Here's our Countdown of the Top 10 Best Films of 2009 plus a special few that didn't quite make the list.
10. 'Star Trek': 'Lost' creator JJ Abrams brought sci-fi classic 'Star Trek' to a new generation with his modern, humorous take on Captain Kirk (Chris Pine), Spock (Zachary Quinto), Scotty (hilarious turn by Simon Pegg) and co.
Read our review here
9. 'The Hangover': While slightly over-rated or at least applauded, two minutes in and it's clear why 'The Hangover' has earned so many laughs. Introducing a number of comedy actors to the big time, most notably Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms and Ken Jeong, the comedy also featured a long overdue star-making turn by Bradley Cooper. Todd Philips’ sequel is already in the pipeline.
8. 'Fantastic Mr. Fox': The wonderful Wes Anderson tipped his hat to stop-motion classics of yore to bring his timeless yet thoroughly modern take on Roald Dahl’s classic to the big screen. Clooney’s voice turn as the eponymous Fox is thoroughly enjoyable beside Meryl Streep’s as his Mrs. Foxy. One to buy and return to time and time again.
7. 'Inglorious Basterds': Quentin Tarantino's best film since 'Pulp Fiction' sees Brad Pitt transform into a larger than life Nazi hunter. Not quite re-writing history yet the books don’t tell it like QT. He also delivers the best villain of the year in the guise of Christoph Waltz’s SS officer.
6. 'Slumdog Millionaire': Danny Boyle's vibrant Mumbai based fairytale, adapted from Vikram Swarup's 'Q & A' deserves all of the accolades and attention it received this year.
Read our review here
5. 'Mesrine Part One 'Killer Enemy' and Part Two 'Public Enemy Number One':
It's little wonder 'Oceans' actor Vincent Cassel picked up a Cesar in his native France for his outstanding performance as the real-life gangster Jacques Mesrine. Worth investing your time and money in these Jean-François Richet directed biopics, preferably in a two-disc box set once available.
Read our review of 'Killer Enemy' here
Read our review of 'Public Enemy Number One' here
4. 'Up': Four minutes in and Pixar’s near-perfect animation delivers one of the best, most poignant ten minute sequence of the year. A beautiful, bizarre, unprecedented action-adventure.
Read our review here
3. 'The Hurt Locker': Kathryn Bigelow’s brilliant two-hour pressure cooker building film about the war in Iraq. Avoiding OTT, heartstring plucking or testosterone fuelled war film antics; she paints a clear and unforgettable picture about the horrors of this war.
Read our review here
2. 'A Serious Man': Directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, the 1967-set 'A Serious Man' stars Michael Stuhlbarg as a physics lecturer whose normal life becomes anything but normal following a serious of tragic events. The catalyst for his new found trauma is his wife’s affair with the serious man of the title and no matter how hard he tries he can’t seem to pick up the pieces. 
The Coen brothers have delivered such a wide variety of films from 'No Country for Old Men' to 'The Big Lebowski' and 'Burn After Reading' and although 'A Serious Man' differs from all of the above, it may well be the quintessential Coen film. As punch packing as 'No Country' in terms of commentary on humankind, yet as entertaining as 'The Big Lebowski’, the film flirts with autobiography as it describes a Jewish neighbourhood at a time and place when and where the Coens were raised.
However, shot by Coens regular Roger Deakins in drab earthy tones, the focus is not just to analyse Jewish culture or neurosis but also to look at human insecurities. The cast is made up of character actors rather than big name stars and this works perfectly as does the film as a whole.
Read our review here
1. 'Let the Right One In':
This foreign language film by Swedish director Tomas Alfredson is a perfect little movie and as naturalistic as is possible for a vampire film to be.
Atmospheric, superbly crafted, resonant, the film focuses on two brilliantly drawn characters, a bullied boy Oskar (Köre Hedebrant) and a lonely, abused vampire girl Eli (Lina Leudersson). Avoiding all the usual horror/thriller pitfalls, 'Let the Right One In' still delivers the jump-out-of-your-seat moments. Matt Reeves is currently directing a remake in New Mexico but this’ll be a hard act to follow.
Read our review here
Honourable mentions:
• ‘The Wrestler’: Amazing comeback by Mickey Rourke. Read our review
• 'District 9': Newcomer Neill Blomkamp’s mix of 'Prawns' and Liverpool/ Dublin cussin' left audience's hungry for more. Read our review
• 'In the Loop': Superb dialogue and pace by the creators of the TV series 'The Thick of it'.
• 'Where the Wild Things Are': A much-anticipated big screen adaptation of Maurice Sendak's famous children’s book. Read our review
• 'State of Play': A wonderful premise, which unfortunately became tied up in its own subplots. Read our review
• 'Il Divo': Visually rich, delivery poor. Read our review
• 'Milk': Outstanding performance by Sean Penn. Read our review
• ‘Five Minutes of Heaven’: The Oliver Hirschbiegel drama starring Liam Neeson and Jimmy Nesbitt, about the effects of the conflict in Northern Ireland on two individuals. Read our review
• ‘The Book of Kells’: The award winning Irish animation.
• 'Coraline': 'The Nightmare Before Christmas' Henry Selick stunning animated, spooky kids film. Bring on Timothy Burton 'Alice in Wonderland'. Read our review
• 'Gran Torino': Clint Eastwood proves that he still has the ass-kicking edge. Read our review
• 'Harry Brown': This side of the Atlantic, Michael Caine gives Clint a run for his money. Read our review
• 'Rudo y Cursi': Carlos Cuaron's feature directorial debut, starring the excellent Diego Luna and Gael Garcia Bernal, is a refreshingly different rags to riches story. Read our rnulleview 
• 'Public Enemies': Not quite 'Mesrine' but a good turn by Johnny Depp as notorious gangster John Dillinger in this stylish film. Read our review
Taragh Loughrey-Grant
