Best Films of '07

[LMP]

Since we've got less than 2 days left of 2007, I figured it would be cool to see everyone's end-of-the-year movie Top 10.

Like the Decades Lists, rank them in order of 1st to 10th, with 10 points given to the top, 9 points to 2nd, etc. Feel free to post more than 10, I'll only count the first 10 though, and if you want to redo your list, just get it in before voting ends. I'll tally up the votes at the end of the week and add them to the Decades Results thread.

Alright, please submit your lists the same way I do it below. It's a lot easier to tally everything up, trust me:

1. No Country for Old Men
2. The Darjeeling Limited
3. Superbad
4. Sunshine
5. Juno
6. Knocked Up
7. Hot Fuzz
8. Grindhouse (Death Proof >>> Planet Terror)
9. Transformers
10. I Am Legend
---
Honorable Mentions: Live Free or Die Hard, 3:10 to Yuma

You don't have to do this, but here are some films I need to catch in theaters or when they hit DVD:

1. There Will Be Blood
2. Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story
3. American Gangster
4. Eastern Promises
5. Zodiac
6. Into the Wild
7. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
8. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
9. Youth Without Youth
10. Persepolis
11. I'm Not There
12. Before The Devil Knows You're Dead
13. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
14. Gone Baby Gone
15. Rescue Dawn

 

[Lancemc]

I won't be able to make this list until I've seen at least 5 more films, all of which I hope to see before the end of the month.

 

[LMP]

Better hurry up then.

 

[Lancemc]

Better hurry up then.

You're telling me. I should be seeing Juno in the next couple days, and then my friend and I will be making another NYC trip soon to see a few more of them, and whatever left will be seen by January 15th at the latest by the time I'm back in D.C.

 

[monkeyskin]

It's going to be three weeks before I get a chance to see I'm Not There and The Assassination of Jesse James... so I can either post a list that doesn't take these into account or kidnap you so you can't compile the results until then. Your choice.

 

[LMP]

You're telling me. I should be seeing Juno in the next couple days, and then my friend and I will be making another NYC trip soon to see a few more of them, and whatever left will be seen by January 15th at the latest by the time I'm back in D.C.

Oh, thought you meant the end of this month.

Yeah, I should be the one hurrying up to see good shit. Your Facebook list is a hell of a lot more respectable than mine.

 

[Lancemc]

Oh, thought you meant the end of this month.

Yeah, I should be the one hurrying up to see good shit. Your Facebook list is a hell of a lot more respectable than mine.

Yeah, I've been thinking I need to revise my grading system a bit, which I'll likely work on some time today. I feel like I'm missing a point bracket somewhere in the upper levels. But I'll post it either here or in the review thread when I have it all worked out.

 

[LMP]

Yeah, I've been thinking I need to revise my grading system a bit, which I'll likely work on some time today. I feel like I'm missing a point bracket somewhere in the upper levels. But I'll post it either here or in the review thread when I have it all worked out.

Yeah, almost like your rating things higher for the sake of being higher? I have a similar problem, so I may start using .5s.

It's going to be three weeks before I get a chance to see I'm Not There and The Assassination of Jesse James... so I can either post a list that doesn't take these into account or kidnap you so you can't compile the results until then. Your choice.

I've always wanted to go to England.

 

[Lancemc]

Well, currently I consider the ratings something like:

10- A masterpiece

9.0/9.5 - excellent

8.0/8.5 - great

7.0/7.5 - good

etc.

But I do think the 9-bracket needs to dictate something between what it does now and a 10, and everything else would move down one point.

 

[LMP]

Maybe you could make it like this:

10 - Masterpiece

9.0/9.5 - (Genre?) Classic

8.0/8.5 - Excellent

7.0/7.5 - Great

6.0/6.5 - Good

Making 5 the median over 6 deflates the scores a bit for some more consistency.

 

[Screwtape2]

I'd love to do one of these lists but nothing really jumped out at me this year. I will say though that Once was the best movie of the year.

 

[the tourist]

5. Zodiac
15. Rescue Dawn

These two, for sure, are out on dvd.

 

[Lancemc]

I've noticed a bit of a problem with the system of ratings I've been using this past year, so for the remainder of the year and especially for 2008 I'll be putting up this revised rating system to better gauge the quality of the films I see. I'll soon be revising all the scores for my 2007 films to match this slightly altered system here, and all scores from this point out will be based on this system. The idea is to provide a broader spectrum for the high end films. I currently have 3 films from the year with a score of 10/10, which simply doesn't speak of the subtle difference in quality among the absolute best film of the year. So here we go:

10 - Masterpiece : This is the type of film that surpasses all lower qualification. A true landmark of the art of cinema. A film that functions on its own set of rules and raises the bar for the medium.

9.0/9.5 - Exceptional : Films that exceed excellence. These are films that absolutely everyone should see, because they are truly noteworthy works of filmmaking that demonstrate exquisite levels of artistic accomplishment.

8.0/8.5 - Excellent : Works that showcase outstanding craft and artistry. These films set to achieve a high goal of art or entertainment and succeed in nearly all respects.

7.0/7.5 - Great : Works that showcase very good levels of craft and/or artistry. These films set to achieve a high goal of art or entertainment and succeed in many respects.

6.0/6.5 - Good : Films that demonstrate better than average achievements of art or entertainment. These films may set to achieve certain goals and fail, but contain more positive qualities than negative ones.

5.0/5.5 - Fair : Films that exhibit some kind of favorable quality, that may range from pure entertainment value or an ambitious artistic goal, but fail to succeed as a truly good film.

4.0/4.5 - Mediocre : Films that most audiences should generally avoid, these are bland unfit works that typically showcase neither notably positive nor exceedingly negative qualities.

3.0/3.5 - Poor : Films that fail in nearly all respects, and are wholly unworthy of recommendation.

2.0/2.5 - Awful : Films that achieve surprising levels of negative quality, they typically devoid of any artistic or entertainment value.

0.5/1.0/1.5 - Abysmal : a·bys·mal –adjective
2. extremely or hopelessly bad or severe: abysmal ignorance; abysmal poverty.

0.0 - Impossible : Practically no film could ever be this bad, because it would single-handedly make the medium of film itself despicable .

 

[beegee]

I saw Into The Wild nine times.

I think that qualifies it as my top pick of 2007.

 

[ultravioletluvv]

I saw Into The Wild nine times.

I think that qualifies it as my top pick of 2007.

My favorite as well! I rarely want to see a movie twice at the theatre, but this is one of them.

 

[Lancemc]

I saw Into The Wild nine times.

Wow. I probably would have had to blow my brains out.

More power to you.

 

[anitram]

I don't think I saw enough movies this year to do a proper list.

But Ratatouille would definitely make it to my top 10 list.

 

[anitram]

On second thought:

1. Grbavica - The Land of My Dreams
2. No Country for Old Men
3. Ratatouille
4. Once
5. The Bourne Ultimatum
6. Michael Clayton
7. Juno
8. Rescue Dawn
9. Away From Her
10. Eastern Promises

 

[beegee]

Wow. I probably would have had to blow my brains out.

More power to you.

Oh, believe me, there were several times that I left before the actual ending.

 

[Lancemc]

Oh, believe me, there were several times that I left before the actual ending.

Hmm, it wouldn't be because it was depressing if that's what you're thinking, I was more frustrated during the whole thing than anything.

 

[lazarus]

Oh, believe me, there were several times that I left before the actual ending.

Did you pay to see it 9 times?


Because spending that much time in the theatre seems contradictory to the story's message in a way, doesn't it?

 

[lazarus]

I can't make this list final either until I see There Will Be Blood, which will be a few weeks. I'm considering it an '07 release.

Also, even though The Lives of Others was eligible (and won) at last year's Oscars, I'm pretty sure it was next to impossible to see it before this year. So I feel like I need to put it on this year's list.

Tenatively:

1. I'm Not There (Haynes)
2. No Country For Old Men (Coens)
3. Assassination of Jesse James... (Dominik)
4. Youth Without Youth (Coppola)
5. The Lives of Others (Von Donnersmarck)
6. Black Book (Verhoeven)
7. Knocked Up (Apatow)
8. Zodiac (Fincher)
9. Ratatouille (Bird)

There's no way There Will Be Blood isn't making this list, it's just a question if it's going to be at #1 or not. And it's a testament to how great this year was that I don't have room for Eastern Promises, Into The Wild, The Darjeeling Limited, and Lust, Caution, all of which would probably have made my Top 10 last year.

 

[LemonMelon]

Best film of the year = Hot Fuzz

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORcC5sWSu-E

 

[Queen Bee]

Best film of the year = Hot Fuzz

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORcC5sWSu-E

 

[Lancemc]

Hot Fuzz

I absolutely adored The Lives of Others, and I consider it a 2006 film, so it's probably my #1 of #2 from last year.

I watched Black Book tonight. Wasn't crazy about it unfortunately. Way too uneven, and though I have a feeling parts were supposed to be ironically light-hearted, I still they failed. It was still a very good film though, it just wouldn't come close to a year-end list personally.

And I'm going to make myself write a proper There Will Be Blood review tomorrow.

 

[No spoken words]

I had the pleasure of seeing The Lives of Others in the theaters last year back in LA. I expected it to be good, but not that damned good. The end was fantastic.

 

[LMP]

Hot Fuzz

I absolutely adored The Lives of Others, and I consider it a 2006 film, so it's probably my #1 of #2 from last year.

I watched Black Book tonight. Wasn't crazy about it unfortunately. Way too uneven, and though I have a feeling parts were supposed to be ironically light-hearted, I still they failed. It was still a very good film though, it just wouldn't come close to a year-end list personally.

And I'm going to make myself write a proper There Will Be Blood review tomorrow.

How could you not like Hot Fuzz?

It's like Last Action Hero, only better.

 

[namkcuR]

Mome La AKA La Vie En Rose

It's a French film, a biopic on Edith Piaf.

Marion Cotillard, the lead, should win the Oscar for best lead actress. Phenomenal performance.

I just felt the need to post it because I'm sure nobody else will mention it.

 

[LemonMelon]

How could you not like Hot Fuzz?

It's like Last Action Hero, only better.

Hot Funk is even better.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9k18Q_63KpE

 

[monkeyskin]

How could you not like Hot Fuzz?

It's like Last Action Hero, only better.

The general situation and first two thirds of the film is very, very funny, but then the action packed final act just drags. It's an interesting idea and perhaps if they had distributed the supermarket shootout, country lane chase and model museum one on one throughout the film it would have worked better, but as it is it's just overload. The actual conspiracy plot was also crap.

Edgar Wright needs to grow as a director too, he's kept the exact same style and technique from Spaced and while it was OK for Shaun of the Dead it just doesn't work all the time here. TV ain't the same as cinema.

But I did LOL loads in the first two thirds and actually preferred it on my second viewing knowing exactly how the shift in tone works. Too many moments to list but it's great having a cast that constantly made my mates and I think, "Oh look it's _______!"