Sam’s Favorite Movies of 2007 (so far)

I thought I’d start things off with a series of quick capsule reviews / bullet points of my favorite 10 films of the year. Bryan will also post his as well following my comments. First of all, I have to admit there are some films I haven’t seen this year. These include: Once, Spider Man 3, The Bourne Ultimatum, Ratatouille, Waitress, 3:10 To Yuma and The Assasination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford. Yes, I know, many of you are saying “How can you call yourself a critic if you left out (fill in movie title here)??” Well, those movies came out before I was a critic. And I was busy filming my own movie this summer, so, deal with it. I’ll see them sometime, and then I shall revise. Until then, feel free to cry blasphemy all you want. Who needs ya’.

Sam’s Top 10 (So Far)

10. Gone Baby Gone – Taught mystery/drama with crackling dialog, great performances, very disturbing and intense action sequences and myriad plot twists. Read Bryan’s review here.

9. American Gangster – Not as passionate or funny as “The Godfather” or “Goodfellas”, but Denzel Washington is menacing, and the fact that they’re examining black gangsterdom during the racially tense mid-1900’s makes it very original.

8. Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead – A pitch black morality tale of two loser brothers (Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Ethan Hawke) who try to rob their parents’ jewlery store and manage to screw it up royally. Read my review here.

7. Eastern Promises – A fantastically gritty, disturbing and entertaining tale of Russian gangsters and illegal prostitution in London, brought to you courtesy of resident nerve-tingler David Cronenberg.

6. Zodiac – A brilliant murder mystery by David Fincher. Astounding performances by Jake Gyllenhall, Robert Downey Jr. and Mark Ruffalo. This film will get the shaft at Oscar time. A damn shame. Go rent it and then flagellate yourself for not seeing it in the theater.

5. Sunshine – Hands down one of the best sci-fi movies in the last 20 years, and the best since “Minority Report”. Combines the existentialism of “2001: A Space Odessey” with the claustrophobic tension of “Alien” with a healthy does of spirituality and hope. Again, this shall receive a shafting at Oscar time.

4. No Country For Old Men – Great Coen Bros. dialog, haunting spareness, Javier Bardem is scary, a thematic ending rather than a typical action movie ending is at first baffling and then very rewarding. See Bryan’s review here.

3. Juno – A hip, hilarious and moving movie about a spunky 16-year-old who accidentally gets pregnant. Ellen Page deserves a Best Actress statuette, but Big Lips Jolie is gonna’ rob her of it.

2. Michael Clayton – Epic, passionate monologues in the Paddy Chayefsky school (think Network), a labyrinthine, non-chronological structure, Clooney’s best performance and just the right amount of pensive, haunting moments between the fireworks. See my review here.

1. There Will Be Blood – P.T. Anderson channels Orson Welles and Stanley Kubrick to create an epic, disturbing and fascinating look at a morally bankrupt oil man (Daniel-Day Lewis).

And that’s the way it is. Bryan, the floor is yours.

- Sam