Updated Best of 2007

After watching "Once" I felt it deserved to be placed very high on my top ten list so I updated it. It is such a great movie with one of the best soundtracks of the year.

1. Sunshine (Boyle, UK)
2. Once (Carney, Ireland)
3. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (Dominik, US)
4. Michael Clayton (Gilroy, US)
5. Gone Baby Gone (Affleck, US)
6. This Is England (Meadows, UK)
7. Eastern Promises (Cronenberg, UK/Canada)
8. Into the Wild (Penn, US)
9. No Country For Old Men (Coen Brothers, US)
10. Black Snake Moan (Brewer, US)

Honerable Mentions: Sicko, The Host, Zodiac, Charlie Wilson's War, Hot Fuzz, Before the Devil Knows Your Dead, Rescue Dawn,
In the Valley of Elah, 28 Weeks Later

Worst Films of 2007 (Released in Theaters)

Alright, now its time to list the movies this year that were worth their weight in SHIT
1. Dragon Wars
2. Good Luck Chuck
3. Spider Man 3
4. Resident Evil: Extenction
5. Live Free or Die Hard
6. Shrek the Third
7. I Know Who Killed Me
8. Georgia Rule
9. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
10. The Reaping

There are so many more but these are my top ten.

Best Films of 2007 (Released in Theaters)

1. Sunshine
2. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
3. Michael Clayton
4. Gone Baby Gone
5. This Is England
6. Eastern Promises
7. Into the Wild
8. No Country For Old Men
9. Black Snake Moan
10. Sicko


Honerable Mentions: The Host, Zodiac, Charlie Wilson's War, Hot Fuzz, Before the Devil Knows Your Dead, Rescue Dawn,
In the Valley of Elah, 28 Weeks Later

Didn't get to see: There Will Be Blood, The Savages, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

The Kingdom

After a brief history lesson into the relationship between Saudi Arabia and the US, “The Kingdom” drives straight into a daylight attack on a softball game at a US housing compound in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. With some hardball tactics by Special Agent Fleury (Foxx), and his forensic team played by Gardner, Bateman and Cooper are allowed to travel to Riyadh to help with the investigation. Tensions flare between the FBI team and Saudi police led by Colonel Faris Al Ghazi (Barhom) almost immediately, but it is an instinctive common goal (not one you might think) between the two that ultimately unite them. The investigation is stalled at times due to Saudi bureaucracy but the overall force of the two sides to catch the man responsible prevails. The entire movie moves toward a final action packed and brutal shoot out between the FBI, Saudi Police and terrorists cell responsible for the attacks on the US compound.
I absolutely loved this movie. The combination of raw action and raw emotion resonate throughout the movie. Most people strike it down because of its inability to pick a side, either an action film or a political thriller. This is the main reason why I liked it. It blendes two sides of a story that not many films have done with success.
Panoramic night shots (taken straight out of a Michael Mann film) mixed with the character’s lives beyond the investigation and a great score make for stunning visuals that not only calm our senses but also transition the film with ease.
Politically, The Kingdom succeeds to bringing light to the clashes that Americans have with the Middle East. From the ignorant perceptions about religion and culture to the intergovernmental and bureaucratic bullshit that plagues the team for half of the film.
Bateman and Cooper are excellent and Foxx, who at times is badass, is never brutal. His relationship with Faris is genuine. Gardner is my opinion the only weak link in the film. This film succeeds on so many levels. In a year where more crap has been produced than I can ever remember, The Kingdom is a film that in my opinion not many will surpass.

A-

Boston Legal Season 4 Premiere

Coming off one of the most impressive seasons ever, the premiere for Boston Legal season 4 was nothing short of spectacular. After watching this episode, it’s hard to imagine watching any other program on TV. Everything else just seems weak, un-original and totally mind numbing. Spader and Shatner were hysterical and brilliant. The other regulars, Williams, Bergen and Clemenson were also very good and highlighted the strengths of the show. The introduction of new characters such as Saffron Burrows (Lorraine) and John Larroquette (Carl) only added to the spunk of the show. The absent of Julie Brown (Denise) I felt was a plus. I find her role the most distracting but maybe she will grow on me this season.
James Spader recently won an Emmy for Outstanding Lead actor in a drama, upsetting the heavy favorite James Gandolfini of The Sopranos. After watching this episode it was clear that he deserved it. Boston Legal is probably one of the best shows on cable television today and I cannot wait for next week.

Boston Legal airs on Tuesday nights @ 10

A+

The Brave One

In “The Brave One”, Erica Bain, played by Jodie Foster, is the host on a local New York City radio station. While walking her dog through a park Erica and her fiancée (Andrews) are viciously attacked, putting Erica into a coma and killing her fiancée. For Erica her world is turned upside down. The fear inside her changes her view of the city she once loved, into a dark and ruthless place. Fear itself has changed Erica’s character to the point where buying a gun illegally is her only chance to combat the fear and stay alive. Throughout the movie, Erica is placed and places herself into very compromising situations. Erica’s actions not only evolve, but also digress. This digression from self-defense to straight up murder mirrors her emotions within. Evolving not all at once, but over time. After each incident, her emotions harden to the point where each killing becomes personal. By the end of the movie, the story truly morphs into what it was meant to be, a revenge story.
Terrance Howard is great, but it’s Jodie Foster’s Oscar worthy performance that pushes The Brave One to the level of a great film.

A-

Eastern Promises

Set in London, the story opens with a dead mother, a healthy newborn and a diary written in Russian. Anna (Watts) a mid-wife, searches for answers to the diary by going to a local restaurant, whose business card was in the diary, to have it translated. She inadvertently stumbles upon a world of criminal activity.
What I loved about this movie was the ease at which director David Cronenberg unites two very different worlds and also separates them. The first world includes Anna, her mother and Uncle and the other world, the criminal world, includes Nikolai (Mortensen), Kirill (Vincent Cassel) and Russian restaurant owner, Semyon (Armin Mueller-Stahl), who also is the boss of the family. At times, these two worlds converge, inviting great dialogue and connection. At other times they diverge, going their separate directions, inviting the brutal, violent, graphic scenes as well as the connections the characters within each world share.
Both Anna and Nikolai have a focus throughout the movie that seem to never fade or wonder (Much like the entire movie). We learn early on the focus of Anna but Mortensen’s character Nikolai and his rock like stature reveal nothing till the very end.
Eastern Promises is a brutal, deeply layered and elegant film. Nothing is out of place with each scene carrying a purpose. It’s the type of movie I long for but that not everyone can stand.

A