BEST OF 2007

BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU’RE DEAD – Sidney Lumet is well into his ‘80s, but his new crime drama is full of youthful energy and inventiveness. It’s also completely un-cynical, which makes it fairly unique in today’s Hollywood. Philip S. Hoffman is great as always, but it’s Ethan Hawke’s ‘loser brother’ character that’s the film’s major surprise. Also, Marissa Tomei is HOT. You’ll see.

THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY – My favorite film of the year. Artistic, but not pretentious, deep but accessible, moving yet funny and never maudlin. Julian Schnabel’s brilliant, largely first-person account a 42 year-old man trapped in his paralyzed body by a stroke is powerful and utterly original; a rear mix of Art Film and emotion. Great acting, unique cinematography by Chicago’s own Janusz Kaminsky, and a perfectly calibrated soundtrack combine to make a great film that also happens to be a real work of art.

EASTERN PROMISES – David Cronenberg’s Russian Mob drama set in London is not perfect. Yet it’s so engaging and covers so many themes that I have to put it on this list. Plus, Viggo Mortensen gives a great performance; speaking good Russian and peeling layers of a complex character only to reveal an even more enigmatic skin underneath. Above all, Cronenberg’s film captures the milieu better than any previous American film about the Russian émigré culture, and that’s an accomplishment.

KNOCKED UP – The year’s best mainstream comedy. Funny and honest, Judd Apatow’s summer hit was hilarious both times I watched it. And it’ll probably still play when I watch it again down the line.

NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN – Yeah, it’s a downer and yeah, it takes such a drastic left turn that most “normal” moviegoers probably hated. And the film’s pugnacious refusal to provide resolution for anything is challenging even for me. But I loved the ride and NO COUNTRY made me think for days; the kind of thinking that flows from depth, rather than a lack of clarity (more on this later).  The Coen Brothers take amazing chances here, and for the most part succeed in their goal. It’s a film about disillusionment that thrives on disillusioning its audience. The Oscar nominations just came out as I’m writing this, and I predict this picture will lose. Nobody likes being disillusioned.

ONCE – The year’s most lovable film. There are two kinds of people in the world: those who can create music and those who wish they could. ONCE caters to both groups. It’s also a beautiful love story, done in a very simple way. There are hundreds of films made every year with similar budgets (super low) and the same resources (none). Most of them don’t work. This one does. Spectacularly. And the music’s pretty great too.

SWEENY TODD – I think Tim Burton has finally found his ideal genre in the musical. This is more of an opera, really. And Burtons’ visual panache is perfectly employed to tell a story that is as funny as it is brutal. Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter do fine acting and singing, and for a musical this is one tight movie. Not for the squeamish due to an almost endless parade of throat-slitting / artery bursting action, but a terrifically entertaining film overall.

ZODIAC – For a film where virtually nothing happens, David Fincher’s ZODIAC is one intense ride. Beautifully paced, shot and art-directed, this police procedural traces years of various individuals who become obsessed with the pursuit of the 70‘s Bay Areas Zodiac Killer. I have reservations about some of the cast, but the film is so incredibly tense and engaging, I found it hard to resist.

300 – So few films hit their intended marks with the precision of 300; a homerun of a movie. It almost shouldn’t work. But it does spectacularly. Ultimately though, what’s the point of even talking about its merits or shortcomings; 300 has already entered the national subconscious. It’s talked about, lampooned, imitated, villainized and worshipped. Mission accomplished.

THERE WILL BE BLOOD – I’m critical of this film, yet its still on my Best list. Why? Because PT Anderson’s tone is so perfect and his pacing so terse, that it’s hard to deny that this is major American filmmaking. I stared in awe for three hours and the long running time flew by. An almost hypnotically engaging film And yet…

Not as good as you were led to believe

THERE WILL BE BLOOD - …I’m bothered by the film’s blank slate approach, it’s refusal to commit to ideas that should have been explored. It’s ‘come as you are’ ethos is rare in Hollywood cinema, but there’s an almost pathological lack of real characters here. And it’s a fine line between leaving things vague and just plain failing to competently present ideas; the film is ripe with muddy storytelling and that annoyed me and left me cold for the film overall. Daniel Dey Lewis does create a relentless, primal lead character who’s certainly interesting, but to me he had little depth and an anachronistic amount of self-awareness. I was even bothered by his Bill The Butcher as played by John Houston approach. BLOOD’ll win the Oscar this year, but it will not become the Citizen Kane of our generation. Masterpiece? I don’t think so.

AMERICAN GANGSTER – Ridley Scott’s period piece about the rise and fall of Frank Lucas, The Harlem Godfather is good. Very good, actually. Fast, engaging, and clever in its use of two parallel genres. Yet I didn’t love it. And nobody I talked to loved it. Whatever that magical ingredient that makes a good film, great… it’s not here.

THE GOOD GERMAN – This pantomime of 1940’s film techniques probably seemed like a clever idea to director Steven Soderberg, but it plays contrived, artificial, and anachronistic. And George Clooney makes you appreciate just how much charisma the old-time movie stars actually had.  An interesting, but failed experiment.

THE GOOD SHEPARD – Not that good, and not a single sheep. Director Robert DeNiro’s chronicle of the creation of the CIA is so dry it’s almost ready to snap.  A bland movie about a bland man; and the kid who plays Matt Damon’s son, is one of the worst casting decisions in the history of the movies. Seriously.  THE GOOD SHEPARD has its moments, but not enough of them.

3:10 TO YUMA – It’s a shame when something that starts so good has to turn so bad. This western re-make starts out strong, but ends in such a stupid manner, that the entire film falls apart. Sad, because the performances by Russell Crowe, Christian Bale, and Ben Foster are all top notch.

THE LOOKOUT – Another interesting concept that doesn’t quite take off. If it weren’t for Joseph Gordon Levitt’s fine performance, this could be a made-for-TV movie. Good acting all around, actually. But the cast can’t rescue what eventually de-evolves into a very standard and far-fetched heist picture.

SUPERBAD – Maybe it’s just outside my demographic, but I found SUPERBAD to be medium mediocre. There are some big laughs here, but mostly it’s just goofy and uneven in tone. Definitely the loser of the KNOCKED UP vs. SUPERBAD debate.

THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM – Is it me, or is anybody else bothered by the fact that these films have no plot? It worked in SUPREMACY, but here it all seemed so contrived and vague. Still a good film, but there’s nothing going on upstairs and let us not pretend that there is.

Better Than You Think

ALPHA DOG – Nick Cassavetes’ true crime story revolves around a bunch of young gangsta’ wannabes. Most characters here are despicable, but the film manages to find something to relate to within every one of them. And just when you think its glorifying the lifestyle these punks lead, the film pulls the rug out. Solid cast led by wonderful performances by Emile Hirsh, Justin Timberlake (don’t laugh, he’s very good), and especially Ben Foster. Excellent rental.

ENCHANTED – Just a sweet family film. Clever and funny and right on target. And Amy Adams is… enchanting.

BEOWULF – This is an amazing visual feast; especially in I-Max 3D. But it’s also a lot smarter that you’d imagine, which is probably why audiences didn’t warm to its message of the corruptive affect of power. A strange mix of populist eye candy and art house introspection.

SUNSHINE – Danny Boyle’s ‘serious’ sci-fi film about a mission to re-ignite the dying sun isn’t quite 2001, but it is a beautifully shot and challenging film. Critics complained about it losing its course in the third act. I say, that was the whole point of the film.

THE KINGDOM – Peter Berg’s thriller takes place in Saudi Arabia, but it’s really just a straight up “fish out of water” police procedural. Tight, exciting, well acted, and nicely shot; The Kingdom keeps its politics to a minimum and delivers on the thrills. A top-notch modern action film.

SHOOT EM UP – A parody of an action film. Silly on almost every level, but so fun and so inventive in its outlandish action scenes, that if you don’t expect brains, you may enjoy it as much as I did.

SPIDER-MAN 3 – A solid and exciting third installment of Sam Raimi’s web-slinger franchise. It has very goofy moment. So do the first two films! But overall, a fun capper to a terrific action trilogy.

RENNAISSANCE – It’s an animated Bladerunner set in Paris. The story is forgettable. But the look of the film is brilliant and that’s the only reason to see it. It’s enough.

Crap

ACROSS THE UNIVERSE – If you LOVE Beatles music… put on a CD. This occasionally hilarious mess, won’t add anything to your appreciation of the legendary band. And it may actually subtract something.

GRINDHOUSE – Two crappy films for the price of one. What a deal! Look, I love Tarantino and really respect Rodriguez’ can-do work ethic; but this homage to bad cinema (complete with fake trailers and missing reels) is, in fact, bad cinema. A nearly un-watchable movie. PLANET TERROR has its moments, but DEATHPROOF is just stunningly awful. Time to leave post-modernism behind, boys, and make something original. Just a thought.

TRANSFORMERS – It made tons of $$$, so what do I know!? I know a badly constructed movie though; and this is one of those. Why anybody would want to revive this property in the first place is a mystery to me. Why Michael Bay inserted the goofy White House section is an even deeper mystery. If you must see it, just watch the last 30 minutes. Trust me, you won’t be too confused about the plot.

SHREK THE III – I was never on board with this fairly unoriginal series, but the second film had a certain charm. That’s nowhere to be found in this lame sequel. SHREK III is just a complete turkey.

OCEANS 13 – You know, I actually found myself enjoying it while I watched it. Then, 11 minutes after it ended, I started to hate it. And 2 minutes after that, I forgot it.  You know what would be cool: if all these great actors just came over to my house, busted my kids’ piggy bank, and simply took the money it cost me to see this nonsense.  Besides, there’s something nearly insulting about the concept that the audience is supposed to enjoy a film simply because millionaire movie stars enjoyed making it.

On DVD

THE BLACK BOOK / ARMY OF SHADOWS – Two excellent films in similar settings: the Nazi resistance movement during WWII. See both films and think about how time alters our views of certain events.

SOME ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS

TRENDS I DON’T GET

In the past few years, two film series have made billions and have left me scratching my head in amazement. I think the Harry Potter films are incredibly boring with some terrible kid acting and lame scenery chewing by English thesps. The fact that any grownup can be into this hokum is way beyond my own – not insignificant – geekiness. Yet Harry Potter seems like a work of genius next to The Pirates Of The Caribbean , a trio of films with basically no rudder. I have no problem with Pirate films (Hey, I own the Errol Flynn Collection), but this is just stupid. I mean, sure, there’s some cool visuals here, but none of it makes a shred of sense… which makes it impossible to connect to the characters. And I’m so tired of the endless accolades heaped on Johnny Depp’s ‘I’m drunk, I’m high, I’m gay, I’m Keith Richards’ performance. It’s not that great. Really.

THINGS THAT ANNOY ME

About a month ago Ridley Scott put out another “Deluxe” version of his masterpiece Bladerunner.  This one containing like three different edits of the ’82 distopia touchstone. Now this is one of my favorite films ever and I’m sick and tired of Scott continually messing with its integrity. Bladerunner was pretty great in its original theatrical release, but Scott had to put out the Director’s Cut. OK, it was better, but not THAT much better. And this new package is just ridiculous! Do we really need to see all the scenes that never made the cut, edited back into an already luxuriously paced film? NO. And to add insult to injury, now Scott is going around telling me how I should interpret the film. Apparently Dekkard is a Replicant! Wow. Thanks, Ridley for clearing it all up for me! This is either a case of unchecked artistic masturbation gone berserk… or the most cynical commercial release of the year. Leave it alone, Ridley!