We’re brimming with positivity today, about to craft the most gushing post you’ve seen at Mister Faded Glory since, well, ever. But you see, 2007 was practically a banner year for cinema, and we can’t help but be satisfied as we unfurl our own red carpet, recounting our laundry list of favorite films. Though we lamented a lackluster summer, we had an arduous time fashioning our top ten list, which is fairly unheard of. You see, we hate nearly everything. But 2007 was so deep, plenty of solid films not making the cut here – Rescue Dawn, Ratatouille, Into the Wild - would have rocketed near the pinnacle of previous years.
For example, only a few memorable films populate recent years. Consider a forgettable 2006 (United 93, Little Miss Sunshine, The Departed, The Prestige), a solid 2005 (Batman Begins, The Squid and the Whale, Capote, The Weather Man), an apparent year of whimsy: 2004 (Sideways, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Anchorman, In Good Company) and a top-heavy 2003 (Lost In Translation, Mystic River, The Station Agent, Open Water). It was a struggle to include four memorable films from each of the last four years, especially 2006. I almost included Just Friends on this list, just because I was pleasantly surprised. Just Friends!
At any rate, it was a great year to take in a bevy of memorable, thoughtful, entertaining movies. We’re not the only ones beaming – films nominated for the Academy Awards are mostly worthy, unlike previously awful winners like 2005′s Crash, 2004′s Million Dollar Baby, Lord of the Whatever. In fact, even though a certain snubbed musical artist won’t be performing, the Oscars are actually worth watching again. Odds are, we’ll see a fair flick win the prize on Sunday. And since you didn’t ask, here’s our movie recap of 2007, including the year’s top nine movies – I’ve reserved a spot for There Will Be Blood, which I haven’t yet seen. Though P.T. Anderson has disappointed me before (critical darling Punch-Drunk Love may be, in fact, the worst movie of all time), I’m certain Blood will find an eventual home in our top ten.
- Worst movie of the year: 300. I pity you if you joined the critical, cultish groundswell enamored of this dopey, glorified cartoon. How Frank Miller (The Dark Knight Returns) can claim this hokey mess, I’ll never know.
- Solid if unspectacular: Juno/Knocked Up (Apparently movies showing the snarkier side of pregnancy were “in” during 2007. This bodes well for us someday – wait, Ms. Faded Glory, you’re white as a sheet!), The Simpsons, The Savages, Into the Wild and Reign Over Me (Yes, once again I was totally duped into seeing two lackluster movies solely because of Eddie Vedder/Pearl Jam‘s involvement. Not bad like Big Fish, but you get the idea. On the plus side, I managed to avoid I’m Not There.).
- Actually, you know, pretty good: A Mighty Heart, The Bourne Ultimatum, Eastern Promises, Ratatouille, Rescue Dawn, Transformers (!)
- Missed: Superbad (skeptical), The Diving Bell & Butterfly (title already bores me), Atonement (from the Roger Clemens of fiction), Hot Rod (are you kidding?), Sweeney Todd (Please.), all those trilogies like Spider-Man 3, Pirates 3, Ocean’s 13, etc.
- On my to-do list: Blood, The King of Kong, Sicko, Jesse James and the interminable title.
And, with zero further ado:
9. Zodiac. I’m a sucker for any David Fincher stuff (The Game is in my film Pantheon) and this measured, intense, cerebral investigative drama was very good, if a little long. Released two months earlier, it would have been your Best Picture of 2006.
8. Live Free or Die Hard. Shut up, you saw this coming. Flawed, but fantastic. Yippee Ki-Yay, mother[EDIT].
7. Breach. Suspenseful and engaging fact-based political thriller featuring Chris Cooper but also starring Ryan Phillippe, for crying out loud. Yes, read it again if you don’t believe me.
6. Chinatown. What?! I finally got around to seeing Chinatown, the father of film noir as we know it, and it’s great! Oh, quit complaining. Just tack Eastern Promises on the end of this list and stop grumbling.
5. Paris, Je T’Aime. Surprisingly bewitching compilation of short films, each based in a separate Paris arrondissement. The Coen Brothers‘ dark subway comedy Tuilieries is hilarious, Alexander Payne‘s solitary tourist tale 14e is inspiring, Isabel Coiset‘s Bastille is poignant, and Oliver Schmitz‘ Place des fêtes is heartwrenching. An outstanding compilation, and a perfect, fractured window into a fascinating city.
Now for the really good stuff. I’ve ranked these, but enjoyed all of them immensely and almost equally. And I’m aware I’m being more positive in this post than, well, ever.
4. Michael Clayton. Smarter-than-usual legal thriller bolstered by Tilda Swinton and George Clooney. Clooney‘s weary, desperate, haunted lawyer/fixer/demon is a career performance. A swift piece featuring shades almost entirely of gray and extremely well done.
3. 3:10 to Yuma. Is it a retelling? An action movie? A western? Who cares. Yuma is a strong, insightful adventure brimming with drama and conflict bubbling between intense Russell Crowe and Christian Bale performances. As kids, Tombstone was our rewatchable, instant-classic, badass western. This is better.
2. Gone Baby Gone. My most surprising movie of the year (I probably expected less because of its stupid title) yet gripping, detailed and excellent. Echoes Mystic River because of the writer, style and setting, but a seismic mystery drama featuring a career performance by Casey Affleck and pained stalwarts Ed Harris and Morgan Freeman. Bonus points for two crucial character-actors from The Wire – Oscar-nominated Amy Ryan (Beadie) and Michael K. Williams (Omar!). Gone Baby Gone‘s drama drips with questions, struggling characters, and an unyielding moral dilemma you’ll remember long after walking out of the theatre.
1. No Country For Old Men. As you know, I’ve never been a Coen Brothers fan (Yes, I detest The Big Lebowski and Raising Arizona. No, I don’t care what you think). Where some see genius I’m simply exasperated, annoyed, or indifferent by films typically trying too hard to be different. No Country, however, is their instant opus. It’s enthralling, deep, invigorating, and sublime – and despite what you’ve heard, the ending is genius. Each character sparkles with ambiguity and authenticity, and deserves more than a simple blurb. The three principals are outstanding – Josh Brolin‘s cocksure, earnest confidence, Tommy Lee Jones‘ skeptical, weathered resolve, and Javier Bardem‘s – well, just see the movie. A memorable lack of theme music lends legitimacy, urgency, and fear to No Country‘s backdrop, and the Coens harvest West Texas accents as well as they do Minnesotan, New Yorker, Deep Southern and Bluegrass. A fantastic effort, and considering Paris, Je T’Aime, the Coens had a pretty darn good year. And then they woke up.
