The Top . . and . . .the Bottom

In the spirit of the season and lists that round-up
the year, I decided I would try something new and I would rank my favorite and least favorite movies of the year. I decided, in order to qualify, it had to be a movie I saw in the theater or a movie that was released on DVD in 2009 and I did not watch it in 2008. So, you might see a couple movies that were released on DVD during the year. I did not realize until recently that making these lists is really not the easiest thing to do, but it was kind of fun at the same time.

Before I begin I do have to give one more qualifier, rarely do I leave a movie and hate it. Most of the time when I walk out of a movie, I enjoyed it. Not until a few days after do I think that maybe it wasn't the best movie. Having said as much, let's get going.


Let's get right into it. Top 5 movies of the year are as follows:

1. The Blind Side
Hands down, this was my favorite movie of the year. I love sports movies and a sports movie that deals with football--well that is a pretty automatic 2 stars. I do admit that does five this movie a leg up, but in all reality anytime I can watch a movie and it makes me feel better about the world, that is a good thing. I think Sandra Bullock did a great job as Leigh Anne Tuohy and as a shock to me, Tim McGraw did a pretty convincing good job as her husband. I loved the movie and would recommend it to anyone. You will Laugh, you will cry, but in the end you will feel a little better about the world we live in.

2. Gran Torino
Clint Eastwood can do no wrong. This movie really falls out of my comfort zone. I usually don't watch movies that edgy and gritty. However, I had heard so many good things about this movie, I had to watch it. Truthfully, I was not disappointed. Clint's character befriends a young Hmong teenager and in turn is taught a lesson. The language is rough, but not offensive.

3. Disney's A Christmas Carol (IN 3D)
I absolutely love Charles Dicken's classic story of Christmas. I went into this movie with high expectations and was not disappointed. Jim Carrey does a great job as Ebeneezer Scrooge. The story was flawless and the 3D animation was amazing. I actually felt the snow falling in the theater. The movie, like the story itself is not for young children.

4. Up
I can't believe I have two different animated movies in my top 5 list. But this movie was wonderful. The colors and animation were great and the story was entertaining. Again, I don't think this is for young kids, the plot line is not for the young. But I did like this movie.

5. Paul Blart: Mall Cop
This movie just makes me laugh. I think when this movie came out on DVD, both Mike and I bought this movie. I watch it on occasion and laugh every time I watch it. We watched this movie while at Boulder and everyone was rolling as we watched it.

Honorable Mentions: Night at the Museum 2, Transformers 2, Marley & Me, Taken

AND The bottom

5. Angels & Demons
It is unfair that this movie ends up on the list. But to me, this movie was a big disappointment. I read the book before I read the Da Vinci code and I loved the book. So, the movie needed to be incredible to keep me entertained and well, it fell flat.

4. All About Steve
I find it painful to put a movie with Sandra Bullock in my bottom 5 (since she was in my #1 movie of the year). But this movie was not good. Bradley Cooper plays a horrible character and the movie just gets lost in itself. Sandra does a good job with such a horrible character, but this movie was just not good.

3. I Love You, Man
This movie could have made my top 5 had it been as entertaining as the trailer. But it wasn't even close. This movie was boring and dull. Yawn, am I onto the next movie yet?

2. Twilight
Granted, I am not in the target demographic for this movie. But oh my word, this movie was just horrible, bad, and no good at all. Like the book, the movie started slow, but unlike the book, it didn't pick up at the baseball scene. It was released over a year ago and I don't know if it has started to pick up yet.

1. The Hangover
WOW! So many different people told me this was one of the funniest movies they have ever seen. If this was funny, I really need to go back and redefine MY definition of funny, because rarely did I ever get over a chuckle. This movie is going to Grey Whale and I don't ever want to hear about it again. The language was terrible, the movie crude and well I was embarrassed I watched it.

Other not so great movies: Duplicity, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past

This is just a list of my favorite movies. Don't be too critical of me. As I mentioned making your own list is much more difficult than one would think. I would be curious to know what your favorites or least favorites of the year were.