Best of 2007 - Ten (Fifteen) Best Films of 2007

Wow! 2007 was a great year for movies!! I tried my best to make this a top ten list. However, I just had to break down and extend it to fifteen (plus, there is a tie so I guess, technically, it's sixteen). I know there are a few strange choices on here but guess what? I love strange movies. So, here's my list...

15. Away From Her
What a lovely, beautiful, pleasure of a movie! Actress turned director Sarah Polley shows wonderful restraint and promise as a director. There are great supporting performances from Olympia Dukakis and Gordon Pinsent. Of course, it's the beautiful Julie Christie who steals the entire show. She's just breathless to watch. This film is a little bit tragic, a lot heartbreaking, but ultimately beautiful.

14. I'm Not There
This film is downright amazing. It's a vision in black and white and color and drenched with Bob Dylan music. The movie is like a dream, lots of random images and scenes that all are somehow cohesive in a way that is impossible to explain. The movie surely isn't for everyone but there wasn't a movie all year that was more unique, more stylish, more ballsy than I'm Not There. Cate Blanchett is perfection times ten.

13. TIE: Waitress and Juno
Two of the sweetest movies of the year - without being corny or cheesy in the least. Waitress is a little more romantic and old school. Juno is a little more hilarious and hipster cool. Both feature fantastic performances from young women - Keri Russell knocks it out of the park as a small town Southern waitress at a pie shop who gets pregnant and isn't so happy about it. Ellen Page is the titular Juno, a smart ass fast talking hilarious sixteen year old who finds herself with child. Both come to the perfect conclusions - neither of which are cheesy in the least. These movies don't settle. In the end, you can't resist their unique charm.

12. Superbad
Superbad is, for sure, the funniest movie of the year. The cast is perfect - Michael Cera (who had a GREAT year), Jonah Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse (no one will forget McLovin for a long time), Bill Hader and Seth Rogen. It's not the best directed film. It's not particularly ground-breaking or thought provoking or whatever. But, it is a cult classic. It's hilarious and enjoyable. It's bonafide bad ass.

11. Black Snake Moan
Craig Brewer was responsible for my absolute favorite movie of 2005 (Hustle and Flow - HOLLA!) but this year he just missed the top 10. Still, Black Snake Moan is terribly original and terribly interesting. Where else can you see Christina Ricci chained to a radiator for most of the movie wearing little more than a half shirt and a pair of undies? If that doesn't strike your interest, I'm not sure what else will. Ricci and Samuel L. Jackson are fearless in their roles. In an industry where everything is predictable, this movie is a breath of fresh air.

10. Zodiac
When this David Fincher helmed film is at its best, it's reminscent of The Silence of the Lambs and other classic thrillers. When it's at it's worst, it's still interesting, well acted, well directed and better than half the stuff that came out this year. Sure it's long but it's worth the journey. There's really not much that could have been cut from the story. So the long running time is justified (plus, I just love a good three hour + film). Zodiac is really the kind of movie that sticks with you. It has the perfect combination of police procedural and nerve-racking suspense.

09. Gone Baby Gone
Attention Ben Affleck - All is forgiven! I forgive you for all the brainless action films you've done. I forgive you for the whole JLo debacle. He's created a really solid, well done film with performances that are simply great. Ben's little brother Casey (who is a better actor - I've always liked him more anyway) stars and we more or less watch him grow up in front of our eyes. At the beginning, he's all baby faced and pure. By the end, he seems harder. Amy Ryan is, of course, getting all the praise and awards. I loved her performance - but really not THAT much. Still, this movie is emotional, heart wrenching, haunting and intense.

08. Grindhouse
Seeing Grindhouse in theaters was like attending an event. It wasn't just a movie. There was so much more to the experience. I hated that they released them seperately on DVD but whatever. Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez have created the perfect double feature. Rodriguez' Planet Terror is typical Rodriguez: Explosions and sex, tons of humor and men (and women) jumping over things while shooting multiple guns at bad guys. Rose McGowan has a machine gun for a leg!!! (Brilliant). But it's Marley Shelton and, especially, Freddy Rodriguez who steal the show with their ultra bad ass coolness! Planet Terror was my personal favorite of the two. However, Death Proof was great as well! Sure, the first half hour or so is completely indulgent. (And Tarantino is an IDIOT for deleting the lap dance scene with Vanessa Ferlito and Kurt Russell from the theatrical version). But once Tracie Thoms, Zoe Bell and Rosario Dawson take the screen, the movie becomes downright awesome. Even if you didn't see it in theaters, netflix both and watch it as a double feature!

07. Alpha Dog
There's a mood and energy that director Nick Cassavettes easily captures and portrays that makes this movie so far removed from any cliched studio product geared toward the teenybopper set. The film is honest and genuine and has a lot of unexpected heart and soul. To say these kids (a great young cast including Emile Hirsch, Ben Foster, Anton Yelchin, Justin Timberlake, Shawn Hatosy, Christopher Marquette etc) are stupid is a huge understatement. But that's the point. This is a story about a bunch of people who make one bad decision after another until it spirals so far out of control that these kids have no idea how to get out of the mess they created. It's really the kind of movie that sucks you in, entrances you and then hits you over the head with a baseball bat.

06. Bug
Bug is a slow-burning, calculating, deliberate movie that sets a steady pace and includes wonderful dialogue and performances from Ashley Judd and, especially, Michael Shannon. The final act is intense and creepy and really makes you think. This movie definitely isn't for everyone and it's hard to talk about without giving something away (which I refuse to do), but Bug is totally worth the crazy, tripped out journey.

05. Once
This film is honest and beautiful, spectacular and full of great, great music! It's really just a simply and lovely little film that is impossible, yes, IMPOSSIBLE to not love! It doesn't disappoint in any way, shape or form. Glen Hansard and Marketa Iraglova are ADORABLE, talented, lovely people. The movie is filmed beautifully and it's just a feel-good movie that is not mushy in any way. The comedic moments are realistic and relatable. It's not too sentimental but it is simply a great story about unconsummated love and a beautiful friendship.

04. Eastern Promises
David Cronenberg's work always makes you feel uncomfortable. It's that thin line between what is the necessary amount of violence and what is just a bit too much that he walks perfectly. Eastern Promises is subtle, almost subliminal, so you find yourself thinking about it months later without even realizing it. Cronenberg's storytelling technique is clinical, almost. Nothing in a Cronenberg film appears on-screen without a reason. He's the film equivalent to Hemingway - his stories are deceptively simple with an unflinching eye. They have a calm surface that hints at the labyrinth that rests beneath the surface. And Viggo Mortensen! My Lord. What a fantastic performance. He's a bad ass if there ever was one. That naked knife fight just seals the deal.

03. Atonement
Atonement is really a film that begins only after it ends. So, after you finish watching it, you sort of have to relive it all over again and replay everything to understand exactly what just happened. I'm not sure the storytelling is completely coherent (I had some minor problems with the ending) but it almost doesn't even matter. It's an epic, beautiful, well told love story. The music is fantastic (pianos and typewriters). The plot is so perfectly mapped out. The story is based on a perfect, masterpiece of a book and the script doesn't stray too far from that basic outline. The direction is great. The performances are all top notch - Knightley, the three Briony's, and, especially, James McAvoy. But, really, what makes this film, for me, is that 5 minute shot. That perfect, beautiful, mesmerizing, jaw dropping shot that roams and searches the Dunkirk beach. In those 5 minutes this film goes from being solid and great to becoming a masterpiece.

02. No Country For Old Men
Joel and Ethan Coen have crafted a masterpiece. It's almost more than a movie. It's more like art work. It's a beautiful and violent western drama. It's slow-moving and character driven. It's violent and bloody and absolutely beautiful. There's humor aplenty but it's tough and gritty, for sure. This is a thriller that doesn't skimp on the thrills. The three leads are all perfect - Josh Brolin, Tommy Lee Jones and Javier Bardem. Bardem steals every single second of the movie. He has created one of the best villains ever put on the screen and he gives the best performance of his career and of the year. His portrayal is one of unrelenting evil. There are moments in this film that are so perfect. The film as a whole, as well, is close to perfection. One of the two films I gave an A+ to this year.

01. Into the Wild
This was the other. It was difficult deciding between the two. Like No Country, Into the Wild is a beatuifully shot film with stunning performances (Emile Hirsch, Hal Holbrook, Catherine Keener). Like No Country, I call it a masterpiece. Unlike No Country, Into the Wild INSPIRES ME! This is the absolute rarest of films - it burrows into your soul. This is the kind of film that you just know will live with you forever. There is no forgetting this story, this film. The film is almost beyond words for me. There is almost too much beauty, too much tragedy, too much unexplainable perfection to try to capture in a paragraph or two of clumsy words. Hirsch's performance is so powerful and astonishing and all encompassing that I will be PISSED OFF if he isn't at least nominated for an Oscar. To look at him in his final few moments on screen is painful. This story is inspirational and the movie is perfection. Thank you, Sean Penn.

Juno, Atonement

Juno - The first 15 minutes or so of Juno are actually quite atrocious. I was almost ready to walk out of the theater, to be honest. Rainn Wilson, in a small cameo role, gives the most ridiculous performance saying the most ridiculous words. Olivia Thirbly as Juno's cheerleader best friend (I'm sorry but why would Juno be best friends with a cheerleader?) is quite possibly the most annoying character ever written in the history of movies. (No, no. There's that annoying guy in a wheelchair in Texas Chainsaw Massacre...). But, she's still uber annoying. Honest to blog. (Shoot me now!). Then there is the ultra hipster language. Screenwriter Diablo Cody has not seemingly written a cool movie. She is trying her absolute hardest to be perceived as cool. And the dialogue is a bit much at first. After 15 minutes, I thought I might be the only person on the planet who disliked Juno. Everyone seems to love it. But it was beginning to look like maybe I was on a different plain than everyone else. Maybe it was like a secret that only I understood. I was the only person in the planet smart enough to not fall under Juno's little spell. But guess what? All the kinks in the movie work themselves out and the other hour and fifteen minutes are hilarious, sweet and just plain great. (Although, I still could have done without the creepy Jason Bateman story line... but whatever). Juno is hilarious. Ellen Page is just perfect. The reason the movie suceeds is mostly because she works magic with the sometimes insane dialogue she is forced to say. But Page makes it work. She should be nominated for an Oscar, hands down. (Right now she is my runner up to win as well... after Julie Christie, of course). Michael Cera makes the world go round. He's responsible for all that is good and pure in the world. I just adore him. He is the teen king of the awkward pause. The best and funniest comic actor of his generation, bar none. Jason Bateman is hilarious as well although, again, he's too bogged down in a weird story line. Still, I love Jason Bateman and so I don't blame him. (I blame Diablo Cody who's script I most certainly did NOT love... although the great actors make it work). Jennifer Garner gives a shockingly beautiful performance. It wouldn't be upset if she somehow slipped into the Best Supporting Actress race (although I doubt it). She's seriously great in this movie. J.K. Simmons and Allison Janney should officially be in every movie. That's how pleasurable it is to watch them. The ending is just perfect as well. It's sweet but not cheesy or corny in the least. So, in the end, Juno is every bit as funny and loveable as everyone says it it. It's definitely worth checking out.

Grade: B+

Atonement - There is a scene in Atonement in which the movie goes from being solid and good to becoming a beautiful masterpiece. It is a single shot - no cuts, no edits - that lasts about 5 minutes and follows solider Robbie Turner (James McAvoy) and his two cohorts across a beach full of soldiers and ships and horses and amusement rides. It entertwines between the three and shows the desperation and hopefulness of the scene. More importantly, it shows that this movie is just simply wonderful. It is a love story of the most epic variety. It starts at a very rich house where a young Briony (Saoirse Ronan) reads a letter and sees something between her older sister Cecilia (Keira Knightley) and Robbie that she doesn't quite understand. She think she does, but she doesn't. She soon tells a lie that completely devastates the lives of all around her. Robbie gets sent to jail and eventually war. Cecilia spends her time as a sort of frozen version of herself, sad and angry. Four years later, Briony (now played by Romola Garai) is busy nursing wounded soldiers instead of serving her time at Oxford to be the writer she was always meant to be. It's her way of repentence. (There is a particularly telling scene with a dying French soldier who is so delirious, he insists that he knows her and she lies again. This time to comfort him.) Years and years later, Briony grows up to be a successful writer (this time Vanessa Redgrave steps in to do fill the role) and who still regrets the lies she tells. I'm not sure the ending is cohesive with the feel of the rest of the movie (I don't want to ruin anything but I will say that it probably works better on the page than the screen). But, except for the odd-feeling ending, Atonement is a masterpiece of filmmaking. It has exceptionally beautiful shots (like the one mentioned before, James McAvoy trekking through a field of red flowers, McAvoy stopping suddenly as the camera pulls back to reveal rows and rows of dead bodies). The images are like artwork, unforgettable and beautiful in its sadness. Is the movie depressing? Absolutely and I wouldn't have it any other way. I've only read about a third of the book so far (ha!) but as far as I can tell the adaptation is just excellent. Then there is the acting. It's just amazing. Knightley is an odd actress. She comes across wooden and frigid in movies like Pirates of the Caribbean. She proved she can really act in Pride and Prejudice and here she even bests that performance. The Briony's are all superb. It's almost difficult to pick a best Briony. The character is vital and so well written and so central to the story. Ronan is a young actress who delivers a performance that is chilling and brilliant. Redgrave is superb even if she only has about 5 minutes of screentime. My personal favorite Briony performance came from Garai. I found it interesting to see the characters transformation from lively, lying young woman to regretful, silent teenager. It may not be as memorable as Ronan's performance (her performance is crucial to the plot development) but I personally find it more effective. Then there is the single stand out of the film. James McAvoy is just excellent. I'm not just saying that because I love him and because his sadly overlooked performance in The Last King of Scotland still sticks firmly in my mind. His performance here is breathtaking. His performance on the beach in Dunkirk is riveting - and he doesn't even have any lines! His character is restrained yet passionate. The scene at Cecilia's flat between Robbie and Briony (Garai) is simply Oscar worthy. McAvoy succeeds in his making his character unambiguously heroic. He conveys his character's basic decency, achieving the difficult task of making him good without making him dull. It's the perfect blend and a simply wonderful performance. Overall, Atonement is just plain wonderful - the script, the storyline, the direction, the cinematography, the score (pianos mixed with the sound of a typewriter) and especially all of those performances.

Grade: A

Coming This Week - Best and Worst Performances, Moments, and Movies!