RT Editors' Best Movie Picks of 2007

20 2007 films we think are definitely worth your time.

by Jen Yamato | December 28, 2007 | Comments

It’s a fact: 2007 was great for movies. In honor of those 52 bountiful weeks past, we present the RT Editors’ Picks — our personal favorite films of the year!

When it comes to movies, everyone here in the RT office has their own singular tastes — one of us loves all things Amanda Bynes (and it’s not who you’d think), some love a good action yarn, and another counts John Cassavetes’ Shadows among his all-time greats. So the year two thousand and seven — with such varied fare as No Country For Old Men, Superbad, 300, Atonement, and more — offered quite the cinematic buffet for everyone to dig into. Here are our editors’ picks of the very best films of the year, in no particular order!

No Country For Old Men
(95% on the Tomatometer)

"Who knew Prince Valiant could be such a terrifying badass? Even
Javier Bardem‘s character’s name is scary. Chigurh? That sounds like
something that could eat Cthulhu." — Jeff Giles (Click
here to read Jeff’s full Top 10 list.)

Atonement (85%)

“Atonement excels on so many levels, like a fine seven-course meal. Or maybe it’s more like a heady after-dinner scotch, to be sipped on in melancholy repose, cigarette in hand, perched solo at the end of a heavy oak bar. On a stool lined with green velvet. Remembering lost loves past. You get the picture.”
— Jen Yamato (Read
Jen’s list.)

There Will Be Blood (89%)

“There Will Be Blood had me completely captivated from the first frame, thanks to astounding cinematography, a brilliant score, and jaw dropping performances from Daniel Day-Lewis and Paul Dano.”
— Rachel Sandor (Read
Rachel’s list.)

Lars and the Real Girl (78%)

“Lars empowers the viewer with humanism and emphatic goodwill. I especially remember Paul Schneider and Ryan Gosling discussing childhood while doing the laundry, and the scene of Gosling consoling a lonely co-worker in the break room. No scenes have moved me more this year.”
— Alex Vo (Read Alex’s
list.)

Zodiac (89%)

“The ending…put enough of a cherry on top of my sundae for me to deem it worth spreading all over my body. Sorry, inappropriate metaphor.”
— Ryan Fujitani (Read
Ryan’s list.)

Hallam
Foe
(84%)

We’ll give this one to UK editor Joe Utichi, since his favorite film of the year
has yet to be released stateside: "Bell and Myles are outstanding, and Claire
Forlani reaches a level of wicked sadism that only Claire Forlani could
accomplish and still have you falling madly in love with her." — Joe Utichi
(Read
Joe’s full Top 10 list.)

Juno
(94%)

"Diablo Cody‘s bright dialogue seems as if it were written for
Ellen Page in
this touching and hilarious film about teen pregnancy." — Rachel

300 (60%)

"It’s ridiculous. It’s completely over the top. But it works. Just like
Rodriguez did with
Sin City, the filmmakers use
Frank Miller‘s graphic novel as
both script and storyboard and end up with a gritty, brutal, and compelling
action film." — Matt Achity (Read
Matt’s full Top 10 list.)

Control
(89%)

A heartbreaking story of alienation and cruelty… Love will tear us apart.
Sigh. — Joanna Cohen (Read
Joanna’s list.)

Superbad (87%)

"I always forget which New Yorker critic I dislike (is it Anthony Lane or David
Denby?), but of all the critics on RT, the latter put it best: ‘The movie
succeeds as a teen’s wild fantasy of a night in which everything goes wrong,
revised by an adult’s melancholy sense that nothing was ever meant to go
right.’" — Alex

The
Lives of Others (93%)

Both Tim Ryan and Nick Hershey placed last year’s Oscar winner for Best Foreign
Film in their top five of 2007 (the film technically saw U.S. release in
February). Click the links to read the rest of

Tim’s picks and

Nick’s.

4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days (94%)

"The acts of friendship are some of the most human and touching moments on
celluloid this year. But it will depress the hell out of you all the same. Make
sure you watch it when you have an hour or two to spare afterwards. You will
need a little lie down." — Joanna

Ratatouille (97%)

“Another home run from Pixar. And I found the scene where the critic Anton Ego
tastes the titular dish that stirs up childhood memories to be surprisingly
moving.” — Matt

The
Diving Bell and the Butterfly (93%)

“Julian Schnabel‘s Diving Bell is the kind of film that causes critics to
wax poetic and turn into piles of pretentious goo… I can’t erase this film from
memory. I can’t think of it and not feel something swelling in my chest (like
the Grinch’s heart breaking that little scale), and the idea that one body can
accomplish so much while wholly immobile is incomprehensible to me, but proven
in the span of 112 minutes.” — Sara Schieron

Once (98%)

“In a year full of showy singing and dancing from the likes of
Johnny Depp and
John Travolta, it’s nice that a micro-budgeted, realist Irish romance starring
two real-life musicians — The Frames’
Glen Hansard and
Marketa Irglova — could
stand out so well. Thanks to canny direction, great and plaintive love songs, an
ending that doesn’t pander (refreshing!) and a true indie spirit, Once is a gem
ready to be found by those seeking something off the beaten (musical) path.” —
Jen

Michael Clayton
(90%)

“Clooney and
Tony Gilroy, stroked by the benevolent hand of producer
Sydney
Pollack, manage to make high-stakes legal shenanigans sexy. This is a role that
Paul Newman would have knocked out of the park 20 years ago, but since Newman’s
being stubborn and refusing to make movies, Clooney will do in a pinch.” — Jeff

Paprika (81%)

“As someone who often has dreams on par with the absurd images in Paprika, I felt
like I was on the most exhilarating amusement park ride of my life, except I
didn’t have to puke when I got off, and I got to see boobs (albeit animated
ones).” — Ryan

The Orphanage (77%)

“Oozing atmospheric dread, and featuring achingly real characters, The
Orphanage is the best kind of psychological horror film — one that doesn’t
telegraph its scares but maintains a bewitching mood of tension throughout.” —
Tim

3:10 to Yuma
(88%)

“Christian Bale is the man.
Russell Crowe is also good in this one, as is the
rest of the cast, but I’m constantly impressed with Bale’s work these days.” —
Matt