2007's 10 Best (which may be subject to change)

I wanted to avoid writing a 10-best list until I saw what I thought were all the worthy 2007 releases. At this rate, though, I may never see The Savages, so it's time to post anyway. Unlike with the 2006 list, explanations for my favorites are provided.

1) The Lives of Others - I owe this choice to my father, who selected it for one of our late-night father-daughter movie outings. I’d never seen anything like this story of life behind the Iron Curtain, where we learned the measures to which the Stasi (the German secret police) would go to learn about its people. Even though the time here was 1984 East Germany, the plot seems relevant in the technologically savvy America of 2008.

2) No Country for Old Men (see earlier post)
No Movie for Old People (a nod to my friend Jeff)

3) Gone, Baby, Gone - Criminally underrated and underseen, my boy Ben Affleck’s adaptation of the Dennis Lehane novel continues to shake me months later. The film’s a spot-on representation of my hometown: I know those triple deckers and the people in them. Often you hear the cliché “yon won’t be able to stop talking about the ending;” in this case, it’s really true.

4) Waitress - The first time I saw this, I merely thought it was cute. A couple of months later, I watched it again, and the richness and flavor overwhelmed me - how had I missed the depth of Jenna’s (Keri Russell) arc? The happy endings were justly deserved. R.I.P. Adrienne Shelly

5) Eastern Promises - I gushed about Viggo Mortensen on Tuesday, but the latest from David Cronenberg also gives us a very graphic, violent look at the Russian mafia underworld in London. Redemption is the name of the game, whether it’s from blood or a baby. The script is by Steve Knight, who also wrote another awesome gritty-London story, 2003’s Dirty Pretty Things.

6) In the Valley of Elah - I’ve posted about this before, and I referenced it in the Oscar-nominations entry.

7) Juno
Funny Ha-Ha and Funny Sad

8) Hairspray - Ebullient, bouncy, and catchy as heck, this version of Hairspray is a Bye, Bye, Birdie for my generation and the one after me. I even prefer it to John Waters’ sublime 1988 original. The soundtrack picks me up on downer days.

9) No End in Sight - Not just another Michael Moore polemic, this documentary from political scientist Charles Ferguson offers voices from both sides of the war debate to show how we ended up in Iraq in the first half of the decade - and why we’re still there almost five years later. It’s one of the most even-handed war talks I’ve seen, and the presidential candidates on both sides would do well to watch it. Campbell Scott’s sober narration adds gravitas.

10) Lars and the Real Girl - A rare instance where the trailer left the good stuff out, this hard-to-market film ultimately shows us the innate kindness in everyone. Ryan Gosling’s awkward performance has detractors and fans; I’m with the latter group. Sure, this film requires a suspension of disbelief, but go with it.

Runners-up: Things We Lost in the Fire, Breach, Enchanted, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Persepolis (reviews of the latter two coming soon)

Movies that nearly made me slit my wrists: Spider-Man 3, Knocked Up, Goya’s Ghosts, Bug (The negative review: Bug ) and - most of all - La Vie en Rose. For that, my frustration is best expressed by A.O. Scott of the New York Times.
http://movies.nytimes.com/2007/06/08/movies/08vie.html?em&ex=1181361600&en=43350787f491ca1b&ei=5087%0A