Summer 2009 movie recap: The top 10 films of the season, from 'Star Trek' to 'Basterds' (part two)

September 9, 5:41 AMAtlanta Movies ExaminerRyan McNally

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This is part two of an article on the top 10 movies of summer ’09 according to the AME weekend movie chart**. If you missed it, here's the 2009 summer movie recap, part one.

5) Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
The Specs:
Critical grade: 83 tomatometer, 78 metacritic
Audience response: 7.6 IMDB
Box office: $296.9 million
Weeks in AME Top 10: 8

The Skinny:
The sixth installment in the Potter franchise continued the series’ tradition of success. Next up, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I drops in Nov. ’10.

4) (500) Days of Summer
The Specs:
Critical grade: 88 tomatometer, 76 metacritic
Audience response: 8.5 IMDB
Box office: $28.4 million
Weeks in AME Top 10: 8

The Skinny:
While big-budget romantic comedies crashed and burned, this little offbeat tale rode fabulous buzz to become the year’s biggest indie hit.

3) Star Trek
The Specs:
Critical grade: 95 tomatometer, 83 metacritic
Audience response: 8.4 IMDB
Box office: $257.2 million
Weeks in AME Top 10: 12

The Skinny:
Director J.J. Abrams continued to prove he can do no wrong, satisfying fans new and old with this successful reboot of the beloved sci-fi franchise.

2) The Hangover
The Specs:
Critical grade: 78 tomatometer, 73 metacritic
Audience response: 8.1 IMDB
Box office: $272.2 million
Weeks in AME Top 10: 14

The Skinny: Few comedies in recent years have resonated with audiences like this one, which put a fresh spin on a tired topic and catapulted its leads to stardom.

1) Up
The Specs:
Critical grade: 97 tomatometer, 88 metacritic
Audience response: 8.7 IMDB
Box office: $272.2 million
Weeks in AME Top 10: 13

The Skinny:
The animated smash has posted the highest IMDB rating since last year’s The Dark Knight—but with the new Best Picture rules, it has a good chance to get the nomination TDK missed.

Related Articles:
1) Star Trek review: Kirk and Spock, living long and prospering
2) 10 Best Picture nominees: How it will affect the Oscars
3) Is The Dark Knight the best film ever to get shut out of the Best Picture race?

**Tired of reading about the latest dumb action flick, lame gross-out comedy or played-out torture porn horror pic that took home the box office crown? Wish the media balanced screaming headlines about box office winners with more stories about “the top reviewed films” or the “films audiences loved the most”?

I’m with ya. And that’s why I’ve devised the new AME weekend movie chart, a ranking system that combines critics’ reviews, audience response and, yes, box office to deliver a comprehensive list of what’s hot in theaters in each weekend.