It’s about time, right! Well, at least I made it in time for the Oscars. As you can see not many of my top movies were nominated for Oscars. For that, I am proud.

I’m also doing top 12 instead of top 10. Not that this was a particularly great year for movies, I just liked all of these on my list and don’t want to leave any out. Without further ado:

12. The Box – Richard Kelly (writer/director of Donnie Darko) takes on the short story of “Button, Button” which was also remade into a Twilight Zone episode. Super creepy and suspenseful.

11. The Brothers Bloom – Rian Johnson’s follow-up to “Brick.” Great acting, funny, captivating story that keeps you guessing.

10. Sugar – Character story about what it’s like moving through the baseball farm system.

9. Up in the Air – A lot better than Juno.

8. Invictus – Clint Eastwood does it again. Not sure why no one saw this movie. It makes me wish rugby was on TV here in America. Of course it’s about much more than rugby.

7. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince – The best Harry Potter movie yet. It’s also the best looking. Incredibly faithful to the book.

6. Adventureland – This year was a great year for comedies. Got one more coming up in the “top 12.” I worked at a place like this called FunTown one summer for three hours before I walked off.

5. District 9 – Actually nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars. I think they are throwing them a bone and just including it as a token “sci-fi” picture, but it’s an incredible movie. It was made with a $30M budget but looks like it was $100+. It’s a sci-fi movie that actually makes you think, with themes such as racism, xenophobia, and the apartheid.

4. The Hurt Locker – Lived up to the hype. Tense, character story about a bomb squad in Iraq. It wasn’t politically-driven at all, it was just about the characters. Very moving.

3. I Love You, Man – Super funny, several LOL moments

2. (500) Days of Summer – Ever felt like a movie was made just for you? I think lots of people had this feeling with this movie. Me included.

1. Moon – Halfway through this movie I felt like I do sometimes when I think about Lost. It could go this way, or it could go this way… oh, “it’d be really cool if it was this”. It was made by a first-time filmmaker, and with the budget of James Cameron’s personal assistant on the set of Avatar. A must-see.

There ya have it. What do you guys think are the best movies of 2009?