Hollywood records in 2009

Hollywood obliged by delivering its staple diet of special effects-driven blockbusters, comedies, action thrillers, romance and drama throughout the year.

Big-budget special effects-driven extravaganzas

This year's biggest money-spinner Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince continued to attract its loyal fan following with Daniel Radcliffe indulging in his first on-screen kiss, showing the series has become more mature and mysterious, something which promises well for its two final instalments.Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen, the sequel to Transformers had everyone raving about its visual effects and high-octane action sequences set amidst the pyramids and Megan Fox's fans couldn't get enough of her in the film. Star Trek got a reboot with JJ Abrams' clever and deft direction, which wowed both the audience and critics. X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Terminator Salvation and G I Joe: The Rise of Cobra delivered with special effects-driven action-packed fun although the substance was low. The apocalyptic 2012 managed to give the audience the necessary jitters with its excellent natural calamity sequences. The Twilight Saga: New Moon succeeded to be a record-breaking franchise as the triangular love story of Bella, Edward and Jacob stirred the hearts of many. The mother of all big-budget extravaganzas, Avatar directed by James Cameron, more or less met expectations and despite the common theme, the film is a revolutionary cinematic experience with amazing visual effects that may well end up being 2009's biggest blockbuster.

Animations

Among the animation flicks, Up was well-received by audiences. The unique story of a grumpy old man and a kid in a floating house became a worldwide hit and garnered tremendous critical acclaim. Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs received mixed reviews but was one of 2009's highest grossing animated films worldwide. Monsters vs Aliens and Cloudy with a Chance of Meat Balls kept the kids entertained while Robert Zemeckis continued to use his superior performance-capturing animated technology in A Christmas Carol with Jim Carrey in the lead. Meanwhile watching movies in 3D became one of the defining traits of 2009.

Action thrillers

Taken starring Liam Neeson set the tone in 2009 for slick action thrillers. Fast & Furious lived up to the expectations of car chase thrills with Vin Diesel back in the lead. Tom Hanks redeemed himself with a better adaptation of Dan Brown's religious thriller, Angels and Demons in comparison to The Da Vinci Code. District 9 came across as an interesting sci-fi thriller about an overpopulated alien zone set in South Africa. Quentin Tarantino returned to direct Inglourious Basterds and the film turned out to be one of the finest war thrillers with a terrific performance by the ensemble star cast, which was led by Brad Pitt.

Horrors

No one would have expected a $15,000 (about Dh55,000) home video style horror film, Paranormal Activity to rake in more than $100 million (about Dh367.3 million) in the US alone, although audiences in the UAE are still awaiting the film's release to get completely spooked out. Sam Raimi returned back to his original forte of making horror flicks with Drag Me To Hell, a typical classic horror tale without the unwanted blood and gore. Those who were interested in a gore fest went to watch Halloween II, Friday The 13th, My Bloody Valentine and The Final Destination and got chills out of watching the last two in 3D. The Uninvited, Unborn and The Haunting in Connecticut offered some spooky moments while Orphan was a superior evil-child, psychological horror flick. Saw VI's poor show proves that the Jigsaw franchise is running out of gas, but perhaps next year's 3D version may do the trick.

Comedy and drama

No film made us laugh as much as The Hangover, so it quite deservedly became the biggest comic hit of the year. Earlier Paul Blart: Mall Cop also gave us a few chuckles, while Ben Stiller delivered a hit with a Night At The Museum 2 and Vince Vaughn did the same with a Couples Retreat. Sandra Bullock returned in full form with the delightful comedy, The Proposal. Chick flicks such as Bride Wars, The Ugly Truth and Confessions of a Shopaholic kept the women happy while Zac Efron's 17 Again entertained male audiences. He's Just Not That Into You, My Sister's Keeper and Julie & Julia were all mature dramas with substance. Let's not forget the worldwide success of This Is It which is a testimonial to Michael Jackson's talent.

Big disappointments

•Land of the Lost: The Will Farrell adventure-comedy was undoubtedly the disaster of the year

•Watchmen: After 300, Zack Synder disappoints with a long superhero flick •Funny People: Adam Sandler's tragic comedy was painful to watch

•Taking of Pelham 123: The John Travolta and Denzel Washington remake by Tony Scott didn't live up to the expectations

•Bruno: Sacha Baron Cohen couldn't repeat his hilarious Borat act