Chelledun's Top Ten Favorite Movies of 2007
Jul 23 '09
The Bottom Line Wow, it's only been two years???
2007 feels like it was decades ago! When I first started to ponder my top ten movies of the year nothing in particular came to mind. However, upon more serious reflection (and a review of my Netflix queue) I realized there were actually quite a few decent films in 2007, ten of which are listed below.
10. Stardust - Featuring Claire Danes, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Ian McKellen, this film's talented cast is an embarrassment of riches. The film is also visually interesting and has a decent fantasy/adventure story to boot. My only gripe is that something about the plot feels vaguely redundant, perhaps due to my seeing too many fantasy/adventure movies over the years.
9. Blades of Glory - I bet this Will Ferrell/John Heder figure skating spoof doesn't make it onto many top ten lists, but I thought it was so hilarious. Blades of Glory is spot-on in its mockery of the skating world, in part thanks to its excellent use of cameos by actual professional skaters. It also remains funny on rewatch, which is the true test of a goofy comedy.
8. Fracture - This movie is basically "Silence of the Lambs" Lite, but still worth watching for the interesting performances by Anthony Hopkins and Ryan Gosling. The plot does jump around a bit and requires full attention, so don't try to multi-task on this one.
7. The Simpsons Movie - I never watched the television show with any regularity but I did enjoy this movie quite a lot. The screenplay manages to feel like an actual movie instead of a series of half-hour episodes tacked together, and there are quite a few laugh-out-loud moments.
6. Across the Universe - This Beatles-based film manages to tie dozens of songs into a - mostly - coherent and interesting plot about love, drugs, and war. Jim Sturgess and Evan Rachel Wood are talented and compelling and for the most part, the movie musical zips along seamlessly through favorites such as "Hey Jude," "Dear Prudence," "All You Need is Love," and "I Want to Hold Your Hand." It's a lot of fun, although definitely psychedelic in parts.
5. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - This fifth installment in the Harry Potter series of films isn't my favorite (That would be number four) or my least favorite (that would be two or six) but is definitely still quite good. I love the focus on darker, more suspenseful scenes and the increasingly creepy atmosphere at Hogwarts. Overall, Order of the Phoenix is a strong effort that is worth watching at least twice.
4. Superbad - Two years after seeing this one, Mr_chelledun and I still reference our favorite Superbad moments with some regularity. (McLovin, anyone?) As far as raunchy R-rated comedies that are truly hilarious go, Superbad is pretty much the model that other films should aspire to follow.
3. Enchanted - Somehow this Disney animated/live action film manages to be charming without being cheesy, which is quite an accomplishment for a story about a fairly tale princess. I believe that Enchanted succeeds primarily because everyone seems to be in on the joke. Amy Adams, in particular, infuses a real sense of humor and fun into her starring role as Gisele. This is one of the few family movies in recent years that everyone in the family may actually enjoy.
2. Transformers - I love this movie with a ridiculous love that just has to be part nostalgia. How could any kid of the eighties not get excited after hearing, "Autobots, roll out!" Transformers offers humor, action, and great special effects. It's overall just a really fun summer movie that is best enjoyed with a giant bucket of popcorn.
1. Juno - The best of the year award goes to this funny, heartwarming, self-consciously quirky film about teenage pregnancy. Michael Cera completely embodies the heartwarmingly awkward Paulie Bleaker and Ellen Page rises above some ridiculous dialogue to bring Juno MacGuff to life. I was hesitant to even see Juno because of all the hype, but it does actually live up to it and might actually be the best movie I've seen in five years or so.
So there you have it...if you've missed any of these, get yourself to a video store, ASAP!
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