Law Abiding Citizen (2009) *

Fairly ridiculous thriller about revenge.

Angels & Demons (2009) *

A very disappointing sequel to "The DaVinci Code", again starring Tom Hanks as symbologist Robert Langdon. This time, he must solve the mystery of the Illuminati, a secret society at war with the Vatican. While the film is pure Hollywood shlock, director Ron Howard actually managed to improve on Dan Brown's truly dreadful novel - it's hard to believe that such a brilliant piece of work as "The DaVinci Code" and such an incoherent mess as "Angels & Demons" were written by the same person.

The International (2009) *

Cliché-ridden thriller about an Interpol agent (Clive Owen) going after some criminal bankers from Luxemburg. Often boring and always predictable.

Where The Wild Things Are (2009) *

Spike Jonze tries to adapt Maurice Sendak, but fails miserably.

Drag Me to Hell (2009) *

Disappointing horror movie from Sam Raimi, nowhere near as good as "The Evil Dead" (1983) and "Evil Dead 2" (1987), though quite similar in the way it mixes comedy and frights.

Sherlock Holmes (2009) *

Loud and frantic.

District 9 (2009) *

Very disappointing. Half science-fiction and half political allegory about racism, it fails to have an impact, largely because its points are rather obvious (yes, we know that the aliens are supposed to stand for South African blacks, but so what ?). And unlike "Avatar", which at least has the courage of its "green PC" convictions, this film is so confusing politically, it's almost impossible to say whether its cynicism makes it borderline racist or its stupidity makes it just plain embarassing. It has been widely praised by film critics, but none of them was ever able to explain what's supposed to be so special about this confusing mess.

Nine (2009) *

Hopelessly boring musical based on Fellini's "8 1/2". A parade of gorgeous women (Marion Cotillard, Penelope Cruz, Nicole Kidman, Kate Hudson, Sophia Loren), a pretentious Italian filmmaker, no story and no memorable songs. And no significant nudity, neither (although a more thorough examination on DVD might be necessary to settle that point). All style and no substance.

Obsessed (2009) *

Basically a remake of "Fatal Attraction", except that Michael Douglas and Anne Archer characters are black, and the Glenn Close character is even more insane and delusional than the original, because no adultery actually takes place.

Julie & Julia (2009) *

Meryl Streep and Amy Adams are trying their best, but even they cannot save this terminally insipid drama about Julia Child and her admirer Julie Powell. After "Sleepless In Seattle" and "You've Got Mail", director Nora Ephron once again tries to tell a two-track story in which the two main protagonists never meet, but this time she fails miserably.

Planet 51 (2009) *

Tedious and annoying animated film about a human astronaut finding himself on a distant planet inhabited by civilized aliens. A parade of boring clichés.