Favorites of 2007?
Posted: Tue Dec 11, 2007 10:31 pm
With only 2-3 weeks left in 2007, it's time to look back.
What were your favorites and least favorites?
I wrote a blog (egads!) about it on my myspace.
The Best/My Favorites:
1. Superbad - Every year (or two) there comes a movie that will be quoted by so many people so often that it gets really annoying really quickly (take Napoleon Dynamite and Anchorman for example). Endlessly rewatchable and hilarious. There isn't much that can be said about this movie that hasn't already been said elsewhere.
2. 300 - Another Frank Miller masterpiece perfectly brought to life. Like Sin City before it, 300 is a shot for shot recreation. The production of this one really flew under my radar until I started seeing commercials for it. The violence was over-the-top, excessively bloody, and hell of a lot of fun.
3. The Bourne Ultimatum - In a summer of threequels, this is the only one that succeeded in surpassing the previous two installments. And surpass it it did - by miles. Easily one of the best action movie series ever. Even though they'll probably drive big trucks of cash to Matt Damon's house for Bourne 4, they really don't need to as this is a very well-done, satisfying conclusion to the story.
4. Knocked Up - Judd Apatow delivers* his second great comedy of the year. After his memorable performance in The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Seth Rogen's star exploded with Knocked Up. Just look to Rogen's writing/acting in Superbad for further evidence of his great comedic talents. Can't wait to see Rogen in Kevin Smith's Zach And Miri Make A Porno.
* Ugh, terrible pun not intended.
5. Live Free or Die Hard - Yippie Ki Yay! John McClane is back - well, sorta. If you saw Live Free or Die Hard in theaters you probably missed all the standard Die Hard F-bombs (which are thankfully abundant in the "Unrated" DVD), but hopefully were also entertained by the insanely over-the-top action scenes. And Kevin Smith totally steals his scenes.
6. The Simpsons Movie - I think they saved up all the funny from the last 10 years (or so) of The Simpsons and stuck it in the movie.
7. Gone Baby Gone - The Afflecks deliver an amazingly directed (Ben) and acted (Casey) movie. And Morgan Freeman and Ed Harris are great in almost everything they do.
8. Spider-Man 3 - You have to take the good with the bad with this one. For all it's missteps (too much story crammed in, emo Peter, and the Jazz club scene *shudder*) Spider-man 3 was still a very fun ride.
9. Sicko - Love him or hate him Michael Moore's latest feels far less one sided than his previous efforts, Bowling for Columbine and Fahrenheit 9/11. Sicko moves you, makes you laugh, and pisses you off all at the same time.
10. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End - A definite step up from Dead Man's Chest and an ending that wraps up a bit too nicely for my tastes (and obviously sets up a possible Pirates 4), but At World's End is much like Spider-Man 3 - a fun ride.
Honorable Mention:
Zodiac - Despite the rave reviews, I expected little from this, but was quickly drawn into Zodiac. Jake Gyllenhaal continues to impress me.
The Rest:
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer - I'm one of the few that liked the first Fantastic Four. It was a lot of fun. The sequel was no exception...despite the horrible Galactus.
Shooter - Mark Wahlberg takes what looked like a lame by the numbers action movie and makes it suprisingly good.
Mr. Bean's Holiday - Far, far better than the piece of garbage that was 1997's Bean, Rowan Atkinson retirns his childlike character to greatness (and not a recycled gag in sight!).
TMNT - The best Ninja Turtles movie since the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the best cartoon since the original. CGI was a nice step for the franchise.
Blades of Glory - Will Ferrell returns to form after the crap factory that was Talladega Nights.
Grindhouse - Planet Terror - great fun. Death Proof - only the last 15 minutes are fun. The trailers were worth the price of admission alone.
Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters - The show that defines ADHD TV goes on for 90 minutes. As great as the show is, 90 minutes is a bit too long.
Fracture - Ryan Gosling keeps giving great performance after great performance. That Anthony Hopkins guy ain't too bad either.
Catch and Release - Totally boring predictable chick flick saved only by Kevin Smith.
Hannibal Rising - Even though it bombed, I thought this was a great new take on the Hannibal Lecter story and did a great job at making a sadistic killer sympathetic. I felt that it could have used an Anthony Hopkins cameo though.
Breach - Ryan Phillippe shines again in a great thiller that has little to no action scenes.
The Worst:
Ghost Rider - Well, at least I got to see Nicolas Cage's head burst into flames.
Reno 911!: Miami - How can such a hilarious tv show fail so miserabley on the big screen?
Vacancy - I'd say something about this movie, but I really can't remember much of it, so it must've been pretty bad.
Transformers - I went into this movie with zero expectations and was still let down big time. All the "Transformers" looked the same (except Optimus and Bumblebee - they were red and yellow!), the action scenes were a sloppy, blurry mess and every character was mentally retarded.
What were your favorites and least favorites?
I wrote a blog (egads!) about it on my myspace.
The Best/My Favorites:
1. Superbad - Every year (or two) there comes a movie that will be quoted by so many people so often that it gets really annoying really quickly (take Napoleon Dynamite and Anchorman for example). Endlessly rewatchable and hilarious. There isn't much that can be said about this movie that hasn't already been said elsewhere.
2. 300 - Another Frank Miller masterpiece perfectly brought to life. Like Sin City before it, 300 is a shot for shot recreation. The production of this one really flew under my radar until I started seeing commercials for it. The violence was over-the-top, excessively bloody, and hell of a lot of fun.
3. The Bourne Ultimatum - In a summer of threequels, this is the only one that succeeded in surpassing the previous two installments. And surpass it it did - by miles. Easily one of the best action movie series ever. Even though they'll probably drive big trucks of cash to Matt Damon's house for Bourne 4, they really don't need to as this is a very well-done, satisfying conclusion to the story.
4. Knocked Up - Judd Apatow delivers* his second great comedy of the year. After his memorable performance in The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Seth Rogen's star exploded with Knocked Up. Just look to Rogen's writing/acting in Superbad for further evidence of his great comedic talents. Can't wait to see Rogen in Kevin Smith's Zach And Miri Make A Porno.
* Ugh, terrible pun not intended.
5. Live Free or Die Hard - Yippie Ki Yay! John McClane is back - well, sorta. If you saw Live Free or Die Hard in theaters you probably missed all the standard Die Hard F-bombs (which are thankfully abundant in the "Unrated" DVD), but hopefully were also entertained by the insanely over-the-top action scenes. And Kevin Smith totally steals his scenes.
6. The Simpsons Movie - I think they saved up all the funny from the last 10 years (or so) of The Simpsons and stuck it in the movie.
7. Gone Baby Gone - The Afflecks deliver an amazingly directed (Ben) and acted (Casey) movie. And Morgan Freeman and Ed Harris are great in almost everything they do.
8. Spider-Man 3 - You have to take the good with the bad with this one. For all it's missteps (too much story crammed in, emo Peter, and the Jazz club scene *shudder*) Spider-man 3 was still a very fun ride.
9. Sicko - Love him or hate him Michael Moore's latest feels far less one sided than his previous efforts, Bowling for Columbine and Fahrenheit 9/11. Sicko moves you, makes you laugh, and pisses you off all at the same time.
10. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End - A definite step up from Dead Man's Chest and an ending that wraps up a bit too nicely for my tastes (and obviously sets up a possible Pirates 4), but At World's End is much like Spider-Man 3 - a fun ride.
Honorable Mention:
Zodiac - Despite the rave reviews, I expected little from this, but was quickly drawn into Zodiac. Jake Gyllenhaal continues to impress me.
The Rest:
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer - I'm one of the few that liked the first Fantastic Four. It was a lot of fun. The sequel was no exception...despite the horrible Galactus.
Shooter - Mark Wahlberg takes what looked like a lame by the numbers action movie and makes it suprisingly good.
Mr. Bean's Holiday - Far, far better than the piece of garbage that was 1997's Bean, Rowan Atkinson retirns his childlike character to greatness (and not a recycled gag in sight!).
TMNT - The best Ninja Turtles movie since the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the best cartoon since the original. CGI was a nice step for the franchise.
Blades of Glory - Will Ferrell returns to form after the crap factory that was Talladega Nights.
Grindhouse - Planet Terror - great fun. Death Proof - only the last 15 minutes are fun. The trailers were worth the price of admission alone.
Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters - The show that defines ADHD TV goes on for 90 minutes. As great as the show is, 90 minutes is a bit too long.
Fracture - Ryan Gosling keeps giving great performance after great performance. That Anthony Hopkins guy ain't too bad either.
Catch and Release - Totally boring predictable chick flick saved only by Kevin Smith.
Hannibal Rising - Even though it bombed, I thought this was a great new take on the Hannibal Lecter story and did a great job at making a sadistic killer sympathetic. I felt that it could have used an Anthony Hopkins cameo though.
Breach - Ryan Phillippe shines again in a great thiller that has little to no action scenes.
The Worst:
Ghost Rider - Well, at least I got to see Nicolas Cage's head burst into flames.
Reno 911!: Miami - How can such a hilarious tv show fail so miserabley on the big screen?
Vacancy - I'd say something about this movie, but I really can't remember much of it, so it must've been pretty bad.
Transformers - I went into this movie with zero expectations and was still let down big time. All the "Transformers" looked the same (except Optimus and Bumblebee - they were red and yellow!), the action scenes were a sloppy, blurry mess and every character was mentally retarded.