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First, here go films that were watchable: "Coraline," "Limits of Control," "Up," "The Class," "La Americana," "Knowing," "Adventureland," "Drag Me To Hell," "Precious: Based on the novel 'Push' by Sapphire," "Duplicity," "Haunting in Connecticut," "The Hangover," "Invictus," "Sherlock Holmes," "Paranormal Activity," "Rudo y Cursi," "Made In China," "Up In The Air" and "The Girlfriend Experience."

This next batch obviously didn't make the Top 10 List but are considerable films nonetheless: "Henri-Georges Clouzot's Inferno," "Looking For Eric," "Hunger," "In The Loop," "Tokyo," "Humpday," "Mary and Max," "Antichrist," "Tyson," "The Informant!," "A Serious Man," "The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus," "Food, Inc.," "An Education," "Sugar," "Gomorrah," "Public Enemies," "Sin Nombre," "New York, I Love You," "Treeless Mountain," "Brief Interviews With Hideous Men," "Moon," "THE BAD LIEUTENANT Port of Call: New Orleans," "Two Lovers," "Il Divo," "The Box," "(500) Days of Summer," "Wendy and Lucy," "The Brothers Bloom" and "Brothers."

Now, I realize how underwhelming a cluster of movie titles can appear, so I thought it would help if I offered some of my personal "awards" to these and other films of the year as well:

Most annoying movie of the year: "Away We Go"

Secret favorite movie of the year: "New York, I Love You"

Best scene of sheer joy: the post-sex, spontaneous dance/music number from "(500) Days of Summer"

Best scene of pure fright: the torture/destruction of Willem Dafoe's penis and other body parts in "Antichrist"

Best single tracking shot in a movie: the dance hall sequence in "Il Divo"

Best scene in a film: the super scene in "Waltz With Bashir"

Best scene in a film--that I didn't see coming: Frankie Faison's soliloquy in "Brief Interviews With Hideous Men"

Best movie soundtrack (songs): "Where The Wild Things Are"

Best movie soundtrack (score): "Fantastic Mr. Fox"

Terrific opening sequence: Iconic detectives prove to be superheroes in "Sherlock Holmes"

Terrific closing sequence: A family mends frayed bonds without being hokey in "Looking For Eric"

Best feature debut: "Sin Nombre"

Movie destined to be a cult classic: "The Box"

Special jury prize: "THE BAD LIEUTENANT Port of Call: New Orleans"

Most underrated movie: "The Brothers Bloom"

Most overrated movie(s): "Avatar" (plus "District 9" & "Star Trek")

Best male performance I didn't see coming: Tobey Maguire ("Brothers")

Best female performance I didn't see coming: Michelle Williams ("Wendy and Lucy")

Best music video: "Ambling Alp" Directed by Radical Friend (for the band YEASAYER)

Best short film: "Good Advice" Directed by Andreas Tibblin (Sweden)

Best cinematography: "Tetro" (photographed by Mihai Malaimare Jr.)

Best supporting female performance: Charlotte Gainsbourg ("Antichrist")

Best supporting male performance: Michael Fassbender ("Inglourious Basterds")

Best female performance: Tilda Swinton ("Julia")

Best male performance: Benicio Del Toro ("Che")

And now, for the best films of 2009. These films coincidentally explored the Holden Caulfield type individual in various environments. Whether it was a child escaping a household he didn't understand on a boat headed for wild things or the revolutionary Che Guevara not finding solace in his family home and choosing instead to walk toward his own death in premature revolution Bolivia, 2009 showed the restless individual with a relentless fervor. It's no wonder why most of these films won't find their way to Oscar glory. Most people don't like to examine themselves (or life for that matter) so they instead will root and vote for 12-foot blue people in 3D. "So it goes."

10. "Where The Wild Things Are" Directed by Spike Jonze

It took me repeated viewings to see where Jonze was going with this hard-to-swallow interpretation. Give it a few viewings and then try not to be touched by the wordless closing minutes as young Max learns that life won't get any easier.

9. "Goodbye Solo" Directed by Ramin Bahrani

Here we have a stasis of the American indentity: William, the hard-bitten old white guy and Solo, the selfless African immigrant taxi driver. The foreigner (Solo) wants acceptance, social status and career success. The American wants to kill himself. Bahrani is one of the great modern directors and here never strikes a false note. The climatic, wordless exchange between the two leads is the stuff of great cinema.

8. "Inglourious Basterds" Directed by Quentin Tarantino

Here, the film's most important character (and who also is the radical individual versing the establishment) is Writer/Director Quentin Tarantino. Not only is he rewriting history, "Basterds" is also his exorcism of film knowledge, film adoration and film catharsis (hello, the movie theatre is blown to bits at the end). A whopper of an entertainment.

7. "Julia" Directed by Erick Zonca

Tilda Swinton may have won the Oscar for "Michael Clayton" but this is the performance by her that will be studied by future actors and film historians. The movie is a thriller that will endure--about an alcoholic who is both the film's angel and monster. Shame on you if you haven't seen it yet. It's one of the great performances. You won't be able to shake it off.

6. "Fantastic Mr. Fox" Directed by Wes Anderson

Wes Anderson has made his best film since "The Royal Tenenbaums." How important is that? Let's put it this way: no one wanted anything to equate "Tenenbaums" with. George Clooney, as the voice for the title role, is sublime in his performance. Forget "Up In The Air"--Clooney's acting nod should come with this gem of a movie. The film has one of the best ending lines/salute/toasts in recent memory: "To survival."

5. "The Hurt Locker" Directed by Kathryn Bigelow

Jeremy Renner turned some heads with his work in "Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" back in 2007 and here he cements himself as one of Hollywood's strongest actors. A war film that doesn't cry war; it exists in a purgatory-state of intrepid satisfaction. A man would rather defuse bombs in the middle east than fix the shingles on the roof of his home. Staggering in its editing, sound mixing and photography; enlightening in its position and honesty.

4. "Dear Zachary" Directed by Kurt Kuenne

The best documentary of the year. A filmmaker begins to make a personal documentary in an effort to pay tribute to his recently murdered friend. When the murderer turns out to be the slain friend's girlfriend, the film is heart shattering in its examination of the faltered law system and the post-modern depiction of David vs. Goliath: Goliath usually wins.

3. "Che" Directed by Steven Soderbergh

Soderbergh's two-part historical epic is the kind of film we hardly see anymore. Yes, it has production design but it's not waving at us. Yes, it has costumes but they're not glistening for our attention. It also has a hero who keeps to himself--yet, through Soderbergh's direction, we can't help but follow him into the abyss of ambition. Del Toro won Best Actor at Cannes for this. No wonder.

2. "Waltz With Bashir" Directed by Ari Folman

Fusing flash animation, with computer effects and some traditional animation, Folman creates the best war film of the year and one of the best of the last twenty years. It's not so much about the conflict of the war as it is about the conflict of the individual--running from reality, running from pain and running from his own guilt.

1. "Tetro" Directed by Francis Ford Coppola

Watching this film is like receiving an unexpected present from the Cinema Gods.  Don't know how that feels usually? It's why it's #1. Strange, beautiful, imperfect and pulsating with an affectionate heart, Coppola has returned as a master of film. The much maligned Vincent Gallo has the acting chops here to match any current big players. When this movie is on DVD I think I'm going to hold the disc close to my chest--like Tetro holds his writings and works close to his.