The Top Ten Movies of 2007

2007 was a great year as far as movies were concerned (and a lousy one in my calendar, but then again, every year is lousy for me). Movies however, burst forth, went to places they had never gone before (The Mist) and showed things usually not so widely shown in cinema (Gone Baby Gone). I had fun (Hot Fuzz), I laughed (Charlie Wilson’s War), I peed my pants (The Orphanage) and I cried (The Orphanage, again). I’m not gonna wimp out and give you a top-15 list or a top-20 list, there’s a reason “The Top 10” matter because it’s not only about the movies but the writer as well. So instead I mention all the movies that were fun, fantastic and gave me so much to talk/write/think about but were not included in the top ten: [REC], The Kingdom, My Blueberry Nights, There Will Be Blood, 300, Breach, Planet Terror, Black Snake Moan, Perfum: The Story of a Murderer, The Good German, Death Sentence, Disturbia, Ratatouille, 3.10 To Yuma, The Painted Veil, Gone Baby Gone, Lust Caution, Hallam Foe and 13 Beloved, There Will Be Blood. If you’re a serious movie watcher, I implore you watch at least half of the above mentioned.

3 movies need to be placed in a higher category and than the rest and if I had made a top 13 list these three would definitely be included: Hot Fuzz (oodles of fun, top-class brit comedy), Charlie Wilson’s War (the immortal Aaron Sorkin writes a politically-charged black comedy that made me like Tom Hanks again) and Southland Tales (all-hail Richard Kelly for following up Donnie Darko, which I consider essential viewing, with a funny, twisted ensemble piece that just might be the cult-favorite of out generation. As predicted, no other movie made me think more). So finally, here are the top 10 movies of last year that made my go to places none of the others did (except maybe Kelly’s edition).

10. The Mist (Darabont) – Darabont hasn’t really done much good since The Shawshank Redemption, but ever since he was announced as the director to SK’s chilly little open ended horror story, everybody had good expectations. More so than anything else, he promised us closure to the story, something I was against. I preferred the open-ended ending. However, once the movie was over I sat there shocked and still. When I finally did move, I cheered for Darabont. He has given us quite possibly, the most twisted ending in the history of horror films. Add to this some great creature effects and a stunning vibrant steamy look that compliments the atmosphere of the movie perfectly. This gets on the list based solely on its brilliant ending.

09. Michael Clayton (Gilroy) – Tony Gilroy (better known for writing every single one of the Bourne movie) writes and directs this little gem. A poorly predicted Oscar-favorite, this corporate thrilled chronicles the end of an attorney-cum-fixer’s career and possibly his life. Clooney plays the lead character, an attorney for one of the top law firms whose tiny job description seems to be taking care of other people’s messes. The film also boasts a fantastic cast (Clooney, Wilkinson, Swinton, Pollack are all brilliant) as well a wonderful score. The movie’s pacing is great and while Gilroy’s script might not be original, it’s certainly well written and entertaining. Wilkinson and Clooney astound with their lines while Swinton just does an ok job, it was a little surprising she walked away with the Oscar. I’ve always been a fan of corporate thrillers (I ate up last summer’s Damages), but even Gilroy outdid himself with this one.

08. Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead (Lumet) - I knew I was going to end up loving this movie as soon as it was announced. I mean, Hoffman, Hawke, Finney and Tomei with Lumet (Dog Day Afternoon and the all-superior Network) directing, how could I not? Turns out, I did. The movie is slow, heavy and dark. The editing is great, using flashbacks has become quite popular these days (e.g. the horrible Vantage Point) but in this case it works in favor of the hard-hitting script. Hoffman and Finney blew me away with their characters. I loved seeing Hoffman’s Hanson freak out as his world falls to pieces around him. I loved the pacing, loved the scoring and loved Tomei’s hot nude scenes (she’s 40!). The film’s like a bitter cup of coffee, a jolt and a shock that you slowly take in. Simply fantastic.

07. Sunshine (Boyle) - The script is penned by Alex Garland (novel writer responsible for The Beach and The Tesseract as well as the script for 28 Days Later and the upcoming Halo). Boyle on the other hand directed 28 Days Later (quite a nice job, much better than it’s “sequel”) and a little known gem, Millionaires. Both are great at what they do, so I expected a nice decent sci-fi. What I didn’t expect was how the movie toyed with my emotions, how it made me care of the characters and how graceful it was in its delivery. Knowing you’re going to die has never been translated more honestly that it was in this movie. The cast gave it their best and even though the movie received quite a lot of bad reviews, I fell in love by the end of the first viewing. The scene near the end, “the jump”, took my breath away. Rose Byrne’s line seemed to summaries everything I loved about this movie, “Thinking that you might die and knowing you will are two very different things”. Red-tanned visuals and a decent cast ensemble accompanied Garland’s well-written script, making this one a must-see recommendation.

06. Atonement (Wright) – Ian McEwan’s best novel comes to the big screen with riveting force and a unique intensity not found in any other period film. If the story, the backdrop and the ending doesn’t take your breath away, the powerhouse scoring will. The film more or less follows the novel that came (three years?) before it, starting out in the quaint English countryside, putting you at ease. Then it propels itself into betrayal, rape, lies and the casualties of war. I’m a big fan of doomed love stories and this was one of the best. The director toyed with us till the end and the truth is those who have read the book will probably not love this movie as much as those who came into the theatre completely unaware. I hated the fact it didn’t get the Oscar I wanted it to. No Country For Old Men didn’t even get near it’s scoring, script or plot. I’m sure everyone has already seen (and enjoyed) this so I’m not going to spend a lot of time telling you how good it is,

05. Eastern Promises (Cronenberg) – I hated The Fly but I loved eXistenz, History of Violence and Spider, so like Kevin Smith, I have a love it or hate it opinion for Cronenberg’s work. Naomi Watts I’ve always enjoyed and these two were my main reason for picking this DVD up. I can honestly say no other film this year was this much of a pleasant shock. I didn’t expect it to rattle me so much or keep me at the edge of my seat during the last fight sequence. The movie quickly gained critical approval, the fight scene at the end was the flagship scene most referred to. I didn’t fall in love with that, I did however, fall for the cold script, the hard-edged politics and the superior acting talents of Mortensen, Watts and especially Mueller-Stahl. Cronenberg outdid himself with this one and although there’s quite a bit of wait till his next project, I wait with eager anticipation.

04. Juno (Retiman) – First-timer Diablo Cody penned the script (and won an oscar for it), Jason Reitman (whose quick-witted Thank-you For Smoking was a nice treat) directed and a whole bunch of fantastic actors acted. Normally I wouldn’t go through the whole cast, but that cant be missed with a cast like this one: Ellen Page (who scared the shit out of me before winning me over in last year’s Hard Candy, you can find it in my Top Ten 2006 list), Jennifer Garner (needs no introduction….I love her!), Allison Janney (Sorken’s best work yet The West Wing), J. K. Simmons (The Closer, Spider-Man), Rainn Wilson (The OFFICE!!!) and last but not least Jason Bateman and Michael Cera (both of Arrested Development fame) all come together to create a wonderful little coming-of-age-cum-cautionary-tale black comedy the likes of which I haven’t seen in a while. The dialogues are fantastic, quick and sharp like acid. In fact I wouldn’t be surprised if (along with Kelley’s Southland Tales) this gem of a movie garners a massive cult following and the dialogues are quoted for years to come. It’s mainly the script and the fantastic cast that won me over but beneath it all is a warm fuzzy movie you fall for as you watch it. Recommended to absolutely everyone out there but chances are they’ve already seen it.

03. Orfanato, El (Bayona) – In the footsteps of last year’s Pan’s Labyrinth (yes, it’s there on my top ten) comes Spain’s latest entry in the supernatural department and I’m not joking here, it scared the shit out of me. I don’t scare easy. The last movie before this to scare me was the original Japanese Dark Water, what I believed to be the last great ghost story that hit you with chills instead of mindless gore. I was wrong there. The Orphanage starts out simply enough, but then somewhere in the middle I realized I was scared out of my mind (the knock knock game) and near the end I was surprised to find myself tearing up. The ending was fantastic, like Pan’s Labyrinth it gives you a supernatural as well as a more logical version of events and the choice is left to you, to believe either one. Of course the directors always leave clues as to which version actually happened (Del Toro confirmed the supernatural storyline with the flowers blooming at the end and if you watch closely, Bayona has given us clues to confirm the chillier supernatural version as well). Another great choice was the casting of Belén Rueda, she was perfect in the role and Bayona should be applauded for not going with a young hot blonde like most horror directors these days do. At the end, it was a story of a mother who would do anything to be with her son again, and it was the perfect ghost story I had been looking for since the past few years.

02. 30 Days of Night (Slade) – David Slade hit the film industry in 2006 with the fantastic drama Hard Candy (go here to find my review). This year his choice might seem a lot more commercial and safe, but he has fun with it and gives us a bloody treat as well. Based on Steven Niles claim-to-fame graphic novel (of the same name), the movie chronicles a month in a remote Alaskan town where the sun doesn’t come up for 30 days. Some vampires decide it would be the equivalent of a one-month-long buffet and hit the town head on. You can find an earlier review of the movie here, complimenting the breathtaking cinematography and Slade’s many, many good direction choices. The movie makes it to the near top of my list simply for being what it is: Not a cheesy, campy or even average flick about vampires but being a tale of brute force that wipes everything in it’s path and a small band of survivors that try their best to stand up to it. I can’t wait to see what the fiery little director has in store for us next (right now he hasn’t signed on for anything).

01. Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Burton) – Ahh Burton is back. I discovered Burton quite a few years ago, having discovered gems like Edward Sciccorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Sleepy Hallow and Big Fish. However, with the good comes the bad (Mars Attacks) and these past few years I saw his release a horrible series of movies, each worse than the last (Planet of the Apes, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Corpse Bride) and I thought he had lost what talent he had. I’m glad to see I was wrong. The film had everything I had come to love about Burton’s work. The atmosphere was dark and gloomy, the visuals sharp and lush, his London was gothic, oppressive and congested, just the way I liked it. This is not my favorite movie by the director (Long live the headless horseman) but it certainly came close.

Meanwhile, Burton’s blue-eyed boy Depp gave the performance of his life but I agree, Daniel Day-Lewis did deserve the Oscar for his performance in There Will Be Blood. Some of you may be weirded out at the fact that TWBB wasn’t in my top ten, the truth is it almost made it. Here’s my review of the movie. Getting back to the point at hand, Sweeny Todd was the movie all Burton-fans were waiting for and I’m pretty sure he’ll never be able to top it.

That’s it for last year’s top ten. As usual delayed but finally here. Comment please.

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Tags: 2007, Top 10, Top Ten, Top Ten 2007

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