Hello all! We’re jumping into another retrospective for the ten-year anniversary of 2009. For most of us, this year was an awakening. I personally began following the Oscar races in earnest this year, starting to watch as many films as possible. It’s also the year I graduated high school and started college, a time when suddenly you have a lot of free time on your hands.
The year also left some surprising marks on future movies. You’ve got Avatar, film that earned more money than any film in history. Yet at the same time, it had little to no cultural impact until Disney opened a section of their theme parks based on the property. Yet we have a lot of sequels on the horizon.
The Hurt Locker became the first (and only) film based on the War on Terror to win Best Picture. Even in 2009, we had been engaged in combat for the better part of a decade. Now it has been another ten years of war in the Middle East, with no end in sight. Kathryn Bigelow would become the first and only woman to win Best Director at the Oscars. Two future Avengers would also star in the film as well, with both Jeremy Renner and Anthony Mackie featured in breakout roles.
Inglorious Basterds returned Quentin Tarantino to prominence. Up became the second animated feature nominated for Best Picture. The Blind Side became a popular hit, but also symbolized the issues inherent in white savior films. Fantastic Mr. Fox and Coraline brought stop-motion back into vogue. Watchmen was at once a perfect adaptation, yet it’s also a soulless one. Paranormal Activity spawned a franchise and pushed Jason Blum down a path that would lead to Get Out, Us, and BlacKkKlansman. J.J. Abrams brought Star Wars to Star Trek. Nora Ephron would release her last film. It was both a shallow, yet surprisingly fun year at the movies. So let’s begin our review of 2009!
Movies We’ll Be Covering!
- (500) Days of Summer
- A Serious Man
- Avatar
- Away We Go
- The Blind Side
- The Brothers Bloom
- Coraline
- Drag Me to Hell
- Fantastic Mr. Fox
- Friday the 13th (2009)
- The Hangover
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
- The Hurt Locker
- Inglourious Basterds
- Julie & Julia
- Paranormal Activity
- The Princess and the Frog
- The Proposal
- Sherlock Holmes
- Star Trek
- Taken
- Up
- Up in the Air
- Watchmen
- Where the Wild Things Are
- Zombieland
I loved Avatar and Up. Lots of others too. I’m surprised at some of the ones I missed . I’ll have to check them out.