Sorry, got carried away :)
>>best of 07:
Children Of Men
- it may be bleak as hell, but in terms of dystopian commentary it gets the trophy for 2007. And my god, that camera work!
Conversations with other women
- Whether or not the gimmicky part is bonus or distraction is debatable. It worked for me and so did the story.
Court Jester
- must have seen this 50 times as a child. It's still that good.
Crash Test Dummies
- Lucy Sky Diamond Kudlacek. A hint of things that could have come.
Edmond
- Announced twice at the Viennale, it never came. Leave it to home video, as obviously no one would think twice about releasing this at the movies. If you like Mamet, it's a must see.
The Fountain
- the most audacious, beautiful and ridiculous Hollywood film in quite some time, it's a miracle this ever got made. It's oh-so-flawed but I just couldn't escape it.
Half Nelson
- one of 2006s best films and proof that Ryan Gosling is one of the best actors of his generation.
Last Winter
- quite a unique film, best described as "Eco-Horror". Kind of a modern retelling of "The Thing", with less gore and more head-scratching.
Pan's Labyrinth
- it's just incredibly accomplished, in every respect.
This Is England
- forget Atonement, this really is the best british film of the year
Workingman's Death
- nothing but masterful and mesmerizing, Glawogger is one if Austria's best documentarians (and there's a bunch of good ones).
Zodiac
- surely one of the best films of last year, sadly overlooked and probably misunderstood by many.
>>some welcome surprises:
Behind The Mask
- not a great movie by anyone's standard but the first clever update on the whole post-modern horror thing going on. Really clever at times, definitely worth a look.
Bug
- what probably made for a riveting hour of theatre doesn't transfer to 90 minutes of film so splendidly, but still this was much better than expected. disturbing and dark and exceedingly well played by all involved.
Dans Paris
- i really wanted to hate this, with all the nouvelle vague references and such...but it's a very clever, funny and touching story which just...works.
Helvetica
- it's a documentary. about a font. and you'll never look at the world around you the same.
The Notorious Bettie Page
- nothing great but a very honest and heartfelt film with the spot-on perfect Gretchen Mol as the titular pin-up.
Talladega Nights & Stranger Than Fiction
- the double feature that made me *kinda* like Will Ferrell. The latter proves he can act, the former is just the culmination of the bizarro humour he and his gang have been cooking up for a couple of years. Both work, wonderfully so.
Tideland
- i walked out on this at the movies but managed to find the approach for it on DVD. Brilliant stuff from the world's unluckiest director who happens to be a little girl way down deep inside.
US versus John Lennon
- never cared much about Lennon, but man this was pretty interesting stuff!
>>and some unexpected dissappointments:
Art School Confidential
- I was wondering why this never came to the theatres...until I saw it. Clunky, boring, stupid and unfunny. Avoid.
Black Dahlia
- It's just bad, and even worse: offensively boring.
Loft
- Kurosawa seems to have forgotten what he was doing half-way through the shoot. And then just kept on going. Bad.
Lost
- see above: the people behind this obviously have no clue in hell as to how this is gonna end, which makes it so darn frustrating to watch.
Number 23
- how on earth this got the green light is beyond me.
Volver
- yeah I know, blasphemy n all, but one really must be allowed to expect more from Pedro than a fluffy little ghost-story with ditsy Penelope doin her thing. Sub-par.
Zidane - A 21st Century Portrait
- brilliant idea, marred by almost too much 'plot'. If they had left it bare-boned and conceptual it would have been a masterpiece. The dreadful emo music by Mogwai doesn't help either.
>>finally released:
bad boy bubby
- an amazing movie, inventive, bizarre, disturbing, touching and unique in every way. One of my faves in 93 it still hasn't lost its appeal.
Danger Diabolik
- the lengths I went through to get this 15 years ago...copying from laserdisc and transferring from NTSC to PAL (oops, think the RIAA is gonna sue me retroactively?). Bless DVD.
Hellzapoppin
- the most insane gathering of nutjobs in film history. Completely and totally bonkers, like nothing you've ever seen.
Mala Noche
- before Gus discovered slow-motion and steadicam he actually had some spark in his work. Finally his first film gets the deserved treatment. It's raw but it's honest.
Monty Python's Flying Circus
- Well it took em 10 years to get their act together but someone finally managed to bring the complete Python escapades to DVD. And yes, they're still that good.
Two-Lane Blacktop
- One of the seminal films of New Hollywood and one of my favorite films of all time. While this marks the first appearance on DVD in Europe, the US gets the full-blown Criterion treatment. No fair, this.
Kenneth Anger - Vol. 1&2
- not exactly lavish, but oh my - they're finally out!
Tabu, Nosferatu, etc.
- coming from Masters Of Cinema, exceptionally beautiful editions of classics
>>the truly worst film of 2007:
Zombie Nation
- seriously, you've gotta see it. It's got half-naked girls with rings around their eyes to make 'em look like Zombies (they end up looking more like raccoons), horrible editing, a Eurotechno soundtrack, lousy effects...Ulli Lommel, ladies and gentleman, the spiritual daddy of Uwe Boll.
>>and finally, the one film (out of many) that I REALLY wish I had seen on the big screen:
Sunshine
>>best of 07:
Children Of Men
- it may be bleak as hell, but in terms of dystopian commentary it gets the trophy for 2007. And my god, that camera work!
Conversations with other women
- Whether or not the gimmicky part is bonus or distraction is debatable. It worked for me and so did the story.
Court Jester
- must have seen this 50 times as a child. It's still that good.
Crash Test Dummies
- Lucy Sky Diamond Kudlacek. A hint of things that could have come.
Edmond
- Announced twice at the Viennale, it never came. Leave it to home video, as obviously no one would think twice about releasing this at the movies. If you like Mamet, it's a must see.
The Fountain
- the most audacious, beautiful and ridiculous Hollywood film in quite some time, it's a miracle this ever got made. It's oh-so-flawed but I just couldn't escape it.
Half Nelson
- one of 2006s best films and proof that Ryan Gosling is one of the best actors of his generation.
Last Winter
- quite a unique film, best described as "Eco-Horror". Kind of a modern retelling of "The Thing", with less gore and more head-scratching.
Pan's Labyrinth
- it's just incredibly accomplished, in every respect.
This Is England
- forget Atonement, this really is the best british film of the year
Workingman's Death
- nothing but masterful and mesmerizing, Glawogger is one if Austria's best documentarians (and there's a bunch of good ones).
Zodiac
- surely one of the best films of last year, sadly overlooked and probably misunderstood by many.
>>some welcome surprises:
Behind The Mask
- not a great movie by anyone's standard but the first clever update on the whole post-modern horror thing going on. Really clever at times, definitely worth a look.
Bug
- what probably made for a riveting hour of theatre doesn't transfer to 90 minutes of film so splendidly, but still this was much better than expected. disturbing and dark and exceedingly well played by all involved.
Dans Paris
- i really wanted to hate this, with all the nouvelle vague references and such...but it's a very clever, funny and touching story which just...works.
Helvetica
- it's a documentary. about a font. and you'll never look at the world around you the same.
The Notorious Bettie Page
- nothing great but a very honest and heartfelt film with the spot-on perfect Gretchen Mol as the titular pin-up.
Talladega Nights & Stranger Than Fiction
- the double feature that made me *kinda* like Will Ferrell. The latter proves he can act, the former is just the culmination of the bizarro humour he and his gang have been cooking up for a couple of years. Both work, wonderfully so.
Tideland
- i walked out on this at the movies but managed to find the approach for it on DVD. Brilliant stuff from the world's unluckiest director who happens to be a little girl way down deep inside.
US versus John Lennon
- never cared much about Lennon, but man this was pretty interesting stuff!
>>and some unexpected dissappointments:
Art School Confidential
- I was wondering why this never came to the theatres...until I saw it. Clunky, boring, stupid and unfunny. Avoid.
Black Dahlia
- It's just bad, and even worse: offensively boring.
Loft
- Kurosawa seems to have forgotten what he was doing half-way through the shoot. And then just kept on going. Bad.
Lost
- see above: the people behind this obviously have no clue in hell as to how this is gonna end, which makes it so darn frustrating to watch.
Number 23
- how on earth this got the green light is beyond me.
Volver
- yeah I know, blasphemy n all, but one really must be allowed to expect more from Pedro than a fluffy little ghost-story with ditsy Penelope doin her thing. Sub-par.
Zidane - A 21st Century Portrait
- brilliant idea, marred by almost too much 'plot'. If they had left it bare-boned and conceptual it would have been a masterpiece. The dreadful emo music by Mogwai doesn't help either.
>>finally released:
bad boy bubby
- an amazing movie, inventive, bizarre, disturbing, touching and unique in every way. One of my faves in 93 it still hasn't lost its appeal.
Danger Diabolik
- the lengths I went through to get this 15 years ago...copying from laserdisc and transferring from NTSC to PAL (oops, think the RIAA is gonna sue me retroactively?). Bless DVD.
Hellzapoppin
- the most insane gathering of nutjobs in film history. Completely and totally bonkers, like nothing you've ever seen.
Mala Noche
- before Gus discovered slow-motion and steadicam he actually had some spark in his work. Finally his first film gets the deserved treatment. It's raw but it's honest.
Monty Python's Flying Circus
- Well it took em 10 years to get their act together but someone finally managed to bring the complete Python escapades to DVD. And yes, they're still that good.
Two-Lane Blacktop
- One of the seminal films of New Hollywood and one of my favorite films of all time. While this marks the first appearance on DVD in Europe, the US gets the full-blown Criterion treatment. No fair, this.
Kenneth Anger - Vol. 1&2
- not exactly lavish, but oh my - they're finally out!
Tabu, Nosferatu, etc.
- coming from Masters Of Cinema, exceptionally beautiful editions of classics
>>the truly worst film of 2007:
Zombie Nation
- seriously, you've gotta see it. It's got half-naked girls with rings around their eyes to make 'em look like Zombies (they end up looking more like raccoons), horrible editing, a Eurotechno soundtrack, lousy effects...Ulli Lommel, ladies and gentleman, the spiritual daddy of Uwe Boll.
>>and finally, the one film (out of many) that I REALLY wish I had seen on the big screen:
Sunshine