Top Movie Reviews of 2007
Last Updated on 3/20/2010
Published on 12/27/2007
Just call it “the year of threequels.” Yes, in so many unfortunate ways, 2007 was the year of third helpings in the film industry. From “Rush Hour 3” to “Shrek the Third,” 2007 has been 365 days chock-a-block full of (mostly) lame attempts to squeeze the last few pennies out of great stand-alone movies. (What’s next, Dreamworks — “Shrek and Fiona: The Gingko Biloba Years”? Say it ain’t so.)
But with all the “threequel” chatter, it’s easy to forget that 2007 has been a year of great films, too. (And none of these films have numbers attached to their cabooses.) Ranging from a comedy about a life-sized, anatomically correct sex doll to the shakedown of a real CIA spy, these gems made 2007 a year to remember (even if I want oh-so-desperately to forget “Primeval”):
1) “No Country for Old Men” (Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin) — Nobody, nobody, nobody does it better than the Coen brothers. Violent, brilliantly acted and darkly comic, this bleak, pared-down movie begins as a caper-gone-wrong film, then morphs into a chilling glimpse of the nature of evil. Jones and Brolin are flat-out fantastic, and Bardem proves the adage you shouldn’t judge a villain by his bob haircut.
2) “Lars and the Real Girl” (Ryan Gosling, Emily Mortimer, Paul Schneider) — Only Gosling, so stellar in “Half Nelson,” could take a film about a painfully shy man besotted with a full-sized sex doll and turn it into a kind-hearted, intelligent and surprisingly observant meditation on repression, human loneliness and healing. Romantic comedies don’t get much sharper — or sweeter — than this.
3) “Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead” (Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Albert Finney) — Part robbery gone wrong, part epic Greek tragedy, this brutal, grueling movie about the aftermath of a “victimless crime” features wall-to-wall meaty performances, including a visceral one by Hoffman that is hard to watch but impossible to ignore. This is why movies are made.
4) “Zodiac” (Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, Robert Downey Jr.) — Epic in scope and brilliant in execution, this dark, brooding police procedural/crime drama examines the infamous Zodiac murderer case with sharp wit, a forboding film noir atmosphere and a knock-’em-dead cast of A-list actors (including Downey Jr., who steals every scene he’s in). It’s darn close to flawless.
5) “Breach” (Chris Cooper, Ryan Phillippe, Laura Linney) — An underrated cast-aside character actor no more, Cooper owned his role as real-life CIA agent-turned-spy Robert Hanssen in a way few other actors could. Linney and Phillippe provide solid suupport, but the funny, sharply observed “Breach” is Cooper’s film — and thank heavens (or the casting director) for that.
6) “Superbad” (Michael Cera, Jonah Hill, Seth Rogen) — Smarter than “Porky’s” and funnier than “American Pie,” Rogen’s “Superbad,” held together by Cera and Hill’s chemistry, may well be the best teen sex comedy to come along in years. As helium-voiced, knock-kneed McLovin, Christopher Mintz-Plasse is a dweeb icon for the ages. Embrace your inner McLovin.
7) “Death at a Funeral” (Matthew Macfadyen, Rupert Graves, Alan Tudyk) — Leave it to the Brits to take a decidedly sedate, even morbid subject (funerals, in this case) and turn it into a witty, uproarious comedy of errors that builds to fevered pitch. The actors (and the jokes are top-notch). Trust this reviewer: You’ll never look at a Valium bottle the same way again.
8) “Across the Universe” (Jim Sturgess, Evan Rachel Wood, Joe Anderson) — A musical about the “make love not war” 1960s that’s filled with creative covers of Beatles tunes, stunning, kaleidoscopic visuals and a handful of capable young actors ... what’s not to like? If you have to ask, sadly, “Across the Universe” isn’t for you.
9) “Ratatouille” (Patton Oswalt, Lou Romano, Brad Garrett) — Not since “Shrek” has an animated film looked so impressive and seemed so appealing. As culinary-minded rat Remy, Oswalt is understated comic gold. The rest of the film — an arty, never over-the-top little comedy that sneaks up on you — follows suit, and it’s never anything less than completely delectable.
10) “Waitress” (Keri Russell, Nathan Fillion, Cheryl Hines) — This much-lauded, little-seen apple pie of a romantic comedy visited theaters here for one week — and what a shame that was. “Waitress” has all the right ingredients: a likable heroine (Russell), a bittersweet script and a director (now deceased) who laughs with her characters, never at them.
