Best Movies of 2007

1. There Will Be Blood (Paul Thomas Anderson)

2. After the Wedding (Susanne Bier)

3. Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (Sydney Lumet)

4. No Country for Old Men (Joel and Ethan Coen)

5. Ratatouille (Brad Bird)

6. Persepolis (Marjane Satrapi)

7. Into the Wild (Sean Penn)

8. Michael Clayton (Tony Gilroy)

9. The Savages (Tamara Jenkins)

10. Wild Tigers I have Known (Cam Archer)

Other movies I liked: 12:08 East of Bucharest, An Unreasonable Man, Eastern Promises, and Hairspray, and, yes, Juno.

There were a lot of great movies this year. I do note that 4 of the best picture nominees show up in this post--- all but Atonement, a fine effort that tried but simply couldn't match Ian McEwan's miraculous prose--- which indicates either that my taste is curdling or that the Oscars are meeting me halfway. I think this year I've appreciated the power of a good screenplay, though in general the movies that stay with me are those that deliver an experience that I can watch from inside out.

Also, 2007 brought Sicko, the first Michael Moore movie I've been able to stand.