I know it's a bit late, but its something that has been on my mind recently.

 In order

A Serious Man

From the beginning of the movie I was confused. I was looking for something to connect the scene entirely spoken in Yiddish with the rest of the film. It was not until my second viewing when I could figure out what it was and how your view of the outcome of the scene entirely changes your outlook on the film. You must take the little things and cherish them for all they are and not dwell on the mundane "bad things" that one must deal with on a daily basis. This is what I feel is the message of the movie. The female role in the first scene doesn't do this and is only skeptical of the good grace of a man who she previously thought was dead, and so this directly correlates with the main character of the film. However, if you look at it from the point of view of the female in the scene one can clearly take away from it that it is a curse that has been put on their family that makes their lives spiral out of control.

The acting is superb and the writing is even better. A movie that has taken my outlook on life and altered it to such a degree with live with me for many years to come. And no, the mystery is too inthralling to just accept it and not question what has just unfolded before you.

Inglourious Bastards

Quintin Tarentino has written one of the greatest characters I have seen in quite sometime. Christolph Waltz, played by a personally unknown actor embodies the greatest and more devious detective I have seen. We are introduced to him in full force at the beginning of the film when he comes to a cotton in the farm lands of France. During the scene QT is able to change the language from French to English in one simple sentence that one cannot even question is fantastic and something only a wonderfully esteemed writer would be able to achieve. Later in the scene the goat farmer that Waltz is interrogating takes out a modestly sized tobacco pipe in order to set his mind at ease during the interview to which Waltz asks if he may smoke as well. Waltz then pulls out his large "Sherlock Holmes-ian" pipe which could be taken as a simple penis joke such as "look at how dainty you are." However, if you flip it another way, what if Waltz wasn't a smoker and just used  the pipe as a means of saying "I've discovered your trick, you fucker!" That is what is truly a testament and just a small example to the writing of the film and how fantastic it is. All of the actors in the movie were great, besides Mike Myers (probably because I could only see him as Mike Myers and not anything else), and the scenes with the Bastards were fantastic. Without a doubt, this movie embodies everything that is badass. I mean come on, the aside introduction of Huge Stigletz was without a doubt, one of the best parts of the movie and the fact that it was just used to ramp up the tension in a later scene is some what disappointing but was absolutely worth it.

Drag Me To Hell

Directed by one of my favorite B-movie directors, Sam Raimi. It is his first horror movie since directing the Spiderman movies and harkens back to the Evil Dead films. I have had many discussions about this film with people and it is generally divided, but the one question I keep asking people who have disliked it is if they have seen the Evil Dead films. All of them have said "No." My thought is that they don't really know what to appreciate about the film. To that I say, "Well go and see those 3 movies and then see Drag Me to Hell again." It truly one of the funniest movies of the year.

 Up

Directed by Pete Docter (director of Monsters Inc.) brings the first Pixar movie since Wall-E and needless to say, it was a very touching and emotional film to me. No film that I have seen before has made me need a kleenex in the first 8 minutes of the film. The film then only expands on the character of Carl (voiced by the fantastic Ed Asner) even more and this last great adventure. Or is it? It is an exciting, family fun film that will stay with me for years to come.

The Hurt Locker

From the director of Point Blank, Kathryn Bigelow, comes one of the most suspenseful films of this year. The story centers around the lives of 2 U.S. soldiers in Iraq after losing their long-term partner as well as their replacement partner. A very gung-ho type of rebel soldier only makes the film even more suspenseful. The character development of the 3 soldiers in this action film are fantastic as well as disheartening. And I only have one thing to ask... WHY AREN'T THERE MORE ACTION MOVIES LIKE THIS???? 

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Now, this may be a little odd, but I think this may be the best Harry Potter movie since The Prisoner of Azkaban. The way that each film has progressed in the series since Azkaban from darker to darker until now has been great, however, the aspect of going back to a PG rating worried me. But while watching it, I wasn't absolutely involved in the story. It was more about the way each shot was framed as well as the acting (namely that of Jim Broadbent as Professor Horace Slughorn) were what captivated me. It was one of the most beautiful films of the year.

TOKYO!

This is a collection of 3 short films, but the first and 3rd ones are the only ones worth talking about. The first is titled "Interior Design" and is directed by Michel Gondry. The story and the character development of both of the main characters in this movie are quite good and the aspect a character feeling both without purpose and invisible had an impact on me because of the way the story came to pass.

Secondly (well, in fact, Thirdly), is the film by my second favorite Korean director Bong Joon-ho entitled "Shaking Tokyo". It is a very small film mostly filmed inside one man's house, but its scope is quite good. I have no way of actually describing the film besides that it is about the fear of the unknown and how it impacts one's life. A very strong piece.

Star Trek

Have anticipated this movie for awhile I was excited to see where J.J. Abrams would take the Star Trek franchise and after all is said and done I was quite happy. The action in the film is very Star Wars-esque (which is not a bad thing) and the acting in it wasn't all that bad too boot!

500 Days of Summer

Ohh man, okay, so this is my favorite movie of the first half of the year. The humor and the despair and the love in the film are what makes this film so great. I mean who doesn't want to meet a girl in the elevator who shares you taste in music? I know I WOULD. And then that aspect of quick affection only snow balls into something out of control. The film is about a person (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) who has recently lost who he thought was the girl of his dreams. The non-chronocological telling of the story may be what I love so much about the film. The way that the films shows the mundane and heartwarming aspects of a relationship is also what is absolutely engrossing, because it adds a sense of excitement because you actually do feel for this character. The 2 highlights include the scene involving the song You Make My Dreams as well as a scene that is split screen.

Honorable Mentions: 

The Bothers Bloom

Away We Go