JOG ON!!

Every year I try to compile a list of my favorite flicks and I inevitably fail to do so. Not this year. Maybe I'm two months late, but better late than never, right? I hesitate to call this list a "Best Of," mainly because I'm weary of those kinds of lists. So I'm gonna call it a "favorites" list. Also, I’m going to make silly comments so as to make me seem and unknowledgeable about film as humanly possible. So when I say something stupid, it’s because otherwise I’d write a ten page paper on how Javier Bardem’s hair in No Country For Old Men represents the corruption of the American dream.

So here we go! My 10 favorite films of 2007!

10. The Darjeeling Limited -- I heart Wes Anderson. And Jason Schwartzman. And Adrien Brody. And Owen Wilson. I heart them all. ALL!

9. No Country For Old Men – Would have placed a lot higher if it wasn’t a virtual scene-by-scene recreation of Cormac McCarthy’s novel.

8. The Simpsons Movie -- Would I be a true Simpsons nerd if this movie didn't make the list? The answer is no. So it's on the list. Get over it.

7. Zodiac – I fucking love David Fincher. And Mark Ruffalo deserved an Oscar nomination for this, even if he would be one of the poor souls destined to lose to Daniel Day Lewis.

6. There Will Be Blood – Just my opinion, but Paul Thomas Anderson got fucked at the Oscars. This wasn't in my top five, partly because it's so damn depressing. And also because Hot Fuzz kicks so much ass.

5. Hot Fuzz – I have watched this movie more than any other movie than came out last year. It cracks me up. It makes me feel very, very happy. There have been a handful of times in the last six months that I’ve been horribly down on myself, and I’ve popped in Hot Fuzz and for two hours I’ve been a-okay. What else can you ask for? I mean, other than a sequel....

4. Pan's Labyrinth -- Terrific film. Simply put, a terrific film. Guillermo del Toro might be one of my favorite filmmakers of all-time. It's only #4 because sorting out these last three films were hardcore tough to pick. Oh, and because Ellen Page isn't in it. PS: This technically isn't a "2007" film. Sue me. I saw it in 2007, so it's a 2007 film. Got it, dollface?



3. The Host – Okay, so it didn’t technically come out in 2007. But The Host is not only a terrific action/adventure/monster movie, but an awe-inspiring look at the family dynamic set against a thinly veiled commentary on American Imperialism. Sea monsters. Explosions. Attack on the evils of imperialism. What’s not to like?

2. Juno – I’m going to marry Ellen Page. She doesn’t know this yet, but she’s stuck with me. Oh, and Jason Reitman is gonna win a few Oscars before all is said and done. But seriously, folks. Much like Hot Fuzz, Juno has been a film that has this incredible ability to lift me from my “black moods” (as my dad calls them). When you hear us nerds talking about art deeply affecting someone, that’s what we’re talking about.




1. Sunshine – Didn’t see this one comin, did ya? No. Neither did I. But I before I knew it Sunshine was in my top three. So there ya go. This comes from director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland, the two wonderful lads who brought us 28 Days Later. It’s a visually stunning film. Boyle doesn’t let you down when he’s showing you what it would look like to be within a dozen miles of the sun. It’s...it’s just incredible.

Some folks have a problem with the third act. I've read that it's too much like a slasher film in it's execution and that the film suffers as a result. I disagree. Without giving anything away, I can just say that the final thirty minutes is completely freaky and I'm glad there was sunlight outside my window. Had I watched this at night, I might have wet my pants.

It's my opinion that Sunshine was the best film of 2007. You heard right. The best. It was my favorite. And I think it was the best film of the year.

What about the rest of ya? Agree? Disagree? Don't care? Hmmmmmm....