Keene Equinox

Issue date: 2/7/08 Section: A & E

Media Credit: Jack Earl

As the ominous clouds gathered, it became clear that the weather forecast for films in 2007 called for dark, stormy rain along with the occasional tornado. If you could survive that which came with hurricane force, then a nice sun shower would brighten things up shortly afterwards. Unintentionally, as I grazed over my exceptional experiences at the movies this year, I noticed the thunderstorms and rainbows would be evenly distributed 50/50. Whether or not audiences could stomach it, this was a great year to visit the theater, rain or shine.

1. "No Country for Old Men" Forget "Fargo." This is the Coen Bros. as we've never seen before - steam-rolling, name-taking and brutal.

It's about a guy who finds $2 million, runs with it and faces opposition in the form of a man who must be a genetically enhanced, malicious hybrid of Hannibal Lector and the Terminator.

The screenplay is a cat-and-mouse masterpiece that interplays loyalty and redemption, morals and fate and cutthroat thrills.

Through editing and stylization, not to mention an extreme sense of where to end an unforgiving story, there isn't a movie out there like "No Country."



2. "There Will Be Blood" I have no idea what I've just seen. It's some sort of ageless miracle, or gift for cinema. So far "Blood" has been hailed as the "Citizen Kane" of the 21st century and I know something else: bar-none, Daniel Day-Lewis gives what will be the singular performance of many, many years.

As an oil prospector in the early 19th century and as a demon that makes a crime out of capitalism, Day-Lewis reaches beyond acting and into a realm that cannot be categorized. It's scary, volcanic and too real.

Though exclusively a character study, P. T. Anderson's beautiful epic will be the benchmark for film classes and discussions for quite some time. Count on it.



3. "Ratatouille" Just when you think you have Pixar Studios figured out and decoded, they come out, guns blazing with another timeless piece of animation.

There no longer is a need for introductions like "from the studio that brought you 'Toy Story' and 'Finding Nemo.'" Accept that there isn't a finer film company out there that understands what is required to reach audiences two to 82 and move on.

Their genius has never been so tested as when the story of a rat who wants to be a chef in Paris leaps on the screen.

It's outrageous, like all of their work, but so wholly acceptable. With "The Incredibles" director Brad Bird summoning the tastiest recipes in the creative cookbook, "Ratatouille" is unquestionably a perfect movie. Delicious.



4. "Knocked Up" / "Superbad" This one-two punch of comedy was the just the ticket for laughs the genre has needed since "Borat" jump-started the heart of it back in 2006.

Serving as writer and director of "Knocked Up" and as a producer of "Superbad,"

Judd Apatow has saved a dying craft. Both movies center on dweebs who could win the video game playing, beer drinking and pot smoking Olympics, but couldn't spell "dating" if they were given a dictionary.

It's such a wonderful thing to see Seth Rogen in "Knocked Up" and the three leads in "Superbad" choke on their words when trying to win over the opposite sex.

Apatow understands the complexities of being that uncool guy, but even more so, what it takes for them to be gut-busting funny while they're at it.



5. "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" Break out the umbrella, put on the rain coat, and close your eyes for "Sweeney Todd" bursts arteries and hoses its audience down with blood, singing and even more blood.

Todd, a barber, with the help of his landlady, Mrs. Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter), slits the throats of his customers and grinds their bodies up into meat pies only to get the judge who wrongly imprisoned him 15 years earlier in the chair.

Any other year, without the acting titan Daniel Day-Lewis, I would give Johnny Depp the performer of the year crown, dipped in the red plasma he so dearly loves. The chameleon is an actor without boundaries.

To master a Stephen Sondheim musical is one thing - a very, very difficult thing to do - but to actually infuse it with emotional notes on top of perfectly capable singing notes is unheard of.

Mix that with Tim Burton, one of the best visual directors working today, put the oven on high and you'll have a tale as disgustingly tasty as one of Mrs. Lovett's meat pies.



6. "Juno" You'll have to excuse my giddiness over the fact that the screenwriter for this film, Diablo Cody, was a former stripper.

I say this because "Juno" is not the product of its creator in the sense of being revealing, risqué or low-brow. It's entirely the opposite. Cody has found this quirky lingo that is so fluidly an attention catcher it's amazing.

The brilliant lead and title star, Ellen Page, makes her character even more intelligent and adolescent than the script. When she gets pregnant and decides to give her child away to a couple featured in a newspaper ad, you know deep down that life lessons ensue.

But again, for a movie so controlled and so unapologetically funny, "Juno" is different and deceivably lovable.



7. "Into the Wild" The fate of Christopher McCandless (Emile Hirsch) may have been sealed when he decided to burn his money, throw away his life of privilege and embark on a journey to the Alaskan wilderness.

Sean Penn directs Hirsch as if he was a na've and determined spoiled brat, but through what should be considered destiny, the McCandless' journey explodes with discovery and tragedy. The ride with him is just as fulfilling.



8. "Hairspray" If ever there were an actor who takes full advantage of the curves and crevasses of a fat suit, John Travolta delightfully fits the bill.

Sure as the mother of Tracy Turnblad (Nikki Blonsky), he sweeps everyone else under the carpet with his giddy Baltimore accent and dance moves that hark back to his days as a greaser, but it would be a crime to overlook the sheer feeling of this screen musical.

It's overloaded with joy. Sometimes, just for plain fun, we need a good sing-a-long like "Hairspray."



9. "Before The Devil Knows Your Dead." Sidney Lumet's 45th feature is the movie equivalent of a flash bang grenade.

The intertwining, Rubik's cube plot stuns and when the dust settles it stays with you like a sorrowing ghost.

Philip Seymour Hoffman has solidified his position as the male Meryl Streep and with the help of Ethan Hawke as his insecure brother, the two add crackling charisma to a thriller already overflowing with intensity. Bank robberies in film will never be the same again after this.



10. "Once" Guy meets girl. Guy sings for girl. Girl and guy hit it off. Both love music.

"Once" is a modern day musical in which the songs do not draw attention to themselves and the two leads live the story through them.

The two strangers collaborate on an album that is going to boost the "guy's" career as a up and coming musician.

The movie is shot like a documentary and follows the blossoming of their relationship quietly and slowly.

It's a small little film that features melodies that could break your heart. You only see stuff like this once.



Greg O'Neil is a freshman majoring in journalism. His views do not necessarily reflect those of The Equinox.

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