Movies, Best of 2007

2007 was an off year for me. What I mean is that I did not get to see the number of movies I normally do. 26 movies seen makes it very difficult to rate my top ten movies of the year, when there were so many others that I missed that could potentially rate as a favorite. The other part of what make this difficult is that many of the movies I saw in the beginning of last year were movies that were “officially” released in 2006 in order to be considered for the Academy Awards- even though they were not shown in my area until 2007. Do I say that ‘The Lives of Others’ is not available to be my number one movie of 2007 because of that? Who can say?

This year, I will not do a top ten only because I did not see enough films- but I will say that ‘No Country For Old Men’ was the best film I got to see last year friend-o.

The Coen Brothers have achieved many things in their storied careers and this film puts them into the rarified air of top directors. Yes, they also make quirky films but this film shuts up any critic or anyone else who says they cannot make a serious and epic film. Plus, they write too! Bonus for all of us.

Popcorn movie of the year: Juno. What lovable movie this is. I want to go see it again to laugh at the same zany dialog and smile like I did when I left the theatre. Maybe the most fun I had at the movies this year.

Movie I waited for a long time that did not disappoint: The Simpsons Movie. Homer and the gang (should I really say Groening and the Gang?) delivered the Simpsons movie we’ve waited a long time to see. Now I can laugh at the things I missed because I got the DVD for Christmas. Woohoo!

Here is the complete list of movies I saw in 2007:

1) The Painted Veil
2) Notes on a Scandal
3) Children of Men
4) Letters From Iwo Jima
5) Pan's Labyrinth
6) Venus
7) Little Children
8) Breach
9) Days of Glory (Indigenes)
10) The Lives of Others (Das Leben der Anderen)
11) Zodiac
12) Shooter
13) The Namesake
14) Grindhouse
15) The Reaping
16) Shrek the Third
17) 28 Weeks Later
18) Black Book (Zwartboek)
19) Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
20) The Simpsons Movie
21) 3:10 to Yuma
22) American Gangster
23) No Country For Old Men
24) Before the Devil Knows Your Dead
25) I Am Legend (IMAX)
26) Juno

Movies, Best of 2006

2006 was an interesting year for movies, but in many ways for me a disappointment. A lot of quality movies were released if you sifted through the ashes of the films that crashed & burned this year- yet nary a one has stood out as my “IT” film. So, here are my favorite films this year ranked 2 through 10:

2) Little Miss Sunshine
3) Babel
4) Thank You for Smoking
5) The Science of Sleep
6) V for Vendetta
7) The Departed
8) Volver
9) Wordplay
10) Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan


Little Miss Sunshine has just about everything you can want in a good film.

Good story? Check!
Good cast? Check!
Funny? Check!
Cranky old guy? Check!
Funny, cranky old guy? Check!
New cultural icon in Steve Carrell? Check!

Honorable Mention #1:

is for The Queen. Helen Mirren is wonderful in her role as Queen Elizabeth II. Understated and powerful in this role, she is likely to win an Oscar for her performance. Oh, the film is very good as well.

Honorable Mention #2:

is for United 93. Such a brave film. After five years, I still don’t want to think about those events but it will likely be the defining historical moment of my life so it is very hard to steer clear.

Fun Popcorn movie of the Year:

Casino Royale. Bond is back and better than ever. Give Daniel Craig one more crack at James Bond (I read he has already signed on for two more) and he will be the best 007 since Sean Connery. Check out his previous work Road to Perdition, Layer Cake & Enduring Love… he is a damn good actor and it is a pity that America has missed most of it.

Breakout performance #1:

Tommy Lee Jones for “The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada”… as a director. A fine, rough edged movie.

Breakout performance #2:

Penélope Cruz. She is excellent in Pedro Almodóvar’s “Volver”.

There are other movies that had the potential to make my top list this year, but I either missed them (For Your Consideration, Stranger Than Fiction, Prairie Home Companion, Fur : An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus, The Notorious Bettie Page) or they have not been released where I live yet (Pan’s Labyrinth, The Good German, Letter From Iwo Jima, Venus, The Painted Veil, American Hardcore, Notes on a Scandal, Inland Empire, Children of Men) and the previews/waiting is driving me crazy!


I saw 41 films this year. Here are a few others that I liked:

The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada
United 93
An Inconvenient Truth
The Devil Wears Prada
The Last King of Scotland
Flags of Our Fathers
Casino Royale
The Fountain
Blood Diamond
The Good Shepherd
The Queen