{"id":99,"date":"2008-02-07T15:39:48","date_gmt":"2008-02-07T23:39:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rayivey.com\/wordpress\/?p=99"},"modified":"2009-02-23T08:25:09","modified_gmt":"2009-02-23T16:25:09","slug":"rays-2007-movie-awards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.rayivey.com\/wordpress\/rays-2007-movie-awards\/","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"rss\"<\/a>\"instagram\"<\/a>

<\/a>The Fourteen Ten Best Films of 2007<\/font><\/strong><\/p>\n

1.<\/font>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Ratatouille<\/font><\/strong><\/font><\/p>\n

2.<\/font>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 No Country For Old Men<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

3.<\/font>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Michael Clayton<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

4.<\/font>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 There Will Be Blood<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

5.<\/font>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 In the Valley of Elah<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

6.<\/font>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Waitress<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

7.<\/font>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 3:10 to Yuma<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

8.<\/font>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The Orphanage<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

9.<\/font>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Juno<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

10.<\/font>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The Diving Bell and the Butterfly<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

11.<\/font>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Sweeney Todd<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

12.<\/font>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Persepolis<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

13.<\/font>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Gone, Baby, Gone<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

14.<\/font>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Knocked Up<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n


\n<\/font><\/font>Honorable Mention:\u00a0 <\/strong>Breach, The Lookout, Enchanted, Hairspray, The Host, Death at a Funeral, The Nines, Superbad, Stardust, Zodiac and Once. <\/font><\/font><\/p>\n


\n<\/font><\/font>Best Actor<\/font><\/strong><\/p>\n

Chris Cooper, Breach<\/font><\/p>\n

*Tommy Lee Jones, In the Valley of Elah<\/font><\/p>\n

Viggo Mortensen, Eastern Promises<\/font><\/p>\n

George Clooney, Michael Clayton<\/font><\/p>\n

Johnny Depp, Sweeney Todd<\/font><\/p>\n

Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood<\/font><\/p>\n


\n<\/font><\/font>Honorable Mention: <\/strong>Richard Gere in The Hoax; Jamie Draven in Badland; Joseph Gordon-Levitt in The Lookout; Ryan Reynolds in The Nines; Christian Bale in 3:10 to Yuma; Casey Affleck in Gone Baby Gone, Jindabyne<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n


\n<\/font><\/font><\/strong>Best Actress<\/font><\/strong><\/p>\n

Molly Shannon, Year of the Dog<\/font><\/p>\n

*Julie Christie, Away From Her<\/font><\/p>\n

Keri Russell, Waitress<\/font><\/p>\n

Ellen Page, Juno<\/font><\/p>\n

Amy Adams, Enchanted<\/font><\/p>\n


\n<\/font><\/font><\/strong>Best Supporting Actor<\/font><\/strong><\/p>\n

Irfan Khan, The Namesake<\/font><\/p>\n

Alan Tudyk, Death at a Funeral<\/font><\/p>\n

Ben Foster, 3:10 to Yuma<\/font><\/p>\n

*Tom Wilkinson, Michael Clayton<\/font><\/p>\n

Javier Bardem, No Country For Old Men<\/font><\/p>\n


\n<\/font><\/font>Honorable Mention: <\/strong>Tommy Lee Jones in No Country For Old Men; Josh Brolin in American Gangster; Ashraf Barhom in The Kingdom; Armin Muller-Stahl in Eastern Promises; Jeff Bridges in Surf\u2019s Up; Andy Griffith in Waitress; Paul Dano in There Will Be Blood; Peter O\u2019Toole in Ratatouille
\n<\/strong><\/font><\/font>\u00a0
\n<\/font><\/font><\/strong>Best Supporting Actress<\/font><\/strong><\/p>\n

Sigourney Weaver, The TV Set<\/font><\/p>\n

Tilda Swinton, Michael Clayton<\/font><\/p>\n

*Amy Ryan, Gone, Baby, Gone<\/font><\/p>\n

Cate Blanchett, I\u2019m Not There<\/font><\/p>\n


\n<\/font><\/font>Honorable Mention: <\/strong>Michelle Pfeiffer in Hairspray and Stardust; Olympia Dukakis in Away From Her; Adrienne Shelley in Waitress; Melissa McCarthy in The Nines<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n


\n<\/font><\/font><\/strong>Best Director<\/font><\/strong><\/p>\n

Sarah Polley, Away From Her<\/font><\/p>\n

Paul Haggis, In the Valley of Elah<\/font><\/p>\n

Tony Gilroy, Michael Clayton<\/font><\/p>\n

*Brad Bird, Ratatouille<\/font><\/p>\n

The Coen Brothers, No Country For Old Men<\/font><\/p>\n

Julian Schnabel, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly<\/font><\/p>\n


\n<\/font><\/font><\/strong>Screenplay<\/font><\/strong><\/p>\n

Knocked Up<\/font><\/p>\n

Waitress<\/font><\/p>\n

3:10 to Yuma<\/font><\/p>\n

Ratatouille<\/font><\/p>\n

Superbad<\/font><\/p>\n

*Michael Clayton<\/font><\/p>\n

No Country For Old Men<\/font><\/p>\n

Juno<\/font><\/p>\n

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly<\/font><\/p>\n


\n<\/font><\/font><\/strong>Cinematography<\/font><\/strong><\/p>\n

*No Country For Old Men<\/font><\/p>\n

Atonement<\/font><\/p>\n

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly<\/font><\/p>\n

Sweeney Todd<\/font><\/p>\n

300<\/font><\/p>\n


<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n

Musical Score<\/font><\/strong><\/p>\n

*Ratatouille<\/font><\/p>\n

Persopolis<\/font><\/p>\n

Once<\/font><\/p>\n

Hairspray<\/font><\/p>\n


\n<\/font><\/font><\/strong>Production Design<\/font><\/strong><\/p>\n

*Sweeney Todd<\/font><\/p>\n

No Country For Old Men<\/font><\/p>\n

There Will Be Blood<\/font><\/p>\n

Ratatouille<\/font><\/p>\n

The Orphanage<\/font><\/p>\n


\n<\/font><\/font><\/strong>Costumes<\/font><\/strong><\/p>\n

*Sweeney Todd<\/font><\/p>\n


\n<\/font><\/font><\/strong>Visual Effects<\/font><\/strong><\/p>\n

*I Am Legend<\/font><\/p>\n


\n<\/font><\/font><\/strong>Foreign Language Film<\/font><\/strong><\/p>\n

Persepolis (France)<\/font><\/p>\n

Black Book (Netherlands)<\/font><\/p>\n

*The Orphanage (Spain)<\/font><\/p>\n

The Band\u2019s Visit (Israel)<\/font><\/p>\n


\n<\/font><\/font><\/strong>Documentary<\/font><\/strong><\/p>\n

Flock of Dodos<\/font><\/p>\n

Maxed Out<\/font><\/p>\n

Sicko<\/font><\/p>\n

No End in Sight<\/font><\/p>\n

*The King of Kong:\u00a0 A Fistful of Quarters<\/font><\/p>\n

The Eleventh Hour<\/font><\/p>\n

In the Shadow of the Moon<\/font><\/p>\n

For the Bible Tells Me So<\/font><\/p>\n

The Rape of Europa<\/font><\/p>\n

King Corn<\/font><\/p>\n


\n<\/font><\/font><\/strong>Rodent Love<\/font><\/strong><\/p>\n

Why is Ratatouille the best movie of the year?\u00a0 Because it simply does so many things so well.\u00a0 First of all, as an animated film, it\u2019s drop-dead gorgeous.\u00a0 Second, it\u2019s got exceptional character design.\u00a0 Third, its theme is universal:\u00a0 It\u2019s about a kid from the wrong side of the tracks who wants to break into a world that thinks he\u2019s unworthy.\u00a0 Writer\/director Brad Bird is like the great Japanese anime directors:\u00a0 He doesn\u2019t treat animation as if it\u2019s a \u201cfamily film\u201d ghetto.\u00a0 It\u2019s just his method of telling great stories.\u00a0 Finally, the voice work in Ratatouille pushes it over the top.\u00a0 It goes past the traditional gimmickry of using movie stars for all the voices, like so many animated films of today.\u00a0 Brad Bird is a treasure, and I cannot wait to see what he cooks up next.<\/font><\/p>\n


\n<\/font><\/font><\/strong>Movie I Least Expected to Love<\/font><\/strong><\/p>\n

Tim Burton\u2019s Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.\u00a0 (But I did!)<\/font><\/p>\n


\n<\/font><\/font><\/strong>Huzzah For Adult Movies!<\/font><\/strong><\/p>\n

Or, perhaps I should say, movies for adults.\u00a0 Michael Clayton is a candy store of a movie for grownups.\u00a0 It\u2019s a movie about adult problems, adult responsibilities an adult situations.\u00a0 The dialog is dazzling and is delivered with utter confidence by a spectacular cast.\u00a0 There are so many moments to treasure in this movie that it truly calls for repeated viewings.<\/font><\/p>\n


\n<\/font><\/font><\/strong>Most Woefully Underappreciated<\/font><\/strong><\/p>\n

Waitress, 3:10 to Yuma, The Lookout, Jindabyne, The Nines, Death at a Funeral, The Last Legion, Badland<\/font><\/p>\n


\n<\/font><\/font><\/strong>Good Popcorn Movies<\/font><\/strong><\/p>\n

Fracture, Grindhouse, Shooter, Shrek 3, Mr. Brooks, Live Free or Die Hard, Transformers, The Kingdom, The Bourne Ultimatum, The Simpsons Movie, The Last Legion, American Gangster, Bee Movie, Shoot\u2019em Up, The Golden Compass, I Am Legend, National Treasure: Book of Secrets<\/font><\/p>\n


\n<\/font><\/font><\/strong>Maybe Not Great, But SO Much Better Than the Boring Book
\n<\/font><\/font><\/strong>Atonement<\/font><\/p>\n


\n<\/font><\/font><\/strong>Best Casting of Three People Playing the Same Role<\/font><\/strong><\/p>\n

Saoirse Ronan, Romola Garai and Vanessa Redgrave all play Briony in Atonement.<\/font><\/p>\n


\n<\/font><\/font><\/strong>Best Casting of Six People Playing the Same Role<\/font><\/strong><\/p>\n

Cate Blanchett, Heath Ledger, Richard Gere, Christian Bale, Ben Wishaw, Marcus Carl Franklin all play (sort of) Bob Dylan in I\u2019m Not There<\/font><\/p>\n


\n<\/font><\/font><\/strong>If You\u2019re Really in a Merchant\/Ivory Mood<\/font><\/strong><\/p>\n

Amazing Grace<\/font><\/p>\n

Becoming Jane<\/font><\/p>\n

Elizabeth: The Golden Age<\/font><\/p>\n


\n<\/font><\/font><\/strong>Best Visual Effects<\/font><\/strong><\/p>\n

*300<\/font><\/p>\n

The Host<\/font><\/p>\n


\n<\/font><\/font><\/strong>The Year\u2019s Best Lines<\/font><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s when people die in the wrong order.\u00a0 That\u2019s when things get really fucked up.\u201d\u00a0 Deborra-lee Furness tells it like it is in the overlooked Jindabyne<\/font><\/p>\n

\u201cTo tell you the truth, I don\u2019t really know what kind of girl I am.\u201d June fesses up to her parents in Juno.<\/font><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a mess, ain\u2019t it sheriff?.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cIf it ain\u2019t it\u2019ll do till the mess gets here.\u201d \u2013 Tommy Lee Jones and his deputy assess a mess in No Country For Old Men.<\/font><\/p>\n


\n<\/font><\/font><\/strong>Best Costumes<\/font><\/strong><\/p>\n

300<\/font><\/p>\n


\n<\/font><\/font><\/strong>Best Remake of Hitchcock\u2019s Rear Window<\/em><\/font><\/font><\/strong><\/p>\n

Disturbia<\/font><\/p>\n


\n<\/font><\/font><\/strong>Best Action Sequence<\/font><\/strong><\/p>\n

The wordless chase across the rooftops of Tangiers in The Bourne Ultimatim<\/font><\/p>\n

Viggo Mortensen takes on assassins in a steamroom in Eastern Promises<\/font><\/p>\n

The final shootout in The Kingdom<\/font><\/p>\n


\n<\/font><\/font><\/strong>New Genre That I Approve Of<\/font><\/strong><\/p>\n

Eco-Horror films.\u00a0 This year\u2019s best example:\u00a0 The Last Winter.<\/font><\/p>\n


\n<\/font><\/font><\/strong>A Good Year for Action Flicks!<\/font><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Bourne Ultimatim<\/font><\/p>\n

Live Free or Die Hard<\/font><\/p>\n

The Kingdom<\/font><\/p>\n

The Last Legion<\/font><\/p>\n


\n<\/font><\/font><\/strong>Best Movie in Which A Former James Bond is Impaled on a Miniature Church Steeple<\/font><\/strong><\/p>\n

Hot Fuzz<\/font><\/p>\n


\n<\/font><\/font><\/strong>Best Handi-Capable Moment<\/font><\/strong><\/p>\n

After losing a leg to zombies, Rose McGowan turns that frown upside down by strapping an Uzi to the stump. <\/font><\/p>\n


\n<\/font><\/font><\/strong>What An Amazing Year for Barbra Streisand\u2019s Stepson<\/font><\/strong><\/p>\n

Josh Brolin\u2019s career profile went up several notches in 2007, due to his superb performances in four<\/em> movies.\u00a0 He played a sick and evil doctor in Grindhouse, an opportunistic lawman in the Valley of Elah, a ferociously corrupt New York City cop in American Gangster, and a foolish fortune-grabber in No Country For Old Men<\/font><\/p>\n


\n<\/font><\/font><\/strong>The Year Ben Affleck Found His True Calling<\/font><\/strong><\/p>\n

Directing!\u00a0 Gone, Baby, Gone is enough to make us forgive you for Pearl Harbor and Gigli.\u00a0 <\/font><\/font><\/p>\n


\n<\/font><\/font><\/strong>This Year\u2019s Bad But Oddly Enjoyable Sandra Bullock Time Travel Movie<\/font><\/strong><\/p>\n

Premonition.\u00a0 Not as good as The Lake House, but still fun in a stupid way.<\/font><\/p>\n


\n<\/font><\/font><\/strong>Not Nearly As Bad As Everyone Said<\/font><\/strong><\/p>\n

Lions For Lambs<\/font><\/p>\n


\n<\/font><\/font><\/strong>Funniest Movies<\/font><\/strong><\/p>\n

Hott Fuzz<\/font><\/p>\n

Juno<\/font><\/p>\n

Death at a Funeral<\/font><\/p>\n

The Simpsons Movie<\/font><\/p>\n


\n<\/font><\/font><\/strong>Best Gross-Out Joke of 2008<\/font><\/strong><\/p>\n

Jonah Hill picks a dancing partner with a very short skirt and a very unfortunate personal hygiene issue in Superbad.<\/font><\/p>\n


\n<\/font><\/font><\/strong>Best One Since The First One<\/font><\/strong><\/p>\n

Live Free or Die Hard<\/font><\/p>\n


\n<\/font><\/font><\/strong>Best Western since Unforgiven<\/font><\/strong><\/p>\n

3:10 to Yuma<\/font><\/p>\n


\n<\/font><\/font><\/strong>Scariest Movie in a Really Long Time<\/font><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Orphanage<\/font><\/p>\n


\n<\/font><\/font><\/strong>Best Monster Movie in a Very Long Time<\/font><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Host (South Korea).\u00a0 This feels like the Godzilla movie Hitchcock might have made.\u00a0 Great special effects, very scary monster, plus (and this is the unusual part) wonderful writing and acting to support the human story.<\/font><\/p>\n


\n<\/font><\/font><\/strong>Give Her Some Leads in Big Pictures Already<\/font><\/strong><\/p>\n

Maria Bello is ready for her closeup.\u00a0 Give her some meaty roles in big movies!!<\/font><\/p>\n


\n<\/font><\/font><\/strong>Good Year for Jane Austen Dweebs (Like Me)<\/font><\/strong><\/p>\n

Becoming Jane<\/font><\/p>\n

The Jane Austen Book Club<\/font><\/p>\n


\n<\/font><\/font><\/strong>Please May We See More Of . . .<\/font><\/strong><\/p>\n

Jindabyne\u2019s Deborra-lee Furness<\/font><\/p>\n

Stardust\u2019s Charlie Cox<\/font><\/p>\n

Hairspray\u2019s Nikki Blonsky<\/font><\/p>\n

The Kingdom\u2019s Ashraf Barhom<\/font><\/p>\n

Also Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Matthew Goode, Maria Bello, Hugh Dancy, Kathy Baker, Alexander Siddig, Aishwarya Rai.<\/font> <\/font><\/p>\n


\nWho Cares if He Can Act or Not, Just Please Keep Letting Him Make Movies<\/strong><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/font>
\nI\u2019ll watch Josh Hartnett even in dreck like 30 Days of Night.<\/font><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/font> <\/font><\/font>
\n<\/font><\/font>Most Underappreciated Comeback<\/strong><\/font><\/font><\/font> <\/strong><\/font><\/font>The wonderful Frank Oz, directing the shockingly underappreciated Death at a Funeral.\u00a0 We can\u2019t even remember the last good movie farce.<\/font><\/font><\/font>
<\/strong>\u00a0<\/font><\/font>\u00a0The Dogs of 2007<\/font><\/strong><\/font><\/font>\u00a0Sunshine.\u00a0 Directed by the talented Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, Millions, Shallow Grave), this big-budget science fiction epic is a shoddy mess.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know what Boyle was smoking, but he needs to take a vacation from filmmaking for awhile if this is the kind of dreck he feels like making.<\/font><\/p>\n

<\/font><\/font>\u00a0
\nThe Brave One.\u00a0 Clenched-jawed Jodie Foster enters Death Wish territory.\u00a0 Why?<\/font><\/font><\/font>\u00a0<\/font><\/font><\/font>Puzzlingly Overrated<\/strong>
\n<\/font><\/font>Into the Wild.\u00a0 I truly think Sean Penn missed the point of the book.<\/font>\u00a0<\/font><\/font><\/font><\/font>
\n<\/font><\/font><\/strong>Further Evidence That Jessica Alba Just May Night Be the Greatest Actress Ever<\/font><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/font><\/font>Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer<\/font><\/p>\n


\n<\/font><\/font><\/strong>Enough Already<\/font><\/strong><\/p>\n

Ocean\u2019s 13<\/font><\/p>\n


\n<\/font><\/font><\/strong>Misery I Didn\u2019t Need<\/font><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Savages<\/font><\/p>\n

Before the Devil Knows You\u2019re Dead<\/font><\/p>\n


\n<\/font><\/font><\/strong>Most Ludicrously Misleading Ad Campaign<\/font><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Bridge to Terebitha.\u00a0 The trailers made it look like Narnia II, when it was actually a sharp and well-acted story about the painful lessons of childhood.\u00a0 It\u2019s one thing when a studio knows it has a bad movie and tries to disguise it as a good movie.\u00a0 But in this instance they actually HAD a good movie and really sunk it with a dumb ad campaign.<\/font><\/p>\n


\n<\/font><\/font><\/strong>Most Disappointing Movies<\/font><\/strong><\/p>\n

Across the Universe.\u00a0 I mean, it had mad genius Julie Taymor directing, it had a raft of immortal Beatles songs, and a talented cast?\u00a0 Alas, unless you were a teenage girl, this movie was virtually unwatchable.<\/font><\/p>\n


\n<\/font><\/font>Rendition.\u00a0 Even with five of my favorite actors (Reese Witherspoon, Peter Saarsgard, Jake Gyllenhaal, Meryl Streep and Alan Arkin) this movie was thinner, shriller and just not as hard-hitting as I had hoped.<\/font><\/p>\n


\n<\/font><\/font>Dan in Real Life.\u00a0 This dreck was unrecognizable as real life to me.<\/font><\/p>\n


\n<\/font><\/font><\/strong>Worst Actress<\/font><\/strong><\/p>\n

Once again, Jodie Foster scores as the ludicrous radio-show-host turned gun-toting vigiliante in the repulsive The Brave One.\u00a0 One more win and this award will be renamed for Ms. Foster.<\/font><\/p>\n


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\n<\/font><\/font>Got any feedback?\u00a0 Please leave a Comment here!\u00a0 Remember, I have no problem when people disagree with me.\u00a0 Having bad taste is your right as an American.<\/font><\/p>\n

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Average Rating: 4.4<\/span> out of 5<\/span> based on 243<\/span> user reviews.<\/span><\/div><\/p>

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