The Most Anticipated Films of '09: A Look Back

Published January 8th, 2009, my most anticipated films of the year... here's how they stacked up:

10. The International (2/20)

Clive Owen & Naomi Watts? I'm listening. Tom Tykwer's directing? Sold.

With that February release, it definitely got lost in the shuffle. Could have been better, could have been worse. Probably never belonged on this list, though.

09. Duplicity (3/20)

I liked Michael Clayton, so I would be mildly excited for this, but the inclusion of Owen, Wilkinson, and Giamatti sells me.

Didn't really make a mark on me. Again, didn't belong on the list.

08. The Fantastic Mr. Fox (11/6)



Lets see if Wes can still work his quirky magic with animation. Slow-motion climax set to obscure music? There better be. George Clooney? Cool!

No slow-motion climax (but how do you do it with stop-motion?). Made it into my top twenty for the year, so... success!

07. The Box (11/6)



I hated Donnie Darko and was advised against seeing Southland Tales, but The Box intrigues me. Especially it's jump from Fall release, to Spring release, back to a deeper Fall release. Someone must have seen some early footage, and sat it in Oscar territory. Frank Langella will be coming off of a nomination, and I can't wait to see him again. Plot sounds and sets sound/look great, too. Oh, and some of it was filmed at NASA.

Ha! I never saw it... I'll see it, but not right away. But I did watch Southland Tales, unfortunately.

06. Public Enemies (7/1)



I'm slowly becoming more and more of a Mann fann, and this looks like Heat meets... wait it's a remake. I just can't wait to see a period gangster-epic from Mann on July 4th weekend. I am predicting an epic-fail box office, though.

A top ten for 2009, but it's not without it's flaws. Couldn't have been a little bit ironed out, but all things considered, it was fantastic ride.

05. The Brothers Bloom (5/15 - 5/29)



After a planned October 2008 release, which became a December-to-January rolling release, I'm not skeptical of it's quality. After Summit Entertainment's mega-hit Twilight, they have a chance to spend their blood money on properly marketing their upcoming slate, including The Hurt Locker, that should have come out Fall 2008. And it's coming out my birthday week! I liked Brick, and was excited when I heard Rian Johnson was back with more.

Summit is spending their blood money on The Hurt Locker right now. This? It suuucked, and it marked one of the only times this year where I was angry the movie wasn't over yet. High marks for Rachael Weisz, though.

04. Biutiful (12/11)



Inarittu. Not only is that 'nuff said, it's all said. Except for the casting of Bardem.

Never came out, and haven't heard a word about it since. We better see it this year.

03. Where The Wild Things Are (10/16)



Spike Jonze's much-maligned and shuffled kid movie will finally come up, reworked, less dark, and more box-office and child-friendly. Nevertheless, you get excited because it's the first Jonze flick in 7 years. He gave up doing Synecdoche, New York for this, so it better be good.

Made it into the top twenty, but it was very disappointing. I cried quite a bit, then it hit on the ride home; it was emotionally empty and had no point whatsoever. Twas a shame, too. The film was beautiful.

02. Up (5/29)



After the boffo successes of Ratatouille and WALL-E, financially and critically, I can't wait to see this reworking of the classic tale of Don Quixote (it's what insiders say it's about, but it not all too clear). The teaser trailer is full of heart and wonder, and I believe the film will be EPIC, Pixar-style.

Number two for the year. Success. I won't go over it again.

01. Shutter Island (10/2)

I read the book. I loved it. Best Supporting Actor 2009: Ted Levine. Anyway, this will be the best movie of 2009 by far. The best casting possible (DiCaprio, Ruffalo, etc.), combines with period-piece sensuality, and a New England setting for Best Picture glory. Bring it on, Marty.

Paramount decides to shelve this puppy to focus on Oscar marketing for The Lovely Bones. Ha! And how's that working out? We'll see it in February, and it'll be on the top of this year's list, too.

Honorable Mentions
The Lovely Bones (haven't see it yet)

Avatar (Number three for the year)

Toy Story [3D re-release] (Never saw it)

The Dark Knight [IMAX & standard re-release] (Really? I saw it, but why did I put it on this list?)

All in all, this proves that you can never predict what's going to be good...