The Nov. 28th edition of This Weekend's Film Festival celebrated five of the best films of 2007. Considering that this will be the last lineup of 2007, I thought it would be fitting to revisit the theme with another five of the best films from 2007, which are now on DVD. One is a gangster flick, two are a pair of the funniest movies of the year and two are musicals, which happen to be two of the very best films of the year. In lieu of a This Weekend's Film Festival next week, I will be posting my top 25 list for 2007, which in a way is super-sized version of This Weekend's Film Festival, because I encourage everyone to check out all of those films because they are all very good. If you feel industrious you could head to the theaters or rental store and try to see the top five. Three of these films will be certainly making the list. So I hope you enjoy and have a happy and safe New Year's celebration.
I'm starting off this week's lineup with the gangster flick. EASTERN PROMISES. Director David Cronenberg continues his streak of making thoughtful dramas that still deal with violence, as did his horror films. To quote my original review, "this tightly woven crime story feels more authentic thanks to the great performances from [Viggo] Mortensen, [Naomi] Watts, [Armin] Mueller-Stahl and [Vincent] Cassel." I also stated in that review that Mortensen deserves an Oscar nomination for his work, and he seems to be, if early buzz is any indication, on his way. The story deals with the underworld of the Russian mob, while Watts' Anna tries to pressure the inner circle to find answers about the death of a 14-year-old girl who unfortunately stumbled into that world. Like A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE, Cronenberg paints a character study of how people sometimes must play a part to get what they want. Mortensen's Nikolai is playing the part of the dutiful driver, but he has bigger aspirations. No one is as they really are in the gangster world and as secrets are revealed the characters' motivations become more and more complex.
The Saturday lineup is two of the funniest films of the year. Making the transition from television to the big screen is not easy, but THE SIMPSONS MOVIE has done so with heart and humor. As I said in my original review, "what this film does do is bring the TV show back to its roots with a lot more polish. It’s a great hybrid of everything that was and is still good about the series." At its center, the story is just another massive screw up from Homer, however there are bigger consequences this time around for the Simpsons clan… and for the world of Springfield. Brought to life by the show's amazing voice cast, along with some signature guest voices, the big screen adventure is universal enough to please both the casual viewer and the die-hard fan. Though there is a subtle eco-message in the plot, the story really is a simple tale of Homer trying to make up for his mistake and win back the hearts of his family who he let down. And there's always Spider-Pig too.
No film in 2007 made me laugh harder than SUPERBAD. Taking the tried and true plot of so many coming of age films where underage kids have to secure booze for a big senior year party, the film from producer Judd Apatow and director Greg Mottola understands the heart of this quest. As I said in my original review, "SUPERBAD takes the freedom of crude humor from AMERICAN PIE and filters it through the honest sentiment of a John Hughes film." Jonah Hill plays the overweight and sex obsessed Seth and Michael Cera plays his best friend Evan, a sensitive young man. Their only hope to get alcohol is their hapless nerdy friend Fogell, or as his fake ID states McLovin. During the course of the night, Seth and Evan will get hit by cars, end up at shady parties, and almost get murdered, while Fogell has a run in with the scariest cops in town (but scary for reasons you might think). The comedy captures the awkwardness of high school along with the painful inevitabilities of growing up.
The Sunday films are both musicals. The first is the best musical biopic to come out in recent years — LA VIE EN ROSE. Driven by a classic performance from Marion Cotillard, Olivier Dahan’s film chronicles the life of famed French singer Edith Piaf as she goes from the gutter to the heights of fame and back again before reaching her greatest success. Cotillard plays the freewheeling performer from her days as a hustling street performer to her frail condition before her early death at 47. As I said in my original review, "Her transformation from the young vibrant Piaf to the hunched dying woman is as remarkable as classic screen transformations such as DeNiro in RAGING BULL or Charlize Theron in MONSTER." Writer/director Dahan, along with co-writer Isabelle Sobelman, weaves foreboding glimpses of the end of Piaf's life into the progression of her dramatic career. With intelligent stylistic choices, Dahan gets to the core of who the singer was as a person, skillfully revealing details at the moment when they will play the most effective in allow us to understand what motivated this talented and complex artist.
I ended my original review of ONCE with this line -- "It has had a lasting effect on viewers because they have fallen in love with it too." This darling of the Sundance Film Festival is so good that Roger Ebert described it as the kind of film you hold your breath as you watch, hoping the filmmakers know how good their film is so they do not take any wrong turns along the way. The natural musical romance follows its unnamed male and female leads as they discover of deep connection in music. The guy is a street performer and the girl is a young Czech immigrant who plays the piano when she can at a music store. Their budding romance allows them to move forward with their lives, which are both stuck in a rut. Glen Hansard's soulful voice is the bittersweet soundtrack of the film, accompanied by the pure charm of Markéta Irglová. If you're a sucker for a good romance, 2007 provided none better.
So the last This Weekend's Film Festival of 2007 comes to close. It's time to head to the video store or update the rental queue. The next virtual fest will arrive on January 9th with a look at the five best Westerns of the 21st Century. As for next week, check back for my top 25 list of 2007 (or at least the top 25 films I was able to see in 2007).
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
