Movies: The best and worst of 2007

The Best of 2007:
10. Superbad/Knocked Up: Both of these movies were ballsy and a little bit insane, which is what made them so funny. Both of them also left my stomach hurting from laughing so hard.... especially Superbad. It's nice to see movies with people I could actually know in them, and it's nice to hear dialogue that makes you feel like you could be hanging out with the characters.
9. Breach: Wow, Ryan Phillipe is still hot and can still act. And this is a totally cool true story/spy movie. Plus, this movie proves you don't have to rely on scare tactics to make a thrilling film.
8. Waitress: Touching and meaningful, this under-the-radar movie is worth your time. Plus, you get to watch some pretty tasty pies get made. And you get to see Andy Griffith in fantastic role. It's sweet on several different levels.
7. American Gangster/The Lives of Others: Gangster may be Washington's best performance ever and the film is one of the most stylish of the year. And Lives is a seductive and disturbing German movie worth watching (even if you hate subtitles).
6. Charlie Wilson's War: This is a super fun story (and true!) featuring an all-star cast that gives some great performances. Bonus: This film proves not all war movies have to be totally depressing and proves that history isn't always boring.
5. Zodiac: With a very talented and established director, and with a cast that really shines... this film was a great "true life" story. I know it's long, but it's worth it... I promise.
4. Sicko: I'm glad someone else is paying attention to what I've been complaining about for what seems like forever. Whatever your political prejudices or views on Mr. Moore.... just watch this movie. It's funny and clever, and makes you actually think (gasp!).
3. Eastern Promises: Viggo + tattoos + a dead-on Russian accent = fantastic. This second pairing of Cronenberg and Viggo proves itself as a sexy and dark look at self identity.
2. Juno: Even crappy hipster music can't spoil this one. It's fantastic. And Michael Cera is super dreamy. Read my review to know just how much I love this film.
1. Sweeney Todd: practically perfect. I'm just going to quote Peter Travers for this one: "Just for the record, Tim Burton's translation of Stephen Sondheim's blood opera about the demon barber of Fleet Street is a striking achievement in every way, particularly for the tour de force of Johnny Depp, who acts and sings his way into the black heart of the title character." Read my review for more.

I try not to see movies I know are horrible, so the worst list is going to be much shorter...

The Worst Movies of 2007:
5. Premonition: I'm not sure what the lovely Sandra or Julian were thinking when they did this movie... but I really just want to forget it.
4. Walk Hard: Really? Is this what Hollywood is resorting to? Old jokes and absurd material made me roll my eyes and sigh more than laugh. No thanks.
3. 300: The only redeeming quality of this CGI mess was how pretty it was. The acting was ridiculously horrible. When is Hollywood going to learn how to make REAL movies with REAL people and things in them again? CGI today looks worse than "special effects" did in the '60s.
2. Transformers: Michael Bay + CGI = pile of crap. I forgive you Shia LeBeouf... I know you probably thought it would be cool to be in a transformers movie. But Mr. Bay might be the worst filmmaker in Hollywood. There's a reason that Peter Travers has an award called "The Michael Bay Award for Worst Soul-Sucking, Dumb-Ass Bottom Feeder." It's because he sucks... a lot.
1. ANYTHING WITH JESSICA ALBA IN IT: Seriously, this girl ruins a lot of movies annually. She's cute... I get it... but that doesn't mean she should get paid A LOT of money to mess up movies. In this year alone: Good Luck Chuck, The Ten, Awake, Fantastic Four 2 (the first one was on my list a few years ago), and I'm sure there's more. My problem with this little lady is that not only can she not act at all, but she's also a racist fame-whore in real life. Oh, and she's never made a movie where she didn't take her clothes off. I've said it before, and I'll say this again... the only reason people liked her in Sin City was because she was nearly naked and said almost nothing. So until she makes a movie where she's a mute stripper who does nothing other than exploit her body the entire time... she's going to top my worst list. And even if she was in said stripper movie, she would probably top my list... I doubt she could even do that right.


Lastly, this movie is one I originally had on the "worst" list, but I felt bad because the acting should be close to the top of the "best" list. So I'm giving it it's own category... the "I can't figure out if it was one of the worst or one of the best movies I saw last year" list:
1. No Country for Old Men: I was so pissed off the first time I saw this movie. I was mad I wasted $10 and I was mad I didn't spend my time watching something else. My first issue with this movie is that I don't spend my time in fields looking around for half an hour being bored out of my mind... so why would I want to pay to do that? If I want to see land, I'll watch "Planet Earth" because they know how to do scenery right. I'm going to rent the movie to give it another chance though and see if my dislike of the film will improve when I fast forward through those parts. My second issue with this movie is the lack of music. The lack of a soundtrack or score made it feel cheap. It made it feel like they didn't complete the movie. My last issue with the movie is that it was so hyped that when I tell people I don't like it, I feel like I'm going to get beat by the fans. Look, this movie is NOT LIFE CHANGING. If anything, it will just depress you and beat all the remaining optimism out of you.

However, this movie wasn't all bad. In fact, the acting in the film was some of the best I've ever seen. Bardem was a perfect villain... and it was nice to see a real villain in a movie, not a CGI monster thing. Brolin and Jones were absolutely wonderful, and even Harrelson impressed the hell out of me. I would love to see the individual actors win some awards and gain some respect for their roles... but as a whole, this movie just irritated me.

Like I said, I'll give this movie another chance... until then... I'm just undecided.

For the record: I have not seen Atonement, There Will be Blood, Talk to Me, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, I'm Not There, or Before the Devil Knows You're Dead yet, and I'm sure these movies would all have a place or tie for a place on my list. I'll let you know what I think about them when I see them. And I REALLY want to see "Grace is Gone" because of the talk about it being John Cusack's best performance ever. We shall see.