The Usual Choices
Atonement (Joe Wright)
Into the Wild (Sean Penn)
Juno (Jason Reitman)
No Country for Old Men (Ethan & Joel Coen)
There Will Be Blood (Paul Thomas Anderson)
But how about...
Control (Anton Corbijn)
I was never much of a Joy Division fan...until I saw this movie. Don't get me wrong: gloom 'n' doom rock is not a genre I spend much time with; "Beautiful Loser" is my least favourite people-label; and I don't believe that suicide is merely a lifestyle choice. But this film grabbed me by the lapel instantly. Acting-Amateur Sam Riley's version of Ian Curtis is stunning (his onstage dancing / religious ecstasy is riveting) and the story of his emotional deterioration is just plain sad. The conclusion that the awakening of his artistic talents was ultimately the reason for his downfall is unsettling and more than a little cautionary. Walk the Line? Ray? Nowhere Boy? Amadeus? The Glenn Miller Story? Peh. This is the best music bio ever made.
...and what about...
Romulus, My Father (Richard Roxburgh)
As much as the blackshirt brigade (and there's still plenty around with that degree of neanderthal thinking) won't have it, Australia is a nation built by many cultures, interacting and adapting, trying to make a go of it. This film (and the biography it came from) is a classic example of the many historic backstories we hold close to our chest. Eric Bana is excellent as a Romanian immigrant, escaping to Australia from post-WWII eastern Europe, and having to confront family death and mental illness. A stronger father & son (Kodi Smit-McPhee) triumph-over-adversity tale doesn't exist, not anywhere.
...not to mention...
The Mist (Frank Darabont)
A total surprise - when it turned up on TV, I just assumed it was a B-Grade quickie (I'd only ever heard of Marcia Gay Harden in the cast) and when it was set inside a supermarket, I was sure that it was for financial, rather than suspense, reasons. Never have I been more wrong (actually, that's bullshit, but let's just skip it, okay?). Wow. Hitchcock reborn. So when I found out it was from the creative loins of Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption !; The Green Mile !), I was totally blindsided. And the ending! Only a Russian (Frank has Hungarian roots...close enough) could come up with something so bleak.
...and one personal unmentionable...
Spider-Man 3 (Sam Raimi)
The greatest achievement of this film is the lesson it has taught all subsequent makers of superhero flicks: Don't overload the story with supervillains. Sandman + Venom + Green Goblin = Crappy Movie. Imagine if Sam Raimi had just stuck with the Sandman storyline: it really could have been expanded, and the attempt to make him a sympathetic, even tragic, character had genuine potential (although Flint Marko being the accidental killer of Uncle Ben was a stupid idea). While not the worst Marvel movie (there are at least three which are far more dire), it is certainly the most disappointing. Now, don't do it again.
My Top 10 Films of 2007
 |
| "I love Joni Mitchell concerts...I just wish she'd quit smoking." |
#02 A Gone Baby Gone (Affleck)
#03 A Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (Lumet)
#04 A The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (Dominik)
#05 A Death at a Funeral (Oz)
#06 A- Control (Corbijn)
#07 A- Zodiac (Fincher)
#09 A- Breach (Ray)
#10 A- The Mist (Darabont)
Overflow: More A-/B+ Films
#11 A- Sunshine (Boyle)
#12 B+ Son of Rambow (Jennings)
#13 B+ Romulus, My Father (Roxburgh)
#14 B+ Atonement (Wright)
#15 B+ The Lookout (Frank)
#16 B+ There Will Be Blood (Anderson)
#17 B+ The Visitor (McCarthy)
#18 B+ Dan in Real Life (Hedges)
#19 B+ No Country for Old Men (Coens)
#20 B+ In the Valley of Elah (Haggis)
#21 B+ Eastern Promises (Cronenberg)
#22 B+ Enchanted (Lima)
Sorry, They Didn't Make It...
> B American Gangster [a line was drawn for me when Denzel shot the guy point blank in full view of the public]
> B Margot at the Wedding [Noah will one day work out how to make his interesting characters endearing as well]
> B Bridge to Terabithia [yet another kids film far surpassed by the classic book it is based on]
> B Mr Woodcock [Billy Bob is spot-on; the other guy isn't up to it]
> B Blades of Glory [prime example of what passes for American Comedy in the 21st Century]
> B Michael Clayton [confession time: I think that George Clooney is one of the most overrated actors of all time]
> B Lions for Lambs [actually fairly absorbing, but the three stars seem to be performing in three different movies]
> B Mr Brooks [Kevin Costner as a serial killer...yeah, right...]
> B Into the Wild [a questionable quest with a "what-did-you-expect?" ending]
> B- The Darjeeling Limited [Wes Anderson remembers to be quirky but forgets to be captivating]
> B- Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street [a serial-killer musical starring people who can't sing]
> B- Evan Almighty [just another God joke movie]
> B- Across the Universe [Beatles music used as a pop-opera suite]
> B- The Bourne Ultimatum [HOLD THE BLOODY CAMERA STILL!!!]
> B- Hairspray [a campy musical where the highlight is John Travolta as a fat woman]
> B- Charlie Wilson's War [based on real people, but I didn't believe any of them]
> B- Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer [at least it was better than the first one, but it's still got the same actors]
> B- The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep [fantasy of a boy and his sea dragon which is very not E.T.]
> C Ghost Rider [fatal casting, so it was DOA]
> C I'm Not There [only Cate is Dylan]
> C Spider-Man 3 [A Personal Unmentionable]
"Ah!..Sweet Mystery of Life...": 2007 Films I Apparently Still Need to See
Freedom Writers (LaGravenese); Paranoid Park (Van Sant); Shotgun Stories (Nichols); Waitress (Shelly)
Best Performances of 2007
Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men)
Julie Christie (Away From Her)
Tommy Lee Jones (Into the Valley of Elah)
Daniel Day-Lewis (There Will Be Blood)
Ellen Page (Juno)
Amy Ryan (Gone Baby Gone)
Tilda Swinton (Michael Clayton)
But how about...
Chris Cooper in Breach
One of his rare lead roles, Cooper is Robert Hanssen, the grizzled FBI agent who is a part-time sexual deviant, full-time Catholic and incidental traitor. A twisted bundle of contradictions, Hanssen is portrayed as a disturbed man who knows exactly what he is doing, and keeps doing it, the reasons becoming less and less important to him. Cooper allows all of the complexities of the character to drizzle out before us, providing a shadowy tour of desktop espionage. Nothing Edward Snowden-ish here. No noble cause. Just opportunism in a Cold Warrior's old age.
...and what about...
J.K. Simmons in Juno
Every teenager's idea of a perfect Dad? Wise, but just a common bloke; affectionate, but gives you space; funny, but not cringe-worthy; and obviously daughter-adoring, but just wants her to grow up and be happy. Such an everyman actor, Simmons is able to play comedy without needing to bash the jokes over the head or punctuate them with a facial twist. In Juno, everything he says is a mixture of bemusement, concern, acceptance and paternal love. Please make this a reflection of the real man - no sordid sex scandals Jonathan, huh?. My belief in humanity can only take so many hits.
...not to mention...
Philip Seymour Hoffman & Ethan Hawke in Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
Has there ever been a more pathetic and repugnant celluloid display of sheer human failure than these two creatures? Devoid of any redeeming features, and incapable of committing a good, selfless deed, when things go arse-up, they are the most mewling of grovelers. To watch how they solve their problems is to watch an infant in a sandpit, attempting to win a dispute with an axe. Hoffman & Hawke (they couldn't do it solo; no actor could) are blood-losers, family by degeneration. Brilliant performances; utterly repulsive characters.
...and one personal unmentionable...
Nicolas Cage in Ghost Rider
Confession time: I can't stand Nicolas Cage. The three movies I think he was perfect in (Raising Arizona; Adaptation; Matchstick Men) were all based around him having to play a guy who was, to varying degrees, a boofhead (for all you non-Aussie types, boofhead = a walking blank with idiotic tendencies; a personality-bypass patient who has the IQ of a stick.) A stunt motorcyclist who meets up with Mephisto and is transformed into a dark-forces-battling supernatural being just screams out for CHARISMA! As Johnny Blaze, Cage only becomes charismatic when he is no longer there facially and CGI takes over - I've never been so happy to see someone's head on fire.
My 10 Favourite Performances of 2007
 |
| "I know the beer's flat, but you've just got to learn to let some things go in life, okay buddy?" |
#02 Chris Cooper (Breach)
#03 Casey Affleck (Gone Baby Gone)
#04 Sam Riley (Control)
#05 Casey Affleck (The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford)
#06 Amy Ryan (Gone Baby Gone)
#07 Philip Seymour Hoffman & Ethan Hawke (Before the Devil Knows You're Dead)
#08 Cate Blanchett (I'm Not There)
#09 J.K. Simmons (Juno)
#10 Ryan Gosling (Lars and the Real Girl)
Overflow: More List-Worthy Performances
#11 Saoirse Ronan (Atonement)
#12 Tommy Lee Jones (Into the Valley of Elah)
#13 Daniel Day-Lewis (There Will Be Blood)
#14 Joseph Gordon-Levitt (The Lookout)
#15 Richard Jenkins (The Visitor)
#16 Denzel Washington (American Gangster)
#17 The ensemble cast (Death at a Funeral)
Sorry, They Didn't Make It...
> Emile Hirsch in Into the Wild [nothing he explains stops me from thinking he is stupid]
> George Clooney in Michael Clayton [does this guy ever actually act or is he always just George?]
> Tilda Swinton in Michael Clayton [she's fine, but is she really the stand-out?]
And so...onto the annual awards (with a nod of appreciation to Danny Peary)...
The Alternate Oscars for 2007 are:
FILM of the YEAR
GOLD: Juno (Jason Reitman)
SILVER: Gone Baby Gone (Ben Affleck)
BRONZE: Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (Sidney Lumet)
LEAD ACTOR: PERFORMANCE of the YEAR
GOLD: Chris Cooper (Breach)
SILVER: Casey Affleck (Gone Baby Gone)
BRONZE: Sam Riley (Control)
LEAD ACTRESS: PERFORMANCE of the YEAR
GOLD: Ellen Page (Juno)
SILVER: Amy Adams (Enchanted)
BRONZE: Nicole Kidman (Margot at the Wedding)
SUPPORTING ACTOR: PERFORMANCE of the YEAR
GOLD: Albert Finney (Before the Devil Knows You're Dead)
SILVER: J.K. Simmons (Juno)
BRONZE: Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men)
SUPPORTING ACTRESS: PERFORMANCE of the YEAR
GOLD: Amy Ryan (Gone Baby Gone)
SILVER: Cate Blanchett (I'm Not There)
BRONZE: Samantha Morton (Control)
ENSEMBLE or PARTNERSHIP: PERFORMANCE of the YEAR
GOLD: Philip Seymour Hoffman & Ethan Hawke (Before the Devil Knows You're Dead)
SILVER: Matthew McFadyen & Rupert Graves & Andy Nyman & Kris Marshall & Peter Dinklage & Keeley Hawes & Daisy Donovan & Alan Tudyk & Ewen Bremner & Peter Vaughan & Thomas Wheatley & Jane Asher & Peter Egan (Death at a Funeral)
BRONZE: Cillian Murphy & Chris Evans & Rose Byrne & Michelle Yeoh & Cliff Curtis & Troy Garity & Hiroyuki Sanada & Benedict Wong (Sunshine)
JUVENILE: PERFORMANCE of the YEAR
GOLD: Saoirse Ronan (Atonement)
SILVER: Kodi Smit-McPhee (Romulus, My Father)
BRONZE: Will Pouter (Son of Rambow)
The Alternate Razzies for 2007 are:
CRAP FILM of the YEAR
I'm Not There (Todd Haynes)
CRAP MALE PERFORMANCE of the YEAR
Nicolas Cage (Ghost Rider)
CRAP FEMALE PERFORMANCE of the YEAR
Marcia Gay Harden (The Mist)
