Movies That Matter

Tom Miller

Jan 02, 2008

Movies That Matter: The Best of 2007

Nothing is certain but death, taxes, and . . . end-of-year "Best of" lists from self-appointed experts. With that caveat in mind, we offer for your consideration—cheers and/or jeers—the movies that mattered most to us in 2007.

TOP TEN

10. "The Bourne Ultimatum"
What it is: The third installment of the hugely-successful Jason Bourne franchise. CIA assassin Bourne, suffering from amnesia, is still trying to discover his identity and unravel what happened to him.
Why it matters: Although not as good as the first Bourne ("The Bourne Identity"), this episode is the most stylish and frenetic. Matt Damon reprises what is likely the signature role of his career, and Julia Stiles gives a controlled, yet expressive, performance as CIA agent Nicky Parsons.

9. "A Mighty Heart"
What it is: Director Michael Winterbottom's docu-drama on the search for the terrorists who kidnapped and executed Wall Street Journal reporter Danny Pearl in Karachi, Pakistan, in 2002.
Why it matters: Despite Winterbottom's failure to deal honestly with the roots of Islamic fascism, this is a stark reminder of the evil we face in a post-9/11 world. It's also a chilling look at a nuclear state (Pakistan) on the brink of an apocalyptic meltdown.

8. "Rescue Dawn"
What it is: Director Werner Herzog's dramatization of the ordeal of Navy fighter pilot Dieter Dengler who was shot down over Laos in 1965. After months of captivity, Dengler led a daring escape and was ultimately rescued. He was one of only seven POWs to successfully escape during the Vietnam War.
Why it matters: A story of remarkable courage and resilience, "Rescue Dawn" is unapologetically patriotic. Screenwriter and director Herzog, who produced a compelling documentary on Dengler in the 1990's ("Little Dieter Needs to Fly"), says simply, "I'm not in the business of America bashing."

7. "Breach"
What it is: A brilliant character study of Robert Hanssen, an FBI counterintelligence agent, who passed classified material to the Soviets for fifteen years.
Why it matters: The movie is important for its balanced, yet sobering, view of a domestic intelligence culture that failed badly in its mission to protect national interests. Chris Cooper's Oscar-worthy portrayal of the enigmatic Hanssen is a bonus.

6. "Zodiac"
What it is: A taut and utterly compelling look at the investigation of the infamous "Zodiac" serial killer who haunted the San Francisco region for several years in the late '60's and '70's.
Why it matters: Director David Fincher has made a stylish thriller reminiscent of the master of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock. The film's focus is on the investigation, not the murders, and the toll it takes on the cops and journalists who become obsessed with it. The film also features several fine performances including Jake Gyllenhaal and Robert Downey, Jr. as a political cartoonist and crime reporter respectively.

5. "American Gangster"
What it is: Director Ridley Scott's crowd-pleasing crime saga about a 1970s-era Harlem drug boss who smuggles heroin into the U.S. in military coffins and the honest cop who doggedly pursues him.
Why it matters: While it falls short of crime classics like "The Godfather" and "Serpico," it is utterly absorbing. Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe as gangster and cop respectively give memorable performances. One of the year's biggest winners at the box office—the only poll that really counts in Hollywood.

4. "The Lives of Others"
What it is: German director Florian Henckel Von Donnersmarck's chilling, provocative debut feature focuses on the social and personal costs of pervasive surveillance in a police state like the former East Germany.
Why it matters: Technology makes surveillance ever more intrusive and ever more ubiquitous even as the fight against terrorism increases its appeal as a tool. This film reminds us that the technology itself is neutral. What matters are the motivations of those who employ the technology.

3. "Atonement"
What it is: Director Joe Wright's faithful adaptation of Ian McEwan's masterful novel about a false accusation and its impact on three lives. The lush production stars Keira Knightley, James McAvoy (as the victim of the false accusation), and Saoirse Ronan (as his 13-year-old accuser.
Why it matters: Anything featuring the delicious Keira Knightley matters. McAvoy and Ronan also are excellent, and the extended segment on the British army's desperate evacuation from Dunkirk during the early months of WWII is nothing short of spectacular.

2. "No Country for Old Men"
What it is: A bloody thriller from the Coen brothers that explores the aftermath of a drug deal gone bad.
Why it matters: The Coen brothers come close to matching the irresistible pull of their classic "Fargo" in this nihilistic thriller set in the hostile milieu of west Texas. The "Fargo" formula—graphic violence, idiosyncratic characters, dark comedy—travels well. Here though, the tone is even darker and less hopeful. The ensemble cast (Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Woody Harrelson, and Kelly MacDonald) is excellent with Bardem doing Oscar-worthy work as sociopathic killer Anton Chigurh.

1. "Charlie Wilson's War"
What it is: Director Mike Nichols' superb adaptation of George Crile's sensational account of Congressman Charlie Wilson's efforts to arm the Afghan mujahedeen in their fight against a Soviet invasion in the 1980's.
Why it matters: Lots of reasons: It chronicles what might be the singular—albeit reluctant—success of the CIA since its creation sixty years ago; affirms the prevailing national cynicism regarding Congress; and shows the tragic folly of premature American withdrawal from foreign commitments. Nichols' has crafted a fast-paced, topical thriller that crackles with outstanding performances from Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, and a sizzling Emily Blunt.

CONTENDERS: HONORABLE MENTION

"The Kingdom"
What it is: Peter Berg's atmospheric thriller about an FBI team sent to Saudi Arabia to investigate a terrorist attack against a Western compound.
Why it matters: The action is intense and the threat palpable in Berg's high-octane drama. Despite a muddled conclusion, Berg manages to raise the issue of whether terrorism should be treated as a crime and vividly illustrate the divide between the Saudi royal family and the mass of their people.

"The Kite Runner"
What it is: Director Marc Forster and screenwriter David Benioff's adaptation of Khaled Hosseini's acclaimed novel of Afghanistan during peace and war. Unfortunately, if not surprisingly, the film falls short of the novel's promise.
Why it matters: Despite its shortcomings, "The Kite Runner" offers a unique glimpse into an exotic place and culture that remains on the frontlines of America's Long War against terror.

"Eastern Promises"
What it is: Director David Cronenberg's gritty, violent tale of Russian gangsters operating in London.
Why it matters: Shines a light on the underbelly of immigrant life in the West as represented by the Russian mafia. Viggo Mortensen turns in an Oscar-worthy performance as an enterprising chauffeur. Not for the squeamish. The steam room knife fight is excruciatingly intense.

"Juno"
What it is: Director Jason Reitman sidesteps the sophomore slump (after his popular debut feature "Thank You for Smoking") with this bittersweet tale of unwanted pregnancy.
Why it matters: Following in the footsteps of "Little Miss Sunshine," "Juno" is this year's little movie that could. Ellen Page ("Hard Candy") scores a breakthrough performance as the precocious (and pregnant) 16-year-old Juno MacGuff.

"Black Book"
What it is: Director Paul Verhoeven's fast-paced and suspenseful World War II drama about a Dutch Jew who joins a resistance group and is charged with infiltrating Nazi headquarters by seducing the local commander.
Why it matters: The film manages to raise serious issues without sacrificing action. There's also the captivating performance of the arresting Rachel Stein who plays the young Jewish resistance fighter.

PRETENDERS

The ancient Spartans' gallant and selfless stand at Thermopylae deserves a movie that matters, but director Zack Snyder's "300" isn't it even though it made tons of money. Another blockbuster that didn't matter much is the third (and final) installment of Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean" trilogy. It's over-long and confusing, and its one saving grace is the presence of the seriously-sexy Keira Knightley.

Michael Moore's distorted, intellectually dishonest polemic on the American health care system, "Sicko," pleased liberals and Populists while trashing the doctors and pharmaceutical companies trying to cure disease. Not exactly a good strategy for a fat slob who's about one double-cheeseburger away from a coronary. Ditto for pretty-boy and "Titanic" heartthrob Leonardo diCaprio's global warming jeremiad "The Eleventh Hour." The planet could do without the "help" of celebrity resource-wastrels like diCaprio and Al Gore and their hypocritical preaching.

There were two serious Westerns this year: James Mangold's remake of the 1957 classic "3:10 to Yuma" and Andrew Dominik's "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford." One of Hollywood's earliest and most successful genres, the Western has fallen out of favor, but these ponderous, pretentious, and morally-relative films aren't likely to revive it.

The fall witnessed a spate of bleak anti-war movies. "In the Valley of Elah" wastes an excellent performance by Tommy Lee Jones in a dreary polemic against the Iraq War that also manages to smear American troops. "Rendition" likewise refuses to deal honestly with an important issue raised by the Global War on Terrorism: the use of torture in interrogation. The anti-war "Lions for Lambs" is liberal babble masquerading as topical entertainment. Unfortunately for those involved, the disguise is transparent and the only thing that's hidden is any real insight—unless you count such banal statements as "Rome is burning" as insightful. (We were spared what apparently is the very worst of this pretentious bunch, the toxic "Redacted," because the local theaters declined to book it. The John Cusack home-front road-trip drama, "Grace Is Gone," also was not screened locally.)

The end of the year brought the much-anticipated movie version of "Sweeney Todd," the fabulously successful Broadway musical. We remain underwhelmed.

MAYBE NEXT YEAR

Several movies that opened recently in New York and L.A. to qualify for the Oscars haven’t found their way to theaters in flyover country yet and don't appear on our list. They include "There Will Be Blood," which is based on Upton Sinclair's Jazz Age novel Oil; "Cassandra's Dream," Woody Allen's latest; and "I'm Not There," the ambitious Bob Dylan biopic. At least we have something to look forward to as we battle cabin fever out here in flyover country.

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