continuing from my favorite music post from a couple days ago – here’s my best of list for movies (for the record, i make very little distinction between best and favorite….):
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no country for old men. this was simply put, an amazing film from our mn local boys the coen brothers. a movie with more silence than dialog, josh brolin, tommy lee jones and (a terrifying) javier bardem were amazing…. brilliant
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juno. another local from me, diablo cody’s witty charming script allowed ellen page’s juno to leap of the screen – my favorite performance of 2007. superb supporting performances from allison janney, jk simmons, jason batemen, jennifer garner and the excellent michael cera.
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lars and the real girl. i can’t believe owen gleiberman from entertainment weekly put this on his worst list. for me, this film touched me more than any other film this year. i had a smile on my face the entire time. ryan gosling’s performance was beautiful.
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the bourne ultimatum & live free or die hard. action flicks with real story development? shocking. both films kept me on the edge of my seat.
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grindhouse. pulp fiction never tasted so good. so over the top – but bloody (pun intended) good fun. gripping at times (hello captain’s mast), deliciously tacky at times (hello cherry!). meta-trash never looked so good
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american gangster. i’ve talked about this one before – it’s all about the acting for me. russell & denzel chewing the scenery. mmm, more please.
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stardust. mmmm stardust. lovely little film. enjoyed tremendously. anyone who didn’t love – is wrong! yes, i’m talkin’ to cb here! <g>
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control. again – i’ve already talked about this one, but the film is quite wonderful. an exercise in restraint. the performances are excellent.
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3:10 to yuma. this film got lost in the shuffle this fall – which is a tremendous shame. excellent casting and brava performances (2007 was really the year of the ensemble). a brilliant western that was claustrophobic and taunt as all hell.
other films i dug:
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transformers – fun.
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simpsons movie – everything it needed to be.
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the darjeeling limited – beautiful.
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ocean’s thirteen – a return to form.
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hot fuzz – wickedly fun.
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across the universe – visually stunning, great music.
biggest disappointments:
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harry potter & the order of the phoenix. my favorite of the books (thus far) – yet the director cut so much (it became the shortest hp film of the bunch, and it was the longest book) it just felt like a shell of it’s former self. sure there were some great sequences (the climatic fights for one), but it’s just not as vivid as the book.
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the golden compass. just not that strong. visually striking – but felt so haphazzzrd and slapped together. i hope the book is better.
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300. yes, homo’s – i’m committing a blasphemy here. the movie is exceedingly amazing in it’s visual splendor (and yea, the guys are hot) – i just didn’t care for the characters and the narrative story was weak. i guess it’s just better as porn with the volume turned down.
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knocked up. i.just.didn’t.laugh. expected much more.
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evan almightly. great premise. awesome cast. horrible preachy result. blech.
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the 11th hour. leo, we need hope at least.
films i haven’t seen yet (but really need to):
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once
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there will be blood
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i’m not there
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persepolis
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atonment
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michael clayton
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charlie wilson’s war
2008; expectations – excited to see:
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harry potter & the half blood prince
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the chronicles of narnia, prince caspian
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indiana jones & the kingdom of the crystal skull
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the dark knight
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bond 22
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new star trek
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speed racer
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sex & the city; the movie
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wall-e
6 comments
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January 1, 2008 at 6:28 am
Tony
I liked Stardust, though I didn’t love it. I think I am too big a fan of the book, and while I was willing to accept that they would have to alter the story, to make a movie of the book there were some changes that I found annoying. However, it was visually gorgeous and I was happy they got Charles Vess on the project, because I am in love with the illustrations he did for the graphic version of the novel.
Golden Compass was just an all around disappointment. What happened to the last 2 chapters of the book? Too bad, Nicole Kidman was a terrific Mrs. Coulter and Daniel Craig was a wonderful Lord Azriel. But why oh why did they cast the talentless Dakota Blue Richards as Lyra?
Otherwise, it was not a big movie going year for me. I do want to see Juno and a few other films that are out right now.
Happy New Year, and hopefully, it will be a better year for movies in the coming year. BTW did you know they are making a film of Coraline, which is a great children’s book by Gaiman! It will be interesting to see if they do it right or take out all the scary parts.
January 1, 2008 at 1:37 pm
Wendy CPM
Nice list! I haven’t seen Juno yet, but from what I’ve heard, it is yet another mainstream movie (along with Knocked Up) that painfully neglects the choice of terminating the pregnancy. Not that the character would have necessarily had to choose that option, but to not have it presented AT ALL as a choice is really disturbing, and leads me to wonder what kind of influences came to bear on its production. Just putting that out there, as the pro-choice pro-woman woman that I am… 🙂
Also, The Golden Compass is an *excellent* book, along with the other two in the trilogy, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass. Obviously, they left the ending of the movie wide open for the sequels. I would highly recommend reading the books, because as we’ve all seen with the Harry Potter movies, there is only so much you can squeeze into a two-hour movie. Reading the books gives the background necessary to really sit back and enjoy the movie in all of its splendor. Here’s a discussion thread for you: what would your daemon be?
Happy New Year!
January 2, 2008 at 9:27 am
cb
Hmmmm.
I thought 300 was visually the best film of 2007.
The Simpsons movie was the biggest disappointment for me by far.
I want to see 3:10 to Yuma now, for the gay subtext in it (the dude who loves Russell)
I liked the 1st half of grindhouse more– the gun/leg was brilliant.
Can’t wait for Wall-e, and Speed Racer.
January 2, 2008 at 6:02 pm
Dave
Stay as far away from “I’m Not There” as possible. It was the worst kind of pretentious, boring, arty crap. Just buy the soundtrack.
January 3, 2008 at 5:44 am
Jason
You should add “When the Devil Knows You’re Dead” to the list. One of the best I’ve seen this year!
Can’t wait to see “There Will Be Blood”. The soundtrack is awesome (from Radiohead guitarist, Jonny Greenwood)
January 3, 2008 at 9:10 pm
Sam
I haven’t seen 300, but I heard that on a gay scale of 1 to 10, it’s a 300.