Good/interesting 2007 films that didn't quite rise to "Best of" level, Part II

More from 2007:

Black Book: This Paul Verhoeven film about the survival of a Jewish woman during WWII is a pretty gutsy film. The approach it takes is quite different from other movies with similar subject matter, and the lead performance by Carice van Hoeten is brave and striking. In the end, it gets a little melodramatic at times, and I'm not sure the framing device was necessary or helped much (though it's worlds better than the atrocious and embarrassing framing device in Saving Private Ryan) but it remains gripping throughout, and admirably subverts our expectations.

Grindhouse (Planet Terror/Death Proof): Yeah, it's a stunt. Yeah, we may be a little weary of Quentin Tarantino's insatiable desire to fetishize Z-grade 70s exploitation films. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But this was still a gonzo trip to the movies. Robert Rodriguez's front half, the zombie film Planet Terror, is decent little thrill ride with some admirably perverse grossout effects, but it left me wishing for an actual Z-grade film. Do we have to spend so much money to imitate super-cheap films? Tarantino's half is awful talky for the first 2/3, but he makes up for it by finishing with one of the most insane sustained stunt/chase/action sequences I've ever seen. It also helps that a demonic Kurt Russell gleefully chews scenery like he hasn't since the Escape From movies.

The Wind that Shakes the Barley: The Irish begin to fight back against English oppression in the early 20th century. It'll make you angry, and it'll make you think hard about war as a solution. Those are both good things in these times.

Weird/avant garde section:
Brand Upon the Brain!: Guy Maddin is back with another strange silent film. This time we have strange experiments on a remote island, and the vagaries of memory. As usual, he weaves a dreamlike state onto film, and the effects linger (like a brand upon the brain!) long afterwards. (His The Saddest Music in the World or Cowards Bend the Knee are probably better places to start with his oeuvre.)

What is it?: Crispin Glover's first film in his "It" Trilogy is... well, who knows what it is. It freaks me out. It's disturbing and anti-narrative, but it contains some rather indelible (for better or worse) imagery. I've gleaned, from his Q&A sessions he gives after showing this (and other "It" films) that his main purpose in this film is exploding the various taboos that have crept into American filmmaking. Yeah. He explodes them. This one's hard to see, since he only shows it in person, but it's an... experience. (He also does a slide show of his odd books before each showing. You can see one of these marvelously strange performances here.)

It is Fine. Everything is Fine!: Crispin Glover is back for Part II of the "It" Trilogy, this one written by Steven Stewart, a man afflicted with cerebral palsy, who also starred in the film, and who died about a month after completing filming. Again, Glover pushes our buttons, but this time there's much more of a narrative flow. Still, it's unlike anything you've ever seen before, a nightmare that forces us to explore the reality of life for the disabled. Many members of the audience squirmed and/or giggled uncomfortably at various points, so be ready, if you ever have the chance to see this one. (Glover doesn't expect to even begin the third film in the trilogy (It is Mine) for about a decade.) (Also, technically I saw this in 2008, but it's a 2007 film, and it makes sense to write about it in tandem with What is It?.)

Films I missed but expect to like (or at least find interesting):
Day Night Day Night, The Savages, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Michael Clayton, Sweeney Todd, Southland Tales, Into Great Silence, Killer of Sheep.