The Captain's Top Ten Movies of 2007Feb 21 '09 (Updated Apr 06 '09) Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line My Top Ten Movies from 2007 - not a bad year really!
Unlike my previous top tens, this time I'm going to go from 1 to 10 instead of 10 to 1. Isn't variety a wonderful thing? 1 - Amazing Grace - a fantastic historical drama about the abolition of slavery, marking the 200th anniversary of the law against the slave trade being passed. Fantastic performances by Ioan Gruffudd and Benedict Cumberbatch among a cast that give their all in this terrific film directed by Michael Apted. 2 - Stardust- a wonderful fantasy movie about a young man who journeys "across the wall" to fetch a fallen star for his love - and gets much more than he bargained for. Charlie Cox, Claire Danes, Michelle Pfeiffer and Robert DeNiro among others have a marvellous time making Neil Gaiman's story come to life. 3 - Hairspray- musicals aren't my favourite genre by a long way... but I loved this one. It was such a feel-good movie that I was smiling from beginning to end, and for a long time afterwards. Michelle Pfeiffer again had fun as a witch - a slightly different kind to the one she played in Stardust - and Niki Blonsky gives a winning performance as the fat girl who refuses to conform to society's expectations. Amanda Byrnes' performance could charm the hardest of hearts and Zac Efron gave a very slick performance as "Link". Not for those who always like their films gritty and depressingly realistic - pure escapism, but wondefully played. 4 - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix- cracking adaptation of the fifth HP book - some didn't like the fact that quite a lot of the plot from the book was missed out, but to me it kept all the best bits and missed out mostly the boring scenes (the bok contained far too much teenage angst for my liking). Great action sequences and an effectively dark atmosphere. Daniel Radcliffe and chums will find this one difficult to beat. 5 - Music and Lyrics- very funny and hugely entertaining tale of an 80's music star - if you don't like romantic comedies you won't like this, I expect, but I found it funny and very entertaining. Drew Barrymore plays a cleaner with a penchant for creating song lyrics, Hugh Grant is a former eighties' pop star, while Third Rock's Kirsten Johnston and newcomer Hayley Bennett are great in the supporting roles. 6 - Bridge to Terabithia- bridges the gap between fantasy and reality with sublime skill, it features fantastic performances by youngsters Josh Hutcherson and AnnaSophia Robb. Some film-goers who were looking for a straight fantasy movie a laNarnia were disappointed, but I relaly enjoyed it despite it not being the sort of movie I'd been expecting. If you enjoyed Big Fish, you'll probably like this too - it covers the same sort of ground. 7 - Atonement- taut tale of remorse and attaining atonement. The unstoppable rise of James McAvoy continues with a strong performance of a man unjustly accused of a terrible crime and coming to terms of his position right in the middle of a world war; Keirra Knightly is impressive as his lover and Ramola Garei, the sister who unthinkingly betrayed them both, continues to show what a fine young actress she is with an emotional performance. Directed by Joe Wright. 8 - Surf's Up! - an animated movie with a different style that worked well for me - a sort of spoof documentary that left a lot of children who saw it bewildered and disappointed, but which for adults holds a lot of humour. The story of a young surfboarding wannabe, his idol "Big Z" whose best years are behind him, and a chicken (yes, a chicken... it all makes perfect sense in the film, albeit for no apparent reason!) 9 - Ratatouille- another great PIXAR movie, not their best but still very good. It's well-known that rats will eat anything... except one rat who dreams of becoming a chef, inspired by the ghost of a famous chef who has been conjured up by his imagination... a bit mad, sometimes a touch formulaic but sometimes inspired. 10 - Becoming Jane - loosely a biopic of Jane Austen, starring Anne Hathaway as the eponymous author who will forever have a place in the hearts of anyone interested in English Literature, despite only writing 6 novels. A solid film all-round, and interesting viewing for anyone who's read any of Austen's novels or seen film / TV adaptations of them. ] Honourable Mention: The Bourne Ultimatum - a fine finish the the trilogy that got better with every film. Great action sequences backed up by strong performances by Matt Damon and the rest of the cast, and an intelligent plot. One of the best thrillers of recent years.  |
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