2009: World Premieres 2009: U.S. Releases 2009: Still Left to See 2009: Cannes Festival 2009: Chicago Festival Looking Back Moving Ahead Browse Films by Title / Year / Reviews Home / Blog / E-Mail The Movies of 2009: World Premieres  By Title // By Grade, with Top Ten Complete Reviews ★ = Full Review   /   ★ = Capsule Review   /   ★ = Special Feature or Blog Review (new window) ★  Accomplices Dir. Frééric Mermoud. With Cyril Descours, Nina Meurisse, Gilbert Melki B ★  Air Doll Dir. Hirokazu Kore-eda. With Bae Du-na, Arata, Itsuji Itao, Joe Odagiri, Sumiko Fuji C ★  Cairo Time Dir. Ruba Nadda. With Patricia Clarkson, Alexander Siddig, Amina Annabi B ★  Chéri Dir. Stephen Frears. With Michelle Pfeiffer, Rupert Friend, Kathy Bates D+ ★  Crazy Heart Dir. Scott Cooper. With Jeff Bridges, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Robert Duvall C ★  Cropsey Dirs. Joshua Zeman & Barbara Brancaccio. Documentary about NYC abductions C ★  The Eclipse Dir. Conor McPherson. With Ciarán Hinds, Iben Hjejle, Aidan Quinn C– ★  Everyone Else Dir. Maren Ade. With Lars Eidinger, Birgit Minichmayr A– ★  The Last Station Dir. Michael Hoffman. With James McAvoy, Helen Mirren D ★  Lebanon Dir. Daniel Maoz. With Yoav Donat, Oshri Cohen, Itay Tiran, Michael Moshonov B ★  Life During Wartime Dir. Todd Solondz. With Shirley Henderson, Dylan Riley Snyder B– ★  Lourdes Dir. Jessica Hausner. With Sylvie Testud, Léa Seydoux, Gilette Barbier B+ ★  Mary and Max Dir. Adam Elliot. Animated. Voices of Barry Humphries, Toni Collette B+ ★  Mugabe and the White African Dirs. Lucy Bailey, Andrew Thompson. Documentary C+ ★  My Neighbor, My Killer Dir. Anne Aghion. Documentary about Rwandan murder trials B+ ★  Only When I Dance Dir. Beadie Finzi. Documentary about Brazilian dance competition C ★  Precious Dir. Lee Daniels. With Gabourey Sidibe, Mo'Nique, Paula Patton, Mariah Carey B ★  Sherlock Holmes Dir. Guy Ritchie. With Robert Downey, Jr., Jude Law, Rachel McAdams F ★  Valhalla Rising Dir. Nicolas Winding Refn. With Mads Mikkelsen, Maarten Stevenson C+ ★  The White Ribbon Dir. Michael Haneke. With Christian Friedel, Burghart Klaußner B– ★  Wild Grass Dir. Alain Resnais. With André Dussolier, Sabine Azéma, Anne Consigny B Full Listing of Films Screened (500) Days of Summer Dir. Marc Webb. With Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Zooey Deschanel B– About Elly Dir. Asghar Farhadi. With Golshifteh Farahani, Shahab Hosseini B+ Accomplices Dir. Frédéric Mermoud. With Cyril Descours, Nina Meurisse, Gilbert Melki B Adventureland Dir. Greg Mottola. With Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Martin Starr B Air Doll Dir. Hirokazu Kore-eda. With Bae Du-na, Arata, Itsuji Itao, Joe Odagiri, Sumiko Fuji C American Radical: The Trials of Norman Finkelstein Dirs. David Ridgen, et al. Grade: C+ Amreeka Dir. Cherien Dabis. With Nisreen Faour, Melkar Muallem, Hiam Abbass C+ Antichrist Dir. Lars von Trier. With Willem Dafoe, Charlotte Gainsbourg D Anvil! The Story of Anvil Dir. Sacha Gervasi. Documentary about a heavy-metal band A– Applause Dir. Martin Zandvliet. With Paprika Steen, Michael Falch, Sara-Marie Maltha B– Avatar Dir. James Cameron. With Sam Worthington, Zoë Saldana, Sigourney Weaver C Away We Go Dir. Sam Mendes. With Maya Rudolph, John Krasinski, Catherine O'Hara C+ Backyard Dir. Carlos Carrera. With Ana de la Reguera, Asur Zágada, Joaquín Cosio C+ The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call: New Orleans Dir. Werner Herzog B– Beeswax Dir. Andrew Bujalski. With Tilly Hatcher, Maggie Hatcher, Alex Karpovsky A– Big Fan Dir. Robert Siegel. With Patton Oswalt, Kevin Corrigan, Marcia Jean Kurtz B– Black Field Dir. Vardis Marinakis. With Sofia Georgovassili, Hristos Passalis B– The Blind Side Dir. John Lee Hancock. With Quinton Aaron, Sandra Bullock D+ Bright Star Dir. Jane Campion. With Abbie Cornish, Ben Whishaw, Paul Schneider B+ Broken Embraces Dir. Pedro Almodóvar. With Lluís Homar, Penélope Cruz, Tamar Novas C Brothers Dir. Jim Sheridan. With Tobey Maguire, Natalie Portman, Jake Gyllenhaal B– Brüno Dir. Larry Charles. With Sacha Baron Cohen, Gustaf Hammarsten C– Cairo Time Dir. Ruba Nadda. With Patricia Clarkson, Alexander Siddig, Amina Annabi B Chéri Dir. Stephen Frears. With Michelle Pfeiffer, Rupert Friend, Kathy Bates D+ Chloe Dir. Atom Egoyan. With Julianne Moore, Amanda Seyfried, Liam Neeson D+ City Island Dir. Raymond De Felitta. With Andy Garcia, Julianna Margulies, Steven Strait C+ City of Life and Death Dir. Lu Chuan. With Liu Ye, Hideo Nakaizumi, Fan Wei A– Coco Before Chanel Dir. Anne Fontaine. With Audrey Tautou, Benoît Poelvoorde C Coffin Rock Dir. Rupert Glasson. With Lisa Chappell, Sam Parsonson, Robert Taylor C– Coraline Dir. Henry Selick. Animated. Voices of Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher B The Cove Dir. Louie Psihoyos. Documentary about activist work against dolphin slaughter B Crazy Heart Dir. Scott Cooper. With Jeff Bridges, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Robert Duvall C Cropsey Dirs. Joshua Zeman & Barbara Brancaccio. Documentary about NYC abductions C Crude Dir. Joe Berlinger. Documentary about oil-industrial practices in Ecuador B Daddy Longlegs Dirs. Josh and Benny Safdie. Ronald Bronstein, Sage Ranaldo B La Danse: The Paris Opera Ballet Dir. Frederick Wiseman. Documentary B+ The Disappearance of Alice Creed Dir. J Blakeson. With Martin Compston C District 9 Dir. Neill Blomkamp. With Sharlto Copley, David James, Louis Minnaar C+ Dogtooth Dir. Giorgos Lanthimos. With Aggeliki Papoulia, Mary Tsoni, Hristos Passalis A– Drag Me to Hell Dir. Sam Raimi. With Alison Lohman, Justin Long, Lorna Raver B Duplicity Dir. Tony Gilroy. With Clive Owen, Julia Roberts, Paul Giamatti, Denis O'Hare B+ The Eclipse Dir. Conor McPherson. With Ciarán Hinds, Iben Hjejle, Aidan Quinn C– An Education Dir. Lone Scherfig. With Carey Mulligan, Peter Sarsgaard, Alfred Molina C Effi Briest Dir. Hermine Huntgebruth. With Julia Jentsch, Sebastian Koch C+ Everyone Else Dir. Maren Ade. With Lars Eidinger, Birgit Minichmayr A– Face Dir. Tsai Ming-Liang. With Lee Kang-sheng, Fanny Ardant, Laetitia Casta B+ Fantastic Mr. Fox Dir. Wes Anderson. Animated. Voice of George Clooney C+ The Father of My Children Dir. Mia Hansen-Løve. With Louis-Do de Lencquesaing B+ Fish Tank Dir. Andrea Arnold. With Katie Jarvis, Michael Fassbender, Kierston Wareing A– For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism Dir. Gerald Peary D Funny People Dir. Judd Apatow. With Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, Leslie Mann, Eric Bana B Gamer Dirs. Mark Neveldine, Brian Taylor. Gerard Butler, Logan Lerman, Michael C. Hall D Get Low Dir. Aaron Schneider. With Robert Duvall, Lucas Black, Bill Murray, Sissy Spacek C– The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Dir. Niels Arden Oplev. With Michael Nyqvist D+ The Girlfriend Experience Dir. Steven Soderbergh. With Sasha Grey, Chris Santos C+ Good Hair Dir. Jeff Stilson. Documentary about black women and their hair C Grey Gardens Dir. Michael Sucsy. TV Movie. With Drew Barrymore, Jessica Lange B– Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench Dir. Damien Chazelle. With Jason Palmer B– Hadewijch Dir. Bruno Dumont. With Julie Sokolowski, Yassine Salime, Karl Sarafidis B The Hangover Dir. Todd Phillips. With Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms, Bradley Cooper D He's Just Not That Into You Dir. Ken Kwapis. With Ginnifer Goodwin, Justin Long C The House of the Devil Dir. Ti West. Jocelin Donahue, Tom Noonan, Greta Gerwig B The Human Centipede Dir. Tom Six. With Dieter Laser, Ashley C. Williams D+ Humpday Dir. Lynn Shelton. With Mark Duplass, Joshua Leonard, Alycia Delmore B– I Am Love Dir. Luca Guadagnino. With Tilda Swinton, Edoardo Gabriellini, Flavio Parenti B I Killed My Mother Dir. Xavier Dolan. With Xavier Dolan, Anne Dorval, Suzanne Clément B+ I Love You, Man Dir. John Hamburg. With Paul Rudd, Jason Segel, Rashida Jones B I Love You Phillip Morris Dirs. Glenn Ficarra & John Requa. With Jim Carrey C In the Loop Dir. Armando Iannucci. With Tom Hollander, Peter Capaldi, Chris Addison B+ The Informant! Dir. Steven Soderbergh. With Matt Damon, Scott Bakula, Joel McHale C– Inglourious Basterds Dir. Quentin Tarantino. With Christoph Waltz, Mélanie Laurent C– The International Dir. Tom Tykwer. With Clive Owen, Naomi Watts, Armin Mueller-Stahl C Invictus Dir. Clint Eastwood. With Morgan Freeman, Matt Damon, Adjoa Andoh C Invisible Girlfriend Dir. David Redmon. Documentary about a mentally ill romantic C It's Complicated Dir. Nancy Meyers. With Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin, Steve Martin B– Julie & Julia Dir. Nora Ephron. With Amy Adams, Meryl Streep, Stanley Tucci C+ Katalin Varga Dir. Peter Strickland. With Hilda Péter, Norbert Tankó, Tibor Pálffy B– The Last Station Dir. Michael Hoffman. With James McAvoy, Helen Mirren D Last Train Home Dir. Lixin Fan. Documentary about a Chinese family of migrant laborers B Leaves of Grass Dir. Edward Norton. With Edward Norton, Tim Blake Nelson D+ Lebanon Dir. Daniel Maoz. With Yoav Donat, Oshri Cohen, Itay Tiran, Michael Moshonov B Life During Wartime Dir. Todd Solondz. With Shirley Henderson, Dylan Riley Snyder B– Life Is Hot in Cracktown Dir. Buddy Giovinazzo. With Evan Ross, Victor Rasuk D+ The Limits of Control Dir. Jim Jarmusch. With Isaach de Bankolé, Paz de la Huerta B+ Lourdes Dir. Jessica Hausner. With Sylvie Testud, Léa Seydoux, Gilette Barbier B+ The Lovely Bones Dir. Peter Jackson. With Saoirse Ronan, Mark Wahlberg D– The Maid Dir. Sebastián Silva. With Catalina Saavedra, Claudia Celedón, Mariana Loyola B+ Mary and Max Dir. Adam Elliot. Animated. Voices of Barry Humphries, Toni Collette B+ Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus Dir. Ace Hannah. With Deborah Gibson, Vic Chao F The Messenger Dir. Oren Moverman. With Ben Foster, Woody Harrelson B Mississippi Damned Dir. Tina Mabry. With Tessa Thompson, Michael Hyatt B+ Moon Dir. Duncan Jones. With Sam Rockwell, voice of Kevin Spacey C+ Mother Dir. Bong Joon-ho. With Kim Hye-ja, Won Bin, Jin Goo, Yun Je-moon B+ Mother and Child Dir. Rodrigo García. With Annette Bening, Naomi Watts C+ Mugabe and the White African Dirs. Lucy Bailey, Andrew Thompson. Documentary C+ My Dog Tulip Dirs. Paul and Sandra Fierlinger. Voice of Christopher Plummer B My Neighbor, My Killer Dir. Anne Aghion. Documentary about Rwandan murder trials B+ Nine Dir. Rob Marshall. With Daniel Day-Lewis, Marion Cotillard, Judi Dench D+ Notorious Dir. George Tillman, Jr. With Jamal Woolard, Derek Luke, Angela Bassett C Nowhere Boy Dir. Sam Taylor-Wood. With Aaron Johnson, Kristin Scott Thomas C October Country Dirs. Michael Palmieri, Donal Mosher. Documentary B Only When I Dance Dir. Beadie Finzi. Documentary about Brazilian dance competition C Orphan Dir. Jaume Collet-Serra. With Isabelle Fuhrman, Vera Farmiga, Peter Sarsgaard C+ Outrage Dir. Kirby Dick. Documentary about U.S. politicians who obsruct LGBT rights C+ Police, Adjective Dir. Corneliu Porumboiu. With Dragos Bucur, Ion Stoica, Irina Saulescu B Precious Dir. Lee Daniels. With Gabourey Sidibe, Mo'Nique, Paula Patton, Mariah Carey B The Princess and the Frog Dirs. John Musker and Ron Clements. Animated B– A Prophet Dir. Jacques Audiard. With Tahar Rahim, Niels Arestrup, Adel Bencherif B+ The Proposal Dir. Anne Fletcher. With Sandra Bullock, Ryan Reynolds, Mary Steenburgen C Public Enemies Dir. Michael Mann. With Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, Marion Cotillard B– Raging Sun, Raging Sky Dir. Julián Hernandez. With Jorge Becerra, Guillermo Villegas B+ Red Riding: 1974 Dir. Julian Jarrold. With Andrew Garfield, Rebecca Hall B– The Road Dir. John Hillcoat. With Viggo Mortensen, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Charlize Theron B The Secret in Their Eyes Dir. Juan José Campanella. With Ricardo Darín B– The Secret of Kells Dir. Tomm Moore. Animated. Voice of Evan McGuire B The September Issue Dir. R.J. Cutler. Documentary about Vogue Magazine B– A Serious Man Dirs. Joel and Ethan Coen. With Michael Stuhlbarg, Ken Melamed C– Sherlock Holmes Dir. Guy Ritchie. With Robert Downey, Jr., Jude Law, Rachel McAdams F Sin Nombre Dir. Cary Fukunaga. With Edgar Flores, Paulina Gaitan, Kristian Ferrer B+ A Single Man Dir. Tom Ford. With Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, Nicholas Hoult D+ The Soloist Dir. Joe Wright. With Robert Downey, Jr., Jamie Foxx, Catherine Keener B Spread Dir. David Mackenzie. With Ashton Kutcher, Margarita Levieva, Anne Heche D+ Star Trek Dir. J.J. Abrams. With Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoë Saldana, Eric Bana C– State of Play Dir. Kevin Macdonald. With Russell Crowe, Rachel McAdams, Ben Affleck B– Stephanie's Image Dir. Janis DeLucia Allen. Janice DeLucia Allen, Melissa Leo C– Sweetgrass Dirs. Ilisa Barbash, Lucien Castaing-Taylor. Documentary B Taking Woodstock Dir. Ang Lee. With Demetri Martin, Imelda Staunton, Henry Goodman C Tetro Dir. Francis Ford Coppola. With Alden Ehrenreich, Vincent Gallo, Maribel Verdú B– That Evening Sun Dir. Scott Teems. With Hal Holbrook, Ray McKinnon, Walton Goggins B Thirst Dir. Park Chan-wook. With Song Kang-ho, Kim Ok-vin, Shin Ha-kyun, Kim Hae-sook B+ To Die Like a Man Dir. João Pedro Rodrigues. With Fernando Santos, Alexander David B Trash Humpers Dir. Harmony Korine. With Rachel Korine, Brian Kotzur, Travis Nicholson C+ Tyler Perry's I Can Do Bad All by Myself Dir. Tyler Perry. With Taraji P. Henson C Up Dir. Pete Docter. Animated. With the voices of Ed Asner, Jordan Nagai, Bob Peterson B Up in the Air Dir. Jason Reitman. With George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick C– Valentino: The Last Emperor Dir. Matt Tyrnauer. Documentary about the designer B– Valhalla Rising Dir. Nicolas Winding Refn. With Mads Mikkelsen, Maarten Stevenson C+ Vincere Dir. Marco Bellocchio. With Giovanna Mezzogiorno, Filippo Timi D+ Watchmen Dir. Zack Snyder. With Billy Crudup, Jackie Earle Haley, Malin Akerman D+ We Live in Public Dir. Ondi Timoner. Documentary about surveillance experiment B Where the Wild Things Are Dir. Spike Jonze. With Max Records B Whip It Dir. Drew Barrymore. With Ellen Page, Alia Shawkat, Marcia Gay Harden B+ White Material Dir. Claire Denis. With Isabelle Huppert, Christopher Lambert A– The White Ribbon Dir. Michael Haneke. With Christian Friedel, Burghart Klaußner B– Wild Grass Dir. Alain Resnais. With André Dussolier, Sabine Azéma, Anne Consigny B Women Without Men Dir. Shirin Neshat. With Shabnam Toloui, Pegah Ferydoni C+ World's Greatest Dad Dir. Bobcat Goldthwait. With Robin Williams, Alexie Gilmore C+ The Young Victoria Dir. Jean-Marc Vallée. With Emily Blunt, Rupert Friend, Paul Bettany C