Movies 2007
This is the list of movies I have seen so far in 2007. This includes films watched for classes, on DVD, at the movie theatre; old movies, new movies, short movies and long movies. There will be a running tally kept, and I may write a brief comment on what I thought of the film in bold. All will be linked to relevant IMDB pages for more info.

Also, as per usual, here is the list of all DVD titles I own, a collection which is pretty small but growing all the time as my budget allows.

And here is my "serious" movie blog, updated irregularly with my SRS BIZNES thoughts on yaoi movies.

Feature-length films

Mildred Pierce, dir. Michael Curtiz. I have to admit it is a very engaging mixture of melodrama and film noir, though of course a fair amount of it rattled my feminist chains.
Shut Up & Sing, dir. Barbara Kopple, Cecilia Peck. An entertaining, sometimes surprising look at the Dixie Chicks and the controversy surrounding the comment that enraged fans in 2003.
Leave Her to Heaven, dir. John M. Stahl. In order to say anything really coherent I'd have to sit down and write a paper about this. I'd suggest watching it, though, for anyone interested in "women's pictures".
Children of Men, dir. Alfonso Cuaron. The first great movie of 2007. Highly recommended.
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, dir. Robert Wiene. The quintessential example of German expressionist filmmaking.
Nosferatu, dir. F.W. Murnau. The first - and possibly finest - adaptation of Stoker's Dracula on film. Highly recommended.
A Letter to Three Wives, dir. Joseph Mankiewicz.
Vanity Fair, dir. Mira Nair. Nair is such a visual director, with a great sense of color. So if nothing else, this film is very easy on the eyes, in every possible sense.
Forbidden, dir. Frank Capra. A classic "weepy" which tells more about the society which produced it than anything else.
The Last Laugh, dir. F.W. Murnau. Interesting film on a number of levels; not as radical as it may first appear, however.
Far From Heaven, dir. Todd Haynes. Haynes can't seem to decide if he's making an old-fasioned melodrama, or a serious drama about society in the 1950's. This lessens the impact of the film. But the performances from Moore and Quaid are wonderful.
Trauma, dir. Marc Evans. I like films which make you question what's real and what's not. Plus, Colin Firth plays an obsessive sociopath. Fun times.
Tape, dir. Richard Linklater. A Linklater film I actually like! Good examination of the way memories are interpreted by different people, and gender/sex relations in contemporary America.
A Very Long Engagement, dir. Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Very pretty film in the "cinema du look" vein, which, while it has its moments of moving emotion, ultimately has nothing to say.
The Sin of Madelon Claudet, dir. Edgar Selwyn. Ouch, is about all I can say. Woman prostitutes herself to perpetuate the oppressive society that has rejected her. Masochism at its finest.
M, dir. Fritz Lang. Brilliant early sound film. Highly recommended.
Emma, dir. Douglas McGrath. Entertaining adaptation of the Jane Austen novel. Jeremy Northam makes a very yummy Mr. Knightley.
Stella Dallas, dir. King Vidor.
The Merchant of Venice, dir. Michael Radford. Al Pacino gives a highly complex portrayal of Shylock, and is backed up by the wonderful talents of Joseph Fiennes and Jeremy Irons. Lavish production values as well.
Triumph of the Will, dir. Leni Riefenstahl. Nazis. Lots and lots of Nazis.
Volver, dir. Pedro Almodovar. Thoughtful, funny, and showcases Almodovar's empathy for the women he directs. Highly recommended.
Hold Your Man, dir. Sam Wood. Jean Harlow and Clark Gable, in a Pre-Code "vice" film. Fun times.
Baby Face, dir. Alfred Green. Barbara Stanwyck is the original woman who sleeps her way to the top in this film that was pretty heavily censored.
The Murderers Are Among Us, dir. Wolfgang Staudte. The first film released after Germany's capitulation. Interesting on a number of levels.
Richard III, dir. Richard Loncraine. Lots of talent in this one. I was impressed, though the overt fascist elements were... kind of overdone.
The Governess, dir. Sandra Goldbacher. Eh.
All Over the Guy, dir. Julie Davis. Lighthearted and fun. Made me laugh a few times, so I'm officially recommending it for anyone who wants to watch some decent queer cinema.
Get Real, dir. Simon Shore. I like that it didn't wrap the romance up in a neat little bow.
Beautiful Thing, dir. Hettie MacDonald. A little more idyllic than Get Real.
Snatch, dir. Guy Ritchie. I really liked this, actually. I wasn't sure I would.
Restoration, dir. Michael Hoffman. Pretty bad. I had a hard time sitting through to the end.
Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss, dir. Tommy O'Haver. Not too bad. Sean Hayes is adorkable, as usual, but the ending struck me as quite unfulfilling.
The Apartment, dir. Billy Wilder. Highly recommended.
Bedrooms and Hallways, dir. Rose Troche. Kind of about how mutable sexuality is, and Jennifer Ehle is in it. She's adorable.
Boyfriends, dir. Tom Hunsinger & Neil Hunter. I really liked this. No one is perfect but they're all sort of trying their best to make their relationships work.
The Bridge, dir. Bernhard Wicki. German film about a brief moment in the last days of WWII. Rather powerful film.
Aquirre, the Wrath of God, dir. Werner Herzog. Shot on location in the Peruvian jungle, an effective film about the evils of western Imperialism.
Red Sun, dir. Rudolph Thome. Interesting film, particularly considering the director is male. Make of that what you will.
Kings of the Road, dir. Wim Wenders. Often considered Wenders' masterpiece, it's long, and slow-moving, and difficult to get into, but ultimately satisfying.
Jacob the Liar, dir. Frank Beyer. Not to be confused with the remake starring Robin Williams, an East German film about Jews in the ghettos of WWII.
Marianne & Juliane, dir. Margarethe von Trotta. The personal meets the political in this semi-biographical pic about two sisters, one of whom is a terrorist in the Red Army Fraction.
Run Lola Run, dir. Tom Tykwer. First German film to succeed internationally since 1980 or so. Not too bad, definitely fast-paced.
Good Bye, Lenin!, dir. Wolfgang Becker. Interesting dramedy set during the reunification period in Germany.
Longing, dir. Valeska Grisebach. One of the so-called "Berlin School" films coming out of Germany the past four years or so. Visually and technically brilliant.
Sleeper, dir. Benjamin Heisenberg. Another Berlin School film, possibly my favorite of the three I've seen so far.
Gespenster (Ghosts), dir. Christian Petzold. Mm, more German films.
Female, dir. Michael Curtiz. I LOL'ed a few times.
Employees' Entrance, dir. Roy Del Ruth. Sexual harrassment in the workplace. Gotta love the 30s.
She Had to Say Yes, dir. George Amy & Busby Berkley. Like a trainwreck - repulsive, but you just can't look away.
The Great Lie, dir. Edmund Goulding. Sort of a melodrama, with Bette Davis playing the good girl for once. Surprise! Pretty enjoyable, though.
Marseille, dir. Angela Schanelec.
Lucy, dir. Henner Winckler.
Bungalow, dir. Ulrich Kohler.
I Am Guilty, dir. Christoph Hochhausler.
From Far Away, dir. Thomas Arslan. Really beautiful film.
Black Box BRD, dir. Andres Veiel.
Head-On, dir. Fatih Akin. Interesting. And lots of pretty people.
The Lives of Others, dir. Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck. Pedestrian and highly disappointing.
In This Our Life, dir. John Huston. Bette Davis plays the baaaad sister who gets what she deserves, and Olivia de Havilland plays the good sister who doesn't get much better.
Dark Victory, dir. Edmund Goulding. Bette Davis again, this time as a tragic heroine dying of a brain tumor.
Born to Kill, dir. Robert Wise. Classic film noir. You have to see it to believe it.
Nico and Dani, dir. Cesc Gay.
Ma Vie en Rose, dir. Alain Berliner. Liked this one a lot.
Maurice, dir. James Ivory. Mmm, pretty gay British boys.
Summer Storm, dir. Marco Kreuzpainter. German gay boys this time. A lot of fun.
Latter Days, dir. C. Jay Cox. The only reason I sat through it is because there were pretty men getting naked. Otherwise really amateurish and stupid.
Under Suspicion, dir. Simon Moore. More pretty people who don't quite make up for a crappy movie.
La Cage aux Folles, dir. Edouard Molinaro. Thoroughly enjoyable.
Antonia's Line, dir. Marleen Gorris. Okay, so the first user review on Netflix pissed me off to the point that I was gonna like this movie no matter how crappy it was. It turned out to be actually quite good.
Annie Hall, dir. Woody Allen. Allen at his best is amazing.
Pan's Labyrinth, dir. Guillermo del Toro. Amazing. Highly recommended.
Spiderman 3, dir. Sam Raimi. The script-writers must've snorted some really really good crack.
Prom Queen, dir. John L'Ecuyer. Cute and fluffy.
Little Children, dir. Todd Field. Really fascinating film. Highly recommended.
The Gospel According to St. Matthew, dir. Pier Paolo Pasolini. The single best account of the life of Christ on film. Beautiful, emotional, and above all, human.
Gilda, dir. Charles Vidor. You really have to see this to believe it.
The Exterminating Angel, dir. Luis Bunuel. Scathing social commentary with great surreal elements.
Tokyo Story, dir. Yasugiro Ozu. On e of the most beautiful films I've ever seen.
Darling, dir. John Schlesinger. British New Wave film about fame and pop culture. Good stuff.
L'Avventura, dir. Michelangelo Antonioni. Human alienation brought beautifully to film.
Open City, dir. Roberto Rossellini. One of the first neorealist films, shot in Rome only days after the end of the war.
Strangers on a Train, dir. Alfred Hitchcock. Suspense done the way only Hitch could do it.
Ugetsu, dir. Kenji Mizoguchi. Fairy-tale elements make this tale seem like a fable.
And Then There Were None, dir. Rene Clair. A murder mystery filmed as a comedy, with a great European sensibility by one of the greatest directors of all time.
Scarface, dir. Howard Hawks. Brutal and layered. Check out the real tommy guns they used!
F for Fake, dir. Orson Welles. This just proves that Welles is the epitome of the mad genius.
The Sign of the Cross, dir. Cecile B. DeMille. Classic DeMille, debauchery and everything imaginable, along with strong moralizing. Charles Laughton in his first American role.
Our Betters, dir. George Cukor. Has the distinction of being the film featuring the most blatant homosexual portrayed on-screen until the fall of the Production Code.
The Tomb of Ligeia, dir. Roger Corman. Really outrageous, cracked-out movie starring Vincent Price.
Hell's Highway, dir. Rowland Brown. Brutal, pre-code film about chain gangs.
The Boys in the Band, dir. William Friedkin. Smart, intelligent, and one of the first Hollywood films to deal openly (and humanely) with homosexuality after the downfall of the Code.
The Children's Hour, dir. William Wyler. I was quite surprised by the maturity with which the subject matter was dealt. Shirley MacLaine and Audrey Hepburn are astounding actresses who give astounding performances.
Ladies They Talk About, dir. Howard Bretherton & William Keighley. Barbara Stanwyck as a tough, criminal broad. Not much more to say about that. XD
So Young, So Bad, dir. Bernard Vorhaus. Girls' reform school film. Has some moments of brutal realism that make the film almost worth watching.
Caged, dir. John Cromwell. Sort of a women's prison film crossed with a film noir-type thriller. Rather compelling.
The Picture of Dorian Gray, dir. Albert Lewin. Pretty fun adaptation of Wilde's famous novel.
Voodoo Island, dir. Reginald Le Borg. One of the most unintentionally hilarious movies I have ever seen in my life. Watch preferably with a group of friends, with alcohol.
Sylvia Scarlett, dir. George Cukor. Lighthearted movie starring Katherine Hepburn masquerading as a male. Also with Cary Grant. The star power, combined with the director, alone make this movie worth seeing.
Turnabout, dir. Hal Roach. The original bodyswitch comedy. Interesting as a product of its time.
Tea and Sympathy, dir. Vincente Minnelli. Classic 50's melodrama, with a twist. Younger guy falls for older married woman. Older married woman is Deborah Kerr. No wonder he falls for her.
Staircase, dir. Stanley Donen. Entertaining (or painful, depending on your perspective) to see Rex Harrison and Richard Burton, two straight (and, well, homophobic) actors trying to be gay. Would've been good if it wasn't so miscast.
The Dark Horse, dir. Alfred E. Green. Hilarious political satire that remains relevant even 75 years after its original release.
Five Star Final, dir. Mervyn LeRoy. Overdone, but features two wonderful 30s talents, Edward G. Robinson and Aline MacMahon, who make it worth the melodramatic plot.
Red Dust, dir. Victor Fleming. Classic of the pre-Code era, extremely racy plot with lots of unabashed sexuality. Very fun to watch Clark Gable and Jean Harlow flirt with each other.
Safe in Hell, dir. William Wellman. Another seedy pre-Code film, involving a fallen woman redeemed by love. Very realistic portrayal of the kind of harrassment women regularly encounter from men who think of them as just a piece of meat.
Ex-Lady, dir. Robert Florey. Very mature film about the vagaries of marriage, has a rather ambiguous ending for a Hollywood film. Great to watch Bette Davis chew the scenery, as always.
The Match King, dir. Howard Bretherton & William Keighley. Warren William is always a joy to watch, particularly in this film which chronicles the rise and fall of a phony businessman in the roaring 20s.
The Public Enemy, dir. William Wellman. One of the original (and best) of the early gangster films, with James Cagney compelling as always.
Heroes for Sale, dir. William Wellman. Scathing, cynical drama about the exploits of a WWI veteran after the war leaves him injured and captured by the Germans. Deals in a realistic and sympathetic manner with drug addiction, political corruption, xenophobia and red scares, and harshly critiques American capitalism.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, dir. David Yates. I like it as much as I liked PoA, which was my favorite of the films so far.

Short films

Indoctrination, dir. Harun Farocki. Really interesting director.
The Interview, dir. Harun Farocki.


Total Films: 112