Aaron O's Top Ten For 2007
In the order they were watched:
Little Children - The only straight up drama on the list. The direction is steady and consistent, and is accompanied by righteous acting from Kate Winslet and some blond dude whose name escapes me, but he did a good, good job.
Children of Men - Some critic described this movie as, "stunning verisimilitude within its mise-en-scene." Ummmm...sure. I agree. It's also one of the best brainy action movies I've ever seen.
The Warriors - Not as brainy as Children of Men, but when you need a good jolt of action and fun, this should be your bride for the night. The only movie that's every caused me to want a vest.
Hard Times - Walter Hill's peak as a filmmaker, or the beginning of a plateau shared with Driver and The Warriors. Proof, that for a while, someone in America used to be able to shoot a great fight scene.
Vanishing Point - As a big fan of Blazing Saddles, I'm always glad to see another movie with Clevon Little. Here you get him and some interesting philosophy, good use of meager plot, and speed (in both tire on the road, and pill form). I was introduced to it through Death Proof, but notice that that didn't make it on this list.
The Driver - More Walter Hill goodness. Between a hard ass main character and some killer chase sequences you get one of my favorite portrayals of out of control cops.
Hell in the Pacific - Toshiro Mifune and Lee Marvin are WWII soldiers stranded together on a small island. Love the actors, but I expected this to be just as crappy as Cast Away. It's actually way better. I couldn't stop thinking about it for a week afterwards, and there's no annoying volleyball.
The Abominable Dr. Phibes - Friggin wackiest thing I saw last year. Vincent Price being creepy and killing people in “abominable” ways, with a super plus: His character had an accident that's stolen his voice. That way you don't have to listen to his hammy line delivery. It's win, win.
Poltergeist - I can't believe it's taken me this long to see Poltergeist. I'm sure all of you have seen it and felt the same way, but this thing owned me for 2 hours.
The Bourne Ultimatum - Oh, if only Spider Man 3 had been better. I could have had two great trilogies realized this year. I shouldn't complain though. It's still amazing when any three movies in a row fail to suck.
