The year's half over — where did the time go? — so it's a good time to catch up with the best movies of the year so far.

Sure, studios tend to hold their Oscar-worthy fare till late in the year, the better to stay fresh in the minds of Academy voters.

But if there's any justice, they'll remember "Up." It's the best movie of the year so far, and being an animated film doesn't lessen its impact in the least. The story of a cranky old man (Ed Asner) who hitches balloons to his house and heads to South America is magical, Pixar's most complete film and a joy to watch for young and old. It should get a best-picture nomination anyway; if it doesn't get one now that the Academy has doubled the number of nominees, it should be a shoo-in.

Whatever the case, here's a look at the best of what else 2009 has had to offer — so far.

"Gomorrah": Technically, it opened in some places in 2008. In actual practice it opened in most cities this year, so we're counting it. How can we not? This unflinching look at mob life in Italy strips away all the they're-bad-but-we-love-them-anyway Hollywood gangster cliches — it plays almost like a documentary — and leaves behind the hurt and human cost. Stunning.

"The Hurt Locker": Kathryn Bigelow's look at an Army bomb-squad unit in Iraq. The tension is almost unbearable, and without taking sides, Bigelow shows us not just the incredible tension of war but also how addicting that tension can be. Jeremy Renner, as a devil-may-care specialist, is outstanding.

"JCDV": If you think of Jean-Claude Van Damme as a bone-headed action star — and there's no reason you shouldn't — this will change your mind. Not only is this film, in which Van Damme is in a post office that's robbed and taken hostage, fantastic, so is he; particularly in an extended scene in which he faces the camera and talks about his life and career.

"Star Trek": J.J. Abrams offers just enough nods to Trekkies while creating something new, a fresh take on the Starship Enterprise that is a pop-culture delight. Great fun if you're not a fan of the show, more fun of you are — particularly since Leonard Nimoy's in it more than you'd have guessed.

"Tyson": Mike Tyson, the former champ, just sitting around talking? That's a good movie? Absolutely, when you've led the life he has. Director James Toback asks the right questions, and Tyson delivers with answers.

"The Hangover": There is plenty of room on any self-respecting film critic's list for good old-fashioned R-rated fun. Ed Helms, Bradley Cooper and Zach Galifianakis go to Las Vegas for a bachelor party and promptly lose the groom. Hilarity ensues, some of it in the form of Tyson singing Phil Collins' "In the Air Tonight."

"Waltz with Bashir": Ari Folman's animated documentary takes a harrowing look at his role in the 1982 Lebanon war. Shattering indictment of war and its effects, told in a most unconventional way.

"Goodbye Solo": A beautiful story of unlikely friendship between a Senegalese taxi driver (Souleymane Sy Savane) and a crusty redneck (Red West), a fare who is evidently bent on suicide. Director and co-writer Ramin Bahrani ignores cliches, and the performances are outstanding.

"Adventureland": What seemed at first blush to be a teen-sex comedy is in fact a valentine to the late '80s from writer and director Greg Mottola. Jesse Eisenberg graduates from college and lands a job at an amusement park, where he finds love, though he'll have to work for it.