REEL REVUE FIRST HALF AWARDS

BEST MOVIE: STAR TREK-Right out the gate, I had my hopes for Transformers as best movie, however JJ Abrams modernized remake of Star Trek stood out among the rest, with a young B-Level cast playing the roles of the original Star Trek characters and solid action sequences. Could there be a sequel in the works?

WORST MOVIE: PUSH-This movie was clearly a mish-mosh of sci-fi calamity. Dakota Fanning as a tough street-wise psychic was about as believable as Mila Kunis' character in a flop from last year Max Payne. Djimon Hwonsu is such a good actor, but he sure has picked some bad movies lately including the Keanu Reeve's bomb "Constantine."

BEST ACTION: TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN-despite some inappropriate humor and the length of the film (2 hours and 43 minutes), Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen made up for it with some killer action sequences. Star Trek was good for the action scenes, but Transformers had it all especially in the fight scenes like the climatic battle between Optimus Prime and The Fallen.

BEST COMEDY: THE HANGOVER-As much as I would like to have chosen I Love You, Man, since I saw it three times while I was in tech school or Bruno, The Hangover proved to be one of the most hysterical films I have ever seen. Todd Phillips, who directed another comic classic, Old School, delivers a story of a bachelor party gone awry with a somewhat unfamiliar cast that provided strong comedic performances, including Zach Galifinakis who if you haven't heard of Galifinakis, his stand up DVD Live at the Purple Onion is a must see.

BEST ANIMATED MOVIE: UP-This was too close to call, Monsters vs. Aliens was a great movie this year voiced by a star-studded cast such as Reese Witherspoon, Hugh Laurie and Seth Rogen but UP was clearly the Wall-E of 2009, a film that didn't need an all-star cast, but through sheer animation and a fluid and heartwarming story, UP proved to be one of the best films of the year.

TOP 10 Films for the First Half of 2009

1. Star Trek

2. The Hangover

3. Up

4. I Love You, Man

5. Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen

6. Monsters vs. Aliens

7. Watchmen

8. The Taking of Pelham 123

9. The Soloist

10. Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs

Here's what I think, next time on the Reel Revue you'll have the opportunity to vote on your favorite films and actors/actresses from the first half of 2009.