Gopher

Ghost Rider may be fourth for the weekend... hmm.

Who wants to see Ghost Rider 2? I'd like to meet them, because I sure as hell don't know them.

Hmm, that family must be onto something...

For your consideration:

Seriously, is there a better recent year for movies than 2007?1. There Will Be Blood2. Ratatouille3. Once4. No Country for Old Men5. Zodiac6. Into the Wild7. Knocked Up8. Michael Clayton9. The Bourne Ultimatum10. Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story11. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford12. Gone Baby Gone13. 3:10 to Yuma14. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street15. Juno

1. The Dark Knight A 2. WALL-E A 3. In Bruges A- 4. The Wrestler A 5. Slumdog Millionaire B 6. Milk A- 7. Iron Man B+ 8. Kung Fu Panda B+ 9. Tropic Thunder A- 10. Doubt A-/B+ 11. Wanted B 12. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button C+ 13. Frost/Nixon A- 14. Bolt B/B- (?) 15. Pineapple Express B+

1. THE DARK KNIGHT (171 points, 15 lists) A lot's been said about The Dark Knight, so I'll more or less restate those sayings. Here, Nolan crafts not a comic book movie but a crime drama that profoundly wrestles with the concepts of good and evil. Here, in his final performance (depends what you consider Dr. Parnassus, but whatever) Heath Ledger creates a Joker who is truly captivating to watch. Here, The Dark Knight transcends its genre and becomes an all-time cinema classic.

2. WALL-E (129 points, 11 lists) Pixar has a better track record than anyone else in the business, but WALL-E is their most ambitious and accomplished work to date. Andrew Stanton made a masterpiece here. The romance between WALL-E and EVE is the one of the sweetest I've ever seen.

Changling is fine. But great? Hell to the fucking no. See, it works both ways.

3. IN BRUGES (111 points, 11 lists) The nicest surprise of 2008 was a hilarious, powerful, and endlessly entertaining. If this and The Guard are any indicators, Martin McDonagh has a terrific filmography ahead of him.

4. The Wrestler (86 points, 8 lists) So rarely is a performance so raw, so alive, that you inhale every spoken word and delicate action with an addict’s craving- Mickey Rourke crafts this performance. So rarely does a director handle his film with a style so passionately entrenched in the film’s soul- Darren Aronofsky is this director. So rarely is a film so refreshingly intimate that it brings you to tears not by drama but by realism- The Wrestler is this film. It is nothing short of a triumph.

5. Slumdog Millionaire (78 points, 7 lists) I didn't love Slumdog. It came astonishingly close to a heartbreaking rumination on brotherhood, poverty, and perseverance wrapped within the friendly structure of a love story. But as the movie goes on, the narrative gives way to this fantastical love story I never really cared about. But a lot of it is really strong, even if some is incalculably smooth.

6. Milk (71 points, 8 lists) Movies about political figures tend to get so caught up in the politician's message that you ultimately don't connect with the person. But Milk works as a genuinely powerful political movie and a heartfelt human story. Sean Penn is marvelous here.

7. Iron Man (58 points, 8 lists) But then again, sometimes it's worth letting your stars do what they do without a script in the way. It certainly worked for Robert Downey Jr., who is aces as Tony Stark. Iron Man was a breath of fresh air for the genre, stepping away from being caught up in its own world (though it focused too much on an incredibly lame villain) and just having some fun. Iron Man 2, on the other hand...

That means it got one point...

8. Kung Fu Panda (55 points, 7 lists) One of the best Dreamworks movies- probably right behind HTTYD and Shrek- offered instead of pop culture references a clever, funny homage to kung fu movies and a strong movie on its own. A lot will depend on your Jack Black tolerance level, but Po is pretty damn endearing.

9. Tropic Thunder (54 points, 7 lists) A scathing satire of Hollywood excess, Tropic Thunder proves that putting a bunch of funny people in one movie won't be nearly as valuable without a great script supporting them. Also, Black Downey Jr.

10. Doubt (49 points, 7 lists) It's difficult to adapt a well acclaimed play to the screen (remember what happened to Carnage this last year?) because often the tension between an ensemble is so much more powerful live than on film. I even think Rabbit Hole suffered from this a little bit. But Doubt pulls together four terrific actors- Steep, Adams, Hoffman and Davis- and the result doesn't lose a beat of the play's power.

11. Wanted (48 points, 7 lists) Wanted's a cool movie. It's big and stupid, but it really isn't afraid of its big, stupid voice- Timur Bekmambetov shoots the action scenes just as brashly as he shoots the dialogue ones. It's a little exhausting, but it's fun.

12. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (46 points, 5 lists) Okay, so Benjamin Button was a visually nifty movie, and had some noteworthy moments. But Fincher wasn't the right guy to direct this. He's a dark, cynical, mysanthropic filmmaker, and something like this required a director with more fantastic, wondrous ideas. These two don't fit together, and the result is a movie that just kind of meanders, without any style or tone. I'll ask you this- would you have cared about Benjamin Button if he wasn't aging backwards? I didn't think so.

13. Frost/Nixon (45 points, 5 lists) An entertaining history lesson with a cunning, commanding performance by Frank Langella. It's hard to make a movie about a series of interviews thrilling, but here you go.

14. Bolt (42 points, 5 lists) I saw this when it came out, and I haven't thought about it since. I remember liking it... the hamster was funny? I don't know what else.

15. Pineapple Express (41 points, 6 lists) http://www.worstpreviews.com/images/thepineappleexpress.jpg One of those Apatow movies you can watch all of on TV and enjoy every time. The ending still kills me.

Oh yeah.Fireproof-1Futurama: Beast with a Billion Backs- 1 Mongol- 1The Crimson Wing- 2Definitely, Maybe- 2Speed Racer- 2 Be Kind, Rewind- 3Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull- 3The Day the Earth Stood Still- 4Twilight- 3Dear Zachary- 5Quantum of Solace- 5Eagle Eye- 7Che (Part One)- 7Journey to the Center of the Earth- 7The Reader- 7Valkyrie- 7You Don't Mess with the Zohan- 7Hancock- 8Step Brothers- 8Zack and Miri Make a Porno- 8The Boy in the Striped Pajamas- 10Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay- 10Religulous- 10Sex Drive- 10The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian- 13Defiance- 13Funny Games- 13Hunger- 13Happy Go Lucky- 14Departures- 15The Incredible Hulk- 15Gran Torino- 16Cloverfield- 17Rock N'Rolla- 17Vicky Christina Barcelona- 17The Bank Job- 18Tell No One- 19 Changeling- 20Let the Right One In- 20Revolutionary Road- 20The Fall- 22 Ponyo- 22Role Models- 27Forgetting Sarah Marshall- 28Burn After Reading- 30Hellboy 2: The Golden Army- 33Man on Wire- 35

I don't know what to make of the number- some theaters only showed it at 7:00, while others kept it playing the rest of the night- but it doesn't look good to me. First real disappointment of 2012 coming up?