Welcome one and all to the annual TOP TEN of the year List in Film, where I get to amuse the one or two of you that actually read this. It's really not about who reads it, I've enjoyed doing this on paper in my room when I was a kid obsessed with movies and now I give you, the customer, the opportunity to partake in my amusement. I hope it isn't too boring, I enjoy it and maybe one day...hundreds or more will be reading similar lists of mine. The Dream right...
Anyway, this list is stacked with some very hard choices for me. This was the first year that I didn't really have a clearcut film that stood out as "damn, thats the movie of the year, handsdown." Plenty of potentials, however. As I've grown older (25, damn where the time go) I see the films I put in here become less popular and more critical (no Transformers here, although I enjoyed it very much. Wont see I Am Legend either, on second viewing realized it was terrible). So without further rambling, I give to you, a little piece of the kid in me...THE BEST IN FILM for 2007 (all films released in the past year)...
#10 SUPERBAD
It was one of the few pleasant surprises that came along the way to the movie theaters. The whole debate b/w which was funnier, Superbad or Knocked Up…it wasn’t even close. For starters Knocked Up could NEVER happen, but most slapstick comedies can’t anyway, but it was hilarious nevertheless. I haven’t found one person who saw Superbad who didn’t tell me it didn’t remind them of high school. The pranks, the jokes, the parties, the girls, the liquor, the cops (o shit, the cops). Superbad not only was a hilarious ride for laughter, it brought back those everlasting memories when you were in school, made those first friends, kissed that first girl, and wanted so bad to actually “get laid.” This movie owns its own spot in the comedy rankings as one of the best, definitely a top ten to say the least!
#9 LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD
Say what you want, but John McClane wasn’t going to let the franchise go out the way the disappointing 3rd Die Hard did. Not only were many people (including myself) skeptic of a 4th Die Hard (over 12 years past since part 3), but how much more can aging Bruce Willis pull off the action-heroine persona. Luckily, the “perfect” script for an action movie came along that easily catapults this film to the rankings of the first (a classic). Die Hard 4 had stunts and sequences that left me in awe (the tunnel scene) and living in the 21st century, its difficult for action movies to show much more than they already have. The picture worked so well on many levels, we even got to get a glimpse on the toll it takes emotionally for John McClane to be a “hero.” The speech he gives to Justin Long in the car says it best. Nobody wants to be a hero kid…Hippey Ki Yay indeed.
#8 ZODIAC
David Fincher, where have you gone? Ever since his critically acclaimed “Seven”, Fincher has been few and far from catching the praise he did since his 1994 psychological thriller. With “Zodiac” not only did he hit all the right notes, but he may have even surpassed that of his greatest hit. “Zodiac” is a long winded, dialogue driven movie, but it grabs your interest and never lets go. The acting could not have been more superb, probably the best assembled cast this year in a movie. Jake Gyllenhall, Robert Downey, Jr., an incredible Mark Ruffalo, ER’s Anthony Edwards, and so on. It has the drive similar to “All the Presidents Men,” but Fincher adds the thrilling edge and suspense that “Men” didn’t possess. “Zodiac” isn’t getting much love in the awards bin being it was released earlier this year, but it should get some recognition come Oscar time.
#7 GONE BABY GONE
I just recently watched this film and feel it could be higher if and when I see it a second time. Most of the movies on this list I’ve only seen once anyway, but Gone Baby Gone had a lot to catch I may have missed, but it was an astounding piece of work. A work, by none other than….Ben Affleck? That’s right, after all the tumbling spills he’s taken for his acting, Ben may have finally found his true calling, directing! And starring his younger brother Casey Affleck (an upcoming actor with sky-bound potential) alongside veterans like Ed Harris and Morgan Freeman put Ben’s directing skills to the test. And did he ever succeed! What may have pleased me the most was Ben’s choice of casting many Boston locals for the authenticity of the film’s setting. I never been to Boston, but you can tell the people in the bars, the streets, walking around live and breathe that town. Something most veteran directors wouldn’t do, Ben has shown he has the potential for even better (for once).
#6 THE MIST
The sleeper of the year is this instant classic monster movie. However, the monster isn’t a creature (although there is one in this movie), the real monster lies within us…people, and what fear can do to the weak of heart. A town is engulfed by an enormous mist and a few of the town’s people trap themselves inside a local market store. Inside they wait, soon they get spooked, turn fearful, and become strangers amongst friends. All in an instant. The movie is another one from the mastermind of horror Stephen King, and it will give you the creeps. What gave this film a major exclamation point was the ballsy and very un-Hollywood ending it went with. A definite jaw dropping moment that will live you silent (the theater was quiet for the final moments following the twist). “The Mist” is an underrated movie that deserves an audience.
#5 3:10 TO YUMA
There’s a quote written by a critic plastered on the DVD of this movie that says “the best western since ‘Unforgiven’.” Well it’s definitely NO “Unforgiven” (one of the best films ever, period, not just Western), however it most likely is the best western since Eastwood’s masterpiece, but only because Hollywood is too scared to greenlight any. “3:10 to Yuma” is an action-packed style of Western, unlike the more grimey, dark “Unforgiven”, but works in a different way. It’s an epic tale, told before (a remake), but without the definitive acting this one entails. Christian Bale gives another strong performance (he’s done a lot of those), but it’s the villainous Russell Crowe who sends this movie over the mountain and beyond. Since “Gladiator” I don’t think I’ve seen Crowe in better form than here. To my recollection, he hasn’t played a villain since the forgetful “Virtuosity” with Denzel Washington. Here, he not only excels at it, he put “Yuma” on the map as one of the best films of the year.
#4 RATATOUILLE
The most surprising film of the year comes from that of a mouse that loves to cook. Easy enough to sell, right? I admit, I was wrong (very wrong) about how good this movie would be, and went far enough to question what was Disney thinking this would sell to kids. However, this is why I always claim I give any movie of any genre a chance. There isn’t a specific type of movie I don’t like or like too much. Each movie I see speaks to me on its own level. “Ratatouille” was a surprise, but an extremely pleasant one. The movie will make you laugh, make you “want to” cry (haha, its true) and leave you wanting more of that cute little rascal of a mouse (yea I said cute, so). Disney, I’ll never question you again…just please, no more Pirate movies
These next three movies were the hardest for me to rank. As I said before, I didn’t have one movie stand out to me, but there were many that could be thrown together as such. These three were those for me, this is how they finally ranked out…
#3 NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
A remarkable achievement in filmmaking by the always entertaining Cohen Brothers (Fargo). This movie has been climbing the charts on just about every critics top ten list and rightfully so. It’s a simple story really, but with loads of depth and meaning that most films of its nature never take the time to develop. A man hunting, finds people dead, finds money, keeps money, discovers person behind it wants it back, person behind it is a sociopath killer, man is in deep trouble. That really is about it, but watching it unfold and performed is quite a different experience. I still ask myself has Tommy Lee Jones been in a movie he didn’t act well or take the movie to another level. There may be one, but it’s clouded by all the great ones he’s been apart of, and most may not top this particular one.
#2 THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM
I wanted to give this movie number 1 because of the experience it left me as a whole after all three Bournes. However, it belongs at number two for reasons I’ll explain in number one. Very few sequels have the distinct ability to please the audience more than the first (T2, Godfather 2, Aliens, to name a few). But I can’t even think of one movie that had a 3rd part to its franchise that stuck out more than the first two. Ladies and gentlemen, I give to you “The Bourne Ultimatum.” Each film actually IS better than the previous and “Ultimatum” is a juggernaut piece of filmmaking. Paul Greengrass’s direction is profound, he loves to shoot many scenes with that of a handheld camera, almost documentary like, to give a more in your face and human experience to the scene at hand (similar to the way he shot many of the airplane scenes in “United 93”). The car chase in Times Square is a prime example of exactly that. Even better example is what has to be the best hand to hand fighting scene I’ve ever witness in a movie before between Matt Damon (his best Bourne performance of the three) and another assassin. The trilogy is one of the best to come our way, and forgive me but I can’t even think of a better trilogy outside of the original Star Wars (sorry Godfather, Part 3 ruined your chances). I will miss seeing Jason Bourne…I mean David Webb, in further pictures.
NUMBER 1 FILM OF 2007
Thank god for bootleg, or I would have never seen this amazing film (nor a few others, DVD quality too lol). “The Bucket List” may seem like a safe pick for number one to some: it just came out, it has Oscar written all over it, stars two of the greatest actors of two generations, be more bold NICK!!! Well, I just can’t okay. I mean what is it about old people that moves us? In this film, the two characters learn they have cancer, one is told they have at most, a year to live. They don’t hit it off immediately, but after sharing a room for awhile they get along, make friendly and begin to “make a list of things they want to do before they kick the bucket.” NOW, you get the title right? It sounds simple, almost cliché-ish, but there’s no substitute for Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. This movie had me laughing, smiling, hoping, and the most obvious…near tears (I was strong). The movie may have had the luxury of being seen the latest of the ten, therefore most fresh in my mind, but I can not let that take anything away from a movie that hits your heart, your mind and your funny bone. Go see “The Bucket List”, it’s the single movie I recommend to any one in 2008 (it was barely released before the end of 2007).
HONARABLE MENTIONS: Transformers, 300, American Gangster, 1408, Black Snake Moan
