My Favorite Films of 2007!!!

It is about time I presented my own top ten favorite films of 2007. Let me first say that 2007 was a great year at the movies. Not since 1999 have there been so many provocative, artistically well-crafted, and culturally relevant films. Why is it in times of great tragedy and strife in the world, that art somehow becomes greater? I think dire circumstances call for deeper thought, greater discussion, and the opportunity for artists and their audiences to ask the bigger questions that plague humanity. Tragedy tends to put our lives into perspective, and the films of 2007 did not waiver in revealing the tradgic world we all live in. ATONEMENT, NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, THERE WILL BE BLOOD, MICHAEL CLAYTON, IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH, GONE BABY GONE, and THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES, to say a few, were all about human suffering and tragedy. ATONEMENT showed us how a single mistake can destroy the lives of all those in its path, NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN presented the ever increasing violence that plagues are lives and how we are nearly helpless in stopping it, and THERE WILL BE BLOOD showed how greed and obsession can destroy even the most precious of things we hold dear. It seems like this year Hollywood was making the claim that human beings do indeed suffer, and that from this side of the War in Iraq, the crisis in the Middle East, and the political indignation on our own soil, that the current state of the world is rough. Though I agree, it saddens me to think that in this time when people need Entertainment to help them cope with the world, they get films that want to spill the beans on how or why the world is the way it is rather than offer a valuable solution. I long for the days when films will return to their escapist roots, reminding us why it is we go to the movies in the first place. Why else was ALVIN IN THE CHIPMUNKS one of the biggest blockbuster successes of the year? It was exactly what audiences needed, something fun, enjoyable, and family friendly which also offered the chance for a temporary escape of life’s worries. I guess we will just have to wait and see what 2008 has to offer.

Here are my top 10 Favorite Films of 2007:

# 10: GONE BABY GONE

# 9: JUNO

# 8: NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN

# 7: THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES

# 6: ZODIAC

# 5: ONCE

# 4: LARS AND THE REAL GIRL

# 3: INTO THE WILD

# 2: RATATOUILLE

# 1: THERE WILL BE BLOOD

NOTABLE MENTIONS (In No Particular Order):

• Enchanted
• King of Kong: A Fist Full of Quarters
• 3:10 To Yuma
• Atonement
• Hot Fuzz
• Amazing Grace
• Diving Bell and The Butterfly
• Away From Her
• The Hoax
• Rescue Dawn
• Michael Clayton