I love (500)Days of Summer. Although it was not that lively the message conveyed was pretty good. And I was pretty much in love when I watched the movie.

But I can't see The Hangover so I think that was the one lacking here.

Are mp and I the only ones wondering why Inglourious Basterds isn't on this list? I'm not saying that everyone should love it, but I'd just like to know what Andrew thought about it.

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No, I liked 500 Days.
Good call on Fantastic Mr. fox and Kimmy Dora. Hilarious movies both. Can't wait to get the DVD.
Andrew, I agree, Avatar may be good looking but the script is kinda so-so. "Unobtainium"? WTH! That's a standing joke among comics and science fiction novels. Why not be original and call it hardtofindium. But you have to admit, Avatar changes CGI the way Matrix did to action and Shrek to animation. For that it's in my top 10.
As for Engkwentro, haven't seen it. Missed the screenings. Any chance of getting that? Can't believe the guy behind it is younger than me. And I'm still in college.

the thing about lists is that even at its most scholarly or objective or whatever pseudo- intellectual reason one has for it, it still remains as the personal preference of whoever it was who made it. arguing why your favorite is omitted in the list not unlike telling someone why their favorite color is red instead of blue (your favorite). while lists like these are indeed, meant to be shot down, list readers should also have a modicum of common sense to know that this is just one person's opinion.

Andrew encourages us to get pirated! Yay, thanks!

The list is good for me. Maybe the protests would go down if we create more, like: top 10 indies, top 10 Hollywood, etc.

And can someone do "The top 10 movies you missed in 2009", just so we could see them too. I'm now looking for Andrew's suggestion, "Let the Right One In".

Well of course this is the 10 Best Movies According to Andrew Paredes hahaha! Anyone can make a list; the only reason why spot.PH would ask me to come up with a list is because a) I pestered them to let me do it (hehehe), and 2) they hope that my being a fan of the movies and my knowledge of it is enough for me to come up with a knowledgeable list.

As for the list being an art film buff's list, I disagree. I strived hard to keep the list balanced--there are mainstream Hollywood entries like Up, mainstream Pinoy entries like Kimmy Dora, American indie movies like (500) Days of Summer (yes, this popular movie was first screened at independent film festivals in the States), local indie movies like Engkwentro. And then there are obscure titles like Let the Right One In, which I hope you make the effort to look for in the pirated foreign film section of Makati Cinema Square. If not to test the limits of your taste in cinema, then at least to bone up on the original when the Hollywood remake hits cinemas next year.

But what they have in common is what I perceive to be their aspirational factor. Did they live up to the ambitions they set for themselves? If I feel that yes, they did, then they got on the list. That's why you cannot say that Kimmy Dora does not belong in a list that includes Fantastic Mr. Fox etc. These films got on this list based on their own merits, not on the other films' merits.

And that's why I stand by my decision not to include Avatar (the film with the most incensed reactions about its omission) or even Kinatay. Based on their filmmakers' track record and ambition, there is something seriously lacking in their storytelling or plot or whatever. But I appreciate your protests! Keep 'em coming. After all, lists were made to be shot down :-)

This should have been titled "The 10 Best Movies of 2009 According to Andrew Paredes". This is basically the art film buff's choice. But I agree that Up and 500 days of Summer are some of the best films of the year. "Up" because of it's sheer cuteness and it's heart melting characters, and "500 Days of Summer" because of the witty and unconventional script. Some of the films in this list, I admit, I haven't even heard of let alone watched. "Avatar" should have been included, not because of the script, but because of the technical milestone it has achieved.

@Kabarj Although Jay was screened in Cinemalaya 2008, it had its theatrical run at SM Cinemas last February.

why isn't "This Is It" there?D: This Is It was a great movie you know!>:| D: >:(

while I found 500 Days of Summer one of the better romantic comedies of 2009, I don't think it's in the same league as The Hurt Locker, Fantastic Mr. Fox or Let the Right One In. And where is Inglourious Basterds?

I agree with the list except "Engkwentro" which I find unoriginal and pretentious. Other than that, a terrific list! (Also deserving to be included are "Kinatay," "Lola," "Last Supper No. 3," "Mangatyanan," "Adventureland," "The Hangover" and "The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans.")

Yung Jay di ata 2009..
I agree with Dinig Sana Kita.

Eh Last Supper No. 3?

Great list, Andrew. Allow me to add 5 more films in this list:
Tulpan and Samson & Delilah (from Cinemanila)
Yanggaw
Jay
Dinig Sana Kita

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Thanks for suggesting Fantastic Mr. Fox
I was a bit apprehensive at first to watch it since my friend didnt like it
But since you included it in your top 10, I decided to watch it yesterday.
It's so retro I love it! :)

500 Days Of Summer was more like 90mins of BS. It was the most boring, convulted, ill-contrived mess of a movie I've ever seen. The whole in medias res thing was just a cheap diversionary tactic to mask the piddly plot and lame acting. Guuuh. I regret watching it. >.<

I'm happily in love and i didn't think 500 Days was lame. Great movies and great books make you appreciate the breadth and diversity of human experience, whether or not you have personally experienced what the film is conveying.

My Top 10 list would include Star Trek, Up, The Hangover, Taken, The Brothers Bloom. But I'm curious about the Mr. Fox movie now! Thanks!

Star Trek!!!!!!!!

500 Days of Summer... I noticed that most of the people who loved that movie were either very young (as in pa-cool na mga teens and 20-somethings) or very jaded. But most happily in love people thought it was lame.

how come Dinig Sana Kita is not included?

@special KIMMY DORA is already out in DVD's. :)

@special: I'm pretty sure Kimmy Dora will get a DVD release, if it hasn't already. (I saw a DVD copy at a director friend's house, but I'm not sure if it was pirated.) The other local titles in this list have yet to finish their festival runs or get full theatrical releases. Maybe by next year.
@anonymous: Yes, I've seen Avatar. Spot uploaded one of the earliest reviews, as a matter of fact. But the films in this list realized their visions more fully, in my humble onion. While I would gladly watch Avatar a second or even fifth time just to gawk at the technology, I have my reservations.

Yeah, have you seen Avatar? How could you have missed it?

What about Avatar? :)

any idea if all the filipino films included will be out on DVD next year?