So now 2009 has come to a close, it is time to rank the ten best films of the year. We don’t have to do this, but it’s kind of fun and I just love giving attention to the films that I thought were superb and worthy of a chance. Because of my pretty rough year, I didn’t get to see as many documentaries or obsure films as I usually like, and all the ones that I have seen weren’t all that good to begin with, so most of these are pretty mainstream (even the indies I picked are pretty well-known). Bear in mind that in mid-March, just before the Oscars, I will be doing my Right One Awards for films that I didn’t get to see in time for this list. We’ll also be doing the FilmScope Awards (The Scopies) a little later in the day or week, celebrating the best performances and some technical categories, not to mention the best of the decade. But for now, here are the ten best films of 2009:

1. The Hurt Locker: Again like last year, the top three are pretty interchangeable, but this year, I had to go to the one I thought was just slightly better. Kathryn Bigelow’s Iraq War thriller literally had me on my seat throughout. The film tells the story of a bomb-disposal unit in Baghdad in 2004 lead by a wild man (Jeremy Renner) who probably loves his job a little too much. This is by far the best film about the Iraqi War and one that stays with you, or at least in your nerves.
2. A Serious Man: I can’t wait to see this movie again and again to really understand what the Coens have created. It has an Oscar-worthy performance by Michael Stuelbarg as a Job-esque man whose life is deteriorating quickly and without anyone to help him understand. Roger Deakins’ photography is simply amazing and the Coens’ screenplay is simply original and laced with dark humor that will have you actually laughing.
3. Avatar: I will remember Avatar fondly forever because it constantly had me feeling that I was involved. Not just because of the 3-D effect in theaters (though I must recommend it), but because the characters are rich and interesting and the color palate is rich and engaging. James Cameron is easily one of if not the best director in Hollywood today. This film is a testament to the fact.
4. Inglourious Basterds: Quentin Tarrentino keeps surprising me with each film, and this one doesn’t break tradition. No other filmmaker would make you wait like he does for a payoff and then pays it off ten-fold. This WWII fantasy is tougher than the Dirty Dozen and more insane than the Valkyrie plot. With two Oscar-worthy performances by Christoph Waltz as the notorious Hans Landa and Melanie Laurent as the target of Landa’s pursuit and one fascinating performance by Brad Pitt, I can understand why many keep wanting the Basterd’s share.
5. Away We Go: Director Sam Mendes makes his comedic debut in the film Away We Go, a sweet little gem of a film about the roles played in the modern American family. John Krazinski and Maya Rudolph are phenomenal as a couple about to have a baby and trying to find a home around people they know that can give them some sense of home. At sometimes cruel and other times sad, this is a film that relies on it’s core characters to keep us interested. And because we are, we care about what happens to these nice people.
6. Up in the Air: Jason Reitman has made my list for the third time with this character study about a man whose impossible job allows him the lifestyle that allows him to escape. George Clooney gives a sober performance that holds the movie together, but it’s Vera Farmiga who deserves the Oscar as Clooney’s fellow-traveler who inadvertently teaches him to feel a connect to the world he seems to think he’s just visiting.
7. Knowing: Nicholas Cage and director Alex Proyas have created a piece of science fiction that is what War of the Worlds should have been. When a series of predictions get into Cage’s hand and he realizes that the end is nigh, the film wisely keeps us emotionally connected to the characters instead of creating spectacles. By the time we get to the last ten minutes, we are connected to the events going on and react as such. That’s great filmmaking.
8. Watchmen: Director Zack Snyder has made up for his horrific 300 with a visually engaging rendition of Watchmen. This film succeeds because it does NOT try to relate with these unrelatable characters who are delusional or psychoctic, but gives us a disturbing look at how and why  people would don capes and masks and become superheroes. And how some might misuse such a status.
9. (500) Days of Summer: This non-love story is the kind of movie that leaves you a little happy, a little sad, but thoroughly engaged. Thanks to great performances by Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel, we feel like we are seeing a real relationship with real consequences. 
10. The Road: John Hillcoat has done the impossible, he has made not just a good adaptation of an impossible Pulizer-winning novel, but has made it beyond anything I could expect. This quiet film has enough tension to keep you wound tight hours after the movie’s end and more heart than all the summer blockbusters put together. And for a film set after the Apocalypse, that’s saying something. Viggo Mortensen deserves a nomination for his performance as the father trying to keep his son alive as the world dies around them.