Juno (2007)
Directed by: Jason Reitman
Written by: Diablo Cody
Starring: Ellen Page, Michael Cera, Jennifer Garner & Jason Bateman

Summary:
Faced with an unplanned pregnancy, an offbeat young woman makes an unusual decision regarding her unborn child.

My View:
I don't think I love this movie quite as much as other people. It was more comedy than drama which overpowered some potentially great dramatic scenes. The dialogue and jokes came at you so fast that whatever realism it had originally intended was lost.

As a pure comedy Juno is unstoppable. What really pushed it in to the top ten for me were the performances. Ellen Page shows us she's the great actress we always knew she was and is more than deserving of her oscar nomination. Another nod to Jennifer Garner as well who showed us there was a lot more talent in her than previously thought. The entire cast is great here and as much as Ellen Page is spotlighted Juno truly is an ensemble that would've fell flat without everyone involved.

No End In Sight (2007)
Directed by: Charles Ferguson
Written by: Charles Ferguson
Starring: Various

Summary:
Chronological look at the fiasco in Iraq, especially decisions made in the spring of 2003 - and the backgrounds of those making decisions - immediately following the overthrow of Saddam: no occupation plan, an inadequate team to run the country, insufficient troops to keep order, and three edicts from the White House announced by Bremmer when he took over: no provisional Iraqi government, de-Ba'athification, and disbanding the Iraqi armed services. The film has chapters (from History to Consequences), and the talking heads are reporters, academics, soldiers, military brass, and former Bush-administration officials, including several who were in Baghdad in 2003.

My View:
A truly haunting look at the Bush Administration's complete mishandling of the Iraq war, No End In Sight is the best documentary of the year. 2007 was a great year for the documentaries but this film clearly stood out among the rest. No End In Sight is a no nonsense, chronological account of what happened in Iraq from 9/11 on. Anyone not familiar with this should definitely check this film out, especially before they vote in the upcoming presidential election. Thank god that there is no possible way Bush can remain president after this year.

The Lookout (2007)
Directed by: Scott Frank
Written by: Scott Frank
Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jeff Daniels, Matthew Goode & Isla Fisher

Summary:
An admired high school hockey player (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) with a bright future foolishly takes a drive in the night with his girl friend and two other friends with his headlights off with devastating results. The former athlete is left with a brain injury that prevents him from remembering many things for extended periods of time. To compensate, he keeps notes in a small notebook to aid him in remembering what he is to do. He also lives with a blind friend (Jeff Daniels) who aids him. Obviously, with the mental incapacitation, he is unable to have meaningful work. Thus he works as a night cleaning man in a bank. It is there he comes under the scrutiny of a gang planning to rob the bank. The leader (Matthew Goode) befriends him and gets him involved with a young woman (Isla Fisher) who further reels him in. After they get close and after reeling him in with his own failures, the bank plan unfolds. Confused but wanting to escape his current existence, he initially goes along with the scheme. After realizing he is being used, he attempts to stop the robbery, which of course immediately goes awry. Bruce McGill and Alberta Watson also co-star as the young man's parents, who still search for the person that was there before the tragic crash.

My View:
A little more of an unknown film from this past year. It came out early on in 2007 but stuck with me as I was compiling my list. The story and pacing are what drive the film and give it a powerful intensity. The real charm of the film comes from Gordon-Levitt who really can't do any wrong as an actor. He really is one of the best young actors working today and is going to have one hell of a career if he keeps choosing films of this quality.

Jeff Daniels is great as always, but the surprising performance comes from Matthew Goode who brings us one of the most twisted and crazy characters of the year.

American Gangster (2007)
Directed by: Ridley Scott
Written by: Steven Zaillian & Mark Jacobson
Starring: Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, Chiwetel Ejiofor & Josh Brolin

Summary:
Following the death of his employer and mentor, Bumpy Johnson, Frank Lucas establishes himself as the number one importer of heroin in the Harlem district of Manhattan. He does so by buying heroin directly from the source in South East Asia and he comes up with a unique way of importing the drugs into the United States. As a result, his product is superior to what is currently available on the street and his prices are lower. His alliance with the New York Mafia ensures his position. It is also the story of a dedicated and honest policeman, Richie Roberts, who heads up a joint narcotics task force with the Federal government. Based on a true story.

My View:
I can't really believe that the only academy award nomination for acting this received was for Ruby Dee. American Gangster was snubbed in the acting categories this year which is a shame. Nobody had a chance against Daniel Day-Lewis this year but they should've at least got a nomination.

American Gangster is one of the better crime/dramas to come out in a while. Some people disliked the inaccuracies of the true story but any changes the filmmakers made were unnoticeable to me and didn't really drag the film down at all. Washington and Crowe are at their best especially towards the end of the film when these two power players have some excellent scenes together. Their characters are bound by different ideals but they have a mutual understanding of one another that is brilliantly portrayed at the end. To me American Gangster ranks right up there amongst the best mob films of all time.

Charlie Wilson's War (2007)
Directed by: Mike Nichols
Written by: Aaron Sorkin & George Crile
Starring: Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts & Philip Seymour Hoffman

Summary:
In the early 1980s, Charlie Wilson is a womanizing US congressional representative from Texas who seemed to be in the minor leagues, except for the fact that he is a member of two major foreign policy and covert-ops committees. However, prodded by his major conservative supporter, Joanne Herring, Wilson learns about the plight of the people are suffering in the brutal Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. With the help of the maverick CIA agent, Gust Avrakotos, Wilson dedicates his canny political efforts to supply the Afghan mujahideen with the weapons and support to defeat the Soviet Union. However, Charlie Wilson eventually learns that while military victory can had, there are other consequences and prices to that fight that are ignored to everyone's sorrow.

My View:
What a great film. I know Hanks is a huge star and his performance was great as the Texas congressman but Hoffman stole the show. His performance is absolutely brilliant. Another year he may have had a chance at actually winning the oscar but the competition is too stiff. The nomination is well deserved.

Charlie Wilson's War is a rare feel good film on this list. It was emotional to see a film about a time when we actually worked constructively with Afghanistan and the middle east to help solve more problems than we create. This film came out at a perfect time and once again proves that one man can make a difference.

Gone Baby Gone (2007)
Directed by: Ben Affleck
Written by: Ben Affleck & Aaron Stockard
Starring: Casey Affleck, Michelle Monaghan, Morgan Freeman & Ed Harris

Summary:
When 4 year old Amanda McCready disappears from her home and the police make little headway in solving the case, the girl's aunt Beatrice McCready hires two private detectives Patrick Kenzie and Angie Gennaro. The detective freely admit that they have little experience with this type of case, but the family wants them for two reasons - they're not cops and they know the tough neighborhood in which they all live. As the case progresses, Kenzie and Gennaro face drug dealers, gangs and pedophiles. When they finally solve the case, they are faced with a moral dilemma that tears them apart.

My View:
Great film by director, Ben Affleck... wait did I read that right? I've never been an Affleck hater. He's a talented dude and he proved it again with this emotional drama. He tosses us in to a real mystery and is so comfortable with his environment of Boston that the film feels like is was made by a veteran director.

I also can't believe that two of the best performances this year are from Casey Affleck. He has really become an excellent actor. The only actor to get a nomination is Amy Ryan who was great here as well. You absolutely loathe her character so much so that it actually makes you respect the criminal actions of some of the other characters. Gone Baby Gone is a great mystery that will keep you guessing right up to the end.

Before The Devil Knows You're Dead (2007)
Directed by: Sidney Lumet
Written by: Kelly Masterson
Starring: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Marisa Tomei & Albert Finney

Summary:
Needing extra cash, two brothers conspire to pull off the perfect, victimless crime. No guns, no violence, no problem. But when an accomplice ignores the rules and crosses the line, his actions trigger a series of events in which no one is left unscathed.

My View:
A brilliant heist flick that's chopped up and told in a very cool non-linear way showing us the views of multiple characters. Sidney Lumet is a genius and here he proves it again. Another great performance by Hoffman and a very good performance by Maris Tomei. It's really nice to see her around again (and I mean that literally). It seemed like she was out of the spotlight there for a while but she's back and really contributes as one of the best parts of this film. This is also one of Ethan Hawke's best performances to date.

I was really surprised that this film got no oscar nominations. It's one of the year's best and really did deserve a few.

Once (2007)
Directed by: John Carney
Written by: John Carney
Starring: Glen Hansard, Markéta Irglová & Bill Hodnett

Summary:
An (unnamed) Guy is a Dublin guitarist/singer-songwriter who makes a living by fixing vacuum cleaners in his Dad's Hoover repair shop by day, and singing and playing for money on the Dublin streets by night. An (unnamed) Girl is a Czech who plays piano when she gets a chance, and does odd jobs by day and takes care of her mom and her daughter by night. Guy meets Girl, and they get to know each other as the Girl helps the Guy to put together a demo disc that he can take to London in hope of landing a music contract. During the same several day period, the Guy and the Girl work through their past loves, and reveal their budding love for one another, through their songs.

My View:
I don't know what soulless bastard can watch and not fall completely in love with it. It's one of the most heart warming and inspiring films I've seen in a long time. Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova are as good on screen together as they are creating the stunningly beautiful music for the film. Their connection in the film is so honest and moving it almost brought me to tears at some points.

The brilliant music is what really captures you. Hansard and Irglova are amazing songwriters, and I hope they don't stop writing and making films together. I was really excited when they won the oscar for the song "Falling Slowly". This is one film I can recommend to everyone especially musicians who may be starting to lose their passion for music.

No Country For Old Men (2007)
Directed by: Ethan Coen & Joel Coen
Written by: Ethan Coen & Joel Coen
Starring: Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem & Josh Brolin

Summary:
Violence and mayhem ensue after a hunter stumbles upon some dead bodies, a stash of heroin and more than $2 million in cash near the Rio Grande.

My View:
Well it won four oscars and deservedly so. No Country For Old Men is the best Coen brothers film to date and features one of the creepiest and sadistic characters of all time.

Javier Bardem, monkey's haircut and all, truly did scare the crap out of me as Anton Chigurh. His performance will be remembered for a long time. The return of Josh Brolin this year has been really nice as well. A great performance here as well as American Gangster have hurled him back into the spotlight.

I was honestly surprised at the success of this film. I loved it but was unsure how audiences would react to the un hollywood ending. It's not often you see a film that catches you so off guard at the end when you're prepared for the storybook ending and end up with something completely different.

There Will Be Blood (2007)
Directed by: Paul Thomas Anderson
Written by: Paul Thomas Anderson & Upton Sinclair
Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Paul Dano & Kevin J. O'Connor

Summary:
In the 1890s, Daniel Plainview, a struggling silver miner, finds his true wealth in petroleum extraction while taking the orphaned child, H.W., as his own for a valuable family man image. In 1911, Plainview gets a tip on a valuable supply on the struggling Sunday family ranch in the impoverished Little Boston, California. In his quest to acquire the property, Plainview meets the sanctimonious Eli Sunday, the young reverend of the local church with his own ambitions for his diocese and the profit from the oil. As the oil wells begin, an escalating conflict arises between exploiters of many kinds while Plainview's canny ruthlessness gradually sinks into a slowly mounting malevolent madness. In doing so, it begins to drive every emotional bond away that all the wealth he gains can never replace.

My View:
There Will Be Blood is truly a masterpiece. I think I've loved every single P.T. Anderson film with the exception of Punch-Drunk Love, but I was totally unprepared for what I was about to see. Anderson crafts a spellbinding film with one of the best performances ever.

I've referred to Daniel Day-Lewis as today's greatest living actor but I don't think I fully believed until I saw this movie. The sheer intensity and drive of this character is amazing. There is a reason he doesn't make a film every year, because other need to win oscars too. I'm really surprised Paul Dano didn't get a nomination either. He's a great young actor who held his own quite well trading words with Day-Lewis' Plainview.

The film just looks beautiful too. The cinematography and art direction is gorgeous. If you want to be blown away by a film, check out There Will Be Blood.