2007 - Not a vintage movie year?

Napoleon Plural

Or am I wrong?

The blockbusters didn't come to much. Spider-man 3, Pirates and what else? Transformers, I suppose. Wasn't tempted to see any of them.

Die Hard 4 didn't disgrace itself, didn't break new ground either. Lackluster villainy.

The Bourne Ultimatum got rave reviews, but it didn't do it for me. Bourne was just a robot in this one, like old-style superman Bond from start to finish - which I enjoyed with Bond but not here. A bit like the third Harry Palmer film, it lost what it originally had. But this is a minority view.

Otherwise, some great Indie films but I'd be just as happy to wait for them to watch on the plasma on DVD. No need for the big movie experience. eg The Counterfeiters, The Assassination of Jesse James...

And now the usual Christmas CGI-fest, with The Golden Compass, Enchanted, Beowulf etc.

Or do I just need my serotonin levels raised?

Sweepy the Cat

Yes, in 06 I thought it would be ace but it didn't live up to what it said

Barry Nelson

I agree NP, I think the movies this year were lackluster. Some of the major sequels were very disappointing, Spidey 3 and Shrek the Third at the top of the list. Bourne was OK, but not all that great. I did enjoy Pirates 3, Transformers (much to my surprise) and Ratatuille. Recently saw Enchanted which I enjoyed and looking forward to National Treasure Book of Secrets.

I would saw 2006 was a better year.

TonyDP

The only 2007 films that spring to mind for me are Fantastic Four 2 (a short but fun comic book adventure), Transformers (I only saw the DVD but was pleasantly surprised) and Beowulf (the CGI creatures and 3D presentation really won me over). Other than that, I found most of the high-profile summer fare to be much too long winded and overblown. Hollywood needs to nurture some good editors who can bring these films in at under 2 hours as these spectacles are often just too long and noisy to sit thru at a movie theater.

Going forward, National Treasure 2 is probably the last 2007 movie I'm interested in. The first entry in the series was surprisingly entertaining and I'm hopeful that the sequel will follow suit.

RogueAgent

Yeah this year didn't leave much to boast about years from now when we reflect but 2008 is shaping up to take care of that I hope.

Outside of FF2 & Transformers, I very rarely walked out of the theatre with a smile.

The Mist came damn close but again, as argued in other threads here, directors just have to get too clever for their own good.

Here's hoping that next year can rectify most of this...

Nightshooter

Darjeeling Limited was fantastic...

emtiem

Blockbuster-wise: Bourne was top stuff, Transformers and Die Hard were throwaway fun, but not really very memorable. The only film that I did really enjoy at the cinema recently was Stardust- lovely stuff.

Agent_M

what did you guys think of "The Kingdom"?
I realy liked it, o.k. some of the "main charactors start off not liking each other but end up being best mates" was a bit too cliche'd but overall not a bad effort BTW my wife really took objection to the fact that the bad guys got away with it and the final scene of the child and grandmother wound her right up. Last time she got that mad over a film was billion dollar baby

John Drake

The two outstanding movies for me this year were David Fincher's Zodiac and Andrew Dominik's The Assassination of Jesse James. Of the blockbusters, only The Bourne Ultimatum satisfied. But I was surprised to find myself liking the 3rd POTC movie.

Barry Nelson

I forgot to add that Live Free Die Hard was very good.

I see Golden Compass reviews are bad, tomato meter rating of 42% on RottenTomatos.

Tee Hee

Did no one else see No Country For Old Men?

Great film, very intense.

I threw my two cents in on it in the "Last Film Seen" thread if you're interested.

Looking forward to National Treasure: Book of Secrets as well!

John Drake

Tee Hee wrote:

Did no one else see No Country For Old Men?

Great film, very intense.

Still hasn't reached the UK yet, but it's one I'm really looking forward to.

Lady Rose

It has been a very poor show this year ... the only films that stood out for me were Hot Fuzz and Hairspray ;% . There wasn't really anything that I thought was a 'must see'.

asio

I decided to be a lot more selective in the movies I saw this year (purely from a monetary point of view), so the ones I did see, I would have to enjoy going in.
Therefore, I only saw:
Spider-Man 3, The Simpsons Movie, and Rush Hour 3 (RH3 because I won free tickets).
I love Spidey, and enjoyed the third film, although I though Venom's origin was rushed.
And The Simpsons Movie was fantastic, I've never been in a movie session where the entire audience laugs from beginning to end, myself included.
And Rush Hour 3 was okay, if my ticket wasn't free then I wouldn't have seen it.
Bring on 2008! We'll get to see The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, and Bond 22!!!

Napoleon Plural

Today in the UK's Guardian newspaper they listed the top 20 films of the year.

http://arts.guardian.co.uk/filmandmusic/story/0,,2223062,00.html

The Lives Of Others is pretty good, I must admit. Haven't seen the others on the list really. DVD fodder, they don't cry out to be seen on the big screen. LR's Hot Fuzz is a good example, I loved it on DVD but I may have felt a tad cheated at the cinema. 3.10 to Yuma or wherever was pretty good wasn't it? But stuff like American Gangster is sort of inessential. This week I'm be more likely to see All About Eve or Bladerunner both on re-release.

Lazenby880

Napoleon Plural wrote:

The Lives Of Others is pretty good, I must admit.

The Lives Of Others is a *fantastic* film, certainly one of my favourites of recent years. I have not visited the cinema that often this year, although The Bourne Supremacy is the only film I have seen at the cinema this year that has really grabbed me: a very fitting conclusion to the series. Thirty Days of Night was the low point, a hilariously bad film.

Lady Rose

Napoleon Plural wrote:

Today in the UK's Guardian newspaper they listed the top 20 films of the year.

I knew of about two on that list and have seen none ... they must be great films )

youknowmyname

I enjoyed the Bourne Ultimatum and thought it was good. I really enjoyed Zodiac, Apocalypto, and Letters from Iwo Jima (much better than Flags of our Fathers). I also think the movie Amazing Grace was well done and I have to say that the Assasination of Jesse James etc. was a good pic as well. I also terribly enjoyed Children of Men (I do believe this was a 2006 release, but still so fresh in my mind and so well done). Transformers was fun, but certainly not vintage.

My pick for best film would probably be Zodiac, but I know it won't shoot to the top of the films list.

Brosnan_fan

I may be the only one here isn't (too) disappointed with this year's movie releases. {:)

I loved Spider-Man 3, Fantastic Four: ROTSS, Knocked Up, Harry Potter 5 and Evan Almighty, which I consider to be the year's biggest pleasant surprise.

Granted, Transformers and The Brave One were big letdowns for me, and Bourne Ultimatum, The Simpsons, Die Hard 4.0 and Rush Hour 3 were OK but forgettable, but it really hasn't been a bad year.

I liked Pirates 3, Ocean's and Ratatouille very much.

And I still haven't seen Beowulf, The Golden Compass, Enchanted or AVP 2!

i expect u2 die

Napoleon Plural wrote:

Today in the UK's Guardian newspaper they listed the top 20 films of the year.

http://arts.guardian.co.uk/filmandmusic/story/0,,2223062,00.html

The Lives Of Others is pretty good, I must admit. Haven't seen the others on the list really. DVD fodder, they don't cry out to be seen on the big screen. LR's Hot Fuzz is a good example, I loved it on DVD but I may have felt a tad cheated at the cinema. 3.10 to Yuma or wherever was pretty good wasn't it? But stuff like American Gangster is sort of inessential. This week I'm be more likely to see All About Eve or Bladerunner both on re-release.

I clicked that link really hoping to see 'Control' somewhere in there. To see it at No. 1 is fantastic.

Control was most certainly my favourite film of 2007. Its not a particularly high-profile film, and it was never showing anywhere near me, but thank God I was in Newcastle this October. It is such a tragic yet beautiful film, with a modest English feel, ensuring it still remains close within my heart.

In terms of Hollywood Blockbusters - yes, a very disappointing year. In fact, the most disappointing in years, for me. Nothing stood out to me at all, except perhaps the Bourne Ultimatum. But I'll always prefer Supremacy.

John Drake

I liked the The Brave One a lot and thought it the best thing Neil Jordan has done in quite a while.

youknowmyname

Was 300 2006 or 2007? i cant remember, but that film rocked my world

The Sly Fox

I loved Letters from Iwo Jima, it's a rare look into the Japanese perspective of WW2. What amazes me is that an English-speaking Clint Eastwood directed an almost entirely foreign language film, and it actually worked! Quite well, in fact!

Apocalypto was also a great film, but I seem to be the only one in my family who thinks so...

Xenia

'300', best movie I've seen this year, so far.

Napoleon Plural

I saw The Guardian-=recommended Silent Light last night. Rubbish. Then I saw on the list other stuff like Inland Empre and Eastern Promises... a list to avoid. They even have Superbad ahead of Knocked Up 8-)

John Drake

Inland Empire was by far the biggest let-down for me in 2007. It was like a student parody of a David Lynch film. Lynch is busy promoting Transcendental Meditation, which quite frankly is a load of tosh. So is IE, and I say that as a long-standing fan of his work.

Napoleon Plural

Tonight I'm off to see 2 Days in Paris (not the Hilton tape ) at the Prince Charles cinema. It's got Julie Delphy in. I spent two days in the city of light this autumn so will see how it compares.

Barry Nelson

Napoleon Plural wrote:

Tonight I'm off to see 2 Days in Paris (not the Hilton tape ) .

):))

TonyDP

Xenia wrote:

'300', best movie I've seen this year, so far.

I could have sworn that came out last year; but you're right that it was a great film with some specatular action sequences. It really redefined the old sword and sandal genre for me.

Xenia

Doesn't Frank Miller rule?

IMO this film has set a new standard for CB adaption films, it managed to knock X2 out of my favorite movie in this genre. I was lucky enough to see this movie at IMAX. Wish I could see it again there.

John Drake

Napoleon Plural wrote:

Tonight I'm off to see 2 Days in Paris (not the Hilton tape ) at the Prince Charles cinema. It's got Julie Delphy in. I spent two days in the city of light this autumn so will see how it compares.

Good luck with that. I hated that film. One of the worst of the year for me. It was insufferably smug.