Lists, 12/27.

"If there's one common theme that continues to surface in these year's selection, it is probably the idea of 'ghost people' - living in the periphery, taking refuge in the shadows, abandoned and forgotten in their desolation, or who, in their absence, continue to haunt the imagination of those left behind." Acquarello presents a top ten (in preferential order; #1: Alexandra) and ten honorable mentions.

"Wherever my travels have taken me this year..., the sentiment has been the same: What a banner year it has been for American movies," writes Scott Foundas. "And at a time when there isn't much about our country that everyone the world over can agree on, these words of praise have been spoken by critics, filmmakers and just plain moviegoers of myriad tongues and nationalities. Far be it from me to argue: Of the 17 titles I've managed to shoehorn into the 10 slots below..., all but four are American or American co-productions." His #1: There Will Be Blood.

Also in the LA Weekly, and also warming up for the Voice/LAW poll in works: "[T]he only trend worth mentioning in 2007 was the unseemly war of words between print critics and bloggers, the former an endangered species and the latter an emergent group with all the testy insecurity that entails," writes Ella Taylor. "To my mind, this battle goes nowhere [Amen!], not just because sooner or later we'll all be bloggers, but because I can't remember a year of such across-the-board consensus in Top 10 lists on and off the Web - mine included, unranked, arbitrary and subject to change."

And Robert Abele presents an annotated list of the best of what was new on TV this year.

Harry Knowles springs a surprise on us all with the Ain't It Cool Awards. He, Moriarty, Massawyrm and Capone each name their "AICN Discovery of the Year"; consensus has decided the rest of the traditional categories. Those Discoveries include Danny R McBride, Diablo Cody, Time Crimes and Mongol. Click to see who was wowed by what.

"Sure, 2007 took quite a while to get rolling, and I believe it was about halfway through Transformers that I started seriously considering a career in real estate," writes Sean Burns in the Philadelphia Weekly. "But then sometime around August the damnedest thing happened - movies started getting good again. Really good." Top of his list: I'm Not There.

Kathy Fennessy presents her list of "Movies for Music Lovers" (for the list alone, see the Siffblog) and Songs for Swingin' Cineastes!

"This year, the desire for revenge ripped free from its moorings, catching innocents in its unfriendly fire," writes Sam Adams, introducing his list. "More frightening by far than Rendition's chest-beating was The Bourne Ultimatum's casual depiction of innocents being snatched off the street: a hypo in the neck, a hood over the head, and into the unmarked Suburban you go." But his overriding theme goes like this: "In No Country for Old Men, in There Will Be Blood, in We Own the Night and Into Great Silence, actions spoke louder than words."

Also in the Philadelphia City Paper, Cindy Fuchs: "This year's best films are structured as quests. While they rarely achieve their stated aims - truth, justice, a sense of moral order - they find in their seeming failures more remarkable ends."

"The critics have spoken, and the American West is winning in many year-end polls," writes Susan Gerhard. "But a quick survey of Bay Area programmers, curators, distributors, and filmmakers reveals a much richer picture of 2007's best movie events, from avant-garde showcases to locally programmed extravaganzas. SF360.org offered some of the Bay Area's leading voices a chance to weigh in on their film favorites and disappointments for the year, as well as their hopes for the next."

IndieWIRE editors and contributors add comments to their top tens.

Kirk Honeycutt introduces the Hollywood Reporter's collection of top tens by its reviewers: "Only one film made all six lists. Julian Schnabel's The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, a remarkable work about a seemingly unfilmable subject."

"Top ten lists do not represent the ideal model for reminiscing on a cinematic year," argues Ted Pigeon. "But their flaws and their strengths enable them to endure; keeping us in eager anticipation of writing and reading them each year, and informing the perspectives of others interested in this medium we - critics - so passionately value."

At Dr Mabuse's Kaleido-Scope, Drew Morton's got a "Highly Subjective List of 2007's Best Media Offerings."

"Every year I read a lot of commentary on how the prior twelve months haven't produced any music of lasting value, and every year I disagree." Michael Tully charts his "Year in Music: 2007."

Modern Fabulousity presents the "Heroes of 2007."

Online browsing tip. For the Independent Weekly, Derek Anderson presents the year in pictures.

Posted by dwhudson at December 27, 2007 9:51 AM