Stephen King picks his favorite films of 2009

Stephen King obviously loves movies, and that means he obviously has some favorites...

Stephen King picked his 10 best films of the year 2009, and I bet you will be surprised by some of the the flicks he put on that list. EW posted his picks with some thoughts from King himself, and here's what he liked the most in 2009:

No. 10 on his list is "2012," which despite awesome effects and some hilarious sequences would never make my best of list. "Fantastic Mr. Fox" is his No. 9, and I admit that's one of the films I agree with him about. It is truly a fantastic animated adventure.

Moving on, he picked "The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3" as No. 8, "Law Abiding Citizen" as seventh, and "District 9" as No. 6. Okay for "District 9," but the other two? "Citizen" was pretty entertaining, sure, but I admit I was really disappointed by "Pelham."

"The Reader" made it to No. 5 on King's list, and "Disgrace" is his No. 4. "The Road" is No. 3 (couldn't agree more), and the big shocker comes in at No. 2: "The Last House on the Left." Come again? Well, I'm glad he's among those who loved that flick.

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'New Moon' grabs another $85M overseas

"The Twilight Saga: New Moon" continued its world dominance at the box office this weekend, scoring $85.1 million on the international circuit in 56 markets. Domestically, the "Twilight" sequel grabbed $42.5 million.

Chris Weitz's film starring Kristen Stewart, Taylor Lautner and Robert Pattinson reached $243 million overseas, compared to a domestic total of $230.6 million. It should cross the $500 million mark worldwide next week.

Following in second place was Roland Emmerich's apocalyptic adventure "2012," which grabbed another $61.7 million from ticket sales in 107 territories. The film's total gross now stands at a solid $455.8 million.

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'Christmas' reigns for Disney at the box office

Weekend of November 6 – 8, 2009: Scrooge beats goats, aliens and creepy boxes...

As expected, Walt Disney’s “A Christmas Carol” took the No. 1 spot at the North American box office this weekend with a solid $31 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The Robert Zemeckis-directed 3D motion-capture adventure based on Charles Dickens’ classic tale opened at 3,683 locations and scored an average of $8,417 per theater, enough to crush its competition.

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Box Office: 'This Is It' easily wins the race

Weekend of Oct. 30 – Nov. 1, 2009: Michael Jackson film triumphs with $21M

Sony Pictures’ Michael Jackson documentary “This Is It” prevailed at the top of the North American box office this weekend with $21.3 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The Kenny Ortega-directed film opened at 3,481 locations Wednesday, bagging $11.1 million in two days. The domestic total of “This Is It” currently stands at a solid $32.5 million.

Most of the film's footage was shot in June 2009 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles and The Forum in Inglewood, Calif. It includes scenes drawn from hours of rehearsal and behind-the-scenes footage.

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Box Office: 'Wild Things' triumphs with $32M

Weekend of October 16 – 17, 2009: New releases help boost box office performance

Spike Jonze’s “Where the Wild Things Are” easily defeated its competition at the North American box office this weekend with a solid $32.4 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The big-screen adaptation of Maurice Sendak’s beloved book scored a strong average of $8,693 per theater at 3,735 locations. Starring Max Records, the film follows a lonely boy who bonds with a bunch of wild creatures in his imagination.

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The 'Wild Things' rule the box office Friday

"Where the Wild Things Are" scores big while "Paranormal Activity" surprises even more!

Spike Jonze's big-screen adaptation of Maurice Sendak's book "Where the Wild Things Are" stormed to the top of the North American box office Friday with a solid $11.9 million in ticket sales at 3,735 locations.

The film starring Max Records as a lonely boy escaping into his imagination delivered a superb start, and I'm glad it did. It's a truly wonderful adaptation I can only recommend you see if you haven't already.

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Movie Review: “Law Abiding Citizen”

Seen on: October 16, 2009

The players: Director: F. Gary Gray, Writer: Kurt Wimmer, Cast: Jamie Foxx, Gerard Butler, Colm Meaney, Bruce McGill, Leslie Bibb

Facts of interest: None.

The plot: After one of the men who killed his family gets a light prison sentence, a desperate widower heads out to fix the justice system.

Our thoughts: F. Gary Gray’s new thriller “Law Abiding Citizen” is a totally crazy film, but it’s not necessarily a disastrous experience. It’s pretty much as over-the-top as a big-screen experience in this genre can get, and while it’s certainly entertaining, it fails to deliver the kind of intense payoff I expected.

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This week's new movie releases - October 16, 2009

Opening wide this week are Spike Jonze's "Where the Wild Things Are," F. Gary Gray's "Law Abiding Citizen" with Jamie Foxx and Gerard Butler; and "The Stepfather" with Dylan Walsh and Sela Ward.

WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE (by Spike Jonze)

Synopsis: It follows the adventure of Max (Max Records), a mischievous young boy who is sent to his room after rebelling against his mother (Catherine Keener). Max's imagination is free to roam, and it soon transports him to a thriving forest bordering a vast sea.

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Two new clips from 'Law Abiding Citizen'

Two new clips from F. Gary Gray's upcoming thriller "Law Abiding Citizen" debuted online recently, and you can check them out after the jump. The film, which opens Oct. 16, 2009, stars Jamie Foxx and Gerard Butler.

After finding out that one of his wife and daughter’s murderers will be set free via a plea bargain, Butler’s character decides to take revenge against those responsible for the murders and the deal.

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Explosion video from set of 'Law Abiding Citizen'

Director F. Gary Gray's next thriller "Law Abiding Citizen" will be released Oct. 16, 2009, and the filmmaker and his crew are currently wrapping up some added special effects sequences for the film. Via his Twitter account, Gray recently posted a short video of an explosion he shot on set. Check it out after the jump.

Gray teased his followers with this tweet: "Would you like to see a behind the scenes EXPLOSION from last nights shoot?" The video followed shortly, and while the explosion itself is not among the most spectacular, the footage at least includes a few interesting words from Gray himself.

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