Best Films of 2007 Critics Lists Thread

[blessingx]

If you want a great list of lists for your next trip to the theater or video store, check out Sight & Sound Films of 2007 [pdf]. It is mostly British critics so some films could have been released elsewhere in 2006 or not at all yet.

"Each year we ask a selection of our contributors - reviewers and critics from around the world - for their five films of the year," writes Sight & Sound editor Nick James. "It's a very loosely policed subjective selection... From this we put together the top ten you see here. What distinguishes this particular list is that it's been drawn up from one of the best years for all-round quality I can remember. 2007 has seen some extraordinary films. So all of the films in the ten are must-sees and so are many more. Enjoy."

The general consensus is:
1 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (Cristian Mungiu)
2 Inland Empire (David Lynch)
3 Zodiac (David Fincher)
4 I’m Not There (Todd Haynes) & The Lives of Others (Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck)
6 Silent Light (Carlos Reygadas)
7 The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (Andrew Dominik) & Syndromes and a Century (Apichatpong Weerasethakul) & No Country for Old Men (Ethan and Joel Coen) & Eastern Promises (David Cronenberg)

 

[ken36]

Thanks Ric. I've got some work to do here.

 

[blessingx]

I'm going to bump this once, 'cause there is a lot of films threats right now and this lists are very good.

 

[zotjen]

I'm surprised that Inland Empire made the list. While I liked it, I would only recommend it for diehard Lynch fans.

 

[blessingx]

Here's indieWires comprehensive critics poll. There's a summary here. Many similar titles.

Best Film
# Title Points Mentions
1 There Will Be Blood 716 58
2 Zodiac 571 52
3 No Country for Old Men 561 48
4 Syndromes and a Century 444 39
5 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days 406 35
6 I'm Not There 388 37
7 The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford 309 30
8 Colossal Youth 307 26
9 Killer of Sheep 264 22
10 Offside 250 24
11 Black Book 245 25
12 Once 208 22
13 The Diving Bell and the Butterfly 204 17
14 Eastern Promises 195 22
15 I Don't Want to Sleep Alone 187 19
16 Regular Lovers 184 18
17 The Host 173 19
18 Southland Tales 166 17
19 Into the Wild 161 14
20 Ratatouille 147 15

 

[wakeride74]

Quote:

Originally Posted by zotjen /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm surprised that Inland Empire made the list. While I liked it, I would only recommend it for diehard Lynch fans.

Was it less accessible than his other films or something? I've like him since Dune, Blue Velvet and Twin Peaks (that's about as far back as I go on his stuff). Mulholland Drive was great but I think that was the last thing I saw from him.

 

[blessingx]

A few more:

MovieCityNews great chart of top films.

Slash Films top 25.

A.O. Scott/NYTimes ten best.

Quite the duplication of titles. Should really be checked out.

 

[jpelg]

Thanks, blessingx!

 

[blessingx]

And maybe the most interesting list yet: Reverse Shot's Ten Best

• Syndromes and a Century
• There Will Be Blood
• I'm Not There
• 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days
• Regular Lovers
• No Country for Old Men
• I Don't Want to Sleep Alone
• Zodiac
• Offside
• Colossal Youth

 

[jmmtn4aj]

Woah.. save Zodiac, which my ex and I were thinking about watching but went with Transformers over it (

) and The Lives of Others, which I loved, I haven't heard of any of the films on that list :O

 

[blessingx]

The National Society of Film Critics Awards voting is out.

BEST PICTURE
*1. There Will Be Blood (48) – Paul Thomas Anderson [Paramount Vantage]
2. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (28) – Julian Schnabel
3. No Country for Old Men (27) – Joel and Ethan Coen

BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM
*1. 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (57) – Cristian Mungiu [IFC]
2. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (42) – Julian Schnabel
3. Persepolis (18) – Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud

BEST DIRECTOR
*1, Paul Thomas Anderson (47) – There Will Be Blood [Paramount Vintage]
2. Joel and Ethan Coen (29) – No Country for Old Men
2. Julian Schnabel (29) – The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

BEST NONFICTION FILM
*1. No End in Sight (43) – Charles Ferguson [Magnolia]
2. Sicko (20) – Michael Moore
3. Terror’s Advocate (18) – Barbet Schroeder

BEST ACTOR
*1.Daniel Day-Lewis (66) – There Will Be Blood [Paramount Vantage]
2. Frank Langella (34) — Starting Out in the Evening
3. Philip Seymour Hoffman (21) — The Savages, Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead

 

[nogrot]

The best documentary I saw this year was: The King of Kong.

 

[blessingx]

Well the Academy Award nominations were just announced. The Academy is always crazy with their choices, but probably most surprising Diving Bell & the Butterfly didn't get a Best Foreign Language nod (I wasn't optimistic enough to expect best picture). A few other nominations including art direction and adapted screenplay though.

And nogrot King of Kong was great, and one of my personal faves, but check out No End in Sight.

 

[ken36]

It's a political thing/ You have to step up to the plate with your ticket already punched.

 

[kugino]

yeah, i sometimes wonder if the academy awards are like the heisman award - not really about the best of the year, rather most popular, most hyped, etc. i have to see "there will be blood," though...DDL is a favorite of mine and it looks like he's going to win everything this year...