My Favorite Movies of 2009

Over the course of 2009, I came to realize more than ever that I truly am a movie geek and have a true passion for the cinematic experience. From my earliest memories of seeing Star Wars for the first time at the drive-in theater to Saturday afternoons laying on the living room floor watching old school kung fu flicks on the family television, movies have been a big part of my life and have had a profound effect on how I view the world. With continued advancements in the art and science of cinematic storytelling, the experience of seeing these imaginative tales unfold on screen (IMAX or iPod), continues to be an enriching and engaging experience.

2009 saw a wealth of quality releases and I was fortunate enough to be able to see a lot of them in various Seattle area theaters with many of my friends. I have decided to compile a list of my 10 favorites from this year with my thoughts on how they managed to crack this list. It was tough to limit the list to just 10 and even harder to put them in any particular order. You may or may not agree with many of these choices and you may feel others should be on the list over some of my choices. Ultimately this list is my opinion and is a representation on my personal experience with these great films. Whether you agree or disagree I welcome any and all feedback.

Seahawks Vs. Giants: On My Timeline

Durring the Seahawks/Giants game that took place on Sunday, October 9th, I was providing a steady stream of Facebook status updates as a running play-by-play and commentary. Here are all of those updates, listed in chronological order, along with accompanying photos from Yahoo Sports and NFL.com.

sea-HAWKS!

Real Steel - Movie Review

"Hey, look! It's Rock 'Em, Sock 'Em, Robots!"

That seems to be the first thought people have when they see the trailer for this movie as most kids have had some version of the classic robot boxing toy. I know my brother and I had ours and this movie takes the concept of robots duking it out and gives it a high tech makeover that has the perfect one-two punch combination of stunning visuals and the classic inspirational sports story. This is rags to richest at its finest in the tradition of Rocky and The Karate Kid (the original) and there is no shortage of moments that will tug at the heart strings mixed in with lots of fiercely intense robot battles.

The Debt - Movie Review

The debt is a classic tale of espionage and intrigue set primarily in 1960's Berlin and is full of suspense along with several surprising twists and turns. You have three reluctant but extremely dedicated heroes and their brilliantly mad adversary who is at times on the level of Hannibal Lechter when it comes to creepy villainy. I enjoyed watching this movie as it doesn't try to force feed the story to the audience and also does a great job of weaving through plot lines that are revealed over two different time lines.

Star Wars: "Noooooo!!!!"

After watching the Star Wars saga on Blu Ray, I am pretty indifferent to the changes George Lucas continues to make to his movies every time they are released in a new format. Most of the changes are pretty minor and have little impact on the story although taking the terrible "Nooooo!!!" Darth Vader moment from Epsiode 3 and recreating it in the climactic scene of Return of the Jedi is a bit much. If you don't know what I'm talking about, check the videos below.