as usual, there are a few big ones i missed, like babel and some of the more indie and/or girly ones like the queen or little children. some i caught late (i even had to include one i saw in january of ’07 because looking back, i saw so few great movies last year), and some i saw and loved but for all their greatness weren’t on the same level as the ones here — like inconvenient truth. children of men in particular, which i just finally saw this week, was an outstanding-looking and intense movie, but just doesn’t seem like something i’d be drawn to time after time. that’s what i really look for in a favorite: just like a good album, i keep wanting to come back to it over and over.

after having no interest whatsoever in the last few brosnan bond movies, the promise of a darker, formative version of the bond character was a big one after watching all those connery movies on tbs with my dad as a kid, and boy did they not disappoint. this was like a grown-up’s bond movie without losing what made it fun, and made me believe in the franchise again.

a lot of people weren’t as excited about this as i was, but i love the fact that it took me and jessica a whole car ride home and then some to finish arguing over exactly how much we perceived wrongly as we watched, or which characters knew what at what time in the film after the ‘twist ending’. i know lots of people are weary of those after the past few years of movies, but this one went so deep that for me you can never really know what exactly you might have seen, and that makes it a more meaningful film and not just a cheap trick. you know, like good magic (see how i did that right there?). plus, hugh jackman and christian bale are a couple of the best male actors around and they both owned this film.

kind of cheating here since i saw this in january, but since it won some oscars this weekend i’ll include it under a technicality. actually less bizarre than i was expecting, but much more emotionally powerful. i just wanted to hug that little girl so many times, she was so cute and still so brave in the face of such terrible circumstances. great ending as well. plus: foreign language picks get me culture-points!

i think the title and subject made this destined to only ever be a mild success, but all in all it was a really quick-witted and enjoyable comedy much more than it was any sort of political or cultural statement. aaron eckhart almost always kicks ass too. (tangent: and did you hear he’s probably playing harvey dent (the nascent two-face) in the next batman? HOLY SHIT, christian bale and aaron eckhart together are going to put that at my number one for ’08 for sure).

take an alan moore comic and actually translate it decently to film and you’ve already won my heart. keep the verbose language and you might confuse some, but surely delight yours truly. throw in some natalie portman, some explosions, swordfigting, and political intrigue and jesus, either you’re trying to seduce me or you just got a damn smart and satisfying action movie.

noir dialogue mixed with high school drama? sign me up. doesn’t hurt when it looks this good either. maybe i have a weakness for any mystery where the characters talk so fast you can barely keep up, but this earned major points for sheer creativity then totally delivered a solid, well-acted story for the win.

umm, obvious much? i won’t even go into it but this one has classic written all over it. i mostly just want to see it again so i can start guessing which lines will go down in quotable movie history, since a film this epic and exciting and gut-wrenching can’t help but beat out just about anything else in the last several years, let alone the generally weak 2006.

i also saw 51 netflix movies last year on dvd (more if you count each disc of a TV series separately), which is a decent average of at least one a week. lots of great stuff, in fact i rarely rent something i don’t like at all, which is a testament to the netflix system and the friends i get recommendations from. these are the ones i absolutely loved and recommend with the most enthusiasm:

• freaks & geeks: probably second only to my so-called life as best and most accurate drama depicting life as a high school kid.
• deadwood: so glad i finally caught up on this, the dialogue is spectacular.
• hard boiled: best action movie i’ve seen in ages, might even rival die hard if it were in english. maybe.
• wordplay: totally tickled the nerd in me, and well put together for such a geeky topic.
• kiss kiss, bang bang: fun noir-comedy i could watch over and over.
• the good, the bad, and the ugly: any time a 3 hour movie doesn’t feel like one, it must be amazing.
• ichi the killer: messed up, but so worth it if you’re not squeamish.