10 Must-Watch Movies of 2009

The strongest adaptation of the television series that had a fan-following only matched by a few others, this sci-fi/adventure movie was brilliantly made. It chronicles the origins of the Enterprise and shows the main characters as the young crew that comes together to save the world when a threat to the future appears. A must-see for the fans with names like Chris Pine and Eric Bana on board.

When a director like Quentin Tarantino pairs with Brad Pitt and Eli Roth to take up a topic with political connotations, everyone sits up and takes notice. This is a story of an America-Jewish group that calls itself “The Bastards” and launches a series of brutal and merciless tactics in Nazi-occupied France to instill fear into the Third Reich, a rival. Well-made and carrying that distinct Tarantino flavor of dramatization, it offers a good treat of cinematic pleasure.

William Allen Young and Robert Hobbs appear in a movie that was the best of the ‘extra-terrestrial’ movies of the year. The plot centers around the activities in a refugee camp in Africa; it is also where the extra-terrestrials live in slum-like conditions and wage a struggle to pave a way for them to go back home.

This hilarious movie that was a box-office block-buster is sure to draw a few laughs from you. Heather Graham and Bradley Cooper join the cast in a tale of drunken misadventure of three groomsmen who lose the groom. What ensues is two hours of complete madness as they get stuck in the most bizarre and funniest of situations and attempt the most absurd of things to try and get out of their dilemma.

Xander Berkeley stars in this action-thriller that follows the world of human-trafficking. As an ex-CIA agent’s own daughter is kidnapped and thrust into this world, he employs the skills he learnt at work to trace her in a network that leaves almost no traces behind. This has been excellently directed and critically appreciated.

The Harry-Potter cast of the previous four movies returns in this cinematic version of the best-selling book. Harry, played by Daniel Radcliffe, is back in form as he spends the year that sees Voldermort’s rise to power, amongst issues of relationships and Quidditch, and his adventures with Dumbledore, one of the most beloved characters of Fiction. The atmosphere on the screen is bound to capture your attention and will leave you satisfied as you draw comparisons between the book and the movie.

This screenplay rendition of Dan Brown’s best-selling novel was one the greater cinematic ventures of the year. Tom Hanks plays the famous American Professor who uncovers a murder-mystery drenched in depths of historical, religious and political layers. As some of the most important members of the Vatican City are taken hostage by a killer who threatens to kill them one by one, the only way to trace him is through references to biblical implications and uncovering of Vatican’s own secrets.

This is another piece in the strings of cinematic version of a comic-book series (X-Men) that took the world by storm decades ago and continues to be avidly read. The plot focuses on one of the X-Men, Wolverine, and is a depiction of his early life and how he developed the powers he has at expense of great personal sacrifice. Although not as gigantic in proportion as the other X-men movies, Wolverine’s journey is still interesting to watch and should not be missed by any one who wants to see Hugh Jackman in full form as the X-men Hero with wolf-like powers.

This is a political drama that captures the series of interviews between David Frost and the former U.S president Richard Nixon in an attempt to uncover the facts surrounding the Watergate Scandal that forced Nixon out of Presidency. Superior in terms of screenplay, it is a very revealing rendition of a discussion of events that attracted global attention a decade ago. Michael Grandage directs a movie that received much critical acclaim.

The Oscar-winning movie with an American director and a primarily Indian cast, this was one of the biggest block-busters of the year. The life of a young man is thrown into great chaos as he begins to win at an alarmingly fast rate on a Quiz show that offers a million as the ultimate prize. As he is investigated, what comes forward is a touching portrayal of his life in slums, the relationships he forms there and the love that brings him to know what he knows today. A powerful movie that brought the house down, Danny Boyle delivers an India few others have captured so beautifully.