The Best Films of 2007

It’s time for the teacher to pass out report cards again as the films of 2007 are graded for their entertainment value. I managed to find 24 films I thoroughly enjoyed this calendar year, 24 films that all could have easily rested in the Top 10.  Notice that Oscar forerunners “No Country For Old Men” and “There Will Be Blood” are conspicuously missing from my list.  Though I enjoyed the films, I had serious problems with both (my review for “Blood” can be found on the site).

10.  “Crazy Love” – Documentarians Dan Klores and Fisher Stevens tell one of the oddest love stories. In the 1950’s, playboy Burt Pugach resents his girlfriend Linda ending their relationship.  He returns the favor by hiring a goon to throw lye in her face. Burt goes to prison and writes continuously to his victim.  Instead of filing a restraining order, Linda marries him after his release. Years later, the two are still “happily married.” The filmmakers showcase the tragedy, but more intriguing, highlight the dynamics of a family as twisted as the Borgias. Co-dependent on each other, the Pugaches will make you appreciate your relationship better.

9. “Gone Baby Gone” – In the past, actors with limited range have found renewed talent and appreciation directing. Robert Redford (“Ordinary People”) and Clint Eastwood (“Million Dollar Baby”) come to mind. The depth that eluded them in their “superstar” roles have been captured in the heartfelt films they helmed. The last person I expected to add to that category would be Ben Affleck.  His acting persona has always been so flippant that I once nicknamed him Ben Affected. However, his directorial debut demonstrates an inspired eye for suspense and heightened drama along with a striking ability to work well with actors.   That the first time director will probably wind up with an Oscar winning performance (Amy Ryan is a Supporting Actress favorite after winning several critics prizes) is evidence that he knows how to guide actors. The script by Affleck and newcomer Aaron Stockard brims with surprises and a thought-provoking climax will have audiences question their own choice under the circumstances. Affleck’s brother Casey gives another impressive performance as the protagonist after his award-winning role earlier this year in “The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford.”

8. “Rape of Europa” – The devastation inherent in World War II is indisputable. Hitler and his regime murdered millions of people for being nothing more than different. Dreadful on a different level, and just as revolting, the Third Reich also raided much of Europe’s artwork, destroying bridges built by such geniuses as Michelangelo and pilfering the heirlooms of many families and museums. Robbing civilization of its art, particularly those that have been lost forever, is heinous. It removes the footprints of our humanity. This detailed documentary by Richard Berge, Bonni Cohen, and Nicole Newnham demonstrates the Nazi’s decimation of the great treasures for their own greedy and, for the most part, gauche desires. To recognize this subject does not minimize the atrocities done to human lives, but focuses on a different facet also stamped out by pure evil.

7. “Juno” – A quirky comedy that has taken America by storm, “Juno” has done just as I predicted in my original film review, it has become the success that “Little Miss Sunshine” became last year. Diablo Cody’s script is filled with quips and wise observations. The talented cast (including the luminous Jennifer Garner and the caustically loving Allison Janney) rallies around new star Ellen Page who seems to have landed from another, much more intelligent planet.

6. “Atonement” – Haunting in its exploration of lost love, poignant in its examination of fiction’s opportunity to re-write wrongs, “Atonement” resonates for anyone who regrets past decisions. The romance centers on stellar performances by Keira Knightley and James McAvoy, however it’s the triumvirate of women playing Briony Tallis (adolescent Saoirse Ronan, young adult Romola Garai and veteran Vanessa Redgrave) that gives the film profundity.  Special attention should be paid to the sound department that flooded the speakers with the clanking of the typewriter, the buzzing of the bees, the precise marching of nurses and excitable girls that all put the audience on edge.

5. “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story” – Judd Apatow, the uber-producer of 2007 created three very successful comedies. One, “Knocked Up,” restaged “The Odd Couple” with a pending baby as referee. The next, “Superbad” (see runner up list), re-shot the 80s raunchy teen sex comedy with a tad of youthful innocence. But “Walk Hard,” his collaboration with Jake Kasdan, parodies musical biographies like “Ray” and “Walk The Line” flawlessly.  Mocking the genre, while never condescending to its characters, “Walk Hard” succeeds mostly due to John C. Reilly’s spot on portrayal of an earnest musician from Podunk who rises to the top with “devil music” only to dive into a haze of sex and drugs. From such a depressing subject is churned pure hilarity thanks to Apatow and Kasdan’s script and Reilly’s comic timing. Jenna Fischer (TV’s “The Office”) channels Reese Witherspoon as Dewey Cox’s second wife.

4. “The Lookout” – It just wouldn’t be a top ten list without a Joseph Gordon-Levitt film-noir thriller. Last year, the nuanced actor hit the top of my list with the “Maltese Falcon” meets “The OC” thriller, “Brick”. This year, he has returned as a mentally challenged young adult who gets trapped into joining a bank heist.  The directorial debut of writer Scott Frank (“Get Shorty”, “Out Of Sight”) demonstrated the novice’s inherent visual style. This complex character study features a winning turn by Jeff Daniels, as Gordon-Levitt’s mentor, who’s blind but “sees” more than any of the other hapless characters.

3. “Once” – What a simple story: an Irish street musician meets a girl and the two create an album at a studio. It’s so boilerplate that in the credits, the two are listed merely as guy (Glen Hansard) and girl (Markéta Irglová). Yet there’s cherished beauty in its minimalism. Hansard and Irglova play their roles with naked honesty and instead of enacting passion in lovemaking; they explore it in their enthralling folk ballads. “Once” is “A Man And A Woman” for a modern generation.

2. “Hot Fuzz” – Edgar Wright is a comic genius. His films, this and “Shaun Of The Dead,” pass the limits of taste by piling on gore and sight gags. Nothing is sacred in Wright’s world.  Here, he satirizes buddy cop films and the gentility of small European village life, always with an inventive eye and an ear for outlandish dialogue.  His co-writer, Simon Pegg, once again plays his protagonist, a straight-laced commando cop caught in an insane world. As his teddy bear partner, Nick Frost is the epitome of the best friend who constantly embarrasses you, but always has your back. Hilarious cameos by British thespians Timothy Dalton, Jim Broadbent and Bill Nighy only pepper the humor.

Runner Ups: Black Book, Breach, Charlie Wilson’s War, Dan in Real Life, Eastern promises, Hoax, Michael Clayton, Ocean’s 13, Ratatouille, Show Business: The Road To Broadway, Sleuth, Stardust, Stephanie Daily, Superbad, Waitress.