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Scott's
Top 10 of 2007
It's a strange year when my annual top film list contains no documentaries, two musicals and my favorite working filmmaker released a movie that didn't make my cut.
Ah well, Wes Anderson's loss is The Mist's gain. Enjoy!
Honorable Mention: Hot Fuzz, Sunshine
10. The Mist: Stephen King's
love letter to H.P. Lovecraft produced a gripping feature and
one of the most enjoyable times I had in a theater this year.
It also captured very succinctly the culture war presently
raging in partisan America.
9. 3:10 to Yuma: There
was a time when the Western was king but after Sputnik the
zeitgeist shifted, almost permanently, away from the past and
towards Sci-fi. Yuma's a fantastic modern Western
that reminds you how good the genre can be.
8. The Great Debaters: Screenwriter
Julius Epstein once said of Casablanca that the script
was filled with "more corn than in the states of Kansas and
Iowa combined, but when corn works, there's nothing better." The
same could be said for The Great Debaters. Obvious
and corny though it may be, it's a very moving film.
7.
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead: The characters are unlikable. The message, that crime doesn't pay, is simplistic bordering on childish, but the film is gripping and proof that a movie doesn't need to be glossy or whitewashed to be entertaining.
6.
Juno: A PG-13 movie in which two sixteen-year-old girls casually
discuss having an abortion and that a friend of theirs already
has had one—… we've come a long way, baby. But more
than reflecting the modern political landscape, Juno is
funny, warm and enjoyable.
5.
Michael Clayton: I just kept thinking about it. At first
I thought it was too theatrical to make my list, but the
more I reflected on the movie the more I liked it. That's
always a great sign the movie will have longevity (if no
where else than certainly on my DVD shelf).
4. Sweeney Todd: The Demon
Barber of Fleet Street:I don't ordinarily like musicals yet I have two not only in my top ten, but top five… Sweeney Todd struck such an amazing balance between being atmospheric and energetic it was impossible not to enjoy. And though it goes without saying that Depp is an amazing actor, that's a shame, because he truly is an absolutely fantastic actor. He's been doing it for so long that we almost forget about how noteworthy his performances are.
3. Persepolis: Persepolis is so deeply personal you feel as though you've known Marjane Satrapi her whole life. Further, and most importantly, Persepolis accurately reflects that Iran (specifically and the Muslim world in general) is comprised of individuals who oppose and support one another in a fluid myriad of ways and that these individuals aren't all in lockstep behind any one person or ideology, which is something we can easily lose sight of in our media when mostly all we hear is, "Terrorists in Iraq have been linked to Iran," and the various grotesqueries of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
2. Once: Once is
what independent film should be. Once is what independent
film can be. A small story, beautifully told. Ambiguous and
haunting.
1. No Country for Old Men: The
Coen Brothers at their worst are still better than 99.99% of
all other film makers, still it was nice to see them shake
things up a little bit. As much as I love their more comedic
offerings, they seemed to be running out steam of late. No
Country gave them a much needed shot in the arm.
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