I waited until the absolute last possible day to put this list up. I thought I’d have gotten a chance to see Fantastic Mr. Fox and Sherlock Holmes before I put the list together, but they’ll still be around in January.  As it stands, I have come up with my five favorite films of 2009.  This list is filled with the films that stuck with me long after I left the theater. Michael Bay won’t be happy. Let’s kick things off with with number 5:

5) Where The Wild Things Are

A movie based on a book I haven’t read since I was 5.  Yet I was excited for it.  Was it the cast? Was it the visuals? I don’t know really. The first trailer was a doozy though. It made everyone warm inside. Then the film came out and a lot of folks went cold. I guess a dose of reality wasn’t what the people wanted. It is a very heartbreaking film as you watch Max lose a part of his childhood innocence. It upset many people to think that watching something so personal would be celebrated. However I don’t think “celebrated” is the right word to use for Max’s impending maturity. It was honesty. It made you tink back to your childhood without wearing the nostalgic blinders and challenges you to think about the moment you had to “grow up”. This is the first of two films that brought me to tears. Not afraid to admit.  I would be rude to not mention the amazing use of practical and visual effects.  The combination of the two to bring the Wild Things to life was seamless. I personally think the use of these type of effects shouldn’t completely take you out of the film but instead look and feel natural. Spike Jonze definitely succeeded in that department and many others.

The rest of the list after the jump.

4)  Taken

Technically this Pierre Morel film is almost two years old, but it officially came out in the U.S. this year.  Taken is a film that should not have worked as well as it did. The reason it works is because of Liam Neeson. He took a one dimensional character and made him the ultimate badass. He’s scary because unlike most run and gun action films, Neeson’s character is so calm. He never lets the danger and despair get to him. He will kill anything that stands in his way. This film would have fit in perfectly with the plethora of 80’s action films. It’s  a simple story of revenge that never takes any surprising turns, but Liam Neeson kills EVERY SINGLE PERSON ON SCREEN.  When I first described it to friends I used to say “It’s a movie where Liam Neeson kills France.”  I still stand by that description. It’s a popcorn flick in every sense of the term. Not to mention that monologue that he gives to his daughter’s kidnappers is still awesome!

3) District 9

Where did this movie come from? It surprised the hell out of many folks. And the use of  visual effects on this film remind me of what I thought of Where The Wild Things Are. It’s there, but it doesn’t bring attention to itself. It’s all to move the story forward.  Knowing that Neil Blomkamp was to be the director of the Halo movie, I can say that I’m happy that never happened.  I definitely think we got something better.

2) UP

It takes no more than ten minutes for this film to tug at your heartstrings. It isn’t forced, it isn’t faked. It’s just great storytelling.  To make you believe in these characters without using much dialogue and simply letting them live is the work of a master storyteller. Pete Doctor, Bob Peterson, and the rest of the folks of Pixar are just that. Widower Carl Fredricksen decides to take the trip that both he and his late wife Ellie had always planned. Using thousands of balloons to move his house  from one part of the world to South America, Carl is on his way.  Of course not everything goes smoothly as Carl finds himself accompanied by Russell, an overly eager Wilderness Explorer looking to collect the last badge necessary to ascend to Senior Wilderness Explorer status.  Finally there’s Dug the talking dog, who pretty much steals the movie. This is definitely Pixar’s best film to date.

1) Inglourious Basterds

It is the film many people believed would never happen. A film more than a decade in the making. I was not aware of this film’s long history because I’m 23 and when talk of Inglourious Basterds started, I wasn’t old enough to watch Quentin Tarantino movies.  Having become a fan of his work with Kill Bill, I haven’t been disappointed by a Tarantino film. It’s not because I think of them as flawless masterpieces, it’s just that I never know what I’m getting into with his films. I do know that I will be entertained. Inglourious Basterds was no different.

This movie smacks you in the face with its dialogue. The first chapter of the film is a twenty minute conversation between a farmer hiding an entire Jewish family beneath his floorboards, trying to protect them from the best villain of the year without a doubt; Col. Hans Landa. The back and forth transfer of power in the conversation between the two is amazing to watch and is filled with nail biting tension. It would have been enough to have such great scene once in this film, but to constantly up the tension throughout the film, culminating with an ending that you wouldn’t expect from a film set during World War II.

It is my favorite film of the year because not once during the film did I not smile. It was a wonderful film that showed its appreciation for film. It wasn’t just a run and gun gore fest that it could have been, and I may have enjoyed that just as well. This film just felt more satisfying. My brain didn’t have to be shut off, I wasn’t being dazzled by visual spectacle because the story was non existent.

As it stands these are my top five films. I’m surprised i have seen so many movies this year and I hope 2010 is even better. If I were to have done a top ten list it would probably look like this:

10) Drag Me To Hell

9) Observe and Report

8 ) Zombieland

7) Star Trek

6) Up In The Air

5) Where The Wild Things Are

4) Taken

3) District 9

2) Up

1) Inglourious Basterds

I’m not even going to spend time on a Worst of 2009 List because every slot would be taken by Transformers 2. It is that bad. Don’t waste your time on it. Trust me on this. Maybe you guys agree with me, or maybe you think I’m completely wrong and don’t deserve to ever do a best of list again. In either case discuss, enjoy, and be safe this New Years Eve.  We’ll see you in 2010!