Top Ten of 2007

Posthumous Note from the Writer: The date states that this was published in July, but in reality I wrote a lot of this back then, but just got preoccupied with other things so I haven't finished until now on January 15, 2009 (how pathetic). However, I promise that this blog will actually get updated on some sort of consistent basis from here on out. After all, the Oscars are right around the corner! Time to sharpen the skills.

In all reality, I probably could have completed this list a couple of months ago, but I lagged on a handful of movies so it prevented me from being able to continue my trend of improved turnaround time on my Top Ten each year. I blame those handful of films on my delay, but in all likelihood, the odds of any one of those influencing my top ten were remote at best, so it's probably just my way of justifying my laziness to myself. Plus, no one reads this, it's mainly for posterity, so who gives a shit?

Midway through 2007, I remember reading here and there from various film critics/commentators what a strong year we were having and I couldn't help, but have visions of Transformers and Pirates of the Caribbean Part 12: Longest Title & Most Convoluted Storyline For A Blockbuster Of All Time dancing in my head and think...are you serious? Turns out, they were right. Better to finish strong than start strong I always say. Aside from helping me produce one of the most solid Top Tens in years (from top to bottom), I was mainly struck by the sheer power of many films that 2007 had to offer. Every year, there will be plenty of really good films and maybe 2-3 that are clearly a cut above everything else, but aside from the usual representation of exceptional films, what makes 2007's crop unique is that many made their own mark, they were distinct. Anyway, on with the show...

10) Gone Baby Gone - On the surface, a whodunit crime thriller set in the oh-so-exotic locale of Boston's Dorchester (and no, I'm not being facetious) doesn't seem like the most auspicious ground for Ben Affleck to make his directorial debut, but apparently he had murkier waters for us to wade in. Of course a solid ensemble cast and an excellent script don't hurt his cause, but the real meat and potatoes of Affleck's first film resides in the moral conundrum he throws the audience into. Never shying away from the grays, Affleck performs a commendable balancing act with all sides of a complicated coin. If only Ashley Judd movies were this fascinating...Bug excluded of course.

9) Hot Fuzz - Like any other red, white, and blue-blooded American, you probably have a warped part of your brain that can't help but quiver with excitement when Point Break or any Governator classic comes on during a UPN Saturday afternoon action movie marathon. The great thing about Hot Fuzz (at least in part) is that it realizes there's a larger demographic that would enjoy this form of tribute/parody than most people would care to think about. Simon Pegg and co. simultaneously weave action movie parody with shockingly effective dramatic and action sequences delivering on the potential and promise displayed by their previous effort, Shaun of the Dead. Finally, an affectionate tribute to the ridiculous, kickass action films of the 80s and early 90s that pokes fun without condescending to its material or audience. A much more difficult feat than it sounds.

8) Superbad - According to writers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, they wanted to write a teen comedy that actually reflected the way real teens actually talk and act. I'm not sure if they're dead-on accurate, but they're a lot closer to the mark than a dirty old man like Larry Clark (who likes to envision all teens as fulfilling all of his demented fuck dreams, but I digress...) or any other generic high school movie generated by the American Pie-influenced teen comedy factory. In the end, we ended up with the funniest movie of the year, by far. Even for those who weren't crazy about it, Jonah Hill's silver-tongued perversion is a sight to behold. Talk about a teenager who has mastered the art of witty dick jokes.

7) Once - I'll admit that sitting down to watch a film described as a modern day musical shot guerilla-style on the streets of Dublin with amateur actors didn't make me exactly wet my pants in anticipation, but it's yet another testament to the beauty of movies. You buy the ticket, take the ride, and once in a great while, you will be surprised and hopefully blown away. Enter a little film called Once. Now I ask this: what are the necessary elements for a musical/romance to be effective? Likeable leads worth giving a shit about...check. Palpable chemistry between aforementioned leads...check. Fantastic music...check. Of course, other things go into making a film a cut above the rest, but without having these three factors in spades, the whole operation comes crashing down. If you're not moved by this film, you don't have a soul. No pressure though.

6) Juno - People can bitch all they want that the dialogue was "unrealistic" and not the way those damn kids speak these days, but who freaking cares? If you don't appreciate the actual character of Juno and all of her idiosyncrasies, then this movie isn't for you. Furthermore, if you don't appreciate the performance of Ellen Page, then I suggest you thoroughly pull your head out of your ass b/c this is the kind of charismatic stuff that drives excellent filmmaking. Oh and it doesn't hurt that the film itself is moving, witty, and absolutely hilarious.

5) The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford -A thoroughly engrossing exploration of hero-worship wrapped inside a rousing yet contemplative veneer of Western mythologizing. If only other genres of filmmaking would realize that fascinating character studies can be done within well-established stereotypes and conventions. From the mercurial nature of Brad Pitt's Jesse James to the alternately creepy, pathetic, and sympathetic Robert Ford (flawlessly executed by Casey Affleck), Andrew Dominik's film never ceases to by turns fascinate and provoke. Coming soon to a theater near you: an examination of Sylvester Stallone's Oedipus complex in Cobra.

4) Zodiac - For my money, David Fincher is one of our most reliable working American filmmakers. A quick look back, in order: Seven, The Game, Fight Club, Panic Room and now Zodiac. Everything about this film is note-perfect as it is arguably Fincher's most mature, sure-handed film to date. The set and costume design are especially impressive, but mostly, it's the methodical nature with which Fincher's film investigates everything surrounding the Zodiac murders including the cases themselves. Compound that with the characters' collective obsession with solving these murders and it's easy to see why Fincher is such a rare talent. His ability to mix heady material with his ridiculous talent for aesthetic is lethal.

3) The Lives of Others - So let me get this straight: It's 1984. East Berlin. The secret police puts anyone who sneezes near them under heavy surveillance. Perhaps, there are echoes of certain governmental policies we may have heard of here in America? I don't know, that sounds like a bit much. Anyway, what a slow, wonderful burn this one is. One day, Hollywood will understand that the best thrillers MUST have characters worth caring about and the story needs to evolve slowly, but surely in order to ya know, actually build suspense. Needless to say, The Lives of Others has all of these things in spades. Be sure to pour a little out for my main man, Ulrich Muhe, who gives a stellar performance by the way.

1a) No Country For Old Men - The Coen brothers may be the most dynamic filmmaking duo ever. I don't know how many filmmaking duos have actually come through the pipeline, but the point is these guys can do pretty much anything and do it extremely well. NCFOM shook me to the core. Not only was it a fantastic genre piece featuring an iconic turn from Javier Bardem and understated (and underrated, really) work from both Tommy Lee Jones and Josh Brolin, but it was also a depressing thesis on evil, humanity, and the complete and utter chaos of this little world we live in. In other words, this film was speaking my language. If you think it ended abruptly, then accept that you don't get it and that this movie isn't for you. I'm tired of moviegoers assuming the filmmaker screwed up when they clearly don't understand something. Go watch a Brett Ratner movie and leave the thinkin' stuff to the grownups. Thanks.

1b) There Will Be Blood - In reality, this was a tie for number one. I've never had a top two come this close to each other in terms of quality, so it's ironic that TWBB serves as a great companion piece to NCFOM. NCFOM explores the idea of evil as an abstract concept that will never dissipate while TWBB explores the inherent darkness that resides in humanity. Similar to how HBO's Deadwood explored the origins of civilization in the good ol' U.S. of A., Paul Thomas Anderson's TWBB treads the same ground by examining a solid foundation upon which the American Dream rests. Nothin' but the essentials: greed, murder, hubris, insanity. Yep, 2007 was a feel-good type of year and I couldn't be happier about it.

Runners-Up: Atonement, Away From Her, Into the Wild, The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters, The Kite Runner, Lust Caution, The Namesake, Rocket Science, Starting Out in the Evening, Sunshine
Writer's Note: The fact that terrific films like The Namesake, Rocket Science, Into the Wild (err...pretty much all of the aforementioned "Runners-Up") are not in my top ten speaks to how strong a year it was and especially how strong my top ten is.

Individual Awards:
Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis - There Will Be Blood: Was there ever really any doubt? Day-Lewis is a freakin' dynamo. Raise your hand if you couldn't stop quoting Daniel Plainview for weeks after you saw this. TWBB is entirely dependent on Day-Lewis carrying the picture for every frame and not only does he do that, he manages to be one of the biggest reasons that TWBB should already be regarded as an American classic.
Runners-Up: Ulrich Muhe - The Lives of Others, Frank Langella - Starting Out in the Evening, Ryan Gosling - Lars and the Real Girl, Gordon Pinsent - Away From Her, Casey Affleck - Gone Baby Gone

Best Actress: Ellen Page - Juno: I'll just go ahead and say it to get it out of the way, I freakin' love Ellen Page. Her performance reminds me of why I love film so much. She does something that can't be overlooked and that is she makes Diablo Cody's dialogue feel natural and unforced. She's hilarious and vulnerable and genuine...she's the kind of girl you had a crush on in high school. Similar to how TWBB was dependent upon Day-Lewis' performance, so it goes for Juno and Ellen Page. She succeeded.
Runners-Up: Julie Christie - Away From Her, Tabu - The Namesake, Keri Russell - Waitress, Tang Wei - Lust, Caution, Ashley Judd - Bug

Best Supporting Actor: Casey Affleck - The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford: I realize the trendy choice was Javier Bardem and I'm fine with that, but for my money, Affleck had the much more layered, complex performance. His Robert Ford is by turns maddening, repulsive, pathetic, but always sympathetic. How he manages to maintain a connection with the audience while not being especially likable is quite a feat. Talk about exploding onto the scene this year, Affleck's work in both this film and Gone Baby Gone should have both Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Ryan Gosling looking over their shoulders as they may have some competition for most interesting/promising young actor.
Runners-Up: Javier Bardem - No Country For Old Men, Ed Harris - Gone Baby Gone, Hal Holbrook - Into the Wild, Philip Seymour Hoffman - Charlie Wilson's War

Best Supporting Actress: Romola Garai - Atonement: Given the structure of Atonement and how the character of Briony is portrayed by three different actresses, it is that much more difficult to make a mark. Yet Garai definitely makes the most of her screen time as the 18 year old version of Briony. During the most heart-wrenching scene of the film, Garai displays a remarkable range of emotion as someone who is torn apart by true regret and wears the emotional toll it has taken like a badge of shame.
Runners-Up: Leslie Mann - Knocked Up, Amy Ryan - Gone Baby Gone, Jennifer Garner - Juno, Tilda Swinton - Michael Clayton, Lili Taylor - Starting Out in the Evening, Cate Blanchett - I'm Not There

Other Miscellaneous Awards (or lack thereof):
Worst Film of the Year: This is always one of my favorite categories to consider because when you've suffered through a genuine piece of horseshit, it's nice to be rewarded for your sacrifice by being able to rail against the aforementioned horseshit. Ahhhh, so many worthy contenders:

- We had Michael Bay's latest crime against humanity in Transformers (but that did give us Megan Fox).

- We had the latest comic book atrocity in Ghost Rider challenging the Fantastic Four franchise (of which we got the long anticipated sequel, just as awesome as the first one) to a duel of suck.

- We had yet another chapter in Adam Sandler's determination to become completely and utterly obsolete in I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, but hey, at least I learned not to be homophobic. Adam Sandler is more like a modern day Jesus as he not only entertains us, but he also teaches us life lessons. I'm so grateful.

- Pirates of the Caribbean finally completed their joke of a trilogy in smashing style by creating a film that made absolutely no fucking sense, but at least it was only 8 hours long. If we all cross our fingers and say our prayers before bed every night, maybe, just maybe, Disney will be so kind as to reward our due diligence with another holy trilogy. This time, they should find a way to include Paul Wall and Freddie Prinze Jr as featured characters along with a soundtrack by Nickelback.

- As much fun as all of the above were to sit through, only one can be king. I remember once I finished this particular film, I literally said out loud (I was by myself too): "This is the worst film of the year". I knew that no matter what else I saw, I had that no doubt about it slam dunk. I'm speaking of none other than Richard Kelly's Southland Tales. Now, I know a cast featuring the likes of Sarah Michelle Gellar, The Rock, and Justin Timberlake puts any film on a collision course with greatness, but shockingly, this was one big incoherent mess. It was unbelievably long, had no continuity whatsoever, abysmal acting (what a shock), and was ultimately a gargantuan waste of money, time, celluloid, and brain cells. I'm not worried though. Richard Kelly is a young guy. He had a very good debute in Donnie Darko and wanted to aim for the stars with his follow-up, I can respect that. Better to swing for the fences and strike out than to not even bother. He'll be fine, but in the meantime, he can rest easy at night knowing he pissed off a lot of people and has a room full of Razzies waiting for him.

Most Underrated/Underappreciated Film of the Year:
I think Zodiac has a good case for this, but it was already my number 4 movie of the year, so we gotta go with something different. How about Eagle vs. Shark? This brilliant little New Zealand rom-com featured the now famous Jemaine Clement (of Flight of the Conchords fame) and Loren Horsley (who also wrote the film) as awkward lovers. From Jemanie's gloriously flowing mullet to Loren's impeccable people skills, there is plenty of comedy in the mix here, but the surprising element was how sweet and palpable the romance is. Think Napoleon Dynamite crossed with When Harry Met Sally.

Best Fight Scene in a Long While:
The Bourne Ultimatum - Bourne's fight scene with a rival agent is one of those "I didn't realize I wasn't breathing the entire time" kinda scenes. It's that badass.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x45pp8_bourne-ultimatum-fight-scene_shortfilms

Most Mind-Numbingly Boring Dialogue Scenes:
Death Proof - We get it, Quentin. You love dialogue. But here's the thing, you have to have your characters actually talk about something worthwhile, meaningful, or at least entertaining. Why, you ask? Well because your movie-going audience has conversations every day. Most of them are stultifyingly boring and we don't wish to relive them, especially at 10 bucks a pop. Stick to witty anecdotes and slick exchanges dissecting pop culture phenomena and we'll all get along just fine.

Best Line of the Year:
Shoot 'Em Up - "Eat your vegetables."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_iBM85h2PI

You're welcome.

Person I'm Most Likely to Punch in the Neck Should We Ever Cross Paths:
Billy Mitchell of The King of Kong fame. If you've seen the film, you've never agreed with me more in your life. I won't mind taking one of those sweet American flag ties from him either.

Best "Not Good" Film of the Year:
Across the Universe - This is not a good movie. Sure, it looks great, but it's poorly acted, directed, and seems to have been written with the aid of "How to Write a Screenplay Overflowing with Cliches for Dummies". All that being said, I love this movie. I also love the Beatles. Perhaps that explains it. It's also one of those movies I would want no one to witness me actually watch it because they would be treated to a sing-a-long the likes of which have not been seen since teenage girls at a baller-ass NKOTB show circa 1990. Behold, the power of the Beatles, ladies and gentlemen.

The "Really Makes Me Want to Take a Shower" Award:
Bug - Watch it with someone you love.

The "Geez, Grab a Freaking Poli-Sci Textbook" Award:
Lions for Lambs - I agree with your politics, Robert Redford, but how about when you make a film, you actually make it interesting and not some polemic that summarizes how you feel about the war and the current administration? It's no big secret that Spike Lee enjoys packing his films with issues that he feels passionate about, but even he will tell you that his number one goal is to tell a good story. I believe in you, you've done it before.