Top 10 Movies of 2007
The choices in these lists are in no particular order.



Black Sheep
“Mutant sheep are on the loose on a property in New Zealand and with tongue firmly in cheek, the sheer inventiveness of this joyride made for great fun. If you've ever wanted to see a sheep drive a ute, well... The funniest film of the year.”

No Country For Old Men
“It's the one everyone's talking about and with good reason. A mile of heroin, a bag of money and a psycho on the loose. Javier Bardem chills the air as a ruthless assassin, Josh Brolin runs for his life and The Coen Brothers deliver a chase film raised to the level of the art. Their darkest work since Blood Simple. The masterpiece of the year.”

Black Book
“After the woeful Hollow Man, we all approached this one with great apprehension but Paul Verhoeven stunned us all. A magnificent spy thriller in the grandest tradition with a gorgeous heroine and thrills a-plenty that would've made Hitchcock proud. The most exciting film of the year.”

The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford
“With a sprawling narrative and exquisitely beautiful cinematography, Chopper director Andrew Dominik gave Brad Pitt the role of a lifetime while Casey Affleck is a revelation. A masterwork that takes its time. The most hypnotic film of the year.”

Fay Grim
“One of the glittering stars at this year's Brisbane Film Festival. A sequel to Henry Fool, Hal Hartley let Parker Posey take center stage and she ran with it. Showing her amazing versatility and unfailing intuitiveness, Posey gave us the best (and funniest) heroine of the year in this parody of espionage thrillers that never flagged. The most surprising film of the year.”

Crazy Love
“Relationships take bizarre forms but none stranger than the couple in this fascinating doco. She was a beautiful debutante, he an obsessive lover who just wouldn't leave well enough alone. Like a jack-in-the-box, the surprises keep springing at us right up to the knockout ending.  Along with a fantastic soundtrack, it was the most bizarre film of the year.”

Tell No-one  
“Opening to mixed reactions, it wasn't for those who like their thrillers watered down or short. Like a contemporary North by Northwest, the basic narrative of a wrongly accused man on the run was complex, brimming with tension and finally, enthralling. The most sinister film of the year.”

Noise
“Not just The Best Australian Film of the year (Romulus who?) but one of the best period. A cop with tinnitus is assigned to a remote outpost, a killer's on the loose and the body count keeps climbing. I couldn't get comfortable watching this creepy thriller and that's just what director Matthew Saville wanted. The most unnerving film of the year.”

Zodiac
“Bookending director David Fincher's previous serial killer flick Se7en, Zodiac functions as a police procedural. Minimal violence with maximum suggestion, the acting's top notch and that lakeside murder was a shocker in the most haunting film of the year.”

The Host
“This year will be remembered for Cloverfield making its debut but this innovative horror flick from Korea was even more memorable. Anyone who watched this will never forget the very black humour of the first attack . The best monster movie of the year. Oh and the prequel's on its way.”

The Simpsons Movie
“It's worth stretching the list by one to include this. It should have been so easy to make but the determination to present Springfield cinematically presented huge challenges and the makers rose to them admirably. A promise fulfilled that grows on repeated viewings. The most colourful film of the year.”
Michael Dalton
modmove.com/MC Reviews


The Queen
“Great performances and a behind the scene's look at an institution that is struggling to stay relevant in these modern times.”

Pan’s Labyrinth
“Easily one of the most imaginative films of the year with enough subtext to keep the blogging universe busy for years to come.”

Superbad
“I was loving McLovin.”

Hot Fuzz
“These guys are on a roll. I can’t wait to see what they come up with next.”

The Future Is Unwritten: Joe Strummer
“A doco about a time when so much seemed possible about a musician that is still sadly missed.”

Simpson Movie
“Not a lot more than an extended version of the television show but the big screen brought out a vibrancy and saturation of colour that was astounding.”

Black Snake Moan
“Samuel and Christina get down and dirty.”

Valley Of Flowers
“My favorite Brisbane Film Festival film of 07. Thoroughly modern and ancient at the same time.”

Once
“This film leaves you on an emotional high.”

Eastern Promises
“An underrated movie from a director that continues to amass a great body of work.”

Waitress
“Quiet and unassuming perfection.”

The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford
“Slow and methodical, this was visual poetry with some surprisingly good acting performances.”

No Country For Old Men
“There is a reason this film is on so many best of lists. See it for yourself and find out why.”
Rob Hudson
modmove.com


The Fountain
“The most underrated film of the year is also the best. Darren Aronofsky's beautiful elegy to love and death is a truly unique vision, confounding many but wholly enchanting the (seemingly) few lucky enough to comprehend it.”

Hairspray
“The funnest film of the year deftly combines great songs, great performances and great production design. Rarely have all the elements of a film come together so perfectly as this and to think it started life as a cruddy John Waters film!”

Pan's Labyrinth
“If genetic material were somehow combined from Tim Burton, Jim Henson and Takashi Miike, the resultant hellspawn would surely be named Guillermo del Toro. Complex macabre fantasies don't come more compelling than this.”

Eastern Promises
“The ever-reliable David Cronenberg follows up the brilliant A History Of Violence with this solid modern tale about the Russian mafia and furthering his increasingly humanist approach to his work.”

The Bourne Ultimatum
“Not since Die Hard has there been such a relentless action film which charges from start to finish like a runaway freight train. Matt Damon is excellent in the role he was destined to play.”

The Golden Compass
“Roundly derided and unjustly so. While not without its problems, the overall magical charm is on par with last year's The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe and another child prodigy is revealed in Dakota Blue Richards.”

Bridge To Terabithia
“A misleading Eragon-esque trailer conceals a coming-of-age story of a calibre akin to Rob Reiner's Stand By Me.”

Breach
“A nail biter political thriller which shows Zodiac how it's done. Chris Cooper's complex performance is deceptively simple, a barely restrained powerhouse concealed behind a facade of (albeit bigoted) old-school charm.”

Lions For Lambs
“Robert Redford's non-partisan critique of the War On Terror is a breath of fresh air. Resorting neither to patriotic flag waving nor ideologised self deprecation, this is a complex movie dealing with a complex issue.”

No Country For Old Men
“Not even a lacklustre finale can dull the shine of the Coen Brothers' return to form after the ill-received The Ladykillers. Javier Bardem delivers the performance of the year.”
Stuart Jamieson
modmove.com



Hot Fuzz
“More fun than firing two guns while jumping through the air, the unstoppable team of Wright, Pegg and Frost can do no wrong. Genius. Encore!”

Transformers
“It could have been a fuck-up of gargantuan proportions, but Michael Bay (reined in, perhaps, by Spielberg) crafted the year’s best slam-bang entertainer. Shia LaBeouf is a star-in-waiting.”

The Bourne Ultimatum
“The smartest blockbuster to hit cinema screens in quite some time, and a fitting end to that rarest of things – a trilogy that actually got better as it progressed.”

28 Weeks Later
“A whip-smart sequel that wholly embraces its source, this takes a great premise, builds on it, and runs with it, making the year’s finest zombie film (and you know how I can’t resist zombie films).”

In The Shadow Of The Moon
“Not released in Australia until March 08, but screened in the US and UK in 2007, this is an absolutely mesmerising documentary about the world’s most elite club – the men who have walked on the surface of the moon. It’s thrilling, engaging, informative, and an emotional sledgehammer. Mike Collins is my new hero.”

Perfume: The Story Of A Murderer
“Run Lola Run director Tom Tykwer takes Patrick Suskind’s quite-possibly-unfilmable novel and performs synaesthetic alchemy, evoking smells through the use of sound and image.”

No Country For Old Men
“Javier Bardem’s villain, Anton Chigurh, is more psychotic than Hannibal Lecter and more unstoppable than The Terminator. Quite simply chilling.”

Knocked Up
“Comic perfection. Seth Rogen and Judd Apatow make a great team, and long may they continue to work together. Knocked Up was sweet, funny, and had a cracking soundtrack.”

Die Hard 4.0
“Bruce is back, and you’ll never believe he’s pretty close to picking up his complimentary bus-pass. A great story that addresses his 80s-action-hero character as a washed-up dinosaur in the digital age, through his mismatched buddy relationship with Justin Long. One wonders if Sly will fare so well when Rambo returns…”

Beowulf 3D
“Makes the cut as a 3D version. It’s a favourite story of mine, reinvented admirably by Neil Gaiman and Roger Avary (they added the paternity storyline) to add something, not take it away. The visuals are stunning.”
Baz McAlister
Time Off



No Country for Old Men
“You would have to say this was the movie that projected quality.  The surprise for me was Death at A funeral viva Hot Fuzz.”

Ratatouille
“Not because I should but because it had heart – I am a sucker for a show of humanity.”

The Bourne Ultimatum
“Gotta love a good action film – I want to be Bourne.”

Waitress
“Just quality all the way for me.”

Zodiac
“I have a thing for codes – I get it.”

Knocked Up
“Not a ‘Y’ but it surprised me – he was really a good guy. Heigl is just gorgeous and a very, very, funny girl.”

The Assassination of Jesse James
“Purely on Casey Affleck’s performance.”

The Banquet
“It came and went but the visuals did it for me.”

28 Weeks Later
“Seems plausible – so it had me.”

The Australian Chamber Orchestra Concert with Bernard Fanning
“Wow! How was this - Australian Chamber Orchestra - Bernard Fanning - Surfing vision, boards and all - Customs House for perfect sound.  I say Wow! Now how cool was that?!”
Gary McDonald
McDonald Creative


DVDs that were so bad they were good
Shark Attack 3: Megalodon
“Set on the Coast of Mexico but filmed in Bulgaria this film is bad in every way - story, direction, effects, acting. I think the film sat on the shelf until one of the actors made a name for themselves. And that would be John Barrowman (Torchwood, Doctor Who) who has one of the cheesiest lines in all of film history. It is so cheesy it is all over the Internet. I dare you to not shake your head in bewilderment as gratuitous women in bikinis walk past in the background.”

Lake Placid 2
“Throughout this film you will constantly be asking yourself questions about the characters. Why they are doing what they are doing? Why is no one missing them? Why they don’t seem to care that so many people are dieing? The original film was clever and well acted. This is neither. And the filmmakers haven’t even tried to cover the continuity errors or take the film seriously.”

Shoot Em Up
“Clive Owen, fresh from Sin City, makes a film that is little more than a video game. He racks up an amazing body count with guns and carrots while the bad guys are unable to hit him from point blank range with automatic weapons. This film is beyond unbelievable. But the action and laughs never stop. James Bond wishes he was this cool.”

Hellbent
“This is a straight forward slasher film, although it’s not straight, it’s gay. It is surprisingly entertaining to have men playing the typically female roles and being ogled at when they walk in to rooms. There is also a subplot of the geek who likes the jock. Great stuff. You don’t have to be gay to enjoy this film, but you do need a sense of humour and an appreciation of how they play with the formula.” 

Hellraiser ?
“I can’t remember which numbers I saw this year. I think one of them barely had Pinhead or a Cenobite in it. It doesn’t matter, I keep watching them and being excited when I see a new one on the shelves. Kari Wuhrer was in one of them, and that was a bonus.”

Renegade Justice
“This may seem like just another Steven Seagal film, but the synopsis on the back lets you know this is even more ridiculous than usual. “Seagal is a father who happens to be a special forces trained, street fighting, nerves of steel avenger, hell bent on one thing: justice! ”You know you want to see it.”

Reno 911 Miami
“Sometimes Americans can do comedy. I can describe this movie as I would describe George W Bush, dumb and in bad taste.”

Snakes On A Plane
“Can you ever tire of Samuel L Jackson swearing and killing?

Die Hard 4 (Live Free or Die Hard)
“Ludicrous, unbelievable, implausible, laughable. Exactly what you want in a Bruce Willis movie.”

Resident Evil: Extinction
“Milla Jovovich kills Zombies. Nuff said.”
fabulous sebastian
modmove.com


3:10 to Yuma
“Greatest Western since Unforgiven and perhaps my favorite movie of the year. Especially the very end.”

No Country For Old Men
“Love the Cohen Brothers and this one did not disappoint.”

The Bucket List
“Two epic actors and a real feel good vehicle.”

American Gangster
“Again, two epic actors and just a great movie.”

Knocked Up
“Gotta have at least one of these a year and last year there were two (see Superbad). Silly and sophmoric and right up my alley.”

Superbad
“See Knocked up.”

Spiderman 3
“Best Marvel Comic franchise and perhaps the best of the three, however they're all pretty great.”

300
”Ultra fucking violence! Ultra fucking cool! Another feel good move.”

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
“Sick and quirky and great. Johnny Depp and I forget the name of the broad, Helen Bonham Paul Jones Page Plant… oh… wait a minute, that's Led Zep. Whoever the hell she was, she and J Depp both sang better than Robert Planet.”

Namesake
“Nice independent foreign film, with an interesting look at a culture about which I was previously unfamiliar with. Both the Indian and the Americanized Indian culture. Love those feel good flicks and this was another one.”
Scott Osmon
California dude


The Hottest State
“Ethan Hawke’s directorial debut about finding love and losing it was about the most honest thing I saw all year, in or out of the cinema.”

Death Proof
“Tarantino in top gear. The only QT film I've wanted to watch immediately over again.”

Stranger Than Fiction
“A rather poignant investigation of death and its relevance to life, God, fate, the purpose of life and all that stuff.”

Noise
“An arty crime thriller on the surface, but underneath lurks ruminations on entropy, resonance, purpose, redemption and connectedness. The Australian film of the decade.”

Inside Paris
“Just when you think the French have go awry with romantic comedies out comes something that reminds you who invented cinema.”

Michael Clayton
“A shining example of the power of an intelligent story told in a straightforward manner, reserved in its execution but secure in its simplicity, this is film-making done right.”

Half Nelson
“Although one could make a film consisting entirely of Ryan Gosling looking tired, this film had so much more than that, with Gosling looking tired and struggling to find a synthesis between the various perspectives on right and wrong.”

2 Days in Paris
“If Julie Delpy made a Woody Allen film set in Paris and replaced Allen's cynicism with an undying belief in love, and replaced Allen with Adam Goldberg, this would be it.”

The Fountain
“Darren Aronofsky's struggle with death as a concept and the inevitable destination of all life echoes long after one has stopped laughing at the tree semen scene.”

Superbad
“Probably the funniest film ever.”
Paul Rankin
Rave Magazine


No Country For Old Men
“Flawless.”

Away From Her
“I love the fact that Sarah Polley chose this story for her directorial debut. The subtleties of the script, direction and performances are so impressive. Julie Christie's accolades are certainly well deserved but for me, Gordon Pinsent is the heart of this film.”

The Home Song Stories
“A courageous and intimate film with incredibly beautiful design and cinematography.”

The Lives Of Others
“This knocked me off my feet. An impeccably crafted story which shed a new light on a frighteningly recent chapter of German history. One of the most rewarding endings of any film I’ve ever seen.”

Control
“The aesthetic, the story, the music, Sam Riley, Sam Morton - all the stars aligned for this mournful biopic. Kudos to Anton Corbijn for bringing Ian Curtis’s story to the screen so poetically.”

Pan’s Labyrinth
“I like my fairytales dark and this one was as black as they come. A fearsome melting pot of mythology, politics, fable and fairytale.”  

Ratatouille
“Truly one of my happiest cinema going experiences of 2007 (perhaps not surprising after viewing the titles mentioned above!). Anton Ego's flashback scene was pure cinematic gold.”

Stranger Than Fiction 
“Along with a fresh, original and wryly funny script, I think this movie has one of modern cinema's most romantic ‘first kiss’ scenes set to Wreckless Eric's Whole Wide World. And of course, ‘the flours’! Awww …”

The Darjeeling Limited
“Understated, Wise, laugh-on-the-inside funny, and surprisingly moving.”

Additionally Struggling to fill this last spot due to an excess of good releases this year so will tie between the following: Into The Wild, Science of Sleep, La Vie En Rose, Inland Empire, Infamous, Noise, A Mighty Heart, Angel, Zodiac, Romulus My Father and a whole bunch of others I didn’t even get to see that I am sure to love one day such as The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. Sorry, I guess that’s more of a Top 20.
Jill Robson
Dendy Cinema