Films Of The Year 2007 - Numero Uno!!!

1: NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN

I'm feeling bold here; No Country For Old Men is not just the best film of 2007, it's the best film of the 2000's, possibly even the last decade. And I wasn't even that excited about watching it to start with. I'd only recently heard of it, knew nothing of the story, and the only thing I knew for sure was that it was adapted from a novel by Cormac McCarthy and directed by The Coen Brothers.

I'm always a little wary going into a new film by the Coens. Yes, there's no denying that Miller's Crossing and Blood Simple are great films, but I'm probably the only person out there that thinks The Big Lebowski and Fargo, while good films, are highly overrated and certainly don't deserve the level of adoration that's been put on them. Hell, my favourite Coen brothers film is The Hudsucker Proxy, the biggest flop they've made and the one film everyone said was nothing like a Coen brothers film. So I'm certainly not coming at this from a film-snob "you must love the Coen's new film" frame of mind.

But the reviews for Country have been phenomenal. They tend to always get good reviews, but this one is currently sitting on 93% positive from US critics, which is almost unheard of, and Oscar buzz is all over this thing. So I figured I should check it out and, as much as it pains me to get on the bandwagon, they're all right. This is just breathtaking film making; perfectly paced, subtle, clever, twisting, and all lead by an outstanding cast acting their socks off. And don't be put off if you think it may be highbrow or something, as it's basically a simple, gripping thriller populated with fantastic characters. It's fun, and scary, and totally engrossing from frame one.

The main story revolves around three men and a missing bag containing $2m from a drug deal gone wrong. Set against the sprawling and sparse vistas of Wyoming, a cat and mouse game quickly escalates between a mumbling cowboy (Josh Brolin) who stumbles across the money whilst hunting deer, a weary local sheriff (Tommy Lee Jones) on the trail of the money, and a recently escaped hitman (Javier Bardem) who's been hired to find the bounty.

To say more would be pointless, as I can't reveal how truly masterful this film is without going into details, but just know this is absolutely a film you need to give a chance, even if it doesn't sound like your thing. It simply has everything; wonderful characters played to perfection by faultless acting, the fast-paced action moments which actually come organically from the character work, darkly brooding humour and dialogue to die for. The perfect film. Quite literally. Brothers Coen, I shall never doubt you again.