Todd’s 2007 Year-In-Review

THE BEST OF 2007

99 Francs
Jan Kounen’s return to the big screen is a simply enormous triumph, the perfect fusion of content and style.  A riot of color and technique draped over a stinging critique of consumer culture and those who manipulate it for their own gain.  The fact that nobody has picked this up in North America yet is simply baffling to me.
My review here.

The Amazing Screw On Head
I love me some Hellboy and am more than a little excited about the upcoming second Hellboy feature but the best on screen adaptation of Mike Mignola’s work took place not on the big screen but the small, with the animated pilot for The Amazing Screw On Head - a simply brilliant show that, for no good reason that I can see, was not picked up beyond the pilot.  Don’t be too proud to take what you can get, though, this is a true gem.
My review here.

Control
Director Anton Corbjin has said his bio-pic of Joy Division front man Ian Curtis is the only film he ever intends to direct and if he’s really going one-and-out then he’s done it in the best possible way.  A music film that transcends music boundaries it’s a truly moving study of a very flawed man anchored by stellar performances from all involved.  Plus the soundtrack kicks.
My review here.

Crows 0
All of the attention thrown Takashi Miike’s way this year went towards his loopy English language Sukiyaki Western Django and as much as I love that film I must also concede that people were looking the wrong way.  Crows 0 is much better.  The violent high school drama balances Miike’s high style with an engaging blend of characters and proves once again that very few directors in the world work better with young performers than does Miike.  And, like Control, the soundtrack kicks.
My review here.

Ex Drummer
Koen Mortier’s debut film often gets labeled a Belgian answer to Trainspotting, which is fair enough but also somewhat limiting.  While it shares a number of common threads with Danny Boyle’s film, Mortier’s is entirely its own beast and a raw, energetic beast it is.  You’ll leave feeling beat up and that’s exactly how Mortier wants it.  And, keeping up the trend of the past few entries, the soundtrack kicks.
My review here.

Inside
The single most harrowing experience you will have with a film in the next year.  Guaranteed.  For a fun time, buy it for Mom.
My review here.

King of the Hill
Gonzalo Lopez-Gallego’s third film is a stunning bit of work, a film that sets up like any number of similar lost-in-the-woods thrillers before turning on its audience with a nasty backhand to the chops.  It’s one ballsy piece of work expertly handled and guaranteed to provoke fierce discussion anywhere it screens.
My review here.

My Winnipeg
Go Guy! Canada’s reigning auteur of the odd returns with a brilliantly bizarre ode to his hometown of Winnipeg that is as much a deconstruction of his own psyche as a historical study of the town he reluctantly calls home.  Hilarious, insightful and loaded with more striking imagery per minute than any big budget blockbuster.
My review here.

Nightmare Detective
Japanese auteur Shinya Tsukamoto returns here with a stated attempt at mainstream entertainment that is so incredibly left of centre that only someone as profoundly unusual as Tsukamoto could possibly call it mainstream with a straight face.  A deeply disturbing mind game loaded with shocking images of self loathing and self mutilation it’s vintage Tsukamoto - the sort of thing that could only come from the man who created Tetsuo.
Kurt’s review here.

Son of Rambow
Hitch Hiker’s Guide director Garth Jennings makes his real debut here ... sure, Hitch Hiker’s came first but that was a for hire job and here we get the pure, undiluted Jennings treatment and it’s brilliant.  Charming, smart, funny and endlessly inventive it is a shameless feel good film that has no reason for shame whatsoever.  Just go and enjoy.
My review here.

Tekkon Kinkreet
I’ve read some reviews of the latest from Japan’s Studio 4C criticizing it for being light on story and character work which, frankly, just confuses me.  It’s a visually stunning piece of work but by no means neglects its characters or the underlying themes of maintaining a sense of self in the face of never ending change ... maybe the people who criticize it were just so distracted by the visuals that they didn’t notice that there were other things going on, too.
Ardvark’s review here.

There Will Be Blood
P.T. Anderson grows up and steps away from his MTV style for one of the most compelling character studies in recent years.  That it doubles as a scathing critique of the American triumvirate of capitalism, religion and consumption only sweetens the deal.  Yeah, this deserves all the praise it’s been getting.
My review here.

Time Crimes
Yes, I have some connections to the debut feature from Oscar nominated Spanish director Nacho Vigalondo but before the cries of nepotism go out let me point out that the sly time travel thriller took home the best picture hardware at Fantastic Fest and is soon to screen at Sundance so, obviously, there are people other than me who also look kindly upon it.  And whether you can agree that it is one of the best films overall in 2007, surely we can at least agree that it is the best film that includes my name in the credits.

WORST FILM OF THE YEAR

Captain Mike Across America
The latest from Michael Moore is a complete waste of film, a self congratulatory puff piece with nothing to say of any import and nothing to say at all, really, beyond just how fond Moore is of himself.  It wastes the opportunity to talk about important political issues in the US in favour of shot after shot after shot of crowds cheering Moore as he enters crowded stadia, not even bothering to include sound bites of the political issues Moore was supposedly in those stadia to address.  Plus,it’s boring.  And this is coming from someone who generally shares Moore’s political views and has enjoyed his earlier work.

TO LOOK FORWARD TO IN 2008

There’s a bunch of good stuff coming down the line in 2008 but these are the ones that have my interests piques the most: Mamoru Oshii’s Sky Crawlers, the new picture from Funky Forest director Katsuhito Ishii, Russian period epic Taras Bulba, Ole Christian Madsen’s WWII drama Flame and Citron, Lars von Trier’s Antichrist, AJ Anilla’s Finnish horror Sauna, Sword Bearer director Phillip Yankovsky’s boxing drama Rock Head and upcoming Korean western The Good, The Bad and The Weird.