Comments on: favorite movies of 2009

By: mike

mike — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 03:14:10 +0000

the problem with D9 and HL is that the viewer is presented with a very believable *real* world. what happens in their third acts is this world disintegrated for me either because of style changes or, in the case of HL, a loss sense of emotion for our “protagonist”. HL was certainly not consistent thoughout. in fact, it’s almost as if a story was TRYING to develop near the end and that’s where the incredible tenseness gave way to boredom and one unfortunate predictable moment. i think for both films, D9 and HL, that being as strong as they were is what lead to their downfall. yes, their third acts were better than a lot on my list, but ultimately the movies left me disappointed for not keeping up with the excellent pace they established during their first two-thirds. even with Up, i enjoyed the beginning and middle more than the end.

the reason this doesn’t bother me with SH is that SH never pretended to be anything but what it was. i think SH DID stay pretty consistent, at least in tone and storytelling. and the ending left me satisfied and excited for future installments.

TS i just watched over break again and was reminded of how great most of the movie was. it’s really just that last 15 min that falls apart–not even really falls apart–just ends too abruptly. ironically it’s those last 15 min that make it feel like an actual terminator movie. but i still REALLY enjoyed all the moments that lead up to it- more so than D9 or HL, which is why it gets notched slightly above those.

By: Bonzo Madrid

Bonzo Madrid — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 02:42:13 +0000

No room for DISTRICT 9 mainly due to its “muddled” third act?

That’s rich, ’cause your no. 14 pick, a film I very much enjoyed (in my top 15 as well), had a third act that became every Jerry Bruckheimer action movie ever made.

And McTERMINATOR: SALVATION, which one could easily argue had three muddled acts, completely fell apart in its last third (see: putting a face on SkyNet, the lame digitized-Arnold faces on the T-800′s, etc.)

You’re simply way too hard on DISTRICT 9. It’s your WALL*E of 2009. And for the record, THE HURT LOCKER was consistent throughout. It was just that in the last half hour you realized it had no real storyline, but instead was a 90 minute series of ridiculously tense moments.

That said — I still heart you. And it’s a good list.

By: mike

mike — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 22:44:12 +0000

oh i saw it. it’s not on the list for various problems i had with it though. I thought D9 and Hurt Locker started off REALLY strong but lost me in muddled third acts. that might be the biggest problem facing movies right now. even pixar isn’t immune to it.

but if this list went to 21, D9 would probably be on it. :)

By: mike

mike — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 22:39:39 +0000

i really hope dawn treader is good!

By: Angela

Angela — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 03:10:04 +0000

Nice list, Mike. I think you would enjoy “District 9″ as well. Best sci-fi movie I’ve seen since “Aliens.”

By: Jen Maihack

Jen Maihack — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 03:53:48 +0000

awesome list! I forgot about Zombieland! That movie was so hallarious. I want to see it again. one of my most looking forward to movies of 2010 is Scott Pilgrim, but also Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader!!!