1. Grindhouse
2. Juno (and here and here as well)
3. A Mighty Heart (Knocked down a notch by Juno, but really great and I wish more people would have seen it.)
4. No Country for Old Men
5. American Gangster
6. Control
7. Blackout
8. In the Valley of Elah
9. The Bourne Ultimatum
10. Gone Baby Gone (In retrospect, and in comparison to others, this movie moved further up the list than I originally felt)
But there were lots of other movies I enjoyed as well, and you can read more about that here.
Monthly Archives: January 2008
Duff’s Favorite Movies 2007
I went to 57 movies in the theater in 2007 (full list here). (Technically more if you count the ones I went to twice, which I don’t.) I’d say that’s higher than recent years but certainly not my BEST year.
The BEST movies I saw in 2007 were:
1. Grindhouse
2. Juno
3. A Mighty Heart
4. No Country for Old Men
5. American Gangster
6. Control
7. Blackout
8. In the Valley of Elah
9. The Bourne Ultimatum
10. Gone Baby Gone
If I were to add to that list, the movies I ENJOYED the most in 2007, I’d have to add:
- Music & Lyrics
- Hot Fuzz
- Sweeney Todd
- JUMP!
If I were to add a foreign films category, I’d have to add:
- The Lives of Others
- Pan’s Labyrinth
- La Vie en Rose
I saw a bunch of bio pics this year, some done traditionally (“La Vie en Rose” – Edith Piaf; “Control” – Ian Curtis) as well as less traditional ones (“The Last King of Scotland” – Idi Amin [not REALLY a bio pic but feels like one]; “I’m Not There” – Bob Dylan). I saw 7 not-likely-to-see-these-elsewhere flicks at the Chicago Film Festival and some ’70s flicks on the big screen thanks to the Chicago Humanities Festival.
I saw great performances in movies that I didn’t love (George Clooney in “Michael Clayton”; Claire Danes in “Evening”; my boyfriend Joaquin Phoenix in “We Own the Night”; Will Smith in “I Am Legend”) and great performances in movies I thought were good but just didn’t beat out others on the lists above (Philip Seymour Hoffman in “Charlie Wilson’s War”; Casey Affleck in “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” [as well as in aforementioned “Gone Baby Gone”; Casey Affleck was really a standout performer for me this year!]; Viggo Mortenson in “Eastern Promises”). I saw sweet movies that weren’t great but were still enjoyable (“Dan in Real Life”; “Catch and Release”; “Stardust”). I went to sequels (“28 Weeks Later”; “Pirates 3”; “Oceans 13”). I really liked a couple documentaries ([the aforementioned] JUMP! and Helvetica) and it was good to see Alien-like sci fi return to the theaters (“Sunshine”) as well as Westerns, dang I’ve missed those (“3:10 to Yuma”; aforementioned “Assassination of…”).
I did NOT like some movies that were highly praised by others:
- Margot at the Wedding (worst movie of the year)
- The Lookout
- Knocked Up
- The Walker (second worst of the year)
And thought some were OK, but didn’t live up to the hype:
- Waitress
- Once
- Transformers
There are reviews up on Snip, you can search by name or sort by “watchin”.
And 2008 has started off quite nicely with “Atonement” being a movie that would have been very high on my 2007 list had I seen it before the end of the year.
DVD: We Are Marshall
Kinda sappy but sweet, and Matthew Fox is pretty great in this. Some nice byplay between him and M. McConaughey. Not sure why it had such a mediocre box office performance/viewership; it’s not the greatest flick but certainly a decent effort.
I guess these would be the reasons I liked it and perhaps the same reasons you wouldn’t.
a) Sports, specifically football
b) Underdogs
c) Nostalgia
d) The classic hard knocks “rising from the ashes” story.
e) The classic “I want nothing to do with you” evolving into “Wow we’re teammates and/or roommates and we can actually get along” story.
f) Matthew Fox.
g) Students vs. the administration.
h) David Strathairn.
Big Screen (IMAX): Beowulf
Not a great, movie, no. But enjoyable? Certainly. Melodramatic and predictable? Yes. Humorously macho? Indeed! (That’s a positive!) A very muscle-y bravado Beowulf? Yum.
Decent performances from Anthony Hopkins and John Malkovich, neither of whom I had any idea were in this. And very seductive work by Angelina Jolie; I particularly like the ending where I (at least) was fairly certain we were meant to think her spell was about to work again…
I am finding myself very annoyed with people recently who will ONLY go to “good” “arthouse” flicks. Sanctimonious much? Sometimes I WANT to see an action film. Sometimes I WANT to see mainstream movies. Oh, I’m so pedestrian! You are so much MORE of a person than me! [Make. Me. Puke.]
IMAX viewing is weird though. When they’re standing super still and the camera is super close to their face, then they look real. When there’s motion (of any kind) or they’re not right up front, they look like 3D cardboard cutouts. Like in “Stepmom” when Julia Roberts helps the kids make big blown-up cardboard cutouts of pictures of them? Yeah, exactly like that. So you’re always wondering if visually it was actually better in regular flat movie viewing. (And less queasy, surely.)
Have to laugh with Megan though, the whole “covering up the penis” shots were hilarious, there were soooo many of them, and honestly, just have him wear a loincloth and then we don’t have to keep putting people’s elbows, or helmets, or candles, in the way of “it”.
Recent DadReactions
Big Screen: I Am Legend. Similar to how I felt. Good job by Will Smith but the ending sucked. And Dad also felt it was very derivative. The “ghoulie” types = copied straight from The Descent (one of his faves last year!). The “medicine becomes infection wipes out population and turns them into ghouls” = copied straight from 28 Days Later (and then Weeks also) . [Yes, we know this was a book a long time ago. But given what Carla’s told me about the book, it is pretty different than the movie.]
Big Screen: Juno. He LOVED it. Smart and sweet. Really thought the lead actress was excellent. Liked the parents a lot. Thoughtful and moving.
Readin’: “The Oxford Book of English Short Stories” ed. by A.S. Byatt (For our challenge. He’s ahead of me because he already owned the book and I had to wait for it to be delivered!) Really really strange selection of stories. Some good ones (the Kipling story is GREAT! [man I can’t wait to read it. Haven’t read Kipling since I wrote my Master’s Thesis (on “Kim”)]) but some that are just bizarre (and not enjoyable). Thinks we should read the V.S. Pritchett-edited Oxford collection as our last month of the challenge; in comparison, he thought that was a great collection/selection when he read it (which was why he had picked up this one).
TV: The Office. I gave him season 1 for xmas and said I’d pick up the rest if he liked it. Two episodes in, it was obvious it was a go, so we quick picked up the next two. I had watched these either on TV or on iTunes whereas he is watching the DVDs. a) He LOVES it. Says if he had nothing else to do, he would already be done because he just can’t get enough. b) He said the DVD extras are AWESOME and some are basically like an extra episode (20 minutes long!). [Crap, now I’m going to have to get the DVDs for myself!] c) General comments: Hilarious. Really enjoying it. Loves the Pam/Jim thing. Loves Dwight! d) Is already halfway through Season 2. Yay!
Wrapping It Up: Best Books 2007.
My Favorite Six Books of 2007 were:
- “Winter’s Bone” by Daniel Woodrell (fiction)
- “Love Is a Mix Tape” by Rob Sheffield (memoir/music)
- “The Used World” by Haven Kimmel (fiction)
- “Why the Devil Chose New England for His Work” by Jason Brown (short stories)
- “Remainder” by Tom McCarthy (fiction)
- “Freddy and Fredericka” by Mark Helprin (fiction / really, really funny)
But there were lots of other books I enjoyed as well, and you can read more about that here.
GirlReaction Reads: Favorites of 2007
I read 85 books (full list here) in 2007, that’s probably about average for me, sometimes closer to 100, rarely below 50. Books may or may not have come out this year, it’s that I read them this year that counts.
My Favorite Six Books of 2007 were:
- “Winter’s Bone” by Daniel Woodrell (fiction)
- “Love Is a Mix Tape” by Rob Sheffield (memoir/music)
- “The Used World” by Haven Kimmel (fiction)
- “Why the Devil Chose New England for His Work” by Jason Brown (short stories)
- “Remainder” by Tom McCarthy (fiction)
- “Freddy and Fredericka” by Mark Helprin (fiction / really, really funny)
(Very very close) Runners Up Were:
- “Run” by Ann Patchett
- “Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith” by Jon Krakauer (wow, could NOT put it down. he’s a great researcher/writer)
- “Simplify” by Todd Goldberg
- “The Uncommon Reader” by Alan Bennett (sooo funny)
- “The Yiddish Policemen’s Union” by Michael Chabon
Favorite New (to me) Discoveries:
- Scarlett Thomas (“The End of Mr. Y” – philosophical fiction)
- Margo Lanagan (“Black Juice” and “Red Spikes” – thanks Marrije!! – fantasy short stories)
- Tana French (“In the Woods” – best mystery I read this year!!)
- Chris Cleave (“Incendiary” – fiction)
I Read a Bunch of Good Books by Authors I Already Loved:
The aforementioned books from Haven Kimmel (and “She Got Up Off the Couch…” too), Ann Patchett (and “Taft” too) and Michael Chabon (and “Gentlemen of the Road” too). As well as:
- “The Rain Before It Falls” by Jonathan Coe
- “Day” by A.L.Kennedy
- “Death of a Writer” by Michael Collins
- “The Quarry” by Damon Galgut (won the Booker for his previous book “The Good Doctor”)
- “Killing Pablo” by Mark Bowden (can he write a bad book?)
- “12 Edmondstone Street” by David Malouf
- “Black Cat” by Martyn Bedford
- “An Invisible Sign of My Own” by Aimee Bender
- “Ludmilla’s Broken English” by DBC Pierre (another former Booker winner)
I read some more “Looks like Chick Lit but Isn’t (It’s Better!)” (Leah Stewart, Marisa de los Santos, Nina Solomon). I continued to work on Proust (three down, three to go?). I read mysteries from Jake Arnott, Lee Child, Dick Francis, and Harlan Coben. I read bits of different sci fi/fantasy series (James Morrow, a true god of writing; Terry Goodkind’s Chainfire & Sword of Truth series; George R.R. Martin). I read books about vampires and werewolves and the like (Tanya Huff, Patricia Briggs, Stephenie Meyers, Amber Benson & Christopher Golden among others) and that’s not even counting all the Buffy Season 8 comics!
It was a good year.
Lyrics of the Day
If you were a wink, I’d be a nod…
If you were the floor, I’d wanna be the rug…
And if you were an ocean, I’d learn to float…
-“All I Want Is You” Barry Louis Pollsar from the Juno Sdtrk.
Great movie, great tunes. It’s a win-win.
If you haven’t seen this yet, or are letting some crap-ass review taint your willingness to go, go read this review. And then go, for pete’s sake. Pete would want you to.
When both me AND my dad are as equally gung-ho about a film (yes, sometimes we disagree), I don’t think there’s anything else you need to know. It’s THAT good.
Big Screen: Atonement
Beautiful.
Breathtaking.
As faithful to the book as possible, given that it’s a film (is that not self explanatory?). Great performances. Nostalgically lovely to look at (1940s. Ah.). As (momentarily) romantic and sexy as can be…and then as heartbreaking and painful and… And it’s really that good. Cee thinks so too. As she points out, the “incidental” music…is just great. The staccato typing? Wow. The back/forth juxtaposition to resolve disparate points of view? Done so well.
And by the way, the book? ALSO THAT GOOD.
Keira Knightly. James McAvoy. Joe Wright (director). Well done.
Best of December
The best movie I saw in December was a tie between Juno and Sweeney Todd. Both made me laugh, one made me cry (just a little!), they both had great music and great acting. If I was forced at gunpoint to pick one, I’d probably go with Juno. Sweeney Todd is as good as you would expect, but not necessarily moreso; Juno was better than you could know, given the previews and the ridiculous whining some critics are doing (IGNORE THEM!).
The best book I read in December was…even harder to pick than the movies as I really loved almost everything I read this month. The funniest was a tie between “An Uncommon Reader” and “Gentlemen of the Road”. The most unusual was “Red Spikes” and the two I perhaps liked the most (and didn’t know at all what to expect from either one) were “Simplify” and “Incendiary”. But honestly, I would recommend ALL my December reads.
The best gig I went to in December…doesn’t exist because I didn’t go to any concerts in December! Can you believe it? I kinda can’t…
My favorite tunes in December were Sea Wolf “Leaves in the River” and Bat for Lashes “Fur and Gold”. Also loving Lupe Fiasco‘s new one “The Cool” and the soundtrack to Juno. Have a lot of new stuff that I haven’t spent enough time with yet, but can’t stop pressing repeat on the first few off The Avett Brothers “Emotionalism”.
Random personal highlights: Two and half weeks off. WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT.
Lowlights? The worst drive home I’ve had in YEARS. One of the worst drives EVER in my LIFE. Really scary.