Review of My 2009

So 2009 has finished, and I am going to do a quick Academy-esque awards review of the year. Please note that I haven't seen everything that came out this year, so cut me some slack. I've watched 42 films that were released in 2009, which I was quite pleased with, but only one was in a foreign language, so there will be no foreign language category.

So here we go:

Best Screenplay: I'm going to give this to Sam Mendes' Away We Go, written by Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida. I really enjoyed the dialogue in this. It managed to be funny and sweet, which is a combination I usually go for. And the opening dialogue was about the taste of vaginal juices.

Best Soundtrack/Score: I don't even need to think about this. It goes to Watchmen, for the score. Songs by Bob Dylan, Hendrix, Simon and Garfunkel and Nena were enough to make this my favourite soundtrack of the year by a mile.

Best On-Screen Chemistry: Kåre Hedebrant and Lina Leandersson as Oskar and Eli in Let The Right One In. A beautiful film, and the relationship was played perfectly. The fact that the two actors are 14 is just incredible, they played it way beyond their years.

Best Villain: This goes to Eric Bana's Nero in Star Trek. I'd watch Bana in anything, and this was no exception. A performance so good that I forgot it was him.

Best Horror: Drag Me To Hell. Although it is arguably not really a horror, it is head and shoulders above anything else claiming to be horror from last year. And that includes Paranormal Activity. Funny, jumpy in places, and has a talking goat. Blood brilliant.

Best Sci-Fi: This is going to Duncan Jones' Moon. Just gave something different to the genre, and it really worked. Almost perfect.

Best Comedy: (500) Days of Summer. Like Away We Go, this film was so sweet it almost hurt. It isn't a laugh out loud comedy, not for the majority anyway, but the Han Solo moment is worthy of even the greatest comedies.

Best Supporting Actress: I'll give this to Ahney Her, who played Sue in Gran Torino. I thought she was fantastic in this, and really made the film for me. A perfect contrast to Clint, and yeah, just good.

Best Supporting Actor: Justin Long. No question, he really made Drag Me To Hell what it was for me. I love this guy, and he really pulled it out of the bag on this one.

Best Actress: Anne Hathaway in Rachel Getting Married. One of my favourite films of the year, and it was all down to this lady. A really fantastic performance in a really fantastic film.

Best Actor: I know he was just being Clint, but Clint Eastwood for Gran Torino was my favourite performance of the year. Just brilliant. Clint is the man.

Best Director: I say Zack Snyder for Watchmen. I know a lot of people didn't like it, but I thought it was great, and the direction was superb.

Best Film: I think Let The Right One In just edges it over Rachel Getting Married here. A really incredible film. Loved it from start to finish, and I can't wait to see it again.

And, just to end on a downer:

Worst Film: The Uninvited. Plain fucking awful.

There are a few films I really liked that haven't had a mention on here, so some special mentions go to the following:

The Wrestler - Mickey Rourke was second in line to the best actor throne.
A Perfect Getaway - Really surprised me with how bad it wasn't.
Inglourious Basterds - He shot Hitler in the face.
Milk - Entertaining, moving and true. What more could you ask?
District 9 - Entertaining, but I was still let down.
Monsters vs Aliens - The best non-Disney/Pixar animated film I've ever seen.
Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist - Funny and sweet.
Vicky Cristina Barcelona - Sorry? Scarlett Johansson, Rebecca Hall and Penelope Cruz in the same film? Yes please.

And some crappy, crappy films:

My Bloody Valentine - Just cheap, and we've seen it all before.
The International - Made literally no sense.
Bruno - Offensive and unfunny.
Saw VI - Horrible. I felt repulsed.
The Boat That Rocked - Too boring for words.
Observe and Report - Again, borderline offensive and not particularly funny.
Paranormal Activity - A horror film that forgot to be scary.
2012 - Just shit. Long, dull, bad acting, bad effects...