More lists and awards, 12/19.

"From the murder of an underage Ukrainian sex slave in Eastern Promises to the family carnage in Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, the best films of 2007 hold their own when it comes to despair, evil, and treachery," writes Peter Keough in the Boston Phoenix. "So am I being a cockeyed optimist in thinking they also offer a glimmer of hope?" His #1: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.

The votes are in: Witchfinder General is Video Watchdog's DVD of the Year 2007.

"Taking the top slot this year is Lionsgate's The Silent Partner," writes the DVD Savant (Glenn Erickson), unveiling his list of "Most Impressive DVDs of 2007": "I chose this modest thriller not only because it's terrific, but to represent the fact that no single release of 2007 jumped out and said 'pick me.'" There's a top ten, yes, but also a looong supplemental list of "discs or disc sets from 2007 that Savant heartily recommends."

Topping Paul Matwychuk's list: Bug: "I'm as surprised as you are to see this one sitting in the top slot, but William Friedkin's claustro-phobic thriller about two lonely people succumbing to paranoia and madness inside a dusty motel room is the movie I find myself thinking back to more than any other film from 2007."

The AV Club blasts away at the worst of 07: "[H]ere are 16 films we hope never to see the likes of again."

In the New York Sun, S James Snyder offers "a chronicling not of 2007 movies but of 2007 moviegoing: the year's six best experiences, as compiled by one compulsive movie buff."

No surprises from the Southeastern Film Critics Association; Movie City News has their list and the Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association's as well.

The Association of Women Film Journalists echoes pretty much all their choices in their round of EDA Annual Achievement Awards. What they bring fresh to the table are the EDA Female Focus Awards and the EDA Special Mention Awards.

Cinematographer Michael Ballhaus will be receiving a Bavarian Film Award for his life's work in January, report the German wires.

For the Voice, RC Baker surveys the year in comics and graphic novels.

Online browsing tip. Via Jason Kottke, Billboard's "25 Best Rock Posters of All Time."

Online listening tip. David Edelstein discusses his top 11 on Fresh Air.

Online viewing tips. Director File's top ten music videos, via Jason Kottke.

Posted by dwhudson at December 19, 2007 3:04 PM