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Max's Annual Best and Worst Lists
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| Max's Top 10 of 2007 |
All in all, I thought it was an extraordinary year at the movies—certainly the best in recent memory. (That might explain my rather self-indulgently long list of “honorable mentions.”)
1. No Country for Old Men- The Coen brothers have a created a nouveau Western of sickening violence and dread. Javier Bardem’s villain will chill you to the core (yes, the ridiculous pageboy somehow makes him scarier); Tommy Lee Jones breaks your heart as the mournful town sheriff who realizes that he’s no match for today’s lawless landscape; and, in the Coens’ masterful hands, there’s unspeakable menace in every crawl space, keyhole, and corridor. Oh, and did I mention that the film is darkly funny, too?
2. Juno- She’s whip smart. She’s balls-out funny. She’s a little crabby. In short, Ellen Page’s Juno is unlike any movie heroine you’ve ever seen. Partly this is because first-time screenwriter Diablo Cody has written a character—a pregnant teen who decides to give her baby to a squeaky clean Yuppie couple—for the ages. And it’s also because, in Cody’s muse Ellen Page, a true star is born. The tomboyish actress wins us over with her snub-nosed beauty and droll way with a one-liner, and breaks our hearts by showing us the secret longing beneath that snarky exterior.
3. Sweeney Todd- So what if Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter aren’t great singers? They’re great actors, and they bring Stephen Sondheim’s ghoulish characters delightfully (and gruesomely) to life. It seems that director Tim Burton was born to adapt his play. His extraordinary visual flair, his passion for the macabre, his affinity for the world’s freaks and outcasts—all come together perfectly in this eye-popping, blood-spurting, brilliantly entertaining production.
4. Lars and the Real Girl- Man-child buys a sex doll on the Internet and believes her to be his real girlfriend—friends and church folk play along to help him “work through” his delusion. The premise shouldn’t work—we expect it to either be a tawdry sex comedy or some unbearably precious indie creation—and yet it does, miraculously. Give credit to the cast—Ryan Gosling as the man, Patricia Clarkson as his wise therapist, Paul Schneider and Emily Mortimer as his befuddled (but doting) brother and sister-in-law. But mostly give credit to a dazzling script by Nancy Oliver—she manages to bring out the universal in her absurd premise, making Lars’s predicament both slyly funny and unexpectedly touching.
5. Into the Wild- There are those who think that Christopher McCandless—the real-life young man of privilege who dropped out of society, renamed himself Alex Supertramp, and died, horribly ill-equipped, in the wilds of Alaska—was naïve, selfish, self-aggrandizing. And there are those who think he was a poet, a prophet, an inspiration. The beauty of Sean Penn’s perfectly calibrated film—anchored by a starmaking performance by Emile Hirsch—is that he manages to show that both sides were right.
6. There Will Be Blood- Paul Thomas Anderson’s devastating portrait of a corrupt oil man (Daniel Day Lewis) who wreaks havoc on an unsuspecting Texas town in the early 1900s is deeply weird and undeniably brilliant. Some have criticized the film’s gory, rococo ending: Did they not note the film’s title?
7. Ratatouille- The Triplets of Belleville meets Tom and Jerry meets the Food Network. That’s one way to describe this beautiful animation (from those geniuses at Pixar . . . who else?) about a gourmet rat in Paris who teams up with a hapless chef to create culinary—and movie—magic. As the voice of the cranky critic who is simply waiting for one truly great meal, Peter O’Toole nearly steals the show.
8. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly- How can you make a film completely from the P.O.V. of a man trapped in a waking coma (so-called “locked in syndrome”) who can only express himself by blinking his one good eye? Director Julian Schnabel does it, masterfully, by focusing on that one-eyed perspective—people loom, they come in and out of focus, they step out of frame—and by letting our hero’s memory and imagination (including a still healthy libido) soar. That this is based on the true story of Jean Dominique Bauby, the French Elle editor who was struck down by a stroke in the prime of his life (and who blinked out the autobiographical work that the film is based on) makes it all the more powerful.
9. Atonement- At the onset of World War II, a precocious young girl (haunting Saoirse Ronan) makes a horrible mistake: she accuses a promising young man—her sister’s lover—of a crime he didn’t commit. The reasons why she told this lie—and the consequences of her actions—are revealed in surprising and devastating ways. With the brattily beautiful Keira Knightley as the slightly haughty older sister, dashing James McAvoy as the ruined young man, and Vanessa Redgrave, in what amounts to a cameo-as-master-class, as the doleful adult version of the little girl.
10. The Savages- An adult brother and sister have to care for their estranged father, who is dying, while both still dealing with the consequences of his abandonment. Laura Linney gives what is possibly a career-best performance as Wendy Savage, a pushing-40 playwright who is having a joyless affair with a married man, and who takes perverse pleasure in both her own lies (she drops them like tiny, conversational atom bombs), and her own melodramatic sense of nobility (it’s her martyr complex that allows her to lie with such guilelessness.) Watching Linney work with Philip Seymour Hoffman, who plays her world-weary brother—a man who hides his own vulnerability behind a baggy parka and pounds of girth—is a rare cinematic treat. We get to watch two of America’s great actors play off each other, in a script (by Tamara Jenkins) that is worthy of their gifts.
Honorable mention: Away From Her, Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead, Crazy Love, The Hoax, I’m Not There, Lust Caution, Rescue Dawn, Rocket Science, Sicko, Superbad, Waitress, Zodiac.
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Max's Most Underrated Films of 2007 |
I’ve decided to break these down into three separate categories:
RG-really good
BTYT-better than you think
EB-enjoyably bad
Reign Over Me (RG) – Maybe it was Adam Sandler’s frizzy hair (he looked more like Bob Dylan than Cate Blanchett does). Maybe it was the slightly annoying strain of male fantasy wish-fulfillment that permeates all of writer/director Mike Binder’s work. (He was also responsible for that lousy HBO series, "The Mind of the Married Man.") Whatever the case, I thought the critics really missed the boat on this one. It’s about a man (Sandler) who loses his whole family on 9/11 and retreats into a state of permanent adolescence. He is helped by an old friend (Don Cheadle), a reasonably happily married therapist who, on some subconscious level, secretly envies his friend’s new freedom. The film, which could have sunk into mawkishness, has a surprisingly deft touch and is often quite insightful. It almost excuses Sandler for I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry.
The Hoax (RG) – Gere’s best performance of the year—and no, that’s not damning with faint praise—in this true story about Clifford Irving, a down on his luck writer who claims he’s been given exclusive authority to write Howard Hughes’s memoir. While Irving lies with such panache he begins to believe his own bullshit, his fretful business partner (Alfred Molina, nearly stealing the show) can’t bluff his way out of a paper bag. They make for a great comedic team—until things get horribly, and predictably, out of control.
Jane Austen Book Club (RG) – I actually found those damn Ya Ya sisters annoying. This film gets the sisterhood thing right—attractive, likeable characters, bonding over literature, and falling in and out of love.
Breach (RG) – This one kind of came and went, inexplicably, from the theaters. The story of a rogue CIA agent (brilliant Chris Cooper) and the neophyte agent (Ryan Phillipe) charged with spying on him is as tense and gripping as you might hope. The best part? The writers of this film seem to actually know a lot more than I do. I love when that happens.
Rocket Science (RG) – This is one of two double dips from my “Honorable Mention” section of my Top 10 list. (Rescue Dawn is the other one.) Here’s what makes this so good: Our hero's triumphs over adversity are subtle; the object of his adoration (gleefully played by Anna Kendrick) is way smarter and meaner than he is; and “Blister in the Sun” gets played on the cello. Sweeet.
Talk to Me (RG) – Has all the sass of Good Morning Vietnam and all the civil rights fervor of The Great Debaters. And then there's Don Cheadle’s vibrant performance as silver-tongued con-turned-DJ Petey Greene. Is it possible the film simply didn’t know how to market itself? Is it a buddy film? (The relationship between Greene and his buttoned-down program director, played by Chiwetel Ejiofor, is certainly the stuff of buddy lore.) Is it a comedy? (Cheadle rattles off some Eddie Murphy-worthy improvs). Is it a tragedy? (Greene’s reaction to the death of Martin Luther King will break your heart in two.) Indeed, it is all of those things. And the problem with that is...?
Rescue Dawn (RG) – Wanna know what it feels like to be trapped in a Vietnamese prison camp? I mean, what it really feels like? Then witness Werner Herzog’s fictionalized retelling of his own documentary, Little Dieter Needs to Fly, about gung-ho soldier Dieter Dengler (Christian Bale) whose plane gets shot down in Laos and, despite humiliation, starvation, and constant fear of death, never loses his wits—or his hope. The criminally overlooked Bale will one day get one of those make-up Oscars for a performance not nearly as brilliant as this one.
Nanny Diaries (BTYT) – I know. I’m a big fat Laura Linney apologist. But she’s not the only reason to see this moderately successful adaptation of the beloved book (although her performance as an Upper East Side Mother From Hell alone is worth it). You’ve also got Scarlett Johansson, delightful as ever as the put-upon nanny; Paul Giamati, playing against type as the rapacious husband; and dreamy Chris Evans as the aptly-named “Harvard hottie.” Plus, the movie gets the essential thing from the book right: You believe that Scarlett’s Annie loves her small charge enough to put up with his hateful parents.
August Rush (BTYT) – It’s funny. I saw this and Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium in the same week. Both can be accused the of the same thing—whimsy up the butt. But while Magorium seemed fake, I bought the Extreme Sentimentality (is that an X Games event?) of Kirsten Sheridan’s debut. The phrase I used to describe this tale of an orphanage-raised boy with magical musical gifts who goes on a quest to find his musician parents (Keri Russell and Jonathan Rhys Meyers) is “drunk on humanity.” It may be corny (it is), it may be over-the-top (Robin Williams as a Fagan like street musician? enuf said), but it believes what it is selling, and so did I.
Music and Lyrics (BTYT) – You’ll either love it, or it’ll give you a cavity. I thought Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore, playing a songwriting team under the gun, were a rom-com match made in heaven. The spot-on parody of ’80s pop is merely an added bonus.
Bug (BTYT) – Folie a deux in a seedy hotel room. First, only he (Michael Shannon) believes that the room is infested with government-issued bugs. Eventually, she (fearless Ashley Judd) does too. As they go mad together, the film becomes as paranoid and twitchy as you would hope.
Surf’s Up (BTYT) – Shia LeBeouf got a lot of attention for Disturbia (good) and Transformers (good until it sucks), but he’s especially affecting as the voice of surfer dude Cody Maverick in this animated mockumentary. Bonus: Jeff Bridges brings back his “The Dude” voice as legendary surf guru Big Z.
Shoot Em Up (EB) – Quentin Tarantino meets Bugs Bunny. Okay, there’s no plot to speak of. Just slap-happy action and a ludicrously cool hero played by Clive Owen (he nibbles on carrots when he’s not brandishing them as a weapon) who has to mow down the baddies while saving an orphaned baby. Absurdly violent, madly in love with itself—and undeniably fun. (If you like that sort of thing.)
Mr. Brooks (EB) – Downright ridiculous, but undeniably entertaining: Kevin Costner plays a pillar-of-the-community by day who is a serial killer by night. William Hurt plays his sniggering alter-ego, who goads him on from the back seat of his car. Danielle Panabaker is daddy’s little girl— to the core. Truly preposterous, but slick and fun.
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| Max's Top 10 of 2006 |
1. Little Miss Sunshine - Usually I’m allergic to quirk. But I thought Little Miss Sunshine was the most fiercely funny, oddly touching, and original film of the year.
2. The Queen - A nearly perfect film. By following the aftermath of Diana’s death—as progressive prime minister Tony Blair tries to balance relations between the breathless media and the defiantly old-school Queen—it masterfully illustrates the surreal state of British politics. And yes, Helen Mirren is a phenomenon.
3. The Departed - Martin Scorsese goes back to his roots, delivering a cops and robbers picture that is gritty, smart, intense, and just damn good.
4. Little Children - A black comedy about sex and death in suburbia, featuring remarkable performances by all, especially Kate Winslet as the frustrated-in-every-possible-way (sexually, creatively, intellectually) mom and Jackie Earl Haley (hey, Kelly Leak!) as the self-loathing pedophile.
5. Babel – Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s hugely involving film about miscommunication, on a global and personal level.
6. Fur – Steven Shainberg’s surreal Diane Arbus biopic (it’s Alice in Wonderland meets Freaks, and the most creepily erotic love story of the year) is a love it or hate it proposition. What can I say? I loved it.
7. Dreamgirls – Has the kinetic excitement of live theater. All the performances are excellent, but the buzz is true—newcomer Jennifer Hudson steals the show.
8. Notes on a Scandal – The nasty and smart book has been turned into a nasty and smart film.
9. Stranger Than Fiction – Yeah, it’s Charlie Kauffman lite. But when Will Ferrell brings flours to his baker love interest Maggie Gyllenhaal, it’s one of the sweetest moments of the year.
10. The Painted Veil – An exquisitely acted romance and political drama set against a cholera outbreak in China . Detractors will say it’s the film that Merchant and Ivory never made. To which I respond: And the problem with that is …?
Runner’s up: Half-Nelson, The Devil Wears Prada, An Inconvenient Truth, Marie Antoinette, Dave Chapelle’s Block Party, The Inside Man, Friends With Money, The Descent, Eight Below, and Casino Royale |
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Max's Top 10 of 2005 |
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1. Brokeback Mountain
2. Capote
3. The Squid and the Whale
4. Crash
5. Munich
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6. King Kong
7. Pride and Prejudice
8. Grizzly Man
9. The 40 Year Old Virgin
10. Nine Lives |
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Honorable Mentions |
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Walk the Line
War of the Worlds
Murderball
The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada
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2046
Happy Endings
Junebug
The Aristocrats |
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Max's Worst Films of 2005 |
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Be Cool
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
The Dukes of Hazzard
Bewitched
The Ringer
Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo
Monster-in-Law |
The Man
Kicking and Screaming
Get Rich or Die Tryin'
A Lot Like Love
Miss Congeniality 2
Kingdom of Heaven
The Weather Man |
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Is it just me, or was 2004 a seriously sub-par year at the movies? Usually, I’m in an absolute tizzy this time of year: I have so many Top 10 contenders, I need to adopt elaborate logarithmic formulas to finalize my list. This year . . . meh. Sure, there were a few films I was REALLY geeked about (see my Top 5). The rest are good, not great. Ironically—or come to think of it, maybe not—this was the most lucrative year in Hollywood EVER. |
Max's Top 10 of 2004 |
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1. Sideways
2. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
3. Kill Bill Vol. 2
4. The Aviator
5. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
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6. Maria Full of Grace
7. House of Flying Daggers
8. The Incredibles
9. Shaun of the Dead
10. Vera Drake
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Honorable Mentions |
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Beyond the Sea
Collateral
Dawn of the Dead
Friday Nights Lights
Garden State |
Hotel Rwanda
Kinsey
Before Sunset
P.S.
Ray |
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Max's Top 20 of 2003 |
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1. Lost in Translation
2. Capturing the Friedmans
3. The Lord of the Rings:
The Return of the King
4. The Station Agent
5. Spellbound
6. Cold Mountain
7. Dirty Pretty Things
8. Finding Nemo
9. In America
10. A Mighty Wind
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11. Kill Bill Vol. 1
12. American Splendor
13. Shattered Glass
14. Mystic River
15. School of Rock
16. Swimming Pool
17. The Magdalene Sisters
18. The Cooler
19. Pirates of the Caribbean
20. The Secret Lives of Dentists
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Max's Top 20 of 2002 |
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1. Far From Heaven
2. Y Tu Mama Tambien
3. Adaptation
4. About Schmidt
5. Gangs of New York
6. Igby Goes Down
7. The Kid Stays in the Picture
8. The Pianist
9. Frailty
10. Lovely and Amazing |
11. Friday
12. Punch Drunk Love
13. One Hour Photo
14. Monsoon Wedding
15. About a Boy
16. 24 Hour Party People
17. Bowling for Columbine
18. Minority Report
19. Insomnia
20. Kissing Jessica Stein |
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Max's Top 10 of 2001 |
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1. Ghost World
2. Memento
3. Mulholland Drive
4. The Royal Tenenbaums
5. The Fellowship of the Ring |
6. Donnie Darko
7. Amores Perros
8. A Beautiful Mind
9. Hedwig and The Angry Inch
10. The Others
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Honorable Mentions |
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Amelie
Oceans Eleven
Sexy Beast |
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1. You Can Count on Me
2. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
3. Requiem for a Dream
4. Best in Show
5. Chicken Run
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6. High Fidelity
7. Erin Brockovich
8. State and Main
9. Dancer in the Dark
10. The Virgin Suicides
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Almost Famous
The Tao of Steve
Quills |
Castaway
Billy Elliot
Love and Basketball |
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