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October '08
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August '08
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2007's Best Movie
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By Aaron 1/10/2008
So I kept putting off writing my favorite movies of 2007 list and now it’s almost immaterial. But it is of marginal  material. Since most people’s fascination with lists has probably run out, I decided to go all in on one movie, and explain why it was the “best” movie of 2007. If you read my rant on favorites over on my other blog (you’d be one of two people), you would know that I prefer to write about “favorites” because “best ofs” are subjective. So take that with a grain of salt, but I still think Juno was the best movie that came out in 2007. You should also contextualize that with the fact that i saw A HUNDRED AND SEVENTY FIVE movies this year. Probably more because I didn't start keeping track until may. Sure, that includes movies I saw in theatres and on dvd, but everyone just talks about the theatrical releases on these lists. And while Juno is my favorite there, it is also the favorite for ALL the movies I saw. If you're curious about what other flicks I saw, click on the 2007 Favorite Movies article at the bottom.
So now I will dispense with the competition, beginning with the long shots.
Across the Universe and I’m Not There
Too abstract. I mean, much of what I’ve heard is that if you were blazing, Across the Universe was barely tolerable. And I’m Not There doesn’t really seem to pass the novelty test. Sure Blanchett was great, but she wasn’t in the movie long enough to carry it. At the very least, Juno had a great actress in addition to a great movie. And it was funny when you were cold sober.
Michael Clayton and Zodiac
Too old. Does anyone remember Zodiac? Sure I loved the flick, but it wasn’t the top dog, it was kind of long for that. And Clayton just pulled a new suit on an old failed Travolta adaptation, A Civil Action for a blasé new suspense thriller. While Clayton was pretty good, it didn’t have the energy originality that Juno did. You can read Bob’s Clayton review HERE.
American Gangster and Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead
Too yawn. Gangster went through the motions as Scott seemed unable to inject any of his touches, a la Gladiator or any spark into this boring Harlem Godfather tale. Devil got the hype but that seemed to mostly come from people with tunnel vision who only saw about an eighth of the screen, the part of the screen with Philip Seymour Hoffman in it. Granted his performance was extremely intense, movies aren’t good just because they have great acting. If that were true Godfather 3 would stomp Citizen Kane every time. Juno on the other hand kept you guessing, and had all around great acting paired with great everything else. You can read AJ’s Gangster review HERE. You can read Bob’s Devil review HERE.
Knocked Up and Superbad
Too funny. Knocked Up tried for seriousness but it was hard to take it’s seriousness very seriously. I mean, LOOK at Seth Rogen. Then LOOK at Katherine Heigl. As the realism slips away, so does much of the movie’s charm. Frankly, I never thought Knocked Up was better than Superbad. And with Superbad, you never have time to stop laughing and realize that the movie’s focus on a single day crushes a lot of the movie’s scope and power. Unlike Juno which covers a whole year and manages to work in some serious character development – for several characters – in between some great laughs. Whether or not this was the year of the R-Rated comedy, a PG13 flick did a lot more with story, and plot, then either of these two flicks. You can read my Superbad review HERE.
Gone Baby Gone and Eastern Promises
Too serious. I really liked Affleck’s directorial debut but he piggybacked a little bit on a Lehane story that came off as a better take on Mystic River. That type of “originality” will lose to Juno everytime. Eastern Promises was too damn blood thirsty to beat the all around PG13 goodness of Juno. You can read my GBG review HERE.
Atonement and Waitress
Too close. Both these flicks suffer a little from the same beating Blanchett got. While both were great, powerful films, their strengths, strong women characters, were largely absorbed by Juno. I’ve already raved about Atonement, but the last half REALLY let me down, while Juno finished strong, leaving me extremely happy. Waitress was kind of a downer, and it’s entirety just did not appeal to me. Hey, like I said, somethings are subjective. And when it comes to that, Juno’s killer soundtrack was an easy tiebreaker. You can read my Atonement review HERE.
No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood
Too intense. No Country was another movie like Atonement where the first half was nearly perfect and then disappointed me at the end. It had distinctive turning points that were pretty close to sharp turns. Sometimes that’s nice, but with a movie like No Country that was so flow oriented, it really took away from it. Juno was able to utilize periods of time like trimesters (you think?) that gave the movie structure. I didn’t get to see There Will Be Blood, but I can guess that it’s intensity and power (especially from Daniel Day-Lewis) knocked you down instead of putting a smile on your face like Juno did. You can read my No Country review HERE. You can read Bob’s Blood review HERE.
Juno was special.
It was something so much more. It not only told a story that struck a chord with me (no, I’ve never been in Paulie’s  situation, thank you very much smart-ass). It captured a bunch of different feelings that seemed true and powerful. I don’t think a lot of movies really get to the level of being true AND powerful. Most movies can be powerful in some way. No Country could get your heart pumping, Atonement could break your heart, Gone Baby Gone could cut your heart out, and Superbad could make you laugh till your heart hurt. But they weren’t that true. Sure I wrote about Superbad and said I loved how they talked because we actually talk that way and I said that Juno’s dialogue was too smart for high schoolers. But I liked that. Maybe Juno had an unfair advantage because it is the only movie on this list that I have seen twice. But it was also the only movie I WANTED to see twice. I tried watching Superbad again, but it felt different, it wasn’t as good. Sure, you might come to a conclusion that the Coen’s turned in a great movie, or that Daniel Day-Lewis was simply unbelievable, but do you really LOVE those movies? Are they near and dear to you? Or did they just make you go wow. Because Juno did both, easily.
You can read my Juno review HERE.
Other 2007 Favorites:
Albums
Songs
News
Movies
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Bob’s October Movie Preview
By Bob 10/2/2008
 Now that we have gotten through the sludge of September movies, it’s time for some Oscar contenders, and movies that think they’re good but not. Halloween is also this month so there is bound to be a lot of random horror movies going on and of course a Saw film to soak in. Whatever happens though, I’m gonna guess that at least one of the following gets some nods come Oscar time. With that, my October Movie Preview:
Cops, Robbers, and Blah
10) Pride and Glory: October 24th
From the director of Miracle comes one of the most clichéd trailers of ALL TIME. Edward Norton as A COP. Colin Farrell as HIMSELF. What more could we want from a movie? I don’t know, and I will likely never find out because this is not one flick I will be seeing.
9) Max Payne: October 17th 
As I feverishly go through my mind trying to think of a video game adaptation that has actually been a good movie, I’m also reminded of all of the bad movies Marky Mark has made over the past ever (excluding The Departed and Boogie Nights of course). I would be shocked if there is anybody who is actually excited for this, as anybody who actually played the game has probably outgrown the genre.
8) Body of Lies: October 10th
Leonardo Dicaprio. Russell Crowe. Ridley Scott. Something about spies. The trailers really tell us nothing about this film except, “How am I supposed to run an operation when you’re running a side operation.” I don’t really know what that means, but Leo says it in the trailer. This film looks like another lame attempt by Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe to win Oscars. I’m not buying it.
7) Flash of Genius: October 3rd
Greg Kinnear stars as an man who invents the intermittent windshield wiper, and then has it stolen from him buy the major auto manufacturers. This just looks like a boring film that will get a lukewarm response. For some reason, however, it has been getting a huge level of marketing with television and even radio advertisements. I doubt people will buy it.
6) RocknRolla: October 10th
Guy Ritchie is back in the genre he knows best, and this appears to be an English gangster film much in the mold of Lock Stock and Snatch. We’ll see if he still has his stuff, but for now, I’ll just pop in my DVDs of the older films that I can trust, and look to be almost identical in plot to this one.
Movies that Intrigue Me
5) Changeling: October 24th 
Angelina Jolie stars in this Clint Eastwood film about a woman whose son goes missing and is returned with something different. Any film that Eastwood directs (that’s not Flags of our Fathers of course) is worth checking out, and this looks to be no different. It got solid reviews with it premiered at Cannes, and Angelina Jolie is ready for a solid role.
4) W.: October 17th
 A film that is certain to be the years most controversial, Oliver Stone directs this biopic about our current president. While I am sure Stone will exaggerate many of the details, there is no denying that he has put together an awesome cast including Josh Broling (as Bush), Elizibeth Banks (as First Lady Laura), James Cromwell (as his father H. W.), Richard Dreyfuss (as Cheney), Thadie Newton (as Condoleezza Rice) and others as the rest of his cabinet. Whatever happens in this film, it will certainly be interesting.
3) Synecdoche, New York: October 24th
A film that I have been awaiting since last year, this is Charlie Kauffman’s directorial debut. I have loved the films he has written (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Being John Malkovich, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, and Adaptation. ) and this should prove to be equally compelling. It stars Philip Seymour Hoffman as a playwright who attempts to put on a production in a warehouse that includes a scale model of New York. It will probably boggle our minds, but that is Kauffman, isn’t it?
2) Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist: October 3rd
Michael Cera and Kat Dennings star as the eponymous Nick and Norah who meet each other one night in New York and have adventures. Something about the trailer really brought this movie to my attention, probably the indie style that I love. Cera is always great, and Dennings was really cool in Charlie Bartlett, so I might make my way to a cinema this week to check it out.
1) Zach and Miri Make a Porno: October 31st 
Seth Rogen and Elizibeth Banks star as two best friends who decide to make a porno together. This is Kevin Smith’s first film since Clerks 2, and I can only hope that it matches that film in hilarity. The only thing I don’t understand, is why are they releasing this film on Halloween? I guess there is probably a Saw film being released anyways.
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