What was your favorite movie of 2009?

“2012” | “I would have to say ‘2012.’ Every time I get to the [team] hotel, I watch it. Every single time. The effects were just crazy, and it was interesting.”  (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

“Up” | “My favorite movie was ‘Up,’ because (A) it had talking dogs, and (B) it was a great movie. My one concern was the physics: I frequently found myself thinking, ‘You would need way more balloons than that to lift a house!’ But then a dog would say something, and I’d be OK.”  (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

“Inglourious Basterds” | “I love that the word is spelled wrong because the Nazis were so evil that correct spelling is too good for them. As someone who is hooked on WWII flicks, especially the French and German varieties, it’s always gratifying (not to mention satisfying) to see a bunch of Nazis blown away. My revenge fantasies were all taken care of in this movie. I look forward to the sequel: ‘Inglourious Fockers.’ ”  (Evan Agostini / Associated Press)

“Julie & Julia” | “I thought this was a fun movie, and I loved the courage and determination of Julia Child. She and Julie really embody the idea that if you put your mind to something, you can accomplish anything.”  (Paul Sakuma / Associated Press)

“Up in the Air” | “I thought George Clooney was pretty good; I thought he was pretty funny. I like how it left you at the end sort of up in the air because there was no conclusion. I guess I just liked the way that it flowed. I’m typically not looking for a heavy movie at the end of my workweek, and that was certainly anything but heavy. It was just relaxed entertainment.”  (Tom Uhlman / AP)

“Avatar” | “Just when you think you cannot do anything new in pop culture, James Cameron comes along and does something really different. I am ‘Avatar’ crazy. I have seen it twice already, and I am ready for the third time.”  (Frazer Harrison / Getty Images for IMG)

“Invictus” and “Precious” | “My favorite movie of 2009 would have to be ‘Invictus.’ Matt Damon is just an extraordinary talent. He’s also quite a foodie. He loves the chef’s table at Maze in Cape Town. Also ‘Precious.’ That was a great film, and Gabourey was amazing in it.”  (Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images)

“It’s Complicated” | “I just laughed my . . . off. Meryl Streep is good. I saw her in ‘Doubt,’ now you see her do this, a comedy. She was totally funny.”  (Eric Risberg / Associated Press)

“The Hurt Locker” | “It keeps you on the edge of your seat. My wife noticed right away that the cinematography was wonderful. ‘Avatar’ was also amazing. It’s amazing, the technology. There’s no story. It was a run-of-the-mill story . . . But this movie [‘The Hurt Locker’], it was tense.  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

“The Hurt Locker” | “While some details did not match the reality I’ve seen on the ground in Iraq, it had a powerful hold on me for days -- the surest sign of towering filmmaking.”  (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

“In the Loop” | “My favorite movie was ‘In the Loop,’ and my favorite acting performance was by Peter Capaldi, who made absolute arias of obscenity and anger. Unbelievably shocking and funny. I thought he would be nominated for an Oscar, but no.”  (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

“(500) Days of Summer” | “This movie carried a truth about romance that others miss. Here’s how it happens: You go nuts over someone. They show an interest in you. It’s enough for you so you begin to dream that this is the one. Then, tragically, you feel the other person decides you are not. That’s when the pain sets in. ‘(500) Days’ is about romance struggling, how sometimes, with all the pain, it’s a prelude to something wonderful. People who love this movie have been there.”  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

“Inglourious Basterds” | “I’d say ‘Inglourious Basterds’ was my favorite film of 2009. Because, No. 1, Quentin Tarantino is a badass; No. 2, fantastic ensemble cast; No. 3, it was visually incredible!”  (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

“Avatar” | “I loved the message it sends about interconnection between humans, animal welfare and the environment that sustains us all.”  (Stefano Paltera / For The Times)

“Fantastic Mr. Fox” | “Either people are actually getting dumber or movie makers are losing confidence in our attention spans. I hope it’s the latter and next year’s movies chill out and let a movie happen rather than jamming into your senses and generally overdoing it. I loved ‘Fantastic Mr. Fox,’ and I will fight you over it. Well done, Mr. Anderson. ‘An Education’ was a standout too. I think the pacing of these two movies made them attractive. Both movies stuck with me for a few days.”  (Kiyoshi Ota / Getty Images)

“Inglourious Basterds” | “I liked ‘Inglourious Basterds’ a lot. Very entertaining movie, even though it’s pretty brutal and bloodthirsty, but we’re almost immune to that now as a public because we’ve seen so much of it. There’s some pretty horrifying scenes in it, but it still has a great sense of humor. I think the guy that played the Nazi [Christoph Waltz] is probably going to win the Oscar for supporting actor.

I saw ‘The Last Station’ after reading the book and enjoyed it a lot. I thought it was really well-acted.

I liked ‘Up’ . . . my grandchild liked it so much that I decided I had to watch it. It was fun.

I thought ‘Up in the Air’ was a very entertaining movie.  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

“Avatar” | “I thought it was incredible. What a message, of having the connection from the people to these creatures to nature. It shows how strong we can be, but also how much we’re missing about communing with our surroundings because we’re too busy looking for the gold.”  (Lori Shepler / Los Angeles Times)

“Julie & Julia” | “ Meryl Streep was fantastic in ‘Julie & Julia.’ This film was perfect for me: It combined good acting with good food!”  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

“The Hurt Locker” | “I think it’s the best war movie I’ve ever seen. It really takes you into the streets and into the heads of the characters. From the first scene to the last, I was transfixed and in awe of the director.”  (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

“The Hangover” | “ ‘Hangover’ ain’t nominated for no Oscar. I know that! That’s my favorite movie. Man, that was my movie of the year.”  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

“The Hurt Locker” / “Avatar” | “Either ‘The Hurt Locker’ or ‘Avatar.’ I don’t think ‘Avatar’ is going to win this time; it’s just so popular with everybody. I’d love to see ‘Hurt Locker’ win for best picture because it’s terrific.”  (Mark Lennihan / Associated Press)

“The Hurt Locker” | “Without a doubt, the film that had me in shock and awe was ‘The Hurt Locker.’ I had put off seeing it because I didn’t want to see another war film, another Iraq film. Then I finally saw it on a DVD on Christmas Eve. While we were watching, the power cut with a big explosion in our neighborhood. We were looking at our watches and couldn’t wait for the power to come back so we could watch it. And then I saw it again. It was a truly remarkable piece of work. There are some great war movies that stay with a generation, and this was one of those. It just put you inside the skin of the soldiers, being present. You feel the heat and the danger. It was just an amazing experience.”  (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

“The Hurt Locker” | “I have watched ‘The Hurt Locker’ twice now. So well-cast and well-shot. The film captures the 0-to-60 boredom to near-death experiences soldiers go through on a daily basis and the disconnect they feel when returning home. It’s a great piece of work that shows the awfulness of war and the toll it takes on those who fight in them. Should not be missed.”  (Frederick M. Brown / Getty Images)

“Where the Wild Things Are” | “I found it incredibly beautiful, really bold filmmaking, really risk-taking filmmaking. It was very moving. It made me think and it made me feel. And it kind of delighted me and unsettled me. It did everything that I wanted a film to do.”  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

“We Live in Public” | “I’ve been thinking about the endless amount of time that Ondi Timoner must have spent wading through the 5,000 hours of footage that she gathered for her film. After watching the film for the second time recently, I remain extremely impressed by how well the film functions as both a microcosm and a layered critique of our self-imposed brave new world of reality TV, Web cams and Internet blogs.  (Ringo H.W. Chiu / For The Times)

“The Hurt Locker” | “Bottom line is that 2009 was an insanely great year for sci-fi -- ‘Star Trek,’ ‘Avatar,’ ‘District 9’ and ‘Moon’ -- with the latter being an absolute gem that not a lot of people know about (and, by the way, 2006’s ‘Children of Men’ should have won best picture). And now, to go against all that, ‘The Hurt Locker’ is my favorite.”  (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

“Snow Buddies” | “A classic tale of five pups that find their way to Alaska and help a young lad win an Iditarod rip-off. Sure, it went straight to DVD and is from ‘08, but it’s my daughter’s fave and we’ve seen it 29 times, and it’s the only thing I can remember. . . . Oh, wait! ‘The Hurt Locker’ was pretty . . . rad too.”  (Chris Weeks / AP)

“Precious” and “Up” | “Precious”: “The most important film of the year because it reminded us that the war on terror is an inside job.” “Up”: “To deconstruct celebrity hero worship and on top of that define the real meaning of family is no small task, but this brilliant movie did it with humor and heart.”  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

“Avatar” | “It was amazing. I’m always intrigued with movies that have incredible special effects, and it doesn’t hurt to have Sam Worthington as the main character. He’s a hottie!”  (Monty Brinton / AP)

“Avatar” | “My favorite movie of the year, without a doubt, was ‘Avatar.’ The 3-D visuals and special effects I could take or leave -- I just really loved the dialogue. Honestly, though, it was my favorite movie. I saw it twice in a week and loved every second.”  (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)

“Inglourious Basterds” | “I liked ‘Inglourious Basterds’ because I love WWII movies. I especially liked the concept of the Jewish special force team fighting and killing Nazis and, of course, Quentin Tarantino‘s macabre humor.”  (Christine Cotter / Los Angeles Times)

“Precious” | “It moved me so much because it was such a tragedy, such an example of a human being with no idea how beautiful life can be. Despite that, she was still a good person who was given a chance at a glimpse of happiness. With all that I have to be grateful for, it was a particularly devastating depiction of what many people unfortunately endure in life.”  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

“Every Little Step” | “I loved ‘Every Little Step.’ That was so moving, about people going after their passion. The emotional stress, the unbelievable courage and heartbreak and how, in such a competitive environment, each person supported their competitor. You left the theater smiling and feeling like you got a glimpse into someone’s life.”  (Stefano Paltera / For The Times)

“Obsessed” | “I’m selfishly plugging this thriller about a white woman who becomes obsessed with a married man whose wife is Beyoncé in hopes of fast-tracking the sequel that Mindy Kaling and I are pitching: ‘Obsessed 2: Leave My Brown Man Alone You White . . . !’ ”  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

“Avatar” | “It was good for a kids’ movie. You think it’s a kid movie, but when you get in there, you realize it’s not. It was long, but, at the same time, it had a lot of action. The graphics, the color, the lighting . . . it was awesome. That had to take years and a lot of time and patience to make. It was pretty impressive.”  (Christine Cotter / Los Angeles Times)

“Law Abiding Citizen” | “ Jamie Foxx killed it. Great movie. It’s crazy, man. The dude was killing people inside of the jail. He had it all planned out. He found a warehouse and built underground into the jail, so he could kill people, go back in. It was crazy. He had people thinking he was killing folks from the jail, and he really wasn’t. It was a great movie.”  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

“Moon” | “ ‘Moon’ lowered my jaw considerably. Sam Rockwell, the modest budget and amazing practical effects made for the happiest surprise of ’09.”  (Frazer Harrison / Getty Images)

“It’s Complicated” | “I haven’t laughed that much in a movie theater in a long time. Meryl Streep and Steve Martin were hysterical, especially during the party scene. Nancy Meyer created a beautiful set. The home was beautiful and the bakery was done to perfection! It was a visual treat! I left with a big smile on my face. I love movies that are uplifting.”  (Jemal Countess / Getty Images for IMG)

“Avatar” | “‘Avatar’ was my favorite movie of 2009. Besides being blown away by the stunning visuals, there was a simple yet powerful lesson on how we need to stop destroying our world. I was so inspired that I even had my dog painted with stripes and began calling him O-vatar instead of Oliver!”  (Frazer Harrison / Getty Images for IMG)

“Inglourious Basterds” | “Tarantino makes movies that are pretty much about movies and that are somehow always deeper, bigger, funnier and more pervasive than any other movie I see in their wake.”  (Amy Sussman / Getty Images)

“Summer Hours” | “While ‘The Hurt Locker’ is extraordinary, and I am willing to overlook the Jewish coon show aspects of the otherwise excellent ‘A Serious Man’ in exchange for the Coen brothers’ (A) hiring Fyvush Finkel to play a character who may or may not have been a dybbuk, (B) ability to make a running gag out of the draining of a sebaceous cyst, and (C) conjuring of Fred Melamed’s hilariously unctuous and unjustly neglected-at-awards-time performance in the role of Sy Abelman, my favorite movie of 2009 was a French film called ‘Summer Hours.’ It’s about three adult siblings, the fate of their childhood home and the objects contained therein. It’s a meditation on family, time and impermanence, and its more temporal themes of real estate, art and money give it a great deal of local resonance. Cineastes will dig it for the haunting, long last shot.”  (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

“Inglourious Basterds” | “ ‘Precious,’ ‘Crazy Heart’ and ‘Up in the Air’ all crushed it. ‘The Hurt Locker’ blew me away (OK, a cheap pun, I know, but I’m a cheap date). I loved them all, for different reasons, but if I have to spot a single film, ‘Inglourious Basterds’ would be my top pick. It’s Tarantino -- an outrageous, outlandish nightmare, and fanboy-wonderful in all the best ways.”  (Karen Tapia-Andersen / Los Angeles Times)

“Food, Inc.” | “ ‘Food, Inc.’ is a powerful film, not only to watch but in the effect it has already had on the national conversation around food. Someday, when reform of the food system is a reality, we’ll look back and talk about pre- and post-’Food, Inc.’ ”  (Evan Agostini / Associated Press)

“The Blind Side” | “It represents the all-American story about people overcoming difficulties to achieve great success -- and they don’t do it alone.”  (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

“Inglourious Basterds” | “‘Inglourious Basterds’ was the most ingenious and fantastical film of 2009. The screenplay is so ludicrous that it’s almost made a new genre of the WWII drama-comedy.”  (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)

“Up” | “I thought it was charming.”  (Jamie McCarthy / Getty Images for GQ Magazine)

“Sita Sings the Blues” | “‘Sita Sings the Blues,’ an 84-minute animated feature by cartoonist Nina Paley, interweaves a traditional tale from the Ramayana with the filmmaker’s story of being dumped by e-mail when her husband went to India. It features at least five different styles of animation, my favorite being a trio of Indian shadow puppets who are voiced by three contemporary Indians trying and failing to remember the traditional story, endlessly bickering over the details. I’m an oldster, so I don’t watch films online, but I downloaded this (for free!) and never left my desk until it was over.”  (Alexander Gallardo / Los Angeles Times)

“Avatar” | My favorite movie of the year is “Avatar”, it’s memorable, meaningful and like nothing I have ever seen before.  (Russ Parsons / Los Angeles Times)