2007 The Year in Movies

By way of introduction, we often saw movies because the time worked out well. TinyE was on a play date or at an organized event, and the only movie that worked was one that we might not have seen otherwise. Most of the time (Music and Lyrics, Premonition, The Invisible) this did not work. But sometimes (In the Valley of Elah, Eastern Promises) it did. Overall, Mrs. Duf and I saw 37 movies. But there were 22 that we did not see that we might have if there were world enough and time.

Movies We Saw in 2007:

Happily N’Ever After
Music and Lyrics
Breach
Zodiac
Premonition
Meet the Robinsons
Fracture
The Invisible
Waitress
Shrek the Third
Mr. Brooks
Surf’s Up
Nancy Drew
Evan Almighty
Ratatouille
Transformers
Hairspray
The Simpsons Movie
The Bourne Ultimatum
Stardust
In the Valley of Elah
Eastern Promises
The Game Plan
The Darjeeling Limited
Michael Clayton
Gone Baby Gone
American Gangster
Bee Movie
Fred Claus
No Country for Old Men
Enchanted
Juno
The Golden Compass
Alvin and the Chipmunks
I Am Legend
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Youth Without Youth

Movies I Also Wish We’d Seen in 2007 (italics = really wish we'd seen):

300
Shooter
Grindhouse: Planet Terror and Death Proof
Knocked Up
A Mighty Heart
La Vie En Rose
Live Free or Die Hard
Sicko
Superbad
Death at a Funeral
3:10 to Yuma
Into the Wild
Lust, Caution
Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Lars and the Real Girl
Things We Lost in the Fire
Disturbia
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Atonement
Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead
Charlie Wilson’s War
Persepolis
There Will Be Blood


My Top Ten of 2007 (so far):

10. Hairspray – didn’t want to go (love the original to much), had a blast
9. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street – I’m a fan
8. Zodiac – quality from start to finish
7. American Gangster – strong acting performances
6. I Am Legend – a great story, strong acting, best set design of the year
5. In the Valley of Elah – Jones was phenomenal; overcomes formula ending
4. Eastern Promises – intense and amazing
3. Michael Clayton – some flaws, but overall very dog gone good
2. Gone Baby Gone – the “gotcha” was not so “gotcha” but the film was superb
1. No Country for Old Men – a flawless classic, works on every level

Honorable Mention:

Waitress
Breach
Mr. Brooks

Best Children’s Movies:

5. Bee Movie
4. Enchanted
3. The Game Plan
2. Surf’s Up
1. Ratatouille (the best by a country mile)

Pleasant Surprises (went in expecting little, and left thinking – “not bad” or even “very darn good"):

Mr. Brooks
Nancy Drew
Hairspray
The Game Plan
Gone Baby Gone
Waitress

Disappointments (high or medium expectations were dashed):

Transformers
The Simpsons Movie
The Bourne Ultimatum
The Darjeeling Limited

The Swimming Upstream Award (everyone loved this movie (or hated it) and I saw it the differently:

Juno (not bad, pleasant enought, but not great. It didn't make my top ten or honorable mention, and think of the movies I haven't seen yet)

The “Didn’t really get it” Award:

Youth Without Youth (I understood the basic plot, but I have not idea why Coppolla invested his own money into making it (and yes, he has a lot of money these days). Well except that I dounderstand why no studio would back it. It's a good movie, it's just not a money making movie).

Moments when Narcolepsy Triumphed; or: movies I feel asleep in (not necessarily a comment on the movie) reason and duration in parentheses:

Meet the Robinsons (exhaustion, not engaged; 10 minutes)
Shrek the Third (exhaustion, not engaged; 10 minutes)
Bee Movie (missed most of it, exhaustion, warm theater, tummy full; 50 minutes)
Enchanted (exhaustion, not engaged; 10 minutes)
Alvin and the Chipmunks (exhaustion, not engaged; 10 minutes)
Youth Without Youth (film too high brow, tummy full; 15 minutes)