Best Films of '07

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Gauging quality by IMDB is like looking at the Billboard charts; any fucking moron who knows how to operate a computer can vote on that shit.

Elitism FTW.
 
Totally. IMDB makes Rotten Tomatoes look like the Oxford law club or some shit.

And for something totally off topic, I just watched The Aviator again for the first time in a couple years. DAMN, that's a killer flick. I might even prefer it to Gangs... I'll ruminate.
 
The Aviator is a bit more finely-honed, but I don't know if it reaches the highest peaks that Gangs does.

So what do you think of my theory that The Aviator's final shot, the close-up of Hughes' face in darkness, is an homage to the opening close-up of Bonaserra in The Godfather? Two films about the dark side of the American Dream.
 
I'm more excited about Mortensen and Hoffman playing cannibals.

There are a few ingredients that guarantee you'll secure our cabooses into a movie theater seat. In this instance, those ingredients include Philip Seymour Hoffman, Viggo Mortensen and a smidge of, wait for it, cannibals.

New York entertainment blog Vulture caught wind of the upcoming horror flick Vanikoro, which was written and directed by Xavier Gens. As the story goes, French explorer La Perouse gets shipwrecked on one of the Vanikoro islands. While most of the crew MacGyvers a boat to sail away, two stay back.

Seymour and Mortensen are "in talks" to join the cast (via Bloody-Disgusting.com). No dates for the film have been set yet.
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A+
 
lazarus said:
The Aviator is a bit more finely-honed, but I don't know if it reaches the highest peaks that Gangs does.

So what do you think of my theory that The Aviator's final shot, the close-up of Hughes' face in darkness, is an homage to the opening close-up of Bonaserra in The Godfather? Two films about the dark side of the American Dream.
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You know, that's what I thought too. Gangs of New York still feels like a bit of a mess to me. I think it's the editing I take issue with. Some shots feel out of place, or too long or too short, and it's really an uneven narrative. The performances are equally uneven, though the lesser talents in the film certainly weren't helped being cast in DDL's shadow. Even still, The Aviator doesn't have any performance as awful of Diaz', but at the same time it doesn't have one nearly as glorious as Lewis'.

The Aviator definitely felt more even to me, and had a more clearly defined arc, which allows for easily dissection of the themes and creative decisions at work. This is really the first DiCaprio performance where I really felt he was a true acting force too, and I was really impressed last night, having forgotten just how great he was.

Even still, you're right in that it doesn't have high marks quite as high as those reached in Gangs, since Hughes' story lacked the garish set pieces or intense DDL-driven dramatic moments that made Gangs a remarkable experience.

So, I still don't know which I prefer, which is fine since I've sort of always considered them a double-feature of sorts for some reason. They seem to be made from the same sort of ambition and creative mindset. As for the final shot being an homage to Coppola, I wouldn't be surprised at all if that was Scorsese's intent, but at the same time it's hardly an uncommon shot, so who knows.
 
Lancemc said:


I'm pumped for that as well. I haven't read The Road, but I've heard nothing but amazing reactions. And you can't go wrong with Viggo or Hillcoat (The Proposition was stellar).
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You should read it. Bleak as fuck, but amazing.

I look forward to this and Blood Meridian becoming films.
 
No spoken words said:


You should read it. Bleak as fuck, but amazing.

I look forward to this and Blood Meridian becoming films.
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Given Ridley Scott's track record as of late, I wouldn't get your hopes up over Blood Meridian.
 
Lancemc said:
As for the final shot being an homage to Coppola, I wouldn't be surprised at all if that was Scorsese's intent, but at the same time it's hardly an uncommon shot, so who knows.
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It's not just the type of shot, but also the way it's lit, how one opens a film and one closes another, and what the characters are saying. The first line of The Godfather is Bonaserra saying "I love America", and The Aviator closes with the mantra "The wave of the future" over and over again.

As I said, each film is a dark portrait of the American Dream, and it feels too familiar to be a coincidence.
 
I don't know, it's still might be a bit of a stretch to say it's a direct homage. It's certainly an inspired shot, and a beautiful way to the end with, but whether or not it was a conscious motive? I don't know. I mean, what contemporary director hasn't been inspired by Coppola's 70's work in some way? It might just be one of those things...
 
Did anyone happen to see Paprika? I really love this director's (Satoshi Kon) other films, and this came and went where I was working at the time.

I'm thinking of just buying the DVD sight unseen. If it's half as good as Millenium Actress it will be amazing.
 
Dalton said:
I still haven't ready Blood Meridian. Is it as good as the Road?
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Apples to Oranges, really. Different setting. I enjoyed both immensely, but would be hard pressed to say which was "better".

Lance, Scott's overrated but he's still capable of making strong films here and there, so I'm hoping this will be another one.
 
No spoken words said:


Apples to Oranges, really. Different setting. I enjoyed both immensely, but would be hard pressed to say which was "better".

Lance, Scott's overrated but he's still capable of making strong films here and there, so I'm hoping this will be another one.
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Definitely. Matchstick Men was pretty good and I still haven't seen the DC of Kingdom of Heaven or American Gangster yet to judge.

It's gotta be hard for the guy, knowing he'll never top the Alien/Blade Runner duo, you know?
 
I'm not Scott fan, but I have to say the Director's Cut of Kingdom of Heaven is one of his Top 3 films. Really amazing piece of work. And a screenplay by William Monahan, BTW.
 
Well Blade Runner would be one of the other 2. But I just saw The Final Cut in the theatre, and while it's pretty visionary, I'm hesitant to call it an out and out masterpiece. It's practically ALL atmosphere.

I'd say Alien is probably a stronger film overall.
 
American Gangster was just one of the laziest "big" films I've seen in quite a long time, truly awful in some respect, though not an outright bad film. And A Good Year is supposedly even more of a drag.
 
For the record, I liked Matchstick Man a lot as well. But considering how esteemed Ridley Scott's name is among film geeks, his filmography is pretty spotty, and has only approached greatness on a few occasions--American Gangster certainly not one of them; a shame, as on paper it sure seemed like it was going to be a classic.

I should say here that I've never seen Black Hawk Down, which I know has its proponents.
 
Black Hawk Down really is an impressive film. Not quite exceptional maybe, and certainly not as fantastic as its most hardcore supporters claim, but it's easily one of his better projects.

I haven't seen Kingdom of Heaven yet either, though I definitely should, given how well received the DC is.
 
Gladiator was very good, and I liked it when I saw it in theatres. But when it was nominated for (and won) those Oscars I was like WTF? It's not a masterpiece, it just seemed like very high-grade summer entertainment to me. Not as shallow as something like Troy, as Crowe elevated anything he's in, but not nearly as deep as it was pretending to be.
 
lazarus said:
Gladiator was very good, and I liked it when I saw it in theatres. But when it was nominated for (and won) those Oscars I was like WTF? It's not a masterpiece, it just seemed like very high-grade summer entertainment to me. Not as shallow as something like Troy, as Crowe elevated anything he's in, but not nearly as deep as it was pretending to be.
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:up: When I first saw it in the theatre I was impressed but as time has gone on it has not aged well imo...

I agree with Lance about Black Hawk Down, this is probably my 3rd favorite Scott film behind Alien and Blade Runner...
 
Writers Guild of America nominees:

Original:

Judd Apatow, Knocked Up
Diablo Cody, Juno
Tamara Jenkins, The Savages
Tony Gilroy, Michael Clayton
Nancy Oliver, Lars and the Real Girl


Adapted:

Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood
Joel & Ethan Coen, No Country For Old Men
Sean Penn, Into the Wild
Ronald Harwood, The Diving Bell and The Buttefly
James Vanderbilt, Zodiac


Nice to see the recognition of Zodiac, but it wasn't one of the more memorable aspects of the film to me. Fincher should have been a DGA nom.

Lance, Into the Wild IS getting some big Oscar noms. Time to accept the inevitable. DGA+WGA is pretty much a sure thing. Same goes for There Will Be Blood, which is obviously very good news.
 
I just found this channel on DirecTV called Reelz (238) which is all about movies/the industry.

There's gonna be an hour-long John Carpenter doc on at 8 ET. :drool:

Blade Runner has extraordinary atmosphere. But for all of the sci-fi in the film, it's a character drama, and a very good one at that. I really can't think of anything to dislike in that movie.

Plus, Batty's monologue at the end is one of my favorite moments ever in film... and Rutger Hauer improvised that. Fuck me, that's amazing.
 
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