2007 part two

Shit, My Number four film of 2007 is Sunshine. I just went back and added it. Don’t know how I forgot it.

There Will Be Blood: The greatest film of the decade. No doubt about it. It will be looked back upon as an American classic in years to come. A brilliant, colossal film featuring perhaps the finest performance I’ve ever seen by an actor from Mr. Day-Lewis. I love this movie and re-watch it often. The first time I saw it, I didn’t really say anything about it for like a week. Then one day I just went up to my brother (who saw it with me and also hadn’t spoken much of it) and told him that the film as a masterpiece. He agreed. We both hadn’t stopped thinking of it.
The finale is so bizarre and wild that you are kind of stunned after you first see it. I love the finale. I don’t know if we’ll ever get another movie like this one.

No Country for Old Men: I agree; this is the Coen’s finest achievement indeed. Instantly I knew it after I saw it. I was stunned by it. It still stuns me. Perfectly executed. I don’t have a single gripe with it only intense admiration and earnest devotion. This might be my third or fourth best of the decade behind TWBB and Synecdoche (The New World is in that mix too).

Zodiac: A meticulous film, absolutely. It’s what draws you in and makes you as interested as the characters. What an exciting movie. Thoroughly fascinating. I love it more every time I see it too. I think it’s Fincher’s best. The murder scenes with the actual Zodiac are some of the most unsettling ever committed to film. I think it will grow more in stature too. It should stand along side All the President’s Men as among the most exciting investigation films ever made.

Sunshine: An awesome movie. One of my favorite Sci-Fi films of the decade. I love the build up and even don’t mind the ending. I was with it the whole time and dug the hell out of it. Brandon, my enjoyment of it was probably aided by Todd, Graham and Jesse also loving it to death too. We had a blast watching it.

Ratatouille: Pixar’s finest. Agreed. Beautiful movie.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly: Beautiful to look at, but it’s emotional grip got a hold of me and I thought it was beautiful all around. I thought it would be shallow when I first heard about it, but then I was absolutely in love with it after I saw it for the first time. I’ve seen it a few times since and it always gets to me. I can understand not being caught up in it though. We all have different reactions to things.

Eastern Promises: Yeah man. Cronenberg has silently gone about his business this last decade and established himself as a force to be reckoned with. What an incredible film with lots of grit and awesome performances. I haven’t watched it in a while, but I would love to see it again.

4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days: Another gritty one. It is a thriller film, and it’s expertly handed. Mysterious without being exploitative and beautifully shot with some excruciating long takes. You’re right, Brandon, though I won’t even try to imagine what pro-lifers think of anything.

Knocked Up: Apatow put it best when he said that if she had gotten an abortion there would have been no movie. So there’s that. Nothing else behind it. This is one of my favorite comedies of the decade. Hilarious and very well done. I connected with it a little more than Superbad (though I think that is also great and it could have easily made the list). I think because I love Paul Rudd and find everything he says to be hysterical.

The Savages: I LOVE Laura Linney. Know that about me before judging this pick. I think she’s the best actress around. She’s amazing as always in this film. Then add Phil Hoffman and you’ve got two wonderful actors going at it. It’s on the list because of them alone. I didn’t find it smug though. I was too busy being in awe of two of my favorite actors being together on screen.

Brandon, thanks for your responses my man. We actually agreed quite a bit about the great 2007. I haven’t seen Offside, but if you have it higher then TWBB, I need to see it. Great picks though.

I did not like Death Proof that much. Actually I loved the opening and then found the second half to drag, but thought the ending was great and inspired. I remember thinking that the dialogue wasn’t up to Tarantino’s usual standards and being kind of annoyed. But I saw it in theaters during the awesome Grindhouse double feature with Planet Terror, and maybe my patience was running thin by the time the second half of the movie kicked in. I think Death Proof would have benefited from opening that double feature because it requires more patience than Planet Terror, which is just hilarious and energized. But, still, watching both of those movies in a theater with the fake trailers is one of my favorite movie going experiences. A lot of fun.

The Assassination of Jesse James was close to making my list. It would be first honorable mention with Superbad. I only saw it once though and fell asleep at the tail end because I watched it really late with a friend. Then I had to watch the rest the next day and breaking up a film always steals from its power. A beautiful film though.

I didn’t see Hot Fuzz. Probably should have.

I fucking HATE I’m Not There. I’m an enormous Dylan fan. I’ve read all about him and have seen most of the films about him. This one just annoyed the hell out of me. I stopped watching it after 45 minutes. I couldn’t stand it. I re-watched No Direction Home instead and listened to Blonde on Blonde on vinyl. I’d rather have the real Dylan then some ridiculously stupid bastardization of his life. This and Across the Universe are two films about my favorite musicians that I wish didn’t exist and actively hate. Glad you hate this one too, Brandon. It’s garbage.

I didn’t see Southland Tales because I heard it was shit. It looked awful. It sounded awful. By all accounts, it was god awful. Not interested.