September 6, 2007 -- It is way past time to look back on the year 2006. I skipped most of the bad movies, as usual (sue me) so my “worst of” list is hardly definitive, but I've seen most of the best films of last year. Usually, there are six to eight A films (four stars out of four), but this year was an exception. I had 13 A films, and a good number of B+ films when I got to the end of the year (I don't use an A- rating since I don't think there is a bit of difference between an A- and a B+. I also don't use an A+ rating, a B- or a C-, just F, D-, D, C, C+, B, B+ and A.).

As usual, many of the top films are released in December. I saw a number of these films on screeners (thanks to the studios, publicists and the Online Film Critics Society). The rest, I saw in Laramie, Cheyenne, Fort Collins or Denver. Don't feel left out if you haven't seen all these films. Lots of people haven't seen them all. Most of these are available on home video. There are some acclaimed films that I haven't yet seen yet myself. Many of these films were poorly distributed around the U.S.

I did see “No Country for Old Men,” which is probably the film with the most awards that didn't make my top 10 list. It was an O.K. film, but it didn't impress me enough to make my top 10 list. It really lost its way in the final act, if you can even call it that (see my overrated list below and my review for more on this). Another top 10 movie on my list is unusual, “The Lives of Others” (Das Leben der Anderen) won an Academy Award for best foreign film last year. I did not see it in 2006, and in fact, it was only released in the U.S. in 2007, so it made my 2007 list. It was eligible for 2007 year end awards in my critic's organization, the Online Film Critics Society. For many critics, this film was last year's news, and that's too bad. It is a great film, no matter what year you are talking about.

Below the list of top films are a list of honorable mentions, followed by lists of my picks for top director, top actor, top foreign film, etc. Those lists are followed by lists of the worst films, overrated films, funniest, saddest, etc. One thing that makes my list different than most is I've got more comedies in my top 10 and honorable mentions list, and more films starring black actors. Most actors, directors and critics agree that it is a lot tougher to make a good comedy than it is to make a good drama, but then they go ahead and omit the comedies from their top 10 lists anyway. I practice what I preach.

Page navigation: Honorable mention,  Best of by category,  Funniest movie,   Saddest movie,  Overrated movies,   Best movies you haven't heard of,   Worst movies.

4. WaitressThis little film set in a small town celebrates cooks, pies, waitresses, friendship and girl power. It is both funny and touching. It is also tragic because of the murder of Adrienne Shelly, the writer and director of this film. A vision like hers is desperately needed in these times.

6. The NamesakeThis film is both small and large. It's small because it deals with the relationships of just a few people, but it is large because it covers a lot of years and a lot of geography. It deals with two great societies, the United States and India. These cultures are diverse, but the people deal with problems that are universal to all cultures.

7. The Lives of Others (Das Leben der Anderen)This is a very powerful drama set in the last years of the Soviet occupation of East Germany. In a way it is a social application of a law of quantum mechanics, that a person who eavesdrops on another affects both himself and the people he spies upon, whether he intends to or not. An East German spy assigned to spy on artists ends up being profoundly changed by the experience, as do the people he spies upon.

8. Bridge to TerabithiaThis is the best children's movie of the year, but few children will probably see it because of the tragedy in the story. Not all children's films have a happy ending, take “Old Yeller” for instance. Children's films as great and profound as “Bridge to Terabithia” are very rare these days. This is a film that dares to be different in a world where children's movies are increasingly trite and unchallenging. It is also a film that will appeal to adults as well as children.

9. There Will Be BloodAn epic film with a very personal story at its center. This is also one of the darkest films of the year about naked ambition, corporate irresponsibility and spiritual emptiness. Daniel Day-Lewis reprises the evil of his character in “Gangs of New York” in this film, but gets a lot deeper into the blackness of his character's soul. His character in this film is truly creepy.

Links to reviews of all the films below are indexed in the following web pages:

A through B   C through D   E through G   H through L
M through Q   R through S   T through Z

While I saw most of the best films of the year, I purposefully missed most of the worst films, including Daddy Day Camp, What Love Is, I Know Who Killed Me, Epic Movie, Delta Farce, Miriam, Kickin It Old Skool, Who's Your Caddy?, Good Luck Chuck, Bratz, The Movie, Tortilla Heaven, The Condemned, Caffeine, I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, Norbit, The Number 23, Awake, Because I Said So, Captivity, Code Name: The Cleaner, Are We Done Yet?, License to Wed, Saw IV, Evening, Sleuth, The Seeker: The Dark is Rising, Evan Almighty, Things We Lost in the Fire, Young Triffie, The Abandoned, Alvin and the Chipmunks and Premonition, The Hills Have Eyes 2, The Invasion and The Reaping, among many others, so this is not in any way a list of the worst of the worst films, just the worst of the films I saw. After all, I don't get into the movies for free, and I don't like to waste my money, but I got fooled into watching the following films anyway: