#10. THERE WILL BE BLOOD

Yes, this film is frustrating, teeth-gnashing, with a longeur that extends to inhuman lengths of cinema-viewing, mostly resulting to erratic groaning, bum-numbing, and asking your seatmate when will the picture ever end running. Some reckon they've sat for over a week watching this. But behold! After the dark pit that we scuttle through, finding the light in the foyer of the cinemas, it would suddenly hit rock-bottom that THERE WILL BE BLOOD cannot be underestimated - for within its core is a disturbing, haunting, elegiac caricature of a metaphorical character that is Daniel Plainview, a ragged-silver-miner-turned-oil-mogul and gets blinded by wealth and greed. The ethos of the film takes a while to sink its teeth to your skin, but when it does, it stays and it reconciles with the portrait of the modern day America, a country burning in desire of power yet blinded with greed and corruption. It's a complex film that would raise eyebrows of the masses, but tug the reverence of the critics. It may enfeeble your bum, but oh boy, does Paul Thomas Anderson's superb direction transcends and Daniel Day-Lewis's performance flares like the burning oil tower itself.

#9. THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM

In the summer crammed with so many three-quels, most of which are all leftist, convoluted, and unfortunate failures, there is one that remained true to its promise. You Shreks, Pirates and Spideys ought to learn from the man named Bourne. This supposed-to-be last of the franchise (but they're making a fourth one now) is astonisingly realistic, heart-poundingly fast-paced, and so expertly executed you wish all thrillers are directed by the deft hands of Paul Greengrass. Whilst it holds an intricate plot, it doesn't stray to confusion and delivers instead an all-out intelligent punch. The scenes unnerve the senses and they build up with so much pressure; one supreme testament in the Waterloo Station chase, taken with an intense spontaneity, and also the breathtaking Tangier rooftops. It finally concludes that the man being chased by his own employers is actually in pursuit of himself. Hitch your breaths.

#8. SWEENEY TODD

Just like the titular character himself, this film is misunderstood by many. Some see it as copious in length, tedious, difficult to watch, and embezzled with too much musical numbers. Those "some" never really seen the humanity deeply engraved at the heart of SWEENEY TODD. It's a deliciously dark, ghoulish, blood-lusty affair of a modernist Gothic. Not only does it offers gore, lavish, almost beautifully-shot flow of scarlet blood, nor it tells a tale of unfettered revenge - but it also serves as a cautionary tale of unchecked violence, redemption and blinded vengeance. Stark with stellar performances by the absolutely brilliant Johnny Depp, and the exquisitely understated Helena Bonham Carter, it's the auteur himself Tim Burton that really gives the film his most valuable impression. This tale could have never been better told, other than in the hands of the real Burton, making SWEENEY TODD one of the most Burtonesque film Burton could ever craft. Bloody hell. Literally.

#7. SUNSHINE

Without a doubt, 2007's most underseen, under-appreciated piece of cinema. Some have noticed it, some critics praised it, and some just buried it in stinkhole as another 'ambitious' sci-fi flick. Nonetheless, it is arguably one of the Brit-genius Danny Boyle's all-time greats. In his first foray into the genre of science-fiction, he definitely nails the genre, just as what he did to the zombie-genre of 28 DAYS LATER. While I'm not fanatical on sci-fi (even loathe it at times), SUNSHINE is a tremendous exception because it is visually a masterpiece, with the evident influence of Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A SPACE ODDYSEY and Ridley Scott's ALIEN. The visceral beauty and spectacle of the former, and the primal fear and claustrophobia of the later, blended in an all-new concept involving our major star dying, with a crew of 8 in the journey to ignite it again. It also plays as a nerve-wracking thriller, all in emotional, psychological and even spiritual aspects. The film's ending is its only bum-note, but it's a riveting climax despite of that. SUNSHINE is just one hell of a spectacle to behold.

#6. ACROSS THE UNIVERSE

2007's most divisive film, separating those who like it and those who don't. Like it or loathe it, there's no denying that ACROSS THE UNIVERSE is an ambitious piece of cinema that tries hard to revolutionise the convential way of visual storytelling. It certainly doesn't falls flat on face-first, as this film with good intentions comes with a fresh burst of cinematic colours, mirroring the times to which the tale represents, and at the very core of it, is an emblem of world's most needed element: love. It is infuriatingly inventive, frustratingly creative, and annoyingly true - all the irony present in the Revolution both in war, society, culture, art, and emotion. Telling a story out The Beatles songbook takes a flutter of rare inspiration, and pinning them down, making justice of the world's greatest band must have been an intimidating feat to achieve. Yet the result is a visual climax of a hundred orgasms, an artistic milestone. Julie Taymor has my bows, from the falling of strawberries in the warfields, to the voyeuristic splash of Warholian colours of the bus tour, the oddity of the circus, to the hippie clothings of the times, all set as backdrops to a tale of two lovers finding and discovering to what the world really needs.

#5. NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN

It can almost be considered a sin not to watch NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, for its a stunning, sheer apotheosis of fundamental, unadulterated filmmaking. The Coen brothers, here, are the quintessential Hollywood directors that base the entertainment on the audience's primal fear, the very crux of evil in the form of a heartless, merciless human. They capture their scenes is such careful precision as though every movement is calculated, measured and tuned to pitch-perfection, with characters absolved in their own humanities, defining the conflict of our destinies. This tale of the hunter, the hunted and the doomed reflects so much on the land of America, again, that it becomes a medidative portrait of what happened to the values that the old men has left the nation. The suspense becomes the thriller, the thriller becomes the drama, the drama becomes the life of NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN. Javier Bardem rivets as Anton Chigurh, the cinematic villain to surely challenge Anthony Hopkin's Hannibal Lecter for a long period of time. But the film's transition to the unnerving chase movie to the quiet contemplation of humanity does this film excels the most.

#4. RATATOUILLE

And when everyone thought the Golden Age of Pixar has long been over, it comes out with another dish - with a delight. Who'd expected that a gross-worthy, eww-infested tale of a rat in a restaurant kitchen suddenly becomes a parable to those who dare to dream? With Pixar's technical brilliance, and Brad Bird's assured direction, RATATOUILLE is the perfect mix of entertainment, inspiration and slapstick fun - all served with a warm heart at its core. It may not be the most original tale in its department, a species of surprising origins, appearing so different to even his own species, being bullied, criticised, disparaged - it's nothing new. But RATATOUILLE makes sure it has its own distinct flavour, a masterclass panache of classic storytelling, almost as good as FINDING NEMO, and brimmed with such sophistication and cleverness. As common in most Pixar films, it's the message that really remains, "Anyone can cook but only the fearless can become great." Of course, metaphorically, it does make sense - with depth.

#3. ONCE

If you have seen JUNO and judged it as the "indie film of the year", then there's no point in betting my bollocks because apparently you haven't seen this indie extraordinaire with a bulging heart to boast, ONCE. Such a film that compelled Steven Spielberg to name it as filled with "enough inspiration and heart to keep my movie-viewing for a year", it's unquestionable why even the most unexpected man like Spielberg himself has his heart tugged by the strings of this film. This film's nothing to boast at visually, captured in unpretentious shaky camerawork, looking as though it hasn't got any budget at all, featuring two unknown leads, it's the most tantamounting archetype of all indies - but when the two leads open their mouths and sing their songs, expect it to shoot straight to your heart. This film has stolen my heart, and in its paradoxical nature, it appears with simplicity but burns with complexity deep within. Probably one of the most uniquely-made musicals, and anyone expecting straightforward melodrama will not find themselves consummated because the real dialogues are in the songs that they sing. A warm-hearted approach to the low-key cinema, but never fares as low-bro. In fact, this indie soars and gives a slice of life in its tale. What a beautiful film.

#2. THE LIVES OF OTHERS

This was last year's Best Foreign Film at Oscars, that film which sidestepped the fantastic PAN'S LABYRINTH. But technically, this is a 2007 film. After seeing it, it tells its truth with such ferocious power that it is indeed more deserving than Guillermo Del Toro's fantasy. It's the realism that holds THE LIVES OF OTHERS to the ground, and then springs into the consciousness of our own existence what it really means to be human. It is a brilliantly complex drama and at the same time a terrific thriller, nailed to the very end with a remarkable, power-punch of an ending that will have you breaking in tears. The late Ulrich Muhe delivers one of the year's finest performances as the tightly-collared, emotionally suppressed Stasi Captain Weisler, a character that was personally affected by the lives which he spies on, learning about the sacredness of privacy and the sacrifice of artistic souls and voices in the era that opresses them. It's emotionally devastating as it's intriguingly good. Don't underestimate the power of foreign film indeed, as this German film leaves a great memory, and will stick to your soul just what like the character of Oskar Schindler has left us with: the figure of goodness despite in the darkest of evils.

#1. ATONEMENT

The finest film of 2007. Gorgeous eye-watering cinematography, check. Resplendent, beautifully told story, check. Majestic, impressionistic direction, check. Carefully precisioned performances, check. Surrealistic, triumphantly inventive musical score, check. Rest assured, ATONEMENT hit all the right marks, with intelligence, bravery and boldness. Inarguably one of the refined British films that has been born into cinematic history, it bridges cultures, miles and classes in this tale of tragic doomed romance, once a fine and superb piece of literature by Ian McEwan, now a modern classic film by the excellent Joe Wright. The unfolding of the three-act tale, the Britishness of idyllic manorial household of the Tallises, the expanse and the toll of the war climazing in the breathtakingly executed Dunkirk rescue beach scene (probably the film's jewel in its crown, the five-and-a-half minute of exemplary aptitude of extraodinary filmmaking), to the redemption and atoning of Briony herself - it's all superbly crafted. A masterstroke move for Wright, imprinting himself with the most exciting British filmmakers alive right now. Plus the classical performances of the key actors, Knightley, McAvoy, Ronan, Garai and Redgrave, what is not to like? Nonetheless, it's the film's haunting ethos of childish misunderstanding that results to a lie that has caused repercussions to the lives of these characters, most especially the two ill-fated lovers. It is one of those films that as soon as the credits roll and having witnessed the tale, your heart is clenched and it will stay with you for as long as it's in your memory. A film that reaches the dreamland status of perfection. Filmmaking at its finest.

Catch you all again soon, next year. Let 2008 roll.

The Moviejerk (c) J.S.Datinguinoo