{"id":606,"date":"2008-02-10T20:47:22","date_gmt":"2008-02-11T01:47:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/2008\/02\/10\/the-8-best-movies-i-saw-in-2007\/"},"modified":"2023-03-28T16:28:12","modified_gmt":"2023-03-28T20:28:12","slug":"the-8-best-movies-i-saw-in-2007","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/the-8-best-movies-i-saw-in-2007\/","title":{"rendered":"The 8 Best Movies I Saw in 2007"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Followers of this blog (a statistic which I believe can be plotted on an arc approaching zero) may have noticed an accumulation of digital dust this past year. Indeed, I watched my own blog drop off the first page of Google results for my own name<\/em>. Who’s feeling lucky?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A new year, another birthday (good gravy I’m getting old), and my somewhat strong personal reaction to the movie Cloverfield<\/a><\/em> recently moved me to quietly re-inaugurate this poor old blog. I’m in the early stages of hammering the basic baked-in blog template into a new design direction, which I ask readers to please overlook for the time being.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I still saw a lot of movies over the past year that I’d have liked to talk about in these pages. So coming up next are a series of posts that no one asked for and are almost certainly too late anyway: a review of the best (in my opinion) & worst (also, alas, in my opinion) films of 2007 (that I’ve seen, mind you).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why only 8 best? Because I’m a philistine and haven’t yet seen many of 2007’s most acclaimed films (look for a post on that subject later). So here they are, in alphabetical order, and isn’t it a happy coincidence Blade Runner<\/em> starts with a “B”:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"Blade<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

BLADE RUNNER: THE FINAL CUT<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It may be a bit of a stretch to include Blade Runner<\/em> here, but a new cut released in theaters during 2007 ought to count, and hey, it’s my damn list. The classic has been eye-poppingly restored and is now finally definitive after a long history of compromised releases. But with Ridley Scott slinging spoilers around in interviews, and some new plot clarifications made to the film itself, it’s a pity to lose some of the wonderfully maddening ambiguity fans have cherished for decades. “Deckard might be and probably is a replicant” is a lot more intriguing than “Deckard is definitely a replicant and always has been.” But Blade Runner<\/em> is still one of the most timeless, gorgeous, and influential movies ever made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"The<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

THE DARJEELING LIMITED<\/strong>
Not just my new favorite Wes Anderson film, but also a new favorite overall. I understand that Anderson’s mannered style is not everyone’s cup of darjeeling (sorry), and that he may seem to be simply repeating himself in both style and content. But I found The Darjeeling Limited<\/em> hilarious and genuinely moving, even though I’m an only child and often can’t really sympathize with sibling stories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"Hot<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

HOT FUZZ<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A hysterically funny mashup of all the best & worst action movies ever made (but mostly The Wild Bunch<\/em> and, why not, The Wicker Man<\/em>), that also somehow manages to be charming and even a little heartwarming. OK, you might ask, but why does this deserve a spot on a “Best Of” list? One of the entries on my forthcoming “Worst Of” list will illustrate how badly this project could have gone off the rails.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"Juno\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

JUNO<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s got it all, homeskillet: cracking good dialogue, casting perfection, and a good heart. All the social conservatives that cried victory when “Hollywood” released a movie in which a young woman does not have an abortion missed the greater miracle: here’s a movie with believably rich characters of all ages, incomes, and genders, and it’s not even about abortion in the first place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"No<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Coen Brothers toss narrative convention out the window — no, wrong cliche. How about: The Coen Brothers drag narrative convention out into the desert, gut-shoot it, and leave it for dead. Even though I haven’t read the original novel, this is perhaps one of the most novelistic movies I’ve ever seen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"The<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

EL ORFANATO (THE ORPHANAGE)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A modern ghost story with dignity and class, The Orphanage<\/em> nearly scared me into a coronary. And it does it all without gore and CG. OK, yes, there is a little of each, but still. (full disclosure: I work for the distribution company, and designed the official movie site<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"Ratatouille\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

RATATOUILLE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’ll be hard to write this paragraph without hyperbole, but Ratatouille<\/em> is one of the more perfect movies I’ve ever seen, period. I’m hard-pressed to remember any other movie that literally squeezed tears of pure delight out of me, and director Brad Bird is a genius. That’s all I have to say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"There<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

THERE WILL BE BLOOD<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Commandingly confident direction, powerfully staged action, political relevance at once clear and unspoken, stunningly intense acting, and a hair-raising score. And if all that isn’t enough, it’s also blessed with the best movie title… maybe ever?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Honorable mentions:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n