[edit]

Bold Text = What I think will win
Italic Text = What I think should win

Best Picture

• Avatar
• The Blind Side
• District 9
• An Education
• The Hurt Locker
• Inglourious Basterds
• Precious
• A Serious Man
• Up
• Up in the Air

Best Actor – Leading

• Jeff Bridges – Crazy Heart
• George Clooney – Up in the Air
• Colin Firth – A Single Man
• Morgan Freeman – Invictus
• Jeremy Renner – The Hurt Locker

Best Actress – Leading

• Sandra Bullock – The Blind Side
• Helen Mirren – The Last Station
• Carey Mulligan – An Education
• Gabourey Sidibe – Precious
• Meryl Streep – Julie & Julia

Best Actor – Supporting

• Matt Damon – Invictus
• Woody Harrelson – The Messenger
• Christopher Plummer – The Last Station
• Stanley Tucci – The Lovely Bones
• Christoph Waltz – Inglourious Basterds

Best Actress – Supporting

• Penelope Cruz – Nine
• Vera Farmiga – Up in the Air
• Maggie Gyllenhaal – Crazy Heart
• Anna Kendrick – Up in the Air
• Mo’Nique – Precious

Best Director

• Kathryn Bigelow – The Hurt Locker
• James Cameron – Avatar
• Lee Daniels – Precious
• Jason Reitman – Up in the Air
• Quentin Tarantino – Inglourious Basterds

Best Original Screenplay

• The Hurt Locker – Mark Boal
• Inglourious Basterds – Quentin Tarantino
• The Messenger – Alessandro Camon, Oren Moverman
• A Serious Man – Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
• Up – Bop Peterson, Pete Docter, Thomas McCarthy

Best Adapted Screenplay

• District 9 – Neill Blomkamp, Terri Tatchell
• An Education – Nick Hornby
• In the Loop – Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche
• Precious – Geoffrey Fletcher
• Up in the Air – Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner

Best Cinematography

• Avatar – Mauro Fiore
• The White Ribbon – Christian Berger
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince – Bruno Delbonnel
• The Hurt Locker – Barry Ackroyd
• Inglourious Basterds – Robert Richardson

Best Editing

• Avatar – Stephen E. Rivkin, John Refoua, James Cameron
• District 9 – Julian Clarke
• The Hurt Locker – Bob Murawski, Chris Innis
• Inglourious Basterds – Sally Menke
• Precious – Joe Klotz

Best Art Direction

• Avatar – Rick Carter, Robert Stromberg, Kim Sinclair
• The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus – David Warren, Anastasia Masaro, Caroline Smith
• Nine – John Myhre, Gordon Sim
• Sherlock Holmes – Sarah Greenwood, Katie Spencer
• The Young Victoria – Patrice Vermette, Maggie Gray

Best Costume Design

• Bright Star
• Coco Before Chanel
• The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
• Nine
• The Young Victoria

Best Makeup

• Il Divo
• Star Trek
• The Young Victoria

Best Original Score

• Avatar – James Horner
• Fantastic Mr. Fox – Alexandre Desplat
• The Hurt Locker – Marco Beltrami, Buck Sanders
• Sherlock Holmes – Hans Zimmer
• Up – Michael Giacchino

Best Original Song

• Crazy Heart – “The Weary Kind”
• Paris 36 – “Loin de Paname”
• Nine – “Take It All”
• The Princess and the Frog – “Almost There”
• The Princess and the Frog – “Down in New Orleans”

Best Sound Mixing

• Avatar
• The Hurt Locker
• Inglourious Basterds
• Star Trek
• Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Best Sound Editing

• Avatar
• The Hurt Locker
• Inglourious Basterds
• Star Trek
• Up

Best Visual Effects

• Avatar
• District 9
• Star Trek

Best Animated Feature

• Coraline
• Fantastic Mr. Fox
• The Princess and the Frog
• The Secret of Kells
• Up

Best Foreign Language Film

• Ajami (Israel)
• The White Ribbon (Germany)
• The Secret in Their Eyes (Argentina)
• A Prophet (France)
• The Milk of Sorrow (Peru)

Best Documentary – Feature

• Burma VJ
• The Cove
• Food, Inc.
• The Most Dangerous Man in America
• Which Way Home

Top 25

1. Amelie
2. City of God
3. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
4. Lost in Translation
5. The Royal Tenenbaums
6. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
7. The Assassination of Jesse James
8. Y Tu Mama Tambien
9. Lord of the Rings (Trilogy)
10. Adaptation
11. Memento
12. Closer
13. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
14. Requiem for a Dream
15. The Motorcycle Diaries
16. Kill Bill
17. Punch-Drunk Love
18. Amores Perros
19. Shaun of the Dead
20. I Heart Huckabees
21. There Will Be Blood
22. Talk to Her
23. Let the Right One In
24. Almost Famous
25. Duck Season

Runner-Ups: The Life Aquatic, The Fantastic Mr. Fox, Hedwig & the Angry Inch, Little Miss Sunshine, Oldboy, Minority Report, Sideways, About Schmidt, Bad Education, Batman Begins, A Serious Man, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, The Squid and the Whale, Brick, Finding Nemo, and Mystic River.

I am a bit obsessive when it comes to making lists. I enjoy making to-do lists, grocery lists, playlists, end-of-the-year lists, you name it. So since we’re about 3/4 the way thru 2009 I thought I would try to actually blog something and what else to blog about besides lists!!

MY FAVORITE ALBUMS OF 2009

1. Merriweather Post Pavilion by Animal Collective
2. Intuit by Ramona Falls
3. Embryonic by The Flaming Lips
4. Veckatimest by Grizzly Bear
5. Noble Beast by Andrew Bird
6. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart by The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
7. Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix by Phoenix
8. Hospice by The Antlers
9. Wild Young Hearts by the Noisettes
10. Hold Time by M. Ward
11. Actor by St. Vincent

Honorable Mention: Fall Be Kind EP by Animal Collective (This five-track EP is actually stronger than some of these LPs!)
Personal Favorite: Wilco (the Album) by Wilco (While not as strong as some of these more innovative albums, Wilco is one of my favorite bands and I really enjoyed their latest endeavor.)

MY FAVORITE FILMS OF 2009

1. Inglourious Basterds
2. Where the Wild Things Are
3. The Fantastic Mr. Fox
   
4. A Serious Man
5. Moon
6. The Road
   
7. District 9
8. World’s Greatest Dad
   
9. Star Trek
10. Paranormal Activity

Honorable Mention: 2012 (for being such an awesome piece of shit)
Guilty Pleasure of the Year: The Box (atrocious acting from Cameron Diaz, and semi-cheesy story, but I’m a huge Richard Kelly fan and I love his style. It was like a feature-length episode of The Twilight Zone complete with one of the best scores of the year from Arcade Fire.)

What albums/movies am I missing from my list? Do share. I will say it’s unlikely anything will knock Animal Collective off the top of my list, as I’m convinced MPP is not only the best album of the year but also one of the best of the decade. I know it’s been hyped so much that now it’s not cool to like it anymore, but I just can’t help it. As far as movies go…there’s still a lot I have to see (such as An Education, The Road, A Serious Man, Avatar, etc.). So that list will likely change, but Inglourious Basterds will be hard to beat. I just loved it.

Gomorra – A drama of five interconnected stories, each of them illustrating the levels of organized crime in modern-day Naples. (Feb. 13 – Limited)
Why: Because the trailer looks pretty good.
Trailer – IMDB

Under the Sea 3D - Jim Carrey narrates this underwater look at the diverse coastal regions of Southern Australia, New Guinea, and the Indo-Pacific areas, and the impact of global warming on the oceans. (Feb. 13)
Why: Because I love ocean creatures. And 3D? Sheesh.
Trailer – IMDB

Watchmen - Set in an alternate vision of the year 1985, the murder of an ex-superhero causes a vigilante named Rorshach (Haley) to look into the matter, an investigation that reunites him with his surviving old colleagues — all of them former superheroes themselves — and gradually unveils a conspiracy with links to their shared past and catastrophic consequences for the future. (March 6)
Why: Because everyone raves about the graphic novel. And because I’m a geek. I might wait and read the graphic novel first though.
Trailer – IMDB

12 – Twelve jurors must decide the fate of a Chechen teenager charged with murdering his stepfather. (March 6 – Limited)
Why: Again, the trailer looks decent.
Trailer – IMDB

Sunshine Cleaning – Industrious single mother Rose Lorkowski (Amy Adams) starts an unusual business in order to send her son to a private school; alongside her unreliable sister (Emily Blunt), the two women enter the world of biohazard removal and crime scene clean-ups. (March 13 – Limited)
Why: Amy Adams.
Trailer – IMDB

Sin Nombre – Sayra (Gaitan), a Honduran teenager, and Willy (Flores), a recent recruit in the Mara Salvatrucha gang, both dream of better lives for themselves, and a fateful event will find the two strangers united on a freight train bound for the U.S., where the hope for new lives await. (March 20 – Limited)
Why: It looks gritty and messy and harsh. I’m sure I’ll love it.
Trailer – IMDB

Adventureland – During the summer of 1987, recent college grad James Brennan (Eisenberg) takes what he thinks is a going-nowhere job at his local amusement park, only to discover it’s a perfect opportunity to prepare himself for the real world. (March 27)
Why: Because it’s Greg Mottola’s newest film. I was a big fan of Superbad. And this one looks hilarious.
Trailer – IMDB

Monsters vs. Aliens – After being hit by a meteorite on her wedding day, Susan Murphy (Witherspoon) is transformed into a monster named Ginormica and subsequently whisked away to a secret government compound where others like her have been rounded up over the years. When the Earth comes under attack by aliens, however, Ginormica and her new allies are set free to save the planet. (March 27)
Why: It looks fun. I’ll probably take my nephew.
Trailer – IMDB

Gigantic – Mattress salesman Brian Weathersby (Dano) finds his plan to adopt a Chinese baby augmented by the arrival of a young woman, Happy (Deschanel), who comes into his workplaces, falls asleep on one of the beds, and starts to affect his life upon waking up. (April 3 – Limited)
Why: Sounds kinda lame, but Zooey Deschanel is in it…
Trailer – IMDB

Observe and Report – Bi-polar mall security guard Ronnie Barnhardt (Rogen) is called into action to stop a flasher from turning shopper’s paradise into his personal peep show. But when Barnhardt can’t apprehend the culprit, a surly police detective (Liotta), is recruited to close the case, bringing out the worst in Ronnie’s temperamental personality. (April 10)
Why: I realize it’s the second movie about a mall cop this year, but this one has Seth Rogen and Anna Faris and it’s from the director who did The Foot Fist Way. This is one I would probably wait to rent, but I still want to see it.
Trailer – IMDB

State of Play – Picture-perfect U.S. congressman Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck) seems to be the rising star in the world of politics — until his research assistant, who was also his mistress, is murdered. And then the secrets start coming out… It’s up to star reporter Cal McCaffrey (Russell Crowe) and his co-hort Della (Rachel McAdams) to uncover the truth, but there are three things that complicate matters: 1) Cal’s friendship and loyalty to Stephen; 2) their ruthless editor (Helen Mirren); and 3) a conspiracy that goes far, far deeper than they thought. (April 17)
Why: A powerhouse cast under the direction of Kevin Macdonald (The Last King of Scotland) is sure to be a winning film (or a complete mess).
Trailer – IMDB

Earth - A documentary that follows the migration paths of four animal families. (April 22)
Why: This is a feature-length version of the breathtaking BBC series, Planet Earth. Hopefully this film will inspire more people to watch the series.
Trailer – IMDB

The Soloist - In Los Angeles, reporter Steve Lopez (Downey Jr.) befriends Nathaniel Ayers (Foxx), a brilliant but troubled musician and one-time Julliard student who currently lives on Skid Row. In a series of revealing articles, Lopez draws attention to Ayers’s remarkable story, while Ayers still dreams of a grand performance at Walt Disney Concert Hall. (April 24)
Why: It’s from the director of Atonement, which was a good movie. And Robert Downey Jr. is the man. However, the movie does seem to have a strong cheese-factor, so I don’t have high expectations for it.
Trailer – IMDB

Battle for Terra - A space explorer (Wilson) who crash-landed on the planet Terra finds himself thrust to the forefront of a battle to prevent his people, who are entrenched in a civil war at home, from invading the beautiful, peaceful planet where he has two new friends, rebellious alien teens Mala (Wood) and Senn (Long). (May 1)
Why: Because it’s an animated sci-fi film from a new production company (Snoot Toons) and it’s earning awards and respect. It’s also packed with an environmental liberal message about humanity.
Trailer – IMDB

X-Men Origins: Wolverine – An origins story that follows the early life of James Howlett (Jackman), also known as Logan, and best known as Wolverine. The chronicle of his younger years as a mutant connects to his relationship and eventual falling out with Victor Creed/Sabretooth (Schreiber), and his fateful entry into the Weapons X project, the governmental program that turns willing and unwilling beings into living weapons. (May 1)
Why: I don’t know. I like the X-Men movies. Not really excited about this one, but I’ll watch it.
Trailer – IMDB

Star Trek – The origin story of Captain James T. Kirk, Spock and the crew of the USS Enterprise before they had boldly gone where no man had gone before. (May 7)
Why: Because it’s going to be awesome. Early reports are calling it “phenomenal”. J.J. Abrams was just the man for the job, methinks.
Trailer – IMDB

Angels & Demons – Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) finds himself in Rome, where he has to race against time to prevent the Illuminati, a secret society, from putting in motion a terrorist act that could destroy the Vatican. He’s aided in his quest by the beautiful Italian scientist Vittoria Vetri (Ayelet Zurer). (May 15)
Why: Technically it’s a prequel, but I guess they’re calling it a sequel to The Da Vinci Code, which sucked balls. I want to see this one to see if they do it right this time. This book was much stronger than The Da Vinci Code, so it has that going for it. And if nothing else, at least Tom Hanks got a haircut.
Trailer – IMDB

The Brothers Bloom – A pair of brothers and veteran conmen (Brody and Ruffalo) target an enigmatic wealthy woman (Weisz) as their potential last job, fully unaware of the twists in the road ahead of them. (May 15 – Limited)
Why: An incredible cast plus direction from Rian Johnson (Brick) should make for a decent flick.
Trailer – IMDB

O’ Horten - A drama focused on a life-changing moment in 67-year-old train engineer Odd Horten’s existence: the evening of his retirement. (May 15 – Limited)
Why: Because the trailer is awesome. Let’s hope the movie is too.
Trailer – IMDB

Terminator Salvation – John Connor (Bale) is joined in his attempt to defeat Skynet and its army of Terminators by Marcus Wright (Worthington), a man who apparently has been rescued from the past, though Connor wonders if instead he’s been sent from the future as a foil to his plan. As Connor and Wright push deep into the heart of Skynet, they get closer and closer to learning the secret behind the organization’s mission to wipe humankind off the planet. (May 21)
Why: Because it appears they are trying to “re-imagine” the franchise, just like what has happened with Bond and Batman. So far it has worked, and the trailer looks good for this, but we’ll see. If nothing else this movie will forever be remembered for Christian Bale’s outburst at the film’s DP.
Trailer – IMDB

Up - By tying thousands of balloon to his home, 78-year-old Carl Fredricksen sets out to fulfill his lifelong dream to see the wilds of South America. Right after lifting off, however, he learns he isn’t alone on his journey, since Russell, a wilderness explorer 70 years his junior, has inadvertently become a stowaway on the trip. (May 29)
Why: Because Pixar rocks.
Trailer – IMDB

Land of the Lost - On his latest expedition, Dr. Rick Marshall (Ferrell) is sucked into a space-time vortex alongside his research assistant (Friel) and a redneck survivalist (McBride). In this alternate universe, the trio make friends with a primate named Chaka (Taccone), their only ally in a world full of dinosaurs and other fantastic creatures. Can they all make it back to our world alive, and if so: Will Dr. Marshall can go from zero to hero with his discoveries? (June 5)
Why: Because it looks pretty funny. Of course…that doesn’t necessarily mean diddly squat.
Trailer – IMDB

Year One – When a couple of lazy hunter-gatherers (Black and Cera) are banished from their primitive village, they set off on an epic journey through their ancient world. (June 19)
Why: Jack Black and Michael Cera.
Trailer – IMDB

Whatever Works - Rumored synopsis: An eccentric older man (David) encounters a Southern belle (Wood) and promptly falls in love. But how will the couple, her family, and his New York City friends mix? (June 19)
Why: Woody Allen. Larry David. Splendid.
IMDB

Public Enemies – FBI agent Melvin Purvis (Bale) sets his sights on American gangster John Dillinger (Depp) and others in an attempt to curb a rampant Chicago crime spree during the 1930s. (July 1)
Why: It’s Michael Mann’s newest flick.
IMDB

Brüno – Flamboyant Austrian fashion reporter Bruno (Cohen) travels the world in search of the latest style trends. (July 10)
Why: It’s Sacha Baron Cohen’s newest film. I thought Borat was hilarious, hopefully this character is a success as well.
IMDB

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - In his sixth year at Hogwarts, Harry Potter discovers even more about the evil Lord Voldemort’s past, thanks to his mentor Dumbledore and mysterious textbook marked “This book is the property of the Half-Blood Prince.” By the end of the year, nothing will ever be the same. (July 17)
Why: Because I’ve seen all the other ones. Is that enough of a reason?
Trailer – IMDB

(500) Days of Summer - Greeting-card writer Tom (Gordon-Leavitt), falls for his new colleague, Summer (Deschanel), on her first day of work. What comes next is a look at the subsequent year-and-a-half period the two lovers spend together. (July 17)
Why: Again, Zooey Deschanel.
Trailer – IMDB

All Good Things – A detective (Morgan) begins to unravel a missing-persons case that might spell doom for the heir to a New York real estate dynasty (Gosling), who fell for a young woman from the wrong side of the tracks (Dunst). (July 24 – Limited)
Why: Because it’s probably going to be very good. It’s also Andrew Jarecki’s first film since Capturing the Friedmans.
IMDB

Funny People – When seasoned comedian George Simmons (Sandler) learns of his terminal, inoperable health condition, his desire to form a genuine friendship inspires him to take a relatively green performer (Rogen) under his wing as his opening act. (July 31)
Why: Come on – it’s Judd Apatow’s newest film!
IMDB

District 9 - A sci-fi/action story set in a fictional world, where extraterrestrials have become refugees in South Africa. (August 14)
Why: Peter Jackson is producing it. Not much is known about it at the moment. I’m betting its release date gets pushed back.
IMDB

Taking Woodstock – When Woodstock organizers have the plug pulled on their event, Elliot Tiber (Martin), a young man who is spending the summer working on his parents’ farm, helps the event land a permit, and puts the organizers in touch with Max Yasgur (Levy), a dairy farmer whose plot of land could serve as a perfect spot for the concert.(August 14 – Limited)
Why: It’s Ang Lee’s newest film.
IMDB

Inglourious Basterds - An American-led killing squad known as “The Basterds” terrorize the Nazis in German-occupied France during World War II. (August 21)
Why: QUENTIN TARANTINO. This is probably my most-anticipated film of the year.
Trailer – IMDB

Shanghai - An American expat (Cusack) returns to a corrupt, Japanese-occupied Shanghai four months before Pearl Harbor, where he discovers his friend has been killed. His attempt to unravel that mystery, he falls for a beautiful woman, and discovers a secret being held by his own government. (September 4)
Why: No reason really, except that it’s an Asian epic.
IMDB

The Informant - The U.S. government decides to go after an agri-business giant with a price-fixing accusation, based on the evidence submitted by their star witness, company-man-turned-whistleblower Mark Whitacre (Matt Damon). (September 18)
Why: It sounds interesting.
IMDB

Nine - Famous film director Guido Contini (Day-Lewis) struggles to find harmony in his professional and personal lives, as he engages in dramatic relationships with his wife, his mistress, his muse, his agent, and his mother. (November 25)
Why: Rob Marshall’s latest musical. I loved Chicago.
IMDB

The Box - A young couple is gifted with a mysterious box that promises them a handsome windfall with deadly consequences. (November 25)
Why: The plot sounds ridiculous, but it’s Richard Kelly’s latest movie (Donnie Darko, Southland Tales).
IMDB

The Lovely Bones – Young Susie watches over her family from heaven as they deal with the aftermath of her brutal rape and murder. (December 11)
Why: The book was pretty good, plus Peter Jackson excels with drama (Heavenly Creatures!). Let’s hope they walk a fine line with the melodramatic elements of the story.
IMDB

The Road – A post-apocalyptic tale of a man and his son trying to survive by any means possible.
Why: Because the book was amazing and they picked the perfect cast and director for the film. The only thing that worries me is that this was supposed to come out last year. I wonder why it got pushed to this year? It doesn’t have a USA release date yet either…so who knows when we’ll get to see it.
IMDB