Movies 2007

Being in LA has caused me to see a lot more movies and a lot less theater.  Last year I saw 22 movies, this year it's 33 (so far).  I'll probably see a couple more before the end of the year -- Charlie Wilson's War for sure next week, and then I'm supposed to see Great Debaters and The Bucket List in early January -- but I'm posting the list now because I feel like it.

Last year I wrote that I saw very few movies I truly disliked, and when I sorted them into 4 categories, only 2 were in the bottom category and only 4 in the one above that.  More movies this year that I didn't like, unfortunately.  But, actually, a bunch of the ones I didn't like were writers guild screenings, so at least they were free.  On the flip side, more movies that I really did like, and it was really hard to put together most of the top half of this list -- I saw Walk Hard tonight, and really enjoyed it!  It's a very, very funny movie.  Lots of laugh out loud moments, movie sped by, it didn't really do anything wrong.  But I couldn't justify moving it higher than where I put it -- merely being funny wasn't quite enough -- and movies like Ratatouille and Once and Juno did more than that, they made me leave the theater feeling like they had something to say, feeling some real excitement about the film, and absolutely wanting to see the movie again.

I think Ratatouille is a must-see movie.  I paid to see it twice.  I forced my mom to go see it, I took my girlfriend to see it even though I'd already seen it, I convinced my grandma that even though it was animated, she needed to see it.  From beginning to end, it does everything right.

I saw Once not expecting much, but curious.  It's a gentle musical, about gentle, nice, real characters.  I wished it was longer.

The TV Set probably worked especially well for me because I've seen a fair amount about how this TV pilot business works, but I think it's funny regardless, for anyone who watches TV.  I bought the DVD a few weeks ago just to hear Judd Apatow's commentary track talking about his experiences making Freaks & Geeks and Undeclared.  Worth it, for sure.

Okay, enough preface, here's my list, broken up into 4 chunks.

1. Ratatouille
2. Once
3. Juno
4. The TV Set
5. Hot Fuzz
6. Ira and Abby
7. Lars and the Real Girl
8. Talk To Me
9. Into The Wild
10. Enchanted
11. Knocked Up
12. Sicko

13. Rocket Science
14. Charlie Bartlett
15. Walk Hard
16. The Pursuit of Happyness
17. Martian Child
18. The Simpsons Movie
19. Dan In Real Life
20. Super Bad
21. Two Days In Paris
22. The Ten

23. The Nines
24. Death at a Funeral
25. Music and Lyrics
26. Maxed Out
27. Chalk

28. Children of Men
29. Year of the Dog
30. Michael Clayton
31. Grace Is Gone
32. Starting Out In The Evening
33. The Savages

Comments

[Nona]

Have you ever considered writing for animation?

[jeff]

you didn't see bourne? you are missing out, my friend.

and i thought you saw no country? maybe that was just your grandma...

[VeeDub]

I think that just convinced me to bite the bullet and see an animated film.

[Beanie]

Yup, took your recommendation and rented Ratatouille last night. It was really good. Though, I laughed during the short "Lifted" until I cried.