Another year, another top 15. I am actually not very happy with last years list, as I didn't see a whole lot, and as a result, I feel like I kind of threw some titles on there that I wouldn't have if I'd gotten to see more. I wound up catching up on a bunch of movies on DVD that I would've liked to have put on the list, but by then, we were too well into this year, and as a result, last years list feels incomplete and sort of obligatory. I saw a lot more this year, so the following list feels much more complete and much more personal by comparison. I was actually going to make a bottom 10 for the crappiest movies I saw this year, until I realized that I hadn't really even seen enough to make a bottom 5. So instead, I'll at least rant for a moment about far and away, the absolute worst movie I saw this year: The Number 23. Everything about this movie absolutely sucks. It just plain sucks. It is universally awful on all accounts. It is an amazingly stupid, horrible mess of a movie. The acting is atrocious, the characters are idiots, the direction ranges from shitty to mediocre (mostly shitty though), the story is nonsensical and all over the place, and worst of all, I'll never get back the 95 minutes of my life that this...ahem..."film" masturbated all over. Now that I've gotten that off my chest, onward with the good stuff.

15. Knocked Up: Judd Apatow is quickly becoming one of the great comedy directors of our generation. While most comedies released to the masses these days are idiotic, vulgar filled retard fests that sometimes make me ashamed to be a male, Apatow has figured out a way to mold those types of stories into genuinely funny, and sometimes even touching honest to God FILMS. The movie is likely to hit home with a few more people than The 40 Year Old Virgin, as the story of two completely opposite people being bound together by circumstances out of their control is probably a tad bit more realistic than the premise from 2005's movie. That being said, I didn't quite like this one as much as 40 Year Old Virgin, but I liked both movies for the same reasons. Because while there are the ocassional gross out moment, or idiotic sight gag, most of the laughs come from the fact that he creates real people as his characters, perfectly casting each of them. I laugh, because I know these people. This film is also further proof that Paul Rudd is a comedic genius, and needs to be headlining his own movies like this rather than just supporting in them. Funny stuff.

14. Day Watch: Enought of an improvement over Night Watch to edge its way onto the list. The special effects and action sequences are more frequent and look better, the story is grander and makes more sense, and with the perfunctory introduction stuff out of the way in the last movie, this one takes what's been established and runs with it. A sort of epic fantasy set in the modern day, Day Watch continues the struggle between the Light & Dark "Others" who live among us. It is really interesting to see how these two different groups operate in a modern setting, as they manipulate and outwit each other in search of the Chalk of Fate. Much cooler than I just made it sound, I promise. While there are a few questionable pacing decisions (the middle of the movie almost feels like a completely different film with the same actors), and a mediocre ending, this was a great followup to last years sleeper.

13. I'm a Cyborg, but That's OK: Chan-wook Park, the director of the famed Vengeance Trilogy, takes a stab at the romantic comedy genre. The result?: What the hell? This is one of the more bizarre movies I've seen in recent memory. It never really quite reaches Takashi Miike or David Lynch levels of "WTF?!", but it manages to be both completely charming, and really really fucking weird. A girl who believes she is a cyborg and refuses to eat is admitted to a mental institution where she meets a man who believes he's capable of stealing people's souls. As the relationship between the two builds, we get to see the fine tuning of Parks skills as a director, as he manages to balance this nonsense with genuine emotion. Park made a name for himself with his Vengeance films (specifically Oldboy), and while those films were bleak and sometimes shockingly violent, he has created a film here that is just as good as any of those while pretty much being the polar opposite and still maintaining his trademark feel. He is one of the best up and coming directors in film today, and this movie is another great achievement.

12. Harry Potter & The Order of the Phoenix: They actually did it. They took the worst book of the series, and made one of the better movie adaptations out of it. This is one of the rare cases where some of the necessary cuts that had to be made actually improve on the material. It streamlines the story into something that is much easier to get absorbed into. One of my biggest problems with the book was that in it, Harry spent so much time as an angry little bastard that by the time the book was reaching its climax, I was pretty much completely sick of the little twerp. This stuff is addressed in the movie, but not dwelled on, making it far easier to stay on his side throughout. Other things that felt extraneous or unneeded are similarly removed so we can focus on the important bits, and it works wonders for the story. OotP does have my least favorite moment of the entire series (I'll not spoil it for the 2 of you who don't know what I'm talking about), but the straightforward approach to the story, and the legendary battle at the end make this movie a winner.

11. Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon: Not terribly sure about this one being put on the list, only because it technically was a 2006 film. But, it didn't get a theatrical release here in the States until January this year, so it's fair game to me, and what a great movie it is. A horror movie that has a lot of fun with its characters and premise while still managing to be a damn good slasher on its own. Most of all though, it's fucking hilarious. It's self aware in a much smarter way than Scream that simply called out slasher cliche's, and there are homages and winks to slasher flicks of days past, and some fun cameos. The dialogue is smart, well written, and appropriately tongue in cheek, the performances are top notch, and the last half hour or so is as good, if not better than some of the great horror classics. And it's damn funny. Almost like a Shaun of the Dead take on slasher flicks. Check it out.

10. Grindhouse: Yeah, yeah. This is technically two seperate movies, but it's my fucking list, and I saw them together at the theater. On top of that, I have no interest in sparking up more debates about which of the two movies is superior by placing one ahead of the other. I will say however, that I find most of the debates about which of the two is superior to be incredibly flawed, as just about every argument that I've heard about which of the two is better, for both movies mind you, consists of mostly unfair comparisons between the two. They are two very different movies by two very different filmmakers, and comparing them is kind of pointless. With that out of the way, this was far and away the most fun I had at the movies this year. I saw it in a packed theater full of Tarantino and movie fanboys, which is really the best way to experience this double feature. It's an experience that demands a certain level of audience reaction and energy to get the full effect, and the audience I was sitting with enhanced it. Except for that one fucker that was laughing at EVERYTHING. He can eat shit and die.

09. Paris, je T'aime: This is a hard movie to describe. 18 (mostly) unrelated short stories about love in the city of Paris. Each story lasts between five to ten minutes, and a different director handles each of them, with a ridiculously enormous ensemble cast bringing them to life. The stories range from simple and fun, to heartbreaking (the story of the man and the paramedic is one of the saddest things I've ever seen), to downright bizarre (the mimes who meet in prison, and the salesman who sells to an Asian hair salon had me WTFing more than the thirteenth movie on this list). Not every story works completely, but the ones that do are amazing, made even more so by the fact that they completely catch you off guard. At times, it can feel talky or dull, but other times, it can blindside you with something that is surprisingly deep and thought provoking.

08. The Bourne Ultimatum: Smartest action movie of the year. Hell, this is the smartest action movie since...well, the last Bourne film. Matt Damon is back for the latest Jason Bourne shenanigans, surrounded by incredible supporting performances from some unlikely places (Julia Stiles? Really?), beautifully woven together by Paul Greengrass. The type of action that this film calls for is the type that Greengrass can do in his sleep. He masterfully directs the quick, visceral action of this film with the style and grace of someone who's been doing it his entire career. David Strathairn and Joan Allen also deserve praise, as they manage to take what would in any other movie, be dull, talky scenes that slow down the pace, and make them almost as intriguing and exhilirating as one of the films long chase scenes. This film is proof that an action movie doesn't have to be completely retarted to still deliver what you expect from an action movie.

07. Hot Fuzz: Could the Shaun of the Dead crew make magic happen twice? You bet your ass they can, and this movie is the proof. A movie that's a bit tighter, a good showcase of how everyone has evolved since their zombie classic, and most of all, just as much fun as that movie was. I could sit here and compare the two all day long, and tell you why if you loved Shaun (which you fucking better have) you should also love this, but you've probably all heard that stuff hundreds of times by now. Instead, I'll tell you that the murder mystery mixed with a buddy cop story works better than it has any right to. I'll tell you that the main performances are proof that these guys can do more than act like idiots. And I'll tell you that the way it all comes together is nothing short of brilliant. While I didn't enjoy the movie quite as much as Shaun, it did resonate with me a bit more, likely because I grew up on more crappy action movies than I did on crappy horror movies.

06. Transformers: If you had told me at the beginning of the year, that this would be on my top 15, and Spider-Man 3 wouldn't, I'd have probably called you an ignorant douche and possibly peed on your shoes. But here we are, and Transformers blew me away. The story is pretty paper thin, and honestly, not that important, but if you don't already know the basic story of the Autobots and Decepticons, well, odds are that you're probably good looking ...and have had sex before. Anyways, the story here isn't really that important. This movie is all about the action set pieces, and it has those in spades. It's nice to finally see some CGI creations that seem to have actual weight to them. Michael Bay is at the top of his game with lots of explosions, huge machines beating the piss out of each other, and gratuitous cleaveage. This movie made me giddy inside. It's not high art, but it's fun and entertaining. Remember those things? Best summer movie in a long time, by far. Did I mention how ungodly beautiful Megan Fox is? Because she is.

05. Zodiac: David Fincher is on the type of roll that is rare in todays world of filmmaking. While his previous movies were all very good, most of them felt a tad gimmicky, making them rather hard to stand up to repeat viewings. That, and the fanboys have pretty much ruined Fight Club for me. Zodiac however, works without any of those problems. It's an authentic, and endlessly intriguing thriller/character study about a real life case in which the killer was never actually caught. It's so well acted and authentic though, that none of that really makes much of a difference. Jake Gyllenhall does well enough as a cartoonist who lets his obsession with finding out the killers identity consume him, even if he doesn't quite seem completely comfortable in the last 4th of the movie or so. Mark Ruffalo gives what may be the performance of his career as a cop assigned to the case, but it's Robert Downey Jr. who steals the whole damn film as the reporter covering the murders. As Fincher has finally made a movie that doesn't rely on his trademark use of gimmicks, he may have put together his masterpiece.

04. No Country for Old Men: The Coen Brothers come roaring back with what may be their best work. When a retired Vietnam vet finds a briefcase full of cash at what looks to be a drug deal gone bad, it sets in motion a complex series of events as he finds himself hunted by a group of Mexicans who want their money back, and a merciless psychopath who is less like a human being, and more like The Terminator with a bit more personality. Tommy Lee Jones turns in another fantastic performance as a local sherrif who finds himself drawn into these events for reasons that I don't want to spoil. All that being said, I really enjoyed this movie, and I don't see what the huge problem is that everyone seems to have with the ending. It's ambiguous, yes, but to condemn it because it doesn't spell specific details out is to miss the point. The movie doesn't use the details of the plot simply to drive the story. It uses them more to explore the characters, to let us into their minds and allow us to understand their motivations, who they are, and how they've gotten to this point. The ending that we got wraps that aspect up perfectly.

03. Eastern Promises: Cronenberg may have outdone A History of Violence with this one. I won't be able to make that final judgment until I see this another time or two, but this film is another notch on the belt of a genius. Watching this films plot unfold is like the cinematic equivalent to peeling an onion, with each new layer revealing a deeper understanding to what's going on, who's involved, and why. Of course, one of the highlights of any great Cronenberg film is the performances, and this film has some of the strongest work of its actors careers. Naomi Watts delivers a great performance as a woman caught between her normal life, and that of a crime family she's accidentally gotten involved with. Vincent Cassel threatens to steal the whole show as the batshit crazy son of the family, but it's Viggo Mortensen that delivers the finest performance in the film, as he plays a wild card in the events of the movie, and finds himself caught in an interesting moral dilemma, with a bit of a twist. Great script, great performances, great film.

02. Once: How the hell did this fly so far under everyone's radar? With the possible exception of Mike Allison and the 4 or so people I've talked to about this movie, I'm going to just assume that nobody else even knows that it exists. That's a horrible shame, because this movie absolutely floats. A surprisingly simple, yet incredibly effective story about 2 lonely musicians who form a bond that's more complex than just simple attraction. Movies like this are the reason I am such a big fan of the medium to begin with. The soundtrack is marvelous, with the actors themselves doing all of the songs, and the performances are surprisingly subtle and real. Nobody really had a chance to see it in theaters, but now that it's out on DVD, none of you have any excuse. Once is an effortlessly perfect little film, and one that actually had the number one spot on this list on lockdown until the last minute.

01. Juno: A flawless excercise in absolutely perfect filmmaking. In a year that saw some of the best serious drama movies ever made, it's probably a little odd that I wound up loving a quirky little film about a pregnant teenager the most, but I did. Lots of this years best movies were bleak, and intense. Juno though, was the complete opposite of those things, and wound up resonating with me the most. This is the type of comedy movie that ruins it for the others. It makes you wonder why the hell they all can't be so charming, so endearing, and so damn funny. The dialogue is tight, and witty as hell, and the supporting performances by everyone involved are marvelous. But it's Ellen Page that anchors the entire film. If there is any justice in movie land, her performance here will catapult her into superstardom. She is absolutely scary talented, and she plays about the most lovable character I've seen in a movie in years. Juno is heartfelt, hilarious, and wonderful. I wanted to hug someone when it was over.