I have been wanting to do this since I started blogging, but VOX makes it so easy to find the movies I saw with it's tags that I couldn't resist.
A caveat on the list. This is only the movies I saw. There are a lot of Oscar contenders that I haven't seen yet which may well have found their way onto my list if I saw them. So, don't be commenting about something I left out.
So, without further ado, my top ten:
10. Live Free or Die Hard:
A fitting addition to the Die Hard franchise. I had my doubts, being that it came out so long after the last installment and seemed to be more about the quality of stunts than the "style" we have come to expect from the franchise.
But it is still John McClane facing almost insurmountable odds and using ingenuity to overcome them to save the day. Only now, the odds, and McClane's response to them, have been amped up to insane levels.
Granted, it's not Shakespeare. But it doesn't try to be. But it is a great Die Hard movie. It has plenty of action and the twists and turns you expect.
9. The Simpsons Movie:
It's been months since I've seen this film and I still have that "Spider-Pig" song in my head.
I'll admit, I love the Simpsons. So I was predisposed to like this movie. Although I feared that this would be just an overlong episode of the series. While it did keep the story structure of the TV series, it widen the scope and stands as a film on its own. It even manages the tricky part of giving its characters, especially Homer, a character arc. Homer is a different man at the end of the movie than he was in the beginning, but in such a way that it changed nothing of what you see in the TV show.
And it still contains the silliness, the subversive nature, and the self parody you expect from Simpson humor.
8. Shoot 'Em Up:
This film is not for everybody. It is an ultraviolent, live-action cartoon. It is short on plot but long on blood and bullets. But if you bought into it, it would be one fun and wild ride.
Credit goes to Clive Owen as the Bugs Bunny doppelganger (replete with an ever-present carrot) and Paul Giamatti as the Elmer Fudd/Yosemite Sam substitute. These are two of the most charismatic actors working in film today, and having them square off against each other was genius. The movie might not have worked as well if other actors were in the roles.
It wasn't your conventional action movie, but it was a great action movie. Well worth a place on this list.
7. Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story
As we are going to find out later, film parody is not the easiest thing to do. Some might think it is, but it isn't. You need focus. You need the ability to recognize the right things to parody. And you need to realize that even though it is a parody movie, it is still a movie and it needs an interesting plot.
Walk Hard is a good parody film. It mocks all the trademarks that are the modern music biopic, aping everything from Ray to La Bamba. But it is also a good film with a real story. And, surprisingly, it has a lot of heart.
Loaded with superstar cameos, and great performances from the leads, it is a shame that it didn't open to better business.
6. Hot Fuzz:
This is a parody of a different sort. The team of Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, the people responsible for the excellent Shaun of the Dead, turned their comedic eye to the American action film. The result? One great movie.
The dichotomy of a typical American shoot 'em up set in a bucolic rural English town is comedic genius. They borrow whole scenes and pieces of soundtracks from some famous action films, while also giving a nod to some rather famous British films at the same time. It falls under more of a loving tribute than a hateful mocking, which is a sign of success for any parody film.
I can't wait for the next film these three do. Because the last two have been home runs.
5. Grindhouse:
Admittedly, this film was a hard sell. But those who missed out on seeing this in a theater missed out on a unique theatrical experience.
This was a love letter by Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino to the Z-grade double features that shaped their creative visions. Today's HD/Digital Sound loving audiences didn't respond to grainy film, missing reels, bad sound, titillating trailers and the campy storylines that these type of movies exhibited, which the directors faithfully recreated.
But I loved it. I realized it was a way for me to, for three hours at least, experience the same thing my favorite creators experienced when they were younger. The two movies that made up Grindhouse were split up for DVD release, so people who did not see them in theaters really missed something special.
4. Knocked Up:
On paper, this might not seem like the best film. Two self-centered people meet, have sex and get pregnant. Then they have to figure if they want to deal with the cards fate dealt them together or separately. They need to sacrifice and grow, something neither person is happy to do.
In the hands of a lesser writer, these characters would be abrasive and unappealing. Judd Apatow makes them human and relatable. You feel empathy for both characters, even when they are both wrong, and that really brings you into the movie.
Of course, great performances by Seth Rogen, Katherine Heigl and the entire cast help out too. It is crude yet tender, and a great film.
3. 300:
I'm sure the producers of the comic adaptation were surprised. It was a monster success and established Frank Miller and Zach Snyder as Hollywood players.
But, when you think about it, it was a stylish adaptation of a riveting true story. 300 Spartans did hold off the Persian army. And who doesn't love an underdog story.
Snyder is faithful to the original comic, so much so that some scene are taken directly from Miller's drawings. His use of green screen and CGI allows him to great a visual feel that looks like illustration. If he tried a more conventional adaptation, I'd bet the movie would have been as successful. But the uniqueness of the look separated from the pact and capture the audience's imagination.
2. Juno:
Part of me is hesitant to include this on the list at all, let alone this high, because I just saw it last night. The reasoning being that it being fresh in my mind might cloud my judgment a little. But I did love this movie.
Once you get past the hipper-than-thou, back and forth dialogue in the opening scene, you will find a charming movie full of real people acting logically for their character. It is charming and heartbreaking. The story is not afraid from going in the opposite direction of expectations, and therefore becomes more entertaining.
It helps greatly that every role is perfectly cast and some of the best, if somewhat underrated, actors working today are in the movie. The rest is a really great film that stays with you.
1. American Gangster:
I saw this one but did not blog a review for it. I saw it during a lull in my blogging. But, rest assured, I loved it.
Based on a true story, it tells the story of two men who are a mirror image of each other. Both are intelligent, dedicated, stubbornly set in their ways, and problem solvers. Only thing is. one is a cop and one is a gangster.
Denzel Washington has been getting a lot of good reviews for his work and all are well deserved. As usual, he is fantastic. But lost in all of the acclaim for Washington is how good Russell Crowe is. His part is less showy than Washington's but he does a great job in it. He brings out the humanity in the role and captures your attention everytime he's on the screen. He equals Washington in quality of perfomance all the way.
The Worst Movie I Saw in 2007
I usually have a pretty good track record of avoiding bad movies. Usually I can tell when a flick will stink and just not see it. Unfortunately. it didn't work for this one:
Epic Movie:
I blame my interest in parody movies and deep liking of the blockbuster for this one. I had the inkling that it could be bad, but it was by far the worst movie I saw in my recent memory. And the fact that it does not appear on many professional critics' worst movie list means they are better at forgetting than I am.
Remember what I said about parody movies when I spoke about Walk Hard? Here is proof at how easy it is to screw up. The makers of this movie thought that all a successful parody needs is good costumes and actors that look like the ones you are going to parody. The plot only exists from going from set piece to set piece. Try to force in as many pop culture icons as time allows, don't mind if the story becomes awkward and utter nonsense. And fill as many dead spots with scatological humor as you can.
This film lacked focus. It was a collection of vignettes collected to form a crappy story. It wasn't truly a parody because it didn't mock any of the stereotypes associated with the summer blockbuster. It was just a mimic of famous movie with a lame gag that many times had nothing to do with the movie it was imitating.
What's worse, this was the number one movie the weekend it came out. Walk Hard debuted at number eight and made over half as much at the box office. I hope this is because Epic Movie scared moviegoers off from parody and not that they were too stupid to realize quality when the saw it.
