Addendum to my Best of 07 List

I have two movies to add to my Top Ten List for 2007! These movies were available to me when they were out in theatres, and I am kicking myself that I declined to see either of them on the big screen. What was I thinking?

Eastern Promises is a movie that grips you from the onset and doesn't let you go for two hours. As a rule, I will see any movie that takes place in what I refer to as "Real London". You know, the slimy underbelly, as opposed to the more commonly represented Masterpiece Theatre/ "cup-o-tea" ideal. (See 2002's Dirty Pretty Things!) Set in "Real London", Eastern Promises is a heart-breaking mystery that follows a group of modern-day Russian immigrants. It stars a fabulous Naomi Watts as a fearless midwife, and the incredible Viggo Mortensen as a member of the Russian mob. My favorite aspect of the movie is a running voiceover of a dead girl's diary. You really need to see this movie. Don't let the promise of a nude Viggo Mortensen fight scene deter you; I didn't.

The second addition to my Best of 07 List is the beautiful Irish kind-of love story, Once. The premise is unremakable, and that's why I initially declined to see it when it was out for about a week in theatres: An Irish busker (Frames frontman Glen Hansard) meets a girl (Czech unknown Marketa Irglova) while playing his busted-up guitar in the streets of Dublin. I mean, could you get any boring-er?! This movie was so beautiful, so simple, so well-acted (and neither of the leads is even an actor!), but the soul of the movie is the music. See this gorgeous romance-- which I liken to Before Sunrise's singing Irish cousin-- and then go buy the soundtrack. The high point of this year's Oscars was seeing Marketa and Glen win for best song. Suck it, Enchanted!

So, in conclusion, after belatedly seeing these two gems, I must rearrange my List. I am placing Eastern Promises right after Ratatouille, and Once right after that. I would also like to mention that I, like the rest of the free world, saw There Will Be Blood, and I would now like to place that right after The Darjeeling Limited. This means that I no longer consider 300, Dan in Real Life, and Shrek the Third among the best films of the year. I am tempted to remove Juno and No Country COMPLETELY after being subjected to all their undeserved hype this Oscar season, but I realize that rewriting history only detracts from my credibility as an, albeit less-than-prolific, reviewer.

Oh, P.S. I, too, was supremely disappointed in Be Kind Rewind. But my favorite quote in the movie, to give credit where credit is due, was:

"I'm Bill Murray. You're everyone else."