Top 10 of 2007

Wow, this was a lot more difficult than I expected. I flirted with the idea of doing a top 20 this year simply because there were so many very good films to choose from. The only real easy choices in the whole list are the top 2. Everything else has moved a lot in the last couple of days and would probably move again if I redid the list tomorrow. The two huge surprises this year are 1) everything's in english and 2) no documentaries made the list. That's genunely shocking, but rest assured it will be made up in the next post. Before we get started here are a few honorable mentions.

Films that I suspect would make the list had I actually seen them: I'm Not There, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

Film that nobody liked that I probably will even though by all accounts it's awful but then again I didn't see it so who knows: Southland Tales

Films that I would have sworn 10 minutes after watching them that they would make the list but would probably make it in a different year and may increase in my estimation upon a second viewing: Darjeeling Limited, Control, Eastern Promises

OK here goes.

10) Bug – It was mismarketed as a horror film on it's release, but it is genuinely the scariest film of the year. It's a horror movie in the same way as Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf. If being in love is choosing to give up a part of yourself in order to see the world through someone else's eyes, what happens when the person you choose slowly goes off the rails? Michael Shannon is one of the creepiest actors I've ever seen, and it's amazing how much he dives into this strange character.

9) The Lookout – There's a lot going on in every Joseph Gordon-Levitt performance, and he helps elevate what could have been just another thriller into something a bit more substantial. It's well-crafted and hums along, but it makes the list for the performance. You can't take your eyes off of him.

8) The Bourne Ultimatum – I'm not one of those people who wants to turn this franchise into the new James Bond. I'll take three great films over 20 watered-down ones any day. I love the ways this film wraps up the series by reflecting shots from the first film. Oh and it's by far the best action film of the year, and would be just about any year. And he kicks a guys ass with a book.

7) Michael Clayton – An action movie with absolutely no action at all. It takes its cue from the great paranoid thrillers of the 1970s like Three Days of the Condor and The Parallax View. Great performances by George Clooney, Tilda Swindon, and expecially Tom Wilkinson.

6) Juno – Orange Tic-Tacs, hamburger phones, and Mott the Hoople. “It's not like it was his idea.” Too bad the trailer gave away all the good Jason Bateman bits.

5) Once – I love the music and adore the ambiguous final shot. A “musical” where the music doesn't seem forced. Oh and they made it for like $75

4) Zodiac – The brilliant film this year that nobody seems to be talking about. it's probably because it came out so early in the year. The use of CGI to “build” 1970s San Francisco is seamless and adds a lot to my enjoyment of the film. To some degree it's the anti-Seven, focusing on procedures and frustrating loose ends instead of dead bodies.

3) Sweeney Todd – Blood, songs and pies. I really want to see this again.

2) No Country for Old Men – Every other film on the list moved around, but this was a solid number one until early on the 30th. In No Country the Coens finally toned down their ironic sense of humor and just told a great story. I've said it before, but the ending is perfect and finishes an unsettling film on a hopeful note.

1) There Will Be Blood – The single most anticipated film of the year for me delivered far beyond what I was expecting. It is difficult not to just write SEEITSEEITSEEITSEEITSEEIT! It's incredible the way Anderson tossed aside his usual bag of tricks [matching film to pop songs, show-offy camera movements] and created something totally new for him. He's my favorite American director, but I didn't believe he had this film in him. On one hand I don't want to overhype it, but on the other I don't thnk it's possible. I saw it at midnight, got out of the theater at 2:45, and instantly thought “How soon can I see it again?” There is no debate, Daniel Day-Lewis gives the performance of the year. His voice, his walk, the way his face scrunches up whenever God is mentioned, all perfect. The last scene builds and builds and gets crazier and crazier beyond anything you could have been anticipating, but I went with it. I am seriously wondering whether this or Magnolia is PTA's masterpiece.

I am finished

Happy New Year