A Very Large and Encompassing Post Containing Capsule Reviews of Most of the 2007 Films I've Seen and Haven't Reviewed In Any Form Yet

Hannibal Rising (dir. Webber) -- The first film I saw this year. Why did I see this? Because I was supposed to see Pan's Labyrinth. Supposed to. But this surprised me. It wasn't great or anything, but it wasn't bad at all. The best thing about it is easily Gaspard Ulliel's seriously great performance as Lecter. And Gong Li for that matter. But like I said, nothing too brilliant. B-

Bridge to Terabithia (dir. Csupo) -- I still don't understand why I never made a review for this of any kind 9 months ago when I saw it. I really need to re-view it. In fact, if I don't, my ordering of the films will never be right; this keeps swimming around the Top Ten like it were melting Jell-O. But, what I do remember is that it's even more emotionally devastating than the book, which was a feat I couldn't believe. I was still crying as the credits rolled. I'm sure it'll stay the course on a second viewing. A

Zodiac (dir. Fincher) -- Surprisingly excellent. On top of it all is it's brilliant cinematography, writing, and Fincher's direction. Even though this is the first film of David his I've seen, I already know this isn't anywhere near his niche. The acting is great, especially Mark Ruffalo. Robert Downey Jr. I thought was a bit overrated but still pretty good, yeah. Well-paced, beautifully suspenceful, and overall amazing. A-/A

The Reaping (dir. Hopkins) -- It's my kind of movie, and that's why I liked it. It's not a great movie. Hilary Swank only has had fleeting sparks of brilliance in her career, and this is not one of them. It is for my AnnaSophia though. She's brilliant. I mean, if they got say Dakota Fanning to play the freaking anti-christ, it'd be like getting Tommy Lee Jones playing a Texan sheriff -- OBVIOUS -- so I'm glad they got my g/f. My kind of movie. B+

Breaking and Entering (dir. Minghella) -- Binoche was infreakingcredible, Penn was great, Law was great, Gavron was great, Farmiga was great, the direction was great, the writing was great, the cinematography was great, the production design was great, the music was great. The film? Very great. I'll never understand why this only has a 6.6 on IMDb. A

Breach (dir. Ray) -- Very understated and calculating and ultimately brilliant. Laura Linney is co-God, Ryan Phillippe doesn't suck, and Chris Cooper gives one helluva villainic performance. He perhaps deserves the Oscar, but of course it'll never get it. But he's so fantastic it doesn't even matter. See it. B+/A-

Jindabyne (dir. Lawrence) -- Even though Glenn has been raving and forcing it down everyone else's throats for like a year now, I don't think I knew what to expect. it was most definitely good, but... it just didn't connect. Most likely because I don't understand shit about Australian anything, especially anything racial, but it's slow and interesting and great performances from everyone, especially Laura Linney, who was flat-out brilliant; I'm glad they didn't make Claire an Australian, because she's not as good as she good be with accents. But in her own, she's always great. It's good, written very well, photographed well, but God, they ended it annoyingly. Justice makes me feel better than confusion and tasting earwax. B

Away from Her (dir. Polley) -- A masterful work of intimate art like I've never seen before. Sarah Polley, only 28, has already proved herself worthy of being called a great director. And Christie! Oh, boy, Christie. Just freaking incredible. One of the most heartbreaking things I've ever seen. But all that would be nothing without Gordon Pinsent's suffering husband, watching his beloved wife disappear before his eyes and fall in love with another man. We his his strife, her strife, and the whole strife that is Alzheimer's. Completely heart wrenching and noble. A

Planet Terror (dir. Rodriguez) -- Totally. Frickin'. Awesome. So much in fact, that I can't help but to rave Rose McGowan, of all people. And Marley Shelton. And Freddy Rodriguez. It's always fun to see idiots and genetic engineers and a woman with a MACHINE GUN LEG dealing with unrestrained zombies. May Robert Rodriguez never make a "family film" ever again. A-/A

Meet the Robinsons (dir. Anderson) -- Holy cow! It's a great Disney animated film! Who'd have thought they'd have it in them? Even though this is one of the most mile-stretching predictable films I've ever seen, it doesn't matter in the end, because you care about Lewis, and Wilbur, and the Robinsons, and Goob, and Mildred, and even the talking T-Rex. You want to see it continue on. And it definitely doesn't hurt that's it one of the most visually inventive animated films in a long while. A-/A

Knocked Up (dir. Apatow) -- A perfect comedic blockbuster, for sure. Completely hilarious, weirdly heartwarming, and concerningly bipolar. Seth Rogan and Katherine Heigl are greta, and yes, so is Leslie Mann, but less than everyone else, apparently. Really very good. Nothing else to say, really. A-

A Mighty Heart (dir. Winterbottom) -- I'll just say it: It's a masterpiece. Nary a film that keep me this entertainingly and emotionally invested. Gritty but beautiful, in a sense. Jolie, of course, knocks it out of the park as Mariane Pearl, and Daniel Futterman is great in his smaller flashback scenes as Daniel. It's all very tragic, and even though we all know it's ultimate outcome, the tears flowed. Winterbottom directed the hell out of it -- I'm a major fan of anti-steadicam techniques, and he reaches them to brilliant heights. Excellent. A

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (dir. Lumet) -- How can you be disappointed when you have no expectations? There could have veen sooo much more to this, but there wasn't. The acting was great, especially Finney and Hawke. But the entire film completely lives and dies by Marisa Tomei and her character Gina. She's damn great, even though she doesn't really do anything. But that's just it -- there should've been more. It's my major problem with the whole thing. Throughout the film, I kept thinking that she would be the key to the film, that she, in the final act, would have her own past thing where we learn she was in the plot as much as anyone else and she'd be a sabotager, or something. The movie made me think that, and I was wrong. All she did was be naked and whining about being ignored. That's scary appropriate. Sometimes powerful, sometimes I wanted to slit my wrists. It's all so incredibly mixed. C+

Hairspray (dir. Shankman) -- I'm pretty sure I shouldn't have liked this as much as I did. Everyone is anywhere from great to excellent, Nikki Blonsky first among them, along with Michelle Pfeiffer, James Marsden, Amanda Bynes, and even John Travolta. Except when he's singing. I couldn't help but to kinda cringe and feel awkward when he sang. But Edna's normal scenes -- great. Like everyone says, how on earth is this from the guy that brought us The Pacifier and Cheaper by the Dozen 2. Weird. It's light and fluffy, but you can hurt your teeth expecting it to empty. A-/A

La Vie en Rose (dir. Dahan) -- Damn. Well, it's definitely an actor's showcase, and that actor fared well. Very well. Oh, screw it. Give her the Oscar now! Come on! Concerning everything else... it's good. So is Sylvie Testud. It's one of those movies where I can't tell the direction in the film, which is always weird. The cinematography was damn great, even though it was way too dark (literally) for my liking. But this is The Marion Cotillard Show. And she not only ran with it, but she's already in Siberia, from the beginning of this sentence. Magnificent. B+/A- (There's some restraint in that grading because I think if I did it properly, it would be embarrassing to any sort of reptutation I might actually have. I'm being serious there.)

Damn, that took a while.