10. 3:10 to Yuma
I wasn’t completely sure that this remake would even manage to end up remotely watchable, at first. Even with people like Christian Bale and Russell Crowe, I couldn’t muster up enough enthusiasm to be optimistic, and yet, watching it left me utterly stunned. I’m a huge fan of the original film, so it took a great deal of raw acting talent and keen storytelling to stand apart from the original and somehow emphasize the struggle of morals and greed and add a sense of complex morality provocations for the audience and force our imperfect characters into a situation that required a great deal of courage and some stupidity.
Mangold doesn’t give us too many polished heroes and villains even if he edges slightly toward grind house atmosphere and gives our hero a perfectly flawed personality paired with a beaten down and pathetic personality, as well as our antagonist who is a charming, likable and incredibly evil sheep in wolf’s clothing. He’s the incarnation of the devil, a dapper and tempting individual who provides all the sins to everyone he comes across such as greed, lust, envy, and murder, and takes great pride in doing so. Paired with the rousing performances, and incredible action scenes, this is one of the best remakes of all time.
9. The Bourne Ultimatum
Whenever someone declares that a third film in a franchise is usually terrible, you can simply reply with “The Bourne Ultimatum.” By every right this could have and should have been the worst of the series, but it manages to topple the second film by every conceivable element from emphasizing the life of Jason Bourne and the folks around him, as well as providing formidable foes. In the “final” film we set down on a Jason Bourne who is a little older, exhausted, and just beaten down by his attempts to evade the government who seeks to bring him down and finally end his potential to expose their program, and his weariness inevitably comes to play when he is sought out by a younger and faster assassin who manages to outsmart Bourne at every turn.
“The Bourne Ultimatum” is a decidely toned down Greengrass who presents a sharp and brilliant focus on Bourne and never provides his usual erratic camera work. All the while we’re given interesting undertones of torture for the sake of American safety, and the Iraq war, and also glimpse at some of the best fight scenes ever filmed. Matt Damon is one of the more unlikeliest action heroes to blossom from a career of pure dramatic roles, but stands out as a truly versatile leading man who takes the character of Jason Bourne and adds a fire and rage that makes this third installment a near masterpiece.
8. Right at Your Door
It was either this or “Sunshine” and “Right at your Door” beat it out for the eighth slot for the simple fact that it was simpler, scarier, and garnered much more emotion from me. Boyle’s science fiction thriller was fantastic but the ending was pretty nonsensical, while “Right at your Door” has a second half that literally left me breathless. It’s very difficult to paint a post-apocalyptic world and let me down. It’s always been a soft spot of mine to watch the deterioration of humanity under a disaster or evil force, and “Right at your Door” provides all the grounded and realistic causes and examines the aftermath that affects a seemingly loving couple torn apart after a dirty bomb hits Los Angeles.
Gorak had every chance to fail here based on the two character thriller, but succeeds in creating thick tension and seering horror, as well as provoking us to question our own position on the situation and how we would react? “Right at Your Door” is a truly underrated film, and delivers a powerful and utterly horrifying tale of a terrorist attack that rips open society and tears the heart out of the human relationships within its deadly ring.
7. Tie: Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon/Paranormal Activity
Scott Glosserman showed that a small budget and relatively unknown cast could undoubtedly do the work better than Wes Craven in dissecting the slasher sub-genre and delving into the psychosis of the slasher, and final girl, all the while telling its own horrific and deviously funny tale of a young man hoping to live among the legends of Freddy and Jason as the slasher Leslie Vernon. Always shifting between brilliant genre dissertation and an outright horror film, Glosserman provides one of the best break out performances of the year from Nathan Baesel and teaches Craven how it’s done. Definitely, it’s the best horror movie of 2007. But then, if you want scares, you’d need to look no further than “Paranormal Activity” a film that many of you probably haven’t heard about, but will soon enough. The scariest horror film of 2007, “Paranormal Activity” involves our worst enemy: Our imaginations, as Oren Peli uses it against us to devise a horrific and truly excruciating ghost film that is excellent on the first try, and even better with a crowd.
6. Hot Fuzz
Edgar Wright mimicks the styles of John Woo, Michael Bay, and Tony Scott with an all out balls to the wall simultaneous love letter and satire of the action genre, all the while integrating the clichés it observes into the story to help tell an arc that’s not reliant on the gags here. And of course “Spaced” buffs have a companion piece with “Shaun of the Dead.” Depending on the talents of his cast, along with the ace storytelling, “Hot Fuzz” is a very unorthodox action comedy that acts as a great follow up to the “Spaced” universe, and the Pegg-Frost duo provide an wonderful action genre one two punch delivering hilarious one-liners and further cementing their legacy in the comedy genre. “Hot Fuzz” is an orgy of action love, and it’s the funniest and coolest action comedy of the year.
5. Superbad
I love “Knocked Up,” and for a moment it pretty much tied in fifth with “Superbad,” but alas, in a moment of sheer grueling decision making, “Superbad” took the cake. Apatow is one of my current favorite Hollywood writers, and the dude most of the time scores points with me, particularly with “Freaks and Geeks.” Apatow had a good hand in “Superbad,” and it showed. It’s a funny, sweet, and damn good display of the individual talents of people like Jonah Hill and Michael Cera, features small roles from Apatow veterans, and of course there’s Seth Rogen.
I loved this movie, because it’s one of the many new titles that not only feature main characters who are unpolished, down to Earth and look like people you’d find on the street, but also touches deep down into coming of age, and having to part with someone in your life who has meant a lot. “Superbad” is one of the famous “One Last Night” sub-genre films where the entire arc takes place in the time frame of a night time, and ends with a bittersweet finale that really sells this as one of the best of the year.
4. Gone Baby Gone
This was a last minute choice, and one that I grappled with. It beat out “The Girl Next Door” after all. Was it really deserving of a spot on my top ten? Was it so good that it needed a top ten spot? Yes, Yes, oh god yes. “Gone Baby Gone” is a crime thriller with no winners, all losers, and a climax that left me frustrated, satisfied, and yet overwhelmed. Are the “right” decisions the best ones? Do the means always justify the ends? Is it worth leaving a trail of bodies to save one innocent soul? Casey Affleck continues to prove that without a doubt he’s the superior actor in the Affleck twosome, and Ben directs with surprising competence. I loved this mystery and I was never sure where it was going the entire time, pair that with the quick character of Patrick, and it’s a winner.
3. Once
There’s a dilemma when trying to describe how much I loved the Irish musical romance “Once.” Trying to describe the sheer beauty inherent in this film is like trying to describe the color red. You can put it in as many words as you can, but you’re not going to capture its essence, no matter who you are. “Once” is an utterly fantastic and sadly underwatched musical that put films like “Hairspray” and “Across the Universe” to absolute shame. Glen Hansard is rather dynamic as street guitarist and stifled musician Guy who meets the lovely Girl one night on the corner. Soon, the two go from friends to soul mates all with their music to brond them as a couple meant for each other but not meant for this lifetime. Sporting an absolutely incredible soundtrack, “Once” will touch and surprise the skeptics who can’t possibly find much to like about today’s musicals. From the duet in a music shop, right down to an inadvertent angry guitar riff in a bus, “Once” is one of the best musicals I’ve ever seen.
2. Juno
I am the smitten kitten with Ellen Page, I will not lie, my friends. Mention Ellen Page and I salivate. But of course “Juno” is a sweet, funny and entertaining dramedy that completely takes a 180 firstly examining Juno, a young girl facing pregnancy and the giving up of her child by her own will, and then it examines Juno observing a world she thought she knew. She had the adopted couple pegged and was wrong, she learns about unfulfilled goals, the responsibility of parents to their children, appreciating a youth she’s taking for granted, and of course she’s a better person for it in the end. Page gives a wallop of a performance rivaled by Bateman, Garner, Janney and Simmons. And in spite of the fact that it’s become a strictly love it or hate it movie, It won me over, successfully. In the words of Juno: Ku-Dos!
1. No Country for Old Men
“You know what date is on this coin? 1958. It’s been traveling twenty-two years to get here. And now it’s here. And it’s either heads or tails. And you have to say. Call it.” Says Chigurh to a nosy old gas station owner who seeks to simply rib at him and converse as Chigurh’s patience depletes in the blink of an eye and the man’s fate rests on a coin. A simple coin. Chigurh fancies himself the death dealer, the manifestation of fate, and we know what he wants. He wants to murder the old man, and as much as his psychopathic tendencies beg, he must trust that the coin will do the work of deciding the old man’s fate. “Don’t put it in your pocket. Don’t put it in your pocket. It’s your lucky quarter.”
Never has such a simple scene completely established the mission Chigurh embarks on and the life and death struggle of a man who simply would not shut up. The beauty is not in the epic thriller that the Coens create, but on the simple moments, the moments that seem so minute but mean so much in the grand scheme of things. It’s now a cliché to include this on your top ten list for 2007, especially since pretty much everyone has this on their top ten now, but who cares? “No Country for Old Men” is a perfect film, and it’s a return to grace for the Coens who provide one of the finest films ever made, and one of the finest films in their repertoire. From searing tension, wonderful ensemble performances, amazing characters, and an incredibly pitch perfect climax explaining the title in subtle fashion, this is the Coens’ masterpiece, and Chigurh is one of the scariest film villains I’ve ever seen. And quit bitching readers, it’s not my fault these movies came out in a four month period.
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
Shoot ‘Em Up, 300, 28 Weeks Later, The Girl Next Door, Grindhouse, The King of Kong, Knocked Up, The Orphanage, Ratatouille, Sunshine, Hairspray, Starting out in the Evening