Although I still count “Children of Men” and “Little Children” as probably the two best movies I’ve seen in the last two and a half years, I believe 2007 did provide for more movies of very good quality than 2006 did. Here’s the list of the movies I’ve seen that were released in 2007, from first to worst. From the womb to the tomb.
First, a few words about my number one movie. I love Pixar movies. I love the computer animated worlds they’ve created, and they’re not even remotely comparable to their other studio counterparts. I’ve always thought of “Monsters, Inc.” as my favorite Pixar film. Whenever a new one comes out, my friends and I attempt to rank it in the pantheon of all other Pixar films, and of course it’s always an excrutiating process. When Brad Bird first came on to write and direct “The Incredibles” for the studio, I had a lot of fear. I knew that he had directed a lot of “Simpsons” episodes, and I had seen “The Iron Giant,” but remember very little of it. It was his writing ability that really frightened me. I had no idea about it. I thought all Pixar movies should be developed by the talent they had in-house. Bird obviously proved my fears as irrelevant. When I heard he had to take over as the director for “Ratatouille,” I feared again, but for how much time Bird would actually have to shape the film for his sensibilities. My fear was unwarranted again, and now I can probably say “Ratatouille” is my favorite Pixar film (yes, i have seen “Wall-E” as of this posting). In school, I once heard a future friend describe “Amelie” as “a perfect movie.” Although I can’t say I agree (although I like that film a lot, and in continues to curry my favor with each successive viewing), I believe that “Rataouille” is pretty close to perfect. To keep my raving brief. I think the places the camera takes you is astounding. I love the placement and choice of the music. The moment when the critic Anton Ego tastes the ratatouille dish made for him, made my jaw drop. An incredible moment. All of this raving is a long-winded to tell you why “Ratatouille” is at the top of my list for 2007.
Ratatouille
There Will Be Blood
Knocked Up
Zodiac
Juno
Grindhouse
Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, The
Michael Clayton
Lars and the Real Girl
Bourne Ultimatum, The
Superbad
Sicko
Gone Baby Gone
No Country for Old Men
Pan’s Labyrinth
Black Snake Moan
Hot Fuzz
Orphanage, The
3:10 to Yuma
Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead
Lookout, The
[Rec]
Disturbia
Eastern Promises
Ocean’s Thirteen
Enchanted
Transformers
Charlie Wilson’s War
Lives of Others, The
Kingdom, The
Simpsons Movie, The
King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters
Waitress
Across the Universe
Beowulf
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Mist, The
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Fracture
Savages, The
Freedom Writers
What Would Jesus Buy?
Breach
Into the Wild
La Vie En Rose
Host, The
Cassandra’s Dream
American Gangster
Persepolis
In the Valley of Elah
Once
Darjeeling Limited, The
Bucket List, The
I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With
300
1408
Spider-Man 3
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story
Sunshine
Smokin’ Aces
Bug
Joshua
30 Days of Night
Saw IV
Revolver
Hostel: Part II
I Am Legend
Vacancy
National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets
Dead Silence
TMNT
Wild Hogs
Hitman
Evan Almighty
Ghost Rider
License to Wed
Next
A few words about “Next” to help explain my feeling toward the film: Life-losing, hour-hogging, minute-marauding and second-stealing. Outright time-theft. “It’s all a dream” is the worst narrative invention ever created. There are at least two Brian De Palma movies employing thise same device (that I know of) and it doesn’t just depress me that I sat through a bad movie, it upsets me. It’s not a passive reaction. It’s an active reaction of downright RAGE! “License to Wed” is horrible, but “Next” is anger-inducing. That’s why it’s at the bottom of my list.
