Tuesday, January 29, 2008

My favorite films of 2007

So in the spirit of all these critics who've been naming top ten lists, I figured I'd make a list of movies I really enjoyed this year. I'm not including movies I assume everybody saw ("Ratatouille") or movies I haven't seen but I'm pretty sure I'm going to love ("The Diving Bell and the Butterfly," "There Will Be Blood"). So in no particular order (well, sort of in order of their release), here's a bunch of stuff you can get on video that we enjoyed:

The Host - Korean monster movie. Often compared to Jaws. Got some real issues going on under the silly surface.
Waitress - my second-favorite movie about pregnancy, and my favorite movie with a food theme. Plus, Nathan Fillion (ow!) and Andy Griffith is priceless
Zodiac - a good mystery, lots of tension, don't forget about this one
Sicko - if we wind up moving to Canada, this movie will have played no small part in the decision
Across the Universe - this movie made me actually finally understand why the Beatles are so loved. Their songwriting is unparalleled.
Once - absolutely charming story of struggling musicians who meet and record a demo in the course of a few days. GREAT music and captures that indie rock scene really well.
No End in Sight - learned more than I probably wanted to know about the Iraq war, but then again, I felt it was important to be educated
Air Guitar Nation - I most enjoyed watching J watching this. Had some truly bizarre and some genuinely funny moments.
No Country for Old Men - definitely the best the Coens have done in a long time. Like any Coen film, will probably get better every time viewed. On first viewing, I have to rank it under Fargo, just because it lacks the humor and the sweet charm.
Protagonist - another documentary, centered on the mystery of the male psyche and four fascinating individuals with tragic life tales (plus, great use of puppets and Greek tragedy)
Juno - my favorite movie about pregnancy, and probably the best characters and writing of the year

Well, I may as well pick a favorite, but it's kind of cheating: I'd go with Paris Je T'aime, which is really 18 little movies by many of my favorite directors, and they just keep getting better and better (the last one is absolutely a classic). Recommended without reservation (and if you don't like any of them, it's only like 6 minutes 'til the next one).

Now, get thee to the video store (or netflix queue).

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