Phineas Gopher's Best Films of 2007

While I was cooking up my own list (which I admit spent a lot more time in the oven than it should have), I asked my good friend and regular contributor "Phineas Gopher" to toss me his list of favorites as well. Here's what he had to say:


one
Knocked Up
One of the smartest, most honest comedies about love and relationships I’ve ever seen, with just the right amount of exaggeration given to very realistic characters. Satisfying overall, but frequently laugh-out-loud funny.

two

Ratatouille

A family film that dared to be smart and unconventional, disregarding product-placement and merchandising opportunities in favor of a fresh, consequently “clean”-feeling world (ironic for a tale about rats in the kitchen). Bursting with color and heart.

three
Grindhouse
Only Death Proof, Quentin Tarantino’s half of this double-feature, made a lasting impression on this reviewer, but the retro-themed package of two films plus faux previews made for one of our most enjoyable nights at the movies this year. A pity it did poorly at the box office. Experiments like this should be encouraged.

four

No Country For Old Men

The Coen Brothers and the artists they employ demonstrate that they are among the best filmmakers working today, delivering among other things gorgeous cinematography and taut editing. Javier Bardem, Tommy Lee Jones, and Josh Brolin could carry separate films with the strength of their performances here, and their collective force is riveting.

five

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
The most satisfying film in the fantasy series so far, it is also the first to be directed by David Yates. All the child actors have grown and matured in their craft, but Daniel Radcliffe stands out as Harry, finally making the character strong enough to root for. The duel at the end between Dumbledore and Voldemort features some of the best visual effects of the year.

six

Kiss My Snake

In Thailand there is a small community called King Cobra Village, where adults and children alike make a living “boxing” poisonous snakes for outsiders who pay to watch. This documentary illuminates the lives of several villagers, shows the many techniques they employ in putting on a show with such deadly participants, and shows the dangers and consequences involved.

seven
Randy and the Mob
Ray McKinnon’s unique blend of dead-pan dialogue and quirky characters makes for a comedy that has a bigger-than-normal share of brilliant moments.

eight

Once

Bittersweet, achingly real, and easily the most romantic film of the year. Best viewed with no expectations about the plot, this quiet little love story uses music to show the loneliness and longing of its characters, taking you on a brief journey into their lives then gently drifting back out again.

nine
Day Watch
This second installment in a Russian fantasy series directed by Timur Bekmambetov is even more visually stunning than its predecessor, Night Watch. The plot is convoluted, but the special effects are reason enough to watch. Have you ever seen a red sports car drive across the side of a skyscraper? It does, in fact, look cool.

ten

Fido

Set in the 1950s of some alternate universe, Fido shows a world in which a zombie apocalypse has come and gone, and society has rebuilt itself with the help of a giant corporation that provides zombie-taming equipment to the public. Zombies are now used as household servants or pets, and owning them is a sign of doing well. Actually very clever throughout.


honorable mention
The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters
A documentary on the world of competitive arcade video gaming, this is a surprisingly interesting examination of sportsmanship, or lack of it, in a very unorthodox sport.

Originally published in the
Arkansas Democrat Gazette

Day Watch (2007)

guest review by Phineas Gopher

Also known as Dnevnoy Dozor
The follow-up to 2004’s Night Watch, based on a popular trilogy of modern Russian novels, is even more convoluted, involving secret societies of paranormally gifted beings – vampires, witches, and shape-shifters - existing in a shaky truce between good and evil. Think X-Men meets The Matrix. Once again filmed by visionary director Timur Bekmambetov, Day Watch continues the story with a budget that looks to be higher and visuals that are better than ever. Out of context the plot is silly, with the fate of humanity hanging in the balance over a piece of mystical chalk. But that really is beside the point. The film is like a comic book brought to life, with all the smoothed-over logic and emphasis on danger and destiny that implies. If the movie were any less explosive visually, this could be a problem. But the narrative rides a steady stream of wildly creative special effects like it was a new sports car, and the screenwriters serve up enough curious ideas—like body-swapping and deadly yo-yos—to keep it all interesting. The film is overlong at a 132 minutes, but the last act moves quickly enough for this to be forgivable.

7 out of 10.

Note: One other aspect I enjoyed was the unique approach to subtitles, carried over from Night Watch. The titles are incorporated more completely than in most other foreign films. They shake when someone is angry, shatter when something breaks; they are an organic part of the scenery that adds an almost constant touch of whimsy, and calls to mind the endearing playfulness of Amelie. How many action films can say that?

Kiss My Snake (2007)

guest review by Phineas Gopher

Before you jump to conclusions about its title, this is a documentary about cobra boxing in a small Thailand village featuring old men who make a living going head-to-head with some of the deadliest snakes on earth. The film examines their way of life, how they survive without antivenin when the inevitable bites occur, and how difficult it is to maintain interest in the art of snake boxing among the latest generation (kids these days! They can’t just stay home and put king cobras in their mouths like their father and his father. Have to go get all educated in the city). A fair amount of information is covered at a nice, brisk pace, but the film is never better than when it is showing the titillating ring-matches themselves. To misquote Jerry Maguire, “You had me at ‘Cobra Boxing.’”

8 out of 10.

Grindhouse (2007)

guest review by Phineas Gopher

More than a few people complained when Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill was broken up into two volumes which were then released months apart. Those people felt they were paying for the same movie twice. In a welcome twist, Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez have teamed up to deliver just the opposite: two movies for the price of one. Each director offered a full-length feature shot in the style of 70s exploitation cinema, billed jointly under the name Grindhouse, with hilarious fake movie trailers linking the films. Rodriguez's Planet Terror is an over-the-top take on the zombie and military disaster genres. The poster image of actress Rose McGowan with a machine gun for a leg sums up its gritty, campy tone. Parts of it are funny, a lot of it is gross, but the whole thing is wild and action-packed. Tarantino's offering, Death Proof is more meditative, and is this reviewer's favorite of the two. It starts as a buddy movie with a bunch of bar-hopping girls drinking and talking before introducing a unique serial killer in the form of Stuntman Mike (a perfectly cast Kurt Russell). The tone and genre shift several times, arguably offering the equivalent of two small films that happen to be related (take that, Kill Bill naysayers). Tarantino's culturally relevant dialogue is in top-form, and his CGI-less approach to the stuntwork gives us car-on-car action that seems straight out of the 70s (in a good way). It's a shame the two films were broken up and released separately in most places outside the U.S., but a special edition DVD (or Blu-Ray, or something) should correct this in the future.

8 out of 10.

Once (2007)

guest review by Phineas Gopher

Though the title doesn't tell you much, Once is a heart-felt little Irish film that deserves to be seen. Made on a shoestring budget, it plays that to its advantage, using natural light and handheld camerawork to create the feel of a documentary-with-benefits, where you get to watch the lives of two ordinary people collide as they literally begin to make beautiful music together. The realism extends beyond style; the plot never rings false and the performances seem fresh and honest. Much of the story is told through songs, almost all of which were written for the film by the lead actors. Once even scored an Oscar nod for one of them, the uplifting "Falling Slowly." Easily the most romantic film of the year.

10 out of 10.

The Mist (2007)

Note: Since I deem myself incapable of being objective with regards to this movie, I have asked my regular guest contributor, Phineas Gopher, to write up a more balanced review of the film to follow mine.

a biased fanboy's review:
Had it not been for the short story upon which this movie was based, I would never have started reading. The story was the first ever in text that pulled me in to a point where I realized that words on a page had power. So there is no possible way I can review this movie objectively—reading it was a seminal moment in my development. What I can do is review it on its quality as an adaptation, and as a fan of the novella. Well it doesn't disappoint, but then again I went in already sold on its wares. For almost 120 minutes, this is as close to what was in the short story as could possibly be depicted, minus an unnecessary sex scene. It is slavishly loyal to its source, to interesting effect. The language is intact, the violence is nearly identical, people die in the right order and in exactly the same way they die in the book, and best of all the things that are left vague and fuzzy in the story remain so. Your imagination gets to run wild in the white in all the ways it needs to. Even the little bits that go off the page work, including the best homage to Aliens since Aliens. It's more unnerving than directly frightening, and has a lot more to say about human nature than was originally there, but it all serves to keep what's on screen intact. In the closing few minutes, it jumps off the source a little more, but even the new material here feels like what would have been written. Except the last sixty seconds, which pretty much just pisses all over everything. It's not that I have a problem with the style of ending it was going for, just that what had been built as a horrific journey for our hero ends on such a sour note. I won't spoil it of course (this is Zero Spoilers, after all) but it will leave you a bit miffed. So what does an unswerving fanboy rate a movie that is a deeply satisfying interpretation of a personal classic for 119 minutes, but absolutely awful for one?

8 out of 10.

Note: If it's available to you, grab the Black & White cut from the 2nd disc of the DVD release. It lets the movie be what it is--a throwback--without any problems whatsoever suspending disbelief. Most everything is made better by the lack of color; the ending is more believable, the special effects have some of their flaws glossed over, the creepy scenes are creepier, and the gore is less graphic while somehow being more disturbing. Even the acting is magically made better! For the black and white cut, I'd happily slop on another point. B&W cut = 9.

a more balanced review by Phineas Gopher:

First off, when a billowing white cloud of smoke rolls into town and covers everything in sight, what do you call that? I think the answer worth most points on Family Feud would be fog. I guess that name was taken. Stupid John Carpenter. Anyway, titular disputes aside, The Mist is a solid genre offering that has less gore, yet bigger cajones, than many of its horror-film peers. Drawing from Greek tragedy, H.P. Lovecraft, and oh yeah, the Stephen King story of the same name, it examines how people would react to being trapped by a completely unexplainable catastrophe. With jabs at the government, religion, and perhaps humanity in general, it is not a happy picture. But it is an emotional one, a cathartic one, and one that demands to be seen in theaters. The only glaring flaws are the special effects looked half-finished (or more likely, half-funded) in places... good enough to get you there but no cuddle afterward. Also, one of the main characters (the "villain" if there is one) is over-the-top in a way that stretches credibility. Sure, she had the theater audience voicing their hatred audibly throughout the film, but her vulgarity clashes with her piety in a way that is very black-and-white, amidst characters that are otherwise subtle and realistic. Despite this, The Mist is a well-crafted little nightmare of a film.

7 out of 10.

Saw 4 (2007)

guest review by Phineas Gopher

The latest in a franchise that's become an October staple, Saw IV has the look and feel of the first three movies, but only three-fourths of the charm. The series is beginning to sag under the weight of a plot that has gone from likably eccentric to distractingly convoluted. Viewers who haven't seen Saws uno, dos, and tres will be lost, and even viewers who have would do well to bring a notepad if they want to keep up with who is who. Too many characters doing too many unbelievable things...hmm, sounds like your typical horror movie sequel. What makes Saw IV distinct is the same thing that made the series stand out in the first place: horrible, horrible deathtraps out of which (somewhat) innocent people must find a way. This isn't a spoiler: most don't. The film is never better than when it is making you ask, arms crossed nervously over your chest, "What would I do in that situation?" Unfortunately, it doesn't do this as often as its predecessors.

6 out of 10.

Gigli (2003)

guest review by Phineas Gopher

Oh, the dangers of putting your real-life romance into a Hollywood movie! Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck weren't universally liked in 2003, but they lost many of the fans they had when they headlined Gigli, a crime/drama/ romance that became the most reviled film of the year. And having sat through it recently this critic can say, it really is godawful. All the sarcasm, babytalk, and playful fighting you've ever loathed between couples you know is even harder to watch between two multi-million-dollar movie stars exuding as much charisma as a dog humping the leg of a dead body. Sorry, less. Gigli contains painfully bad dialogue like the infamous "I'm the bull. You're the cow." line, but has such high production values (and Christopher Walken!) that it manages to be entertaining as an example of Hollywood blissfully unaware of not wearing any pants to work. Plus, now is the perfect time of year to watch it, since it is both an unintentional horror film and a turkey.

1 out of 10.

Black Sheep (2007)

guest review by Phineas Gopher

In the spirit of New Zealand horror/comedy hits such as Braindead and Meet the Feebles comes a genre-bending tail...um, tale...of docile sheep going stark raving, flesh-craving mad. Not to be confused with the 1996 Chris Farley vehicle of the same name, Black Sheep features a Kiwi cast on a rural farm trying not to become dinner for genetically-altered supersheep. Part vampire, part werewolf, part zombie flick, but mostly tongue-in-cheek splatstick comedy, this is best viewed with friends and alcohol, not in that order. The SFX are impressive, unsurprising since they are by Richard Taylor (of The Lord of the Rings fame). Not nearly as clever as other horrorcom imports such as Shaun of the Dead, Black Sheep is still a fun, if forgettable, novelty offering for the genre.

7 out of 10.

Gracie (2007)

guest review by Phineas Gopher

Even though it is based on true events, Gracie doesn't ring true. It asks the viewer to look at the world (specifically the 70s) through the eyes of a teenage athlete who is denied the privilege of playing high school soccer because she's a girl. The politics behind this perspective get in the way of the story because the titular heroine isn't painted as a real person, but as a walking lump of stereotypical female rebellion. The cliches are so numerous, this almost becomes a sports movie parody. Its only effort to be unpredictable consists of making Gracie not really that good at soccer. What are we cheering for exactly? The inevitable triumphant ending is satisfying if you stick with the movie that long, but the feel-good fix is only a chaser to a pretty bland brew.

4 out of 10.

Bug (2007)

guest review by Phineas Gopher

Don't be fooled by the marketing campaign for Bug. It may be "from the director of The Exorcist," but it is not the same kind of horror movie. It's scary, but the thrills are more brooding, and far more psychological. Ashley Judd puts in a riveting performance as a broken southern barmaid with an abusive husband. But her co-star Michael Shannon steals every scene he's in as her new friend who turns out to be a little paranoid. To say the least. The build-up of tension to a shattering climax may not scare the devil out of you, but it's strangely satisfying in its own way.

8 out of 10.

The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (2007)

guest review by Phineas Gopher

One of the funnest documentaries of the year, the film demonstrates that the world of competitive video gaming isn't so different from athletics; it just involves a different (and less widely respected) set of skills. Basically, it takes a look at what happens when the world record holder for the original Donkey Kong arcade game (an arrogant, wealthy hot sauce mogul) has his score challenged by an unknown contender (an average American family man). While it sometimes seems ridiculous how seriously everybody is taking themselves, the film does a good job showing that this is in fact human nature, not to be looked down on by anyone lest they be guilty of the very thing they're judging. You don't need to be an avid gamer to enjoy this battle of the thumbs, but it will have a special meaning to anyone who's ever left their initials on the screen of an arcade console.

8 out of 10.