Top 5 Movies of 2009 (in my humble opinion)

It's time for the start of my end-of-year lists! I know you're all wondering: will I ever finish Under the Dome? Patience, children. I'm already at page 800.

First up, it's my personal favorite movies of the year. Are these the best of the year? Probably not. But they're the ones that made me feel the bst upon leaving the theater. So, without further ado...

5. Cirque du Freak-- The Vampire's Assistant: I've read all twelve books in the series years ago, and I was really skeptical. But this movie shows those other chumps (do I hear Lemony Snicket, anyone?) that it IS possible to deviate from the books, combine multiple books, and still manage to give a wildly entertaining ride. And John C. Reilly absolutely steals the show. It did poorly at the box office, but don't let that stop you from renting it when it hits DVD and Blu-ray.

4. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: This shows a real maturity in every aspect-- the writing, the acting, the directing, it's all better than before. Props to Steve Kloves for balancing the right levels of deviation and impressive amounts of detail. The saga becomes darker stll, but there's enough humor to lighten it up. As if you haven't seen it already.

3. Star Trek: A franchise reboot by J. J. Abrams. Fun all around, with good acting from both the leads (i.e. Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto) and the supporting cast (i.e. Karl Urban and Zoe Saldana-- note that Saldana's work is on the list twice). The goal of this movie was to make a Star Trek the world would love, and it succeeded splendidly.

2. UP: Pixar has done it again. I've liked every one of their movies, with only a few falling below the "excellent" range. In my opinion, this is one of their best. Just watch the first few minutes, and see if any other movie gets a reaction quite that fast.

1. Avatar: And James Cameron comes out on top. This film blew me away completely, from its stunning visuals, masterful score, great directing, and spot-on acting (from Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, and Zoe Saldana, in order of appearance) that's believable even beneath the truly groundbreaking motion capture technology. See it; when you're done, see it again. Epic in every way.

Well, I don't imagine the list surprised you very much, but there it is. Comments?

Coming Soon: Under the Dome, along with more lists.