One of my favorite things about the end of the year is the slew of top 10 lists that come out in various media outlets. I always have a tendency to feel inspired to create top 10 lists of my own before I realize that I have not been anywhere near exposed enough to all of the various things I would be listing (i.e. movies and music). I mean, I might have seen 10 movies that came out this year, not all of which were good, and my familiarity with all or even a great deal of the albums of 2007 is just as limited. So it's sort of difficult to say what the ten best movies of the year were, for example, when I haven't seen a whole slew of movies that would probably have ended up on my list if I had seen them.
But I still like making lists. So, instead of creating some sort of definitive Top 10, I'm just going to list some stuff I liked a lot, roughly in the order of how much I liked them, but specifically noting some of the things I have not yet but would like to see/hear and which I suspect would have made it on my list if I had only took the time to see/hear them.
And, yes, I know hardly anybody who reads this blog cares what I think about these subjects and that this is pretty much just for my own enjoyment. But, I'd be more than happy to hear what movies, music, etc. you all enjoyed from the past year, so please share. Anyway, here are my...
Favorite Movies That I Have Seen So Far from 2007
1. No Country for Old Men
2. Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
3. The Lives of Others
4. Into the Wild
5. The Bourne Ultimatum
6. Michael Clayton
7. Zodiac
Movies That If I Saw Them Would Stand a Decent Chance of Being Among My Favorites from 2007
1. There Will Be Blood
2. Juno
3. The Savages
4. Sweeney Todd
5. Once
6. Atonement
7. Gone Baby Gone
8. Persepolis
9. Charlie Wilson's War
10. Knocked Up
Favorite Albums That I Have Heard So Far from 2007
1. In Rainbows, Radiohead
2. Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, Spoon
3. Wincing the Night Away, the Shins
4. The Reminder, Feist
5. Neon Bible, Arcade Fire
6. Night Falls Over Kortedala, Jens Lekman
7. Cross, Justice
8. Graduation, Kanye West
9. Boxer, the National
10. All Hour Cymbals, Yeasayer
11. Blackout, Britney Spears
12. I'm Not There, Various Artists
Albums That If I Heard Them Would Stand a Decent Chance of Being Among My Favorites of 2007
1. Sound of Silver, LCD Soundsystem
2. Andorra, Caribou
3. For Emma, Forever Ago, Bon Iver
4. The Flying Club Cup, Beirut
5. The Shepherd's Dog, Iron and Wine
6. Kala, M.I.A.
7. In Our Bedroom After the War, Stars
8. Challengers, the New Pornographers
9. The Con, Tegan and Sara
10. Back to Black, Amy Winehouse
11. Under the Blacklight, Rilo Kiley
But I still like making lists. So, instead of creating some sort of definitive Top 10, I'm just going to list some stuff I liked a lot, roughly in the order of how much I liked them, but specifically noting some of the things I have not yet but would like to see/hear and which I suspect would have made it on my list if I had only took the time to see/hear them.
And, yes, I know hardly anybody who reads this blog cares what I think about these subjects and that this is pretty much just for my own enjoyment. But, I'd be more than happy to hear what movies, music, etc. you all enjoyed from the past year, so please share. Anyway, here are my...
Favorite Movies That I Have Seen So Far from 2007
1. No Country for Old Men
2. Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
3. The Lives of Others
4. Into the Wild
5. The Bourne Ultimatum
6. Michael Clayton
7. Zodiac
Movies That If I Saw Them Would Stand a Decent Chance of Being Among My Favorites from 2007
1. There Will Be Blood
2. Juno
3. The Savages
4. Sweeney Todd
5. Once
6. Atonement
7. Gone Baby Gone
8. Persepolis
9. Charlie Wilson's War
10. Knocked Up
Favorite Albums That I Have Heard So Far from 2007
1. In Rainbows, Radiohead
2. Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, Spoon
3. Wincing the Night Away, the Shins
4. The Reminder, Feist
5. Neon Bible, Arcade Fire
6. Night Falls Over Kortedala, Jens Lekman
7. Cross, Justice
8. Graduation, Kanye West
9. Boxer, the National
10. All Hour Cymbals, Yeasayer
11. Blackout, Britney Spears
12. I'm Not There, Various Artists
Albums That If I Heard Them Would Stand a Decent Chance of Being Among My Favorites of 2007
1. Sound of Silver, LCD Soundsystem
2. Andorra, Caribou
3. For Emma, Forever Ago, Bon Iver
4. The Flying Club Cup, Beirut
5. The Shepherd's Dog, Iron and Wine
6. Kala, M.I.A.
7. In Our Bedroom After the War, Stars
8. Challengers, the New Pornographers
9. The Con, Tegan and Sara
10. Back to Black, Amy Winehouse
11. Under the Blacklight, Rilo Kiley
Labels: Brian, entertainment, movies, music
No Country for Old Men is indeed brilliant.
I saw No Country for Old Men, and was particularly unimpressed. I especially hated the ending. Am I missing something? The acting was good, fine, but I thought the plot was rather threadbare.
You left out American Gangster and Lust, Caution. Such a transgression shall not be forgiven.
Hanno: Didn't see either, but I heard American Gangster was only so-so (though Jay-Z's soundtrack is supposed to be pretty great). Lust, Caution is a good catch, I should have added that.
J. Prescott: You are in fact missing something, yes, and it makes my heart cry for you.
Brian -
Fine. What was I missing? And feel free to cry for the other 75 people I watched it with, because the general consensus I heard walking out of the theater was "nice acting, but stupid plot."
**possible spoiler**
J. Prescott -
To which part of the ending are you referring? One thing I didn't like was how we invested a lot of time in Llewelyn (sp?), and then all of a sudden, he's just dead, and all you see is the Mexicans making their getaway.
I don't know how closely you listened to Tommy Lee Jones's multiple monologues / speeches throughout the movie, but they were all pretty important in tying together some of the thematic elements of the story, and added a lot of depth to his character. I know I sort of zoned out on them the first time.
Even ignoring that stuff, though, I found myself on edge for the vast majority of the film; Chigurh's character was excellently played. Also, I thought there was solid humor somehow mixed in throughout the movie.
It was definitely the best movie I saw all year.
I saw both Atonement and Charlie Wilson΄s War and liked them both. Atonement has some incredible cinematography. As far as music goes, I recommend Band of Horses: Cease to Begin.