It’s interesting to note that most of the movies on this list would be better categorized under “action,” but I’m far too lazy to plan another list. And since they all deal with advanced technology or unheard-of science, I’m tossing them in here with the big boys.

Superb

I may in later years look back and sigh on my naïveté, but I found “Moon” and “District 9” to be absolutely refreshing entries in the science fiction realm. Perhaps they are not deserving of the “superb” label, but it’s been so long since an actual SF film has been science fiction, rather than fantasy or action, so forgive me. The ideas explored were done so in new and intriguing ways, though not necessarily as in-depth as some may like. Sam Rockwell was given an actor’s chance to shine in “Moon” and he took it and ran. And what’s to say about “District 9′s” completely unknown star, Sharlto Copley, except, “wow?” I admit, “District 9″ devolves into an action race against time by the end, in very gruesome detail I might add, but by that time you’ve been sucked in by the characters and the world they inhabit. The real stars though are the father and son aliens who work alongside Mr. Copley’s racist character to ensure a brighter tomorrow.

Great

None.

Good

“Knowing” is the action-thriller kid-brother to “The Fountain.” I ate up all the cheese and theological soufflé it threw at me, while “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” is, simply put, a boy’s movie. Growing up on Saturday-morning cartoons and Power Rangers, I could not help my pulse from quickening at the sight of live-action cartoons carving mayhem and destruction with an unabashed glee. “Joe” has neither brains nor morals. It’s emotionally stunted and goofy and it is glorious.

The plot and character motivations (what little there are) in “Avatar” are problems and it’s a shame to see the original story concept thrown out the window for such a juvenile simplification. Even the patented James Cameron banter is missing. But the visual artistry and attention to detail overwhelm common sense, and what should be as bad as a pre-teen’s goofy notebook sketches brought to life is elevated to a great night at the movies. My only real concern with “Avatar” is how much it “pays homage” to over a century’s worth of science fiction material. The currently-filming “John Carter of Mars” is based on a series of books over ninety years old and has been in and out of production for it seems just as long. Will that film be met with hostility in 2012 by the general public, outraged that it steals so blatantly from Mr. Cameron’s “masterpiece?” Considering the talent involved in that film, it would be a shame.

The “Star Trek” franchise had grown tired and no one was up in arms over a reboot of the movie series. With J. J. Abrams at the helm, it seems to be in good hands now. And while the film is a product of several unrelated screenplays stitched together—and boy does it show!—the terrific cast assembled absolutely shines.

Average

“2012” is dumb. It knows it is dumb. Many can be quoted as calling it the culmination of every disaster movie and every CGI painting that has come before. God, help me, I found it riveting.

Poor

“Terminator Salvation” is decent but unneeded. It had some of the strangest editing in certain spots and the plot does not feel original, having been groupthought into extinction. I’ve waited all these years for this storyline? But since it is made competently and kept my attention, this third sequel to the once fresh and exciting series is not entirely trash-worthy. Anton Yelchin gives the standout performance, over time even resembling the future version of Kyle Reese. If there is to be another sequel (and it looks grim now that the franchise is up for auction), Christian Bale’s bland John Connor needs to be on the sidelines to let Mr. Yelchin’s and Moon Bloodgood’s characters stand out.

Trash

None.

Missed

Bruce Willis sporting a hair piece and tons of makeup to play a robot of himself trying to figure out why humans are dying in their avatar robot bodies? “Surrogates” sure sounds dumb. Yes, please!

Writer/director Richard Kelly aimed high on “The Box,” that much I know. I only wish I could have seen the messy results on the big screen.

That said, making this list has been helpful in figuring out what my tastes are. I used to make goals each year to see every movie that comes out, of which I fail miserably. But now I realize: what’s the point? There is so much useless junk out there and every time I see one of those I’m missing out on a real gem. I’m also starting to see that I have far more respect for those films that aim high and fail than those that cruise by and somehow end up quite good.

For those just tuning in, I’ve decided to group my best of ’09 list by genre, just so I can get my bearings. I failed to write reviews for so many films this past year that it’s hard to make a complete master list right off the bat. Today we’re focusing on fantasy, a rather short list this year, and then each day following I will work my way through science fiction, horror, comedy, and lastly drama.

Superb

I had given up on Terry Gilliam until I experienced “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.” I thought he had grown tired like Tim Burton and Steven Spielberg. All his films are dense, confusing, and absurd, and many people find them indecipherable garbage. Yet the ambition and creativity here is striking and while it may not stick all the right landings, it transfixed me from beginning to end and long after. The ideas Mr. Gilliam plays around with and those crazy visuals only he excels at wrap so tightly around a plot that seems as old as time and yet so refreshing. Even major setbacks such as the death of Heath Ledger are sources of innovation and it’s almost as if Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell were always meant to play Imaginarium-manifestations of Mr. Ledger’s character. This is pure, compelling cinema and it’s hard to deny the balls this film has, regardless of any technical deficiencies.

Great

None.

Good

“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” sure knows its stuff visually. The scenes featuring the Weasley’s staircase and the “Lord of the Rings”-style Gandalf-gesticulations and Gollum-creatures are both grand in their own ways. And while the romantic escapades are enjoyable, the character development that really matters (Draco Malfoy) is completely nonexistent. He runs to the bathroom morally struggling and I feel like I’ve hardly met the guy. Fortunately this entry in the series is less SparkNotes and more like an actual movie (unlike the previous film) and the series seems to be in capable hands now that director David Yates has found firmer footing (probably thanks to the return of screenwriter Steve Kloves).

Average

None.

Poor

None.

Trash

“The Twilight Saga: New Moon” is just as bad as its predecessor. But while the first film didn’t know it was retarded, thus making it a brilliant comedy much like “The Happening,” “New Moon” detects a faint whiff of its own stench and gives a winking nod every once in a while. Too bad it’s boring, half-assed, and just plain silly.

Missed

I have a feeling I would have liked Paul Weitz’ “Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant,” or at least respected it. It seems to have a great cast, a faint sense of danger, and a possibly nice twist on the current teen fantasy fad.

Superb

Pixar’s “Up” is brilliant, boldly planting its stake in the land of Character First. Everything is in service to the characters and never feels out of place, and it’s a testament to the artists at Pixar that I cried after I’d only known two characters for less than ten minutes. The action, the adventure, the excitement, the awe, and especially the sense of humor and fun are direct responses from the characters themselves. And let’s not even go into the animation on display. “Up” is a masterpiece.

Though it did not have a theatrical release, I caught Bill Plympton’s latest, “Idiots and Angels,” at the Newport Beach Film Festival. It’s a dark comedy about a complete scumbag who starts growing wings on his back. As he desperately attempts to hack them off only to find them sprouting anew each morning, he must also fight off those who ridicule and attempt to profit off of him. Is he capable of salvation? I am a huge fan of Plympton’s work; he’s one of the few standout voices in independent and experimental animation left and I love his use of angles and transitions, which is probably best demonstrated in his short film “Your Face.”

Great

“Coraline” is a wonderful movie, combining all the elements I love about fairy tales and your usual “life lessons.” I would love to see Laika become the Pixar of stop-motion animation, a style which actually looks great in the wholly unneeded 3D. They even got me to obsessively reread the book a few times.

Wes Anderson’s films leave me cold, but somehow his style and imagination translated to the world of stop motion perfectly with “Fantastic Mr. Fox.”

“Ponyo is one of Hayao Miyazaki’s weakest projects, but that is faint damning. It continues his fascination with the roles man and nature play in the grand scheme of things, and through his use of dream-like scenarios and drawings alongside casual social observations, the film becomes a flow of moments, each crucial to the overall momentum forward. It’s this journey that makes the film so magical. Each inconsequential moment and each surreal, “out there” bong hit captures the heart and soul of the characters. And who can’t help but smile when little Ponyo first calls out, “Ponyo loves Sosuke!”

Good

As a whole “The Princess and the Frog” is forgettable, yet it has great moments such as a ballsy death (for modern Disney) and an amazing villain—perhaps the best Disney villain of all time—that make it a significant step in the right direction for Walt Disney Animation.

Average

None.

Poor

The visual artistry on display in “9” is beautiful. The imagination is commendable. But whenever the female ragdoll named 7 leaps around all I can think of is Miyazaki’s “Princess Mononoke.” In fact the entire film is unoriginal, not to mention mired with plot holes and banal dialogue. Yet I can’t help but think the filmmakers’ hearts were in the right place. It’s disheartening to see such potential squandered.

“Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel” is a disaster. A complete failure of editing in a single scene during the climactic chase elevates it to legend.

It is perhaps entirely unfair to include “Monsters vs Aliens,” having seen it twice now and remembering nothing but the opening scene. Traveling the galaxy in 3D was breathtaking the first time, but this harmless film is downgraded for being the opening salvo in the current wave of 3D masturbation.

Trash

None.

Missed

I look forward to catching up on Robert Zemeckis’ continued downward spiral to motion capture Hell with “A Christmas Carol.”

Seen

• 17 Again
• The Brothers Bloom
• Coraline
• Knowing
• I Love You, Man
• Monsters vs Aliens
• Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
• Observe and Report
• Star Trek
• State of Play
• Watchmen

Missed

• 12
• 12 Rounds
• Adventureland
• Alien Trespass
• American Violet
• Angels & Demons
• Anvil! The Story of Anvil
• Battle for Terra
• The Boys: The Sherman Brothers’ Story
• Bride Wars
• Brothers at War
• The Class
• Confessions of a Shopaholic
• Crank: High Voltage
• Crossing Over
• Dance Flick
• Defiance
• Donkey Punch
• Dragonball Evolution
• Duplicity
• Earth
• Easy Virtue
• Echelon Conspiracy
• The Edge of Love
• The Education of Charlie Banks
• Eleven Minutes
• Enlighten Up!
• The Escapist
• Every Little Step
• Fanboys
• Fast & Furious
• Fighting
• Fired Up
• Friday the 13th
• Ghosts of Girlfriends Past
• Gigantic
• The Girlfriend Experience
• Gomorra
• Goodbye Solo
• The Great Buck Howard
• Hannah Montana: The Movie
• The Haunting in Connecticut
• He’s Just Not That Into You
• The Horsemen
• Hotel For Dogs
• The Informers
• Inkheart
• The International
• Is Anybody There?
• Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience
• Killshot
• The Last House on the Left
• The Limits of Control
• Little Ashes
• Madea Goes to Jail
• Management
• Miss March
• Mutant Chronicles
• My Bloody Valentine
• The Mysteries of Pittsburgh
• New in Town
• Next Day Air
• Not Easily Broken
• Notorious
• Obsessed
• O’Horten
• Outlander
• Outrage
• Paris 36
• Paul Blart: Mall Cop
• The Pink Panther 2
• Phoebe in Wonderland
• Push
• Race to Witch Mountain
• Rudo y Cursi
• Shall We Kiss?
• Sin Nombre
• Sleep Dealer
• The Soloist
• Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li
• Sugar
• Sunshine Cleaning
• Super Capers
• Taken
• Terminator Salvation
• Tokyo!
• Tôkyô sonata
• Two Lovers
• Tyson
• The Unborn
• Under the Sea 3D
• The Uninvited
• Underworld: Rise of the Lycans
• X-Men Origins: Wolverine