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Rotten Tomatoes Reveals 2009's Golden Tomato Awards Films

by Ethan Anderton
January 12, 2010
Source: Rotten Tomatoes

While the film industry is all a-flutter with awards seasons, the online community has some awards of its own to hand out around this time too. Even FirstShowing has been nominated for Best News Blog in Total Film's 2010 Movie Blog Awards (you can still vote for us right here!). Now Rotten Tomatoes is the next to dole out some accolades as they've announced the winners of their 11th Annual Golden Tomato Awards which honor the best-reviewed movies of 2009 from all the big flashy blockbusters to powerful indies. Below you can see which films were the best reviewed of last year and if the critics loved the same ones you did!

Here's a breakdown of the best reviewed movies in each genre as well as the winner for the not-so-coveted Moldy Golden Tomato for worst reviewed film, and the film that users (not critics) reviewed most favorably:

» Action/Adventure: The Hurt Locker with 97% (also the highest reviewed Limited Release)
» Animation: Up with 98% (also the highest reviewed Wide Release)
» Comedy: In the Loop with 95%
» Documentary: Anvil! The Story of Anvil with 98%
» Drama: An Education with 94%
» Foreign: Afghan Star with 100%
» Horror: Drag Me To Hell with 92%
» Kids/Family: Where the Wild Things Are with 73%
» Musical: Crazy Heart with 89%
» Romance: Adventureland with 88%
» Sci-Fi/Fantasy: Star Trek with 94%
» Thriller: State of Play with 84%
» Moldy Golden Tomato: Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li with 4%
» User's Choice: Zombieland with 95% (followed by Moon which also had 95% but less reviews)

Since this is merely an aggregation of critics reviews, obviously my choices differ than theirs. Adventureland just barely beat out 500 Days of Summer for best reviewed romance by 1%, but I think Marc Webb delivered a film leaps and bounds above Greg Mottola. District 9 is a better film than Star Trek in my honest opinion, but I guess the adventures of the USS Enterprise are a bit more accessible. However, I think the biggest mistake in these categorizations is leaving out animated films from the Kids/Family section. Without them, Wild Things at 73% is the best reviewed and the runner up is Hotel for Dogs at 46%. WTF? Sure animated films would dominate that category but it seems asinine to leave them out just for that reason. I mean, Wild Things was barely a family film anyway for my money.

Anyway, this just goes to show you how much dissension there is in film appreciation and enjoyment, but it's good that a site like Rotten Tomatoes is making it easier for us to agree to disagree with all the critics out there. How do you guys feel about this line-up of the best reviewed films of 2009?

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Related categories: Awards News, Movie News, Opinions

mehran

Avatar is far better than Star Trek and District9
Hattori Hanzo

Avatar is far better than Star Trek and Distinct 9? Are you off your nut mehran? Avatar is a beautiful and exciting movie but far from original. In fact, I'm wondering how long it will take the writer of Dances with Wolves to sue for plagiarism. I challenge you or anyone else to watch Dances with Wolves and then go see Avatar right after and tell me it's not the same story. Hell, even the writer of Pocahontas would have a shot at winning a plagiarism case against Avatar. Mr. Cameron better get his check book and lawyers ready because I smell a couple of big law suits in his future.
sonnychiba1

Good to see Street Fighter - The Legend of Chung Poo getting what it deserves.
filmfan111

Thriller: State of Play. ^^ This movie SUCKED. The original 2003 mini-series was 100 x better in every way.
DL

I thought State of Play was a great movie!
http://www.firstshowing.net Ethan Anderton

Hattori Hanzo, Thanks for saying what everyone was thinking. I had fun with Avatar, but that story is tired. Avatar is not better than Star Trek or District 9. Not in the least.
Branden

Ethan, you better watch your mouth saying that stuff about Avatar or you'll probably end up fired. I thought it was part of everyones job to praise Avatar every second of the day? Good to see there's at least one writer that realizes avatar had great visuals, but a bland story.
FancyMonocle

From these comments, I can see that the overflow of Avatar praisers may have finally calmed down. I'm quite happy to not see Avatar on this list.
Bo

You don't know much. All of you. Avatar should've topped the majority of categories above, because it's an across-genre multi-emotion non plus ultra moving picture. Moving, truly moving, get it? Just kidding. A very cool sample of movies.
The One

@2, Sorry but almost every movie out there is a plagiarism of another... before Avatar there was The Last Samari, before that there was Ferngully, and before Dances with Wolves i'm pretty sure there's another movie that already did the same concept. None of them got sued, Hollywood is full of plagiarism, so Cameron can keep his check book safely in his wallet. I get it, Avatar's story line's been played out.... get over it....
guh

Avatar = Ball-Suck
Nick

Kind of odd that Crazy Heart is listed as a musical.
crumb

500 days of summer lost by 1%. bullshit.
Sanka

#10 - While it is true that the majority of movies plagiarise, I agree with Hattori 100% on his view of Avatar. Like him, I enjoyed the movie and thought it was fantastic, but as soon as it was over my date said the same thing Hattori said, that it was a blatant rip-off of Dances with Wolves in the story. It seems that everyone is saying the same thing. As for what you said about Cameron's wallet being safe, that's what George Harrison's lawyers said to him before he lost his plagiarism case with My Sweet Lord. If Cameron is smart he would bull dose this molehill before it turns into a mountain and at least acknowledge that he borrowed the story line from Dances with Wolves and give credit where credit is due. Given the insane amount of money Avatar is making, it's only a matter of time before the Dance's with Wolves lawyers knock on his door looking for financial compensation. And when they finally do come knocking, who would blame them?
Quasi

You're not clever for pointing out Avatar's similarity to other movies. Everyone has noticed, and nobody cares (see the grossing it has) At the end of the day, Avatar will be remember as a prominent milestone in movie history as both technologically revolutionary, and as one of the highest grossing films of all time. District 9 is just another so-so sci-fi flick that surprised people by being pretty good, and Star Trek is just your typical action space opera in the vein of the original Star Wars, except not as good (a fun, one time sort of ride). In all likelihood, the masses/film academics aren't going to care much about either in 10 years. Avatar though, you know that will be around. Why? Because it contributed something new to cinema.
GABONATOR

please.... only vote... your honest opinion Ethan sucks... district 9 rules far, far away from all of this...
The One

#15 - My point exactly... I'm already tired of these people who's still complaining about how Avatar's just like Dances with Wolves, The Last Samurai, Ferngully, yada.. yada.. yada.. Who doesn't know that by now? #14 - Did people behind The Last Samurai get sued? As far as I remember they didn't.... What movie was about a White man who was a soldier, ended up living and learning the ways of another culture, falling in love with one of them, and ends up fighting along side them against his own people. Sound familiar? Was it Dances with Wolves or The Last Samuri, or maybe even The New World?
jackson Isaacson

State of Play happened to be a very underrated gem, despite the fact that it was a remake of a British version. Avatar is possibly the most over-rated film of all time. Yeah, we get it, it's beautiful. However, the story was pretty much a rehash of all those movies previously mentioned. And if you think it's not possible to make an original movie these days, look to none other than J.J. Abrams. He gave us Star Trek this year, which was completely original despite the umpteen hours of story and history previously given to these characters. So what Avatar was visually stunning? Expect more of that to come, as someone'll just top it in the next few years, then the only thing keeping it in the ever-shortening memory of the media will be it's record-smashing numbers. Star Trek earned way more than it'll be given. I'll leave it at that. Adventureland. hmmm... I liked it. But to call it a romance? I though it was a comedy. Even if it had won best comedy, I still don't think it deserved it. (500) Days of Summer. Now THERE'S a film that deserves best romance. For sure. One of the best films I've seen in my days. Give it a watch. Zombieland needed to get something too, because User's Choice is a little lame. Best comedy i would say. It was also great. but thats just my opinion.
jackson Isaacson

P.S. Not to say Star Trek will be a lasting film either, by the way. People won't remember it in 10 years. I'm not an Avatar hater, I just was unimpressed. I paid to give it 2 chances (that's 30 of my dollars) to wow me, because I really thought it would. But I was only entertained, not wowed or awed like apparently most of the world seems to be. I have this crazy idea that if we hadn't been fed the idea that it was an epic, groundbreaking movie before its release, fewer people would be so in love with it. The only thing that continues to drive its profit up are the numbers themselves, as people want to know why it's making so much money and buzz. And the rest of the films on the list i could care less about.
Quasi

#18 - By no means am I arguing Avatar the end all of cinema, or even it being the best movie of the year (It isn't my pick by a long shot). I do think, however, the above arguments (essentially pigeon holing it as a rip off of movie A, B, and C) are, quite frankly, hugely over simplifying what is the behemoth of a film that is Avatar. People accusing it of having a "stolen" story are basically only citing the premise of Avatar, and yes, it is a very obvious one. But what they conveniently overlook is the fact that amidst its classic formula are a myriad of innovative aspects (technologically, thematically, and Story-wise) that justify to a great extent its semi-pedestrian plot. What we seem to have emerging is your typical backlash syndrome against something majorly popular. I mean, how could anyone possibly like Avatar more than Star Trek, or District 9!! Shit man, Star Trek was just as predictable as Avatar was. Did you ever think for a second that the enterprise (Spoiler) was going to fucking blow up in the finale? Or that they were just going to kill Kirk off? I doubt it. At least Avatar had a timely message that is worth something. At least it made me believe that there was a chance its characters, that Cameron took a hell of a lot of time making us care about, could potentially die. Star Trek just has some kicks and giggles that I forgot about a few weeks later (not to mention a plethora of lazy plot devices/holes).
Xerxex

In my opinion Avatar is a good film and better than District 9, but Star Trek takes second, Avatar third and District 9 fourth, no one is always gonna be BLADE RUNNER!
Xerxex

correction, number one will always bw BLADE RUNNER!
meatcarnage

@2 Avatar is hardly original? Compared to the originality of star trek (district 9 is valid). Your argument blows.
Hattori Hanzo

#23 ... Maybe you should read my comments (#2) again. I never claimed that Star Trek or even District 9 were original, I simply said that they are not as good as Avatar. My comments about plagiarism is strictly about Avatar and Avatar only, not Star Trek, District 9 or any other movie in history for that matter, just Avatar. Good movie, lots of fun, but story wise it's a definite rip off of Dances with Wolves. It just surprises me that someone of Cameron's stature would stoop that low in not at least acknowledging that fact. But hell, in your eyes and those of other posters here and Hollywood, it's only the lowly writers that we are talking about here they don't need any protection when it comes to their hard work. I'd expect that kind of crap from the likes of Michael E-Bay
Mega Jet Jaguar

Yeah! What he said..,