Monday Night Poll: Best Films of the Year So Far
Filed under: Action, Animation, Comedy, Documentary, Drama, Foreign Language, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Mystery & Suspense, Oscar Watch, Monday Morning Poll, Polls
Well, well, well... it appears that May is on the horizon, and with its arrival, we seal the deal on the first third of 2009. Four out of twelve months -- this seems like as good a time as any to evaluate just how the movies have treated us to date. This time last year had stubs piling up for the likes of Cloverfield, 21, and Forgetting Sarah Marshall; what sticks out to you from this current season?
We asked our staff to chime in with some of their favorites, and we want you to name yours. If your pick isn't listed in the below poll, then do feel free to comment below that. Try and keep the titles to those which opened between January 1st and April 30th, though exceptions may understandably be made for those limited releases that took their sweet time leaving New York and Los Angeles for the other 48 states (and beyond!).
What would make your own top ten now? What would you most expect to make it all the way to year-end glory (critically, personally, and/or in terms of awards) by December? Let us know.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
4-27-2009 @ 10:09PM
Peter Hall said...
I give it to WATCHMEN. I've seen it three times already and it only gets better with each viewing. Flawed literal interpretation, yes, but it is a phenomenal adaptation. It is the first film of the year - hell, the only so far - that I eagerly look forward to pouring over on Blu.
One day the fanboy tide will turn.
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4-28-2009 @ 6:00AM
Andy said...
I'm with you...Watchmen all the way.
4-27-2009 @ 10:12PM
Allen said...
Observe and Report... a film that can actually be called edgy - can't remember the last time I could say that and really mean it
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4-27-2009 @ 10:20PM
craig said...
A horror film with an actual story and great acting. I can forgive the flaws and give The Uninvited my vote... A shout out for Pontypool as well, very cool flick
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4-27-2009 @ 10:19PM
William Goss said...
I was surprised how much I liked The Uninvited, obvious though the twist might've been. And I'll soon catch up with Pontypool -- I've heard a range of reactions...
4-27-2009 @ 10:27PM
Justin said...
gave my vote to Adventureland, as I assumed lots of people would vote for Observe & Report in my stead.
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4-27-2009 @ 10:30PM
madgamer said...
Crank 2!!!!
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4-27-2009 @ 10:58PM
Eugene Novikov said...
TWO LOVERS, bitches!
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4-27-2009 @ 11:13PM
DH said...
Please be sure to put Watchmen your poll for which is the worst film of the year as well. I found it to be absolute dreck.
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4-27-2009 @ 11:14PM
Gray McAdam said...
My vote would go to Sunshine Cleaning. That's been my fave so far.
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4-27-2009 @ 11:24PM
voraciousfilmgoer said...
Where's the DUPLICITY love?
http://www.voraciousfilmgoer.blogspot.com
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4-27-2009 @ 11:26PM
William Goss said...
Oddly enough, we were having just this talk off-site.
Out of our staff's suggestions, no one submitted it for nomination, and even those that were had to be pared down to the ten seen above.
That, my friend, is why we have these comments. Let me assure you that it was no planned snub.
4-28-2009 @ 6:00AM
Kevin said...
Crank 2 for sure. You'd be hard-pressed to find a more entertaining experience.
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4-28-2009 @ 11:17AM
Jerald Brewer said...
KNOWING is the movie that really threw a curve at me. I loved this movie.Who knew that Nic Cage could still act? And the set pieces were astonishing. If you bought into its self contained logic --which it never violated-- then this movie hooked you. Alex Proyas approached the heights he reached in THE CROW (which is still 1 of my top 25 favorite movies of all-time).
Where is DUPLICITY on this list? I also liked STATE OF PLAY a lot.
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4-28-2009 @ 6:00AM
Andrew said...
I was torn between The Soloist and Watchmen, but ended up voting for The Soloist. I am a big fan for the Watchmen comic and the movie just didn’t live up to expectations. The Soloist is a great story. I was disappointed with Jamie Foxx performance but Robert Downey Jr. really was impressive, which was the main reason The Soloist got my vote
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4-28-2009 @ 6:00AM
Mike said...
I was a huge fan of Watchmen movie, but Taken was just so amazingly badass I had to vote for it.
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4-28-2009 @ 6:00AM
Paul said...
Adventureland definitely because I was an extra in it.
Taken was absolutely awesome too. So intense.
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4-28-2009 @ 9:02AM
russ said...
WATCHMEN? What a boring, overlong, unoriginal mess.
ADVENTURELAND? Nice little movie, but unfortunately filled with mostly uninteresting characters..
CORALINE was the best thing to happen in 2009 so far.
Pure movie magic.
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4-28-2009 @ 11:29AM
Kevin said...
Anybody else not see one great film listed here? If Watchmen and adventureland are really the best this year has offered then it has been a pathetic opening for 2009. The only actually good movies I can recall seeing in the last few months were all smaller releases. The Class was excellent, so I guess that gets my vote.
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4-28-2009 @ 12:37PM
juwan808 said...
It has been a weak year for really good films so far, but I did like Watchmen and Coraline best out of the list. Both films were amazing visual treats and both were book adaptations. However, Coraline took the original story and added some elements to make it more theatrical without losing the original quality and feel of the book. Watchmen was just a tad long and way too violent towards women in my opinion. But so was the book. Anyway, Coraline edges out the win, plus it didn't have any swinging man meat.
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