NIEL BEKKER

Star Trek
This really was the perfect Hollywood movie, the perfect franchise reboot. The starship Enterprise was finally made safe for non-nerds again, and in a way that stayed true to the original, over-the-top Star Trek of the William Shatner-era. Expect Chris Pine, the new Kirk, to become a megastar.

Read our Star Trek review

Also:
District 9
Looking For Eric
Watchmen


SHAHEEMA BARODIEN

Zombieland
It hardly spent any time on the SA movie circuit (a real shame), but this energetic, hilarious and gloriously bloody comedy about a world overrun by zombies and the survivors who remain, armed with automatic weapons and an ever-growing set of rules, is the most fun you could fit into 90 minutes. And Woody Harrelson just gets better with age.

Read our Zombieland review

Also:
4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days
Harrowing, bleak and a real punch in the gut. Realistic cinema at its best.

White Wedding
The most successful South African film of the year is stuffed to the gills with charm, laughs and instantly recognisable bits of local flavour.


MILES KEYLOCK

Disgrace
John Malkovich pulls off the impossible, giving one of literature’s most irredeemably unlikeable lead characters not just emotional and intellectual complexity, but good-old fashioned sex appeal in this faithfully gritty art house adaptation of J.M. Coetzee's Booker Prize-winning novel.

Also:
The Wrestler
Director Darren Aronofksy delivers an artful exploration of loneliness, alienation and addiction in this docu-drama about a has-been wrestler. The chance to see Mickey Rourke return from the dead and resurrect his own method acting Mojo is enough to put a lump in the throat of any cynic who thought Hollywood cinema had lost its soul. 

Der Baader Meinhof Komplex
The politics may be explosive, but thanks to director Uli Edel’s (remember Christiane F?) carefully researched, character-driven plot, this uncompromising factional account of the rise and fall of German ‘terrorists’, the Red Army Faction (RAF) in the late 1960s and 70s proves a thought-provoking cinematic portrait of why the revolution will never be televised.


MASANDE NTSHANGA

Revolutionary Road
I like Richard Yates and I like Sam Mendes. This film couldn’t have gone bad even if it wanted to. Strong performances from Kate Winslet and a strong, potentially career-defining performance from Leonardo DiCrapio (up there with Gangs of New York, The Aviator, The Departed). Caustic and terse, it’s a well-written, tightly directed treatment of human melancholy and malice.

Also:
Persepolis
Blindness


CELINDA GROENEWALD

Gamer
Let’s be honest, it’s not just Gerard Butler’s dreamy biceps and to-die-for Scottish charm that intrigue us – but it doesn’t hurt either. What a great actor, what a great movie, what a scary concept. In the ever-increasing fantasy world of online living, are we not taking it seriously enough? It asks if we’re taking the moral blurring between fantasy and reality way too lightly in a very scary and in-your-face way. It’s an action packed thriller with a hunky hero – great for both girls and boys.

Read our Gamer review

Also:
Angels and Demons
Ice Age – Dawn of the Dinosaurs


LIHLE JACOBS

Changeling
It may have hit SA shores in early 2009 after the awards season ended, but it definitely was worth the wait. There are many things that are questionable about Miss Jolie (like her brother-kissing, fascination with blood) but her acting skills is not one of them. She delivers a superb portrayal of a 1920’s single mom whose son goes missing and she takes on the LAPD when they return the wrong boy to her and try to cover it up. 

Read our Changeling review

Also:
Public Enemies
(500) Days of Summer


JEAN BARKER

Rachel Getting Married
A reviewer once said he wished Ann Hatheway would “be pretty in better movies.” Finally, your wish is granted! This story of an addict in recovery was harrowing at times. But it’s one of the subtlest films I’ve ever seen, and one of the best portrayals of recovery – it’s about more than just going off the drugs, FYI.

Read our Rachel Getting Married review

Also:
He's Just Not That into You
Zombieland


SAM BRIGHTON

Fighting
Channing Tatum cuts a fine line between a brute and a boy in this no-fuss, down to earth tale of beating the odds. It’s just such a refreshingly real and uncomplicated story. Plus he’s got his shirt off a lot of the time which makes for excellent viewing pleasure.

Read our Fighting review

Also:
District 9
The Hangover