2006 was the year my movie-viewing had dropped to under 20 films in the theater. I more than made up for it in 2007, as I made it a point to see more movies of more varied types on the big screen. There were a few that I missed and then caught up on video, but I'm not counting those. There are also still three notable hold outs (Juno, The Orphanage and Walk Hard) that I've promised to see with other folks that we just haven't gotten around to seeing yet, so take note of their absence. And, I'm not counting re-releases, like the Final Cut of Blade Runner or special screenings, like the showing of Star Trek: The Menagerie. Still, that leaves 32 movies this year.

Here's in order from best to not-best.

1. The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters -- A story and cast that has to be seen to be believed, and even then you probably won't believe it. An incredibly engrossing underdog story that you can get behind regardless of your interest (or lack of) in Donkey Kong peeing contests.
2. Pan's Labyrinth -- Incredibly refreshing to see a fantasy tale that is imminently un-happy-meal-able.
3. Zodiac -- Meticulous and incredibly detailed, as befits a tale of obsession. This scored extra points since I'm living in the area now.
4. Charlie Wilson's War -- Smart and snappy, a comedy for those who read the Economist.
5. Ratatouille -- So uniquely perfect, and able to convey emotions and sensations that you'd never thought possible, yet very accessible.
6. Enchanted -- A pitch-perfect wink to classic Disneyana with enough modern savvy to be funny and magical to all ages.
7. No Country for Old Men -- The classic Coens are back. A grueling and tense exercise in watching someone dig their own grave.
8. Michael Clayton -- Very dense with great performance and discussion-worthy moral ambiguity throughout.
9. Superbad -- The best love story of the year.
10. The Bourne Ultimatum -- A satisfying conclusion that makes you realize how good these movies were.
11. Grindhouse -- See it in a filthy movie theater if possible.
12. Sicko -- Made me proud to be Canadian.
13. Eastern Promises -- The best naked fight since Borat. Solid, but the resolution seemed a little hollywood.
14. American Gangster -- If you see only one '70s cop saga this year, see Zodiac. If you see two, though... Really good, but doesn't really add anything new to the genre.
15. Atonement -- Fantastically acted, but the gimmick of its resolution doesn't really blend in too smoothly.
16. Charlotte's Web -- A sweet, solid adaptation.
17. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix -- Considering how much it had to condense, it works well.
18. Live Free or Die Hard -- Big dumb fun.
19. Transformers -- Bigger dumber fun.
20. The Simpsons Movie -- Funny, touching and epic.
21. I Am Legend -- Falls apart at the end.
22. The Golden Compass -- Dense and clumsy, but compelling enough that I want to revisit this world.
23. 300 -- Mantastic!
24. Talk to Me -- Great performances, but story suffers from unneeded sentimentalism.
25. Blades of Glory -- Silly. See it with a figure skater, like I did, and you'll see there's a whole 'nother set of jokes you're not getting.
26. Knocked Up -- Funny and informed gender politics.
27. 30 Days of Night -- Great premise, but utterly forgettable characters. A few good jumps.
28. Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer -- Largely inconsequential, but the filmmakers deserve some recognition for correctly assessing that they only had about 90 minutes of story.
29. Beowulf -- They're getting closer, but it's not quite there yet. Still, it's worth seeing in IMAX 3-D if just for the window into things to come.
30. Dragon Wars: D-War -- A cheddariffic Korean import that makes very little sense but is at least honest in its desire to entertain you. Good clean incompetent fun.
31. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End -- As bloated and fun as a beached whale.
32. Spider-Man 3 -- It wasn't even the dancing or the Emo-Spidey that did this in. It was the brain-dead Goblin storyline. Why waste all that time if you're gonna make him a villain again? And the damn butler was just sitting on that info? Hey, Jeeves, if you see that I'm dressing up as the Goblin every night to avenge the death of my old man -- feel free to tell me he died at his own hand before I get too carried away.