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 Grade // By Title, with Full Reviews Top Ten List 1.  Dogtooth Dir. Giorgos Lanthimos. With Aggeliki Papoulia, Mary Tsoni, Hristos Passalis A– 2.  White Material Dir. Claire Denis. Isabelle Huppert, Christopher Lambert A– 3.  City of Life and Death Dir. Lu Chuan. With Liu Ye, Hideo Nakaizumi, Fan Wei A– 4.  Anvil! The Story of Anvil Dir. Sacha Gervasi. Documentary about a heavy metal band A– 5.  Beeswax Dir. Andrew Bujalski. With Tilly Hatcher, Maggie Hatcher, Alex Karpovsky A– 6.  Everyone Else Dir. Maren Ade. With Lars Eidinger, Birgit Minichmayr A– 7.  Fish Tank Dir. Andrea Arnold. With Katie Jarvis, Michael Fassbender, Kierston Wareing A– 8.  Bright Star Dir. Jane Campion. With Abbie Cornish, Ben Whishaw, Paul Schneider B+ 9.  Raging Sun, Raging Sky Dir. Julián Hernández. With Jorge Becerra, Guillermo Villegas B+ 10.  Mother Dir. Bong Joon-ho. With Kim Hye-ja, Won Bin, Jin Goo, Yun Je-moon B+ Remainder of Films Screened About Elly Dir. Asghar Farhadi. With Golshifteh Farahani, Shahab Hosseini B+ La Danse: The Paris Opera Ballet Dir. Frederick Wiseman. Documentary B+ Duplicity Dir. Tony Gilroy. With Clive Owen, Julia Roberts, Paul Giamatti, Denis O'Hare B+ Face Dir. Tsai Ming-Liang. With Lee Kang-sheng, Fanny Ardant, Laetitia Casta B+ The Father of My Children Dir. Mia Hansen-Løve. With Louis-Do de Lencquesaing B+ I Killed My Mother Dir. Xavier Dolan. With Xavier Dolan, Anne Dorval, Suzanne Clément B+ In the Loop Dir. Armando Iannucci. With Tom Hollander, Peter Capaldi, Chris Addison B+ 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 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+ Mississippi Damned Dir. Tina Mabry. With Tessa Thompson, Michael Hyatt B+ Mother Dir. Bong Joon-ho. With Kim Hye-ja, Won Bin, Jin Goo, Yun Je-moon B+ My Neighbor, My Killer Dir. Anne Aghion. Documentary about Rwandan murder trials B+ A Prophet Dir. Jacques Audiard. With Tahar Rahim, Niels Arestrup, Adel Bencherif B+ Raging Sun, Raging Sky Dir. Julián Hernandez. With Jorge Becerra, Guillermo Villegas B+ Sin Nombre Dir. Cary Fukunaga. With Edgar Flores, Paulina Gaitan, Kristian Ferrer B+ Thirst Dir. Park Chan-wook. With Song Kang-ho, Kim Ok-vin, Shin Ha-kyun, Kim Hae-sook B+ Whip It Dir. Drew Barrymore. With Ellen Page, Alia Shawkat, Marcia Gay Harden 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 Cairo Time Dir. Ruba Nadda. With Patricia Clarkson, Alexander Siddig, Amina Annabi B 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 Crude Dir. Joe Berlinger. Documentary about oil-industrial practices in Ecuador B Daddy Longlegs Dirs. Josh and Benny Safdie. Ronald Bronstein, Sage Ranaldo B Drag Me to Hell Dir. Sam Raimi. With Alison Lohman, Justin Long, Lorna Raver B Funny People Dir. Judd Apatow. With Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, Leslie Mann, Eric Bana B Hadewijch Dir. Bruno Dumont. With Julie Sokolowski, Yassine Salime, Karl Sarafidis B The House of the Devil Dir. Ti West. Jocelin Donahue, Tom Noonan, Greta Gerwig B I Am Love Dir. Luca Guadagnino. With Tilda Swinton, Edoardo Gabriellini, Flavio Parenti B I Love You, Man Dir. John Hamburg. With Paul Rudd, Jason Segel, Rashida Jones B Last Train Home Dir. Lixin Fan. Documentary about a Chinese family of migrant laborers B Lebanon Dir. Daniel Maoz. With Yoav Donat, Oshri Cohen, Itay Tiran, Michael Moshonov B The Messenger Dir. Oren Moverman. With Ben Foster, Woody Harrelson B October Country Dirs. Michael Palmieri, Donal Mosher. Documentary B 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 Road Dir. John Hillcoat. With Viggo Mortensen, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Charlize Theron B The Secret of Kells Dir. Tomm Moore. Animated. Voice of Evan McGuire B The Soloist Dir. Joe Wright. With Robert Downey, Jr., Jamie Foxx, Catherine Keener B Sweetgrass Dirs. Ilisa Barbash, Lucien Castaing-Taylor. Documentary B That Evening Sun Dir. Scott Teems. With Hal Holbrook, Ray McKinnon, Walton Goggins B To Die Like a Man Dir. João Pedro Rodrigues. With Fernando Santos, Alexander David B Up Dir. Pete Docter. Animated. With the voices of Ed Asner, Jordan Nagai, Bob Peterson B We Live in Public Dir. Ondi Timoner. Documentary about surveillance experiment B Where the Wild Things Are Dir. Spike Jonze. With Max Records B Wild Grass Dir. Alain Resnais. With André Dussolier, Sabine Azéma, Anne Consigny B (500) Days of Summer Dir. Marc Webb. With Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Zooey Deschanel B– Applause Dir. Martin Zandvliet. With Paprika Steen, Michael Falch, Sara-Marie Maltha B– The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call: New Orleans Dir. Werner Herzog B– 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– Brothers Dir. Jim Sheridan. With Tobey Maguire, Natalie Portman, Jake Gyllenhaal B– 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– Humpday Dir. Lynn Shelton. With Mark Duplass, Joshua Leonard, Alycia Delmore B– It's Complicated Dir. Nancy Meyers. With Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin, Steve Martin B– Katalin Varga Dir. Peter Strickland. With Hilda Péter, Norbert Tankó, Tibor Pálffy B– Life During Wartime Dir. Todd Solondz. With Shirley Henderson, Dylan Riley Snyder B– The Princess and the Frog Dirs. John Musker and Ron Clements. Animated B– Public Enemies Dir. Michael Mann. With Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, Marion Cotillard B– Red Riding: 1974 Dir. Julian Jarrold. With Andrew Garfield, Rebecca Hall B– The Secret in Their Eyes Dir. Juan José Campanella. With Ricardo Darín B– The September Issue Dir. R.J. Cutler. Documentary about Vogue Magazine B– State of Play Dir. Kevin Macdonald. With Russell Crowe, Rachel McAdams, Ben Affleck B– Tetro Dir. Francis Ford Coppola. With Alden Ehrenreich, Vincent Gallo, Maribel Verdú B– Valentino: The Last Emperor Dir. Matt Tyrnauer. Documentary about the designer B– The White Ribbon Dir. Michael Haneke. With Christian Friedel, Burghart Klaußner B– 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+ 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+ City Island Dir. Raymond De Felitta. With Andy Garcia, Julianna Margulies, Steven Strait C+ District 9 Dir. Neill Blomkamp. With Sharlto Copley, David James, Louis Minnaar C+ Effi Briest Dir. Hermine Huntgebruth. With Julia Jentsch, Sebastian Koch C+ Fantastic Mr. Fox Dir. Wes Anderson. Animated. Voice of George Clooney C+ The Girlfriend Experience Dir. Steven Soderbergh. With Sasha Grey, Chris Santos C+ Julie & Julia Dir. Nora Ephron. With Amy Adams, Meryl Streep, Stanley Tucci C+ Moon Dir. Duncan Jones. With Sam Rockwell, voice of Kevin Spacey C+ Mother and Child Dir. Rodrigo García. With Annette Bening, Naomi Watts C+ Mugabe and the White African Dirs. Lucy Bailey, Andrew Thompson. Documentary 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+ Trash Humpers Dir. Harmony Korine. With Rachel Korine, Brian Kotzur, Travis Nicholson C+ Valhalla Rising Dir. Nicolas Winding Refn. With Mads Mikkelsen, Maarten Stevenson C+ 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+ Air Doll Dir. Hirokazu Kore-eda. With Bae Du-na, Arata, Itsuji Itao, Joe Odagiri, Sumiko Fuji C Avatar Dir. James Cameron. With Sam Worthington, Zoë Saldana, Sigourney Weaver C Broken Embraces Dir. Pedro Almodóvar. With Lluís Homar, Penélope Cruz, Tamar Novas C Coco Before Chanel Dir. Anne Fontaine. With Audrey Tautou, Benoît Poelvoorde C 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 Disappearance of Alice Creed Dir. J Blakeson. With Martin Compston C An Education Dir. Lone Scherfig. With Carey Mulligan, Peter Sarsgaard, Alfred Molina C Good Hair Dir. Jeff Stilson. Documentary about black women and their hair C He's Just Not That Into You Dir. Ken Kwapis. With Ginnifer Goodwin, Justin Long C I Love You Phillip Morris Dirs. Glenn Ficarra & John Requa. With Jim Carrey 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 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 Only When I Dance Dir. Beadie Finzi. Documentary about Brazilian dance competition C The Proposal Dir. Anne Fletcher. With Sandra Bullock, Ryan Reynolds, Mary Steenburgen C Taking Woodstock Dir. Ang Lee. With Demetri Martin, Imelda Staunton, Henry Goodman C Tyler Perry's I Can Do Bad All by Myself Dir. Tyler Perry. With Taraji P. Henson C The Young Victoria Dir. Jean-Marc Vallée. With Emily Blunt, Rupert Friend, Paul Bettany C Brüno Dir. Larry Charles. With Sacha Baron Cohen, Gustaf Hammarsten C– Coffin Rock Dir. Rupert Glasson. With Lisa Chappell, Sam Parsonson, Robert Taylor C– The Eclipse Dir. Conor McPherson. With Ciarán Hinds, Iben Hjejle, Aidan Quinn C– Get Low Dir. Aaron Schneider. With Robert Duvall, Lucas Black, Bill Murray, Sissy Spacek C– The Informant! Dir. Steven Soderbergh. With Matt Damon, Scott Bakula, Joel McHale C– Inglourious Basterds Dir. Quentin Tarantino. With Christoph Waltz, Mélanie Laurent C– A Serious Man Dirs. Joel and Ethan Coen. With Michael Stuhlbarg, Ken Melamed C– Star Trek Dir. J.J. Abrams. With Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoë Saldana, Eric Bana C– Stephanie's Image Dir. Janis DeLucia Allen. Janice DeLucia Allen, Melissa Leo C– Up in the Air Dir. Jason Reitman. With George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick C– The Blind Side Dir. John Lee Hancock. With Quinton Aaron, Sandra Bullock D+ Chéri Dir. Stephen Frears. With Michelle Pfeiffer, Rupert Friend, Kathy Bates D+ Chloe Dir. Atom Egoyan. With Julianne Moore, Amanda Seyfried, Liam Neeson D+ The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Dir. Niels Arden Oplev. With Michael Nyqvist D+ The Human Centipede Dir. Tom Six. With Dieter Laser, Ashley C. Williams D+ Leaves of Grass Dir. Edward Norton. With Edward Norton, Tim Blake Nelson D+ Life Is Hot in Cracktown Dir. Buddy Giovinazzo. With Evan Ross, Victor Rasuk D+ Nine Dir. Rob Marshall. With Daniel Day-Lewis, Marion Cotillard, Judi Dench D+ A Single Man Dir. Tom Ford. With Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, Nicholas Hoult D+ Spread Dir. David Mackenzie. With Ashton Kutcher, Margarita Levieva, Anne Heche D+ Vincere Dir. Marco Bellocchio. With Giovanna Mezzogiorno, Filippo Timi D+ Watchmen Dir. Zack Snyder. With Billy Crudup, Jackie Earle Haley, Malin Akerman D+ Antichrist Dir. Lars von Trier. With Willem Dafoe, Charlotte Gainsbourg D For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism Dir. Gerald Peary D Gamer Dirs. Mark Neveldine, Brian Taylor. Gerard Butler, Logan Lerman, Michael C. Hall D The Hangover Dir. Todd Phillips. With Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms, Bradley Cooper D The Last Station Dir. Michael Hoffman. With James McAvoy, Helen Mirren D The Lovely Bones Dir. Peter Jackson. With Saoirse Ronan, Mark Wahlberg D– Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus Dir. Ace Hannah. With Deborah Gibson, Vic Chao F Sherlock Holmes Dir. Guy Ritchie. With Robert Downey, Jr., Jude Law, Rachel McAdams F