Top 10's Flashback: 2007

10. Once

A quasi-Musical drama about songwriting. Made on a very low budget, this little movie is filled with a certain magic that is missing from many higher-budget films. "Falling Slowly" has to be one of the most beautiful songs ever written for a movie. Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová perform their songs with passion. It really is beautiful.

9. Enchanted

Marks the beginning of Disney's comeback. Enchanted was a clever throw-back to the old-school Disney classics, a deconstruction of the old-school Disney classics, and an old-school Disney classic itself. Amy Adams is perfect as Giselle, the studio's first live-action "princess". The music is as bright and charming as ever, and the screenplay is smart and funny.

8. Juno

Considering the subject matter, it could have easily been another TV-movie about pregnancy. Thanks to Diablo Cody's astounding screenplay and quirky characters, Juno ended up being so much better than that. It's hilarious! Yes, I'm aware nobody talks like that. But Ellen Page is so endearing, I didn't really care.

7. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Stephen Sondheim is a Musical Theatre legend, there's no doubt about that. But it does feel like Sweeney Todd had been created so that Tim Burton could eventually adapt it into a movie. A few vocal surprises came up, but none as surprising as Johnny Depp. Helena Bonham Carter's voice was throaty, but that was appropriate for her character. The film basks in set pieces that could only be dreamt up in a Tim Burton film. It's dark, it's bleak, and it's sinister... but it never loses its sense of fun.

6. No Country for Old Men

A deliberately-paced thought-provoking film that only the Coen Brothers could pull off. A reflection on good, evil and the in-between. Life and death. Javier Bardem is cold and frightening in this film.

5. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

A very interesting take on the Western. While most Westerns embrace a vast, open environment, we watch the environment in this film get smaller and smaller. It humanizes the infamous outlaw, but never drops his intimidating demeanor. Casey Affleck gives his career best performance as Robert Ford. The cinematography is absolutely beautiful, as well.

4. Into the Wild

Whether you consider Christopher McCandless a philosopher or a raving lunatic, Sean Penn approached this project in a way where it won't even matter. It's a celebration of nature and of a man who was brave enough to try to live in it. It briefly touches upon what drove him to such a wild task, and it allows you to experience his genius as well as his madness. Whatever the case, Into the Wild is a profoundly human drama.

3. Hairspray

Bright, colorful, unapologetically silly but all together... In 2007, there was no movie that was more fun to watch than Hairspray. That's right, I said it. The Musical numbers were great, the singing was flawless, the choreography was a thing to behold and the actors were all in top form. It's the kind of movie that will have you smiling from start to finish.

2. Ratatouille

Who says you can't make something original anymore? To be fair, it takes a uniquely interesting person to come up with a story like this. A rat that wants to be a chef? Who thinks up a story like that? The good people at Pixar, that's who. Ratatouille is a remarkably mature family film. Kids may not appreciate its originality quite as much as adults will, but it truly is a perfect film.

1. There Will Be Blood

Its deliberate pacing and Jonny Greenwood's unsettling score set a very menacing tone which keeps the audience on its toes. This is accentuated by Robert Elswit's static cinematography, and Daniel Day-Lewis' iconic performance. His character has a very clear descent into madness, which hits the audience like a ton of bricks in one of the most well-acted monologues in the history of film.

Honorable Mentions:

Hot Fuzz

Knocked Up

American Gangster

Gone Baby Gone

3:10 to Yuma