2007: The year we watched a lot of movies...

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The Coen brothers and Paul Thomas Anderson have become the darlings of the critical circuit this year. Virtually every major critical award has gone either to "No Country for Old Men" or "There Will Be Blood," with hardly a scrap tossed to the rest of the mangy curs begging for attention this year. We at DVDTown dare to offer a dissenting opinion. And our opinion is that… we have all sorts of opinions.

None of the DVDTown critics who participated in this year's Top Ten Polls chose the same top film for the year, and you'd be hard pressed to find any kind of consensus among the lists. The closest thing to a DVDTown favorite this year is the Pixar hit "Ratatouille" which was ranked in the top five by Will, John, and Jason. The remake of "Hairspray," the fantasy film "Stardust" and Wes Anderson's generally overlooked "The Darjeeling Limited" also found multiple supporters on the staff. Surprisingly, the two films dominating the critical awards this year found virtually no fans at DVDTown. P.T. Anderson needn't worry too much: most of the critics didn't have a chance to see "There Will Be Blood" in time to submit their lists, but the Coens have to be wondering where the love is: Will chose "No Country" as his 7th best film, but nobody else gave it a single vote. Hopefully, they don't send Javier Bardem after us.

The DVD picks are even more diverse, which hardly a surprise when you consider the vast number of titles released to the home market each year as well as the proliferation of formats. "The New Stanley Kubrick Collection" was the standout, being selected both as a set and for its individual components, though controversy still lingers over the aspect ratios selected for the new set. Criterion's defintive release of Jean-Luc Godard's "Breathless" met with widespread approval, as did the DVD releases of some of the last two year's theatrical favorites such as the special editions of "Pan's Labyrinth" and "Letters from Iwo Jima." And in a mild surprise, Anchor Bay's re-release of "Re-Animator" made two lists, proving that the legend of Herbert West will live forever.

Below are each of the lists submitted by the staff. Enjoy!

William David Lee - Theatrical - DVD
Christopher Long - Theatrical - DVD
James Plath - Blu-ray
John J. Puccio - Theatrical - DVD - HD DVD
Tyler Shainline - Theatrical - DVD
Jason Vargo - Theatrical

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