Doug's Favorite Movies of 2007

The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters
Lars and the Real Girl
The Mist
The Bourne Ultimatum
Michael Clayton
The Darjeeling Limited
Ratatouille
Black Book
300

Honorable Mention:

No Country for Old Men
Eastern Promises
Black Sheep
There Will Be Blood
Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End
Hot Fuzz
The Ten
The Hoax

Appendix:

Doug's Least Favorite Movie of 2007: Death Proof

There Will Be Blood

…is a movie driven by theme. It’s a cautionary tale about how greed and religious fervor can corrupt absolutely and can easily destroy everyone around. But because it’s driven by theme, the characters are permitted to be larger than life and actors Daniel Day Lewis and Paul Dano take every opportunity to devour the scenery in support of their thematic cause. Daniel Day Lewis, channeling Jack Palance, owns every molecule of his character and he is utterly captivating. This is an unmitigated benchmark of the craft. P.T. Anderson gets lots of brownie points for ambition, though don’t believe the reviews that say this is weird or unconventional. The only thing unconventional is the music, which at times drove me crazy. Otherwise, this could be a John Ford movie, with all the stunning cinematography, set-pieces, and bombastic performances. It’s a powerful and meaningful warning to all Americans.

Charlie Wilson's War

Tom Hanks and Philip Seymour Hoffman, both of whom are in top form, plan a covert war like they’re remodeling a kitchen. I’ve seen guys talk about football with ten times the passion. So it should come as no unsettling surprise when, after chasing Russians away, the celebration of the Afghani rebels feels like watching a slow-motion train wreck. Aren’t we at war in Afghanistan now? Everything about this is soft-edged, and it zips along with a casual, airy flow. Julia Roberts is miscast, but otherwise it’s a good show. Except, the pity we’re prompted to feel for the armless Afghani children seems disingenuous. Perhaps this is intentional. Perhaps all the U.S. did was throw gas on a fire. Perhaps Charlie Wilson planted the seeds for the mother of all quagmires.

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter are peas in a pod. As gruesome co-conspirators, they bear a striking resemblance to their counterparts in Corpse Bride, right down to the pale skin and sunken eyes. Both are great actors, and their murderous nuances are winning. HOWEVER, neither one of them can sing very well. It’s passable, but having never seen the musical, I wonder what it was like to have singers in those roles. Gratefully there are some who are better in smaller roles, including freakishly pitch-perfect Jayne Wisener, an unknown who has potential flying out of her skinny Irish wazoo. Tim Burton’s signature style is stamped all over this; the striking gothic sets and Crayola-red squirting blood. It’s a hell of a thing to behold, even if you’re not humming any of the songs on the way out.

Youth Without Youth

For his first movie in a long time, Francis Coppola enters David Lynch territory. This is a weird, sci-fi love story that feels like they’re making up the rules as they go along. Tim Roth is solid, as is his pretty co-star Alexandra Maria Lara. But the plot and tone are inconsistent and bizarre leaps in logic are abundant. Allegiance to the novels’ structure seems to be the reason, but it can't be said enough: movies and novels are two different things. Sometimes they don’t always translate. Coppola gets kudos for screaming out of the gate with something this… um… impressionistic, but, as I’ve said before – ambiguity is a crutch. It’s a lot harder to be clear.

I am Legend

Cast Away with zombies. Will Smith carries it well with charisma and the best canine sidekick since Mad Max’s mangy dingo-thing in The Road Warrior. But as good as he is, he can’t keep you from poking holes in the plot. Lots of flawed zombie logic leaves many unanswered questions. Not the least of which is: why do the zombies move so fast? (It’s funny that I don’t question that they’re ZOMBIES, just that they move too fast for zombies. Which is ridiculous, right? I mean, how should I know how fast zombies move?) Anyhoo, it’s a big summer movie in December. They didn’t reinvent the wheel, but it’ll do for a star-driven zombie fix.

Lars and the Real Girl

We all do it. We all choose to believe the lie. We all know that Uncle Roger’s an alcoholic. We all know the CIA tortures people. We all know human beings evolved by natural selection. We all know there is no Santa Claus. But cumulatively we all decide we’ll pick a lie to believe in, because it makes us feel better and not have to face the truth. Lars and the Real Girl is a profound portrait of denial. It depicts what is possible when a community decides to believe a lie to help one of their own, thus taking responsibility for the mental health of a neighbor who they KNOW has a screw loose. Rather than ignore Lars and shun him, the people enable him to embrace the solution.

Reminiscent of Harvey and/or Mannequin, but with a Frank Capra degree of optimism in human kind, Lars and the Real Girl is so sincere it almost shouldn’t work. But it benefits from an amazing cast and a stellar performance by Ryan Gosling. Also, this movie is not about romantic love, so it avoids the creepiness that the love doll idea conjures. When the idea of romantic love does come into play, it boils down to the most basic and possibly the most difficult step for many people: asking someone out for the first time.

In many ways, Lars and the Real Girl is the antithesis of The Mist, wherein the community believes the lie until they all turn against each other. I suggest seeing both movies on the same day: The Mist first, then Lars and the Real Girl. It just might BLOW YOUR MIND! Conclusively, this is one of the best movies of the year.

Enchanted

Not enough can be said about Amy Adams and her sterling commitment to her character and this concept. She is pitch-perfect as she sings and waltzes her way through several big musical numbers, lacking even a hint of irony. Her co-stars Susan Sarandon and James Marsden bring their "A" games as well. Alas, the script is the poison apple. The motives of the villain are foggy and the pace suffers when the goals and directives of the story change. The second half is less funny and more clunky, and the conclusion feels rushed and lackluster. All things considered, the songs, the music, and Amy Adams make this worthwhile, if imperfect.

The Golden Compass

It seems like a movie intended only for those who have read the books. Many of the fantastic and unique things about the alternate universe setting are glazed over, never explained, and taken for granted. The most flagrant example of this: each human character in the story is accompanied by an alter-ego animal. (The animation for these animals is outstanding, by the way.) But the “rules” for this universe – the fantastic way that these people live with these animals is frustratingly vague. Do these animals represent the conscious of the characters? Their moral centers? The animals seem passive and only occasionally help their humans by issuing warnings, etc. I’d rather have R2-D2 by my side any day of the week. The story feels rushed, too. Seemingly large “chapters” get resolved too quickly. The build-up and back-story to a feud of giant talking bears is shorter than their wrestlemania showdown. Again, beautifully animated, but it’s hard to care when we’ve barely been given a change to get to know or sympathize with the giant talking bears. This is a mixed bag.

The Savages

Man! Was this depressing! It hits too close to home. Phillip Seymour Hoffman was spot-on, but I misunderstood some of the motives of Laura Linney's character. What can I say? It’s really accurate. It’s really human. And it pokes into a lot of uncomfortable places. Leave time to have a drink afterwards. It’s good, but it’s a punch in the gut.