The Top Movies of 2007!!! FINALLY!!
Another bonus about December is that films released during that time often have what we call in the pirating world, DVD screeners, released for them. A DVD screener is basically a DVD of a film that is created for those who dole out awards, that way; they can watch the flick at home rather than going to the theater. This saves me (the bootlegger) money as well. I "acquire" a copy of the screener and make my own DVD of it. In January, at some point every week, I was about to start writing this blog. Then another DVD screener would come out of a movie I wanted to see, thus pushing back the creation of this blog. Now that I have pretty much viewed everything I wanted to see (I still haven't got the opportunity to watch Sweeney Todd, even though I do own a DVD screener of it), I am ready to compose this review.
Now, one final note before I begin. This list is not a list of the "best" movies. It is a list of my FAVORITE movies. It is a list which combines excellent filmmaking with overall "enjoyability." That means that there may be a film … let's say at 15 … that is a "better" film than the movie occupying the 12th slot. The 15 film may have far superior acting, cinematography, story, etc. than the 12 film. I just probably enjoyed the 12 film more, while it still did a good job of those same things as well.
So without further "Apu," let's get started! Oh yeah…did I mention it's a top 20? :)
20. "Shoot 'Em Up"
"Shoot 'Em Up," for some reason, got a really bad rap. I think it is because the critics took it too seriously. This film is not meant to be taken seriously. The dialogue is intentionally corny. The action is intentionally ludicrous. If you can understand that, then this flick was one helluva ride. It's very similar to "Grindhouse" in the sense that it's "bad" on purpose….and it's badness is done so well, that it's good! The corny dialogue was hilarious, and the action scenes were just plain awesome. It's a great "popcorn flick" and definitely something you watch when you just want to have a good time.
19. "TMNT"
This movie made the list because it helped me re-live my childhood. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were my favorite cartoon growing up, and the dark tone of the comic books was amazing. I didn't know what to expect from this movie going in, but not only did it retain the darkness of the comic books, it featured a moment that true TMNT fans have visually been waiting on for decades. Without that scene, this movie may not have made the list. That scene, for me, was similar to how I felt right before I saw Yoda fight in Star Wars. As I saw Yoda's shadow approaching and realized what was about to go down, I thought "OH MY GOD!! AM I ABOUT TO SEE WHAT I THINK I'M GOING TO SEE?!?!" That is the exact same feeling I had about the aforementioned scene in this movie. The lead-up to the scene was awesome, and it fulfilled everything I could have hoped or wanted. I felt like a happy kid again.
18. "30 Days Of Night"
This movie reinvented the vampire genre for me. I haven't seen a vampire movie I've REALLY liked since the original "Blade." The concept was great, and this movie was just wonderfully shot. Although it still featured some of those "Why the hell would you do something like that?" stupid horror movie moments, it featured far less of them than your typical horror flick. It was smart, entertaining, dark, and seemed far more real than the average vampire movie. Another reason this movie made the list was because it surprised me. I didn't think it would be as good as it was. Shock value is always a way to get on my good side.
17. "The Simpsons Movie"
Ah yes…my movie that was 18 years in the making. Everyone who knows me knows me as the biggest Simpsons (and Pistons) fan alive. I was worried going into this film because The Simpsons has been on such a downfall over the past few seasons … though it has been MUCH MUCH better this season. I felt this was a film that should have been made a good 8 years ago, when the show was in its prime. So I was worried that a movie I had wanted for so long would be as much of a disappointment as the past few seasons. I was wrong. Would it have been better 8 years ago? Yeah, probably, but it was still REALLY good and funny as hell. Unfortunately, there was one animated movie that was better.
16 "Ratatouille"
It's Pixar. 'Nuff said.
15. "Juno"
Oh how the critics love this movie! I was a little disappointed when I saw it because, as much as the critics hyped it up, it wasn't nearly as great as they made it out to be. Upon reflection, however, it still was an awesome movie. Maybe it's because I got a kid on the way, I don't know. But it really hit home with me at times. In addition to being really funny (though I thought the dialogue was a little TOO snappy and clever coming from teenagers, which bordered on unrealistic since I can't see ANY teenager being THAT witty), Ellen Page OWNED that role and she deserves the Oscar nomination she got.
14. "Eastern Promises"
This is yet another Cronenberg masterpiece. David Cronenberg is fattening his resume at an alarming rate. A dark and evil Russian gangster movie, this film is carried by its two outstanding (and still under-rated) leads, Naomi Watts and Viggo Mortenson. Viggo got an Oscar nomination for his role in this film.
13. "Superbad"
Anything having anything to do with Seth Rogen or Jonah Hill seems to be money right about now. Although Seth played one of the supporting roles in this movie, his hand in the film can be felt throughout. This movie is flat out funny, and although not as funny or clever to me as Seth's "other" film this year, it was still awesome. I think this movie hit home for a lot of people because the humor was a lot easier to understand. "Knocked Up" and "The 40 Yr Old Virgin" were a lot more dialogue-driven, with clever and snappy jokes and a lot of pop-culture references. If you don't know who these people are that the jokes are referring to, they won't be funny to you. "Superbad" featured less of those sorts of pop-culture, so it appealed more to a wider audience. It was still funny as hell though, which is why it's on the list!
12. "We Own the Night"
This is probably the most slept-on film of the year to me. For some reason, nobody saw this movie, and I really liked it. I was drawn to it at first by the A-list actors involved: Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Wahlberg, and the great Robert Duvall. How could you not be interested in a film with that kind of talent?!?! Awesome acting aside, which was a given, the story was really engaging. Duvall and Wahlberg play Chief and Captain of police, respectively. They are also father and son.
11. "Grindhouse"
It takes a special kind of filmgoer to appreciate a film like "Grindhouse," and that sort of person is exactly who Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino had in mind when they made the film. Well, it was either that person or themselves. Either way, "Grindhouse" was a hell of an experience. "Planet Terror," similar to "Shoot 'Em Up" is intentionally bad, to remind us of those old B-movies that used to show at the grindhouse, 2 for the price of 1. Of course, I was not around for those movies at the times they were showing, but I've seen my fair share. "Planet Terror" is not meant to be taken seriously, it's just meant to be fun, and it is. "Death Proof" completely flips the script and gives us a tense, dialogue-driven film as only QT can do it. Culminating in an awesome car chase, Quentin shows us why he is one of the best directors alive right now.
10. "There Will Be Blood"
Another film that is in most critics' top 3, it is without a doubt deserving of all its accolades. This is a powerful film that delivers the acting performance of Daniel Day Lewis' career…and that is saying a lot. DDL is probably the most underrated actor alive today. Everyone knows he is great, yet he fails to get the respect and admiration that is showered upon his peers (pretty much his only two peers, Al Pacino and Robert De'Niro). The only reason this film is not higher on my list is because I had 9 films that I ENJOYED more. This film did have some lulls, and it's not the most riveting story ever created, but it is a masterpiece nonetheless.
9. "3:10 To
This modern-day western was slept-on a bit when it was released. I have to admit, that I didn't even see it until it came out on DVD, and I had great interest in it when it came out. It was well worth wait the wait. This was a great, great movie and hopefully can help bring back the western. There were great performances throughout as well, from Ben Foster, Russell Crowe and Christian Bale.
8. "American Gangster"
This was just a cool flick. I think I was more awe-struck at the great set-up that Frank Lucas had. I was literally upset that he got caught. He had such a sweet deal going. I wouldn't dick-ride him enough to make an album about him and shout out his name like a wannabe thug…but that's another story. Denzel, as usual, really carried the film, but the entire supporting cast did an excellent job. Russell Crowe, yet again, had another outstanding year in which he was essentially looked over. He is another actor who is continuously slept-on, but that too is another story.
7. "The Kingdom"
A riveting, action-packed thriller is a really good way to describe "The Kingdom." However, it leaves out the fact that it speaks a great deal about foreign relations in this country, post-9/11. I love movies that do a great job of combining a message, with action. Those of us who only appreciate action, have a great time. Those of us who can sift through the action to get the message, can appreciate both. Although there were a lot of films released this year that dealt with terrorism, "The Kingdom," I felt, did the best job of combining the message with great story-telling, acting, and action…which is the one thing that was absent in the other two political thrillers released this year. Now of course, action is not mandatory by any means, but if all three movies have great stories and acting, and one of them also has great action, that would make the one with action a little better, right?
6. "Transformers"
YEAH!! What is there to say about "Transformers" that hasn't already been said? If you didn't grow up in the 80's, you probably didn't like this film as much as those of us who did, but this movie was THE SHIT! This is a prime example of how my list is composed. Is "Transformers" better than "There Will Be Blood"? Of course not! Did I enjoy "Transformers" more? Hell yeah! Ground-breaking special effects, seeing my all-time favorite cartoon character in real life, incredible action sequences...as bad as this movie could have been, it was better than I could have imagined. This movie had the same effect on me as "TMNT," just more powerfully. While "TMNT" was my favorite show, Optimus Prime was my favorite character. I ADORED Optimus Prime. So to have him back was awesome enough. But I can't recall the last time I watched a movie with my mouth hanging open the entire time. This movie was AMAZING to watch. I can't wait for the sequel.
5. "Zodiac"
Without a doubt, THE most slept-on film of 2007. While receiving numerous 4-star reviews, it has garnered few, if any, award nominations, which is a horrible shame and a travesty. This was an EXCELLENT film. The acting was phenomenal, and despite being a lengthy 160 mins, did not seem to drag on to me. It was more of a detective movie than a thriller or a horror movie, but David Fincher, Director of "Se7en," did an excellent job of meshing the detective aspects of the movie with the thriller aspects. He also did a great job of making the killings seem real, and not "movie real," if that makes sense. You felt like you were seriously seeing someone get stabbed, not someone getting stabbed in a movie. I essentially found no flaws with this flaws with this film, and it's a shame that it hasn't got the recognition it deserves.
4. "Knocked Up"
The funniest film of the year, hands down. As I mentioned earlier, "Superbad" seems to get a lot more of the accolades, but I think that's because the humor in "Knocked Up" is not for your average filmgoer. There are a lot of subtle things that the average person may take for granted, as well as a lot of obscure references of which they may not be aware. "Knocked Up," with it's clever and witty dialogue, and a story that any man or woman can relate to, takes the 4 spot with no regret or second thoughts on my part. I can watch this movie over and over and it never gets any less funny. At the same time, I can appreciate the story as well, and enjoyed seeing the main characters go from where they were at the beginning, to where they ended up. I think this will probably go down, along with "The 40 Yr Old Virgin" as one of the all-time greats.
3. "Sicko"
I haven't seen a movie in a long time that made me feel this "sicko" after seeing it. Michael Moore's latest documentary was flat-out disturbing. "Sicko" is about the health care situation in our country. It shows that, not only is our health care system poor, not only are we getting ripped off, but MANY countries (even ones we consider to be "inferior" to us) have much BETTER health care systems. Also, it shows us how the media manipulates us into THINKING that our system is good and that everyone else's stinks. I had no idea that many other countries had free universal health care before I saw this film. I had no idea that the things I just assume to be "the way it is," are not that way in other countries. In many ways, I consider myself to be very knowledgeable about the differences between the
2. "300"
I bet you thought I forgot about this, didn't you? No sir! What can I say about "300" that hasn't already been said? Is there even anybody who hasn't already seen this movie who I need to convince to check it out? I doubt it. You've all seen it. You all know it's the shit and why. Never has the story of the Spartans been so beautifully told. Watching "300" was like watching a live action comic book, complete with action and violence that can only be seen in comic books. And if any of you guys watched this movie and were not inspired to work out for at least a week, I don't know what's wrong with you.
1. "No Country For Old Men."
Flawless. That is the best and only word that can be used to describe this movie. Flawless. Rarely have I seen a movie that I have absolutely no complaints about. There is no way this movie could be any better than it was. If the ending, which so many people have complained about, was different, it would lose its unconventional style and originality. It would become "just another great movie." "No Country for Old Men" is not just a great movie. It is an immaculate movie. This is not just the best film this year, this is the best film to come out in SEVERAL years. Acting? Flawless. Javier Bardem gives the 2nd best performance of the year, and by far the best performance in a supporting role. Bardem's performance was so phenomenal, that it took the attention away from Josh Brolin's outstanding performance as well, which, if there were room, should have received an Oscar nomination as well. I could go on forever about what is "right" about this movie, because everything is "right" about it. It's easier to talk about what is wrong with it: Nothing. The Coen brothers have made their best film, topping their previous best, "
Finally, I would like to briefly talk about some pf the noticeable absences from the list. First, as I mentioned earlier, I have not yet watched "Sweeney Todd." I didn't bother to watch it before making this list because, despite being a huge fan of Johnny Depp and Tim Burton, I am equally NOT as big of a fan of musicals. So I highly doubt this film could crack my list. If I watch it and it does, rest assured I will write an apology in this blog later. "Atonement," the most noticeable film missing from my list, is missing by design. I think it is HORRIBLY overrated. While beautifully shot and acted, it is a love story. As a love story, they spent very little time establishing the romance between the two leads, and more time building up to the "event" that movie is based upon. Therefore, after the event took place, at about the halfway point, and it caused the two leads to separate, I didn't care anymore. I didn't care about the characters and whether or not they got back together. So as a love story, it didn't work for me. And I am not one who is opposed to love stories…I liked "The Notebook." lol Finally, "The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford" is not on the list simply because it is too fresh in my mind and I want to watch it again before I give a final take on it. It was an EXCELLENT film however and I would recommend it to everyone, I just need to watch it again for a number of reasons before I can decide how I feel about it and place it firmly on the list. I can say with a large degree of certainty that, had I been able to watch it again before writing this, that it would have made the list.
2007 was a great year for movies, one of the best in a long time. Hopefully 2008 will be just as good.RIP Heath Ledger, hopefully The Dark Knight will help your legacy live on.
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