Sunday, December 30, 2007

Best of 2007: Movies

We love our movies and there a bunch of pretty good ones this year. We saw everything from the blockbusters to the little indie flicks. Here is the best of what we saw this year.

Hot Fuzz: From the writers of ‘Shaun of the Dead’ came this subtle spoof of the buddy action flicks. It focuses on a good police detective that is sent to a suburb of London to help with some major crime. He gets a doofus for a partner and they have to work together to solve what is going on in this village. The violence is over the top in a spoof sense, but the comedy is apparent and entertaining. Not as good as Shaun of the Dead, it is still very solid.

A Fistful of Quarters: The ultimate competition between 2 guys. Only the best can win and only the best can claim to be an all time great. Yes, I am talking about a battle for the world record in the arcade game of Donkey Kong. As strange as it sounds, this movie will leave you cheering from your seat and will often lead you to curse at the screen. There is a good guy and there is a bad guy and a whole lot of fun in between in this documentary of trying to get a world record.

No Country for Old Men: This is a brutal show. It is difficult to watch and it is fabulous. It is a Coens brothers flick. It is darker than ‘Fargo’ but it is a movie that is hard to take your eyes off of (my eyes were hidden behind the spaces between my fingers throughout). It tells the story of a guy that took over a $1 million from a drug deal gone bad that he happened to stumble upon. The movie is about him and the person and the people coming after him wanting that money.

Waitress: An indy flick about a small town girl in a bad marriage and all she wants is to be happy and to make pies. Light hearted with a good message, good plot and terrific acting. A pleasant surprise.

300: Seriously, how can you not love this movie? The women get to watch a bunch of buff men in loin cloths and the men get to watch lots of fighting and action. A true story that was embellished to thrill and entertain. A movie with some great lines, many of which are documented historically, such as when the bad guy growls at the opposition that they have too many fighters and that "Our arrows will blot out the sun." To which the hero replies "Then we will fight in the shade."

The Bourne Ultimatium: High energy and another terrific Bourne flick. At times a little more subdued that the two early flicks, but a good storyline and a good dialogue.

Casino Royale: Nice to see Bond back and better than ever. I had grown tired of Bond. In fact, I grew tired of him when I was about 16 years old. This movie changed that I am excited to see the next one. Daniel Craig is tough and edgy and the movie was good.

Once: This is a terrific show. It could be considered a ‘chick flick’ but it pulls it off for guys and girls. It is the story of a guy who meets a girl. This girl inspires him to pursue his musical aspirations. The pace is rather slow, but the story progresses along in an interesting way. The music is terrific. Of note, the two main characters are both musicians who learned to act for this flick. The guy is the lead singer of the band ‘The Frames.’ The soundtrack, as well as the movie, should be a definite buy

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