Coen Brothers, Zodiac get High Marks from the Staff

If you’re even anything close to a regular reader here at Moviefreak.com, then you already know what I thought of film in 2007. It was, in a word, magnificent, and when history takes the time to look back upon it I think it will agree this one was one of the best ever on record.

But what did the rest of our staff thin? For the most part, everyone’s list reflected many of the usual suspects you keep hearing about whenever the subject of awards and nominations comes up. But there were some surprises, too, some of them which even made me sit back in my seat and do a double-take. (The Golden Compass, Dylan? Really? And what was the big deal with Superbad? I mean, it was funny and all but top ten material? Goodness gracious, guys, but come on now.)

In all seriousness, what these lists reflect is just how diverse and exceptional the films of 2007 really were. The pictures here run the genre gamut from Action (The Bourne Ultimatum), to Drama (Atonement), to Western (3:10 to Yuma), to Animation (Beowulf, Ratatouille), to Thriller (Zodiac), to Comedy (Juno). And even our writers could figure out what to make of Black Book and the 2006 Oscar winner for Best Foreign Film The Lives of Others. Were they 2007 releases? Or, were they releases from last year that only made it across the pond this past February? I still don’t know, and apparently neither does anyone else at the site, but that certainly didn’t stop a couple of our critics from making sure these two instant classics got recognition they definitely deserved.

And what was our number one movie of the past year? Well, using a completely unscientific method, an Excel spreadsheet and some truly fuzzy math the answer for us here at Moviefreak.com is pretty much the same one you’ve been hearing from everyone else. Just take a look at the lists and see for yourself. Here’s a hint, it’s one of only two films to appear on each and every one of our lists.

Here’s another. If you think really hard, I bet you can, “Call it,” before I even write another word.

Javier Bardem in Miramax Films' No Country for Old Men

Moviefreak.com’s Top Ten of 2007

1.      No Country for Old Men

2.      Zodiac

3.      The Bourne Ultimatum

4.      Once

5.      Into the Wild

6.      Superbad

7.      Michael Clayton

8.      Atonement

9.      There Will Be Blood

10.  Sweeney Todd

Russel Crowe and Peter Fonda in Lionsgate Films' 3:10 to Yuma

Dennis Steven Landmann, Editor-in-Chief/Webmaster

Top Ten (in alphabetic order) 3:10 to Yuma, The Bourne Ultimatum, Hot Fuzz, Knocked Up, No Country for Old Men, Superbad, Ratatouille, Rescue Dawn, There Will Be Blood, Zodiac

A Second Ten (in alphabetic order) Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, Black Book, Breach, Dan in Real Life, Juno, The Lives of Others, Michael Clayton, No End in Sight, SiCKO, Shoot 'Em Up, Transformers

 Markéta Irglová and Glen Hansard in Fox Searchlight's Once

Sara Michelle Fetters, Senior Theatrical Editor 
[read Sara's 2007 Recap]

Top Ten

1.      Once

2.      No Country for Old Men

3.      Atonement

4.      Zodiac

5.      The Bourne Ultimatum

6.      There Will Be Blood

7.      Into the Wild

8.      Ratatouille

9.      Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

10.  Juno, Lars and the Real Girl and Waitress

Bottom Ten

1.      Hostel, Part II

2.      Norbit

3.      Good Luck Chuck

4.      Ghost Rider

5.      Hitman

6.      Dragon Wars

7.      Primeval

8.      The Ten

9.      Rush Hour 3

10.  I Know Who Killed Me

Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Jonah Hill and Michael Cera in Sony Pictures' Superbad

Dylan Grant, Film/DVD Critic

Top Ten (in alphabetic order)

·         Beowulf – An incredible adaptation of one of the oldest written works in the English language. The film is powerful without any phony sentimentality and it shows us that heroism may be the biggest myth of all.

·         Eastern Promises – A mob film without any of the typical mob clichés and a good story that doesn’t lower itself by neatly wrapping everything up, Eastern Promises was under-promoted and overlooked, but it is still a great film.

·         The Golden Compass – Forget all the controversy. Great fantasy works when a mythology is created that is convincing enough that even though the world of the story is strictly imaginary there is still something tangible to relate to. The Golden Compass is a great story. It is also one of the most compelling films of last year.

·         Grindhouse – Okay, Planet Terror and Death Proof probably weren’t the year’s best, and opening this movie on Easter weekend was probably a mistake, but Grindhouse gave us a real old-time theater going event that couldn’t be matched. You can watch these movies on DVD, and they are indeed a blast, but the theatrical experience Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez gave us cannot be replicated.

·         Into the Wild – For all the respect given to Sean Penn as an actor he seems grossly underrated as a director. Into the Wild will hopefully change that. This is a brilliant, devastating end-of-the-road movie that doesn’t pull its punches.

·         Lars and the Real Girl – This is one of those rare movies that absolutely hurts your heart and makes you feel good at the same time. Criminally overlooked, this was far and away one of the best written and best performed films released within the last five years. Ryan Gosling gives a revelatory performance.

·         Superbad – 2007 was a great year for comedy, and Superbad stood out for many reasons, not the least of which is the huge set of balls it has. You can say all the usual stuff that has already been said about this movie (i.e. like how its depiction of male adolescence is so spot-on), and all that is true, but the comedic territory it waded into was anything but safe, and Superbad handled it perfectly.

·         No Country For Old Men – Easily the best film the Coen Brothers have made since The Big Lebowski, this movie is hypnotic. All the standard Coen elements are here but they haven’t come together this brilliantly in ages. Javier Bardem, for anyone who hasn’t already noticed, is a name to remember.

·         There Will Be Blood – I hate to be the one to jump on the bandwagon and repeat what just about every other critic has already said, but There Will Be Blood is really that good. Not just the best film of 2007, this may turn out to the best film of the decade.

·         Zodiac – A film as obsessive as the manhunt on which it is based. David Fincher is one of those guys you wish would make more films, but when a picture the likes of Zodiac comes along you realize it was well worth the wait.

Bottom Ten (in alphabetic order)

Because I Said So, Ghost Rider, Hairspray, Hitman, License to Wed, Next, Reign Over Me, Spiderman 3, Transformers, Wild Hogs

Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Ethan Hawke in ThinkFilms' Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

George Schmidt, Film/DVD Critic

Top Ten

1.      No Country for Old Men

2.      Into the Wild

3.      Juno

4.      Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead

5.      The Savages

6.      Michael Clayton

7.      Zodiac

8.      Superbad

9.      SiCKO

10.  Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Bottom Ten

1.      Dead Silence

2.      Perfect Stranger

3.      License to Wed

4.      Captivity

5.      Next

6.      Premonition

7.      Slow Burn

8.      The Reaping

9.      Evening

10.  The Heartbreak Kid

Ulrich Muehe in Sony Pictures Classics' The Lives of Others

Greg Malmborg, DVD Critic

Top Ten

1.      No Country for Old Men – The Coen Brothers got their mojo back in a big way delivering a masterpiece, their very best film to date (which is saying quite a lot), featuring three incredible and award-worthy performances from Javier Bardem, Tommy Lee Jones and Josh Brolin.

2.      Zodiac – An incredibly exacting, gripping and riveting thriller from David Fincher about one of the most common and interesting human traits: Obsession. And everything about the film is obsessive and intense, including the underrated and extraordinary performances from the entire cast. It would be a monumental shame if this film isn’t a Best Picture nominee.

3.      The Bourne Ultimatum – The Bourne franchise ends (we think) with the best film out of the three in this terrifically entertaining, engrossing and intense final chapter in the amnesiac spy saga. This is one of the best action films I’ve ever seen (it is literally impossible to take your eyes off the screen) and shouldn’t be counted out of end-of-year awards just because it’s a genre picture.

4.      Once – An overlooked gem (at least by audiences, critics lauded it throughout the year) that captures new love and friendship beautifully through the incredible performances and stunning music brought to life by its two leads. The kind of film that casts a spell on you that you find difficult to let go of.

5.      The Lives of Others – An exhilarating drama that holds you in the grip of a surveillance state but still shows you how humanity can break free from it. The lead performance from Ulrich Muehe is incredible and it’s a true shame that he passed away just as he broke out as a movie star.

6.      Superbad – The funniest and truest high school experience film ever put to film. Period.

7.      3:10 to Yuma – A superbly entertaining western with a terrifically villainous and charming performance from Russell Crowe, a strong lead performance from Christian Bale and a weird but brilliant supporting turn from Ben Foster as Crowe’s crazy right-hand man.

8.      Michael Clayton – A fascinating thriller about a corporate fixer getting a crisis of conscience featuring a solid performance from George Clooney sure to get him an Oscar nomination. The film also showcases a wily, wonderful bit of character acting from veteran Tom Wilkinson.

9.      No End in Sight – It’s very hard to lay out all the issues, events and mistakes that have happened with this war in Iraq yet somehow this documentary does just that clearly, concisely and with no grandstanding. The most important work of 2007 and one every American needs to see.

10.  Breach – This is another overlooked gem released way back in February and is one of the most exciting and tense thrillers of the year. Chris Cooper deserves an Academy Award nomination for his amazing work.

Bottom Ten

1.      Perfect Stranger – Halle Berry should be forced to give back that Oscar.

2.      Balls of Fury – That wannabe Jack Black actor is painfully unfunny.

3.      The Brothers Solomon – Will Arnett’s every line and facial gesture falls so flat I actually felt bad for him.

4.      Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End – The biggest disappointment of the year and a ridiculous mess of a movie.

5.      Spiderman 3 – Why or why Sam Raimi did you let this film get so goofy and stupid while the first two were so exciting and controlled?

6.      Rush Hour 3 – Chris Tucker waits years to make a movie and then turns up in this garbage and is so horribly unfunny you wish he’d go away for at least another five to ten years.

7.      The Number 23 – Jim Carrey please go back to comedy. Just do a Dumb and Dumber sequel or something.

8.      I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry – I can’t believe this, but Adam Sandler could you please go back to acting in dramas (Reign Over Me was terrific)?

9.      Gray Matters – I’m sorry for anyone besides myself who ended up seeing this. Heather Graham should be done with acting I would think after this one.

10.  Norbit – This is probably number one on a lot of peoples lists and it is bad… just not that bad.

Keira Knightley in Focus Features' Atonement

Roy Earle, DVD Critic

Top Ten (in alphabetic order)

Atonement, Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead, Black Book, The Bourne Ultimatum, Breach, Gone Baby Gone, Michael Clayton, No Country for Old Men, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Zodiac