Well, we're over a week into 2008 now, which means it's about time to look back at the films of 2007. I think top/bottom 10 lists are always interesting. I'll get the ball rolling.


My top 10 films of 2007:

10. We Own the Night - A great throwback to the crime films of the 1970s, this also featured one of the most thrilling car chases of recent memory.

9. Ratatouille - Pixar. Brad Bird.

8. Michael Clayton - A smart drama anchored by a great performance from George Clooney.

7. Gone Baby Gone - Ben Affleck proves that he belongs behind the camera, not in front of it.

6. Vacancy - A lean, tense and highly effective thriller. Hitchcock would be proud.

5. No Country for Old Men - The Coen brothers remind us that they are two of the greatest American directors working today.

4. Black Book - This has more in common with Paul Verhoeven's earlier, pre-American films such as Soldier of Orange. It also features a star-making performance from Carice van Houten.

3. Persepolis - Featuring simple but beautiful black and white animation, this is a funny/thrilling/heartbreaking film.

2. The Darjeeling Limited - I guess Wes Anderson is a love him or hate him type of director. Personally, I love him.

1. There Will be Blood - Wow. Go see this. Now.


Bottom 10

The worst films of 2007 (and I get the feeling that some of my picks may be a bit controversial):

10. The Hitcher - Boring, silly and over-the-top.

9. Hannibal Rising - Terrible. One of the film's many problems is the guy who plays Hannibal, who sneers his way through the entire film and doesn't even hint at the depth Hopkins brought to the role.

8. The Kingdom - Paper-thin characters and a surfeit of the incoherent shaky-cam/quick-cut style of direction that's ruining most contemporary action films.

7. Transformers - This was bad, even by Michael Bay's standards.

6. Lions for Lambs - An hour-and-a-half political treatise disguised as a piece of entertainment.

5. 300 - Over-the-top, bland visuals, and seemingly edited by an ADD-afflicted chimp. It's like a commercial for a music video.

4. 28 Weeks Later - More of the shaky-cam/quick-cut crap, taken to such a ridiculous extreme that some of the action scenes are literally incoherent.

3. License to Wed - Stupid, stupid, stupid. This is a bad movie. That's not my opinion; that's a fact. If you like this you then have bad taste. Again -- a fact, not an opinion.

2. Sicko - Important? Probably. Entertaining? No. Michael Moore is so intent on making sure that every single person in the theatre gets it, he makes the exact same point over and over and over and over. And over. And over. And then... he does it a few more times. Calling this film repetitive is like calling being punched in the crotch somewhat painful. It's a bit of an understatement.

1. Redacted - Brian de Palma directed this? Really?? Featuring absolutely none of the style he's become famous for, this was badly written, badly acted and, yes, badly directed. There isn't a single frame of this film that doesn't look artificial. I didn't think he'd be able to get any worse than the Black Dahlia, but that's looking pretty damn good right about now.

So, there you go. What about everyone else?