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Let's talk about the *other* films of 2007

P

p2535748

Member
2007 is probably the best film year of the past 3 decades, but any discussion of it is dominated by two films: There Will Be Blood and No Country For Old Men. I'd like to talk about the other films that came out that year, because I think it's easy to forget how incredibly packed with good films 2007 was. Take a look:

The Assassination of Jessie James by the Coward Robert Ford
Zodiac
Once
Gone Baby Gone
Michael Clayton
4 Years, 3 Months, 2 Days
Ratatouille
Hot Fuzz
The Lives of Others (came out in the US in 2007)

In another year, I could see any of these in contention for best of the year. I mean, even if you step down a tier, there are some excellent movies:

Superbad
The Bourne Ultimatum
Knocked Up
The Host
Eastern Promises
3:10 To Yuma
Persepolis
The King of Kong

I'm probably still missing some. How the hell did one year get so packed with great movies? I mean, that top list is ridiculous, you could make a strong top ten list from it, and that's leaving off the two most celebrated movies of the year.

So, the question becomes, if No Country and There Will Be Blood didn't exist, what would be remembered as the best film of 2007? Personally, I'd argue for either Hot Fuzz or Zodiac. Hot Fuzz is, I think, Edgar Wright's best film to date, a great comedy, a wonderful send up and a love letter to action films all at once. Zodiac is Fincher's best film, it's the best interaction of his style with the material, and an excellent mediation on obsession.

Note: I should say this was inspired by this article. Not saying I agree with the rankings, just got me thinking about 2007.
 
W

wenis

Registered for GAF on September 11, 2001.
Zodiac is the better film of the top two. Shame more people never gave it a chance. It's Finchers best work as well.
 
D

dcdobson

Member
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead has to be up there. It includes probably one of my favorite performances from Philip Seymour Hoffman, and the music is incredible.
 
L

liquidtmd

Banned
I really enjoyed 3:10 to Yuma but as you say, very good year.

From a perspective of having two daughters, I think Enchanted was a very good romp and Stardust is now a family classic
 
J

Jon Carter

Member
AmWTuW.gif
 
H

Haloid1177

Banned
Zodiac is my third fave film of all time. Still don't like There Will Be Blood, find it to be a slog to get through, even with DDD's performance.
 
Theodoricos

Theodoricos

Member
Good list, but you forgot about Atonement! That's easily one of the best movies of 2007 and I personally like it better than "the two".

dcdobson said:
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead has to be up there. It includes probably one of my favorite performances from Philip Seymour Hoffman, and the music is incredible.
Click to expand...

Just saw this one a few weeks ago and I loved it. Turns out even Sidney Lumet's last film, made fifty years after 12 Angry Men, was great.
 
S

Speevy

Banned
Once is a masterpiece, as is Jesse James. Though Once might be 2006 depending on which country you live in.
 
H

hiredhand

Member
There was a lot of great arthouse/foreign stuff too:

My Winnipeg (Guy Maddin)
Paranoid Park (Gus Van Sant)
Silent Light (Carlos Reygadas)
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Julian Schnabel)
Aleksandra (Aleksandr Sokurov)
I'm Not There. (Todd Haynes)
You the Living (Roy Andersson)
Import Export (Ulrich Seidl)
Control (Anton Corbijn)
The Visitor (Tom McCarthy)
The Savages (Tamara Jenkins)
Boy A (John Crowley)
Tropa de Elite (José Padilha)
Timecrimes (Nacho Vigalondo)
[Rec] (Jaume Balagueró & Paco Plaza)
The Orphanage (J.A. Bayona)
Mad Detective (Johnnie To & Ka-Fai Wai)
 
M

MetroidPrimeRib

Banned
There was also 28 Weeks Later, The Mist, Sweeney Todd, American Gangster. I wouldn't say those are on the same level as stuff like No Country but they are enjoyable movies.

Also I believe Children of Men came out Christmas 2006, so it was real close.
 
S

Sgt. Kabukiman

Banned
Yeah, that was a great year.
What's interesting is that none of these films really worked for me the first time. Zodiac, Ratatouille, Hot Fuzz, etc. I had to warm up to them over time, especially in the case of Zodiac. But I might consider it Fincher's best film now.

On your list, I'd say The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford is my favorite. Incredible soundtrack.

I've never gotten the love for Michael Clayton and King of Kong though.

And wasn't The Host released in 2006?
 
T

Timeaisis

Member
Zodiac is fantastic, Yuma is great, Blood is a classic now (so is kind of No Country), Hot Fuzz is a classic for comedy, among the others you listed.

Yeah, kind of a crazy good year for film.
 
A

Addi

Member
There was also Into the Wild. I remember liking it a lot back then, not as much of a fan today.

EDIT: Oh, Grindhouse was also from 2007. I actually like Death Proof.
 
S

shiftplusone

Member
Jesse James was my favorite movie that year, i went and saw it in theaters like 6 times. Only movie i've ever done that with.

I don't remember ANYONE else caring at the time, though. No real discussion, people shitting on it for the pacing and lack of "things" happening or whatever
 
G

GiantEnemyGoomba

Member
I've watched Zodiac, Michael Clayton, and Hot Fuzz pretty recently and thought they were all very good. Michael Clayton was solid all around with great writing and acting; definitely need to give it a rewatch as I'm sure I missed plenty of the finer details. I was pretty familiar with the Zodiac killings before, so it was harder to get into Zodiac, but there were still some incredible moments (the stabbing and basement scenes OMG) and the performances were pretty great overall. Hot Fuzz was one of the better comedies I've seen and just shows I need to hurry and watch the rest of Edgar's movies.

Of course, this three are still a step below the two you mentioned, which are two of my favorite movies ever and I'll never get bored of them.

I'm also due a rewatch of Ratatouille I think, didn't give it much of a chance the first time because I was young.
 
D

Dan

No longer boycotting the Wolfenstein franchise
Knocked Up and Superbad do not deserve to be among the list of the abundance of greats that 2007 delivered.

Need another comedy from that year? Death at a Funeral.
 
M

MetroidPrimeRib

Banned
GiantEnemyGoomba said:
I'm also due a rewatch of Ratatouille I think, didn't give it much of a chance the first time because I was young.
Click to expand...

I really appreciate Ratatouille now. The monologue by Anton Ego at the end is one of my favorites ever.

In many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little, yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgment. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read. But the bitter truth we critics must face, is that in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is probably more meaningful than our criticism designating it so. But there are times when a critic truly risks something, and that is in the discovery and defense of the *new*. The world is often unkind to new talent, new creations. The new needs friends. Last night, I experienced something new: an extraordinary meal from a singularly unexpected source. To say that both the meal and its maker have challenged my preconceptions about fine cooking is a gross understatement. They have rocked me to my core. In the past, I have made no secret of my disdain for Chef Gusteau's famous motto, "Anyone can cook." But I realize, only now do I truly understand what he meant. Not everyone can become a great artist; but a great artist *can* come from *anywhere*. It is difficult to imagine more humble origins than those of the genius now cooking at Gusteau's, who is, in this critic's opinion, nothing less than the finest chef in France. I will be returning to Gusteau's soon, hungry for more.
Click to expand...
 
P

p2535748

Member
Theodoricos said:
Good list, but you forgot about Atonement! That's easily one of the best movies of 2007 and I personally like it better than "the two".
Click to expand...

I just don't like Atonement. I know this makes me a bad person, but subjectively that movie made me actually angry, and I think objectively it falls off a cliff in the second half. The only Joe Wright movie I can fully get behind is Hanna.

I do really like Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, though.
 
K

Krev

Unconfirmed Member
Dan said:
Knocked Up and Superbad do not deserve to be among the list of the abundance of greats that 2007 delivered.

Need another comedy from that year? Death at a Funeral.
Click to expand...
I was sort of with you until the last part.

Superbad is a much better movie than Death at a Funeral.
 
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