The Best of 2007 - The WOS Review Lists

WOS Reviews - Top Ten Lists for 2007
Don’t you hate when you cannot get a simple thing done when inspiration strikes you and you only get it done after it was tried by others, making you look like a follower? I had hoped to get these Top Ten Lists out before the end of 2007 but nothing ever really works out the way you plan. Anyways, now I look like a trend follower.

As you can see, I haven’t done much. Most of the stuff I experienced were stuff from the past, nothing new, or re-experiences. In between work, being out of state, birthdays, I had little time to get out and see stuff. Anyways. So, without further ado, my newly-re-titled "Best of 2007 Lists"!

Music:
1) Batman Begins - Motion Picture Soundtrack - Hans Zimmer & James Newton Howard - My new favorate movie music. I cannot get over this one and it took time for me to really just sit down and listen to it.

Movies:

Of what I watched this year at the theater. And as you can see. I didn’t see much.

5) Rocky Balboa (Saw it in Jan 2007, so it counts.) - People have something against Rocky movies, but this one about aging gracefully is something that should not be overlooked because of its pedigree.

4) Pirates of the Caribbean 3: At World’s End - Nice summation to a series that should not be considered the be-all-end-all of cinema, they're PIRATE MOVIES! Johnny Depp is at his best.

3) American Gangster - The performance of Crowe and especially, Denzel Washington anchor this crime drama. "Now, what was I saying?" Awesome.

2) Curse of the Golden Flower (Again, in Jan. Of 2007) - Costumes, drama, matrial arts, Chinese ninjas on ropes, what more could you ask for?

1) No Country for Old Men - I have to admit, this was pretty good. Mainly for Tommy Lee Jones and Josh Brolin. Javier was not very scary, and Woody Harrelson was a victim of the Coens, "be in it to be in it" curse. And let's forget that ending and what it means, as Rolling Stone Magazine states: "It means the sheriff woke up to a dehumanized world of the present." So there. His, and Brolin's performances are worth it. It's just not the Be-All-End-All of Cinema.

Books:

Here's what I read this year, not only what was published this year.

7) DC: New Frontier - Excellent art and writing. Highly recommend.

6) To Kill a Mockingbird (R) - I encourage everyone to pick this up again.

5) It’s Superman! (R) - one of my favorite hidden gems. Stuff like "Kavalier & Clay" and "Soon, I will be Invincible" fall flat with me because the authors are winking at us the whole time.

4) The Journey of Crazy Horse - The best biography of Crazy Horse. Peroid. Right next to the movie I'm gonna make.

3) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Great writing, great story, great series. What more can be said?

2) The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian - Alexie's best work so far. Again, his translation of Beowulf will be awesome!

1) Three Kingdoms (R) - By far the best thing I have read in my life. And that is saying something. I recommend everyone at least trying to read this. It is dense but what you experience with every reading is both exciting and different.

DVDs:

Which are the same as movies but with extras. Some are re-watches and old dvds.

10) Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - Almost made the Movie list but the DVD has extras!

9) Gojira - I got this for my birthday a couple of years ago and guess what? I still haven' watched it. I want to watch it with a group of friends. (Like "The Passion of Joan of Arc") But it such a thoughtful gift from my wife , I had to include it.

8) Long Way Round - See my notes on this series in the main WOS page for Dec.

7) Le Samourai & Seven Samurai (tie) (r) - I saw these again back in Wyoming and was blown away by their coolness. I love them both and the extras are great as well. Criterion kicks ass.

6) F For Fake (r) - Always a favorite.

5) The Prestige (r) - Again, a favorite. Very inspirational along with F For Fake.

4) Eastern Promises - A great performance by Viggo. Up there with Tommy Lee Jones in "No Country..." and Denzel in "American Gangster".

3) Children of Men - The best movie by far from Curon.

2) Hamlet - by Kenneth Branagh, I waited for years for this and snapped it up as soon as it was available. Bonnie and I tried to get the girls to go to bed with this. They were stalling and asked to watch a movie before bed and we thought this would bore them or put them to sleep. Nope. Our girls followed it from frame one to the Intermission (2 and 1/2 hours) without out once asking to stop. We watched the second half the next night and our girls kept up with the story and plot. Amazing how smart our girls are and how Shakespeare transcends time and generations. Go buy this disc.

1) Deadwood: Seasons One though Three - I think they ended the series as it should. To drag it out would have lent to the characters becoming caricatures. (example: Steve the Drunk). I feel it too late to make the TV movies as the actors are now away from their characters and could be difficult to capture the perfomances again without the flow of the series behind them.

Cakes:
5) White cake with butter cream frosting and chocolate mousse filling. (From Costco)

4) Marble cake with butter cream frosting and chocolate mousse filling. (Costco)

3) My Birthday cake (any type)

2) The splendid cake from Rolf’s we got for Christmas.

1) The Big Food Fight Cake I brought home from work and My Bonnie, the Girls, and I trashed our dining area throwing it at one another in a food fight. That was fun and one of my most cherished memories.

Cookies:
1) Snicker doodles, Home-made chocolate chip cookies, Oreo Cookies.

Insults garnered from television and movies:
1) C*cks^cker (Deadwood) - I use this way too much.

Stuffed Animals:
10) Sir Charles and Lady Rebecca Poopsalot.
9) Ollie-phant
8) Green Lantern Monkey
7) Monkeous P. Monkey
6) Snowie
5)Allie-gator and Michele (a gorilla)
4) Mommy’s Racoon Slippers & the Manatees.
3) Baby & Bonnie Bear
2) Mister Bunny and Little Bear Tinkleberry
1) Ernest Bear & Bonnie’s Bear

I hope these list serve you well. I would have put up Amazon links but I'm really way behind already. Please feel free to comment on your favorites of last year. Oh, I know, some of you do not like to elevate one thing over another, but hey, that's cool. You are also a coward.

Take care all.

Until next time; You are in my Top Ten List of People ...in my Heart. (All five of you.)