Year In Review: First Batch
Groping A Pair of Golden Globes
Looking back on film for 2007, I'd thought I'd recognize some with these prestigious awards in absence of the always bloated three hour Suck Fest this weekend. It will not be missed. While I'm rooting for the Writer's Guild to get their money and their rights back, I'm glad that it's lasted this long. Maybe, they'll settle it in time for the Oscars. That way, Jon Stewart will have a packed arsenal of topic humor to cripple the censors. So without further ado, half of my movie commentary! Oh. Squee.
Knee To The Scrotum Prize**Best Female Character [Giving It To The Man] In A Movie**
Juno, Juno
Cherry Darling, Planet Terror
Colette, Ratatouille
Lyra, The Golden Compass
Marji, Persepolis
The Danny Elfman Recommendation**Best Movie Soundtrack**
Enchanted
Once
Surf’s Up
Walk Hard
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Philip Marlowe’s “This One’s On The House” Honor**Coolest Cop**
David Toschi, Zodiac
John McClane, Live Free or Die Hard
Kogawa Toshimi, Paprika
Nicholas Angel, Hot Fuzz
Richie Roberts, American Gangster
Newman On The Scene**Best Movie Score**
Ratatouille, Michael Giacchino
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, Hans Zimmer
Paprika, Hirasawa Susumu
Stardust, Ilan Eshkeri
Beowulf, Alan Silvestri
Craziest Old Fuck**Character In A Movie**
The Chairman, Paprika
Beau Brower, 30 Days of Night
Hrothgar, Beowulf
Sweeney Todd, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Barbossa, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End
Best Face Abuse**Displayed In A Movie**
Spiderman 3
American Gangster
Tekkon Kinkreet
No Country For Old Men
The Golden Compass
My Top Ten Films Released In 2007
10. Once is an unconventional musical that doesn't seem like a movie. Given it's modest budget and straightforward use of handheld cameras, then combine it with a thin plot about two real life musicians playing fictional ones, you'd almost think it was a documentary. If you goggle the names Glen Hansard or Markéta Irglová, you might risk ruining the suspension of disbelief and thus what happens in the movie. I recommend going in with virgin ears and eyes, because what you'll find is a passionate film that is as romantic as it is minimalistic. You won't know how much you loved it until later when you can't get the songs out of your head, nor the people who made them.
9. Enchanted could be considered the antithesis of Once when you look at its overproduced Broadway-style approach to the musical. What makes Enchanted unique is how it manages to poke fun at itself without holding the hand of the viewer. The House of Mouse has influenced us all, whether we like it or not. Director Kevin Lima takes that nostalgia and spoofs it with inspired numbers and a traditional plot that's funny even in its own ham-handedness and sentimental value. There are so many references to please Disney both the Elites and lites. Every generation can find something to love with Amy Adams in the lead and Alan Menken armed with his baton. No, that doesn't imply his penis. >.>.
8. Zodiac was overlooked on the notion that it would suck since it's based on a case that hasn't been solved. There couldn't be an ending! Oh, GAWD. Yet, David Finch manages to satisfy with his open-and-shut conclusion to what is a very long movie that flows very well. I'm reminded me of Sergio Leone's direction. The violence is scarce, made up a few memorable money (literal) shots and plenty of silent tension. Perfectly cast. If you have any interest in crime cinema and the whodunit excluding say Law and Order, check this movie out.
7. Grind House makes trash look like class. Planet Terror's goofiness evens out Tarantino's long-winded Death Proof into what was 2007s biggest event that nobody went to. The hilarious trailers that surrounded both films were wrongfully omitted from the current DVD releases. Not to mention, that they were sold separately. I'm waiting for the theatrical cuts with the trailers to add to my collection. Bloody, wholesome fun with sexy legs. Yeah, you won't find that one blurbed to the back of any cover.
6. Persepolis, a masterpiece autobiographic comic about Marjane Satrapi, or Marji for short, reveals the history of Iran in a humorous coming-of-age tale. The animated film completes this beautiful set and highlights many of the key events that happen in the novel. There are many scenes that are omitted, which makes Persepolis come across more solemn than it does in the book. This is a minor nitpick made up for with sequences that surpass what the graphic novel could even achieve in gorgeous 2-D black-and-white. Style and substance all around!
Missed Flicks:
Bridge of Terabithia, Black Snake Moan, Waitress, Harry Potter & The Order of the Phoenix, Sunshine, Rescue Dawn, 3:10 To Yuma, Across the Universe, The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford, Lust/Caution, The Darjeeling Unlimited, Michael Clayton, Lars and the Real Girl, Gone Baby Gone, Atonement, Charlie Wilson’s War, There Will Be Blood, Hair Spray, I’m Not There, Eastern Promises, The Myst, The Simpsons Movie, The Diving Bell and The Butterfly, Before The Devil Knows You're Dead, The Savages.
...More To Come!
Looking back on film for 2007, I'd thought I'd recognize some with these prestigious awards in absence of the always bloated three hour Suck Fest this weekend. It will not be missed. While I'm rooting for the Writer's Guild to get their money and their rights back, I'm glad that it's lasted this long. Maybe, they'll settle it in time for the Oscars. That way, Jon Stewart will have a packed arsenal of topic humor to cripple the censors. So without further ado, half of my movie commentary! Oh. Squee.
Knee To The Scrotum Prize**Best Female Character [Giving It To The Man] In A Movie**
Juno, Juno
Cherry Darling, Planet Terror
Colette, Ratatouille
Lyra, The Golden Compass
Marji, Persepolis
The Danny Elfman Recommendation**Best Movie Soundtrack**
Enchanted
Once
Surf’s Up
Walk Hard
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Philip Marlowe’s “This One’s On The House” Honor**Coolest Cop**
David Toschi, Zodiac
John McClane, Live Free or Die Hard
Kogawa Toshimi, Paprika
Nicholas Angel, Hot Fuzz
Richie Roberts, American Gangster
Newman On The Scene**Best Movie Score**
Ratatouille, Michael Giacchino
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, Hans Zimmer
Paprika, Hirasawa Susumu
Stardust, Ilan Eshkeri
Beowulf, Alan Silvestri
Craziest Old Fuck**Character In A Movie**
The Chairman, Paprika
Beau Brower, 30 Days of Night
Hrothgar, Beowulf
Sweeney Todd, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Barbossa, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End
Best Face Abuse**Displayed In A Movie**
Spiderman 3
American Gangster
Tekkon Kinkreet
No Country For Old Men
The Golden Compass
My Top Ten Films Released In 2007
10. Once is an unconventional musical that doesn't seem like a movie. Given it's modest budget and straightforward use of handheld cameras, then combine it with a thin plot about two real life musicians playing fictional ones, you'd almost think it was a documentary. If you goggle the names Glen Hansard or Markéta Irglová, you might risk ruining the suspension of disbelief and thus what happens in the movie. I recommend going in with virgin ears and eyes, because what you'll find is a passionate film that is as romantic as it is minimalistic. You won't know how much you loved it until later when you can't get the songs out of your head, nor the people who made them.
9. Enchanted could be considered the antithesis of Once when you look at its overproduced Broadway-style approach to the musical. What makes Enchanted unique is how it manages to poke fun at itself without holding the hand of the viewer. The House of Mouse has influenced us all, whether we like it or not. Director Kevin Lima takes that nostalgia and spoofs it with inspired numbers and a traditional plot that's funny even in its own ham-handedness and sentimental value. There are so many references to please Disney both the Elites and lites. Every generation can find something to love with Amy Adams in the lead and Alan Menken armed with his baton. No, that doesn't imply his penis. >.>.
8. Zodiac was overlooked on the notion that it would suck since it's based on a case that hasn't been solved. There couldn't be an ending! Oh, GAWD. Yet, David Finch manages to satisfy with his open-and-shut conclusion to what is a very long movie that flows very well. I'm reminded me of Sergio Leone's direction. The violence is scarce, made up a few memorable money (literal) shots and plenty of silent tension. Perfectly cast. If you have any interest in crime cinema and the whodunit excluding say Law and Order, check this movie out.
7. Grind House makes trash look like class. Planet Terror's goofiness evens out Tarantino's long-winded Death Proof into what was 2007s biggest event that nobody went to. The hilarious trailers that surrounded both films were wrongfully omitted from the current DVD releases. Not to mention, that they were sold separately. I'm waiting for the theatrical cuts with the trailers to add to my collection. Bloody, wholesome fun with sexy legs. Yeah, you won't find that one blurbed to the back of any cover.
6. Persepolis, a masterpiece autobiographic comic about Marjane Satrapi, or Marji for short, reveals the history of Iran in a humorous coming-of-age tale. The animated film completes this beautiful set and highlights many of the key events that happen in the novel. There are many scenes that are omitted, which makes Persepolis come across more solemn than it does in the book. This is a minor nitpick made up for with sequences that surpass what the graphic novel could even achieve in gorgeous 2-D black-and-white. Style and substance all around!
Missed Flicks:
Bridge of Terabithia, Black Snake Moan, Waitress, Harry Potter & The Order of the Phoenix, Sunshine, Rescue Dawn, 3:10 To Yuma, Across the Universe, The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford, Lust/Caution, The Darjeeling Unlimited, Michael Clayton, Lars and the Real Girl, Gone Baby Gone, Atonement, Charlie Wilson’s War, There Will Be Blood, Hair Spray, I’m Not There, Eastern Promises, The Myst, The Simpsons Movie, The Diving Bell and The Butterfly, Before The Devil Knows You're Dead, The Savages.
...More To Come!