John’s Movie Musings

And the nominees are…

Best Picture

• AVATAR

• THE BLIND SIDE

• DISTRICT 9

• AN EDUCATION

• THE HURT LOCKER

• INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

• PRECIOUS

• A SERIOUS MAN

• UP

• UP IN THE AIR

For those that didn’t know, there are ten nominees for Best Picture (the only category with that number).  Some great movies in that list, but I’m ecstatic to see District 9 in there.

You can find the rest of the nominees HERE.

Time to dump 2009 like a bad habit.  But not before we take a look at the yearly box office numbers.

Here we go…

#10) The Blind Side – $193M (and counting)
Touching story, but probably won’t be remembered long.

#9) Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs – $196M
I’ve had this on Blu-Ray for weeks but haven’t had a chance to watch it. Maybe I can finally check it out this weekend.

#8) Monsters Vs. Aliens – $198M
Absolute garbage. Avoid this if you’ve been spared a viewing.

#7) Star Trek - $258M
This movie set the standard for all future franchise reboots. I’ve heard that even non-Trek fans love this. It’s fantastic.

#6) Avatar - $269M (and counting)
Avatar is still pulling in over $70M per weekend. It could easily turn out to be #1 of the year. More on it below…

#5) The Hangover – $277M
One of the funnier R-rated comedies in years. I’m off to Vegas next week, so I may have to watch this again before I go.

#4) The Twilight Saga: New Moon – $284M
I am so excited for this on DVD. With the additional Rifftrax soundtrack, I fully expect another two hours of pure comedy gold.

#3) Up - $293M
Pixar once again shows their genius. Go rent this.

#2) Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince – $302M
Only one more movie (split in two) left. At this point, I’m more interested to see where the careers of the Potter kids go.

#1) Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen – $402M
We’re to blame for this. Bastards.

(Thanks BoxofficeMojo)

My Favorites:

Of all the films I enjoyed in 2009, these fall into what I consider a “Must See.” In order:

Taken: Fantastic movie with Liam Neeson as Mr. BadAss. I challenge you to not get emotionally wrapped up in the story. It’s intense. Even on a second viewing, the ending still got me.

Up: There is no dialog in the first ten minutes. By minute eleven, you’ll be in tears. Brilliant storytelling like this needs to be seen.

Avatar: Go see this in 3D before it leaves the theaters. You’ve never experienced anything like it. I’ve seen it twice and still want to see it again.

District 9: Where Avatar showed you can make a good movie with gobs of cash, District 9 proved you could do the same with only $30M. It uses the elements of Sci-Fi as a thin wrapper over deep, human themes that hit a little close to home.

So that wraps up the year. There are a few rumblings of Oscar nominees and I don’t think I’ve seen any of them. That will be my project for January.

See everyone in 2010.

Cracked.com has some of the best writing out there. I love reading their stuff. Anyway, they’ve got an article posted on those things Hollywood “recycles.”  It’s great and pretty eye-opening if you’ve never read these things before.

Read it here.

Ain’t It Cool News just posted these.

*drool…

If you didn’t know, Hollywood is remaking Clash of the Titans.  I grew up on that movie and I still stop and watch when I see it on TV.  Ain’t it Cool News has some teaser posters for the film and they look incredible.  My ten-year-old inner geek is leaping with anticipation.

See the rest here: (Ain’t it Cool News)

The casting here is brilliant.  This might be worth seeing just for that.

Amazing.

TRON:Legacy — Click me for HD QT