The 40 best movies of 2009
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40 titles
- DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsBrad PittDiane KrugerEli RothIn 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.
- DirectorAdam ElliotStarsToni CollettePhilip Seymour HoffmanEric BanaIn 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.
- DirectorRajkumar HiraniStarsAamir KhanMadhavanMona SinghTwo friends are searching for their long lost companion. They revisit their college days and recall the memories of their friend who inspired them to think differently, even as the rest of the world called them "idiots".
- DirectorPete DocterBob PetersonStarsEdward AsnerJordan NagaiJohn Ratzenberger78-year-old Carl Fredricksen travels to Paradise Falls in his house equipped with balloons, inadvertently taking a young stowaway.
- DirectorJuan José CampanellaStarsRicardo DarínSoledad VillamilPablo RagoA retired legal counselor writes a novel hoping to find closure for one of his past unresolved homicide cases and for his unreciprocated love with his superior - both of which still haunt him decades later.
- DirectorDuncan JonesStarsSam RockwellKevin SpaceyDominique McElligottAstronaut 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.
- DirectorNeill BlomkampStarsSharlto CopleyDavid JamesJason CopeViolence 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.
- DirectorJacques AudiardStarsTahar RahimNiels ArestrupAdel BencherifA delinquent Muslim man struggles to get by in prison until he is taken under the wing of a powerful mob boss. But his gradual rise through the mob's ranks brings him in conflict with his mentor.
- DirectorBong Joon HoStarsKim Hye-jaWon BinJin GooA mother desperately searches for the killer who framed her son for a girl's horrific murder.
- DirectorDaniel MonzónStarsLuis TosarAlberto AmmannAntonio ResinesThe story of two men on different sides of a prison riot -- the inmate leading the rebellion and the young guard trapped in the revolt, who poses as a prisoner in a desperate attempt to survive the ordeal.
- DirectorJ.J. AbramsStarsChris PineZachary QuintoSimon PeggThe 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.
- DirectorMichael HanekeStarsChristian FriedelErnst JacobiLeonie BeneschStrange 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?
- DirectorJames CameronStarsSam WorthingtonZoe SaldanaSigourney WeaverA 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.
- DirectorMarc WebbStarsZooey DeschanelJoseph Gordon-LevittGeoffrey ArendAfter being dumped by the girl he believes to be his soulmate, hopeless romantic Tom Hansen reflects on their relationship to try and figure out where things went wrong and how he can win her back.
- DirectorPark Chan-wookStarsSong Kang-hoKim Ok-binChoi Hee-jinThrough a failed medical experiment, a priest is stricken with vampirism and is forced to abandon his ascetic ways.
- DirectorLee DanielsStarsGabourey SidibeMo'NiquePaula PattonIn New York City's Harlem circa 1987, an overweight, abused, illiterate teen who is pregnant with her second child is invited to enroll in an alternative school in hopes that she can re-route her life in a better direction.
- DirectorNiels Arden OplevStarsMichael NyqvistNoomi RapaceEwa FrölingA journalist is aided by a young female hacker in his search for the killer of a woman who has been dead for forty years.
- DirectorZack SnyderStarsJackie Earle HaleyPatrick WilsonCarla GuginoIn 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.
- DirectorTodd PhillipsStarsZach GalifianakisBradley CooperJustin BarthaThree 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.
- DirectorSebastián SilvaStarsCatalina SaavedraClaudia CeledónMariana LoyolaA drama centered on a maid trying to hold on to her position after having served a family for 23 years.
- DirectorLone ScherfigStarsCarey MulliganPeter SarsgaardAlfred MolinaA 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.
- DirectorPedro AlmodóvarStarsPenélope CruzLluís HomarBlanca PortilloHarry 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.
- DirectorWes AndersonStarsGeorge ClooneyMeryl StreepBill MurrayAn urbane fox cannot resist returning to his farm raiding ways and then must help his community survive the farmers' retaliation.
- DirectorHenry SelickStarsDakota FanningTeri HatcherJohn HodgmanWandering 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.
- DirectorLevent SemerciStarsMete HorozogluIlker KizmazBirce AkalayStory of 40-man Turkish task force who must defend a relay station.
- DirectorJohn Lee HancockStarsQuinton AaronSandra BullockTim McGrawThe 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.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsMorgan FreemanMatt DamonTony KgorogeNelson Mandela, in his first term as President of South Africa, initiates a unique venture to unite the Apartheid-torn land: enlist the national rugby team on a mission to win the 1995 Rugby World Cup.
- DirectorTomm MooreNora TwomeyStarsEvan McGuireBrendan GleesonMick LallyA young boy in a remote medieval outpost under siege from barbarian raids is beckoned to adventure when a celebrated master illuminator arrives with an ancient book, brimming with secret wisdom and powers.
- DirectorAndrea ArnoldStarsKatie JarvisMichael FassbenderKierston WareingEverything changes for 15-year-old Mia when her mum brings home a new boyfriend.
- DirectorJason ReitmanStarsGeorge ClooneyVera FarmigaAnna KendrickRyan'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.
- DirectorJohn HillcoatStarsViggo MortensenCharlize TheronKodi Smit-McPheeIn a dangerous post-apocalyptic world, an ailing father defends his son as they slowly travel to the sea.
- DirectorFatih AkinStarsAdam BousdoukosMoritz BleibtreuPheline RogganIn Hamburg, German-Greek chef Zinos unknowingly disturbs the peace in his locals-only restaurant by hiring a more talented chef.
- DirectorGuy RitchieStarsRobert Downey Jr.Jude LawRachel McAdamsDetective Sherlock Holmes and his stalwart partner Watson engage in a battle of wits and brawn with a nemesis whose plot is a threat to all of England.
- DirectorRadu MihaileanuStarsAleksey GuskovMélanie LaurentDmitriy NazarovThirty years ago Bolshoi Orchestra conductor Andreï Filipov was fired for hiring Jewish musicians. Now a lowly janitor, an opportunity arises to gather his old musicians to go and pose as the official Bolshoi orchestra in Paris.
- DirectorDurul TaylanYagmur TaylanStarsEngin GünaydinBinnur KayaSettar TanriögenA reckless electrician, who is struggling with debt, decides to kill his wife and use her savings as a way out. His plan takes an unexpected twist when his loving wife, comes back from the dead to be with her family.
- DirectorTom FordStarsColin FirthJulianne MooreMatthew GoodeAn English professor, one year after the sudden death of his boyfriend, is unable to cope with his typical days in 1960s Los Angeles.
- DirectorScott CooperStarsJeff BridgesMaggie GyllenhaalColin FarrellA faded country music musician is forced to reassess his dysfunctional life during a doomed romance that also inspires him.
- DirectorAsghar FarhadiStarsTaraneh AlidoostiGolshifteh FarahaniShahab HosseiniThe mysterious disappearance of a kindergarten teacher during a picnic in the north of Iran is followed by a series of misadventures for her fellow travelers.
- DirectorArmando IannucciStarsTom HollanderPeter CapaldiJames GandolfiniA political satire about a group of skeptical American and British operatives attempting to prevent a war between two countries.
- DirectorRuben FleischerStarsJesse EisenbergEmma StoneWoody HarrelsonA 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.