why stop at 10?

It might seem a bit irrelevant to make a list of the best films of the previous year three months after most critics proclaim what they consider the best of the year. Three months is a good length of time to mull over the necessary choices and catch up on those minor films one might have missed in the theater the first run when the theaters are packed with all of the end of the year prestige films. This brings me to my next point. Would it kill Hollywood to stop releasing these movies within the same month? Is it to keep these films fresh in the minds of Academy voters? Is this some new tradition the studios have established to keep us waiting with the most baited of breaths for the "best" films of the year? If the end of the year is the best, is that some unintentional, or intentional, diss to the other films released throughout the year? It's frustrating when entire weekends have to be altered around seeing films that will admittedly fade fast from theaters due to the deluge of "must-see" critical darlings. Arranging to see "Sweeney Todd" and "Lust, Caution" in the same day is a minor qualm (and interesting pairing I managed to pull off, if you can believe it), but I would like to absorb them with the most care and time it usually takes for great art to become part of our collective cinema memory. That minor qualm is a good compliant to have when cinema was at one of its finest years in recent memory. There are some years I am grasping for straws for films to consider, but this year there was something different projecting on movie screens. I like to think of it as the year of the Mad Man.

Power, control, and money sound like buzz words we've heard in the coverage of the upcoming presidential election. Who's going to win it? What are they going to do with their newly minted power? What drives a person to be in that position? Those questions could be seen in every drop of blood, furrowed and possessed eyebrow, and each step of the anti-hero's determined quest in cinema last year. Mark Ruffalo runs on empty to solve the murder of the Zodiac killer in David Fincher's phenomenal "Zodiac." Capitalism tears Daniel Day-Lewis to shreds in Paul Thomas Anderson's "There Will Be Blood." Michael Moore attempts to assuage the health care crisis in America in "Sicko." Mathieu Amalric fights to reclaim his life in Julian Schnabel's mournful, but graceful "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly." All of these men and several others (Emile Hirsch in "Into the Wild", Matt Damon in "The Bourne Ultimatum", and Javier Bardem in "No Country for Old Men" included) were all on a mission, journey, odyssey. Perhaps that's where we are in the world right now. Vagabonds with a touch of inherent evil.

For the list I thought of two things: I couldn't stop at ten and it should reflect a range. Luckily, film was so good last year both came with ease. Although I will say I was pleased to see women behind the cameras gaining more award recognition (Tamara Jenkins, Diablo Cody, Sarah Polley, Kasi Lemmons), this wasn't a strong year for memorable female leads or films that dealt with the experience of people of color. I guess that's to be expected in some form every year, but much like the regime in our office, film was primarily about the white male experience. That seems off for a country with a rapidly growing Hispanic population and a possible black president on the horizon. At any rate, these films, in my humble opinion, really say something. As vague as that sounds, this assortment of films had the effect of being slapped on the mouth. They stung with the remainder of how great art can be, which in turn made me feel elated. Enough with the critical claptrap you're probably thinking at this point. Agreed.

TOP 15 FILMS OF 2007
1. THERE WILL BE BLOOD, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson
A film that felt like it was literally birthed from the genius mind of one of America's greatest working directors, Paul Thomas Anderson. His scope and cinematic vocabulary expanded with this film and we should all be so grateful. Masterful storytelling, potent explosions of aesthetic wonder, and raw, unnerving performances that stay with you long after your head is left spinning in the aftermath of the film's much-debated finale.
2. THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD, directed by Andrew Dominik
At times sumptuous to look at and other times a melancholy chord strikes to the bone in the most underrated film of the year. Reminiscent of those great anti-westerns of the late '60s and '70s, the film is made more modern with a spooky tale of celebrity obsession and the destructive desire for infamy.
3. THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM, directed by Paul Greengrass
The best action-geo-political-drama of the decade. Matt Damon is the brooding, soulful superhero that leaps from buildings, navigates through crowded London train stations, and exposes the corrupted. A thrilling and perfect popcorn movie for the millennium.
4. ZODIAC, directed by David Fincher
A personal best for Fincher with this creepy who done it/drama that your eyes will refuse to avert away from. The search for the Zodiac killer is as rigorously pursued as the film is expertly lensed. Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr., and Mark Ruffalo are put to the test, only to be disappointed. We as the audience, however, are not.
5. MICHAEL CLAYTON, directed by Tony Gilroy
Power, corruption, and lies might be the name of the classic New Order album, but here they serve as the impetus for action in Tony Gilroy's intelligent law thriller. Subtle, multi-layered, and acted to sly perfection, "Michael Clayton" is a film that doesn't reinvent the wheel, but does bring us what we so rarely get: quality, classic filmmaking with a contemporary edge.
6. I'M NOT THERE, directed by Todd Haynes
It should be no surprise that your index finger will be scratching your head after watching a Todd Haynes film. The itch is not out of confusion, but in disbelief that such marvelous post-post-modern films can be this good without a trace of irony or cynicism. Haynes' passion for film, celebrity iconography, and drama set the stage for a film that rocks our conventions. Oh yeah, and Blanchett is a force of nature.
7. THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY, directed by Julian Schnabel
Each frame of Julian Schanbel's film feels like a personal imprint dealing with the commitment to art, life vs. death, loss vs. gain, and the inherently flawed complexity of human relationships. An inspiring and profoundly moving film that forgoes the saccharine in favor of something more true and resonate.
8. 2 DAYS IN PARIS, directed by Julie Delpy
A soufflé-light romantic comedy from Julie Delpy was a welcomed respite in the sea of gloom and doom movies from last year. Don't mistake the charm as being an empty or devoid of human observation, as Delpy so skillful orchestrates in her debut film. Delpy and Adam Goldberg spar, make love, spar a little more, awkwardly brunch with her parents, and in the end...well, let's just say it's a sublime and appropriate achievement.
9. NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, directed by Joel and Ethan Coen
A perfect film for purists. Almost too perfect. A lean film with all of the Coen Brotherisms matured, but not absent. Killers kill, bad guys meet their fate, and as we learn, don't take the money and run.
10. KILLER OF SHEEP, directed by Charles Burnett
Long lost for decades, Charles Burnett managed to capture a stunning and personal portrait of life as it is in his native Watts, Los Angeles in the late '70s. A bitter realism permeates the film with each quiet and affecting moment in dirt filled alleys, sleepy living rooms, and cars packed with people looking for a better life. Burnett finds a beauty in the bleakness in this dreamy gem that was finally unearthed for audiences to find themselves lost in its unassuming splendor.
11. BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU'RE DEAD, directed by Sidney Lumet
Sidney Lumet's brio is back with the same vigor as Philip Seymour Hoffman ferociously and sexually frank opening scene his wife, Marisa Tomei. Although Seymour Hoffman's stamina is a mask for his inner rage, self-loathing, and greed, Lumet roars again with a film that crackles with characters whose convictions are as ill-conceived and staunch as their world is morally confounded.
12. SUPERBAD, directed by Greg Mottola
The man-boy bawdy comedy is everywhere these days with Judd Apataow acting as the benevolent purveyor. "Knocked Up" denied women as complex creatures, where as "Superbad" is terrified of them as whole, which in truth is a more accurate description of how most men view women. Great dick and fart jokes abound, "Superbad" articulates with a certain bittersweetness the intense bond of male friendship, the awkward transition from youth to adulthood, and the uncomfortable road to sexual acceptance, and eventual conquest.
13. THIS IS ENGLAND, directed by Shane Meadows
Shane Meadows' semi-autobiographical tale of teenage malaise and rebellion in early '80s England breathed new life into the coming of age drama. Thomas Turgoose's heartbreaking performance of a child desperately trying to fit in amidst the clash of skinhead, reggae, and punk cultures and political unrest is a fascinating and poignant look at the possibilities of being young and the fate we must all accept that growing up in a troubled world is never easy.
14. NO END IN SIGHT, directed by Charles Ferguson
Less preachy and more enlightening than the propaganda and self-aggrandizing films of Michael Moore, Charles Ferguson's "No End in Sight" makes you want to shake your head in disgust at our current administration's terrible foreign policy. As if we didn't already know the big boys were bone and bullheaded, "No End in Sight" will hopefully inspire you to shed the complacent and apathetic frame of mind this administration has exploited and be aware of its rotten mistakes and cruel intentions.
15. SOUTHLAND TALES, directed by Richard Kelly
I love that there were more than a handful of films that divided audiences last year. That's a good sign that there are filmmakers with ambitious stories to tell made for adventurous audiences. "Southland Tales" doesn't have the coherency and polish of Kelly's first film, "Donnie Darko", but it's such a mess and aims so high that you fall for its infectious plea for a America not to become the farce it's slowly evolving towards. Immensely entertaining (even in the weak last fifteen minutes) and a film that somehow trumps "I'm Not There" as the most post-post-post-post modern film of 2007, "Southland Tales" dares to eviscerate fame, political ideology, and popular culture. And where else will you find this brilliant piece of pop fantasia?

Stay tuned for part 2: the best performances and scenes of the year.