BC Magazine's Best Films of 2007
Published January 02, 2008
Despite its sudden Sopranos-esque ending, No Country for Old Men unearths a whirlwind of cinematic sensations from intensity to reflectivity. One minute you’ll be sitting on the edge of your seat and the next you’ll be pondering the poeticism. What’s more, it features some of the year’s best acting and puts a legendary directing duo on display at the top of their game.
In lesser hands, No Country for Old Men would be an average endeavor. But placed in the palms of the Coens, this variation on Cormac McCarthy's novel is a full-fledged work of art. Forget mentioning No Country for Old Men among the ranks of Raising Arizona, O Brother Where Art Thou?, The Big Lebowski, or even Fargo. Place this Texas tale of drugs, murder, and vengefulness above the aforementioned and among the best of the decade.
No need to wait until February 24th; hand Bardem “Best Supporting Actor,” the Coens “Best Director,” and the film “Best Motion Picture” honors in that order.
Chris Beaumont: Sweeney Todd - The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
This year provided a number of films that threatened to be number one, but there was never that one killer flick that ran away from the rest. For a moment, I thought that that No Country for Old Men was going to be the one, but that was before Juno and Sweeney Todd entered the fray. Ultimately, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street stepped up and took the crown, narrowly edging out the other contenders.
I am sure you are wondering just what it was that put the Tim Burton-directed musical over the top? Well, it is easily one of Tim Burton's finest accomplishments. He has put his stamp on a tragic love story for the ages. It is steeped in darkness, spiced with humor, and told through glorious song. It is a film that is at once personal, intimate, and grandiose, a wonderful example of the Grand Guignol aesthetic.
Johnny Depp delivers a strong, subtle performance in the lead role. The inner turmoil of lost love and vengeful desires play out across Depp's pained face; he barely contains the rage boiling inside over what the evil Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman) has done to his family. Equally strong is Helena Bonham Carter as Mrs. Lovett, a woman in love with the wrong man, aiding and abetting his bloody barbering.
There is something to the artistic arterial spray, the purely cinematic translation of the theatrical experience that won me over. It is absolutely gorgeous to look at, a sense of darkly comic dread reaching into the shadows. Sweeney Todd masterfully plays with your emotions, drawing you to itself, ever closer to its ultimate climax, and all the while you hope for the best while expecting the worst. It plays out the only way it can and it is brilliant.
El Bicho Cheats on the Assignment
- BC Magazine's Best Films of 2007
- Published: January 02, 2008
- Type: News
- Section: Video
- Filed Under: Video: Film and TV Business, Video: News
- Writer: Lisa McKay
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- Lisa McKay's personal site
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No apologies necessary.
I'll take both Blood and Old Men over I'm Not There. Although the Cate Blanchett and Christian Bale parts were fantastic, the rest of the movie was boring and forgettable. After reading your article, it sounds like the previous two are not overrated, but rather thematically unsatisfying to you. Most of the praise stems from the performances which you acknowledge are warranted.
(btw, The Departed was not one of the best of '06. It had some good scenes, particularly when Wahlberg and Baldwin were in them, but Nicholson was terrible in his hammy performance, and the script was unbelievable. How could Costello not figure out that the new guy was the mole? The film falls apart on repeated viewings.)
Simple sure, but what was dumb about 300? Best action film I saw. You want dumb, the two worst films of the year were Smokin' Aces and Waitress. Shoot 'Em Up was pretty bad as well.
I agree about Waitress, although it showed up on Time magazine's top 10. I could only get through the first 20 minutes of the DVD and back it went to Netflix. Life is too short.
I avoid most movies I know I'll hate, so my list of dumbest movies is very incomplete. I went to see 300 in Imax out of curiosity. It's certainly the dumbest Imax movie of the year. But it's not uninteresting to look at.
"Most Overrated" doesn't mean worst, just that those two films [T.W.B. Blood and N.C.F. Old Men] have been praised to high heaven. I believe there will be others like myself who find them too heavy to be entertaining, and too steeped in shallow nihilism to succeed as art, despite the talent involved. The Anderson film in particular will not play in Peoria. [But neither did Citizen Kane, so what do I know.]
The two worst films of the year were Good Luck Chuck and I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry. Shoot 'Em Up at least knew what it was doing and presented itself in a very tongue-in-cheek fashion, making it a send-up of action films. It also had some really rich satire tucked in it, so I'm not really buying it as a bad film.
No Atonement mention? For my money, that's the finest film of the year.
I really liked No Country For Old Men - up until the ending. It was rather bizarre, to say the least. The funny thing is, it actually made me think about it for the next few days - and, upon further review, I was rather impressed by the film's "outside of the box" approach ...in the end.
Most underappreciated film:
The Bourne Ultimatum
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(Or ping: http://blogcritics.org/mt/tb/72538)
I would add:
Zodiac
Across the Universe
I'm Not There
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
The Bourne Ultimatum
And the documentaries
Lake of Fire
The Other Side of the Mirror: Bob Dylan Live at the Newport Folk Festival, 1963-65
And [sorry, El Bicho], worst [well, maybe just dumbest] movie of the young century:
300
Most overrated:
The Lives of Others
There Will Be Blood
No Country for Old Men