Lists, 12/28.

"I always root for the underdog and grade on a curve in this annual exercise, and this year more than ever I practiced affirmative action on behalf of adventurous, difficult-to-categorize pictures that fared poorly in the marketplace," writes Andrew O'Hehir, introducing his top ten at Salon. His #1: Bamako.

From the Art of Memory, the year's best music, DVDs, movies and books.

As Dana Stevens opens up her top ten - an alphabetical list - she reminds us that Slate's "Movie Club" will be convening next week.

"Putting Cristian Mungiu's 4 luni, 3 saptamani si 2 zile (4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days) on the top spot of the Best of 2007 might seem both risky and conservative," writes european-films.net editor Boyd van Hoeij somewhere in the middle, actually, of his list of the "Best European Films of 2007." "Conservative because it is the one film everyone else has been praising ever since it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and won the Palme d'Or. Risky because adding to the hype is never a good thing and going into a film heaped with so much critical praise from all corners might set viewers up for a disappointment. But here's the thing: it is the best film of 2007."

Marcy Dermansky agrees, topping her list with this "riveting, wrenching, horrifying and beautifully told story."

Heavens, here's a batch: "The contributors to SF360.org were asked to ponder the best and worst movies of the past 365 days, to organize their thoughts about film moments into discrete categories, and/or offer prognostications for 2008," writes Susan Gerhard, and ten lists, a few from names you'll be glad to see again, follow.

"As 2007 closes, we thought it appropriate to wish happy birthday to the most powerful and pervasive approach to filmic storytelling the world has yet seen. That would be classical continuity cinema, synthesized in what was coming to be known as Hollywood." Kristin Thompson and David Bordwell celebrate 1917 - and yes, there is a list.

"It was touch and go at times, but 2007 shaped up to be a pretty good vintage," writes Nicolas Rapold, introducing his top ten (#1: Day Night Day Night). "Notably, American auteurs of the 90s resurfaced - with a vengeance: Haynes, Fincher and Anderson (Paul Thomas, but we still love you, Wes) were joined by their predecessors, the Coen brothers, on the marquee. Equally striking was the little-remarked success of female filmmakers, including Pascale Ferran (Lady Chatterley), Tamara Jenkins (The Savages), So Yong Kim (In Between Days), and the late Adrienne Shelly (Waitress). 2007 also boasted innovative popcorn flicks: Sunshine, The Host and The Bourne Ultimatum all bucked the implications of the fourth straight year to see a sequel as the leading grosser."

Also in the New York Sun:

• "With major retrospectives devoted to Max Ophuls, Rouben Mamoulian, Mikhail Kalatozov and Fritz Lang, 2007 was the repertory year of the moving camera," writes Bruce Bennett. "Mindful as always of cineaste-turned-director Paul Schrader's observation that 'list making is the junk food of criticism,' let us nevertheless unwrap this year's 10 most toothsome classic-film-going experiences."

• Grady Hendrix presents "a list of the best 10 movies that came and went before anyone had a chance to see them."

• S James Snyder writes up his "top four movie moments of the year."

• Steve Dollar: "Not so much a fearless prognostication as a tip sheet tilted toward the cinematic promise of the next dozen months, here's a list of the 10 best movies of 2008."

"The 2007 Bad Lit Movie of the Year is: Mike Z's Wanted: New Talent! The Walt Gollender Story," announces Mike Everleth. "This is also the most simply shot film I've seen year. Basically, it's just a close-up of the film's subject, Walt Gollender, as he relates the epic story of his life as a struggling songwriter and talent scout in New Jersey from the early 60s to the present. However, the depths of Walt's story and the background of the filmmaker make this a highly complex documentary."

"Our big Best of 07 stories run Sunday, but because I'm such a smug gasbag there wasn't enough room to bloviate about the acting I loved this year," writes the Boston Globe's Wesley Morris. But of course, this, too, is what blogs are for.

The Guardian's Danny Leigh lists his "film blog highlights of 2007."

At the Guru, James Van Maanen presents his list of the "Best Gay-themed Films of the Year on DVD (in alphabetical order)."

Alonso Duralde tops his list at MSNBC with 4 Months... while Dave White compiles a different sort of list: "[T]he bad movies that blow your mind, the kind that plop into your life like magical bird droppings on your brain, those that excel at badness in a virtuosic way, the kind that make you wish you could peer inside the brains of the people who made them so you can see what crazy actually looks like, the kind that make you glad you’re alive and living right now and able to scratch your head in puzzlement over their very existence, instead of having to live back in the olden days, back when life was boring and they didn’t have movies at all, those are the ones I bring to your attention here."

At AICN, "Fathergeek lays out the 25 Films he found most enjoyable over the last twelve months."

Michael Guillén lists ten favorites of the many interviews he's conducted this past year.

"Reviewing this year's best films, it's tempting to summon up the spirit of the early 70s, fondly remembered as a veritable golden age in which a new generation of American filmmakers threw off convention and produced a series of iconoclastic movies," writes Gregg Kilday in the Hollywood Reporter. "This year's movies almost seemed to beg for the comparison." Via Matt Dentler.

Andy Klein didn't have such a great year. "[I]t's been about six months since a single film made me want to rush out and evangelize... and then just barely." His and Amy Nicholson's lists are alphabetical, while lists from the other LA CityBeat critics (appearing on the same page) are ranked.

Cinematical's Erik Davis: "[I]nstead of giving you another top ten list, here are my official awesome awards for 2007."

"All we can say is hooray for the DVD," sighs Chicagoist's Rob Christopher. "On Monday we'll present a list of the ten best movies we saw this year, but for now here's ten that we wished we'd seen."

"Another look back at 2007" at indieWIRE, "this time featuring top ten lists from industry insiders and bloggers."

"[T]here were some major events in 2007 that didn't happen, creating an effect that was arguably even more profound." A list from Timothy M Gray and Variety.

Gabriel Wardell lists his "Top Ten 'Best of 2007' Lists."

Variety's Circuit declares Telluride the "Best Fest of 2007."

"The votes are in for the Best Film Noir of All Time (1941 - 1945)," announces Noir of the Week.

MS Smith's "Year of Listening."

Online viewing tips. YouTube's "Most Memorable Online Videos of 2007" get Steve Bryant thinking: "Of all the facets of online video, one that's consistently unremarked upon is the degree to which videos' appeal is confined to niche audiences."

Posted by dwhudson at December 28, 2007 5:52 PM