03/08January

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I watch a lot of movies. It’s true. It’s a bit of an addiction, really. But how else would I be able to make such an extensive list of the best films, performances, and moments in cinema for you all if I didn’t slave away in movie theaters all year?

Without further ado, my best films of 2007, and more.

Cream of the Crop

  1. Ratatouille: Pixar has proven that animated films aren’t only for kids — Ratatouille is one of the most brilliantly-crafted films I have ever seen, and Brad Bird continues to do what he does best: tell compelling stories.
  2. No Country for Old Men: The new Coen Brothers film is gripping and hard to stomach and will keep you on the edge of your seat. You barely ever know what to expect, and even when you do, it’s never exactly how you expected it. Sheer genius.
  3. Juno: Jason Reitman builds on his Thank You For Smoking success by making a comedy so hip it hurts. Big kudos to Diablo Cody’s script and Ellen Page’s fantastic performance.
  4. Persepolis: There are some stories that are meant to be told through images, and Persepolis is one of those stories. The animation is impressive, the story is engaging, and the message it conveys is one that needs to be heard.
  5. There Will Be Blood: Who needs a soul when you’ve got money, power, and respect? Paul Thomas Anderson’s most recent film tracks the American dream to the extreme: where success comes through hard work, effort, and a whole lot of ruthlessness.
  6. The Savages: Indie to the core, Tamara Jenkins’ film has fantastic performances, but it was her witty script brought me to hysterics and tears. Never has a sibling drama been so entertaining.
  7. Zodiac: Easily forgotten because it was released so early in the year, David Fincher’s most recent film takes all the tension and confusion from Se7en and Fight Club and puts it in an intriguing police drama.
  8. Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead: It’s impossible to doubt Sidney Lumet’s skill with cinema, even at the age of 83, after watching this brilliant film where lies and deceit bring turmoil to best of people.
  9. Once: John Carney uses music to tell a bittersweet love story better than most directors can do with extensive dialog. The story is beautiful and tugs at your heart-strings, but it is really the music that is the magical element of this film.
  10. Atonement: Despite Joe Wright’s lackluster directing of the film, the stunning art direction and inspired performances (particularly by James McAvoy and Saoirse Ronan) definitely elevate this film to one of the ten best of the year.

Notable Mentions

It was incredibly difficult to narrow down the list of top ten films this year, particularly since I had to omit some gems like Ben Affleck’s surprisingly powerful Gone Baby Gone, Tim Burton’s madly maniacal musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, and the legendary Werner Herzog’s Rescue Dawn, which featured a stellar performance by Christian Bale.

Best Foreign Films

I’ll admit that it is odd that my top ten list only contains one (Persepolis) foreign film, but such was the strength of this year’s crop of films. Clearly a standout from abroad was The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Julian Schnabel’s wonderfully-crafted film about the strength of human resolve. Ang Lee’s Lust, Caution was more intense and thrilling than I was ever expecting. Daniele Luchetti’s My Brother Is An Only Child had me laughing and crying all at the same time.

Best Canadian Films

For the second year in a row, my favorite Canadian film of the year is a short instead of a feature-length work. Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski have created some of the most compelling seventeen minutes of animation of the year in Madame Tutli-Putli, which is a shoe-in for accolades come awards season. Richie Mehta’s Amal shone as a top Canadian film, and Rupinder Nagra’s starring performance was a shining breakthrough in acting in this country. And of course, Cronenberg continues to impress us all, this time with the mobster flick Eastern Promises.

Best Animated Films

With two of my top five films (Ratatouille, Persepolis) of the year being animated, I really don’t have to comment on the best animated films of the year. Animation really did rule the year, with my third-favorite animated film also being my favorite Canadian film, Madame Tutli-Putli.

Best Documentaries

There are few films that made me smile as much as The King of Kong, a documentary about one of my favorite video arcade games growing up. While it was great to hear from retired astronauts, the photography in In the Shadow of the Moon made it one of the more compelling documentaries of the year. My Kid Could Paint That showed that the intrigue behind talented children can make for a fantastic and interesting movie.

Best Performances

My top male performances of the year:

My top female performances of the year:

Most Overrated

It’s always hard to choose overrated films. While most of them are still quite good, by listing films like A Mighty Heart — which featured great performances but not much soul — and Away From Her — which was a stunning first feature from Sarah Polley that tugged at my heartstrings but wasn’t earth-shattering at all — in this category, I’m only saying that they perhaps do not deserve all the kudos they have been receiving. Case in point: I’ll admit that I’m Not There was a good film, but for us non-Dylan-fanatics, it surely wasn’t among the best movies of the year.

Most Underrated

Wes Anderson’s The Darjeeling Limited wasn’t his best film, but it was still meticulously put together and featured Anderson’s signature humor. Tarantino and Rodriguez’ Grindhouse might have flopped at the box office, but in their own special way, Death Proof and Planet Terror both brought back the best and worst of the grindhouse genre. Sure, Julie Taymor’s Across the Universe was psychedelic and disjointed, but it was a lot more fun than anyone would have expected from a Vietnam-era musical.

Pleasant Surprises

Sure it was a cookie-cutter romantic comedy, but the faux-80s soundtrack in Music and Lyrics made it one of my favorite guilty pleasures of the year. Similarly, Hairspray had such an infectious soundtrack and color palette that it was impossible not to enjoy it. Of course, the biggest surprise of the year was Transformers: I’m not a Michael Bay fan at all, but giant robots and explosions surely are that man’s forte.

That’s all for this year folks. Hopefully some of you will join me for some movie-watching in 2008!