As this is my last column of the year, I decided to glimpse back and review the best, the worst and the unexpected films of 2007.
Dubbed by many as "the year of the threequels," 2007 saw many third installments of big blockbuster trilogies achieve varying success. Among the better received lies "Spider-Man 3," once again mixing the hokey, the solemn and the webslingin', but with a bit too much schmaltz and cheese for my taste. "Ocean's Thirteen" was also met well with critics and at the box office, but brought nothing new to the series and, aside from trying to comprehend their schemes, was a bore. "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," and "The Bourne Ultimatum," however, both brought their respective series to new heights; movie fanatics should be sure to watch for them at the Oscars. What you likely won't be seeing nominated for anything are the more disappointing sequels of 2007, the vapid "Shrek the Third," a mindless new low for "Resident Evil, Extinction," and — the film I award the most disappointing of 2007 — "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End," which should have been so much more lively than the grim and lengthy mess that it was. Alas, it was still the highest grossing film of the year.
"Animation" is also a word to sum up the year. With nearly half the top grossing films heavily relying on it, as well as a slew of the current films, it seems eye-pleasing visuals draw the biggest crowds. Unfortunately, all that's computer generated is not gold, illustrated by "300," a complete joke of a film in all aspects aside from its undeniably stunning cinematography and imagery which I've repeatedly said would have been worlds better on mute. Thankfully other films didn't rely entirely on their visuals; "Ratatouille" is, without contest, the best entirely animated film of the year and is sure to receive several nods at the Oscars, while "Transformers" surprised everyone by proving to be a wildly fun film, rather than just a laughable homage to your '80s toy chest. Also defying low expectations was "The Simpsons Movie," which somehow managed to overcome the staleness of the series' slow, painful putrescence over the last several years. Yet, not all animation was met with success in the box office or with the critics: "TMNT proved less than rad, "Meet the Robinsons" fell short of expected revenues and "Stardust" passed by unnoticed.
Suspense dramas marked the end of the year with no shortage of Westerns, including "3:10 to Yuma," "The Assassination of Jesse James," and "No Country for Old Men," and muddled political-themed films like "Rendition," "The Kingdom" and "Lions for Lambs" filled in the many of the gaps unfilled by the aforementioned films. Still, late 2007 also saw an influx of many crime dramas, most notably "American Gangster," "Gone Baby Gone," "We Own the Night" and "Hitman," which I'm just glad I don't have to see trailer commercials for anymore. Sadly, it was a bad year for the horror genre, with only two passable films, "30 Days of Night" and "The Mist," which are gems compared to the dregs of "Hostel II," "Saw IV," "The Hills Have Eyes 2" and Rob Zombie's take on "Halloween." (When will they stop with the horror sequels?!)
Foreign films were also relatively scant, but Ang Lee's new work, "Lust, Caution," described by him as a "very Asian" drama, stands out likely because his name was attached to it.
My personal list of most overrated films include "Zodiac," neither as disturbing as "Se7en" or as intense as "Silence of the Lambs," regardless of how many people compare it to those films, and "28 Weeks Later," which once again focuses more on the human condition than on zombies, but gets too caught up in ridiculous action sequences.
Films concluding the year during the intense box-office holiday season include the controversial cousin of Harry Potter and Narnia, "The Golden Compass," promising comedy "Juno," the film adaptation of the widely successful book "The Kite Runner" and Woody Allen's latest "Cassandra's Dream" starring Collin Farrell and a score by Philip Glass. Then there are the two films I'm personally most looking forward to: Tim Burton's adaptation of "Sweeney Todd" starring the infamous Mr. Depp and Francis Ford Coppola's return to directing after a 10-year hiatus with paradoxically titled. "Youth Without Youth"
Regrettably, reviewing DVDs and being left without an individual mode of transportation has consistently kept me a few months behind on movies, so I haven't seen as many as I'd have liked. Nevertheless, my pick for best movie of the year goes to "A Mighty Heart," which is as indescribably poignant as it is stunning.
