2008 So Far: 2007 Leftovers

“Drainage! Drainage, Eli! Drained dry, you boy! If you have a milkshake and I have a milkshake and I have a straw and my straw reaches across the room and starts to drink your milkshake. I drink your milkshake! I drink it up!” – Daniel Day Lewis, “There Will Be Blood”

“Some people feel like they don't deserve love. They walk away quietly into empty spaces, trying to close the gaps of the past.” – Emile Hirsch, “Into the Wild”

“Everything would've fell right into place, but he forgot about one thing: About me convincing Steve Wiebe not to be a chump, talking him out of chumpatizing himself.” – Roy “Mr. Awesome” Schildt, “The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters”


Well, this year has been an alright year for movies for the most part. We had a few disappointing flicks, but we had a few fantastic ones. So far this year we’ve seen things that we’ve never thought we would see before. I learned quite a few things from quite a few movies this year. One, it’s kinda ironic that if you go see a movie about people killing other people that some people managed to get stabbed in the theater while watching the flick. Secondly, video tapes can be magnetized and be erased, so that explains remakes for “Prom Night,” “One Missed Call,” and “Shutter” that came out this year. Third, “Indiana Jones” really didn’t need to come back. No seriously, he didn’t. I also learned that Paris Hilton can actually be the best part of a movie and that people spoke English in 10,000 BC. Who woulda thought?

In all seriousness, 2008 is just okay so far. With every great flick there are ten bad or disappointing ones. It just isn’t 2007. I don’t know if it will be by year’s end. Last year was so great for film. I remember looking forward to going to the movies every weekend and seeing something that I would have never thought to have seen. One of my favorite times was when I went out of my way to seeing a movie that I thought would have sucked – “Death Sentence.” I never expected anything and I got so much out of that movie. Honestly – who woulda thought that Kevin Bacon kicked so much ass? Some of these movies that came out this year really surprised me. I was glad when I got to see films like “Definitely, Maybe” in the theater – it was the romantic comedy we’ve been waiting for since “There’s Something About Mary.” “Charlie Bartlett” brought back the great John Hughes age. And nothing impressed me more than the effects in “Speed Racer.”

Before I start writing about 2008, I want to dig back into 2007. There were a few films that I never made mention of when I put my top list for the end of the year together because I hadn’t seen them or I began to respect them more. I couldn’t believe how much I liked the movies released that year. When I went to the Best Picture Showcase earlier this year at my AMC theater, I didn’t really like “Atonement.” I don’t know what it was, but it was just too negative, even for a negative guy like me. But I watched it once on DVD and fell in love with it. With an ending as shocking as that, it definitely ranks up there with some of the best endings I’ve ever seen.

I thought the same thing about “Into the Wild” at first, but then after I thought about it some more, I found the true beauty in the film. Same went with “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.” It was bloody brilliant, but I just didn’t appreciate it the first time around. I saw “Charlie Wilson’s War” the day after I published my list of my favorite films of 2007, and the problem was that I loved that movie so much. I wanted to include it on my list, but I just couldn’t. I watched “The Kite Runner” only a few days before putting the list together, but I didn’t really like it all that much then. Like “Into the Wild,” I found the true beauty in that movie. For a movie that didn’t have any beauty to it, “The Mist” was an excellent and cynical look at people’s true feelings about the end of the world.

The next three movies are not in any order. I love “There Will Be Blood,” “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford,” and “The Darjeeling Limited” as much as a man can love. “There Will Be Blood” will always be remembered as the rise of a great oil empire, but it is a character study that works tremendously the entire time. I’ll never forget the final scene – possibly the greatest scene in all cinema. “The Assassination of Jesse James” works in thirds. The final hour is so interesting when Casey Affleck’s character realizes that he never gets the fame that he dreamt of. I’m not a huge Wes Anderson fan, but I really felt a connection while watching “The Darjeeling Limited.” The chemistry between all of the actors really make the film.

But between “Across the Universe,” “No Country for Old Men,” and “The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters,” I really don’t know what was my favorite movie of 2007. I’ve seen each film at least five times, but I respect the movies even more each time I watch them. “The King of Kong” was something different that I’ve never seen before. I always love documentaries based on entertainment, but “The King of Kong” wasn’t just about entertainment. It was about the addiction of a certain something, the same topic that “No Country for Old Men” dealt with. I don’t view “No Country for Old Men” and say that it is about the bad defeating the good, but just when enough is enough. And yes, “Across the Universe” is still fucking amazing, even after watching it ten times since the beginning of the year.

After catching up with the rest of 2007, I must admit that it was a great year. Sure we were bombarded with a few flicks like “Epic Movie,” “Delta Farce,” “Alvin and the Chipmunks,” “Beowulf,” “Dirty Sanchez,” “The Tripper,” “The Ex,” “I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry,” “Shrek the Third,” “Spider-Man III,” “Balls of Fury,” “Captivity,” “Transformers,” “Bee Movie,” and “The Brave One,” we witnessed a great little slice of flicks. I miss 2007 now. It all seems like a blur, but the year contained a ton of great memories at the theater and in my basement. I don’t regret anything. At least nothing compared to some of the worst films of 2008…

To be continued next Tuesday...