Films seen in 2007

Submitted by 1922 on Tue, 01/02/2007 - 05:31
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  1. December

  2. 31: /The Simpsons Movie/ (Silverman, 2007)

    ***

  3. 26: Love Story (Hiller, 1970)

    ***

  4. 25: Elizabeth: The Golden Age (Kapur, 2007)

    **

  5. 19: /2 Days in Paris/ (Delpy, 2007)

    ***

  6. 18: The Golden Compass (Weitz, 2007)

    *

  7. 10: /C.R.A.Z.Y./ (Vallée, 2005)

    *****

  8. 04: /Christmas Vacation/ (Chechik, 1989)

    *

  9. 02: 30 Days of Night (Slade, 2007)

    *

  10. November

  11. 26: /Ichi the Killer/ (Miike, 2001)

    *

  12. 25: Prince of Darkness (Carpenter, 1987)

    *

  13. 24: Over the Hedge (Johnson, Kirkpatrick, 2006)

    *

  14. 23: Dude, where's my car? (Leiner, 2000)

    0

  15. 21: Beowulf (Zemeckis, 2007)

    *

  16. 20: /Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (Tarantino, 2003)

    ***

  17. 18: /Se7en/ (Fincher, 1995)

    ****

  18. 16: /Manhattan Murder Mystery/ (Allen, 1993)

    *****

  19. 14: Kung Fu Hustle (Chow, 2004)

    **

  20. 10: /Manhattan Murder Mystery/ (Allen, 1993)

    *****

  21. 09: Shadows and Fog (Allen, 1992)

    ***

  22. 06: The Reaping (Collins, 2007)

    0

  23. 05: /Halloween/ (Carpenter, 1978)

    *****

  24. October

  25. 28: /The Descent/ (Marshall, 2005)

    ***

  26. 28: Wolf Creek (McLean, 2005)

    *

  27. 26: /Pan's Labyrinth/ (Del Toro, 2006)

    ****

  28. 20: /The Matrix/ (Wachoswki, 1999)

    *

  29. 17: Alien: Director's Cut (Scott, 1979/2004)

    *****

  30. 13: Take the Money and Run (Allen, 2007)

    **

  31. 12: Ratatouille (Bird, 2007)

    **

  32. 03: I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry (Dugan, 2007)

    *

  33. September

  34. 30: A.I. Assault (Wynorski, 2006)

    00

  35. 26: 4 luni, 3 saptamani si 2 zile (Mungiu, 2007)

    0

  36. 22: 1408 (Hafström, 2007)

    0

  37. 20: Desperation (Garris, 2006)

    *

  38. 09: /Pulp Fiction/ (Tarantino, 1994)

    *

  39. 06: Silent Hill (Gans, 2006)

    0

  40. 05: Mulholland Falls (Tamahori, 1996)

    **

  41. 04: Blood Diamond (Zwick, 2006)

    **

  42. 03: /American Psycho/ (Harron, 2000)

    *

  43. 02: The Blob (Russell, 1988)

    0

  44. August

  45. 27: La cage aux folles (Molinaro, 1978)

    **

  46. 26: 2 Days in Paris (Delpy, 2007)

    ****

  47. 24: Waist Deep (Hall, 2006)

    00

  48. 21: Deus e o diabo na terra do sol (Rocha, 1964)

    ****

  49. 20: Alien Autopsy (Campbell, 2006)

    **

  50. 19: Naissance des pieuvres (Sciamma, 2007)

    *

  51. 18: Open Water 2: Adrift (Horn, 2006)

    0

  52. 17: /Broken Flowers/ (Jarmusch, 2005)

    ***

  53. 16: /The Prestige/ (Nolan, 2006)

    *****

  54. 15: /Volver/ (Almodóvar, 2006)

    ***

  55. 15: /The Simpsons Movie/ (Silverman, 2007)

    ***

  56. 14: /The Naked Gun/ (Zucker, Abrahams, Zucker, 1988)

    ***

  57. 14: /The Nightmare Before Christmas/ (Selick, 1993)

    ***

  58. 13: Cars (Lasseter, 2006)

    **

  59. 11: World Trade Center (Stone, 2006)

    00

  60. 09: The Descent (Marshall, 2005)

    ***

  61. 09: Grizzly Man (Herzog, 2005)

    *

  62. 08: Separate Lies (Fellowes, 2005)

    **

  63. 08: Humanoids from the Deep (Peters & Murakami, 1980)

    0

  64. 07: House of Sand and Fog (Perelman, 2003)

    **

  65. 07: The Simpsons Movie (Silverman, 2007)

    ***

  66. 07: The New World (Malick, 2005)

    **

  67. 06: /Manhattan/ (Allen, 1979)

    ***

  68. 06: Match Point (Allen, 2005)

    ***

  69. 06: Kiss of Death (Schroeder, 1995)

    0

  70. Often copying Martin Scorsese's Casino, this flat and unappealing thriller never gets off the ground of utter boredom, which is also due to the lame acting and the structural and narrative weaknesses of the script. Forgettable.
  71. 05: /Joy Ride/ (Dahl, 2001)

    *

  72. Although it might be rather predictable, this horror roadmovie is certainly not the worst of its kind. Steve Zahn is annoying though.
  73. 04: /Annie Hall/ (Allen, 1977)

    ****

  74. 04: /Requiem for a Dream/ (Aronofsky, 2000)

    *****

  75. 03: /Hannah and her Sisters/ (Allen, 1986)

    ****

  76. 03: Night at the Museum (Levy, 2006)

    **

  77. 03: /The Exorcist- Director's Cut/ (Friedkin, 1973, 2001)

    ***

  78. 02: /Little Miss Sunshine/ (Dayton & Faris, 2006)

    ***

  79. 01: Dead Again (Branagh, 1991)

    ***

  80. July

  81. 31: Final Destination 3 (Wong, 2006)

    *

  82. 31: The Breed (Mastandrea, 2006)

    0

  83. 30: Borat (Charles, 2006)

    *

  84. 19: Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten (Temple, 2007)

    **

  85. 14: /The Texas Chain Saw Massacre/ (Hooper, 1974)

    ****

  86. 13: Ice Age: The Meltdown (Saldanha, 2006)

    *

  87. While this sequel may be suitable for kids, it might just as well be yet another digital animation for all the others.
  88. 08: Pi (Aronofsky, 1998)

    ****

  89. An intriguing portrayal of obsession, underlining at the same time the fascination of the numeral universe. Outstanding acting by Sean Gullette, dashing camera work by Matthew Libatique and electrifying musical score by Clint Mansell.
  90. 03: /American Psycho/ (Harron, 2000)

    *

  91. Although this film seems to develop more of its potential with repeat viewings and even though Christian Bale is strikingly charismatic as the film's pivotal character, American Psycho remains a much more superficial and eventually pretentious look at our contemporary society than it probably wants itself to be.
  92. 02: /Creepshow/ (Romero, 1982)

    ***

  93. Still the same exquisitely charming hybrid of humour and horror, with the episode of the crate, starring John Carpenter-regulars Hal Holbrook and Adrienne Barbeau, as its splendid highlight.
  94. 01: An American Werewolf in London (Landis, 1981)

    ***

  95. An intelligent horror film giving additional pep to the well-known werewolf myth, interspersed with humorous moments and some striking musical themes. Outstanding make-up.

  96. June

  97. 30: Re-Animator (Gordon, 1985)

    0

  98. What is hilarious and ultimately entertaining in Peter Jackson's Braindead just seems like a dragging, disgusting and eventually braindead gore feast in this horror-comedy-mixture.
  99. 24: Braindead (Jackson, 1992)

    ***

  100. A hilarious, and ultra-bloody zombie parody, chock full of original and entertaining ideas. Ideal for a night of fun.

  101. May

  102. 29: Twilight Zone (Dante, Landis, Miller, Spielberg, 1983)

    ***

  103. An entertaining and riveting collection of fantasy-stories, getting gradually better and peaking in George Miller's awesome airplane episode starring John Lithgow and the gremlin.
  104. 18: Donnie Darko (Kelly, 2001)

    **

  105. A metaphorically complex, though partly overconstructed thriller with atmospheric settings and a slightly anti-climactic plot.

  106. April

  107. 29: Sunshine (Boyle, 2007)

    0

  108. Vastly inspired by Alien, 2001 and, in some parts at least Star Wars, Boyle's most recent work indecisively hops between horror-, philsophical-metaphysical- and fantasy sci-fi, never finding its own mould. What a waste of talent and potential.

  109. March

  110. 27: /The Prestige/ (Nolan, 2006)

    ****

  111. Still enchanting, masterfully directed and awesomely acted, above all by Sir Michael Caine.
  112. 14: Ella Enchanted (O'Haver, 2004)

    *

  113. In all of its deliberately kitschy glory, the film works quite well. Good entertainment, not more, not less.
  114. 12: From Dusk Till Dawn (Rodriguez, 1996)

    0

  115. An unbalanced, awkward genre mixture, rather uninspiredly varying the vampire motive. Some original and funny ideas, yes, but eventually cynical and unpleasant.
  116. 10: /The Departed/ (Scorsese, 2006)

    ***

  117. A thrilling, awesomely directed ride full of twists. It's about identity, truth, lies and trust. Four well-deserved Academy Awards.
  118. 10: Affliction (Schrader, 1997)

    **

  119. Thoroughly great acting by Nick Nolte, Sissy Spacek and James Coburn. A slowly paced, but sensitive and deep-diving mixture of thriller and drama.
  120. 09: Throttle (Seale, 2005)

    00

  121. Amateurish, cheap, awkward, silly, ridiculous. These adjectives perfectly fit this pseudo-thriller, loaded with crappy special effects and a particularly lame story.
  122. 08: /Haute Tension/ (Aja, 2003)

    **

  123. Even though the gore takes away any serious appeal, the final twist seems much more credible during a second viewing.
  124. 06: /Marathon Man/ (Schlesinger, 1976)

    ****

  125. A breathtaking thriller about remembrance and past, extraordinarily well-acted by Dustin Hoffman and Laurence Olivier.
  126. 05: Locusts: The 8th Plague (Gilmour, 2005)

    00

  127. An ultra-cheap 90 minutes-commercial for bio products, camouflaged as an attack of mutant plastic locusts. Every 80s-video game looks better and more realistic.
  128. 02: The Last King of Scotland (Macdonald, 2006)

    *

  129. Whitaker is charismatic, though not entirely impressive. The film seems rather like a lurid polit-thriller than a portrait of Idi Amin or his dictatorship in Uganda.
  130. 01: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Jennings, 2005)

    *

  131. The originally splendid, almost epic imagination and satirical appeal contrast with the eventually conventional dramaturgy and the unfittingly hyperbolic acting.
  132. 01: /War Games/ (Badham, 1983)

    **

  133. The film never fully utilizes its claustrophobic potential, and remains thus a "mere" entertainment film. But a good one, at least.
  134. 01: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (Liebesman, 2006)

    00

  135. What starts off in a routined way soon turns out to be an utterly disgusting, predictable and finally boring...something.

  136. February

  137. 27: Mr. and Mrs. Smith (Liman, 2004)

    *

  138. This action comedy is clichéd and unoriginal to the bone, but it still presents some nice action scenes.
  139. 27: Inland Empire (Lynch, 2006)

    ***

  140. Probably Lynch's heaviest and most puzzling work so far, it runs a bit too long and can therefore not avoid several periods of boredom, in spite of its laudable visual and acoustic qualities.
  141. 25: Serenity (Whedon, 2005)

    0

  142. The cheap look, badly timed jokes and the eventually banal story make this one of galaxy's major boredoms.
  143. 24: When a Stranger Calls (West, 2006)

    00

  144. What could theoretically have been a somewhat atmospheric horror thriller ends up in a cheap, downright ridiculous and implausible disaster.
  145. 23: Letters from Iwo Jima (Eastwood, 2006)

    ***

  146. Due to its enormous authenticity, this is one of the finest war films made in the past years, with a brilliant acting by Ken Watanabe and a solid direction by Clint Eastwood.
  147. 22: Children of Men (Cuarón, 2006)

    ***

  148. A breathtaking thriller which fortunately focuses on the story itself and the disquieting aspects of this dark and unpredictable, but thoroughly credible vision of future.
  149. 22: El Laberinto del Fauno (Del Toro, 2006)

    ****

  150. Visually stunning and narratively poetic, this fairy tale gives an enchanting insight into the world of a young girl, torn between a fantasy universe and the cruel reality of Spanish Civil War.
  151. 21: Le grand voyage (Ferroukhi, 2004)

    *

  152. At first an appealing pleading for tolerance and a moving portrait of a young man, at the crossroads between French modernity and Muslim tradition, it leaves an unpleasent aftertaste and a somewhat inconclusive ending.
  153. 20: /Picnic at Hanging Rock/ (Weir, 1975)

    ****

  154. The portrayal of the picnic itself easily stands among the strongest cinematic moments of the 70s.
  155. 19: Fresa y chocolate (Alea, Tabío, 1994)

    ***

  156. Not just the portrait of an unusual friendship between a hetero- and a homosexual, but also a plea for more tolerance and a bodacious portrait of Communist Cuba.
  157. 17: Apur Sansar- The World of Apu (Ray, 1959)

    *****

  158. The concluding chapter of Satyajit Ray's groundbreaking Apu-trilogy. Moving, life-affirming and deeply, deeply honest.
  159. 17: Plata quemada (Piñeyro, 2000)

    0

  160. In spite of some ably erotic moments, this Argentinian-Spanish coproduction never lives up to its claim and remains a superficial, forgettable film experience.
  161. 16: Aparajito- The Unvanquished (Ray, 1956)

    *****

  162. Focusing on Apu's teenage years, this second among three instalments presents itself as a vivid, mesmerizing cinematic moment of the 50s and Indian cinema in general.
  163. 15: Lilies- Les feluettes (Greyson, 1996)

    *

  164. While the melting distinction between reality and stage production has its appeal, it unfortunately never gets rid of its TV movie-look, which considerably diminishes its zest.
  165. 15: Pather Panchali (Ray, 1955)

    *****

  166. What a fascinating and deeply involving offbeat. The acting is epic.
  167. 12: Halloween II (Rosenthal, 1981)

    *

  168. The first of many sequels probably marks the transition from a genre classic like Halloween to the production line pseudo-horror crap made nowadays.
  169. 12: Yossi & Jagger (Fox, 2002)

    ***

  170. Concentrating less on the Israel-Palestine-conflict than on the central homosexual love story, Eytan Fox develops a remarkable sensitivity, remote from any clichés.
  171. 10: Monty Python and the Holy Grail (Gilliam, Jones, 1975)

    ***

  172. While it doesn't quite live up to all of its hype, this is an at times hilarious Pythonian comedy, full of original ideas.
  173. 10: Das Leben der Anderen (Von Donnersmarck, 2006)

    **

  174. A discomforting drama set in G"D"R, with huge, though believable evolutions in the film's main characters. Gorgeous acting.
  175. 05: Nuovo Cinema Paradiso- Director's Cut (Tornatore, 1988)

    **********

  176. Has there ever been made a more beautiful and poetic film than this one? (For those who didn't notice it: this was a rhetoric question.)
  177. 04: Dawn of the Dead (Romero, 1978)

    *

  178. In spite of the atmospheric settings and the intelligent initial idea, the boredom that surfaces during the 140 minutes of runtime seems much more threatening than the living dead.
  179. 03: Otesánek (Svankmajer, 2000)

    ***

  180. A splendid tale, full of black humour and sublime fantasy. The stop-motion-technique entirely fulfills its purpose. Svankmajer might be the greatest storyteller in Europe.
  181. 01: Picnic at Hanging Rock (Weir, 1975)

    ****

  182. Unsettling, atmospheric film, based on striking contrasts, encompassing the central conflict between imported Victorian culture and indigenous Australian nature.
  183. 01: /Love and Death/ (Allen, 1975)

    ****

  184. Despite the lack of density in its narration due to the episodic gag form, this is first class-entertainment at a high level, based on both, slapstick and verbal jokes.

  185. January

  186. 31: Hard Candy (Slade, 2005)

    *

  187. For from being as atmospheric and intense as it could be, David Slade unfortunately preferred emphasizing the thriller elements of the story instead of focussing on the more controversial, "insecure" issues.
  188. 30: Everything Is Illuminated (Schreiber, 2005)

    **

  189. A sweet little film, creating a deliberately naive, but heart-warming portrait of Ukraine.
  190. 29: /Die Blechtrommel/ (Schlöndorff, 1979)

    *

  191. The films runs too long without focus, and seems rather like a mere succession of various episodes. Perhaps as uncathartic as can be.
  192. 28: 21 Grams (Iñárritu, 2003)

    **

  193. While the connections between the three stories seemed congruous and thematically motivated in "Amores Perros" resp. "Babel", the interdependence of these stories is a bit too arbitrary.
  194. 25: /Requiem for a Dream/ (Aronofsky, 2000)

    *****

  195. Still the same nightmarish, hallucinating and paralyzing trip. Ellen Burstyn delivers a performance that sweeps every other acting show you will see in a while.
  196. 23: Coffee and Cigarettes (Jarmusch, 2003)

    **

  197. Jarmusch remarkably shows how interesting and enlightening coffee table conversations can be. Just like coffee itself: Not to everyone's taste, but worth trying. I'm not sure about the addictive character though.
  198. 22: Mystery Train (Jarmusch, 1989)

    ****

  199. A rhythmical and harmonious episodic film, refreshingly unspectacular and wonderfully ironic.
  200. 21: Paris, je t'aime (various, 2006)

    ***

  201. Even though the various episodes are of varying quality, not just the prestigious cast and directorial crew make this worth a look.
  202. 19: Crash (Cronenberg, 1996)

    **

  203. A dark, mechanic and devastatingly inhuman film, where the fusion between machine and human being, one of Cronenberg's favourite topics, is strongly represented.
  204. 18: Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (McNaughton, 1986)

    ***

    [cut, fuck the censors!]
  205. Just as violent as some scenes might be in the original version (I can only guess) is also the censorship of the version I saw. What I saw though, makes me curious about more. Gritty, tough, and totally unsentimental.
  206. 16: Permanent Vacation (Jarmusch, 1980)

    ***

  207. Perhaps the prototype of the indie-film: extremely low budget, naturalistic settings and authentic acting, raw sound and rough images.
  208. 13: Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* But Were Afraid to Ask (Allen, 1972)

    **

  209. At times hilarious, at others rather lame. The whole thing gives a bit of an amateurishly awkward impression.
  210. 12: Hannah and her Sisters (Allen, 1986)

    ****

  211. In its character drawing perfect from start to finish. Excellent acting by Michael Caine and the likes, and, of course, awesome dialogues resp. monologues.
  212. 11: The Queen (Frears, 2006)

    *

  213. Although impeccably acted and written, the film never gets over the striking vanity and triviality of its content and remains therefore a too conservative portrait.
  214. 10: /C.R.A.Z.Y./ (Vallée, 2006)

    *****

  215. An emotionally sensitive and psychologically deep insight into the finding of sexuality. At the same time a vibrating portrait of Québec from the 60s till the early 80s.
  216. 05: Ichi, the Killer (Miike, 2001)

    **

  217. An ultra-violent, thought-provocative genre mixture. Compared to this, Western cinema is innocent.
  218. 04: The Prestige (Nolan, 2006)

    *****

  219. Outstanding entertainment on a comparably high level. Magical, enchanting and thrilling. Chris Nolan rocks!
  220. 02: The Hills Have Eyes (Aja, 2006)

    **

  221. A violent, yet involving and even intelligent gore film. This has faced a lot of unfair treatment, by just being handled like the rest of the current pseudo-horror crap.
Author Comments: 

/rewatched/

(S) = Short
(TV) = Tv Movie
(V) = straight-to-video or -DVD-release

Ratings out of 5 stars.

Shorts:
October 7: Batman: Dead End (Collora, 2003)
July 24: The Alphabet (Lynch, 1968)
July 18: Vincent (Burton, 1982)
June 29: Robe d'été (Ozon, 1996)
January 27: Six Figures Getting Sick (Lynch, 1966)
January 27: From the Drain (Cronenberg, 1967)
January 17: /The Kiss/ (Edison, 1896)
January 17: /L'arroseur arrosé/ (Lumière, 1896)
January 15: The Kiss (Edison, 1896)
January 15: /L'arroseur arrosé/ (Lumière, 1896)

Cloned From: 
Films seen in 2006
Rushmore01/24/2007

i was let down by Coffee and Cigarettes . i watchged it back in 2004, and was looking forward to it. However, i didn't laugh much and i love quirky comedy, the only segment i enjoyed was "Cousins?" with Alfred Molina & Steve Coogan

192201/25/2007

Since I am a big fan of Jim Jarmusch, I couldn't go without watching Coffee and Cigarettes as well. As you can see, I liked it a lot, but it is nevertheless Jarmusch's weakest work.

jay_b02/01/2007

Hey what about that Picnic, mate? 4 squids, ey? Well yes it's a bewdy but it loses steam after awile. ;)

192202/03/2007

4 stars, indeed. I admit though that it loses a bit of grip in the second half, but I still consider it a powerful portrait of a decaying Victorian society.
As for the first half, I have rarely seen an intense atmosphere directed in such a masterful way.

Yep, I guess you'll have to live with these 4 "squids". :)

jay_b02/06/2007

;) You'll probable like The Last Wave too, it's also very atmospheric.

jay_b02/12/2007

Holy Grail, 3 squids? Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo...

jay_b02/12/2007

...oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! ;)

192202/13/2007

YES! "Only" 3 of them. Well, at least I understand the title of your viewing log now. ;)

jay_b02/13/2007

Did it make you laugh as you got my reference? :D

192202/14/2007

Haha, yeah, it did. :)

jay_b02/15/2007

:D

L. Burnham02/17/2007

I don't believe you when you say "Plata quemada" is awful.

jay_b03/06/2007

Upps, I've noticed it only now, you've been writing some capsules there. Anyway I'm totally liking them. Keep it up. ;)

192203/06/2007

Thanks.

Actually you inspired me there. ;)

jay_b03/07/2007

And yet I was inspired by others, notable people who wrote these things before me... among them you too with you're review write-ups. So the circle of inspiration goes round. ;)

Rushmore03/08/2007

Haute Tension, i really wanna see that

dang mate, at start of year we were watching about same amount of movies i was thinking "ah ok , well i'm keeping with 1922's pace" now your speeding ahead!

192203/17/2007

Haha, don't worry. I'll slow down again soon. ;)

jay_b04/15/2007

Anybody there?
[echoing]
anybody theeeeere... anybdy therrrrrr... any thereee... thereeee
:)

192204/20/2007

Ahh, there you are. :D

How is it going? Where have ya been?

P.S.: Still no MSN? XD

jay_b04/21/2007

But I was looking for you. ?) :)
Anyhow it's good, I guess, just had not much time to log much here.
So where you'e been?
And kinda yes, still no msn. ×)

192204/29/2007

Hah, I was also, subliminally at least, looking for you. :p
Well, lately, I don't get much around to watching films, but perhaps you could inspire me (via MSN, I mean) to watch some. :D

P.S.: And I'll come back to fwfr as soon as possible.

Rushmore04/29/2007

ah your now one of few wh has seen sunshine, it appears we differ largely on the subject lol. i have to say i really enjoyed majority of it, though i feel it took serious nose dive in the last chapter, mainly when it turned into a monster roaming around slasher, but i enjoyed the rest.

RosieCotton05/05/2007

Your reviews are very apt. I envy your ability to get right to the point.

Martin198305/27/2007

We spell it "May" here :)

192205/29/2007

"Here"? Where? In that gritty-gruesome land of yours where people can't drive properly and where the fog is the major export good? ;)

jay_b07/16/2007

Wishing you the happiest birthday with some offset (baah... my blasted no-skill-of-whatsoever in remembering things). I hope you had a fun time celebrating. :)

192207/18/2007

Many many thanks. :)

Rushmore08/03/2007

** for Night at the Museum , thats being too nice :)

jay_b08/14/2007

Not fond of that Grizzly Man, how now?

jay_b12/11/2007

04: /Christmas Vacation/ (Chechik, 1989) *
O ney, this one's a timeless christmas movie for me. Ney, ney, ney... ney ney... ×)