-- M,
' >.
-' ''
i
_ , . .r::- ,
?:
II E . ,
' :!
)
;
>
K:i 1 ,ter 1
)f 1
r.l I
V , : 1 Y 5 ,:, d
. ._ a eK
N The Michigan Daily I michigandaily.com 1 Thursday, January 31, 2008
The Daily Arts
guide to the best
upcoming events
- it's everywhere
you should be this
weekend and why.
IN CONCERT
The Assad Brothers'
Brazilian Guitar Summit
is a big deal: Yo-Yo Ma
called Assad's recordings
one of his favorites
of all time. Blending
various South American
guitar styles, they won't
disappoint. The group
unleashes their sound
tomorrow night at 8 p.m.
at Rackham Auditorium.
Tickets are $22-$46.
ON STAGE
Four-handed piano
playing has gone out of
style. Watch it come back
to life at 8 p.m. Saturday
at Hill Auditorium as six
keyboard virtuosos to
explore the wonders of
music made for multiple
pianists. Selections
will include works from
Mozart, Mendelssohn
and Stravinsky. Tickets
are $10 with student ID.
1. "No Country for Old Men" (Joel and
Ethan Coen)
Have you ever seen a flawless film? "No
Country for Old Men," the Coen brothers'
new masterwork, is nothing less. The film
mixes an ingenious cocktail of the finest ele-
ments of moviemaking - majestic photogra-
phy, dramatic tension, peerless performance,
symbolism and a just plain unforgettable
story - into a single, momentous work that
stands tall and strong over everything that
came out last year. Of all the great movies
this year, and there were many, it's the Coen
brothers' opus, blistering and merciless, that
has stayed in our hearts, minds and stom-
achs. This was without a doubt 2007's best.
BLAKE GOBLE
2. "Superbad" (Greg Mottola)
Three high school friends try to get beer
for a party. That's it. But that's all that's
required for the film to exceed even the
best of the high school hijinks genre, "Fast
Times" and "Dazed and Confused" included.
Facilitating its achievement is Seth Rogen
and Evan Goldberg's brilliant script, which
alternatesbetween disgusting, hilarious and
ThUe Daily's il st
onr 207s best
actually, kind of sweet. And let's not forget
the passing of the catchphrase torch from
Borat's "Very nice!" to Fogel's "I am McLo-
vin'!" In the year of Apatow, there is no film
more representative of his creative infiltra-
tion of Hollywood than this instant classic.
PAUL TASSI
3. "Atonement" (Joe Wright)
Perhaps the most traditional prestige
movie on this list is also one of the most com-
plex. It plays likea snapshot of elite filmmak-
ing - a morality play and a lecture on war,
a performance showcase and an aesthetic
triumph - but with its postmodern take on
perspective, it complicates and reinvents the
conventions of those narratives. Drenched
in loss and an aching desire to rewrite the
past, Joe Wright's adaptation of Ian McE-
wan's novel spans decades to tell the story of
a 13-year-old girl (Saoirse Ronan), the fatal
mistake she makes and the lifetime it takes
to make it right. JEFFREYBLOOMER
4. "Eastern Promises" (David Cronen-
berg)
David Cronenberg has proven himself to
be an incredibly versatile and nonconform-
ist filmmaker over the years, and "Eastern
Promises" may wellbehis crowning achieve-
ment. A flawlessly acted and constructed
thriller, it's both his most accessible film
and his most artistic. At its center is Viggo
Mortensen (with whom he also worked on
the masterful "A History of Violence"),
turning in what is arguably the best perfor-
mance of the year. He'll be brushed aside at
ceremonies thanks to a certain other, tow-
ering leading man, but Viggo - though less.
showy - is the far more nuanced and fasci-
nating of the two. BRANDON CONRADIS
5. "There Will Be Blood" (Paul Thomas
Anderson)
More than a film cementing Daniel Day-
Lewis's iconic status, thoughitdoesthatwith
astonishing force, "There Will Be Blood"
shows a keen maturity that has developed
in the work of Paul Thomas Anderson. After
his feature debut, "Sydney," Anderson wrote
and directed "Boogie Nights," "Magnolia"
and "Punch-Drunk Love," emotion-driven
films ranging from disparate-but-some-
how-connected tales to a quirky character
study starring a maudlin, blue-suited Adam
Sandler. In "There Will Be Blood," Anderson
takes his most assured steps as an auteur,
crafting a haunting, sadistic masterpiece of
an oil man (Lewis) and the legacy he burns
for himself. NOAH DEANSTAHL
See FILMS PAGE 4B
AT THE DRUM
Fine Michigan wine is
a reality. Let Sharon
Kegerreis tell you why
at her book signing
for "From the Vine:
Exploring Michigan
Wineries" at Shaman
Drum Bookshop 7 p.m.
Saturday. Along with co-
author Lorri Hathaway,
she traveled the state
sampling the best. Join
in the discussion and
even sample a few.
Notes on a good year
After a year of diversity,
observations about
what made 2007 work
By JEFFREY BLOOMER
Managing Editor
A sedate modern western, a giddily
nasty teen comedy and a drama of war
and class top the Daily film staff's list of
the best movies of the year, and taken
together the films provide a telling
glimpse into the kind of year 2007 was.
There was no runaway moment that
defined the season, no marquee master-
piece that broke records, no big trend
that gave writers in my position an easy
out at the end of the year. The only con-
sensus that seems to have formed is that
this was an uncommonly good year for
film and an even better one for discuss-
ing it. Whether in service of "300" or
"Knocked Up," "Eastern Promises" or
"There Will Be Blood," 2007 was a year
that invited strong opinions and saw
cross-cultural debates at every turn.
Are the warriors of "300" gay or Bush
surrogates? Is Judd Apatow pro-life?
Is David Cronenberg having some kind
of weird Clint Eastwood moment? And
who, exactly, is that Daniel Day-Lewis
character supposed to be?
There has been a place for every
movie this year, and there's more reason
than usual to celebrate it. No discussion
can go without mention of the American
writers' strike and how it will affect pro-
duction in the next couple of years. Jeers
See NOTEBOOK PAGE 4B
AT THE ARK
Michigan's legislature
labeled him "Michigan's
Troubadour." It doesn't
get much more legit
than that. See if your
congressmen know
what they're talking
about when Neil
Woodward brings his
bluegrass/Michicana
sound to The Ark tonight.
Paul Thomas Anderson directs Daniel Day-Lewis in "There Will Be Blood."
1I