Favorite movies of 2007

As most of you probably know I’m not a professional film critic, but I like to pretend to be. Below are some of my favorite movies of 2007 in no particular order. Some of the reviews are old and some are new, but I implore you to check them all out!!


Ratatouille
Ratatouille was the perfect blend of cartoon slapstick and animation prowess. I didn’t think I’d like the story that much, but it actually coalesces seamlessly by the end into a tale of social tolerance and acceptance of the old with the new—a Pixar staple. Of course, having a coworker tell me that I reminded her of the goofy, yet lovable protagonist didn’t hurt my perception of the film either. I think what really got me though was the utter savoir faire (that’s French) of the animators who really were able to catch the subtle nuances of character humor. This is something that Pixar has always excelled at, and this movie should be held as a standard for future animator rats in training. ;)

Once
Check out this movie trailer for the movie Once! I saw this at Sundance and completely loved it. I also met the actors and director after the screening of the film, which was a pleasant surprise. The most amazing thing about this movie was that the "actors" are actually musicians, but they completely pull it off. I heard them later perform in concert--they're really good! It looks like Fox Searchlight picked up the film, which might be a good omen since Napolean Dynamite was picked up from that movie studio after it premiered at Sundance. Most movies shown at Sundance are hardly ever distributed to the mainstream movie-going public, but this movie must have struck a nerve with the few who saw it--it won the Audience Award. Check out their myspace page and listen to the song "Falling Slowly."

The Bourne Ultimatum
The Bourne Ultimatum was the only threequel this year that bucked the trend of mediocrity (see Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, Ocean’s 13, Shrek 3, and Spider-Man 3). Our favorite amnesiatic hero came back once again to show the world that action films don’t have to be brainless, but can be smart, thought-provoking, and character-driven. Plus it lead to Matt Damon finally making it onto Jimmy Kimmel, well kind of:
Damon freaks out on Kimmel
Blown off
Yason Bourne Identity

Enchanted
Enchanted may work on a lot of levels, but I think its success is mainly due to Disney’s self-parody of the princess genre that it created. Here’s a ‘for instance:’ While watching the opening 2D-animated sequence from Enchanted—that ripped storylines from Snow White, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty—I felt that it wasn’t meant to be an homage to these movies, but rather a spoof. The audience understood this and they all laughed. In other words, Disney wasn’t presenting to the masses a classic, traditional princess archetype replete with brilliant music and color, but a mimicked replica of those old films with its tongue planted very firmly in its cheek, as if to say, “we know these types of movies don’t work anymore either,” wink, wink. More.

Rescue Dawn
Rescue Dawn proved once again that Christian Bale is one of the hardest working and most eclectic actors in Hollywood right now. Only a few actors can successfully swing between indie fare and blockbuster bombast and still keep their street cred. (One of these days the guys gonna earn an Oscar, but it doesn’t look like it’ll happen this year.) Check out this movie if you enjoy human suffering and survival taken to its very extremities with focused execution. Also, Steve Zahn’s performance is one of the more heartbreaking this year. Good movie, I didn’t fancy the ending though.

Steve Zahn and Christian Bale

Hairspray
I did go see

Hairspray this weekend, however, and as far as musicals are concerned; it’s not that bad. I would even go so far to say that I enjoyed it. (Of course, I’ve got a fever and the only prescription is more Christopher Walken!) Apparently, this musical has struck a chord (cringe) with the American public as it had the ‘the biggest opening on record for a musical.’

3:10 to Yuma
3:10 to Yuma is the archetypical western where honor, revenge, and bravado all corral together to produce one of the best westerns since Unforgiven. The storytelling is tight, the action intense, and the acting is top-notch. However, I will admit that I have a soft spot in my heart for old westerns, so I’m a little biased. And what’s with Luke Wilson cameoing in like, uh, everything.

Bridge to Terabithia
Bridge to Terabithia moved me unlike any other movie this year. I saw it with my eight year-old nephew and we were both blown away by the important dramatic intensity toward the end of the film. Sure, it’s a kids film, but some of the film’s themes are very real and should be talked about afterward with the youngins. I’m also partial toward Zooey Deschanel. One more thing, the marketing for this film was entirely wrong, trying to make it look like The Chronicles of Narnia, which it definitely wasn’t; it was better.

Live Free of Die Hard
Live Free or Die Hard: I had low expectations, but came away pleasantly surprised and would like to declare that it’s the perfect summer movie. It's loud, crazy, and has amazing special effects—just like the other aforementioned films—but the major difference is the utter enjoyment of witnessing the perfect infusion of character banter, thin, yet understandable plot, and absurd action sequences complemented by seamless CGI. In other words, it leaves the audience satisfied with a lack of suck.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix answers the age-old question of whether the fifth movie in a series can keep up the momentum of the last four. Of course, there haven’t been a lot of examples of fifth movies, but let's reminisce shall we? Superman Returns was actually the fifth movie as was Batman Begins. But these franchises have completely reinvented themselves over a longer period of time, so I don’t know if they count. So I’ll just say that my answer will be yes; it keeps up the momentum. There are very few movie franchises that have been able to capture the magic from the originals, while still putting out a good yarn—except for maybe Police Acadmy 5: Assignment: Miami Beach (what a hoot).

I would go as far to say, in fact, that HP5 might be the best in the series, and here’s why: character development. The other movies are clearly kiddie fair with bumbly special effects and cartoonish humor. Phoenix, on the other hand, like the books, goes deeper and darker into the inner-reaches of Harry’s mind—this is the epic adventure. True we don’t get all the action of the last four, but we get to understand what it’s like to be Harry and we begin to feel his pain and the burden that he bares. This ultimately culminates into the best wizardry battle that we’ve yet to see on screen—and trust me, it’s worth the wait. My only real complaint about the movie is the fact that from the longest book they made the shortest movie. There weren’t major plot points that they left out, but I would’ve liked a little more exposition and more Sirius Black.

Amazing Grace
Amazing Grace was an important film this year. I saw it with my mother and it was quite good. It was a tad predictable seeing that I knew that eventually they'd abolish the slave trade, but watching the main characters go through the transformation of applying increasingly bad make up and losing their powdered wigs over time was quite riveting ; ) I really liked the girl in it though. I think she was in a movie called Nicholas Nickleby--which I love.

Films that I have yet to see, but think I will like:

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly – This one is getting plenty of Oscar buzz and is very surreal.

Juno - This movie is being promoted as a dramedy. The subject matter is somewhat unfortunate, but it’s got a great cast that includes Michael Cera and Jason Bateman – both from Arrested Development.

The Great Debators