End of the year movie blowout! 2007 edition

I must preface this entire thing by saying, I was trying to wait until I saw There will Be Blood, but it appears it won't be in the Sacramento area until January 18th, and I don't want to wait that long to do this. So, my top 10 might be a bit different now than it will be on the 18th. Also, this year was a great year for movies and the final 3 slots in my top ten could have about 8 movies in them so I will do my usual top 10 and then I will list my 11-15 in no specific order. So without further waiting here is Kyle's 2007 big movie blowout!


My 10 favorite movies of 2007
10. 3:10 to Yuma- I am not the biggest fan of Westerns but this movie was intense, big and action packed. The climatic gun fight is worlds of fun to watch but the performances given by Christian Bale and Russell Crowe really helped raise this movie to excellent heights.

9. The Great Debaters- So what, I am sucker for inspirational tales and even more of a sucker for movies where people believe words can make a difference. Featuring a brilliant scene between Denzel and Forrest, this movie is predictable for sure, but it is so much more.

8. Gone Baby Gone- Ben Affleck's Boston is moving, gorgeous and dirty and Casey Affleck gives a haunting performance. This crime drama is challenging in the morality of characters and is questioning whether the smart choice is always the right choice.

7. Charlie Wilson's War- Aaron Sorkin's script pops and Phillip Seymour Hoffman gives an incredible supporting performance, but it is the story that really won me over. It never stops questioning American politics and the end is haunting and is still with me.

6. The Darjeeling Limited- Every time I think about this movie, I like it more. Shot beautifully, acted beautifully, written beautifully, this movie is funny, touching, serious and even outrageous. The final 20 minutes are quite a departure for the director, but they work so well.

5. The Bourne Ultimatum- This might be my favorite action movie in quite some time. It is always intense, unflinching, intimate and gorgeous. Damon is picture perfect as Jason Bourne and the movie features one of the best movie endings ever. The perfect cap on this trilogy.

4. Knocked Up- What else can be said about this amazing comedy. Always fast, funny, smart, dirty and even touching, this movie will be quotable forever, but it also works as a very nice romantic comedy for people my age.

3. Michael Clayton- The more I think about this movie, the more I love it. George Clooney gives the most layered and rich performance of the year and first time director Tony Gilroy weaves an incredible law tale. Even when we aren't sure what is happening we are sucked in.

2. American Gangster- I had high hopes for this movie and it did not disappoint one bit. Great performances to be sure, but this epic crime saga is never slow or boring. Ridley Scott weaves two interesting stories and gives them both equal time and importance to really make the final confrontation that much more intense.

1. No Country for old Men- What can I say? This movie is haunting, awesome, funny, creepy, gross, interesting, intense, intimate and epic all at the same time. A wonderfully told crime story featuring amazing performances, an amazing gun fight and some of the most intense waiting-for-shit-to-happen sequences ever. The ending is nothing like you'd want or expect, but that it what helps make it such a brilliant movie!

The next 5 movies (11-15)- Juno, Superbad, Into the Wild, Waitress, and Spiderman 3.

the 10 worst movies of 2007

10. Zodiac- I was so incredibly disappointed in this slow moving and boring drama. Robert Downey Jr. is wasted and the only truly intense moment comes at the end, after I was already bored and over the movie in every way.

9. Good Luck Chuck- I had some hopes for this movie but it was pretty unfunny and painfully misogynistic. Jessica Alba was slumming it badly here, but at least she spent a lot of time in her underwear. Dane Cook is funnier than the movies allow him to be.

8. Beowulf- I did take a certain amount of joy in this sucking, but I couldn't help it; it sucked. The animation is more creepy than interesting and the voice work was awful. The script was worse than any of it and it was unintentionally laughable

7. Fantastic Four: The Rise of the Silver Surfer- This is just a god-awful sequel. I wish I had nice things to say but everything good in the movie was given away by the trailer. The climax could have saved it, but they blew that, like they blew everything else in the movie.

6. Rush Hour 3- This is a series of movies that has just run its course. The jokes were stale and the action even worse. Chan doesn't appear to have it anymore and the stunts were just ridiculous here. Nothing about this movie was funny.

5. Resident Evil 3- For some reason Alice turned into a super hero but it is never explained. the CGI was not impressive and sadly I don't think this series is over. Bloated plot, bad comedy and out-of-left-field romance really turned this movie into a laugh fest.

4. I Now Pronounce you Chuck and Larry- A movie cannot use every gay stereotype for comic effect then apologize for them in the end. It just doesn't work. Not offensive enough to be truly funny and I will never buy Sandler as a stud.

3. Underdog- The movie I most did not want to see this year. The CGI dog kind of creeped me out and nothing in this movie is funny. I was entertained in anyway shape or form. Plus Peter Dinklage is so much better than this. ugh!

2. Saw IV- This movie makes no sense. The traps weren't all that cool and the Jigsaw-as-a-tortured-victim bullshit does not work. You cannot have a brutal killer for 3 movies then try and turn him into a misunderstood victim. This movie makes me angry when I think about it.

1. Pirates of the Caribbean: At world's end- Everyone saw this coming, but seriously this is the worst movie I have ever seen. Pointless plot twists, a bloated sense of self, bad Johnny Depp, forced romance, bad jokes, horrible action sequences, terrible CGI, a lack of a decent climax, really terribly acting from Orlando Bloom are all just the tip of the iceberg as to what was wrong with this complete waste of time. People like it but can't tell me why because deep down they know this was a rape of the mind, the eyes and of my time.

The two movies I discussed and debated the most- Harry Potter 5 and Spiderman 3.

2007 surprises-Casey Affleck, Ben Affleck's directing, Adrien Brody in Darjeeling, Stardust, Waitress, Keri Russell, Sean Penn, Disturbia, Roger Bart in American Gangster, John Travolta in Hairspray, Amy Adams, The Mist's ending, The transformations in Tranformers, Enchanted, 28 weeks later, Hot Fuzz.

2007 disappointments- Sweeney Todd, Beowulf, Zodiac, Eastern Promises, Fantastic Four: The Rise of the Silver Surfer, Jet Li Vs. Jason Stratham(War), Atonement, The sex in Perfect Strangers, The lack of comedy in Rush Hour 3.

My favorite 2007 movie trend- The fun movie! I can count six movies that were just fun movies. They were movies that just put me in a good or fun mood and those 7 movies were: Hairspray, Stardust, Enchanted,Transformers, Shoot em up, Waitress, and Ocean's 13.

There you have it. Feel free to comment about my lists, or even add some of your own to my lists or create new lists of your own. 2007 was an awesome year for movies; It was much better than 2006 for sure. Hopefully everyone who reads this thing enjoyed my reviews, thoughts and lists and hopefully you guys all continue to read and enjoy!

P.S. I Left Grindhouse off my top 15 intentionally because I loved half of the movie and just kind of liked the other half, but they are one movie so it didn't make the cut.