2007, Top 5

After playing catch-up on some of last year's most acclaimed films, I'm finally ready to weigh-in with my picks.

5. Juno
As with every other reviewer, I was completely charmed by this Sundance wonder. Sure, the dialog is suspiciously hip at times and the love subplot with Michael Cera feels a little light. But with rich, lovable characters rendered perfectly by the entire cast, it's hard to fault the small stuff. Ellen Page absolutely deserves her Oscar nomination. Allison Janney and Jennifer Garner were robbed.

4. Rocket Science
I'm psychic. Don't believe me? Here, I'll show you: right now, you're thinking "He's not psychic, and what the hell is Rocket Science?" Ha! Doubt my powers now!

Rocket Science was another festival favorite, lost in the wake left behind by Juno. While Juno is a delightful movie, Rocket Science felt more honest, and had a greater impact on me. The film concerns young Hal Hefner, a bright, shy high school student with a stuttering problem. One day a gorgeous, ambitious, and fiercely intelligent girl sits down next to him on the school bus, and in a few brilliant sentences, convinces him to join the debate team. It is obvious, to everyone, that she probably has some ulterior motive, but Hal follows her lead anyway. The movie has all the typical staples of a suburban indie comedy: quirky neighbors, dysfunctional family, "wacky" situations. But it also has a lot of realistically felt pain, the kind that can either make or break a person in their developing years. And while the ending starts to look like it's heading towards that same "everyone is happy in the end" destination where Juno landed, it makes a sharp turn back into reality. And that actually makes me happier.

3. Gone Baby Gone
Great performances, great direction and a great story. The only thing holding this film back is Michelle Monaghan's character. She was unnecessary, distracting, and her only purpose in this movie is to set up the film's ending. The rest of the movie is so great that this element just stood out like a sore thumb. Aside from her, the rest of the top-notch cast are in splendid form, especially the lesser known Amy Ryan and Titus Welliver.

2. Zodiac
A police procedural of the highest order. David Fincher's direction and meticulous attention to detail make the whole movie feel authentic, as though the audience were part of the investigation. This is not a movie about the characters, but about the process. We see all the red tape, dead ends and collateral damage involved in a high-profile murder case. Some complained about the pacing, but I have no problems with it. It slows down as the case slows down, and picks up when new details arrive. The whole movie feels real.

1. No Country For Old Men
By this point, there's nothing I can say about this that hasn't been said to death already. It absolutely deserves every awards it's been nominated for, and a lot more.



Honerable Mentions:

Wristcutters: A Love Story
If my list went higher, this would have been my #6. It's the first truly unique take on a romantic comedy I've seen since My Date With Drew. Patrick Fugit commits suicide, and finds himself in an afterlife that is just like this world...only a little worse. The sun never quite makes it all the way out from behind the clouds, grocery shelves are always half-stocked, and no one can smile. After running into an old friend, Fugit discovers that shortly after his own suicide, his girlfriend killed herself. Along with a strange Russian he meets in a bar, Fugit sets off on a road trip to locate his girlfriend. Along the way, they pick up a hitchhiking Shannyn Sossamon, who is on her own quest to find "the people in charge." She accidentally overdosed, and doesn't believe she's been sent to the correct afterlife.

The love story is sweet, and reminds us how great Shannyn Sossamon can be when she's not slumming in J-grade horror schlock. The small details of the strange suicide purgatory are often hilarious (if you drop something under the passenger seat of a car, it falls into a black hole and is lost forever), and sometimes touching and sad (a reveling sequence involving gas station property damage forms). Tom Waits and Will Arnette make appearances, though Arnette once again just plays himself. Though the personal emptiness and depression that fill this world don't seem right for a romantic comedy, the mood is always kept light, and the story moves a long at an enjoyable pace.

Grindhouse
Just for showing us what happens when 2 extremely talented directors are given a pile of money and no limits. Excess does not equal quality, but it can sure come close when in the right hands.

Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem
For confirming that excess does not equal quality, especially when in the absolute wrong hands.

Trailer Time: George A. Romero's Diary of the Dead

I just finished watching the new trailer for Diary of the Dead, and my first impression is that Romero has bad timing. You see, Diary of the Dead appears to be identical to the much-anticipated Cloverfield, but with zombies instead of a Godzilla-esque monster. Diary may well turn out to be a great Romero film, but it's destined to be labeled as a Cloverfield ripoff, or at least a cash-in on Cloverfield's inevitable success at the box office. Poor Romero, it never seems to all come together for him these days.

The movie itself looks just fine. It's a first-person, ground-level video document of a zombie outbreak. There is screaming, zombies, blood, and a whole lotta shaky-cam. I'll see it because I love zombies, and no one does zombies better than Romero. But if I've already seen Cloverfield by that time, it will hard to suppress the feeling that I've seen this all before. And that's too bad.