31. Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
Year of Release: 2009
Overall Rating: 2.9 out of 4 stars
Language: English
Genre: Drama
MPAA Rating: R
Director: Lee Daniels
Actors: Gabourey 'Gabby' Sidibe, Mo'Nique, Paula Patton, Mariah Carey, Lenny Kravitz, Sherri Shepherd
Plot: Based off of the powerful novel, Precious is an illiterate fifteen year old girl who is pregnant with her father's second child. Her abusive mother leads her to believe that she is worthless, her situation leads her to believe that she is without value, and her image leads her to believe that she will never be precious. When an enigmatic alternative professor teaches her to write and to love, Precious realizes that the most powerful message is the one she gives herself.
32. City of Life and Death ( Nanjing! Nanjing! )
Year of Release: 2009
Overall Rating: 3.2 out of 4 stars
Language: Mandarin
Genre: Drama/Historical
MPAA Rating: R
Director: Chuan Lu
Actors: Ye Liu, Yuanyuan Gao, Hideo Nakaizumi, John Paisley, Yiyan Jiang, Di Yao
Plot: Chuan Lu's look in the 1937 invasion of Nanking by Japanese forces and the atrocities that followed.
33. About Elly ( Derbareye elly )
Year of Release: 2009
Overall Rating: 3.2 out of 4 stars
Language: Other
Genre: Drama
MPAA Rating: NR
Director: Asghar Farhadi
Actors: Golshifteh Farahani, Taraneh Alidoosti, Shahab Hosseini, Merila Zare'i, Mani Haghighi, Peyman Moaadi
34. Thirst ( Bakjwi )
Year of Release: 2009
Overall Rating: 3.0 out of 4 stars
Language: Korean
Genre: Drama/Horror
MPAA Rating: R
Director: Chan-wook Park
Actors: Eriq Ebouaney, Kang-ho Song, Mercedes Cabral, Ok-bin Kim, Ha-kyun Shin, Dal-su Oh
Plot: A priest takes part in a medicinal experiment with the purpose of creating a vaccine to a deadly virus, but something goes wrong and the priest becomes a vampire. Now the battle for his soul begins as he is torn between beeing a priest and the temptations of the night.
35. Watchmen
Year of Release: 2009
Overall Rating: 2.8 out of 4 stars
Language: English
Genre: Fantasy/Action
MPAA Rating: R
Director: Zack Snyder
Actors: Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Malin Akerman, Jackie Earle Haley, Carla Gugino, Billy Crudup, Patrick Wilson
Plot: Based on the graphic novel, Watchmen takes place in an alternate 1985, where costumed vigilantes have been outlawed except those working for the government. When a masked veteran is murdered, heroes unite to find the killer, but as the truth is revealed a far more sinister plot is uncovered.
36. Skin
Year of Release: 2009
Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 4 stars
Language: English
Genre: Biography/Drama
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Director: Anthony Fabian
Actors: Sam Neill, Sophie Okonedo, Terri Ann Eckstein, Jonathan Pienaar, Alice Krige, Danny Keogh
37. A Serious Man
Year of Release: 2009
Overall Rating: 2.9 out of 4 stars
Language: English
Genre: Comedy
MPAA Rating: R
Director: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
Actors: Adam Arkin, Richard Kind, George Wyner, Fyvush Finkel, Katherine Borowitz, Michael Stuhlbarg
Plot: A Midwestern professor struggle to fit in with life in 1967. His wife is threatening to leave, his kids cause him trouble, his job may be in danger and his neighbor sunbathes nude. Can he bring normality to his life?
38. Red Cliff ( Chi bi )
Year of Release: 2009
Overall Rating: 3.0 out of 4 stars
Language: Mandarin
Genre: Adventure/Drama
MPAA Rating: R
Director: John Woo
Actors: Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Fengyi Zhang, Chen Chang, Wei Zhao, Jun Hu
39. Law Abiding Citizen
Year of Release: 2009
Overall Rating: 2.8 out of 4 stars
Language: English
Genre: Drama/Thriller
MPAA Rating: R
Director: F. Gary Gray
Actors: Michael Gambon, Gerard Butler, Leslie Bibb, Jamie Foxx, Christian Stolte, Bruce McGill
Plot: A man plans to exact his own brand of justice against the man and system
that allowed the killer who murdered his family to walk free.
40. The Stoning of Soraya M.
Year of Release: 2009
Overall Rating: 3.0 out of 4 stars
Language: Persian
Genre: Drama
MPAA Rating: R
Director: Cyrus Nowrasteh
Actors: Shohreh Aghdashloo, Mozhan Marnò, James Caviezel, Navid Negahban, David Diaan, Vachik Mangassarian
