2009 was a great year for films in general, particularly if you’re a fan of the sci-fi genre. The year also saw the return of a beloved franchise to the big screen as well as the latest film by one of our best modern directors. And even with the current condition of the country and the economy, audiences still managed to fill theaters and the movies enjoyed record breaking successes that hopefully will continue on into the new year.

Even with all the great movies in 2009, there were also some not so great ones. Sadly, there will always be some real bombs, but that’s to be expected. Fortunately, there were also quite a few standouts that helped keep us entertained, enthralled and excited about going to the movies in 2009.

As usual with lists of this type, I need to disclaim and say this is my list of what I felt were the best films of 2009. Nobody can see everything and opinions vary. Your list may be different.

Differing opinions and the freedom to express them are one of the things that make this country great. There’s always something new and different to see and do and we all get to choose what’s best for us. What movies we watch and enjoy is no exception.

That said, here then is my list, in no particular order, of the films I feel were the best of 2009.

Inglourious Basterds — 2009 saw the return of director Quentin Tarantino and the release of this amazing film. Some might consider it overlong or self-indulgent, but it showcases Tarantino’s filmmmaking skills at their finest and serves as an example of one filmmaker’s singular vision and immense storytelling craft.

This film provides the audience with something they never got from real life: closure. To finally see the Nazis, and in particular Hitler, get the ending they deserve is a testament to the power of this film and to its creator.

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Dvice has found these awesome wet suits, available for the steep price of $470. Or is it normal for wet suits? I don’t know. Anyhow, these suits are available in red, blue and yellow and will add some flare when you’re . . . doing stuff you do in wet suits.

I don’t know what it says about the company that they are offering a “red shirt” version. Who would be crazy enough to buy one? We all know what happens to red shirts. But they do look stylish, and I’m sure might be popular among the scuba-diving/surfing, Star Trek loving crowd. You know who you are.

They’re available for purchase at Roddenberry.com. Get yours today.

It’s taken five weeks of Western Wednesdays, but The Duke has finally arrived. I haven’t meant to neglect him. In fact, half the reason I took on this feature is because my knowledge of Wayne is so very poor. He’s all over my Netflix queue, but I kept putting him off simply because he’s a bit daunting. He has cast such a long shadow over this genre that I thought I ought to watch films he wasn’t in in order to better appreciate his stature.

This week, I had decided that the last column 2009 had to go out with Wayne. As divine providence would have it, Justin Gray suggested The Comancheros. Gray has wonderful taste in film, and he’s the co-author of DC’s Jonah Hex which gives him Eastwood stature. When he suggests a Western, you watch it immediately.

The Comancheros is a great, great Western that avoids a lot of the pitfalls of the genre. It’s a big movie, but it’s tightly plotted, and never gets lost in the sprawl of the desert. There isn’t a single character you meet that doesn’t have something to do with the storyline.

I’m so used to throwaway scenes that when the film started in New Orleans, I was very skeptical it would make it to the Republic of Texas in any way that was believable. But it does! And it’s so fun to watch it make it’s way that I’ll only give you the barest of summaries:

Paul Regret (Stuart Whitman) is a Louisiana dandy who begins the film as only one cocky half of a New Orleans duel.  He kills his opponent, and is threatened with the hangman’s noose because this particular honor-seeker happened to be a judge’s son. He flees Louisiana, but the lawman’s arm is long, and he’s finally nabbed by Ranger Capt. Jake Cutter (John Wayne). But that’s only the beginning of the adventure, and you’ll have to watch to find out if Regret ever makes it to the hangman’s noose.

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With 2009 and the ‘aughts’ portion of the new millennium coming to a close, Chris and Matt decided to forgo the usual news and commentary for this special episode of The Flickcast and instead, focus on some of the great movies, tv, comics, games and all things geek that were the best of 2009. In addition, the boys also made some picks of one or two of the highlights of the entire ‘aughts’ decade.

Some of the topics discussed include Chris and Matt’s favorite movies of 2009 such as Star Trek, Inglourious Basterds, Zombieland and Drag Me to Hell as well as some of their favorite 2009 tv shows including Community, Cougar Town and continuing series such as Fringe and The Big Bang Theory. The boys also made some picks of their favorite comics and games of the year including Blackest Night, Old Man Logan, Modern Warfare 2 and Ultimate Alliance 2.

As always, if you have comments, questions, critiques or offers of sponsorship, feel free to hit us up in the comments, on Twitter and at Facebook, MySpace or via email.

I’ve made no secret about being excited for the The A-Team movie coming out this summer.  No matter what other trailer I see (including even Iron Man 2) there’s something  about The A-Team that just resonates with me. Maybe it’s the nostalgia factor or it could be that director Joe Carnahan knows how to make a kick-ass action film (see Smokin’ Aces).  Either way, it’s my number one pick for the 2010 Summer blockbuster season.

One particular aspect of the new film I’m looking forward to are the cameos from Dirk Benedict and Dwight Shultz, the original Faceman and Murdock.  With these two secured I was certain Carnahan would pull off the best cameo trio ever and get Mr. T as well. Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be the case.

Latino Review caught up with Mr. T (at a gym no less) and asked him about whether he’d be in the new film, which apparently he won’t be:

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Rather than tell you what I think I should, I decided to come clean on this list. For instance, I am aware that A Serious Man might technically and artistically be a cut above some of these, but I just didn’t enjoy it as much. I’ll also preface this by saying since I was covering most of the main-stream movies this year, there were a lot of independent movies I didn’t see, so they may not appear on the list. The film title links to a review when applicable.

Up In The Air – Buoyed by a trio of fantastic actors, I found this movie to be utterly charming. Directed by Jason Reitman (Thank You For Smoking, Juno), the movie is touching, prescient, original, and funny. Vera Farmiga, George Clooney and Anna Kendrick all received Golden Globe acting nominations.  George Clooney’s depiction of a traveling man who keeps any type of human interaction at arm’s length is effortless, and is a joy to watch.

A Single Man – This film is still in limited release, so many people have not seen it, but I was absolutely blown away by designer Tom Ford’s directorial debut. He brings an artistic eye to the story of a gay man in 1962 who has recently lost a live-in companion. Heavy stuff, and Colin Firth gives a truly amazing performance that will break your heart.

Julianne is a stunning aging beauty who longs to have a relationship with the emotionally unavailable George. Universally relatable to anyone who has ever been in love, or experienced unrequited love. Seamlessly shifting from sepia, black and white, and color, the film is gorgeous. Beautifully scored by Abel Korzeniowsky as well.

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Seems that film studios received plenty of holiday cheer this past holiday weekend. Audiences flocked to a myriad of movies, which resulted in the highest grossing domestic box office on record. When the dust had cleared, a massive $278 Million had been earned at the box office, which bested the previous record ($260.8 Million) set by The Dark Knight opening weekend in July 2008. The top three films alone grossed over $190 Million, an astonishing number.

Avatar has many prognosticators eating crow, as it dropped only a few percentage points from its opening total and made about $75 Million, earning a solid first place finish. Its 10 day total now stands at $212 Million, and worldwide, the film has made over $617 Million! At this point, there is little question it will earn its purported $300-$500 Million budget back.  After months of speculation, Fox studio heads can finally exhale a sigh of relief.

Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes also fared well, and made over $65 Million its opening weekend. Robert Downey Jr. continues to prove he is a major box office draw. Fox also saw Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel place in the top three with $50 Million. The adult comedy Its Complicated earned a respectable $22 Million on just under 2,900 screens.

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Guy Ritchie puts his unmistakable stylistic stamp on this re-imagining of the adventures of Sherlock Holmes. Robert Downey, Jr. plays the slightly disheveled, deranged, but brilliant Holmes, who may or may not be under the influence of various pharmaceuticals at any given moment of the film. Downey’s version of Holmes is a devilishly clever mad-scientist type who happens to be a martial arts expert, an astute observer, an alchemist, and a forensics aficionado.

He also has the amazing ability to call upon whatever skill set that a particular predicament warrants. For me, it was a little hard to swallow. However, Downey darn near pulls it off. He is completely convincing as a man slightly-off-his rocker who has a penchant for scrappy street fighting, and his performance alone is worth the price of admission.

Jude Law plays his trusty sidekick Watson, and the relationship works surprisingly well on screen.  The two banter and bicker like an old married couple, and are constantly rescuing one another from certain death. The fact that Watson is engaged, and will soon be moving out of Holmes’ life,  provides for some comedic moments. Holmes behaves like a petulant child during a dinner where he is to meet Watson’s betrothed, played by Kelly Reilly (Eden Lake.)

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Welcome to another edition of The Pull List Comic Reviews! Since the hectic holiday schedule and copious amounts of eggnog have affected my time and brain cells, respectively, this week’s reviews are more of the quickie variety. While short and sweet – well, as short and sweet as I’m going to get – there’s enough yuletide cheer to make even Gotham warm over. As always, WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD.

PULL OF THE WEEK:

Avengers: The Initiative #31
Marvel Comics – $2.99 US
Writer: Christos N Gage
Artist: Rafa Sandoval
Score: 8.5/10

The music’s pumping, the booze is flowing and the girls are dancing. Seems like Taskmaster’s right where he wants to be, until Norman Osborn decides to come to Camp H.A.M.M.E.R. for an inspection. Nobody said pimpin’ was easy, especially since Taskmaster has to get his place running on all cylinders before the boss arrives, bearing “gifts.”

Incredibly solid issue by writer Gage. Throughout the entire string of storylines, like “Civil War,” “Secret Invasion” and “Dark Reign,” select characters from both sides of the fight have begun to question whether or not they’re on the right side. Makes for some good reading and interesting dynamics as “Siege” starts to pick up steam. Artist Sandoval continues to be consistently good, especially where Taskmaster is included in the scene.

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Many trailers these days follow a specific formula: send the audience in one direction, give them the twist, and show everybody in the film looking really, really cool. This formula is written on trailer editors bulletin boards. Sadly, that means that when it’s used incorrectly, the trailer, and in man cases the film, become a subject for ridicule.

This happens to be the case with the trailer for Jude Law and Forest Whitaker’s Repo Men. The film follows quite close to the premise of 2007′s Repo! A Genetic Rock Opera, without any of the singing, or Anthony Stewart Head. In this film, a conglomerate puts artificial organs on an open market for people to purchase on a payment plan. When those people can’t pay, the Repo Men step in to essentially “repossess the merchandise.”

The trailer does a pretty good job for the first 90 seconds or so, but then is subject for many shoulder shrugs and “really?!!?” exclamations towards the end. We’re all aware that Law and Whitaker aren’t known for their best picks in projects (I’m looking at you, Battlefield Earth and A.I.), but do we really need a sci-fi thriller-turned-action-blowout from the two actors?

It just doesn’t seem like the best use of their talents. Like Helen Mirren playing the Bride of Frankenstein. We all know she could do it, but is it necessary?

Check out the red band trailer for yourself after the jump, and see how the preview does it justice on April 2nd, when Repo Men hits theaters.

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In the first half of The Best Video Games of 2009, we saw Best Portable, Wii, Playstation 3 and XBox 360 Exclusive titles. Now things are ramping up on the way to the Game of the Year.

Best Music Game

Tie – The Beatles: Rock Band and DJ Hero

The Rock Band / Guitar Hero formula has been done to death at this point. Players play songs in a set list to unlock more music. Repeat as many times as needed until all songs have been unlocked. But it was 2009 that the music game genre took two big steps forward. As loved as Metallica is, their Guitar Hero installment couldn’t hold a candle to the weight of the legacy that the Beatles would bring with them in The Beatles: Rock Band. For the first time, there was a career spanning take on the legendary act with amazing and unique visuals attuned to the songs being played out.

With the addition of harmonies for the first time in any music game, The Beatles: Rock Band stepped up the feel of being in a full band to another level. Along with the unrivaled set list that only the Beatles could produce, the game has a shelf life that can outlast the pop-centric songs of current game releases.

A little over a month later, music gaming took another leap but this time into the unknown. Many people grow up hoping to become famous musicians at one point in their life but nowhere near as many look to become famous DJs. DJ Hero from Activision brought in masters of turntablism with the likes of the original hip-hop DJ Grand Master Flash to DJ Jazzy Jeff to electronica legends Daft Punk in the ultimate mashup collection.

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After months of debate, Warner Bros. and Kevin Smith have finally come to terms on a title for their newest picture The movie, now known as Cop Out, stars Bruce Willis, Tracy Morgan, and Sean William Scott.

The film, originally titled “Couple of Dicks” then a “Couple of Cops”, is the story of two cops who are trying to find a rare and very expensive baseball card, and the fanatical gangster who wants it. Willis’ character, Jimmy, needs to get the card back in order to pay for his daughter’s wedding. His partner, Paul (Morgan), is too obsessed with his wife’s infidelity to really stay focused on the job.

Having gone through that synopsis, this trailer covers none of that. What we get is a lot of Willis and Morgan being funny, and a movie that looks (almost) nothing like anything that Kevin Smith has ever done before. The script comes from fresh screenwriters Robb and Mark Cullen (TV’s Las Vegas).

Check out the first trailer for the film after the jump, and catch Smith’s Cop Out in theaters on February 26th.

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