With the Oscars behind us now, I thought it would be time, finally, to reveal my picks for the top ten films of 2007, along with some other choices, even an honorable mention.

1. Into the Wild

Every year there are typically a select few films that I unabashedly love. Last year there were three, with United 93, Little Children, and Children of Men. This year, there was one. Into the Wild. Sean Penn’s glorious, emotionally wrenching tale takes us all around the country with 23-year-old Christopher McCandless (Emile Hirsch, in a star-making turn), who decides to abandon his family, his belongings, everything, so that he can live a life free of consumerism and redundancy. The film features a lot of great performances, particularly by Catherine Keener, William Hurt, and Marcia Gay Harden, but it’s Hal Halbrook who delivers my favorite performance of the year. As an aging patriarchal figure to the young Christopher, he becomes the heart and center of the film, especially in one brief, heart-wrenching scene, where he makes an offer that the young boy may or may not refuse . Into the Wild is an extraordinary piece of work that I will carry with me for a long time to come. (more…)

Irena (Simone Simon) likes to visit the zoo. It seems normal doesn’t it? A grown woman at the zoo. Even better, there’s a specific place she likes to spend her time, walking slowly as if she hasn’t a care in the world for what’s in the cage in front of her. The panther stares at her, reacting strangely to her prescence. Deep down she knows she has more in common with this panther than the average person. But she probably shouldn’t let that on to anyone. That’s why she hides and fears human contact. Upon meeting and instantly falling in love with Oliver (Kent Smith), she feels she can only allow him so far. Hopefully he won’t ever make her angry, or else the cat inside her could be unleashed.

Cat People has a fairly stupid premise, one that’s akin to something in the first season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but it’s so visually arresting and meticulously directed by French director Jacques Tourneur, that the film, as short and swift as it may be, becomes a horror movie on a whole other level. I wouldn’t compare it to Hitchcock, but it’s got a lot of his flair, and the notion that what is not seen is scarier than what is seen (more…)

Who will win on Sunday night? I have no idea. And that’s kind of exciting. For the first time in many years, the race is totally open this year, with only Daniel Day Lewis, Javiar Bardem, and Diablo Cody the sure things to win. No Country for Old Men has a close lock on Best Picture as well, but who knows? Any of the films truly has a chance. I went out on a limb with a few of these… I honestly think Julie Christie will win but Page is the wild card. Might as well be a little bit ambitious with my picks, right? I think because of the variety of films this year the Academy will spread the wealth around, and that’s what I’m counting on this year with my picks.

Best Picture

• No Country for Old Men

Best Director

• Julian Schnabel, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Best Actor

• Daniel Day Lewis, There Will Be Blood 

Best Actress

• Ellen Page, Juno 

Best Supporting Actor

• Javiar Bardem, No Country for Old Men

Best Supporting Actress 

• Ruby Dee, American Gangster 

Best Original Screenplay

• Diablo Cody, Juno

Best Adapted Screenplay

• The Coen Brothers, No Country for Old Men

Best Animated Feature

• Ratatouille 

Best Documentary Feature

• No End in Sight 

 The Oscars are Sunday night on ABC!

David Lynch is one of the most talked about filmmakers of his generation. His films include Eraserhead, The Elephant Man, Blue Velvet, Wild at Heart, Lost Highway, and the newly released three-hour epic Inland Empire. His films dare to be more than just movies. They get inside the viewer’s head and become implanted in the memory. They hit the viewer on an emotional level, usually through the use of visual means. They feature career-best performances from exciting actors like Anthony Hopkins, Dennis Hopper, Isabella Rossellini, and Laura Dern. All of his films are truly special and offer unique, dream-like journeys for the viewer. Arguably his most successful film, and the one that really gets inside the viewer’s head, is his 2001 Oscar-nominated masterpiece Mulholland Drive.

Merely mentioning Mulholland Drive brings up many different ideas about what kind of genre it is. Is it a drama? A thriller? A love story perfect for Valentine’s Day? (more…)

Last week acclaimed director Mark Romanek pulled out of the new Universal version of The Wolf Man, and the project became front and center of the week’s movie news. It appeared that every director with a lull in his schedule was interested in taking over for Romanek. Frank Darabont. James Mangold. Joe Johnston (who got the job). Even Brett I-can-direct-anything-you-ask-me-to Ratner was rumored to be in talks for the job. I found it pretty astonishing that a handful of directors with great talent and a repertoire of excellent, memorable films would make themselves immediately available for a project that was essentially all set to go creatively. Darabont especially seemed an odd but possibly inspired choice. What about the subject matter attracted these guys? I’m sure that classic 1941 movie has all to do with it.

While not in the same league as the beautiful Bride of Frankenstein and freakishly entertaining The Invisible Man, the classic The Wolf Man, starring Lon Chaney Jr in the title role, is a lot of eerie hokey fun that breezes by faster than a hot summer afternoon at the beach. I almost want to revitalize this trend from the 30’s and 40’s of making fun, slick horror films that last never more (more…)

I remember back in November 1997, back when I was a lad no more than 13, I paid my whopping 4 bucks for a matinee showing of Starship Troopers, skipped by the concession stand (an undying trend of mine), and took my seat at the now-destroyed Century 11 in Reno, Nevada. The lights went down, and a mysterious trailer began that featured a goofy old man fishing off of a New York City dock. There was a sudden rattle, then a scream, then a giant head coming at the dock. GODZILLA! Sweet! Six months went by, and one of the most disappointing summer movies ever unleashed itself on movie screens around the world. I was loving almost every movie back around 1998 but I still managed to see the suck factor that was Godzilla.

And so we’ve been waiting for another monster-themed modern-day New York City movie ever since but haven’t really had one to wet our appetites. King Kong hit similiar territory at the end, but I feel that didn’t really count in the scheme of things. I wanted good old fashioned 90 minutes of big creature destruction. Well, it took ten years for a movie to get the sour taste (more…)