Just like my pre-Oscars rundown last year and the year before, I thought this would be a good time to go over my top 10 films of 2007. Counting down:

10) Sunshine
It’s so great to see a thought-provoking science fiction movie once again. Yes, the final 1/4th strays a bit, but it’s still great all around.

9) Gone Baby Gone
Ben Affleck is clearly a better director than actor. Casey Affleck is clearly a better actor than Ben. Too many endings, but Gone Baby Gone was great.

Knocked Up
Director/Writer Judd Apatow ups his own standard (that he set with The 40-Year-Old Virgin) for the somewhat raunchy, somewhat cute R-rated comedy.

7) No Country For Old Men
Javier Bardem is so oddly terrifying with his bob haircut, I think I might be cautious of any male who wears such a hairdo going forward – of course, I probably would anyway, friendo.

6) Zodiac
I really believe the only reason this movie was snubbed in the Oscars was that it was released a year ago. Had this come out in November or December, we could have been looking at another Best Picture nominee.

5) 3:10 To Yuma
If all Westerns were made like this, the genre would not have died. Judging by the fact that it was nearly impossible to find for almost two weeks in two local Blockbuster stores, I think it may have brought the genre back.

4) Juno
Having read this screenplay a few years ago, it’s great to see what a great end product was made from it. It’s very funny without trying too hard and creates a world never really explored in film like this before.

3) Michael Clayton
I’ve always liked George Clooney – aside from maybe One Fine Day and Batman and Robin – but he has definitely trouble escaping his own real-life persona onscreen – until now. Clooney is really great here and definitely worthy of his Best Actor nod. Tom Wilkinson and Tilda Swinton are great as well in a movie I find myself liking more as time goes on.

2) Once
While I’m no fan of musicals, this one is so organic that it completely transcends the genre and is simply a great, small movie. It’s short, sweet, and very poignant.

1) There Will Be Blood
I have no doubt that this movie, while seen by some as overlong and boring, will go down as an American cinematic classic. Daniel Day Lewis is a shoo-in for Best Actor, and the film should take Best Picture – though some might agree with the overlong and boring part of the first sentence. Give it 10 years and it’ll crack the AFIs top films of all time list.

Honorable Mentions: American Gangster, Atonement, The Bourne Ultimatum, Superbad, Reign Over Me, Eastern Promises, 300, and Mr. Brooks.

Note: I won’t include The Lives of Others on this list since it won the Oscar for best foreign film last year – even though it was released stateside in 2007. If I had included it, it was certainly be in the top 5, possibly as high as #1 – it’s that good.

As for my least favorite films of last year? Dragon Wars, Shoot ‘Em Up, Ghost Rider, and Wild Hogs all come to mind.