Essential Films - 2009
by jmck33 | created - 19 Jan 2014 | updated - 19 Jan 2014 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. 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: 1,585,072 | Gross: $120.54M
2. 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: 376,802 | Gross: $5.01M
3. 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: 717,106 | Gross: $115.65M
4. Watchmen (2009)
R | 162 min | Action, Drama, Mystery
In a version of 1985 where superheroes exist, the murder of a colleague sends active vigilante Rorschach on the trail of a conspiracy that will change the course of history.
Director: Zack Snyder | Stars: Jackie Earle Haley, Patrick Wilson, Carla Gugino, Malin Akerman
Votes: 582,728 | Gross: $107.51M
5. 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: 42,690 | Gross: $5.01M
6. The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans (2009)
R | 122 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Terence McDonagh is a drug- and gambling-addled detective in post-Katrina New Orleans investigating the killing of five Senegalese immigrants.
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Nicolas Cage, Eva Mendes, Russell M. Haeuser, Val Kilmer
Votes: 80,920 | Gross: $1.70M
7. Drag Me to Hell (2009)
PG-13 | 99 min | Horror
A loan officer who evicts an old woman from her home finds herself the recipient of a supernatural curse. Desperate, she turns to a seer to try and save her soul, while evil forces work to push her to a breaking point.
Director: Sam Raimi | Stars: Alison Lohman, Justin Long, Ruth Livier, Lorna Raver
Votes: 217,556 | Gross: $42.10M
8. The Blind Side (2009)
PG-13 | 129 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
The story of Michael Oher, a homeless and traumatized boy who became an All-American football player and first-round NFL draft pick with the help of a caring woman and her family.
Director: John Lee Hancock | Stars: Quinton Aaron, Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw, Jae Head
Votes: 360,645 | Gross: $255.96M
9. A Serious Man (2009)
R | 106 min | Comedy, Drama
Larry Gopnik, a Midwestern physics teacher, watches his life unravel over multiple sudden incidents. Though seeking meaning and answers amidst his turmoils, he seems to keep sinking.
Directors: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen | Stars: Michael Stuhlbarg, Richard Kind, Sari Lennick, Fred Melamed
Votes: 149,971 | Gross: $9.19M
10. Up in the Air (I) (2009)
R | 109 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Ryan's job is to travel around the country firing off people. When his boss hires Natalie, who proposes firing people via video conference, he tries to convince her that her method is a mistake.
Director: Jason Reitman | Stars: George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick, Jason Bateman
Votes: 349,442 | Gross: $83.82M
11. American: The Bill Hicks Story (2009)
Not Rated | 102 min | Documentary, Animation, Biography
Photo-animated feature documentary, uniquely narrated by the 10 people who knew Bill best.
Directors: Matt Harlock, Paul Thomas | Stars: Bill Hicks, Dwight Slade, Mary Hicks, Steve Hicks
Votes: 5,006 | Gross: $0.09M
12. Today's Special (2009)
R | 99 min | Comedy
In this super-feel-good foodie comedy, young Manhattan chef Samir rediscovers his heritage and his passion for life through the enchanting art of cooking Indian food.
Director: David Kaplan | Stars: Dean Winters, Aarti Mann, Kevin Corrigan, Jess Weixler
Votes: 6,733 | Gross: $0.40M
13. Winnebago Man (2009)
Not Rated | 85 min | Documentary, Biography, Comedy
Jack Rebney is the most famous man you've never heard of - after cursing his way through a Winnebago sales video, Rebney's outrageously funny outtakes became an underground sensation and ... See full summary »
Director: Ben Steinbauer | Stars: Jack Rebney, Ben Steinbauer, Keith Gordon, Nick Prueher
Votes: 5,091 | Gross: $0.18M
14. 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: 1,125,509 | Gross: $293.00M
15. Zombieland (2009)
R | 88 min | Action, Comedy, Horror
A shy student trying to reach his family in Ohio, a gun-toting bruiser in search of the last Twinkie and a pair of sisters striving to get to an amusement park join forces in a trek across a zombie-filled America.
Director: Ruben Fleischer | Stars: Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, Woody Harrelson, Abigail Breslin
Votes: 621,637 | Gross: $75.59M
16. Crazy Heart (2009)
R | 112 min | Drama, Music, Romance
A faded country music musician is forced to reassess his dysfunctional life during a doomed romance that also inspires him.
Director: Scott Cooper | Stars: Jeff Bridges, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Colin Farrell, James Keane
Votes: 94,707 | Gross: $39.46M
17. Mary and Max (2009)
Not Rated | 92 min | Animation, Comedy, Drama
In 1976 Melbourne, a lonely 8-year-old girl strikes up a correspondence with an unlikely pen pal: a severely obese 44-year-old New Yorker with Asperger's syndrome.
Director: Adam Elliot | Stars: Toni Collette, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Eric Bana, Barry Humphries
Votes: 186,845
18. Last Train Home (2009)
Not Rated | 85 min | Documentary, Drama
A couple embarks on a journey home for Chinese new year along with 130 million other migrant workers, to reunite with their children and struggle for a future. Their unseen story plays out as China soars towards being a world superpower.
Director: Lixin Fan | Stars: Changhua Zhang, Yang Zhang, Suqin Chen, Qin Zhang
Votes: 3,717 | Gross: $0.29M
19. The Road (I) (2009)
R | 111 min | Drama, Thriller
In a dangerous post-apocalyptic world, an ailing father defends his son as they slowly travel to the sea.
Director: John Hillcoat | Stars: Viggo Mortensen, Charlize Theron, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Robert Duvall
Votes: 254,307 | Gross: $0.06M
20. 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: 263,918 | Gross: $75.29M
21. The Hangover (2009)
R | 100 min | Comedy
Three buddies wake up from a bachelor party in Las Vegas, with no memory of the previous night and the bachelor missing. They make their way around the city in order to find their friend before his wedding.
Director: Todd Phillips | Stars: Zach Galifianakis, Bradley Cooper, Justin Bartha, Ed Helms
Votes: 846,773 | Gross: $277.32M
22. Star Trek (2009)
PG-13 | 127 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
The brash James T. Kirk tries to live up to his father's legacy with Mr. Spock keeping him in check as a vengeful Romulan from the future creates black holes to destroy the Federation one planet at a time.
Director: J.J. Abrams | Stars: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Simon Pegg, Leonard Nimoy
Votes: 620,369 | Gross: $257.73M
23. An Education (2009)
PG-13 | 100 min | Drama
A coming-of-age story about a teenage girl in 1960s suburban London, and how her life changes with the arrival of a playboy nearly twice her age.
Director: Lone Scherfig | Stars: Carey Mulligan, Peter Sarsgaard, Alfred Molina, Olivia Williams
Votes: 138,166 | Gross: $12.57M
24. Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)
PG | 87 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
An urbane fox cannot resist returning to his farm raiding ways and then must help his community survive the farmers' retaliation.
Director: Wes Anderson | Stars: George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman
Votes: 270,499 | Gross: $21.00M
25. Avatar (2009)
PG-13 | 162 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
A paraplegic Marine dispatched to the moon Pandora on a unique mission becomes torn between following his orders and protecting the world he feels is his home.
Director: James Cameron | Stars: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Michelle Rodriguez
Votes: 1,386,870 | Gross: $760.51M
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