415 replies to this topic

[Elemeno P.T.]

After a down year for film in 06 with many Sombies reporting a struggle to fill out a top 10 much less a top 20, it seems like there's been a great deal of buzz on many more films in 07...and with a mid-February deadline, there's still plenty of time to scratch off some 07' releases from your Q.

Like last year, please try to limit your lists to films which you'd rate at least a 7.5 out of 10. In other words, fight the urge to fill out a top 10 or 20 with films you thought were mediocre. Such selections bias the final list with films most widely seen, even more so then is already the case. Unlike the music list, there are a lot less voters in the movie poll so the final list is more susceptible to bias. So list your top 20...10...5...or even one movie.....

...but if you list less than 10, please assign a rated # (like Pitchfork).

Scoring will be the same as always except that in lists of 10 or less films, points will be assigned based on how the film is rated using the 10 point scale. Films rated as 9.0 or better will be ranked as top 5 material; 8.5-8.9 will be considered 6-10; 8.0-8.4 will be 11-15; and 7.5-7.9 will be scored as 16-20.

Here's an example of the change in scoring. Sombie A has seen only 6 movies in 07 and disliked two of them so lists only 4-
1. No Country For Old Men
2. Superbad
3. Spiderman 3
4. Ratatouille

Sombie B has seen, say, 40 movies in 07 and has listed a top 20 of which the top 4:
1. There Will Be Blood
2. Once
3. Juno
4. No Country For Old Men

Under the old system, both lists would be given the same amount of points based on list placement. Under the new system, Sombie A, whose list is potentially biased based on seeing such a small number of films, would rank their list, for example:
1. No Country For Old Men 9.5
2. Superbad- 9.0
3. Spiderman 3- 8.0
4. Ratatouille- 7.5

Sombie A's # 1 and #2 would get the same amount of points as Sombie B's #1 and #2.
Sombie A's #3 and #4 would get less points than Sombie B's #3 and #4. Sombie A's #3 would score equal to Sombie B's #11 film...and Sombie A's #4 would score equal to Sombie B's #15.

Keep in mind, if you only rank 5 movies and you thought they were all 4 star films- just rank them 1-5 and give them all at least a 9.0 and your list will be scored the same as someone who lists 20 movies.

Hope this isn't too confusing. Open to debate on this. Just looking for a way to make the final results more of an accurate reflection of Sombie tastes.


Heres a list of the films we ranked as top 100 of 06' this time last year as well as those which ranked top 20 at our mid-year....these are not eligible.

100 ) Hard Candy
99 ) Notes on A Scandal
98 ) Crank
97 ) London To Brighton
96 ) Night At The Museum
95 ) Art School Confidential
94 ) The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada
93 ) Quinceañera
92 ) The Devil Wears Prada
91 ) Invincible
90 ) Tsotsi
89 ) Sophie Scholl - Die letzten Tage
88 ) Takeshis'
87 ) Tom yum goong
86 ) Huo Yuan Jia
85 ) Exilis
84 ) Kinky Boots
83 ) Shortbus
82 ) Nacho Libre
81 ) The Break Up
80 ) The Pursuit of Happyness
79 ) Venus
78 ) In the Shadow of the Palms -
77 ) Block Party
76 ) Hostel
75 ) Down in the Valley
74 ) Who Killed the Electric Car?
73 ) The Last Kiss
72 ) For Your Consideration
71 ) Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
70 ) Match Point
69 ) Dreamgirls
68 ) The U.S. vs. John Lennon
67 ) Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
66 ) God Grew Tired of Us: The Story of Lost Boys of Sudan
65 ) Old Joy
64 ) Akeelah and the Bee
63 ) The Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sign
62 ) X Men III
61 ) Cars
60 ) The Last King of Scotland
59 ) The Death of Mister Lazarescu
58 ) Mission: Impossible III
57 ) Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny
56 ) Mutual Appreciation
55 ) A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints
54 ) Iraq in Fragments
53 ) The Illusionist
52 ) Snakes On A Plane
51 ) A Cock and Bull Story
50 ) Bubble
49 ) The Devil and Daniel Johnston
48 ) Running Scared
47 ) The Road to Guantanamo
46 ) Neil Young: Heart of Gold
45 ) When The Levees Broke
44 ) 16 Blocks
43 ) Zui hao de shi guang
42 ) Wordplay
41 ) The Fountain
40 ) Happy Feet
39 ) Over The Hedge
38 ) Idiocracy
37 ) Superman Returns
36 ) Marie Antoinette
35 ) Biyeolhan geori (A Dirty Carnival)
34 ) Flags of Our Fathers
33 ) Rocky Balboa
32 ) Inside Man
31 ) District 13
30 ) L'Enfant
29 ) Jesus Camp
28 ) V for Vendetta
27 ) Cache
26 ) The Queen
25 ) Babel
24 ) Letters From Iwo Jima
23 ) Clerks II
22 ) The Descent
21 ) Stranger Than Fiction
20 ) Volver
19 ) An Inconvenient Truth
18 ) Little Children
17 ) Apocalypto
16 ) Jackass Number Two
15 ) Half Nelson
14 ) A Prairie Home Companion
13 ) Science of Sleep
12 ) The Proposition
11 ) A Scanner Darkly
10 ) The Prestige
9 ) Thank You for Smoking
8 ) Casino Royale
7 ) Brick
6 ) Pan's Labyrinth
5 ) United 93
4 ) Little Miss Sunshine
3 ) Borat
2 ) Children Of Men
1 ) The Departed

Mid-Year Top Twenty
1.Children of Men
2.Pan’s Labyrinth
3.The Departed
4.United 93
5.Borat
6.The Prestige
7.Little Miss Sunshine
8.Brick
9.Inside Man
10.Half Nelson
11.The Proposition
12.Thank You For Smoking
13.Volver
14.When The Levees Broke
15.Apocalypto
16.Banlieue 13 (District 13)
17.Cache
18.Casino Royale
19.A Prairie Home Companion
20.Leben der Anderen, Das (The Lives of Others)

Finally, the always debatable subject of eligibility. I'm probably too flexible on this, but open to any arguments of why a film should or should not be eligible- I will edit this post as we go along with final decisions on questionable films.
I'd prefer we stick to films that have had a US release in 2007 in the major cities- not allowing movies that have only played festivals or, say, got a New York release the last week of December. This means, for example, that the critically acclaimed Romanian film that won the Palme d'Or, 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days is not eligible for this year as its US release date is February, 2008.

[Mitchell]

I'm going to see 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days on Friday. Your poll though, just let me know what's now and what's then.

[Elemeno P.T.]

I'm going to see 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days on Friday. Your poll though, just let me know what's now and what's then.

I've wanted to see this more than any other movie of 07. No chance until February.

[Mitchell]

They make about 6 films a year in Romania and for that and The Death of Mr. Lazarescu to be so highly praised is very impressive.

[Elemeno P.T.]

No doubt. I'm going to a wedding in Romania in June. I'm bringing my video camera. Maybe something magical will happen.

[Slackmo]

Dude, just a stellar avatar adjustment. Nicely.

[Elemeno P.T.]

Wiig is at the top of my had I not met my wife and had my choice of women in the world list.

[Slackmo]

Wiig is at the top of my had I not met my wife and had my choice of women in the world list.

Yeah, I know what you mean. Both of them are on my list.

[scarymuppet]

Are we doing There Will Be Blood? That got a late release.

[RadioHitchcock]

Are we doing There Will Be Blood? That got a late release.

I would think it would count.

[Elemeno P.T.]

Easy Tiger.

[Elemeno P.T.]

Are we doing There Will Be Blood? That got a late release.

I would think it would count.

It counts...but this is one that's likely to place much lower due to lack of viewers. Hopefully it's at the top of everyone's January/February movie going list.

[scarymuppet]

Are we doing There Will Be Blood? That got a late release.

I would think it would count.

It counts...but this is one that's likely to place much lower due to lack of viewers. Hopefully it's at the top of everyone's January/February movie going list.

It certainly should be on movie going lists. Probably will be my #1.

[arkin]

I know I'm not going to vote until I see TWBB. Looks amazing. There's a sort of rumor that the original actor cast in Paul Dano's role quit because Daniel Day-Lewis was too intense.

[Damo Suzuki]

Huh. Ok, so I'll play along. I already drew up my list last week and likewise had a 3 1/2 stars (out of 5) or better criteria.

Official Top 10 Films of 2007

10. Persepolis
09. This is England
08. Ratatouille
07. I'm Not There
06. Death Proof
05. Control
04. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
03. Once
02. There Will Be Blood
01. No Country For Old Men

[caley]

A couple movies I saw in 2007 that IMDB has listed as otherwise that I would like to check on their eligibility. -Once, I assume everyone counts this as 2007, right? -The Host, got into a heated debate on another board over my inclusion of this in my Top 20 of 2007 -Black Book, is 2006 in Holland, 2007 everywhere else. Stuff at the top of my list to still see from 2007(in order): -The Assassination of Jesse James...: I'm hoping that either a) it gets released to DVD before the deadline or it gets a handful of Oscar noms and gets re-released to theaters -Atonement: Still no sign of it chez nous -There Will Be Blood: Ditto -Juno: Likely seeing it this week -Rescue Dawn: Just waiting on the right day to rent it. -Waitress: You know it's sitting four feet away from me, I should really just put it on.

[Slackmo]

-Once, I assume everyone counts this as 2007, right?
-The Host, got into a heated debate on another board over my inclusion of this in my Top 20 of 2007
-Black Book, is 2006 in Holland, 2007 everywhere else.

All three of these should be eligible here.

[Damo Suzuki]

Waitress was good. But not spectacularly so. I think Russell's performance is slightly overrated. It's all well done but a little standard as films go. Edit: Black Book made my list last year. So I did not put it on my list this year. Pretty great movie though.

[theremin]

Movies I've seen that I feel has a 2007 Release date
http://www.imdb.com/...list?l=31293107

I guess, since it had a small release, but Chicago wasn't one of the cities, I'll wait for 2008 and the DVD list to vote for it.
I will definitely have to add THE HOST. It's clearly a 2007 release (although I saw it in 06).

I still might like to see the following movies:

http://www.imdb.com/...list?l=31293998

But obviously some of them will be impossible.

This is my favorites (although I made this before I saw TWBB:

http://www.imdb.com/...list?l=32719061

[worrywort]

Huh. Ok, so I'll play along. I already drew up my list last week and likewise had a 3 1/2 stars (out of 5) or better criteria.

Official Top 10 Films of 2007

10. Persepolis
09. This is England
08. Ratatouille
07. I'm Not There
06. Death Proof
05. Control
04. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
03. Once
02. There Will Be Blood
01. No Country For Old Men

I thought I'd see Bridge to Terabithia on your list