The Blogarrhea's Top 10 Movies of 2007

2007 has been a pretty good year in movies for me. There have been a lot of movies I've seen this year that I love, and others I haven't yet seen but am dying to. That said, this list is my top 10 movies of the year, based on those I've seen, and are not necessarily my picks for BEST movies of the year, although it does somewhat follow that, but rather the ones I liked most.

Honorable Mention: Once, 300, Sicko, I'm Not There

10. Hot Fuzz
From the same guys who brought us Shaun of the Dead, this clever take on the buddy cop genre was a really entertaining movie that had some big laughs and showed, again, how good these guys are with this kind of comedy. Very sharp and well-timed humor is something these guys have built their movie careers on, and there's no shortage of it here. Can't wait for what they do next.

9. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
This was probably the biggest surprise for me this year. I expected it to be good, given that it was yet another Johnny Depp-Tim Burton movie, and I generally enjoy those. However, this turned out to actually be a great movie, one of Burton's best, and surpassed my expectations. Johnny Depp plays gloom very well, which happens to be Burton's forte, and it was utilized to perfection in this one.

8. Superbad
This was the second Judd Apatow-and-crew flick this year, and just like the rest of his movies, it hit the mark and then some. I think with this continual streak of success, Apatow is the new king of comedy, and his troupe is the new brat pack. This is a very genuine take on the awkwardness of high school, and this movie will go down as one of the classics of that genre alongside movies like Dazed and Confused, except way more hilarious. A really funny and enjoyable movie.

7. Transformers
This is one of those movies that wouldn't be on my "Best Of" list, but holy crap did I love it. I just got a chance to see it on HD-DVD, and it was just amazing. This movie is entertaining if nothing else, and it's just awe-inspiring when you see the effects, which I feel are the best we've ever seen. The way the robots transformed right in front of us on screen, not behind buildings or anything, with all the moving parts and sometimes in slo-mo, it was just flat out awesome.

6. Knocked Up
This was originally my runaway favorite comedy of the year (until I saw Juno). I think the story and the acting are great, the humor is authentic and honest, and the whole thing is just hilarious. The way Apatow captures real life, whether it be unplanned pregnancy or how guys sit around and bullshit with each other. Apatow and crew have really sent a benchmark this year for comedies in the future, but few have proven they can do it as well or as consistently as these guys have.

5. Sunshine
This sci-fi epic really floored me when I saw it. I haven't seen it since, but I'm really anxious to do so because I want to know if it still holds up on the small screen. But the religious undertones, the life and death moral choices, the visual beauty, and the great acting all contribute to why I just absolutely loved this movie. It might be a new addition to my personal top 10 favorites list.

4. Ratatouille
This is the only movie on this list that I didn't see in the theater, but I wish I had, because this was an amazing movie, as well as a showcase of how far animation has come. This is on a lot of people's top 10 lists, often as #1, and deserves it. The script was pretty much perfect, the animation WAS perfect, and the direction of Brad Bird was spot-on. Pixar has done some great movies, but I think this one was the best since Toy Story.

3. The Bourne Ultimatum
This movie was easily the best action movie I saw all year, and maybe longer than that. The whole story was kind of cool, but what really drew me in was the flawless direction and the incredible action sequences. The train station sequence and the rooftop chase to fist fight sequence were two of the coolest and most well done action sequences I've ever seen. Not many bad things you can say about the conclusion to the Bourne trilogy.

2. Juno
Like I said in my recent review of this movie, this might be the best movie of the year. It's got everything a comedy could ask for and more, with a dynamite performance from Ellen Page and a touching story to boot. It's not hard to understand why this is showing up on so many people's favorites list, because it really is just a great movie. They actually just released it everywhere because so many people were seeing it in its limited release, and it really deserves it.

1. No Country for Old Men
This is my pick for Best Picture, Javier Bardem is my hands down pick for Best Supporting Actor, and
yet, this is the one movie I didn't write a review for. I was so wowed by how amazing this movie was that I didn't really feel like I could. I still don't really have words to explain how much I love it, but I have a few comments. I think this is the Best Coen Brothers movie ever made (better than Fargo), Javier Bardem's character is the most menacing villain since Hannibal Lector, and its amazing how much they do in this movie by doing so little. No music, no real big plot points or devices, but the performances and the direction carry it. I really can't sing its praises enough; it's truly a masterpiece.

So there you have it folks, The Blogarrhea's Top 10 Movies of 2007. Agree or disagree with my take or picks? Let me know.