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In the aftermath of Christmas and New Years, movie output and information becomes notoriously uneventful. January is a time for studios to dump their "problematic" (read: crap) films in order to salvage a profit with relatively little competition. January is also the time year where movie news becomes suddenly scarce, made particularly scarce this year with the ongoing WGA strike. Because of all this, we noble film critics like to nostalgic for the past year and compile our beloved Top Ten lists. These lists, which can never really rise beyond the limited prestige of "one man's opinion," are ultimately meaningless. The films I loved this past year may very well be the films you hated, and when it comes right down to it no one's favorite films really matter more than your own. The best function these lists serve is to remind us all of those moments we experienced in which we sat in a darkened theater and were struck with genuine emotion by what we saw on the screen. Believe me, this is not an easy feat, what with all the junk that tends to tumble out of Hollywood these days. These Top Ten lists serve as a friendly reminder of why we still go to the movies, and what films deserve to be remembered and re-watched.
So, without future posturing, here are the films that I will be re-watching in 2008:
10. "Bug" -- By no means a "feel good movie" this film will, in fact, disturb and depress you terribly. Still, it stands as a fascinating portrait of loneliness and insanity. Featuring uncomfortable, claustrophobic camera work, and a breakout performance by Michael Shannon.
9. "Sunshine" -- A smart science-fiction film (rare these days) that centers around a premise that I'm still amazed hasn't been done before: In the future, scientists must travel to the dying sun to re-ignite it and save the earth from another ice age. The film benefits greatly from well-rounded characters and a finely crafted sense of realism.
8. "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" -- No, it's not quite as good as Stephen Sondheim's brilliant musical on which it is based, but it does stand as Tim Burton's best film since "Ed Wood." John Logan's script does a great job of making the material fresh and, even though they're not the best singers, the entire cast manages to bring humanity to their monstrous characters.
7. "The Darjeeling Limited" -- There is a bit of a Wes Anderson backlash happening these days and the result is that this film--his most cohesive and emotionally satisfying to date--is sadly underrated. There is a maturity on display here that was absent in the scattershot "The Life Aquatic," and it pays off beautifully. It should also be noted that, in this film, Jason Schwartzman sports the mustache I desperately wish I could grow.
6. "Hot Fuzz" -- Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg have avoided the sophomore slump with what I feel is the funniest film of the year. Their follow-up to 2004's "Shaun of the Dead" is a spot-on riff on the action genre, and while it lacks the underlying sweetness of "Shaun," it makes up for it with an absolutely gut-busting third act.
5. "The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters" -- What starts as a fluffy documentary about a nerdy science teacher trying to beat the world record high score of "Donkey Kong," turns into a funny and surprisingly moving riff on the class underdog story.
4. "No Country for Old Men" -- While I'm still not sure just what to make of the ambiguous, anti-climactic ending, there's no denying that everything that leads up to it is pure gold. The Coen Brothers do a great job delivering a thriller that's actually thrilling. Javier Bardem should begin writing his Oscar speech immediately for his portrayal of an awkward, terrifying psychopath. Also, who the hell knew Josh Brolin could be such a bad-ass?
3. "Ratatouille" -- I guess I'm just a sucker for an adorable, animated rat. Pixar has acquitted themselves nicely for the debacle that was "Cars." This film features gorgeous animation, a smart, layered story, and great voice-over work by Patton Oswalt, Ian Holm, and Peter O'Toole. Cute, in the very best sense of the word.
2. "Zodiac" -- Filled with a daunting amount of information, this film about the Zodiac killings that terrorized San Francisco in 1970's is like a cinematic encyclopedia on the subject: You come out afterwards feeling like an expert. With stellar performances by Robert Downey, Jr. and Mark Ruffalo, a thorough and intelligent script by James Vanderbilt, and a three-hour running time that seems to breeze by, "Zodiac" is an instant classic.
1. "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" -- Almost everything I said about "Zodiac" could be applied to this masterpiece as well. A peek inside the notorious outlaw (Brad Pitt) and his conflicted assassin (an amazing, Oscar-worthy Casey Affleck), this film features some of the most beautiful camera work I've ever seen care of the brilliant Roger Deakins. This is, quite simply, the most beautiful and haunting history lesson you're ever going to have.
Honorable Mentions: "Charlie Wilson's War," "Fido," and "Juno"
The "Dumb Fun" Award: "Beowulf"
The "I Might Have Missed Out" Awards:
Here are a handful of films that, for one reason or another, I never got a chance to see in theaters. I can't say if I enjoy them or not, but I can recognize that many others do and I suspect I may in the future. These titles are definitely on my "must see" list:
*"Once"
*"There Will Be Blood"
*"Gone Baby Gone"
*"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"
And now… The Worst Three of 2007
As always, the truly terrible films of the year are not the ones we already knew were going to be terrible (I'm looking at you, "Norbit!"), but rather the films that were filled with potential and squandered it mercilessly. An exuberant "Screw you!" to the following movies:
3. "The Ten" -- I don't expect the creative talent behind "Wet Hot American Summer" to give me "Citizen Kane," but I do expect them to make me laugh. This movie--a collection of ten comedy scenes very, very, very, VERY loosely based on the Ten Commandments--had way too much talent involved for it to be so flat, disjointed, and (worst of all) unfunny. An all-star cast, featuring the likes of Liev Schreiber, Paul Rudd, Oliver Platt, and Winona Ryder, serves only to add insult to injury.
2. "Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters" -- You know what? This movie can go to hell. Seriously. As a staunch defender of the absurd but funny Cartoon Network show on which it's based, I feel betrayed that this smarmy, cloying movie even has the audacity to exist. Look, there are some crap movies out there, but this is one of the rare times that I actually feel bad for people who paid ten dollars to see this cinematic equivalent of a middle finger.
1. The "3's" -- For the laymen out there, that stands for "Spider-Man 3," "Shrek the Third," "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End," and every other trilogy closer that came out this year. (Notable exception: The energetic and thrilling "The Bourne Ultimatum.") These films all promised exciting and rewarding closure to some of our favorite epics, and audiences happily handed over their money expecting to see something truly original. What they got was bloated, overblown pap that, in an effort to please everyone, wound up pleasing no one. The only thing worse than a terrible movie is a terrible sequel to a good movie: It winds up tarnishing the image of what made audiences come out in the first place. |
About Brolin
Written by Guest on 2008-01-08 02:34:44
Hmm, 'Who knew brolin could be such a bad ass?'
Hmm ! And here I was rooting for Brolin as the _good_ guy in No Country for Old Men.  | Don't Forget the Gangster
Written by Guest on 2008-01-08 08:57:00
I think you are missing a big one -- at least one of my favorites in a close second to No Country for Old Men -- American Gangster. Denzel Washington is great in that role. He has shown versatility in his roles -- good guy and bad guy. However, this miss is pretty consistent with other reviewers too. | American Gangster
Written by Guest on 2008-01-08 12:59:39
As to the previous comment, I fully admit dropping the ball on "American Gangster." In my sloppy, handwritten notes for my Top Ten list I had that film listed as an Honorable Mention. When I typed up my list, however, it must've gotten lost in translation. "American Gangster" definitely was a great film and I appreciated both its attention to period detail (a trait it shares with "Zodiac") and Denzel Washington's very solid portrayal of Frank Lucas.
...My bad.
~Michael James Allen | I am legend
Written by Guest on 2008-01-09 22:15:26
Well, i dont know if it came out in time to be a 2007 movie.
but if it did, it should be on here |
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