ok, i covered my favorite books and music of the year already. now for tv and movies.
let’s start with tv:
three shows continually captivated my attention this year, and caused my wife and i to sit in front of our tv:
and, the office
i also think the writing on 30 rock is absolutely brilliant.
i watch other shows, but those few are the ones that deserve a tip o’ the hat, imho.
and, the movies i think deserved four-and-a-half, if not five, stars this year:
ratatouille. best animated flick in years, i think. amazing portrait of the creative struggle. funny and sweet.
once. whoa. read my gushing review here.
waitress. off-beat comedy of the year. brilliant, wicked, unique, insightful, fun. keri russell deserves some kind of award for this one.
into the wild. read the book, wasn’t sure i’d like the movie (because i liked the book so much). but sean penn did an exquisite job of capturing the internal struggle and search of the real-life main character, without being too obvious about it. great small parts by quite a few A-list actors. who knew vince vaughn could actually act?
ocean’s thirteen. this one is a stretch, to include on this list. but i loved the first movie, and was so disappointed in the second, that i think the actors and writers deserve props for bringing back the quality in this third installment.
surf’s up. when you take your kids to a lot of kid movies, as i do, finding a pearl in the oyster like this movie is cause for celebration. fanastic, funny, sweet, insightful. and great voices.
hairspray. seriously, made me want to sing and dance. and almost redeemed john travolta.
what did i miss?
{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
I liked Breach, The Illusionist, and Shooter. I think those were all this year, but I could be wrong.
I bought a DVD player as an Open Item a couple months ago, and it had Surf’s Up in it! The whole documentary format was different, but I liked it.
Juno! It’s the quirkiest and best-written coming-of-age film in years.
Dexter.
one of the best shows i’ve seen in a long time. it was in it’s second season this year and i’m stoked for season 3 in 2008!
The Bourne Ultimatum.
enough said.
Kid Nation on CBS. I wish Jared from GA was in my youth ministry.
Kitchen Nightmares w/ Chef Gordon Ramsey. Predictable, but priceless humor and great one liners. Fav Quote of the Season: “I have never, never, never believed in someone as little as I do you.” You could actually see the confidence melt off of that guy’s face as Ramsey delivered that line.
Wow, I’m surprised no shout-out to TV’s “24″ or movie “Transformers.”
it’s a shame, b/c one of the best shows on television – Journeyman – recently got canceled.
Lost: I was really into it but they lost (no pun intended) with all the chaotic scheduling, re-runs, and plot line switches.
And for my worst of 2007:
Superbad
So were you a West Wing affacienado? In my mind, that was the finest writing on television (while Aaron Sorkin was writing it) with superb casting. Nothin’ even comes close since then. We’ve been rewatching seasons 1 and 2 over the last month, and I’ve been amazed to discover how moved I am, seeing it the second time around.
I would like to mention 24 for this year’s best of tv but unfortunately I was quite disappointed in season 6.
a few responses:
- yeah, i’ve loved 24 in the past, and i still watch it. but it’s not must-see-tv for me anymore.
- i considered transformers. i’d put it at an honorable mention. it was certainly better than i expected it to be. but not “best of the year quality”.
- yes, i was a huge west wing fan. killed me when they ended that — i was stoked to see how jimmy smits presidency would play out.
I’m adding “Once” and “Waitress” to my Netflix Queue because of your short review. The trailers look great. Have you seen “Reign Over Me” with Adam Sandler and Don Cheadle? It was one of my favorites from 2007.
House on FOX and Desperate Housewives baby!!!