as great as Sandra Bullock is in it.

Me and Orson Welles
rating: ***
review: Orson Welles ought to always pop.  Otherwise, what's the point of having Orson Welles?

Carriers
rating: ***
review: Chris Pine in a dramatic version of Zombieland.

Ninja Assassin
rating: ***
review: Fun to watch.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
rating: ***
review: Totally zany animated flick.

Paul Blart: Mall Cop
rating: ***
review: The best thing about this is also the most curious thing about it, that it's sold entirely on how pathetic Kevin James is.  Someone assumed his Hitch appearance was his movie template.

The Ugly Truth
rating: ***
review: This is the Gerard Butler movie where he's a male chauvinist.  Basically Gerard Butler is completely responsible for the state of male-female relations.

I Love You, Man
rating: ***
review: Paul Rudd and Jason Segel are best friends.  Kind of!  I wonder if this wouldn't have been better with Will Ferrell in Segel's role.  Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg!

Coraline
rating: ***
review: Creepy Neil Gaiman story.  Probably would've been better live action.

Couples Retreat
rating: ***
review: Seems like this ensemble comedy would've worked better with more focus.

2012
rating: **
review: Pretty standard, generic catastrophe flick.

Sherlock Holmes
rating: **
review: I think it was a huge mistake to cast Robert Downey Jr. as Holmes and Jude Law as Watson.  Should've been flip-flopped.

The Fourth Kind
rating: **
review: Would've been creepier if the suspension of disbelief weren't intrinsic to its appeal.

Duplicity
rating: **
review: Julia Roberts and Clive Owen maybe aren't the right actors for this sort of thing.

Law Abiding Citizen
rating: **
review: Gerard Butler totally overpowers this one.  Hilarious, given he's just gotten himself in a spot where people are noticing him at all.

The Twilight Saga: New Moon
rating: **
review: Huge boost with Jacob, but this is an anemic saga.

Planet 51
rating: **
review: Home nails the alien animated flick six years later.

Push
rating: **
review: Chris Evans still hasn't quite found his big superhero role.  But it's coming!