Films Of The Year: 2007 January 1, 2008
Posted by gproject in : Articles , trackbackI know I’m contributing to an end of year cliché here, but by this point I doubt that another ‘best of’ list is really going to hurt anyone, so here follow my picks from the year that was 2007. Anybody who remembers last year’s article will recall that I claimed to be about 12 months behind – this is still the case. So while the list stands as of today, I would imagine there will be significant changes by this time next year.
I have to admit that this has been a bit of a disappointing 12 months. I still feel like I’m waiting for that really special movie – the film that reaches its conclusion and immediately stands out as a true gem. There have been some good movies, and plenty of shoulder-shrugging middle of the road ones, but no truly great films that I’ve felt the need to run out of the theatre and rave about. My feelings are justified by the fact that nothing on this year’s list has scored over four (out of five).
Finally, I should note that my criteria for what counts as a 2007 movie is based on its UK theatrical release date. So without further ado, here’s the list:
1) The Darjeeling Limited
Wes Anderson’s road movie on rails is full of charm and eccentricity, as well as an originality of vision that you won’t find anywhere else. [Review]
2) Zodiac
A lengthy crime thriller that is relentlessly engaging and full of atmosphere despite being David Fincher’s most straightforward narrative tale to date. [Review Coming Soon]
3) Hot Fuzz
The Shaun team do it again with their juxtaposition action comedy, creating a perfect showcase for the skills of director Edgar Wright. [Review]
4) The Science Of Sleep
Eternal Sunshine director Michel Gondry hits home with an imaginative and heartfelt story about dreams. Bizzare, but full of personality. [Review]
5) Superbad
Apatow domination is cemented by this foul-mouthed high school comedy. Not for the faint of heart, but hilarious for the rest of us. [Review]
6) Transformers
An outlandish action spectacular from Michael Bay that’s as loud, brash and bold as it needs to be. Popcorn precision. [Review]
7) The Last King Of Scotland
James McAvoy and Forest Whitaker give great performances in this heavily grounded fictional drama about real life leader Idi Amin. [Review]
8) Knocked Up
Soft-centred crudity makes a star of Seth Rogen as well as offering probably the most universally appealing comedy of the year. [Review]
9) Half Nelson
Quiet indie drama makes the most of very little. Featuring a top-form performance from Ryan Gosling. [Review]
10) Rocky Balboa
Respectful conclusion to the Rocky saga that returns the character to his underdog origins and goes out swinging. [Review]
+—————————————————————————————+
Not quite making it into the big leagues this year were a host of films that made for great entertainment but are inevitably left to reside in the 11-20 region.
Firstly, my hotly awaited release of the year, Spider-man 3 [Review] turned out to be a muddled disappointment, although nowhere near as bad as everyone made out at the time. Meanwhile, other enjoyable sequels included Ocean’s Thirteen [Review] and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix [Review], the first of which was a fun-filled return to their origins while the second was stilted in story but still stands out as one of the better of its franchise. Another major theme in cinemas towards the end of the year was that of war – most notably commenting on the current US engagements, although with mixed success. Rendition [Review] had an interesting plot structure but the more interesting film was Robert Redford’s Lions For Lambs [Review]: a quick-paced, succinct drama that many will miss because of an aversion to its ever-present message.
Elsewhere there were excellent performances from Leonardo DiCaprio in Edward Zwick’s Blood Diamond [Review], and Viggo Mortensen in his second David Cronenberg movie, Eastern Promises [Review]. Both films were filled with a strong sense of drama, although they each contained their fair share of action – which was the focus of another rather surprising entry in this list, the Antoine Fuqua directed Shooter [Review]: a Mark Wahlberg action flick that was genuinely entertaining, who would’ve thought? Rounding out this section is a long-awaited comedy that didn’t quite hits its mark in The Simpsons Movie [Review], Ridley Scott’s well focused gangster opus American Gangster [Review Coming Soon] about the interplay between good and evil, and a film that was worth seeing entirely for the IMAX 3D experience rather than the feature itself: Beowulf [Review] – a cinematic highlight despite being a distinctly average movie.
+—————————————————————————————+
Not Yet Seen
In the interests of full disclosure – and possibly to quell the “How could you miss out X” comments – here’s a list of films that were released in the past year that I have not yet been able to watch. They are all releases that I have high hopes for, but I’m still open to suggestions if you have any.
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, 300, Michael Clayton, 28 Weeks Later, Eagle vs. Shark, Ratatouille, Reign Over Me, The Bourne Ultimatum, The TV Set, This Is England, Once, Control, King of Kong: A Fist Full of Quarters and 3:10 To Yuma.
+—————————————————————————————+
One Year On: 2006
Finally, here’s my newly updated and revised 2006 list. To see how it differs from last year – click here.
1) Casino Royale [–]
2) Brick [–]
3) Little Miss Sunshine [n]
4) Children Of Men [n]
5) Hard Candy [v]
6) Clerks II [n]
7) The Departed [n]
8) Stranger Than Fiction [n]
9) Borat [v]
10) The Matador [v]
———————
11) The Prestige [n]
12) Superman Returns [v]
13) Inside Man [v]
14) Cars [v]
15) Find Me Guilty [v]
16) Thank You For Smoking [n]
17) Pan’s Labyrinth [n]
18) Walk The Line [v]
19) Mission:Impossible 3 [v]
20) Running Scared [v]Key:
[^] = Up
[v] = Down
[–] = No change
[n] = New entry
Comments»
no comments yet - be the first?