This is the thread for posting year-end critic top tens, various award nominations and winners, all that stuff. You can also use this thread to discuss said lists.

Not YOUR Top Ten list. THAT goes over in THIS THREAD.

And here's the first Movie City News tally, a cumulative ranking of films which appear on the Top Ten lists of film critics.
Not dated on the site, but transcribed Dec 22. The posted list is presently ranked by number of list appearances, which I suspect will switch over to total points once enough lists have appeared, but maybe not. In any case, my version is ranked by total points, which appear in brackets following each title.

1 No Country For Old Men (156)
2 Zodiac (82)
3 Away From Her (73)
4 Once (67)
5 Juno (65)
6 Michael Clayton (49)
7 Diving Bell & The Butterfly (46)
7 Lives Of Others (46)
9 Sweeney Todd (44)
10 Into The Wild (40)
11 Eastern Promises (39)
12 Atonement (36)
13 Before The Devil Knows You're Dead (35)
14 Ratatouille (34.5)
15 There Will Be Blood (33)
16 Killer of Sheep (31.5)
17 3:10 To Yuma (29)
18 I'm Not There (28)
19 Superbad (27)
20 300 (25)
21 Syndromes and a Century (24)
22 Bourne Ultimatum (24)
23 Assassination of Jesse James (23)
23 Knocked Up (23)
25 Breach (22)
26 Persepolis (21.5)
27 Control (20)
27 Darjeeling Limited (20)
29 4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days (18)
29 Gone Baby Gone (18)

Variety posts the nominees for the Spirit Awards. (Are these the formerly "Independent Spirit Awards"?):

FEATURE (Award given to the producer)
"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" - Producers: Kathleen Kennedy, Jon Kilik
"I’m Not There" - Producers: Christine Vachon, John Sloss, John Goldwyn, James D. Stern
"Juno" - Producers: Lianne Halfon, John Malkovich, Mason Novick, Russell Smith
"A Mighty Heart" - Producers: Dede Gardner, Andrew Eaton, Brad Pitt
"Paranoid Park" - Producers: Neil Kopp, David Cress
More than one option(Person) Weibena Berrington
(Film) Juno

FIRST FEATURE (Award given to the director and producer)
"2 Days in Paris" - Director: Julie Delpy; Producers: Julie Delpy, Christophe Mazodier, Thierry Potok
"Great World of Sound" - Director: Craig Zobel; Producers: Melissa Palmer, David Gordon Green, Richard Wright, Craig Zobel
"The Lookout" - Director: Scott Frank; Producers: Roger Birnbaum, Gary Barber, Laurence Mark, Walter Parkes
"Rocket Science" - Director: Jeffrey Blitz; Producers: Effie T. Brown, Sean Welch
"Vanaja" - Director: Rajnesh Domalpalli; Producer: Latha R. Domalapalli

DIRECTOR
Todd Haynes - "I’m Not There"
Tamara Jenkins - "The Savages"
Jason Reitman - "Juno"
Julian Schnabel - "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"
Gus Van Sant - "Paranoid Park"

MALE LEAD
Pedro Castaneda - "August Evening"
Don Cheadle - "Talk To Me"
Philip Seymour Hoffman - "The Savages"
Frank Langella - "Starting Out in the Evening"
Tony Leung - "Lust, Caution"More than one option(Person) Tony Leung Chiu-wai
(Person) Tony LeungDirector, Stunt Coordinator, Stunts
(Person) Tony Leung
(Person) Tony Leung
(Person) Tony Leung
(Person) Tony Leung Ka-fai

FEMALE LEAD
Angelina Jolie - "A Mighty Heart"
Sienna Miller - "Interview"
Ellen Page - "Juno"
Parker Posey - "Broken English"
Tang Wei - "Lust, Caution"

SUPPORTING MALE
Chiwetel Ejiofor - "Talk To Me"
Marcus Carl Franklin - "I’m Not There"
Kene Holliday - "Great World of Sound"
Irrfan Khan - "The Namesake"
Steve Zahn - "Rescue Dawn"More than one option(Person) Irfan Khan
(Person) Irrfan Khan

SUPPORTING FEMALE
Cate Blanchett - "I’m Not There"
Anna Kendrick - "Rocket Science"
Jennifer Jason Leigh - "Margot at the Wedding"
Tamara Podemski - "Four Sheets to the Wind"
Marisa Tomei - "Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead"More than one option(Person) Jennifer Jason Leigh
(Person) Jennifer Jason Leigh

SCREENPLAY
Ronald Harwood - "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"
Tamara Jenkins - "The Savages"
Fred Parnes & Andrew Wagner - "Starting Out in the Evening"
Adrienne Shelly - "Waitress"
Mike White - "Year of the Dog"More than one option(Person) Mike WhiteDirector, Teleplay, Song
(Person) Michael WhiteSupervisor, Special Effects Assistant, Special Effects Supervisor
(Person) Michael J White
(Person) Mike White
(Person) Mike White
(Person) Mike White
(Person) Mike White
(Person) Mike White
(Person) Michael White

FIRST SCREENPLAY
Jeffrey Blitz - "Rocket Science"
Zoe Cassavetes - "Broken English"
Diablo Cody - "Juno"
Kelly Masterson - "Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead"
John Orloff - "A Mighty Heart"

CINEMATOGRAPHY
Mott Hupfel - "The Savages"
Janusz Kaminski - "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"
Milton Kam - "Vanaja"
Mihai Malaimare, Jr. - "Youth Without Youth"
Rodrigo Prieto - "Lust, Caution"

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD (Given to the best feature made for under $500,000; award given to the writer, director, and producer)
"August Evening" - Writer/Director: Chris Eska; Producers: Connie Hill, Jason Wehling
"Owl and the Sparrow" - Writer/Director: Stephane Gauger; Producers: Nguyen Van Quan, Doan Nhat Nam, Stephane Gauger
"The Pool" - Director: Chris Smith; Producer: Kate Noble; Writer: Chris Smith & Randy Russell
"Quiet City" - Director: Aaron Katz; Producers: Brendan McFadden, Ben Stambler
"Shotgun Stories" - Writer/Director: Jeff Nichols; Producers: David Gordon Green, Lisa Muskat, Jeff NicholsMore than one option(Film) The Pool
(Film) The Pool

DOCUMENTARY (Award given to the director)
"Crazy Love" - Director: Dan Klores
"Lake of Fire" - Director: Tony Kaye
"Manufactured Landscapes" - Director: Jennifer Baichwal
"The Monastery" - Director: Pernille Rose Grønkjær
"The Prisoner or: How I Planned to Kill Tony Blair" - Directors: Petra Epperlein & Michael Tucker
More than one option(Film) Love Is a Dog From Hell
(Film) Crazy Love

ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD
"I’m Not There"
Director: Todd Haynes; Casting Director: Laura Rosenthal; Ensemble Cast: Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Marcus Carl Franklin, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Bruce Greenwood, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger, Ben Whishaw

IFC/ACURA SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD
Ramin Bahrani, director of "Chop Shop"
Ronnie Bronstein, director of "Frownland"
Lee Isaac Chung, director of "Munyurangabo"

TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD
Laura Dunn for "The Unforeseen"
Gary Hustwit for "Helvetica"
John Maringouin for "Running Stumbled"

PRODUCERS AWARD
Anne Clements, producer of "Ping Pong Playa" and "Quinceañera"
Alexis Ferris, producer of "Cthulhu" and "Police Beat"
Neil Kopp, producer of "Paranoid Park" and "Old Joy"More than one option(Person) Anne ClementsAssistant, Production Assistant
(Person) Anne Clements

The European Film Awards:

EUROPEAN FILM 2007
4 LUNI, 3 SAPTAMINI SI 2 ZILE (4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days), Romania directed by Cristian Mungiu produced by Mobra Film SRL

EUROPEAN DIRECTOR 2007
Cristian Mungiu for 4 LUNI, 3 SAPTAMINI SI 2 ZILE

EUROPEAN ACTOR 2007
Sasson Gabai in BIKUR HATIZMORET (The Band’s Visit)

EUROPEAN ACTRESS 2007
Helen Mirren in THE QUEEN

EUROPEAN SCREENWRITER 2007
Fatih Akin for AUF DER ANDEREN SEITE (The Edge of Heaven)

EUROPEAN CINEMATOGRAPHER 2007
Frank Griebe for DAS PARFUM: DIE GESCHICHTE EINES MÖRDERS (Perfume:
The Story of a Murderer)

EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY PRIX DEXCELLENCE 2007 Uli Hanisch for Production Design DAS PARFUM: DIE GESCHICHTE EINES MÖRDERS

EUROPEAN COMPOSER 2007
Alexandre Desplat for THE QUEEN

EUROPEAN DISCOVERY 2007
BIKUR HATIZMORET (The Bands Visit) by Eran Kolirin, Israel

EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY DOCUMENTARY 2007 - Prix ARTE LE PAPIER NE PEUT PAS ENVELOPPER LA BRAISE (Paper cannot Wrap up Embers) by Rithy Panh, France

EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY SHORT FILM 2007 - Prix UIP ALUMBRAMIENTO by Eduardo Chapero-Jackson, Spain

THE PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARD 2007
LA SCONOSCIUTA by Giuseppe Tornatore

EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY CRITICS AWARD 2007 - Prix FIPRESCI COEURS by Alain Resnais

EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD Jean-Luc Godard

EUROPEAN ACHIEVEMENT IN WORLD CINEMA 2007 - Prix Screen International Michael Ballhaus

PRIX EURIMAGES
Margaret Ménégoz and Dr. Veit Heiduschka

HONORARY AWARD
on the occasion of the 20th European Film Awards Manoel de Oliveira

Here's the "year's best" list from Paste. (Thanks, Christian, for linking to it in the Juno thread.)

And wow... I disagree with these choices in so many ways, I hardly know where to begin. The top ten list is making my head hurt.

Juno? Best Picture? Really?

And I just don't understand including Eastern Promises or Michael Clayton so near the top.

Where's There Will Be Blood, or did they really think it doesn't deserve mention in the top 50?

Have you seen it!? I'm looking forward to your reaction to it.

I couldn't attend the Seattle screening last week. It was the same night as an Auralia reading in Bellingham. But most of what I've read pretty much assures it a place in the top 20, probably the top 10, very possibly #1.

What sort of lead time does Paste have? I was on the National Treasure: Book of Secrets junket last weekend (and no, I'm not saying it would be a contender for a list of Paste's sensibilities!), and reporters there were talking about other films that wouldn't have junkets for another week or two. And I don't assume that Paste compiled its list on the same day that it posted the list online.

I haven't seen Juno or much else, but apparently Paste goes so far out of their way to find the cooler, more unknown film and music, that they outcooled themselves on both the film and music list this year.

There is no way that The National's Boxer is a better recording than either Neon Bible or In Rainbows. If they feel that Arcade Fire and Radiohead have received too much press, then fine, do your big article on The National as the #3 album, and don't do the big article on your #1 spot. But don't rearrange the #1 spot because you already talked about another artist.

It looks like they did this in film as well.

-s.

Juno is hardly "more unknown" -- it's been getting consistently great buzz for at least three months now. So much so, in fact, that some of the more recent positive reviews have begun to talk about trying to avoid raising expectations too high.

The Paste list to which Jeffrey links. Please do post the actual lists.

SIGNS OF LIFE 2007 : BEST FILMS
Writer: Paste Staff
Film Clips, Issue 38, Published online on 28 Nov 2007

1. Juno [Jason Reitman]
2. Once [John Carney]
3. Eastern Promises [David Cronenberg]
4. Away From Her [Sarah Polley]
5. Margot at the Wedding [Noah Baumbach]
6. Michael Clayton [Tony Gilroy]
7. The Wind That Shakes the Barley [Ken Loach]
8. No Country for Old Men [Joel and Ethan Coen]
9. The Kite Runner [Marc Forster]
10. Syndromes and a Century [Apichatpong "Joe" Weerasethakul]
11. Ratatouille [Brad Bird]
12. Ten Canoes [Rolf de Heer/Peter Djigirr]
13. Great World of Sound [Craig Zobel]
14. Ghosts of Cité Soleil [Asger Leth/Milos Loncarevic]
15. Offside [Jafar Panahi]
16. My Kid Could Paint That [Amir Bar-Lev]
17. 2 Days in Paris [Julie Delpy]
18. Waitress [Adrienne Shelly]
19. Manufactured Landscapes [Jennifer Baichwal]
20. The King of Kong [Seth Gordon]
21. Sunshine [Danny Boyle]
22. This is England [Shane Meadows]
23. Knocked Up [Judd Apatow]
24. Hanna Takes the Stairs [Joe Swanberg]
25. Bella [Alejandro Gomez Monteverde]
26. The Darjeeling Limited [Wes Anderson]
27. Grindhouse [Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez]
28. Paris, Je T'aime [Various Directors]
29. God Grew Tired of Us [Christopher Dillon Quinn]
30. No End in Sight [Charles Ferguson]
31. The Bourne Ultimatum [Paul Greengrass]
32. Hot Fuzz [Edgar Wright]
33. 3:10 to Yuma [James Mangold]
34. Year of the Dog [Mike White]
35. The Simpsons Movie [David Silverman]
36. Hairspray [Adam Shankman]
37. Sicko [Michael Moore]
38. Rescue Dawn [Werner Herzog]
39. The Short Life of José Antonio Guitierrez [Heidi Specogna]
40. Forever [Heddy Honigmann]
41. Persepolis [Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud]
42. Talk to Me [Kasi Lemmons]
43. Before the Devil Knows You're Dead [Sidney Lumet]
44. Superbad [Greg Mottola]
45. Zodiac [David Fincher]
46. The Savages [Tamara Jenkins]
47. Rocket Science [Jeffrey Blitz]
48. The Signal [David Bruckner, Dan Bush, Jacob Gentry]
49. The Lookout [Scott Frank]
50. American Gangster [Ridley Scott]

National Board of Review:

Best Film: "No Country or Old Man"
Best Director: Tim Burton, "Sweeney Todd"
Best Actor: George Clooney, "Michael Clayton"
Best Actress: Julie Christie, "Away From Her"
Best Supporting Actor: Casey Affleck, "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"
Best Supporting Actress: Amy Ryan, "Gone Baby Gone"
Best Foreign Film: "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"
Best Documentary: "Body of War"
Best Animated Feature: "Ratatouille"
Best Ensemble Cast: "No Country for Old Men"
Breakthrough Performance by an Actor: Emile Hirsch, "Into The Wild
Breakthrough Performance by an Actress: Ellen Page, "Juno"
Best Directorial Debut: Ben Affleck, "Gone Baby Gone"
Best Original Screenplay (tie): Diablo Cody, "Juno" and Nancy Oliver, "Lars and the Real Girl"
Best Adapted Screenplay: Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, "No Country For Old Men"


Top Ten Films (In alphabetical order):
"The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"
"Atonement"
"The Bourne Ultimatum"
"The Bucket List"
"Into The Wild"
"Juno"
"The Kite Runner"
"Lars and the Real Girl"
"Michael Clayton"
"Sweeney Todd"

Top Five Foreign Films (In alphabetical order):
"4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days"
"The Band's Visit"
"The Counterfeiters"
"La Vie en Rose"
"Lust, Caution"

Top Five Documentary Films (In alphabetical order):
"Darfur Now"
"In The Shadown of the Moon"
"Nanking"
"Taxi To The Darkside"
"Toots"

Top Independent Films (In alphabetical order):
"Away From Her"
"Great World of Sound"
"Honeydripper"
"In The Valley of Elah"
"A Mighty Heart"
"The Namesake"
"Once"
"The Savages"
"Starting Out in the Evening"
"Waitress"

Career Achievement: Michael Douglas
William K. Everson Film History Award: Robert Osbourne
Career Achievement in Cinematography: Roger Deakins
The BVLGARI Award for NBR Freedom of Expression: "The Great Debaters" and "Persepolis"

Sight & Sound (HT: GreenCine, which is the source for most of the lists I post here, FWIW):


1 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (Cristian Mungiu)

2 Inland Empire (David Lynch)

3 Zodiac (David Fincher)

= 4 I’m Not There (Todd Haynes)

The Lives of Others (Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck)

6 Silent Light (Carlos Reygadas)

= 7 The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (Andrew Dominik)

Syndromes and a Century (Apichatpong Weerasethakul)

No Country for Old Men (Ethan and Joel Coen)

Eastern Promises (David Cronenberg)

--Syndromes and a Century? I don't think I've heard of this one (he says, ashamed).

GreenCine also links to this list, from The Guardian:

1 Control
dir Anton Corbijn

2 Eastern Promises
dir David Cronenberg

3 Silent Night
dir Carlos Reygadas

4 The Lives of Others
dir Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck

5 Zodiac
dir David Fincher

6 Away From Her
dir Sarah Polley

7 Climates
dir Nuri Bilge Ceylan

8 Ratatouille
dir Brad Bird, Andrew Pinkava

9 12.08: East of Bucharest
dir Corneliu Porumboiu

10 Letters from Iwo Jima
dir Clint Eastwood

11 Inland Empire
dir David Lynch

12 Half Nelson
dir Ryan Fleck

13 Syndromes and a Century
dir Apichatpong Weerasethakul

14 This Is England
dir Shane Meadows

15 Apocalypto
dir Mel Gibson

16 The Painted Veil
dir John Curran

17 Iraq in Fragments
dir James Longley

18 Mutual Appreciation
dir Andrew Bujalski

19 Superbad
dir Greg Mottola

20 Beyond Hatred
dir Olivier Meyrou

--Excerpts from the Guardian reviews, along with star ratings, are available at the link. GreenCine explains, "As a sort of warmup, the Guardian's film critics - Xan Brooks, Cath Clarke, Andrew Pulver, David Thomson and Peter Bradshaw - each write up a hit, a miss and a surprise from the year in film. Then they've put their votes together and come up with this list, the top 20 films of 2007."

I'm not sure of the methodology, but check out the 2-star rating for "Eastern Promises," and the faint praise in the comments. How did it end up so high on the list? Interesting.

Jeffrey Wells:

1. Zodiac (Paramount, dir: David Fincher, prods: Brad Fischer, Mike Medavoy, James Vanderbilt);
2. No Country for Old Men (Miramax, dirs: Joel and Ethan Coen, producer: Scott Rudin).
3. Control (Weinstein Co., dir: Anton Corbiijn);
4. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Dreamamount, dir: Tim Burton, prod: Richard Zanuck);
5. Before The Devil Knows You're Dead (ThinkFilm, dir: Sidney Lumet);
6. Four Months, Three Weeks & 2 Days (IFC, dir: Cristian Miungiu;
7. Things We Lost in the Fire (Dreamamount, dir: Susanne Bier, prod: Sam Mendes);
8. There Will Be Blood (Paramount Vantage, dir: Paul Thomas Anderson);
9. I'm Not There (Weinstein Co., dir: Todd Haynes);and
10. The Bourne Ultimatum (Universal, dir: Paul Greengrass).

HONORABLE MENTIONS:
11. In The Valley of Elah (Warner Independent, dir: Paul Haggis);
12. American Gangster (Universal, dir: Ridley Scott);
13. Once (Fox Searchlight, dir: John Carney);
14. Atonement (Focus Features, dir: Joe Wright);
15. Into The Wild (Paramount Vantage, dir: Sean Penn);
16. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (Warner Bros., dir: Andrew Dominik); and
17. Breach (Universal, dir: Billy Ray).

The Boston Film Critics are the first major U.S. critics group to hand out awards this year... and it's full of surprises, some of them exciting!

Best Picture: No Country For Old Men

Best Actor: Frank Langella for Starting Out in the Evening

Best Actress: Marion Cotillard for La Vie en Rose

Best Supporting Actor: Javier Bardem for No Country for Old Men

Best Supporting Actress: Amy Ryan for Gone Baby Gone

Best Director: Julian Schnabel for The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Best Screenplay: Brad Bird for Ratatouille

Best Cinematography: Janusz Kaminski for The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Best Documentary: Crazy Love

Best Foreign-Language Film: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Best New Filmmaker: Ben Affleck for Gone Baby Gone

Best Ensemble Cast: Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead

And now... the L.A. Film Critics!

Best Picture - There Will Be Blood
runner-up: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Best Director - Paul Thomas Anderson
runner-up: Julian Schnabel

Best Actor - Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood
runner-up: Frank Langella, Starting out in the Evening

Best Production Design - Jack Fisk

Best Foreign Language Film - 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days

Best Supporting Actor - Vlad Ivanov, 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
Runner up: Hal Holbrook, Into the Wild

Best Actress - Marion Cotillard, La Vie en Rose
runner-up: Anamaria Marinca, 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days

Best Screenplay - Tamara Jenkins, The Savages

Best supporting actress - Amy Ryan, Gone Baby Gone, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
Runner-up: Cate Blanchett, I'm Not There

The New Generation Award - Sarah Polley, Away From Her

Best Animation - (tie) Brad Bird's "Ratatouille," Marjane Satrapi "Persepolis"

Documentray - No End in Sight
runner-up: Sicko

Best Cinematography - Janusz Kaminski, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly."
runner-up: Robert Elswit There Will Be Blood

Best musical score - Once
runner-up: Jonny Greenwood, There Will Be Blood

Douglas E. Edwards Independent/Experimental Award - Pedro Costa, Colossal Youth

Film Legacy Award - Milestone Films

Of the films I know, and I've seen all but Crazy Love and Gone Baby Gone, I don't see anything here that is a major shock or that I'd argue with in any way. Even the ones that might not be my choice, they are all good picks.

Washington Area Film Critics Association:

Best Film
No Country for Old Men

Best Director
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen (No Country for Old Men)

Best Actor
George Clooney (Michael Clayton)

Best Actress
Julie Christie (Away From Her)

Best Ensemble
No Country for Old Men

Best Supporting Actor
Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men)

Best Supporting Actress
Amy Ryan (Gone Baby Gone)

Best Breakthrough Performance
Ellen Page (Juno)

Best Adapted Screenplay
Aaron Sorkin (Charlie Wilson's War)

Best Original Screenplay
Diablo Cody (Juno)

Best Animated Feature
Ratatouille

Best Foreign Language Film
The Diving Bell and The Butterfly

Best Documentary
Sicko

Best Art Direction
Sweeney Todd:The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

--Here are the nominees, with the votes I submitted indicated by an asterisk (*):

Best Film
*Atonement
Charlie Wilson's War
Gone Baby Gone
Michael Clayton
No Country for Old Men

Best Actor
George Clooney (Michael Clayton)
Daniel Day-Lewis (There Will Be Blood)
Tommy Lee Jones (In The Valley of Elah)
*Viggo Mortensen (Eastern Promises)
Denzel Washington (American Gangster)

Best Actress
*Julie Christie (Away From Her)
Marion Cotillard (La Vie En Rose)
Angelina Jolie (A Mighty Heart)
Laura Linney (The Savages)
Ellen Page (Juno)

Best Supporting Actor
Casey Affleck (The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford)
Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men)
Philip Seymour Hoffman (Charlie Wilson's War)
*Hal Holbrook (Into The Wild)
Tom Wilkinson (Michael Clayton)

Best Supporting Actress
Cate Blanchett (I'm Not There)
Kelly Macdonald (No Country for Old Men)
*Saoirse Ronan (Atonement)
Amy Ryan (Gone Baby Gone)
Tilda Swinton (Michael Clayton)

Best Director
Ben Affleck (Gone Baby Gone)
*Joel Coen and Ethan Coen (No Country for Old Men)
Tony Gilroy (Michael Clayton)
Mike Nichols (Charlie Wilson's War)
Joe Wright (Atonement)

Best Original Screenplay
Eastern Promises by Steven Knight
Juno by Diablo Cody
Michael Clayton by Tony Gilroy
*The Savages by Tamara Jenkins
Waitress by Adrienne Shelly

Best Adapted Screenplay
Atonement by Christopher Hampton
Charlie Wilson's War by Aaron Sorkin
Gone Baby Gone by Ben Affleck and Aaron Stockard
No Country for Old Men by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
*The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford by Andrew Dominik

Best Animated Feature
Bee Movie
Persepolis
*Ratatouille
The Simpsons Movie
Surf's Up

Best Documentary
Crazy Love
*In The Shadow Of The Moon
No End In Sight
SiCKO
War/Dance

Best Foreign Language Film
*4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
La Vie En Rose
Lust, Caution
The Diving Bell and The Butterfly
The Orphanage

Best Ensemble
American Gangster
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
Juno
Michael Clayton
*No Country For Old Men

Best Breakthrough Performance
Casey Affleck (The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford)
Nikki Blonsky (Hairspray)
Ellen Page (Juno)
*Saoirse Ronan (Atonement)
Amy Ryan (Gone Baby Gone)

Best Art Direction
300
Atonement
Ratatouille
Sweeney Todd
*The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

EDIT: And just to show how far off I was in terms of which films I submitted for nominations, take a gander:

Best Picture
Killer of Sheep
My Brother’s Wedding
Zodiac
Atonement
Rescue Dawn

Best Director
Charles Burnett, “Killer of Sheep”
David Fincher, “Zodiac”
Joe Wright, “Atonement”
Werner Herzog, “Rescue Dawn”
Suzanne Bier, “Things We Lost in the Fire”

Best Actor
Don Cheadle, “Reign Over Me”
Chris Cooper “Breach”
Benecio del Toro, “Things We Lost in the Fire”
Christian Bale, “Rescue Dawn”
George Clooney, “Michael Clayton”

Best Actress
Julie Christie, “Away From Her”
Keira Knightley, “Atonement”
Marian Cottilard, “La Vie en Rose”
Halle Berry, “Things We Lost in the Fire”

Best Supporting Actor
Casey Affeck, “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford”
Hal Holbrook, “Into the Wild”
Adam Sandler, “Reign Over Me”
Josh Brolin, “No Country for Old Men”
Albert Finney, “Amazing Grace”

Best Supporting Actress
Allison Janney, “Juno”
Catherine Keener, “Into the Wild”

Best Foreign Film
The Golden Door (declared ineligible for this year's voting)
4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days

And now… The New York Film Critics have turned in their awards.

Best Foreign Film - The Lives of Others
Best Animated Film - Persepolis
Best First Film - Sarah Polley, Away from Her
Best Documentary - No End in Sight
Best Cinematographer - Robert Elswit, There Will Be Blood
Best Screenplay - Joel and Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men
Best Supporting Actress - Amy Ryan, Gone Baby Gone
Best Supporting Actor - Javier Bardem No Country for Old Men
Best Actress - Julie Christie, Away from Her
Best Director - Joel and Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men
Best Actor - Daniel Day Lewis, There Will Be Blood
Best Picture - No Country for Old Men
Lifetime Achievement - Sidney Lumet
Special Critics’ Award - Charles Burnett, Killer of Sheep

TIFF picks Canada's Top Ten of 2007:

Amal (dir. Richie Mehta)
Continental, a Film Without Guns (dir. Stephane LaFleur)
Days of Darkness (dir. Denys Arcand)
Eastern Promises (dir. David Cronenberg)
Fugitive Pieces (dir. Jeremy Podeswa)
My Winnipeg (dir. Guy Maddin)
A Promise to the Dead: The Exile Journey of Ariel Dorfman (dir. Peter Raymont)
The Tracey Fragments (dir. Bruce McDonald)
Up the Yangtze (dir. Yung Chang)
Young People Fucking (dir. Martin Gero)

San Francisco critics:

Best Picture - "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"

Best Director - Joel and Ethan Coen for "No Country for Old Men"

Best Original Screenplay - "The Savages"

Best Adapted Screenplay - "Away from Her"

Best Actor - George Clooney for "Michael Clayton"

Best Actress - Julie Christie for "Away from Her"

Best Supporting Actor - Casey Affleck for "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"

Best Supporting Actress - Amy Ryan for "Gone Baby Gone"

Best Foreign Language Film - "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"

Best Documentary - "No End in Sight"

Marlon Riggs Award for courage & vision in the Bay Area film community - Lynn Hershman-Leeson director of "Strange Culture" "Conceiving Ada" and "Teknolust"

Special Citation for under-looked independent film - "Colma: The Musical"



Chicago critics' nominations:

Best Picture
"Into the Wild"
"Michael Clayton"
"No Country for Old Men"
"Once"
"There Will Be Blood"

Best Director
Paul Thomas Anderson, "There Will Be Blood"
Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, "No Country for Old Men"
Tony Gilroy, "Michael Clayton"
David Fincher, "Zodiac"
Jason Reitman, "Juno"

Best Actor
George Clooney, "Michael Clayton"
Daniel Day-Lewis, "There Will Be Blood"
Ryan Gosling, "Lars and the Real Girl"
Frank Langella, "Starting Out in the Evening"
Viggo Mortensen, "Eastern Promises"

Best Actress
Julie Christie, "Away from Her"
Marion Cotillard, "La Vie en Rose"
Angelina Jolie, "A Mighty Heart"
Laura Linney, "The Savages"
Ellen Page, "Juno"

Best Supporting Actor
Casey Affleck, "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"
Javier Bardem, "No Country for Old Men"
Phillip Seymour Hoffman, "Charlie Wilson's War"
Hal Holbrook, "Into the Wild"
Tom Wilkinson, "Michael Clayton"

Best Supporting Actress
Cate Blanchet, "I'm Not There"
Jennifer Jason Leigh, "Margot at the Wedding"
Leslie Mann, "Knocked Up"
Amy Ryan, "Gone Baby Gone"
Tilda Swinton, "Michael Clayton"

Best Adapted Screenplay
"Atonement"
"Into the Wild"
"No Country for Old Men"
"There Will Be Blood"
"Zodiac"

Best Original Screenplay
"Before the Devil Knows You're Dead"
"Juno"
"Michael Clayton"
"Ratatouille"
"The Savages"

Best Cinematography
"The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"
"Atonement"
"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"
"No Country for Old Men"
"There Will Be Blood"

Best Score
"The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"
"Atonement"
"Lust, Caution"
"Once"
"There Will Be Blood"

Best Animated Feature
"Beowulf"
"Meet the Robinsons"
"Persepolis"
"Ratatouille"
"The Simpsons Movie"

Best Foreign Film
"4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days"
"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"
"La Vie en Rose"
"Lust, Caution"
"The Orphanage"

Best Documentary
"Darfur Now"
"The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters"
"Lake of Fire"
"No End in Sight"
"Sicko"

Promising Director
Ben Affleck, "Gone Baby Gone"
John Carney, "Once"
Craig Gillespie, "Lars and the Real Girl"
Tony Gilroy, "Michael Clayton"
Sarah Polley, "Away from Her"

Promising Performer
Nikki Blonsky, "Hairspray"
Michael Cera, "Juno"/"Superbad"
Glen Hansard, "Once"
Carice van Houten, "Black Book"
Tang Wei, "Lust, Caution"

Golden Globe noms

I really hate musical/comedy combo. Sweeney Todd vs. Charely Wilson's War in picture, ST vs. Lars in actor, Amy Adams vs. Marion Cotillard in actress. If you are going to make separate categories, do it someway that make sense.

Two Top 10s at Slant are the best yet, IMO. Great to see Killer of Sheep on both lists, and Rescue Dawn on both.

Best Performance by an Actor Doing the Same Old Thing: Robert Downey Jr. in Zodiac

--YES!

Worst Performance by an Actor Doing the Same Old Thing: Laura Linney in The Savages

-NOOOOOOOOOOoooo!!!

EDIT: Forgot to mention Gonzalez's choice of The Golden Door, currently number 3 on my list:

A masterpiece of aesthetic and humane nerve, it confirms that Agnès Godard is the finest cinematographer alive

This is the only film shot by Godard that I've seen, but based on just this one, I believe the superlative. Everyone should seek this movie out. What a gem.

I disagree! Yes, Linney is doing the same old thing... but better than she's ever done it before.

Otherwise, those are GREAT LISTS and I must follow their lead. (Many of my own top ten are represented there, and I love the "superlatives" idea.)

Yeah, I thought Linney was fantastic. I also liked her quite a bit in Breach, where, some reviewers said, she was given a thankless role and made little of it.

She's even better in The Savages.

This charge about "doing the same old thing" is one I don't get. Great screen actors have personas and know how to use them. Although contemporary actors like Jack Nicholson and Al Pacino get charged with similar allegations (not without cause), the great actors from the Golden Age of Hollywood knew how to develop their screen personas. Studios pigeonholed them, sure, but that wasn't always a detriment. And sometimes those actors found, just as today's best known actors sometimes find, the right vehicle that fits them, rather than having to take on different personas each time, chameleon-like.

Funny how, thinking on this, I can only think of this charge in relation to male actors -- Nicholson, Pacino, Cruise. Linney just might be the first female actor to be labeled this way. But while people marvel at Meryl Streep's range (rightly so), there's something to be said for actors who work within a tighter range. It's not a weakness; sometimes it's a strength.

EDIT: The previous comment is best suited to a Savages thread. Sorry 'bout that.

Time:

Richard Corliss

Richard Schickel

Stephen King! He tosses in a couple of films from last year, making for a very strong list. He also adds five TV shows.

That link doesn't go to King's list.

Fixed. Thanks, Darrel.

From the LA Times critics:

Carina Chocano:

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (tied with) The Savages
Ratatouille
4 Months 3 Weeks and 2 Days
Sicko
There Will Be Blood
Rescue Dawn
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
Juno
low-key love stories Once and Waitress
The Hoax (tied with) Control
My Kid Could Paint That

Worst: 4 way tied - marketing campaign for Captivity; macho revisionism and blow to literature of 300 and Beowulf; proliferation of threequels; and the writers strike

Kenneth Turan (who has an amazing sparse list this year, at least for him)

Atonement
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Into Great Silence andTerror's Advocate ("Just as good are No End in Sight ... and In the Shadow of the Moon")
Lady Chatterley and 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days ("... Best of under-the-radar foreign films. Just as deserving are ... After the Wedding and ... Grbabica.)
Lars and the Real Girl
Lust, Caution
Michael Clayton
No Country for Old Men
Once
Ratatouille
If there were another spot (when has that ever stopped him?): There Will Be Blood or Breach

Worst: writers strike

Kevin Crust

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Once
Into the Wild
No Country for Old Men
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
I'm Not There
Away from Her
Michael Clayton
This Is England
Anything with Philip Seymour Hoffman

Worst: "...the sheer volume of films makes it so difficult for audiences to find the great ones."

Three lists at IFC.

This just in... a penetrating, insightful critique of The Golden Globe nominations:

: Recently, R-rated movies account for around half of the movies released but only one-fourth of the annual box office.

Stupid people. The Golden Globes are handed out by the Hollywood FOREIGN Press Association, and the foreign market (1) has no R rating and (2) often rewards films that don't do well in America.

Roger Ebert puts Juno at the top of his list:

1. “Juno”: How can I choose this warm-hearted comedy about a pregnant teenager, when the year was rich with serious drama? First, because of all the year’s films I responded to it most strongly. I tried out other titles in the No. 1 position, but my heart told me I had to be honest: This was my true love, and I could not be unfaithful. It is so hard to make a great comedy at all, and harder still to make one that is intelligent, quick, charming, moving and yes, very, very funny. Seeing “Juno” with an audience was to be reminded of unforgettable communal moviegoing experiences, when strangers are united in delight. It was light on its feet, involving the audience in love and care for its characters. The first-time screenplay by Diablo Cody is Oscar-worthy. So is Ellen Page’s performance in the title role, which is like tightrope-walking: There were so many ways for her to go wrong, and she never did.

--It occurs to me that Juno didn't make me laugh too much. Maybe that was my problem with it. Yes, I agree that it's a comedy, but just I reacted against those who referred to Michael Clayton as a "legal thriller" when it was more of a solid drama than a "thriller," Juno is definitely a "dramedy" at best. It is amusing, no doubt, but even if I liked the movie, I don't think I'd ever classify it as a "great comedy."

I'm sure I'm in the minority on this point.

Indiewire

Yes!! Wow, that's a great list. I'm really happy with those results.

And now, I really have to see:
Syndromes and a Century
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
Colossal Youth
Killer of Sheep
Black Book
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
I Don't Want to Sleep Alone
Regular Lovers
Southland Tales

Here's the first Movie City News tally, a cumulative ranking of films which appear on the Top Ten lists of film critics.
Not dated on the site, but transcribed Dec 22. The posted list is presently ranked by number of list appearances, which I suspect will switch over to total points once enough lists have appeared, but maybe not. In any case, my version is ranked by total points, which appear in brackets following each title.

1 No Country For Old Men (156)
2 Zodiac (82)
3 Away From Her (73)
4 Once (67)
5 Juno (65)
6 Michael Clayton (49)
7 Diving Bell & The Butterfly (46)
7 Lives Of Others (46)
9 Sweeney Todd (44)
10 Into The Wild (40)
11 Eastern Promises (39)
12 Atonement (36)
13 Before The Devil Knows You're Dead (35)
14 Ratatouille (34.5)
15 There Will Be Blood (33)
16 Killer of Sheep (31.5)
17 3:10 To Yuma (29)
18 I'm Not There (28)
19 Superbad (27)
20 300 (25)
21 Syndromes and a Century (24)
22 Bourne Ultimatum (24)
23 Assassination of Jesse James (23)
23 Knocked Up (23)
25 Breach (22)
26 Persepolis (21.5)
27 Control (20)
27 Darjeeling Limited (20)
29 4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days (18)
29 Gone Baby Gone (18)

I bet There Will Be Blood will climb once more critics see it and more lists are posted. Same with Jesse James and I'm Not There. Wonder if Syndromes and 4-3-2 will be viewed widely enough to climb? I'm surprised how high Breach and 3:10 are, and 300 - I bet they all fade. Slightly surprised and definitely pleased to see Once so high.

More to come.

The Wall Street Journal has made Joe Morgenstern's list available to all readers.

Hey, he's got Atonement on the list. That's heartening.

In case you're just dying to read a few more lists (I'm burned out), here's the Mighty Hunter, along with his colleagues Ann Hornaday and Desson Thomson. Lots to agree with across the three lists.

Andrew Sarris, with several follow-up lists to his choices for Top 10 films of the year:

1. Jason Reitman’s Juno

2. Joe Wright’s Atonement

3. Andrew Wagner’s Starting Out in the Evening

4. John Carney’s Once

5. Sarah Polley’s Away From Her

6. Steve Buscemi’s Interview

7. Michael Apted’s Amazing Grace

8. Tamara Jenkins’ The Savages

9. Denzel Washington’s The Great Debaters

10. (Three-Way Tie) Robert Benton’s Feast of Love, Judd Apatow’s Knocked Up and John Dahl’s You Kill Me.

Latest iteration of the MCN tally of critic year-end lists;

1. No Country For Old Men
2. There Will Be Blood
3. The Diving Bell & The Butterfly
4. Zodiac (DVD available)
5. Once (DVD available)
6. Juno
7. Atonement
8. Into The Wild (DVD Feb 12)
9. Ratatouille (DVD available)
10. Sweeney Todd

11. Away From Her (DVD available)
12. Michael Clayton
13. Before The Devil Knows You're Dead
14. 4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days
15. Assassination of Jesse James (DVD Feb 5)
16. I'm Not There
17. Eastern Promises (DVD available)
18. Lives Of Others (DVD available)
19. The Savages
20. Bourne Ultimatum (DVD available)

21. Persepolis
22. Knocked Up (DVD available)
23. No End In Sight (DVD available)
24. The Host (DVD available)
25. Killer of Sheep (DVD available)
26. Superbad (DVD available)
27. Gone Baby Gone (DVD Feb 12)
28. Syndromes and a Century
29. American Gangster
30. Grindhouse (DVD available)

31. Darjeeling Limited (DVD Feb 26)
32. Hairspray (DVD available)
33. 3:10 To Yuma (DVD Jan 8)
34. Sicko (DVD available)
35. Offside (DVD available)
36. Black Book (DVD available)
37. King Of Kong
38. Charlie Wilson's War
39. The Wind That Shakes The Barley (DVD available)
39. Control

41. Across The Universe
42. Rescue Dawn (DVD available)
43. Lars & The Real Girl
43. In The Valley Of Elah
45. Breach (DVD available)
47. After The Wedding (DVD available)
47. Margot At The Wedding
48. 12:08 East Of Bucharest (DVD Feb 5)
49. Hot Fuzz
50. Enchanted

Perhaps their enthusiasm for JUNO doesn't seem so eccentric as the other lists have come in? On the MCN tally it's currently at #6. That's a lot of love for the little girl with the big mouth and swelling belly. (Which is presently around #2 or #3 on my list, by the way.)



I don't think EP is a crazy choice - it does end up at #19 on MCN. And I've got no problem with MICHAEL CLAYTON ranking very high - nor do "the nation's critics," it seems, with Mike crossing the finish line at #12. Exhilarating dialogue.

Fun stuff from Christopher Orr’s Year-end Best list:

The Perhaps This Film Shouldn't Have Been Released Nine Months Before Awards Season Award:
Zodiac

The Maybe-We-Should-Stick-to-PG-13 Award:
The Farrelly brothers (The Heartbreak Kid)

The Paul Newman Award for Looking Better at 66 than You Will Ever Look a Day in Your Life:
Julie Christie (Away from Her)

The Sofia Coppola Award for Being a Pretty Darn Good Director Even if I Got the Opportunity through Nepotism (tie):
Jason Reitman (Juno), Jake Kasdan (Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story)

The Woody Allen Award for No, Seriously Being Able to Attract Women This Far Out of My League:
Seth Rogen (Knocked Up)

The Roger Federer Award for Being So Much Better than Anyone Else It's Like I'm Playing a Different Sport:
Daniel Day-Lewis (There Will Be Blood)

Voted on by the staff of Relevant Magazine:

Best Film: I Am Legend

Worst Film: Epic Movie

Film that Made My Little Brother Laugh so Hard that He Cried: Ratatouille

Most Creative Film: Ratatouille

Worst Title for a Film: Amazing Grace

Best Visuals: Transformers

Best Screenplay: Juno

Worst Adaptation/Sequel: Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer

Best Character Study: Michael Clayton

Most Disappointing Film: Spider-Man 3

Best Actor: Ryan Gosling, Lars and the Real Girl

Raunchiest Movie: Super Bad

Best Actress: Tilda Swinton in Michael Clayton

Best Director: Joel and Ethan Coen, No Country For Old Men

Best Score: Enchanted

Film Most in Need of a Tripod: The Bourne Ultimatum

Most Rewarding Film if You can Bear Silence for 2+ Hours: Into Great Silence

Crosswalk's Year-End List. Not bad, although I detect a few ringers. I think I like the bottom half of the Top 10 more than the top half.

My beloved Zodiac made "the B List." Ah, well. That's something, I suppose.

EDIT: Crosswalk's Ten Most Popular Articles include one review, for The Golden Compass, and one movie tie-in, for Evan Almighty.

The Razzies. Meh.

James Wall of The Christian Century list his top films

His comments on the films are worth reading, but for those who want the short version:

• Lars and the Real Girl
• There Will Be Blood
• No Country for Old Men
• Atonement
• 12:08 East of Bucharest
• Away from Her
• Michael Clayton
• 3:10 to Yuma

The Spirit Awards

Short version

Best Feature - Juno
Best 1st Feature - The Lookout
Best Doc - Crazy Love
Male Lead - Philip Seymour Hoffman - The Savages
Female Lead - Ellen Page - Juno
Supporting Male - Chiwetel Ejiofor - Talk to Me
Supporting Female - Cate Blanchett -I'm Not There
Director - Julian Schnabel - The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Cinematography - Janusz Kaminski - The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Best Screenplay - Tamara Jenkins - The Savages
Best 1st Screenplay - Diablo Cody - Juno
Best Foreign Film - Once