End of 2007: The Best of Film Part 2

In celebration of the new year, here are my top five movies of 2007. A lot of thought went into the ranking, but the important thing is being in the top five, because their actual order could change over time.

5. 300

300 is a movie that is very specific in its audience: men. I am talking about gun-shooting, bicep-flexing, unshaven beasts of men who cannot go ten minutes without crushing something (a group often overlooked by Hollywood). Falling into this category fairly regularly, I enjoyed this movie a lot. It is just stylized action for two hours, with plenty of yelling and a large assortment of weapons. I want to skip over much of the non-action the second time around, but it still was an exciting and impressive (and mindless) movie.

(review)

4. Ratatouille

Pixar is one of the finest movie studios around these days. They produce some of the highest quality movies every single year, animated or not. The success continued with Ratatouille, which was one of my favorites of 2007. The story is unbelievably good, and the presentation is top-notch as usual. I found it hilarious, and for those wondering it is much, much more than a kids movie. If you did not see it, definitely check it out.

(review)

3. Sunshine

Sunshine was number one in my best of the summer post. I loved its intelligence and its beautiful visuals. The story is well-done, but the third act does not seem to fit…at first. After I thought about it more, I liked the change of pace and style. I thought it was an overlooked piece of genius, and it probably would be even higher on this list if it were not for the excellent film year that was 2007.

(review)

2. Bourne Ultimatum

The Bourne trilogy is one of my favorite set of movies of all time. Each movie is engineered with espionage brilliance and plenty of action. The technical side is equally impressive. The camerawork and presentation of The Bourne Ultimatum is stellar, and brings the intensity to a whole new level. Jason Bourne is the James Bond of a new generation. He is an intelligent action hero and his finale is actually the best film of the three. Ultimatum is one of the most intellectually entertaining movies of the year and at the same time it is 2007’s best action movie. If after all my praise for this movie you still have not seen it, be sure to check out the entire trilogy.

(review)

1. 3:10 to Yuma

Throughout the whole year, I never left the theater as joyful as I did after 3:10 to Yuma. It is also one of the few movies ever that actually exceeded my high expectations. The acting is simply superb, and the story was perfect. The atmosphere was another reason this movie was so engrossing. I honestly cannot think of anything I did not love about the film, including its excellent soundtrack (I purchased the main theme from iTunes). Just as with the others in the top three, I cannot wait for my second viewing. This movie did not get the credit it deserved, and even with its big names flew under the radar this year. Do not make the same mistake many people did. When Yuma is released on DVD, at least give it a rental. Even if you do not like it as much as I do, you can say you saw the jbomb.net best movie of 2007 (laugh).

(review)

I had a really, really hard time picking the order of the top three. I honestly could order them in any way and be perfectly satisfied with it. Bottom line is these are the three best movies of 2007, and though their order was tricky to create, it could change tomorrow. This was a really great year for film, and if 2008 can even come close we are all in for a treat.

What are your thoughts on the year of movies in 2007? Any thoughts (positive or negative) on my listing? Let me know in the comments.