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2. The Hurt Locker

Here is one of the most suspenseful movies I have ever seen. Here is a movie that actually made me feel like my stomach was tying itself up in knots. It was that or the nachos, but I'd like to think it was the movie. The Hurt Locker is a character study, and The Hurt Locker is an action movie. Upon first viewing, you're probably going to see it only as the latter. Keep a sharp eye out, and you'll notice that The Hurt Locker is, essentially, seven very tense action sequences strung together with a bit of dialogue and character-building here and there. Oh, and an appearance by Kate from ABC's Lost. But if you watch The Hurt Locker, and you're able to breathe in between those set pieces, you'll realize that you're watching a movie about how war, any war, can do terrible things to any man, well-adjusted or otherwise.

Jeremy Renner is the lead here, a Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Army whose prowess is in defusing bombs. Renner's character leads two Specialists, played by Anthony Mackie and Brian Geraghty, around Baghdad, as they attempt to defuse bombs and make sure they don't get blown up. Eventually, the two Specialists realize that their new leader (their old leader is replaced, in a manner of speaking, in the opening sequence) may have become an adrenaline junkie thanks to his high-stress job. And it is very stressful what goes on in this film, helmed by Oscar frontrunner Kathryn Bigelow. The characters sweat over the bombs, and so do we. In a year when Transformers 2 dominated the summer with its "action", The Hurt Locker proves that great action is still possible, even if there's some character development thrown in.

1. Up

A movie about a rat who wants to be a chef in Paris. A movie about a robot who doesn't speak English and toils pointlessly to clean up the planet Earth. A movie about an old man who lifts his house up on balloons to go to South America. These are loglines for movies that should not work, under any circumstances. The fact that they do work, and do so marvelously, is a major credit to the brilliant, brilliant people who work at Pixar Animation Studios. In 2007, they had Ratatouille. In 2008, they had WALL-E. In 2009, they had Up, my pick for the best film of the year. It's animated, some Oscar voters and sticklers will tell you. Who cares? Have you seen a live-action movie that can devote even one second to telling the story of a marriage with the same economy of style, plot, and character that the people behind Up were able to do in five minutes? Show me that movie, for I do not believe it exists.

Up is the best movie of the year for so many reasons. It manages to be exceedingly entertaining, especially in its second half, as Carl Fredricksen, the old man who moves his house via balloons to fulfill the wishes of his late wife, and an eight-year-old sidekick outrun a decrepit adventurer and his band of talking dogs. Yes, this is a movie that manages to be about the beginning and end of a marriage, flying houses, and talking dogs. You can't fault Pixar for trying anything and everything. Aside from being achingly beautiful, having one of the best scores of the year, featuring amazingly colorful animation, and providing solid and deserved character development, Up is also funny and touching. Its final image is as emotional as the supposedly tearjerking movies that come year in and year out would like to be, and manages to get all of that from just the image. Up was directed by Pete Docter, the same man who directed Monsters, Inc.; that film isn't one of my favorites, but Up certainly is, a 95-minute encapsulation of what movies are all about.

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