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3. United 93

It’s perfectly within your right to steer clear of this movie if you think it’s too soon, but honestly there must come a day when you experience the visceral emotion of Paul Greengrass’s exceptional and poignant tribute to the brave passengers that rebelled against their presumed fate.

4. Thank You For Smoking

An utterly hysterical debut from Jason Reitman and a savage satire about political hypocrisy built around Aaron Eckhart’s fearless portrayal of the morally ambiguous Nick Naylor.

5. An Inconvenient Truth

It was a global warning indeed and arguably the most important film of the year. If all the signs are pointing to the year 2007 being one of a mass awakening and call to action to seriously addressing environmental concerns, then Truth will have played no small part in that. As much as the notion of Al Gore: Superstar is like a suit made out of fabric that doesn’t feel quite right, his star power (point) cannot be denied. Gore in ’08 anyone?

6. Flags of Our Fathers

This movie is pure poetry and proof positive that while others are enjoying their retirement, Clint Eastwood is hitting a real artistic stride as a filmmaker. Even if you erase the man’s years of acting from the universal memory bank, you are still left with a body of work as a director that can’t be reckoned with. Flags has a powerful statement to make about the canonization of war heroes in the media spotlight and ways people belie the essential truths in order to sell the public on a war. I can’t wait to see Eastwood’s companion film Letters From Iwo Jima.

7. The Queen

The reasons to see this movie are Helen Mirren and Michael Sheen. I expect nothing less than an Oscar nomination each for both actors, if not actual Oscar wins.

8. Little Miss Sunshine

Funny for an entirely different set of criteria beyond Thank You For Smoking. Even the trailer, which I’ve seen several times now, makes me laugh in anticipation of seeing it again and in remembrance of having seen it already.

9. Blood Diamond

I wasn’t sure for a while if this was going to make the cut, but I found my thoughts drifting back to this movie every now and then over the holidays. First of all, it’s a great story that highlights a little heard of and little understood issue in regards to the troubles in Africa and how we in the West impact them. Another great performance from Leonardo DiCaprio (also in The Departed) helps make the picture, but it is the truly wonderful Djimon Hounsou as the affected family man that seals the deal.

10. A Prairie Home Companion/V For Vendetta

I just couldn’t decide who gets the cut; I needed to pay tribute to Robert Altman’s final work and I had to include Vendetta if only because it seems to have be forgotten (or at least displaced) in numerous other year-end lists. I like the charm of Companion as well as the music and the subtly comic performances of the entire cast, but especially Meryl Streep and Kevin Kline. Least of all Prairie Home Companion proves that Lindsay Lohan has a life outside partying, whoring and AA. As for V, it can stand proud not only as the best adaptation of an Alan Moore work put to film, but as an exceptional film unto itself. It’s also one of the biggest conversation starters out of all the movies released this year.

1. The Covenant

“Look at me! I’m a powerful wizard…warlock…whatever. I have a comprehensive 400-year-old family history that tells me with great power comes great-looking hair. I don’t need things like a plot that makes sense because me and my three water polo buddies are eye candy for teenage girls who think that High School the Musical is a hint of things to come.” I could go further into a scathing rebuke by pointing out the fact that all these “powerful” magic makers can do is throw globs of light at each other, but I think I’ve sufficiently made my point.

2. Underworld Evolution

My lengthy video review from the summer has left me speechless as regards to the quality of this film and why it stinks. My feelings have not changed.

3. Ultraviolet

Without the studio interference, this could have been great. I loved the art direction and I loved the concept, but if you look up the term “butchered” in the dictionary there’d be a screen shot from this movie.

4. Little Man

This made Marlon Wayans playing a White Chick believable by comparison.

5. Turistas

Ugly Americans? Not really; it’s just plain ugly.

6. Bloodrayne

Thanks Uwe Boll! You ruined the film based on a video game I was only vaguely aware of, but you ruined it. I hope you can live with yourself… Actually I know that you can because you’re making good money turning out these clunkers, not to mention a sense of smug satisfaction from beating up your critics in the boxing ring last fall.

7. Firewall

How the mighty have fallen. It’s no wonder that all parties involved with Indiana Jones are looking to shoot this year; to save us from Firewall 2: Firewall Harder.

8. Basic Instinct 2: Risk Addiction

Why pay $12 to see this in the movie theatre when you can download only the clips you want to see off Metacafe for free? They probably should have made that subtitle Risk Aversion and taken the cue.

9. Pulse

What do you get when you combine Veronica Mars and Boone from “Lost” with a J-horror remake? You get what is possibly the most stale, stagnant, confusing and contradictory horror movie of the year.

10. The Wicker Man

Bad, bad, bad, bad, bad! Just laughingly bad, George C. Scott getting hit in the groin with a football bad. For Nic Cage’s sake I hope that Ghost Rider is the Gone With the Wind of demon hero motorcycle movies.