Matt's Movie Blog

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

2007: The Superlative Post

Looking at the list of films eligible for an award next month, if in fact the ceremony does happen, it's a little depressing, for a few reasons. Not only is my list of films seen the shortest I can remember it ever being, but the list of films I wish I'd seen is almost as long. But, all that aside, this space has been vacant long enough, so here we go.

Top 10 Movies of 2007
1. Sunshine -
I freaked out the moment I saw the first trailer. It was sent to me by my brother, who had basically the same reaction. This is sci-fi done right, balancing the two parts... there's just as much science here as there is fiction. Is the science accurate? Well, who really knows, but it sounded pretty good to me. Boyle's visuals are amazing - that's not to say that they look real, or even necessarily that they deserve the Oscar for special effects. These are presented in such a way that you never forget the beauty or the raw, dangerous power of the sun as it is simultaneously humankind's only possible savior and worst possible enemy. Fantastic performances by the entire crew are led by Cillian Murphy, Rose Byrn and Chris Evans. Read that again. I said Chris Evans. Give the guy something good to read, and dude can act. If you have a chance to see this in high-def, do it. I'll be hitting Jay's place at some point. It should be freakin' awesome.


2. Ratatouille - Brad Bird better be on Pixar's permanent payroll by now. This is Pixar's best since Toy Story
& Toy Story 2, and it sits right next to those two as one of the greatest animated pieces of artwork ever. It's note-perfect just about everywhere - the voice casting and acting is flawless, the visual style is both beautiful and inviting, and the story is just amazing. Bird's three features (The Iron Giant, The Incredibles, Rataouille) have all been brilliant, story- and character-driven masterpieces, and Ratatouille is the best of the three. In particular, the final restaurant review and Bird's way of visualizing taste are pieces of magic that made me love this movie from the moment I sat down.

3. No Country for Old Men - For my money, the Coens always deliver. Even their last two films, The Ladykillers and Intolerable Cruelty, which a lot of people disliked, found the right notes with me. This is different. This is Fargo, but better. Absent are a lot of the Coen regulars; instead they opted for a totally new cast. And damn, did it work. Javier Bardem's Anton Chigurh is one of the scariest screen villains to come in a long time. Josh Brolin's Llewelyn Moss is about as everyman as you can get, and still completely fascinating and badass. Tommy Lee Jones as Sheriff Bell is the perfect mediation, and following his story - straight through till the end - is what ties the entire film together. Those are just the big three. The depth to this cast is incredible. The Coens landscape is beautiful and terrifying in its bleakness. There's really nothing wrong here.

4. Grindhouse - I can't say much about this one except god DAMN it was fun. Tarantino and Rodriguez made it perfectly clear what they were shooting for with these films, and I'd say mission definitely accomplished. My only complaint was that they might have gone a little too far with the "crappy prints with scratches and missing reels" part of the experience, particularly with Planet Terror, but that's nitpicking to the highest degree. These three hours were probably the most fun I had in a theater this year. Between Rose McGowan's machine gun leg and Zoe Bell being COMPLETELY insane, I don't know why people complained about this one.

5. 3:10 to Yuma - I just saw this one again the other night, and it's still great. Bale and Crowe are wonderful opposites, and I realize that I pretty much ONLY like Russell Crowe in westerns (this and The Quick and the Dead). Mangold built a dynamic, lively world for these two guys to clash. It looks good, it sounds great, it just feels right. I have my gripes about the ending and one of Ben Wade's final decisions, but that decision sure made for a great final shootout.

6. Hot Fuzz - Just further proving that these guys can do ANYTHING. Much as Shaun of the Dead did with horror movies, this one successfully roasts and toasts everything that is awful and wonderful about the action movie, all while delivering one of the best action movies of the year. Simon Pegg continues to prove that he can pull of just about anything. I really don't know why this guy isn't a superstar yet. He's on his way. Many people might say this is a little too crazy for its own good, but that's kind of why I love it.

7. The Bourne Ultimatum - If, like me, you thought Supremacy slowed this series down a little bit, then Ultimatum soothed those worries away. It takes the best parts of the first of the series, combs some clear inspiration from Casino Royale, and rolls it all into a very good mystery that they never let you forget about during the chase. The best improvement? SHOWING THE FIGHTS. Car chases are still a bit suspect, but at least in this one, Greengrass let you see the fighting. Damon is still great - I think Bourne is going to be the character he's remembered for, aside from Will Hunting. This was the best blockbuster of the summer, by far.

8. Breach - On the list almost entirely for Chris Cooper, but the fact is that watching him in this part made me enjoy this movie more than most other ones this year. Laura Linney and Ryan Phillippe do their parts as well, but this is Cooper's movie, through and through. A shame it was dumped back in February, or he might have a shot at a statue.

9. Gone Baby Gone - There are so many good things that are offset by a lot of questionable things, but in the end, I think the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. I do love these books and these characters, and I'm positive that they can be done better, but the Afflecks still made a great movie. If they did anything right, it's capture the distinct feel of Dorchester, for better or for worse, and they owe a lot of that to Amy Ryan. It's a good mystery with some hazy marks, but the best part is that this will probably be enough reason to give some of the other Kenzie/Gennaro novels a try... though I wouldn't mind if someone else took a stab at it.

10. Ocean's Thirteen - ... what? Leave me alone, I enjoyed myself. Is it flawed? Absolutely. But it's better than Twelve, and there's no denying that it's fun watching these guys have fun. Like I said, there are a lot of movies I didn't get to that I imagine would have bumped this one off the list, but I can only pick from what I saw.

Biggest Disappointment
Juno - I so wanted to love this movie. Everything from the trailer told me I would love this movie. As it turns out, three minutes is about as long as I can buy Ellen Page spewing these lines while still being told she's 16. I get it, she's not like other 16-year old kids. But NO 16-year old talks like this. Hell, as far as I know, no 20-year old talks like this. The first hour is a set up of the quirkiness of her world and everyone in it, but by the end of the movie, the only people you come off liking or relating to are the non-quirky ones - J.K. Simmons, Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman, notably. Ellen Page was great, but then they had her play a teenager. The style is good, but it trips on itself. There are pieces of a good movie here, but it gets marred by the details.

Biggest Trainwreck
Transformers - Just go here. This explains everything.

I imagine I will find myself back here next week to talk Oscar picks. Hopefully I'll have been able to squeeze in at least one other viewing by then, so I'm not completely uninformed. Until then...

5 Comments:

  • Bourne Ultimatum is the best of Bourne series. Matt Damon performed superb in that movie.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 1:50 PM  

  • 3:10 to yuma was one of the best westerns i have ever seen... ever. and i have seen hundreds of john wayne and clint eastwood flicks.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 7:48 PM  

  • You have a pretty great list here. I'm glad to see someone else thought Sunshine deserved some recognition. I will have to say one of the only movies to beat out Sunshine in 2007 for me would be Assassination of Jesse James. Also, I agree about Juno. Completely overrated and Ellen Paige was ridiculous.

    By Blogger Justin Snow, at 2:09 AM  

  • This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 6:31 AM  

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    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 6:32 AM  

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