Best Films of 2009

2009 is the year that saw the big crowds moving to 3D. James Cameron's "Avatar" made a big splash and in the process has become the biggest moneymaker (until the next one comes out that is). But the real interesting film making came from smaller films, some from female directors as Kathryn Bigelow and Jane Campion, some from eternal indies such as Wes Anderson and Steven Soderbergh and some very good debuts from Tom Ford and Marc Webb.
Here is a list of the films that had an impact, from authors who wanted to communicate something and who accomplished it using film as their canvas.

Bright Star
Director: Jane Campion
Cast: Abbie Cornish, Ben Wishaw, Paul Schneider, Kerry Fox, Edie Martin, Thomas Sangster, Antonia Campbell-Hughes, Gerard Monaco

Fantastic Mr. Fox
Director: Wes Anderson
Cast: George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Wallace Wolodarsky, Eric Anderson, Michael Gambon, Willem Dafoe, Owen Wilson

The Hurt Locker
Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Cast: Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty, Guy Pearce, Ralph Fiennes, David Morse, Christian Camargo, Evangeline Lilly

Inglourious Basterds
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Cast: Brad Pitt, Christoph Waltz, Melanie Laurent, Eli Roth, Michael Fassbender, Diane Kruger, Til Schweiger, Daniel Bruhl, Jacky Ido, BJ Novak, Omar Doom, Mike Meyers, Julie Dreyfus, Martin Wuttke

Un Prophete
Director: Jacques Audiard
Cast: Tahar Rahim, Niels Arestrup, Adel Bencherif, Hichem Yacoubi, Reda Kateb

A Single Man
Director: Tom Ford
Cast: Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, Matthew Goode, Nicholas Hoult, Ginnifer Goodwin, Teddy Sears, Jon Kortajarena, Paul Butler, Keri Lynn Pratt

Up in the Air
Director: Jason Reitman
Cast: George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick, Jason Bateman, Melanie Lynskey, Amy Morton, JK Simmons, Sam Elliott, Danny McBride, Zach Galifianakis

Ponyo
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Cast: Cate Blanchett, Matt Damon, Tina Fey, Liam Neeson, Cloris Leachman, Betty White, Lily Tomlin, Noah Cyrus, Frankie Jonas

Los Abrazos Rotos
Director: Pedro Almodovar
Cast: Penelope Cruz, Lluis Homar, Blanca Portillo, Jose Luis Gomez, Ruben Ochandiano, Tamar Novas, Angela Molina, Chus Lampreave, Kiti Manver, Rossy de Palma

Avatar
Director: James Cameron
Cast: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Michelle Rodriguez, Giovanni Ribisi, Joel David Moore, CCH Pounder, Wes Studi, Laz Alonso, Dileep Rao, Matt Gerald

Films also worth highlighting are Spike Jonze's "Where the Wild Things Are", Steven Soderbergh's "The Informant!" and Lars Von Trier's "Antichrist".