Ten Best Films of 2007
Wow, Precious you see a lot of movies!
I've seen eight 2007 releases so far:
*** ½
1. Private Fears In Public Places (Alain Resnais)
2. Killer Of Sheep (Charles Burnett)
3. Flanders (Bruno Dumont)
4. Away From Here (Sara Polley)
***
5. Whole New Thing (Amnon Buchbinder)
6. 12:08 East Of Bucharest (Corneliu Porumboiu)
** ½
7. Grindhouse (Robert Rodriguez/Quentin Tarantino et al.) [Rodriguez section: 3 stars; Tarantino section 2 stars; Filler Material: 3 ½ stars]
8. Host (Joun-ho Bong)
I've seen eight 2007 releases so far:
*** ½
1. Private Fears In Public Places (Alain Resnais)
2. Killer Of Sheep (Charles Burnett)
3. Flanders (Bruno Dumont)
4. Away From Here (Sara Polley)
***
5. Whole New Thing (Amnon Buchbinder)
6. 12:08 East Of Bucharest (Corneliu Porumboiu)
** ½
7. Grindhouse (Robert Rodriguez/Quentin Tarantino et al.) [Rodriguez section: 3 stars; Tarantino section 2 stars; Filler Material: 3 ½ stars]
8. Host (Joun-ho Bong)
"Y'know, that's one of the things I like about Mitt Romney. He's been consistent since he changed his mind." -- Christine O'Donnell
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Considering we have only recently passed the half way mark I thought I would post an updated list mostly based on U.S. release dates.
****1/2
Private Fears in Public Places (Alain Resnais)
Taxidermia (Gyorgy Palfi)
****
Brand Upon Your Brain (Guy Maddin)
The Host (Bong Jooh-Ho)
KZ (Rex Bloomstein)
The Lives of Others (Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck)
The Lives of the Saints (Rankin & Chris Cottam)
The Mark of Cain (Marc Munden)
Poison Friends (Emmanuel Bourdieu)
Red Road (Andrea Arnold)
Syndromes and a Century (Apichatpong Weerasethkul)
The Witnesses (Andre Techine)
Zodiac (David Fincher)
***1/2
Bamako (Adberrahmane Sissako)
Black Book (Paul Verhoven)
Breach (Billy Ray)
Flanders (Bruno Dumont)
Freedom Writers (Richard LaGravensen)
Ghosts (Nick Broomfield)
Grbavica (Jasmila Zbanic)
Hana (Hirokazu Koreeda)
I Do: Or How to Get Married and Stay Single (Eric Lartigau)
I Don’t Want to Sleep Alone (Tsai Ming-liang)
I Served the King of England (Jiri Menzel)
Knocked Up (Judd Apatow)
Noise (Matthew Saville)
Offside (Jafar Panahi)
Pierrepoint (Adrian Shergold)
Still Life (Zhang Le Jia)
The Walker (Paul Schrader)
Wolfsbergen (Nanouk Leopold)
Zoo (Robinson Devor)
***
All This Tea (Les Blanh & Gina Leibrecht)
Away from Her (Sarah Polley)
Belle Tou Jours (Manoele de Oliveira)
Blades of Glory (Josh Gordon & Will Speck)
A Crude Awakening: The Oil Crash (Basil Gelpke & Ray McCormack)
Manda Bala (Jason Kohn)
Park (Kurt Voelker)
Scott Walker: 30th Century Man (Stephen Kijak)
12:38 East of Bucharest (Cornelieu Porumbaiu)
300 (Zack Snyder)
**1/2
Avenue Montaigne (Daniele Thompson)
Beaufort (Joseph Cedar)
Bridge to Terabithia (Gabor Csupo)
Don’t Touch the Ax (Jacque Rivette)
Hostel 2 (Eli Roth)
Hot Fuzz (Edgar Wright)
Meet the Robinsons (Stephen J Anderson)
My Best Friend (Patrice Leconte)
The Namesake (Mira Nair)
Reign Over Me (Mike Binder)
The Singer (Xavier Giannoli)
Spiderman 3 (Sam Raimi)
Sunshine (Danny Boyle)
The Wind That Shakes the Barley (Ken Loach)
**
Because I Said So (Michael Lehmann)
Becoming Jane (Julian Jarrold)
Hannibal Rising (Peter Webber)
The Italian (Andrei Kravchuk)
Lucky You (Curtis Hanson)
Mr. Beans Holiday (Steve Bendelack)
Music and Lyrics (Marc Lawrence)
Norbit (Brian Robbins)
Priceless (Pierre Salvadori)
Rescue Dawn (Werner Herzog)
Shooter (Antoine Fuqua)
*1/2
Epic Movie (Jason Friedberg & Aaron Seltzer)
Nancy Drew (Andrew Fleming)
Ocean’s 13 (Steven Soderbergh)
Paris, je t’aime (Various)
Shotgun Stories (Jeff Nichols)
Shrek the Third (Chris Miller & Ramon Hui)
*
Bella (Alejandro Gomez Monteverde)
Four Minutes (Chris Kraus)
Georgia Rule (Gary Marshall)
Ghost Rider (Mark Steven Johnson)
Lonely Hearts (Todd Robinson)
Perfect Stranger (James Foley)
The Reaping (Stephen Hopkins)
28 Weeks Later (Juan Carlos Fresnadillo)
½
After the Wedding (Susanne Bier)
Catch and Release (Susannah Grant)
Fantastic Four: The Rise of the Silver Surfer (Tim Story)
The No. 23 (Joel Schumacher)
Pirates of the Caribbean - 3rd Installment (Gore Verbinski)
Smokin’ Aces (Joe Carnahan)
Wild Hogs (Walt Becker)
****1/2
Private Fears in Public Places (Alain Resnais)
Taxidermia (Gyorgy Palfi)
****
Brand Upon Your Brain (Guy Maddin)
The Host (Bong Jooh-Ho)
KZ (Rex Bloomstein)
The Lives of Others (Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck)
The Lives of the Saints (Rankin & Chris Cottam)
The Mark of Cain (Marc Munden)
Poison Friends (Emmanuel Bourdieu)
Red Road (Andrea Arnold)
Syndromes and a Century (Apichatpong Weerasethkul)
The Witnesses (Andre Techine)
Zodiac (David Fincher)
***1/2
Bamako (Adberrahmane Sissako)
Black Book (Paul Verhoven)
Breach (Billy Ray)
Flanders (Bruno Dumont)
Freedom Writers (Richard LaGravensen)
Ghosts (Nick Broomfield)
Grbavica (Jasmila Zbanic)
Hana (Hirokazu Koreeda)
I Do: Or How to Get Married and Stay Single (Eric Lartigau)
I Don’t Want to Sleep Alone (Tsai Ming-liang)
I Served the King of England (Jiri Menzel)
Knocked Up (Judd Apatow)
Noise (Matthew Saville)
Offside (Jafar Panahi)
Pierrepoint (Adrian Shergold)
Still Life (Zhang Le Jia)
The Walker (Paul Schrader)
Wolfsbergen (Nanouk Leopold)
Zoo (Robinson Devor)
***
All This Tea (Les Blanh & Gina Leibrecht)
Away from Her (Sarah Polley)
Belle Tou Jours (Manoele de Oliveira)
Blades of Glory (Josh Gordon & Will Speck)
A Crude Awakening: The Oil Crash (Basil Gelpke & Ray McCormack)
Manda Bala (Jason Kohn)
Park (Kurt Voelker)
Scott Walker: 30th Century Man (Stephen Kijak)
12:38 East of Bucharest (Cornelieu Porumbaiu)
300 (Zack Snyder)
**1/2
Avenue Montaigne (Daniele Thompson)
Beaufort (Joseph Cedar)
Bridge to Terabithia (Gabor Csupo)
Don’t Touch the Ax (Jacque Rivette)
Hostel 2 (Eli Roth)
Hot Fuzz (Edgar Wright)
Meet the Robinsons (Stephen J Anderson)
My Best Friend (Patrice Leconte)
The Namesake (Mira Nair)
Reign Over Me (Mike Binder)
The Singer (Xavier Giannoli)
Spiderman 3 (Sam Raimi)
Sunshine (Danny Boyle)
The Wind That Shakes the Barley (Ken Loach)
**
Because I Said So (Michael Lehmann)
Becoming Jane (Julian Jarrold)
Hannibal Rising (Peter Webber)
The Italian (Andrei Kravchuk)
Lucky You (Curtis Hanson)
Mr. Beans Holiday (Steve Bendelack)
Music and Lyrics (Marc Lawrence)
Norbit (Brian Robbins)
Priceless (Pierre Salvadori)
Rescue Dawn (Werner Herzog)
Shooter (Antoine Fuqua)
*1/2
Epic Movie (Jason Friedberg & Aaron Seltzer)
Nancy Drew (Andrew Fleming)
Ocean’s 13 (Steven Soderbergh)
Paris, je t’aime (Various)
Shotgun Stories (Jeff Nichols)
Shrek the Third (Chris Miller & Ramon Hui)
*
Bella (Alejandro Gomez Monteverde)
Four Minutes (Chris Kraus)
Georgia Rule (Gary Marshall)
Ghost Rider (Mark Steven Johnson)
Lonely Hearts (Todd Robinson)
Perfect Stranger (James Foley)
The Reaping (Stephen Hopkins)
28 Weeks Later (Juan Carlos Fresnadillo)
½
After the Wedding (Susanne Bier)
Catch and Release (Susannah Grant)
Fantastic Four: The Rise of the Silver Surfer (Tim Story)
The No. 23 (Joel Schumacher)
Pirates of the Caribbean - 3rd Installment (Gore Verbinski)
Smokin’ Aces (Joe Carnahan)
Wild Hogs (Walt Becker)
"I want cement covering every blade of grass in this nation! Don't we taxpayers have a voice anymore?" Peggy Gravel (Mink Stole) in John Waters' Desperate Living (1977)
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****
Ratatouille (Brad Bird)
We Own The Night (James Gray)
Gone Baby Gone (Ben Affleck)
Persepolis (Vincent Paronnaud/Marjan Satrapi)
***½
Eastern Promises (David Cronenberg)
Zodiac (David Fincher)
2 Days in Paris (Julie Delpy)
Bug (William Friedkin)
The Simpsons Movie (David Silverman)
***
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (David Yates)
Waitress (Adrienne Shelly)
Superbad (Greg Mottola)
Paris je t'aime (Various)
Enchanted (Kevin Lima)
28 Weeks Later... (Juan Carlos Fresnadillo)
Sunshine (Danny Boyle)
**½
The Golden Compass (Chris Weitz)
The Bourne Ultimatum (Paul Greengrass)
Knocked Up (Judd Apatow)
Spider Man 3 (Sam Raimi)
Music and Lyrics (Marc Lawrence)
**
Transformers (Michael Bay)
Beowulf (Robert Zemeckis)
*½
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (Gore Verbinski)
*
None yet
½
None yet.
Edited By anonymous on 1197194454
Ratatouille (Brad Bird)
We Own The Night (James Gray)
Gone Baby Gone (Ben Affleck)
Persepolis (Vincent Paronnaud/Marjan Satrapi)
***½
Eastern Promises (David Cronenberg)
Zodiac (David Fincher)
2 Days in Paris (Julie Delpy)
Bug (William Friedkin)
The Simpsons Movie (David Silverman)
***
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (David Yates)
Waitress (Adrienne Shelly)
Superbad (Greg Mottola)
Paris je t'aime (Various)
Enchanted (Kevin Lima)
28 Weeks Later... (Juan Carlos Fresnadillo)
Sunshine (Danny Boyle)
**½
The Golden Compass (Chris Weitz)
The Bourne Ultimatum (Paul Greengrass)
Knocked Up (Judd Apatow)
Spider Man 3 (Sam Raimi)
Music and Lyrics (Marc Lawrence)
**
Transformers (Michael Bay)
Beowulf (Robert Zemeckis)
*½
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (Gore Verbinski)
*
None yet
½
None yet.
Edited By anonymous on 1197194454
Haven't seen much this year. Because I listed 'The Lives of Others' on my Top Ten of 2006 over at www.filmmonthly.com, I'll exclude it from 2007 consideration. Much to my surprise, I've a small bevy of films I can wholeheartedly recommend.
****
Nothing.
***1/2
1. The Host (dir. Joon-ho Bong)
2. Zodiac (dir. David Fincher)
3. Knocked Up (dir. Judd Apatow)
4. Ratatouille (dir. Brad Bird)
5. 28 Weeks Later (dir. Juan Carlos Fresnadillo)
6. Rescue Dawn (dir. Werner Herzog)
***
7. Black Snake Moan (dir. Craig Brewer...first hour is close to the most delightfully scuzzy **** I can muster, whereas the rest teeters off the edge as it goes along)
8. Brand Upon the Brain! (dir. Guy Maddin)
9. Grindhouse: The Whole Experience (dir. Robert Rodriguez/Eli Roth/Quentin Tarantino/Edgar Wright/Rob Zombie)
**1/2
10. Smokin' Aces (dir. Joe Carnahan)
11. Once (dir. John Carney)
12. The Lookout (dir. Scott Frank)
13. An Unreasonable Man (dir. Henriette Mantel, Steve Skrovan)
**
14. Spider-Man 3 (dir. Sam Raimi)
Edited By Sabin on 1183227705
****
Nothing.
***1/2
1. The Host (dir. Joon-ho Bong)
2. Zodiac (dir. David Fincher)
3. Knocked Up (dir. Judd Apatow)
4. Ratatouille (dir. Brad Bird)
5. 28 Weeks Later (dir. Juan Carlos Fresnadillo)
6. Rescue Dawn (dir. Werner Herzog)
***
7. Black Snake Moan (dir. Craig Brewer...first hour is close to the most delightfully scuzzy **** I can muster, whereas the rest teeters off the edge as it goes along)
8. Brand Upon the Brain! (dir. Guy Maddin)
9. Grindhouse: The Whole Experience (dir. Robert Rodriguez/Eli Roth/Quentin Tarantino/Edgar Wright/Rob Zombie)
**1/2
10. Smokin' Aces (dir. Joe Carnahan)
11. Once (dir. John Carney)
12. The Lookout (dir. Scott Frank)
13. An Unreasonable Man (dir. Henriette Mantel, Steve Skrovan)
**
14. Spider-Man 3 (dir. Sam Raimi)
Edited By Sabin on 1183227705
"How's the despair?"
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Not a very inspiring year so far....
****
The Lives of the Saints (Rankin & Chris Cottam)
***1/2
Freedom Writers (Richard La Gravenese)
***
300 (Zack Snyder)
**1/2
Hot Fuzz (Edgar Wright)
Meet the Robinsons (Steven J Anderson)
The Namesake (Mira Nair)
Reign Over Me (Mike Binder)
Sunshine (Danny Doyle)
**
Becoming Jane (Julian Jarrold)
Hannibal Rising (Peter Webber)
Mr Bean's Holiday (Steve Bendelack)
Music and Lyrics (Marc Lawrence)
Norbit (Brian Robbins)
Shooter (Antoine Fuqua)
*1/2
Epic Movie (Jason Friedberg & Aaron Seltzer)
*
Ghost Rider (Mark Steven Johnson)
Perfect Stranger (James Foley)
1/2
Smokin' Aces (Joe Carnahan)
Wild Hogs(Walt Becker)
****
The Lives of the Saints (Rankin & Chris Cottam)
***1/2
Freedom Writers (Richard La Gravenese)
***
300 (Zack Snyder)
**1/2
Hot Fuzz (Edgar Wright)
Meet the Robinsons (Steven J Anderson)
The Namesake (Mira Nair)
Reign Over Me (Mike Binder)
Sunshine (Danny Doyle)
**
Becoming Jane (Julian Jarrold)
Hannibal Rising (Peter Webber)
Mr Bean's Holiday (Steve Bendelack)
Music and Lyrics (Marc Lawrence)
Norbit (Brian Robbins)
Shooter (Antoine Fuqua)
*1/2
Epic Movie (Jason Friedberg & Aaron Seltzer)
*
Ghost Rider (Mark Steven Johnson)
Perfect Stranger (James Foley)
1/2
Smokin' Aces (Joe Carnahan)
Wild Hogs(Walt Becker)
"I want cement covering every blade of grass in this nation! Don't we taxpayers have a voice anymore?" Peggy Gravel (Mink Stole) in John Waters' Desperate Living (1977)
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1. Grindhouse (d. Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino) ***
2. Breach (d. Billy Ray) ***
3. Wild Hogs (d. Walt Becker) **
2. Breach (d. Billy Ray) ***
3. Wild Hogs (d. Walt Becker) **
"Young men make wars and the virtues of war are the virtues of young men: courage and hope for the future. Then old men make the peace, and the vices of peace are the vices of old men: mistrust and caution." -- Alec Guinness (Lawrence of Arabia)
Finally got around to my first 2007 release; I was shocked, shocked, I tell you, that the slimy villain was the same guy who played the upper-crust brother-in-law in Match Point.
1. The Lookout -- ***
1. The Lookout -- ***
"...it is the weak who are cruel, and...gentleness is only to be expected from the strong." - Leo Reston
"Cruelty might be very human, and it might be cultural, but it's not acceptable." - Jodie Foster
"Cruelty might be very human, and it might be cultural, but it's not acceptable." - Jodie Foster
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Yes, that door-way scene with the cop was absolutely brilliant. Even better than the scene in The Lake House where Bullock looked at the drawing of the house and was being told that her leading man had passed away.
I think the critics just hated the ending of Premonition (to a certain extent, I do too) so that's why they're slamming it more than the film deserves. But then again, if the ending becomes the reverse of the original, they would still slam it and say, "Oh, it's such a typical Hollywood ending. Don't go see it!". IMO, The Forgotten's ending was even worse.
Truth is, for genre films such as Premonition, don't pay attention to the critics. Pay attention to your own taste in movies would be a wiser move.
And I'm not saying all these because Bullock is the lead star of Premonition. If Kate Beckinsale (I love her!) or Keira Knightley (I hate her!) had been in the lead role, I would still be quite dissatisfied with the ending AND think that the critics are being unfairly harsh towards the film.
I think the critics just hated the ending of Premonition (to a certain extent, I do too) so that's why they're slamming it more than the film deserves. But then again, if the ending becomes the reverse of the original, they would still slam it and say, "Oh, it's such a typical Hollywood ending. Don't go see it!". IMO, The Forgotten's ending was even worse.
Truth is, for genre films such as Premonition, don't pay attention to the critics. Pay attention to your own taste in movies would be a wiser move.
And I'm not saying all these because Bullock is the lead star of Premonition. If Kate Beckinsale (I love her!) or Keira Knightley (I hate her!) had been in the lead role, I would still be quite dissatisfied with the ending AND think that the critics are being unfairly harsh towards the film.
With a Southern accent...
"Don't you dare lie to me!" and...
"You threaten my congeniality, you threaten me!"
-------
"You shouldn't be doing what you're doing. The truth is enough!"
"Are you and Perry?" ... "Please, Nelle."
"Don't you dare lie to me!" and...
"You threaten my congeniality, you threaten me!"
-------
"You shouldn't be doing what you're doing. The truth is enough!"
"Are you and Perry?" ... "Please, Nelle."
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I know this is going to surprise people, but I actually liked Premonition. Outside of two fundamental issues (one the big plot hole revolving around a commitment) and the wholly unncessary religious slant, the film was enjoyable mentally. It was a fun exercise in trying to find where they might go wrong temporally but they managed to keep all the events, foreshadowing and other aspects of the script clean.
The director also knew when to give Bullock her money shot. While she was inconsistent towards the end, her early door-way scene with the cop was brilliant. The camera never left her face and allowed her to really put her character's emotions out there.
The director also knew when to give Bullock her money shot. While she was inconsistent towards the end, her early door-way scene with the cop was brilliant. The camera never left her face and allowed her to really put her character's emotions out there.
Wesley Lovell
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"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both." - Benjamin Franklin
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The brisk start to be followed by the brisker fugue.
***
trailers from Grindhouse (Robert Rodriguez/Rob Zombie/Edgar Wright/Eli Roth)
Black Book (Paul Verhoeven)
**½
Black Snake Moan (Craig Brewer)
**
main features from Grindhouse (Robert Rodriguez/Quentin Tarantino)
Day Night Day Night (Julia Loktev)
The Host (Joon-ho Bong)
*½
First Snow (Mark Fergus)
Jack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis (Mary Jordan)
Padre Nuestro (Christopher Zalla)
Congorama (Philippe Falardeau)
½
300 (Zach Snyder)
Rome Rather Than You (Tariq Teguia)
***
trailers from Grindhouse (Robert Rodriguez/Rob Zombie/Edgar Wright/Eli Roth)
Black Book (Paul Verhoeven)
**½
Black Snake Moan (Craig Brewer)
**
main features from Grindhouse (Robert Rodriguez/Quentin Tarantino)
Day Night Day Night (Julia Loktev)
The Host (Joon-ho Bong)
*½
First Snow (Mark Fergus)
Jack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis (Mary Jordan)
Padre Nuestro (Christopher Zalla)
Congorama (Philippe Falardeau)
½
300 (Zach Snyder)
Rome Rather Than You (Tariq Teguia)
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