written by for Venus Rising Magazine
Taurus 08 Issue
April and May are notoriously bad months to go to the movies. The Academy Award hopefuls of 2008 won't be released until the fall, and the summer blockbusters won't be out for a few months. So what is a film reviewer to do when all the movies in the theaters are lame? This reviewer is going to suggest that you catch up on the best movies of 2007!
Thankfully, Film Comment, the Film Society of Lincoln Center's renowned cinematic journal, has published their extended readers' poll list of the top 50 films of 2007. There are films on the list that I haven't seen yet, so I can't vouch for them all. However, of the films on the list that I have seen, my favorites are:
It is my opinion that "Michael Clayton" was the best film of 2007. The screenplay was extremely good, the characters were well developed, the acting was superb, and the subject matter was timely. Is there a single one of us that hasn't betrayed our own integrity to please others or to get ahead? I found this story to be a very profound one.
Even if you don’t have kids, see “Ratatouille,” the latest animated film from Pixar. Totally entertaining and visually transporting, this movie is a winning combination of fantastic writing and flawless animation. If you do have kids, all of you will be transfixed.
After seeing this film, I cried for a week, literally. Not because this true story was so tragic, but because the main character, ChrisMcCandless, reminded me of myself and many of my friends from college. His utopian vision of "how things should be" and the crushing reality of "how things really are" broke his heart and sent him on a journey to find peace. Perhaps this a coming of age story about those unique characters in the world who cannot quite make it over that hump.
© 2008 Venus Rising Magazine