What is the best film of 2009?

By IQ Score on TV Intelligentsia, The Hurt Locker (Best Picture), Inglourious Basterds, A Serious Man, and Up anchor the year's canonical Masterclass tier. A Prophet, In the Loop, and Fish Tank round out the entries.

Why was 2009 such a strong year?

2009 was the year auteur cinema and franchise blockbusters peaked simultaneously. Bigelow became the first woman to win Best Director (The Hurt Locker). Tarantino released his most-canonical 2000s work (Inglourious Basterds). The Coens released their most-philosophical entry (A Serious Man). Pixar released their most-emotionally-direct film (Up). And Cameron pioneered 3D cinema's contemporary form (Avatar).

Which 2009 film is most underrated?

Fish Tank (Andrea Arnold), A Prophet (Jacques Audiard), Police, Adjective (Corneliu Porumboiu), and Mary and Max (Adam Elliot's claymation feature) are the four most-underrated 2009 entries by IQ Score relative to cultural reach.

Cinema · 2009 Ranked

Best Films of 2009, Ranked by IQ Score

The year auteur cinema and franchise blockbusters peaked simultaneously. The films of 2009, ranked by IQ Score.

2009 is the year auteur cinema and franchise blockbusters peaked simultaneously. The Hurt Locker (Bigelow, Best Picture), Inglourious Basterds (Tarantino), A Serious Man (Coens), Up (Pixar) — alongside Avatar (Cameron, the box-office-shattering technical breakthrough).

The structural argument for 2009-as-canonical-year: the simultaneous prestige-auteur peak (Bigelow first woman to win Best Director, Tarantino's most-canonical 2000s work, the Coens' most-philosophical entry, Pixar's most-emotionally-direct film) and commercial blockbuster transformation (Avatar pioneered 3D cinema's contemporary form). The decade-closing convergence year.

11 titles · ranked by IQ Score