Top Flicks For 2007, and What's Hot in 2008

If you follow the money, Spiderman 3 was the top film of 2007, followed by Shrek the 3rd, Transformers, Pirates of the Carribean, Harry Potter, The Bourne Ultimatum, 300 and then, well, it starts to really insult the intelligence. Only 2 of these films feature in my Top 5, and both are in the bottom 5 of this gross Highest-Grossing ranking.

Here's my top 5:

1) The Bourne Ultimatum
2) I Am Legend
3) Beowulf / 300 (for their excellent use of special effects and imagination)
4) The Heartbreak Kid
5) The Golden Compass

I enjoyed 'Knocked Up', but my appetite for vulgar is drying up quickly. Even so, The Heartbreak Kid makes the list. Bourne is up there because it has those qualities I aspire to in fiction: hardcore, tough, gritty, realism. I Am Legend is a powerful and poignant flick (Ronge is off the zeitgeist again on this one I feel). The Golden Compass is an odd one. I felt close to tears throughout most of the movie, and most people who saw this film didn't get it or came out frustrated or worse. I think it moved me so much because it espouses common sense over dogmatism, and not just blind common sense, sensitive, brave, creative common sense. I find this is an exceedingly rare trait in our world, and was touched and awed to have it revealed with such rich and imaginative flourishes. It is what the world really needs although the world doesn't seem to know this.

The second time I saw this movie, my brother, who is a professional artist, complained that it didn't really 'do' anything for him. I said I am not an artist in the sense that he is (he paints), but I appreciated the high level of artistry in many of the scenes rendered for this film. That alone made it a beautiful movie.

I saw Pirates of the Carribean on DVD and this is the sort of flick I think you can watch and enjoy over and over and over again. It is a huge, epic film, but far too long. Shrek the 3rd shouldn't be on the list; its writers are tired and in need of fresher inspiration. Harry Potter was enjoyable, and quite meaningful and almost makes my top 5. It doesn't because Rowling hasn't quite had the guts to have Harry really grow up (is he still a virgin?). Her last book was rivetting in places, but will the movie deliver? Transformers I saw again recently. It is a lot of fun but it's not the sort of entertainment we can afford - glorifying cars and machines that run on thin air - based on where we are right now.

2008:

1. Ironman
2. Alien vs Predator 2

3. The Dark Knight (Batman)
4. Cloverfield
5. Dr Seus' Horton hears a Who

Click on above titles to link to trailers.
Also look out for Juno.