Favourite Films 2009
by Colin Collins | created - 17 Dec 2010 | updated - 19 Sep 2012 | PublicIn my humble opinion the best films released in UK cinemas during 2009. In alphabetical order, ranking them would be impossible!
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1. Afterschool (2008)
Not Rated | 120 min | Drama, Mystery
An Internet-addicted prep-school student captures on video camera the drug overdose of two girls.
Director: Antonio Campos | Stars: Ezra Miller, Jeremy Allen White, Emory Cohen, Michael Stuhlbarg
Votes: 4,948 | Gross: $0.00M
2. Antichrist (2009)
Not Rated | 108 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
A grieving couple retreat to their cabin in the woods, hoping to repair their broken hearts and troubled marriage, but nature takes its course and things go from bad to worse.
Director: Lars von Trier | Stars: Willem Dafoe, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Storm Acheche Sahlstrøm
Votes: 136,458 | Gross: $0.40M
3. Big River Man (2009)
100 min | Documentary
Martin Strel attempts to cover 3,375 miles of the Amazon River, the longest continuous swim in history.
Director: John Maringouin | Stars: Matthew Mohlke, Borut Strel, Martin Strel
Votes: 1,608
4. Broken Embraces (2009)
R | 127 min | Drama, Romance, Thriller
Harry Caine, a blind writer, reaches this moment in time when he has to heal his wounds from 14 years back. He was then still known by his real name, Mateo Blanco, and directing his last movie.
Director: Pedro Almodóvar | Stars: Penélope Cruz, Lluís Homar, Blanca Portillo, José Luis Gómez
Votes: 42,666 | Gross: $5.01M
5. Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country (2008)
Unrated | 84 min | Documentary, History, News
Using smuggled footage, this documentary tells the story of the 2007 protests in Burma by thousands of monks.
Director: Anders Østergaard | Stars: George W. Bush, Joshua Min Htut, Ko Muang, Aung San Suu Kyi
Votes: 2,518 | Gross: $0.05M
6. Che: Part One (2008)
Not Rated | 134 min | Biography, Drama, History
In 1956, Ernesto 'Che' Guevara and a band of Castro-led Cuban exiles mobilize an army to topple the regime of dictator Fulgencio Batista.
Director: Steven Soderbergh | Stars: Julia Ormond, Benicio Del Toro, Oscar Isaac, Pablo Guevara
Votes: 47,941 | Gross: $1.80M
7. Coraline (2009)
PG | 100 min | Animation, Drama, Family
Wandering her rambling old house in her boring new town, an 11-year-old Coraline discovers a hidden door to a strangely idealized version of her life. In order to stay in the fantasy, she must make a frighteningly real sacrifice.
Director: Henry Selick | Stars: Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, John Hodgman, Jennifer Saunders
Votes: 263,576 | Gross: $75.29M
8. The Cove (2009)
PG-13 | 92 min | Documentary, Biography, Crime
Using state-of-the-art equipment, a group of activists, led by renowned dolphin trainer Ric O'Barry, infiltrate a cove near Taijii, Japan to expose both a shocking instance of animal abuse and a serious threat to human health.
Director: Louie Psihoyos | Stars: Richard O'Barry, Louie Psihoyos, Hardy Jones, Michael Illiff
Votes: 51,430 | Gross: $0.87M
9. District 9 (2009)
R | 112 min | Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Violence ensues after an extraterrestrial race forced to live in slum-like conditions on Earth finds a kindred spirit in a government agent exposed to their biotechnology.
Director: Neill Blomkamp | Stars: Sharlto Copley, David James, Jason Cope, Vanessa Haywood
Votes: 716,508 | Gross: $115.65M
10. Doubt (I) (2008)
PG-13 | 104 min | Drama, Mystery
A Catholic school principal questions a priest's ambiguous relationship with a troubled young student.
Director: John Patrick Shanley | Stars: Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, Viola Davis
Votes: 136,048 | Gross: $33.42M
11. Encounters at the End of the World (2007)
G | 99 min | Documentary
Film-maker Werner Herzog travels to the McMurdo Station in Antarctica, looking to capture the continent's beauty and investigate the characters living there.
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Werner Herzog, Scott Rowland, Stefan Pashov, Doug MacAyeal
Votes: 19,245 | Gross: $0.94M
12. The First Day of the Rest of Your Life (2008)
114 min | Drama
Five key days in a family's life.
Director: Rémi Bezançon | Stars: Jacques Gamblin, Zabou Breitman, Déborah François, Marc-André Grondin
Votes: 9,948
13. Fish Story (2009)
113 min | Action, Comedy, Music
Several seemingly unrelated but surprisingly intertwined tales reveal how a Japanese band that independently invented punk rock in 1975 is, 37 years later, connected to a comet that is about to destroy the world.
Director: Yoshihiro Nakamura | Stars: Atsushi Itô, Kiyohiko Shibukawa, Noriko Eguchi, Hidekazu Mashima
Votes: 3,433
14. Fish Tank (2009)
Not Rated | 123 min | Drama
Everything changes for 15-year-old Mia when her mum brings home a new boyfriend.
Director: Andrea Arnold | Stars: Katie Jarvis, Michael Fassbender, Kierston Wareing, Rebecca Griffiths
Votes: 65,017 | Gross: $0.37M
15. Frozen River (2008)
R | 97 min | Crime, Drama
A mom looks for another source of income, when her husband leaves with the money meant for the new mobile home. A nearby Indian territory stretches across the border to Canada with a drivable frozen river between. Smuggling?
Director: Courtney Hunt | Stars: Melissa Leo, Misty Upham, Charlie McDermott, Michael O'Keefe
Votes: 26,456 | Gross: $2.51M
16. Goodbye Solo (2008)
R | 91 min | Drama
Two men form an unlikely friendship that will change both of their lives forever.
Director: Ramin Bahrani | Stars: Souleymane Sy Savane, Red West, Diana Franco Galindo, Lane 'Roc' Williams
Votes: 6,154 | Gross: $0.87M
17. The Good the Bad the Weird (2008)
R | 130 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
The story of two outlaws and a bounty hunter in 1940s Manchuria and their rivalry to possess a treasure map while being pursued by the Japanese army and Chinese bandits.
Director: Jee-woon Kim | Stars: Song Kang-ho, Lee Byung-hun, Jung Woo-sung, Yun Je-mun
Votes: 37,921 | Gross: $0.13M
18. Gran Torino (2008)
R | 116 min | Drama
After a Hmong teenager tries to steal his prized 1972 Gran Torino, a disgruntled, prejudiced Korean War veteran seeks to redeem both the boy and himself.
Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Bee Vang, Christopher Carley, Ahney Her
Votes: 814,611 | Gross: $148.10M
19. Henri-Georges Clouzot's Inferno (2009)
Not Rated | 100 min | Documentary
Henri-Georges Clouzot's unfinished masterpiece, Inferno (1964), is reconstructed in this film which is part drama and part documentary.
Directors: Serge Bromberg, Ruxandra Medrea | Stars: Romy Schneider, Bérénice Bejo, Serge Reggiani, Jacques Gamblin
Votes: 2,001 | Gross: $0.02M
20. Humpday (2009)
R | 94 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Two guys take their bromance to another level when they participate in an art film project.
Director: Lynn Shelton | Stars: Mark Duplass, Joshua Leonard, Alycia Delmore, Lynn Shelton
Votes: 6,396 | Gross: $0.41M
21. The Hurt Locker (2008)
R | 131 min | Drama, Thriller, War
During the Iraq War, a Sergeant recently assigned to an army bomb squad is put at odds with his squad mates due to his maverick way of handling his work.
Director: Kathryn Bigelow | Stars: Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty, Guy Pearce
Votes: 473,600 | Gross: $17.02M
22. The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009)
PG-13 | 123 min | Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy
Having made a deal with the Devil himself for immortality many millennia ago, the now decrepit mystic Doctor Parnassus fights for the freedom of his only daughter's soul.
Director: Terry Gilliam | Stars: Christopher Plummer, Lily Cole, Heath Ledger, Andrew Garfield
Votes: 153,911 | Gross: $7.69M
23. Inglourious Basterds (2009)
R | 153 min | Adventure, Drama, War
In Nazi-occupied France during World War II, a plan to assassinate Nazi leaders by a group of Jewish U.S. soldiers coincides with a theatre owner's vengeful plans for the same.
Director: Quentin Tarantino | Stars: Brad Pitt, Diane Kruger, Eli Roth, Mélanie Laurent
Votes: 1,582,711 | Gross: $120.54M
24. In the Loop (2009)
Not Rated | 106 min | Comedy
A political satire about a group of skeptical American and British operatives attempting to prevent a war between two countries.
Director: Armando Iannucci | Stars: Tom Hollander, Peter Capaldi, James Gandolfini, Harry Hadden-Paton
Votes: 61,553 | Gross: $2.38M
25. Johnny Mad Dog (2008)
98 min | Drama, War
A cast of unknown performers are used in this drama about child soldiers fighting a war in the West African Country Liberia.
Director: Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire | Stars: Christophe Minie, Daisy Victoria Vandy, Joseph Duo, Dagbeth Tweh
Votes: 3,532
26. Katalin Varga (2009)
82 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
In the beautiful, otherworldly Carpathian Mountains a woman is traveling with a small boy in a horse and cart, looking to punish those who once abused her. For years, Katalin has been ... See full summary »
Director: Peter Strickland | Stars: Hilda Péter, Norbert Tankó, László Mátray, Roberto Giacomello
Votes: 3,054
27. Let the Right One In (2008)
R | 114 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
Oskar, an overlooked and bullied boy, finds love and revenge through Eli, a beautiful but peculiar girl.
Director: Tomas Alfredson | Stars: Kåre Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson, Per Ragnar, Henrik Dahl
Votes: 226,690 | Gross: $2.12M
28. Love Exposure (2008)
Unrated | 237 min | Action, Comedy, Drama
A bizarre love triangle forms between a young Catholic upskirt photographer, a misandric girl and a manipulative cultist.
Director: Sion Sono | Stars: Takahiro Nishijima, Hikari Mitsushima, Sakura Andô, Yutaka Shimizu
Votes: 15,884
29. The Maid (2009)
Not Rated | 95 min | Comedy, Drama
A drama centered on a maid trying to hold on to her position after having served a family for 23 years.
Director: Sebastián Silva | Stars: Catalina Saavedra, Claudia Celedón, Mariana Loyola, Andrea García-Huidobro
Votes: 6,459 | Gross: $0.55M
30. Me and Orson Welles (2008)
PG-13 | 114 min | Comedy, Drama
In 1937, a teenager is cast in the Mercury Theatre production of "Julius Caesar", directed by a young Orson Welles.
Director: Richard Linklater | Stars: Zac Efron, Claire Danes, Christian McKay, Zoe Kazan
Votes: 11,820 | Gross: $1.19M
31. Mid-August Lunch (2008)
Not Rated | 75 min | Comedy, Drama
Broke, and armed with only a wry sense of humor, middle-aged Gianni lives with his mother in their old apartment. The debts are mounting, but if Gianni looks after the building manager's mother during the Ferragosto, all will be forgiven.
Director: Gianni Di Gregorio | Stars: Valeria De Franciscis, Marina Cacciotti, Maria Calì, Grazia Cesarini Sforza
Votes: 4,299 | Gross: $0.67M
32. Milk (I) (2008)
R | 128 min | Biography, Drama, History
The story of American gay activist Harvey Milk, who fought for gay rights and was elected as California's first openly gay official.
Director: Gus Van Sant | Stars: Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, Emile Hirsch, Diego Luna
Votes: 179,809 | Gross: $31.84M
33. Moon (2009)
R | 97 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Astronaut Sam Bell has a quintessentially personal encounter toward the end of his three-year stint on the Moon, where he, working alongside his computer, GERTY, sends back to Earth parcels of a resource that has helped diminish our planet's power problems.
Director: Duncan Jones | Stars: Sam Rockwell, Kevin Spacey, Dominique McElligott, Rosie Shaw
Votes: 376,566 | Gross: $5.01M
34. Rachel Getting Married (2008)
R | 113 min | Drama, Romance
A young woman who has been in and out of rehab for the past ten years returns home for the weekend for her sister's wedding.
Director: Jonathan Demme | Stars: Anne Hathaway, Rosemarie DeWitt, Debra Winger, Sebastian Stan
Votes: 51,200 | Gross: $12.80M
35. Seraphine (2008)
Unrated | 125 min | Biography, Drama
In 1912 German collector Wilhelm Uhde rents a flat in Senlis to write and take a break from Parisian life. He hires a 48-year old cleaning lady, Séraphine. Some time later, he notices a small painting on wood at a local notable home.
Director: Martin Provost | Stars: Yolande Moreau, Ulrich Tukur, Anne Bennent, Geneviève Mnich
Votes: 6,542 | Gross: $0.88M
36. Shifty (2008)
Not Rated | 85 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Shifty, a young crack cocaine dealer in London, sees his life quickly spiral out of control when his best friend returns home. Stalked by a customer desperate to score at all costs, and ... See full summary »
Director: Eran Creevy | Stars: Riz Ahmed, Daniel Mays, Jason Flemyng, Nitin Ganatra
Votes: 3,110
37. Sin Nombre (2009)
R | 96 min | Adventure, Crime, Drama
A young Honduran girl and a Mexican gangster are united in a journey across the U.S. border.
Director: Cary Joji Fukunaga | Stars: Paulina Gaitan, Marco Antonio Aguirre, Leonardo Alonso, Karla Cecilia Alvarado
Votes: 34,041 | Gross: $2.53M
38. Tokyo Sonata (2008)
PG-13 | 120 min | Drama
An ordinary Japanese family slowly disintegrates after its patriarch loses his job at a prominent company.
Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa | Stars: Teruyuki Kagawa, Kyôko Koizumi, Yû Koyanagi, Kai Inowaki
Votes: 11,789 | Gross: $0.28M
39. Tulpan (2008)
Not Rated | 100 min | Comedy, Drama
On the steppes of Kazakhstan, Asa lives in a yurt with his sister Samal, her husband Ondas, and their three children. Ondas is a herdsman, tough and strong. It's dry, dusty, and windy; too ... See full summary »
Director: Sergei Dvortsevoy | Stars: Askhat Kuchinchirekov, Tolepbergen Baisakalov, Samal Yeslyamova, Ondassyn Bessikbassov
Votes: 3,374 | Gross: $0.16M
40. Two Lovers (2008)
R | 110 min | Drama, Romance
A Brooklyn-set romantic drama about a bachelor torn between the family friend his parents wish he would marry and his beautiful but volatile new neighbor.
Director: James Gray | Stars: Joaquin Phoenix, Gwyneth Paltrow, Vinessa Shaw, Anne Joyce
Votes: 43,528 | Gross: $3.15M
41. The Unloved (2009 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 106 min | Drama
A film that gives a child's eye view of the U.K.'s government-run care system for orphans and children in danger.
Director: Samantha Morton | Stars: Molly Windsor, Robert Carlyle, Susan Lynch, Craig Parkinson
Votes: 1,264
42. Unmade Beds (2009)
97 min | Comedy, Drama
The quirky story of Vera and Axl who both live in the same London warehouse but whose paths never cross until fate steps in.
Director: Alexis Dos Santos | Stars: Déborah François, Fernando Tielve, Michiel Huisman, Iddo Goldberg
Votes: 2,583
43. Up (2009)
PG | 96 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
78-year-old Carl Fredricksen travels to Paradise Falls in his house equipped with balloons, inadvertently taking a young stowaway.
Directors: Pete Docter, Bob Peterson | Stars: Edward Asner, Jordan Nagai, John Ratzenberger, Christopher Plummer
Votes: 1,124,004 | Gross: $293.00M
44. Wendy and Lucy (2008)
R | 80 min | Drama
Over the summer, a series of unfortunate happenings triggers a financial crisis for a young woman and she soon finds her life falling apart.
Director: Kelly Reichardt | Stars: Michelle Williams, Lucy, David Koppell, Max Clement
Votes: 19,746 | Gross: $0.86M
45. The White Ribbon (2009)
R | 144 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Strange events happen in a small village in the north of Germany during the years before World War I, which seem to be ritual punishment. Who is responsible?
Director: Michael Haneke | Stars: Christian Friedel, Ernst Jacobi, Leonie Benesch, Ulrich Tukur
Votes: 77,598 | Gross: $2.22M
46. The Wrestler (2008)
R | 109 min | Drama, Sport
A faded professional wrestler must retire, but finds his quest for a new life outside the ring a dispiriting struggle.
Director: Darren Aronofsky | Stars: Mickey Rourke, Marisa Tomei, Evan Rachel Wood, Mark Margolis
Votes: 319,846 | Gross: $26.24M
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