2007's Top 20 Films- Duncan

The clock is ticking on "best of" columns for 2007. But, due to the curse of the midwest, I must compose my list not having seen things like Persepolis, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, and The Savages, since the first two don't open for two weeks in Wisconsin, and the latter just got here.

So know that this list will be revised, if applicable, when I do see those films, and I'll link back to it when appropriate. I ended up seeing over fifty films released last year, depending on how you count it (I say count February to January, since this month is all about seeing art-house award contenders that hadn't made it here yet). And with very few exceptions, they were all pretty much a good time. Whittling it down to 20 was hard.

The latter half of the list:

21. Ratatouille
20. Paprika
19. Stardust
18. Juno
17. Gone Baby Gone
16. The Darjeeling Limited
15. American Gangster
14. The Bourne Ultimatum
13. 3:10 to Yuma
12. Knocked Up

Pretty self explanatory runners-up. I'm obviously not as high on Juno as other countdown makers, but it's still a great film in a crowded year. Paprika is the only thing to make the list that I missed in the theater- otherwise I saw most of this list on the first weekend I could.

11. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

The only film in all of 2007 that I saw more than once in theaters, so it leapfrogs The Bourne Ultimatum and Knocked Up from the Summer Countdown for the ten-spot. I never would have predicted, based on the first two films, that I'd eventually be as stoked for first-day midnight showings of the Harry Potter series as I was for Lord of the Rings, but the last three films are right up there with any other famous trilogies. Can't wait until November.

10. Atonement

After I saw Atonement, I read the Ian McEwan novel (normally something I'd have done first), and to my surprise still preferred the film. It was able to cut very efficiently through a beautiful, but plodding novel, and maintain a tense energy throughout.

It's not really as "Oscar"-ish at it seemed at first glance, which is not necessarily a bad thing. It eschews redundant pining and melodrama for a twist that is both satisfying and heart-wrenching at the same time. In a slower year, I wouldn't have hesitated so much to put it into my Best Picture nominees.

9. Zodiac

As I am now reminded, January through March is not the best time to go to the movies (unless you're Dave, who's seeing Cloverfield this weekend and Rambo(?) next weekend, he tells me. I felt like I had to share this with you). This is the only representative from the Mid-winter and Spring months of 2007 on this whole list- The Namesake, Reign Over Me, Hot Fuzz, and The Host are all in the twenties for sure, but still.

Robert Downey, Jr. steals the show in David Fincher's moody, atmospheric procedural not-quite-a-thriller about the unsolved Zodiac killings in San Francisco. Jake Gyllenhaal does a workmanlike job as a cartoonist obsessed with the case, but never really solidifies this picture into an awards contender. Between this and what I hear is a bland turn in Rendition (I didn't see it), we're still waiting for you to capitalize on the potential you showed in Donnie Darko, Jake.

8. Rescue Dawn

Christian Bale eats live worms. For real.

7. Michael Clayton

A heart-pounding, throwback thriller that has stuck in my memory so well I might go see it again once they re-expand it next weekend (so far, the Clayton and No Country teams are positive enough about multiple Oscars noms that they've planned the Awards rerun expansions already. If Into the Wild makes it into the final five, they'll probably re-up that as well).

6. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

True story: right before I went to see this with Nicole, we had lunch at Boston Market and I ordered a chicken pot pie. Yeah.

5. Away From Her

Bought it on DVD, and it still holds up. Further information (from my parents, who watched it on my fervent recommendation) has revealed to me that the K. D. Lang song that plays over the credits is a classic Neil Young song.

So maybe they chose it to appeal to the presumably older than I am target audience of this Alzheimer's centered drama. So what- the Ray LaMontagne song from the trailer is still a better fit, I way.

4. There Will Be Blood

Basically the shortest three hours I spent in a movie theater this year. Between the score, the visuals, and the utterly ridiculous badassness of Daniel Day-Lewis, an instant buy on DVD. And it's a shoe-in for a Best Picture nomination on Tuesday, to boot.

3. Once

I know, I know, this was runner up to Away From Her on my list four months ago. What can I say? I'm not paid enough for this to not change my mind about things. Watching it on DVD, I realized what an efficient, brilliant film it turned out to be for the budget.

And they say nothing elevates a film like the right soundtrack, but this is really a case of a brilliant soundtrack elevating a bootstraps indie film to an instant classic. It's a shame that only two songs ("Falling Slowly" and "If You Want Me") are eligible for the Best Original Song Oscar, and that's the only place that Once has a shot at showing up in.

2. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

(See review)

1. No Country For Old Men

Sure, pick the most lauded film of the year, Duncan. Way to go out on a limb. What can I say? You can't argue with two Coen brothers, a Pulitzer-winning author, two badasses and a complete psychopath.


Most Overrated film of the year:

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

When I caught up with this one, I remembered vaguely the premise and that it got outstanding reviews. And while the execution is there, and the cast is more than able (Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Marisa Tomei's breasts, Ethan Hawke, and Albert Finney), it's just a miserable film about misery for the sake of misery. Much like the similarly lauded but god-awful House of Sand and Fog, I can just never get behind sad people with bad luck doing horrible things to each other.

Plus, 83-year old Sidney Lumet decides to fracture the timeline of this film with completely jarring and useless Tarantino cuts, which recur until you just start wishing for the thing to end. Maybe the critics were just so proud of him for managing to shoot a whole film without soiling himself that they gave him a free pass.

Best Guilty Pleasure: Across the Universe

Who doesn't like a good sing along? I have no intention of buying Julie Taymour's cheesy, goofball Beatles collage movie (maybe as a gift), but I did pick up the soundtrack to blast in my car.

It's been such a strong year for musicals/music-related pictures I thought the Academy might dust off the "Best Musical" category and nominate Across the Universe, Once, La Vie En Rose, Hairspray, and Sweeney Todd.

Omissions:

I never had the effort to see Into the Wild (which would be an inspiring yarn of natural connection and individualism if (spoiler) its protagonist didn't starve to death in an abandoned van in Alaska(end spoiler)). And that's the only film in the running for Best Pic I haven't made it to, except for Diving Bell as I mentioned. I could really care less about The Great Debaters (I was on the Chess Team in high school. The Debate Team was a bunch of nerds) or The Bucket List. I didn't ever really feel the need to see La Vie En Rose or A Mighty Heart, because I'm not into French music or bad French accents. And there was too big a part of my mind that thought Lars and the Real Girl sounded too much like a National Lampoon's movie (the crappy ones, with Paris Hilton in them for five minutes) to take seriously.

Otherwise I saw just about everything, which is way too many for someone who doesn't get paid to.

The Pre-Fall Oscars

Or, the movies and roles that the academy better damn well not forget about. Every year there are numerous Oscar season previews: The Onion A.V. Club just came up with a good one, but I haven't seen any of those movies, and I couldn't speculate on their chances.

Instead, I decided to come up with the major nominations I'd submit if the awards were on September first. What are the best movies and performances released before "awards season"?

Best Supporting Actress

Olympia Dukakis, Away From Her
Laura Morante, Moliere
Michelle Pfeiffer, Hairspray
Adrienne Shelley, Waitress
Maggie Smith, Becoming Jane

I'll admit that this category was pretty thin- I haven't even seen Hairspray, but I hear that Pfeiffer's getting some buzz. Maggie Smith puts in a similar bitchy turn in a different context, but I gave her the lifetime achievement nod, really. Adrienne Shelley's tragic death proabably still won't push her film to any more prestigious nominations, as it's just too cute in the end, but I decided she deserve's some respect for playing a wallflower friend in her last directorial effort. Olympia Dukakis has an Oscar already, and really brings a much needed cynicism to a moving film. But it's Laura Morante for the win, as she really keeps the Moliere biopic from becoming a farce.

Best Supporting Actor

Robert De Niro, Stardust
Robert Downey Jr., Zodiac
James McAvoy, Becoming Jane
Gary Oldman, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Seve Zahn, Rescue Dawn


Robert De Niro plays a wopsy, cross-dressing, flying pirate: enough said. Downey Jr. makes you wish all of Zodiac had followed him instead of Jake Gyllenhaal's cartooonist. Gary Oldman is the best part of a series that's growing in acting gravitas in leaps and bounds, and James McAvoy continues breaking hearts with aplomb. But for my money, Steve Zahn is the one guy that should be among the five nominees in February, no matter what else comes out- he's pure desperation as the less willful friend of a prison-of-war camp escapee.

Best Actress

Julie Christie, Away From Her
Marion Cotillard, La Vie En Rose
Anne Hathway, Becoming Jane
Angelina Jolie, A Mighty Heart
Keri Russell, Waitress

So it's been a slow year for leading actress as well- I had to include Cotillard and Jolie as likely candidates, even though I haven't seen the films in question. Keri Russell finally sheds the WB Network classification in Waitress, and Anne Hathaway is pretty solid in yet another author biopic. But if you've been reading this blog through its short history, you had to know I'm already giving this Oscar to Julie Christie in Away From Her.

Best Actor

Christian Bale, Rescue Dawn
Romain Duris, Moliere
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, The Lookout
Gordon Pinsent, Away From Her
Adam Sandler, Reign Over Me

Yeah, that's right: Adam Sandler- I still have no idea why that film was puched back from last December (to qualify for the most recent Oscars) to March. It turns out he can act, when we wants to apparently. Duris is more grandiose as the famed satirist than I would have expected, given his deer in headlights previous roles in movies like L'Auberge Espagnole. Gordon-Levitt continues his evolution into the relative Pacino to Ryan Gosling's De Niro. But it all comes down to a tough call between my man Christian Bale, and Gordon Pinsent in my favorite film of the year. I'm tempted to say Pinsent just for his awesome voice, but I say this should be Bale's year when all is said and done. By a hair.

Best Picture

Away From Her
Once
Reign Over Me
Rescue Dawn
Zodiac

Yeah, I can't really see a low-budget, under the radar film like Once being nominated, either. But it's honestly as good as anything else I saw this year so far.

As for what I pick to win, do you really need to ask? Did you know it recently won big at the Director's Guild of Canada Awards? That's a homer pick, but still. Also, did you know it came out on DVD on September 11th? You should buy it. Seriously, you should probably start heading to the store right now.

Summer Movie Recap, Part III (8-1)

Part I / Part II / Part III

The best eight films I saw this summer, and the only ones I will probably buy. (maybe Superbad, too, just 'cause).

The "I Ate How Much Popcorn?" All-Stars (an Eddie Izzard reference)

8. Ratatouille (imdb) (official site)

This is probably a good time to mention that I'm an amateur standup comedian. When Pixar offended my entire way of life by promoting the continued existence of Larry the Cable Guy with Cars, I wasn't sure if I could ever forgive them for paying actual money to the racist, hackish, example of everything wrong with the comedy world today.

But then, in their very next film, they cast the hilarious, shining beacon of everything good in standup, Patton Oswalt, as a talking rat. How could I not support this? Plus, it's honestly my favorite CGI film to date.


7. Stardust (imdb) (off.)

If you knew how much I love everything that Neil Gaiman has ever touched, you wouldn't believe I could rank this only at number seven. My girlfriend would personally attest that each time I reread Sandman, American Gods, or Stardust, I'm probably a hair's breath away from driving the eight hours to Menomonee, Wisconsin (who would've guessed?), finding his house, and then camping outside until he agreed to sign my forehead with a Sharpie so I could get it tattooed over.

But alas, while I loved Matthew Vaughan's adaptation of Neil's (Yeah, I call him Neil as if I knew him personally. What of it?) illustrated novel, it could've been a little less Pirates of the Carribean inspired in its rush to a climatic, showy battle.

But I'll probably still be camping outside of Best Buy the night before this comes out on DVD. Does that make any sense?

6. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (imdb) (off.)

Speaking of obsessions, while I know quite a few people who camp out for various Harry Potter related things, I would say I stay more at the level of "dedicated fan" than "fanatic" for the Harry Potter series.

But I did wait in line for a midnight showing of the newest film, and it was my favorite one so far. I could probably go on about why this is the only film I like better than its novular counterpart, but instead I will leave you with two words: Gary Oldman.

5. The Bourne Ultimatum (imdb) (off.)

Everyone is rightfully anointing this film as the champion of all the threequels out this summer (Spidey 3, Pirates 3, Ocean's 13, Rush Hour 3), but really we could've all predicted it before the season even began. Spiderman had nowhere to go but down after the universally approved second film, and The Bourne Supremacy was the only one of the second installments of those trilogies met with acclaim and not subject to tiresome overexposure.

The Single Handedly Saving The Romantic Comedy Jury Prize

4. Knocked Up (imdb) (off.)

So I'm running out of creative titles. But seriously, by building on the shoulder's of The 40-Year-Old Virgin, this comedy definitely breathed new life into funny movies as a whole.

Whether Hollywood immediately carries this trend way too far, however, is still up in the air. The Apatow-written Walk Hard Johnny Cash parody seems like an early warning sign.

The Contenders

3. Rescue Dawn (imdb) (off.)

Starring Christian Bale, the Greatest Actor of His Generation. Every single thing he's done in the last five years (post-Equilibrium, that is) has been incredible, so much so in fact, that I may be on the verge of finally renting Harsh Times even though Eva Longoria makes me vomit a little inside my mouth.

A quiet, nuanced tale of survival, like a much more badass Adrien Brody in The Pianist, Bale puts in his name for a long overdue Oscar nomination. He might have some competition from himself, as we'll see later in my 3:10 to Yuma thoughts.

2. Once (imdb) (off.)

The music of this film really speaks for itself.

Seriously. It's 110 and 3 on Rotten Tomatoes. Go see it.

Right now.

And finally....

The Winner

1. Away From Her (imdb) (off.)

This is a surprise to me as well. I remember, long ago, reading that Sarah Polley was going to direct a film and thinking, "Huh. Good for her."

Then I was blown away by the perfect use of Ray LaMontagne's "Be Here Now" in this mesmerizing trailer. So I was officially excited about the film, now, against all odds. I wouldn't have expected a film about the elderly dealing with Alzheimer's disease to be my favorite film of the summer.

Ironically, the film is a beautiful, dreamy Canadian snow-scape, released in early May. But it's an amazing film. Julie Christie is perfect as a woman dealing with the loss of herself, and Gordon Pinsent is a heartbreaking vision of reluctant acceptance as her husband.

If those two don't have Academy Award nominations locked, and until I see this fall's contender's I say wins as well, I will be even more upset than the whole Crash debacle two years ago.

My only complaint here is that "Be Here Now" is not even in the film itself, or during the credits. Instead they use some awful K. D. Lang song where the refrain is her singing "helpless, helpless" over and over. Other than LaMontagne's song being way better, I think the implicit theme of savoring the time left to you ("Be Here Now") is much more in tune with the film than helplessness.

But seriously, everything else is perfect. Find this on DVD, Netflix, anything. You won't regret it.