It's still the best scomic book movie of the year, and likely to remain so in the face of some pretty stiff competition. If you haven't seen it yet, what the hell have you been doing?
2. MacGruber
When it was first announced that a big screen version of SNL's inept spy skit was being produced, I laughd it off as just another wasted opportunity. Instead, MacGruber is an explosive concoction of filthy toilet humor,action, and pitch perfect performances by Forte, Wiig, and Ryan Phillippe. MacGyver who?
1. Shrek Forever After
Dreamworks could've phoned in Shrek's farewell flick. It's a proven box office juggernaut, and his swansong is guaranteed money in the bank even for casusal fans like myself. Rather than doing that, they went back to the core that made Shrek so popular in the first place, injecting tons of heart in the place of overdone pop culture references. A fitting end to a classic character.
DVD Pick of the Week: The Messenger
What's the worst job you could ever think of? The guy who sniffs out mines on a battlefield? Jizz mopper at an X-rated movie theater? No, the worst without a doubt is the military's Casualty Notification Officer, the guy who lets the next of kin know when a loved one has passed. Ben Foster stars as a soldier, sent home after a battlefield injury and reassigned to this miserable task. In an Oscar nominated performance, Woody Harrelson shines as his trainee, a lifelong veteran on the job who's seen his life go down the toilet. There's just one rule to the job that must never be broken: Dont' get involved with the next of kin. Unfortunately it's a rule that some just can't seem to follow. One of the best films of 2009, and in my opinion a perfect companion piece to Kathryn Bigelow's The Hurt Locker, as it shows a side of the miitary experience that we've never seen before.
