The Superblog 5000

Tags: Movies, Reviews

I’ll keep this simple. I’m judging films according to the EXPERIENCE, STORY, CONCEPT and QUALITY. They’re my opinions, and there’s a TON of films I didn’t get to see, so deal with it. Also, these are in no “particular” order. Here goes…

1. No Country For Old Men - Simply beautiful master storytelling with memorable characters and a very dry and tasteful Coen-brother sense of humor embedded behind the drama and action. Hope it gets an Oscar or two.
2. Grindhouse - Whether it be the gleeful thrills of B-movie-done-right Planet Terror or the methodical escalation of the campy Deathproof, I’ve never been in a cinema so ALIVE with participation. The EXPERIENCE of Grindhouse brought everyone together in another world, and for that alone, it gets my pick.
3. Casino Royale - Resurrecting the Bond franchise with a back-to-basics-Connery-days approach, with a tougher and more down-to-Earth 007, Casino Royale took a series that was spiraling so far from what it originally was back to the beginning without de-modernizing it or making it stale. Brilliant.
4. The Simpsons Movie - Though HEAVILY anticipated for a LONG time, The Simpsons Movie didn’t disappoint. Basically a longer, more epic episode of the show, the jokes were stronger than ever and at it’s roots the movie went back to the MAIN concept of the show: a hilariously dysfunctional family learning to live and love each other.
5. Children of Men - A rough and raw look at the bleak baby-less future as humanity counts down to an inevitable end… I’m a big post-apocalyptic/sci-fi fan, and this movie (while flawed) did a great job at forecasting a world gone past the edge of reason with a brutally real-feeling ENG-news-style.
6. Fido - Brilliant new look on the tired “zombie genre” combined with a satirical 1950’s Lassie plot-line added as a comedic twist. Hammish in the good way, Fido is a great little Canadian “zom-com” worth checking out.
7. Live Free or Die Hard - Though not better than the original, Die Hard 4 was a pretty good action movie in and of itself. I like the action genre and I like Bruce Willis… not much more needs to be said about that, LOL. Big bonus- Kevin Smith as “The Warlock”.
8. Battle For Haditha - A documentary-style feature based on real events with completely method performances (from ex-Us-Marines and Iraqi refugees) that do wonders at showing BOTH sides on the ground in the Iraq conflict in a balanced and terribly real way.
9. The Host - Most interesting monster-movie in a long while, told with a unique Korean perspective that moves from horrifying to campy to touching to thriller in bizarrely natural strides.
10. 300 - This is more of a joke than anything, but there’s something about unbridled manliness that I find infinitely amusing, and no movie was more man-made than 300! Great visuals and a cool story made the bare-chested muscle-mania bearable. Spaaartans! Hey… at least I didn’t put “Norbit” on the list. LOL

And that’s the list- my favorite movies from last year. Other notable mentions (again, that I’ve actually seen): Hot Fuzz, 28 Weeks Later, 3:10 to Yuma, Darfur Now, Sicko, Hairspray, Into the Wild, Superbad, Ratatouille, Smiley Face, Sleuth, etc… There’s at least 10 more I can think of that I haven’t seen yet and would probably bump some of the above list…

Even while writing the alternate list there were a few (like Sleuth or Hot Fuzz) that I’d highly consider bumping into the top-10 list if I hadn’t already written it (lazy)… Of course, the irony is that all things considered, 2007 was a pretty bad year for movies in general… but no matter the volume of sucky films being thrust upon the general populace, there’s always going to be movies that can be enjoyed by all sorts of people. You can disagree with the taste of the above list, but that’s why it’s my list… and I’m sticking to it! Well, not really… I don’t actually care- it’s just a list.. so relax.

Alright- now throw some comments my way… what movies did I miss in 2007 that I must immediately see upon fear of death? Let me know!