Favorite Movie of 2009

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Last poll! Well, almost the last poll. You'll see.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

This one is difficult. I could vote for six of these movies as my favorite. :ohno

[Dasquian Belargic]

This is tough.

[Asha Vendax]

I was going to vote for District 9, because I think that was one of the best pieces of cinema I've ever seen. But I bought Hurt Locker the other day and ended up watching it last night...and it...I don't even have the words. So my vote was for Hurt Locker *nods*

[Darth Turbogeek]

This is tough.

Nope not for me. As much as Up is awesome And Inglorious Basterds rocked...

District 9 had close to the quality of effects of Avatar, the action of Hurt Locker AND a damn good plot and script to boot. Fuck the Acadamy, this was the best movie of the year

[Lilaena De'Ville]

I went with Star Trek on overall awesomeness and general re-watchability. Such a good movie.

[Dasquian Belargic]

I ended up voting District 9 also




fokken prawns!

[Atreyu]

Star Trek, though admittedly I didn't see many films last year.

[Droo]

I went with Star Trek because it was such an enjoyable experience and is very re-watchable. I imagine if I'd seen either The Hurt Locker or District 9 (I was staring longingly at the Blu-Rays in the store the other day), I'd have voted for one of them... just a feeling.

[Captain Untouchable]

Star Trek for me. As visually stunning as Avatar was - especially at IMAX - and as compelling a story as District 9 had...

I went into Trek expecting to be disappointed, or annoyed, being a massive Star Trek geek. The combination of Michael Giacchino, the special effects, and the acting had me won over by the end of the USS Kelvin scene. I didn't cry, though I wasn't far off; though that may have been more to do with seeing Rosie so choked up. >_<

I've seen Star Trek dozens of times, and I enjoy it just as much each time. Superbly cast and, even with the lens flares, beautifully put together. And of all the movies that came out last year... it's the only one I paid to see at the cinema more than once. :lol

[Brody Chiltan]

Star Trek for me. I haven't seen District 9 yet, but Avatar was pretty close in my book. Don't really know if I'd care for the Hurt Locker from what I've heard of it though.

[Emelie Shadowstar]

As much as I enjoyed Star Trek, and I honestly did... and as much as Inglourious Basterds was just insane amounts of fun with a seriously wonderful villain (I have soft spots for them that usually win me over instantly), I think District 9 was just an amazing piece of film. Absolutely loved it.

As for Avatar... well, I know it's pretty. But the plot just seems seriously blahhhhhhh to me so I haven't seen it yet, honestly. (ohnoes!)

[Captain Untouchable]

Why all the Avatar plot hate? :(

Sure it's quite simple, but the internet seems to seriously be ragging on it. And if you went that simple with the plot description, you could probably find a Disney analogue for a whole bunch of films. If you simplify it to the "Avatar = Pocahantas" extreme, then Alien and Aliens doesn't have a complicated plot, and yet are awesome. The Matrix doesn't have a complicated plot, and yet is awesome. Titanic. Planet of the Apes. Batman Begins. Wrath of Khan. Even some of the Star Wars instalments. Having a "simple" plot doesn't necessarily make a film bad, or make it any less enjoyable. :\

Or maybe that's just me: I usually see what's coming with films a good while before the plot unfolds, so I guess I'm used to it? :huh

[Droo]

The trick with plot, for me, is whether your plot is simple or not it has to be entertaining, engaging, well paced, and full of enjoyable characters. Avatar succeeds in this, I've said before its plot is a little generic but that's not a problem(see Captain's post above) as long as it's done well. The internet is the faddiest of faddy places in the world ever and consequently, give it another five years and Avatar will be hated just as much as the big bad boat movie. Why? Because it was so successful.

[Inyos Aamoran]

I dunno. I hated the big boat movie because it contained Leonardo Di Caprio. I make no apologies for my generic and unjustified loathing of the man.

He's on my 'irrational hate list', along with Jake Gyllanhaal and Ben Affleck.

[Taataani Meorrrei]

People who hate on Avatar's plot are silly. It's the same plot that another movie won best picture for 20 years ago, so...


I dunno. I hated the big boat movie because it contained Leonardo Di Caprio. I make no apologies for my generic and unjustified loathing of the man.

He's on my 'irrational hate list', along with Jake Gyllanhaal and Ben Affleck.

That's weak. That was one of two lame movies that he's been in. DiCaprio's got chops, and he's usually great in movies.

[Dasquian Belargic]

I liked Dances with Wolves. I liked Titanic. I liked Avatar.

:o

[Ecks]

I really liked Avatar. I just liked Star Trek a little more.

Like I said, this poll was tough. :x

[Emelie Shadowstar]

Hey... don't get me wrong, I'm not agreeing with the whole internet fad of breaking Avatar down into saying it copies Dances with Wolves, Pocahontas, Furngully, whatever and then calling it crap because of it.
You can do that with almost every damn movie and say "it's an exact copy of THIS! (Hell, I saw it done with Star Wars and Harry Potter once).

I'm just saying that on the whole after seeing the teaser stuff, reading a few short non-spoiler summaries so I could get a general gist about what the movie was, and after seeing the various full trailers there just has never been anything (maybe aside from the visuals) that made me go "OHMYFUCKINGOD I HAVEEEE to see this NOWWWW!!" like so many other people seemed to with it since the silly thing was even announced.

I don't doubt it's at least a decent movie and I'll probably catch it on dvd. *shrug* Just like I said... I never really got that "wow" factor that everyone else seemed to get to want to run out and see it instantly. Then again... I don't see a lot of things in theaters anymore because it's just too damn expensive and half the time I rather just wait to catch it on rental or similar since they don't really seem worth the time/effort/money to go to a movie theater to see it. :p

[Darth Turbogeek]

Avatar will be hated just as much as the big bad boat movie. Why? Because it was so successful.

Ahhhh bullshit. The boat was fucking loathed by a lot of people because it's got an ulcer for a plot and had so many fuck SQUEEEEEEE!!!! girls gushing utter crap about it that it's become utterly intolerable, let alone a bounch of cringeworthy shit like KING OF THE WORLD!!!!!!!!. Like me, I HATED that POS from the moment I saw it.


People who hate on Avatar's plot are silly.

Yes, you cant hate something that wasnt there :)

It's eye candy. BRILLIANT eyecandy to be sure but it's an experience, not a deep and meaningful. There's also nothing wrong with that.

And also because it uses 3D far more effectively - like actually being 3D, not a cheap scare - it'll be a very notable movie for a loooooong time to come, much like the Jazz Singer was to talkies or Star Wars was to blockbusters. So yes, you can hate Avatar for legitimate reasons but at the same time you have to admit you have just seen the future of all entertainment. 3D is finally and truly here.

Come on District 9! Go and win this poll!

[Droo]

Avatar will be hated just as much as the big bad boat movie. Why? Because it was so successful.

Ahhhh bullshit. The boat was fucking loathed by a lot of people because it's got an ulcer for a plot and had so many fuck SQUEEEEEEE!!!! girls gushing utter crap about it that it's become utterly intolerable, let alone a bounch of cringeworthy shit like KING OF THE WORLD!!!!!!!!. Like me, I HATED that POS from the moment I saw it.

Only one out of three of your critisms have anything to do with the film and even that is a quality shared directly with Avatar.

Let's review then shall we? Titanic was made on a massive budget and became the most successful of all time when it was released. The scale of the film, its production and scope were breath-taking. The cinematography was wonderful. It's plot was the weak spot, apart from everyone knowing the ship sinks, the most plot we had that was fresh and original was lower and upper-class tensions which were instigated by an admittedly cheesy love story. The romantic dialogue was questionable at best. The rest was fine. Other than guessing who was going to snuff it, there wasn't much plot other than that. However, the characters which inhabit the story are diverse and colourful. So, let's see, technically astounding piece of cinema with a weak plot which was generally overlooked by the masses because presumably all those that paid to see it, again and again perhaps, found it so enjoyable. Then after a year or so, post-King of the World, the stereotypical internet backlash began. If you were on the bandwagon from the start, kudos to you, I don't have to agree with your opinion on films (in fact, I hardly ever do) but at least I can appreciate you stick to your guns.

But take a look at my description of Titanic there. Does it remind you of anything? Avatar, perhaps? Honestly, I loved Avatar but it's really not that great a film, it's just such an awesome spectacle and an extremely fun ride. Five years down the line, I believe people will look back at it and said "Why did it make so much money again? Oh yeah, the 3D was pretty awesome!" And I'm not ragging on Avatar here, as I said, I do like it but I think history won't be anywhere near as kind to it and it will suffer a fate akin to the boat movie.

[CMJ]

In most internet movie circles, Titanic's reputation has been increasing the last few years. Their were always folks like Mark, but the backlash on the net was never that indicative of general population's admiration for the film. Hell, it even made the last AFI list of 100 beat American films.

And the "it only made so much because of tween girls" thing is so overblown. It made so much because it appealed to like every demographic. My freaking Grandparents saw it in theaters and they've seen like three movies at the theater in the last thirty years(E.T., Titanic, & Seabiscuit -- anything else it's been wait for DVD/Video). When you reach people like that - you have a big film.

[Yog]

And the "it only made so much because of tween girls" thing is so overblown. It made so much because it appealed to like every demographic. My freaking Grandparents saw it in theaters and they've seen like three movies at the theater in the last thirty years(E.T., Titanic, & Seabiscuit -- anything else it's been wait for DVD/Video). When you reach people like that - you have a big film.
Yeah, it had a great WOM among demographics who typically do not go to movies, particularly the older generation. But it is important to understand why. It was not because it was regarded such a spectacularly good movie. Primarily, it's because it was a big budget epic of one of the most noteworthy events of 20th century. When you combine common people's curiosity for this historic event, with the biggest movie budget of all time, then boost the WOM with all the awards it was nominated for and won.. and let it run when there is nothing else interesting to see in theaters, you have the foundation for building a phenomenon.

The tween girls thing was overblown, but there is no denying it helped raising the numbers. That demographic is a force that in no shape or form should be underestimated. Just look at how much Twilight New Moon made, despite terrible reviews.

As for the movie itself, the scale of the production was impressive, but as a cinematic experience overall, I thought it was just ok, marginally decent / good at best. It had some moments, but it also had some cringe-worthy elements. The whole romance thing between Jack and Rose stood out to me as fake and shallow. The interaction between these two distracted from the more interesting historical narrative of the event and distorted the emotional resonance of the disaster. I wanted a more realistic portrayal of real people representing early 20th century. Persons one could expect to be on the ship, not some cheesy teenage crush designed to please a certain demographic.

By the end of the movie, I secretly hoped Rose would not only let go of Jack, but hit him over the head with a plank and shove him under the water so the real movie could finally begin..

Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying Titanic as a movie was bad, I'm not even saying it was mediocre. I'm just saying it disappointed me. It's cinematic qualities are very VERY overrated, and it was nominated for way more awards than it deserved. It's neither as entertaining or technically ground breaking as Avatar.

As for AFI, they have a wide variety of criteria when they put a movie on the top 100 list, such as cultural impact, technical feats, awards, mainstream critical reception, and all kinds of consideration besides the actual movie experience itself. I mean, they include movies like King Kong (1933) and the Jazz Singer (1927), entirely based on the impact they had on production of movies. They also rank Wizard of Oz really high, partly because of that.

I feel a more accurate measurement of Titanic as a movie is the IMDB score, which is decent 7.3. But it's not the best movie of that year, let alone a top 100 movie of all time.

[CMJ]

I pretty much disagree with the entirety of your post Yog. :) I saw Titanic more than any other film I've ever seen in theaters(8 times). And I wasn't in that "target demo" that apparently it only appealed to. It's not my favorite movie ever, but it was the biggest spectacle I ever saw - or have seen since - and it's probably in my top 25-30 movies of all time. It's just cinematic.

Hell my folks saw it in the theater 4 times. Unlike my grandparents they do go see movies, but NEVER more than once. In fact, I they've only seen one other movie multiple times in the theater in my lifetime(American Beauty).

Where you thought the film downplayed the historical event by focusing on the doomed romance, I felt it made it more real. A film like A Night To Remember, while a clinical telling of lots of facts, doesn't make you feel the tragedy(it is more than decent, but not particurllarly memorable). If we can weep for characrters we know, we weep for all of those perished.

The IMDB score is ridiculously low, because when the site first started it got thousands of people voting it the lowest available

[Darth Turbogeek]

Avatar will be hated just as much as the big bad boat movie. Why? Because it was so successful.

Ahhhh bullshit. The boat was fucking loathed by a lot of people because it's got an ulcer for a plot and had so many fuck SQUEEEEEEE!!!! girls gushing utter crap about it that it's become utterly intolerable, let alone a bounch of cringeworthy shit like KING OF THE WORLD!!!!!!!!. Like me, I HATED that POS from the moment I saw it.

Only one out of three of your critisms have anything to do with the film and even that is a quality shared directly with Avatar.


You are trying to call hate of Titanic a INTERNETSSSSS thing and just because it was popular when plainly I utterly hate it because I honestly think it's an utter shitfight. And I'm not alone.

Deal with it, I really hate that film. And I think Winslett's tits suck too.

[Droo]

I'm really not arsed about what you do and don't like, mate. I was simply prompting discussion, which is kind of what forums are all about.

[Sanis Prent]

And I think Winslett's tits suck too.

Negative, ghost rider.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Next poll: Should Mark shut up? We get it already!

y/n