Lists. Independent Weekly.

"Have you seen Great World of Sound?" asks Godfrey Cheshire, opening the Independent Weekly's "year in film" package. "[T]his wonderfully original comedy about a pair of music-biz bottom-feeders, filmed in Charlotte by 29-year-old NC School of the Arts School of Film graduate Craig Zobel (and executive produced by David Gordon Green), is surely one of the year's most delightful and impressive directorial debuts." And he discovered it too late for his iW and VV/LAW ballots. "The main point here applies to all movie fans, not just critics: These days, the sheer volume of film releases makes it tough for even the most diligent and eager cinephile to keep pace." Not that he's really complaining: "I would argue that it's a period of many very good films and few truly great ones." His #1: Into the Wild.

Neil Morris tops his list with The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford: "Buttressed by terrific performances from Casey Affleck and Brad Pitt, [Andrew] Dominik fashions a lyrical meditation on celebrity and the concept of hero-worship, a longing gaze on the sepia-soaked days of yesteryear refracted into a piercing commentary on contemporary culture. The clear-cut choice for the year's best motion picture."

Laura Boyes explains why she won't be watching many of the films on most top tens. It's the violence:

I screen hundreds of documentaries every year on the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival selection committee. I am exposed to every variety of man's inhumanity to man, both on a national and personal level - how much reality can I handle? It's tested every year. I wish I had never watched (although every professional in the field should) Have You Seen Andy?, a filmmaker's investigation into the childhood disappearance of one of his friends, kidnapped by a ring of savage child predators. Why would I want to see Gone Baby Gone, in which movie stars act out a similar scenario? Hotel Rwanda? Be my guest. I've watched survivors of the conflict confront the neighbors that hacked their family members to death.

Kathy Justice puts Epic Movie at the top of a list of the "10 worst movies of 2007."

Neil Morris looks back on the year in North Carolina film and forward to hopes for 2008; and Zack Smith talks about those hopes with NC Film Office Director Aaron Syrett.

Posted by dwhudson at January 3, 2008 4:10 PM