Nordling Weighs In On What 2007 Meant To Him!

Hey, everyone. ”Moriarty” here. Nordling’s a longtime friend of AICN, a regular BNAT attendee, and a guy who just plain eats, breathes, and shits movies. He doesn’t work in the industry. Nobody goes out of their way to make sure Nordling sees things early. He just loves movies and he goes out of his way to see as many as he can. And when he sent us his ten-best list, I thought it was worth running. I’m working on mine right now... it’s been tough, because I made sure I saw as much as possible before I started making the list itself, and that has been a big part of the last month or so. I’ve seen almost 45 movies since I ran this article at the very end of November, and thanks to many of you, I was able to catch up with most of what I wanted to. For now, I’ll leave you in the capable hands of the one, the only... Spielberg’s favorite AICN writer, Nordling:

What a fantastic year for movies. I don't know about you, but I had a great time. Best since 1999, without a doubt. I've got a pretty solid top ten, and there's some films I could easily fit in there, but I feel pretty comfortable with my list. Unlike some of my other lists, this is definitely a list of preference. I know exactly what my number one of the year is. Let's get to it! 10. THE MIST - A damn good horror film in a year where we've had too few of those. Frank Darabont knocks this Stephen King adaptation out of the park. Thomas Jane is very believable as the father trapped in the supermarket as the monsters come, and Marcia Gay Harden is excellent as well. But what makes this film is the ending. It's a knife-twister, and it shows Darabont ain't playing around. I think in a few years THE MIST will be more fondly remembered; it's intelligent, scary, and well-acted. The CGI's wonky, but I got over it. 9. JUNO - At first, the cadence of this little film takes some getting used to. Screenwriter Diablo Cody's shooting from the Tarantino pop culture hip here, but as the movie goes on, you start to understand why Juno (Ellen Page) talks the way she does. It's a front. She's a frightened girl when she discovers she's pregnant, but she decides to make lemonade from lemons and do some good for a childless couple (Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman). Unfortunately, life doesn't always color in the lines, and how these characters deal with those changes turn a mostly funny little comedy into a genuinely moving one. A terrific debut for Cody, and nicely restrained direction from Jason Reitman. 8. RATATOUILLE - I've said it before... Pixar is the new Wonka Factory. But what's great about RATATOUILLE is that it doesn't even attempt to just play for kids. There's seriously adult themes in this film, and for anyone interested in art in any fashion can take this message to heart. It's all about striving for excellence, and not settling for anything less than your best. And all in a movie about a rat that wants to cook. Brad Bird proved himself an auteur with this film, and Pixar continues their amazing stretch of filmmaking. Can't wait for WALL-E. 7. THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD - It's amazing to me that this is Andrew Dominic's second film (his first film is CHOPPER). There was a confidence in the direction that felt like it came from a more experienced hand. I've heard this film compared to Terence Malick's 1970s work, but other than maybe the cinematography I don't see the comparison. In the vernacular of THE COMMITMENTS, this film has corners, not spirals. It knows where it's going and how to get there. Brad Pitt is amazing as the doomed Jesse James, and Casey Affleck turns in an award-worthy performance as the creepy, skulking Ford. This is an elegiac Western, probably the best since UNFORGIVEN, and it's a shame how it got treated by the studio, because it demands to be seen on a giant screen. 6. INTO THE WILD - From this point in the list, it gets more difficult, because all these films just kicked my ass in different ways. INTO THE WILD is Sean Penn's best direction yet, telling the story of Chris McCandless (Emile Hirsch) and his journey across America, and dying of starvation in Alaska. Many reviewers have claimed that Penn has painted a rosy picture of McCandless with this film, but I idsagree. the major resonant theme of the film, to me, is that seeing the splendor and beauty of the world doesn't mean anything unless it's shared with others, and McCandless learned that lesson too late. I think Penn admires him for stepping off the grid, so to speak, but also admonishes his fierce belief that being alone is the preferred state of being. Wonderfully shot and acted with powerful performances, especially from Hal Holbrook, who plays a lonely old man who takes McCandless under his wing. 5. I'M NOT THERE - The trend of almost every biopic is to tell the linear story of the person being examined, going from A to B to C, without getting into their deeper impact or resonance. Sure, it's interesting to know the facts of their lives, but there's no emotional connection. Todd Haynes' audacious film about Bob Dylan just eschews all that to find a deeper emotional truth than a factual one. Dylan's life has been examined ad nauseam at this poiint, but what Haynes did here was to make you feel it - his impact, his art, his personality - and in such an original way. Here he puts Dylan's facets in a fictional setting, almost like a metaphorical blender, and what comes out is exhilarating. Special recognition must be paid to Cate Blanchett, who plays Dylan in his post-folk incarnation, and she's amazing in the part. It's difficult to see where she ends and Dylan begins. 4. ONCE - For a long time, this was my favorite film of the year. I've re-evaluated that, but that doesn't lessen this film's impact on me. It's a not-quite-musical set in the streets of Dublin as a guy and a girl discover their feelings for each other through their love of music. It's made on a shoestring budget and deals with intimate feelings and situations, yet the heart of this film soars above pretty much every giant blockbuster released in 2007. I adore the songs from the film, and I admire that it doesn't take the easy, Hollywood ending, instead finding something more true and spiritual. In it's way, it's a spiritual sequel to THE COMMITMENTS (which Glen Hansard, the male star of ONCE, appeared) in that THE COMMITMENTS showed how music helped those people overcome their lots in life, while ONCE has music introduce a person to their soulmate. Enchanting. 3. ZODIAC - This film blew me away when I first saw it, but over the months it fell behind other films that came along. But it never quite left my mind, David Fincher's study of obsession and how it destroyed three men's lives in the 1970's. Fincher meticulously puts the pieces together about the Zodiac Killer and when the film is over the viewer can actually speak intelligently about the subject. And at the same time, it's never dull. He's made a thriller here that has you on the edge of your seat while listening to two guys in a diner deconstructing a crime scene. This isn't just another serial killer movie - Fincher here explores the nature of obsession and how one can never, ever be entirely sure of what they think they know. It's his ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN. 2. NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN - Any other year, this would be #1. And it's still a masterpiece by the Coens, and I take nothing away from it. Javier Bardem plays a villain as iconic as Hannibal Lecter or Darth Vader. Josh Brolin has had a fantastic year with this performance and AMERICAN GANGSTER, and at first Tommy Lee Jones seems like typecasting but he gets to the heart of that character with such skill it's difficult to imagine another actor playing that part. It's a bleak movie but there's humor there and it treats the audience with intelligence that's been sorely lacking in too many studio films today. It defiantly forces you to make up your own mind. I know what the ending means to me, and I admire the Coens for letting me come up with it on my own. A perfect adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's novel. 1. THERE WILL BE BLOOD - No question. None. I was worried because I did not think the film would live up to the hype. EVERYONE was lauding it. It couldn't be that good. But... it IS! It really is. The great thing that Paul Thomas Anderson has done here is that you can watch the story as an allegory of greed, religion, and the parasitic nature of unfettered capitalism, or you can watch it as a story of two men who hate each other to the very core of their souls as they each attempt to belittle and rise above the other. Anderson has left it up to the audience on how they want to ingest this brilliant, magnificent film. It's symbolic, it's a character piece, it's uproariously funny at times, it's quotable as hell, beautifully shot, amazingly scored, it's venomously dark and yet you find yourself sympathizing with these foul, evil people. I can't wait to see it again, because this film's got more facets in it than the Hope Diamond. And, to top it off, it's very accessible. Paul Thomas Anderson fills THERE WILL BE BLOOD with some of the biggest themes imaginable, and yet the story remains completely intimate. It never gets away from him, not even during the film's final, insane scene, which I think I'll be quoting for years. It's more than a career-best work; it throws down the gauntlet. It serves as a parable for today's times, and when the best of the decade lists come down in a couple of years, any list that doesn't have this on it isn't worth reading. WORST FILM OF 2007: SPIDER-MAN 3. Okay, how can it be the worst when it's got a terrific performance by James Franco, some decent action sequences, and the world-famous jazz-dance? Well, compared to SPIDER-MAN 2, which really is one of the best superhero films yet made, it fails on way too many levels. Even worse, it made me dislike Peter Parker as a character. Emo Pete, as many call him, just didn't work. Venom was almost an afterthought in this movie, a bone to the fans, except that there wasn't any meat on the thing. I wish Sam Raimi hadn't bowed to pressure and stuck with the original rogue's gallery because Venom as a villain just doesn't hold a candle to Kraven, or even the fishbowl-head guy. The big saving grace is James Franco, who looks like he's having a great time. Maybe my anticipation was too high, but when you go from greatness to this mediocrity, attention must be paid. I love Sam Raimi as a director, but it's time to move on. Thanks for reading. Bring on 2008!