2009′s films ranked

This ranking includes only new theatrical releases viewed for the awards year of 2009. Links go to my review. Numbers after each entry are Date First Viewed/NYC Release Date; year is 2009 unless otherwise noted.

worth paying multiplex prices for

the top 10 (the whys and wherefores)
1. The Hurt Locker (06.22/06.26)
2. District 9 (07.29/08.14)
3. The Road (10.12/11.25)
4. The Soloist (04.16/04.24)
5. A Serious Man (09.14/10.02)
6. Bright Star (09.09/09.16)
7. Up (05.29/05.29)
8. Inglourious Basterds (08.13/08.21)
9. Fantastic Mr. Fox (10.27/11.13)
10. The Brothers Bloom (04.28/05.15)

the rest
Avatar (12.11/12.18)
An Education (09.04/10.09)
Up in the Air (11.27/12.04)
Still Walking (12.16/08.28)
Invictus (12.08/12.11)
Trucker (10.06/10.09)
Five Minutes of Heaven (11.12/08.21)
Taking Woodstock (07.27/08.28)
Star Trek (05.04/05.08)
Coraline (01.07/02.06)
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (09.01/09.18)
Moon (05.14/06.12)
Sherlock Holmes (12.03/12.25)
The Invention of Lying (09.16/10.02)
The Cove (07.28/07.31)
Zombieland (09.10/10.02)
Brothers (11.20/12.04)
Bruno (06.23/07.10)
Me and Orson Welles (12.04/11.27)
Amelia (10.21/10.23)
In the Loop (06.30/07.24)
The Damned United (08.27/10.09)
Away We Go (05.26/06.05)
Capitalism: A Love Story (10.08/09.23)
500 Days of Summer (07.08/07.17)
9 (08.12/09.09)
The Informant! (09.08/09.18)
Whip It (09.21/10.02)
Summer Hours (06.18/05.15)
The Men Who Stare at Goats (11.04/11.06)
Crazy Heart (12.09/12.16)
The Young Victoria (11.03/12.18)
Adoration (05.04/05.08)
The Song of Sparrows (09.01/04.03)
The Last Station (12.01/12.04)
Public Enemies (06.25/07.01)
Humpday (06.24/07.10)
Everybody’s Fine (11.12/12.04)
Julie & Julia (08.03/08.07)
Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (10.15/11.06)
Cold Souls (06.24/08.07)
The Boys Are Back (09.03/09.25)
Lorna’s Silence (07.14/07.31)
The Baader Meinhof Complex (09.20/08.21)
Funny People (07.27/07.31)
The Stoning of Soraya M. (06.15/06.26)
Easy Virtue (05.18/05.22)
State of Play (04.08/04.17)
Red Cliff (10.08/11.20)
Ong Bak 2: The Beginning (10.29/10.23)
Watchmen (03.03/03.06)
The International (01.28/02.13)
Two Lovers (01.27/02.13)
Severed Ways: The Norse Discovery of America (03.09/03.13)
Shall We Kiss? (03.19/03.27)
The Time Traveler’s Wife (08.06/08.14)
Sleep Dealer (04.14/04.17)
Duplicity (03.17/03.20)
Goodbye Solo (03.19/03.27)
The Private Lives of Pippa Lee (11.05/11.27)
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (07.13/07.15)
No Impact Man (07.14/09.04)
Crank: High Voltage (04.17/04.17)
The Messenger (10.15/11.13)
The Taking of Pelham 123 (06.08/06.12)
Sunshine Cleaning (03.04/03.13)
Drag Me to Hell (05.13/05.29)
Tokyo! (02.25/03.06)
Bliss (Mutluluk) (07.23/08.07)
Monsters vs. Aliens (03.21/03.27)
Chandni Chowk to China (01.15/01.16)
Whatever Works (05.28/06.19)
Angels & Demons (05.06/05.15)
Tokyo Sonata (02.25/03.13)
What Goes Up (05.20/05.29)
Pontypool (05.30/05.29)
Anvil! The Story of Anvil (02.26/04.10)
Outrage (05.04/05.08)
Is Anybody There? (04.13/04.17)
My One and Only (09.10/08.21)
The Great Buck Howard (03.04/03.20)
American Violet (04.13/04.17)
Inkheart (01.20/01.23)
Fanboys (01.20/02.06)
Under the Sea 3D (04.03/02.13)
X-Men Origins: Wolverine (04.28/05.01)

worth seeing, but wait for DVD, unless your favorite actor is in it

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (10.07/12.25)
Where the Wild Things Are (10.14/10.16)
The White Ribbon (12.21/12.30)
A Single Man (11.12/12.11)
The Fourth Kind (10.29/11.06)
Planet 51 (11.16/11.20)
Surveillance (06.02/06.26)
The Missing Person (11.10/11.20)
The Box (11.04/11.06)
World’s Greatest Dad (08.21/08.21)
Cheri (06.02/06.26)
Food, Inc. (05.27/06.12)
Collapse (10.27/11.06)
Paris (10.18/09.18)
Fifty Dead Men Walking (08.13/08.21)
Paris 36 (04.29/04.03)
Shrink (06.29/07.24)
Paranormal Activity (10.13/09.25)
The Princess and the Frog (11.25/11.25)
Serious Moonlight (11.17/12.04)
The Age of Stupid (05.17/09.21)
Broken Embraces (09.04/11.20)
Adam (07.23/08.07)
I Sell the Dead (08.07/08.07)
New York, I Love You (10.13/10.16)
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (12.18/12.23)
The Blind Side (12.06/11.20)
Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant (10.15/10.23)
Ponyo (08.16/08.14)
Battle for Terra (04.22/05.01)
Taken (01.28/01.30)
The Limits of Control (04.23/05.01)
Explicit Ills (02.23/03.06)
Adventureland (03.25/04.03)
Hotel for Dogs (01.10/01.16)
Observe and Report (03.31/04.10)
17 Again (04.01/04.17)
G-Force (08.01/07.24)
Bandslam (08.12/08.14)
Disgrace (09.03/09.18)
Little Ashes (04.27/05.08)
Coco Before Chanel (08.20/09.25)
Race to Witch Mountain (03.13/03.13)
Management (04.30/05.15)
Fast & Furious (03.24/04.03)
Alien Trespass (03.11/04.03)
The Hangover (06.01/06.05)
The Lovely Bones (11.27/12.11)
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (06.21/07.01)
My Sister’s Keeper (06.15/06.26)
Michael Jackson’s This Is It (10.27/10.28)
2012 (11.09/11.13)
Tyson (04.17/04.24)

give it a miss

Earth (03.18/04.22)
It’s Complicated (11.30/12.25)
Extract (09.01/09.04)
Motherhood (10.07/10.23)
Armored (12.04/12.04)
The Twilight Saga: New Moon (11.18/11.20)
Jennifer’s Body (09.11/09.18)
Imagine That (06.06/06.12)
The Haunting in Connecticut (03.25/03.27)
New York City Serenade (02.24/03.06)
Push (02.03/02.06)
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (05.18/05.22)
The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond (11.17/12.30)
Pirate Radio (aka The Boat That Rocked) (10.28/11.13)
Whiteout (09.09/09.11)
Post Grad (08.05/08.21)
Love Happens (09.15/09.18)
Astro Boy (10.17/10.23)
The Proposal (06.13/06.19)
12 Rounds (03.27/03.27)
The Uninvited (01.27/01.30)
My Bloody Valentine 3-D (01.15/01.16)
Aliens in the Attic (08.01/07.31)
I Love You, Man (03.16/03.20)
An American Affair (02.24/02.27)
Did You Hear About the Morgans? (12.18/12.18)
Shorts (08.11/08.21)
Couples Retreat (10.06/10.09)
The Strip (11.10/12.04)
The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day (10.20/10.30)
Land of the Lost (06.01/06.05)
Notorious (01.08/01.16)
Fighting (04.21/04.24)
My Life in Ruins (aka Driving Aphrodite) (05.28/06.05)
Chocolate (02.01/02.06)
Blood: The Last Vampire (05.27/0710
New in Town (01.28/01.30)
Fired Up! (02.17/02.20)
Bride Wars (01.07/01.09)
The Unborn (01.06/01.09)
Orphan (07.22/07.24)
Obsessed (04.24/04.24)
I Love You, Beth Cooper (07.07/07.10)
I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell (09.18/09.25)
The Last House on the Left (03.10/03.13)
Paul Blart: Mall Cop (01.12/01.16)
Ninja Assassin (11.23/11.25)
Terminator Salvation (05.19/05.21)
Gamer (09.04/09.04)
Nine (11.14/12.18)
The Ugly Truth (07.20/07.24)
A Perfect Getaway (08.04/08.07)
The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard (08.16/08.14)
A Christmas Carol (11.06/11.06)
Super Capers (03.17/03.20)
Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (04.29/05.01)
Knowing (03.18/03.20)
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (06.22/06.24)
All About Steve (09.02/09.04)
The Final Destination (08.28/08.28)
Women in Trouble (11.10/11.13)
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (08.07/08.07)
Year One (06.17/06.19)
Law Abiding Citizen (10.13/10.16)
Gentlemen Broncos (10.26/10.30)
Antichrist (08.26/10.23)
Miss March (03.11/03.13)