Starring: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, and Sigourney Weaver
Why It Stood Out: James Cameron revolutionized the way films are shot in 3-D and how filmmakers approach performance capture with his groundbreaking action epic, Avatar. Cameron makes a totally make-believe planet come completely alive onscreen, and the action sequences of Avatar are white-knuckle seat-grippers. Additional kudos go to Cameron for being one of the only action movie directors in 2009 to showcase strong female characters who are able to handle the action just as well as their male counterparts.