Written by Peter Sciretta

This is the time of year when all the critics and websites begin to publish their Top 10 lists for 2007. But every list is different, just like every person is different. Last year I attempted to compile all the lists together, to figure out what movies appear on the most Top 10 lists. But my attempt to create a definitive listing never came to be, due to various reasons – but for the most part because of the extensive hours it required to compile.

This year I thought I’d make it a little easier. If I’ve learned anything from Steve Jobs it is that Simpler is better. Movie City News has a good compilation of the top 10 lists of the nation’s top critics. But there is a clear divide between critics and mainstream audiences, and a definitive list must account for both groups. A regular top ten list represents the opinion of one, so a definitive list must represent the combined opinion of everyone. You can read about how this list was compiled at the bottom of this posting.

The Definitive Top 25 Movies of 2007

1. There Will Be Blood 91	2. The King Of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters 90.5
3. Ratatouille 90	4. Persepolis 90
5. In the Shadow of the Moon 90	6. Juno 89.5
7. Sicko 89	8. Once 88.5
9. The Bourne Ultimatum 88	10. No Country For Old Men 88
11. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly 88	12. Enchanted 86.5
13. Gone Baby Gone 86.5	14. Away From Her 86.5
15. This is England 86.5	16. The Savages 85.5
17. Control 85.5	18. Hot Fuzz 85
19. Hairspray 85	20. 3:10 to Yuma 84.5
21. Rescue Dawn 84.5	22. Zodiac 84
23. Superbad 83.5	24. Knocked Up 83.5
25. Michael Clayton 83.5

More Movies?

26. The Simpsons Movie 83.5
27. My Kid Could Paint That 83.5
28. Atonement 83
29. Waitress 82.5
30. Grindhouse 81.5
31. Into The Wild 81.5
32. The Host 81.5
33. American Gangster 80.5
34. Lars and the Real Girl 80.5
35. Stardust 78
36. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford 78
37. The Nines 74.5
38. The Darjeeling Limited 73.5
39. Lust, Caution 72.5

Internet Movie Database’s Top 25 Movies of 2007

1. There Will Be Blood 9.1 (1,151)
2. No Country For Old Men 8.9 (21,431)
3. Juno 8.6 (3,352)
4. In the Shadow of the Moon 8.6 (705)
5. Sicko 8.5 (20,557)
6. The King Of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters 8.5 (2,246)
7. The Bourne Ultimatum 8.3 (61,620)
8. Ratatouille 8.3 (48,149)
9. Lars and the Real Girl 8.3 (2,445)
10. Persepolis 8.3 (1,807)
11. American Gangster 8.2 (34,034)
12. 3:10 to Yuma 8.2 (23,370)
13. Atonement 8.2 (6,487)
14. Control 8.2 (3,780)
15. Grindhouse 8.2 (47,849)
16. The Nines 8.2 (636)
17. Hot Fuzz 8.1 (67,072)
18. Stardust 8.1 (28,778)
19. Into The Wild 8.1 (6,460)
20. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford 8.1 (6,215)
21. Lust, Caution 8.1 (3,274)
22. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly 8.1 (965)
23. The Savages 8.1 (550)
24. Enchanted 8.0 (10,298)
25. Superbad 8.0 (57,064)

Rotten Tomatoes’s Top 25 Movies of 2007

1. Once 98% (131)
2. Ratatouille 97% (195)
3. The King Of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters 96% (82)
4. No Country for Old Men 95% (170)
5. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly 95% (81)
6. Away From Her 94% (127)
7. In the Shadow of the Moon 94% (101)
8. The Bourne Ultimatum 93% (207)
9. Sicko 93% (180)
10. Juno 93% (138)
11. Gone Baby Gone 93% (137)
12. Enchanted 93% (130)
13. My Kid Could Paint That 93% (68)
14. This Is England 93% (82)
15. Hairspray 92 (191)
16. The Host 92% (131)
17. Rescue Dawn 91% (141)
18. Knocked Up 90% (207)
19. Persepolis 90% (31)
20. Michael Clayton 90% (170)
21. The Savages 90% (96)
22. There Will Be Blood 9.1 (30)
23. Zodiac 89% (206)
24. Hot Fuzz 89% (178)
25. Waitress 89% (149)

How Was The Definitive Top 25 Movies of 2007 List Compiled?

When I was brainstorming this list, I decided that both the movie critics and mainstream audiences both should be represented. Rotten Tomatoes represents the biggest repository of critical response, while the Internet Movie Database has the largest user rated database. We averaged the two together and compiled the definitive listing of the top 25 movies of 2007. Note: A movie must have been released in theaters in the United States between January and December 2007, and must have garnered more than (either) 400 imdb user votes or 80 movie reviews to qualify for this list.

Is there a Divide Between Critics and Mainstream Audiences?

There is a definite divide between Critics and Mainstream ticket buyers, but it isn’t as big as most people think. For example, there are quite a few R-rated comedies and even a sci-fi horror film included in the top 25 critically acclaimed list this year.

Why is there a Divide?

I would attribute the divide to three big factors (and this is just my opinion):

#1 Critics see 300+ movies a year and comparably rate and review movies based on the tides while mainstream audiences see only a few movies a month. A more limited selection equates into an entirely different scale of what is good and what is bad.

#2 By conception, most of the people that saw Ratatouille probably wouldn’t have seen an art-house film like Once or Persepolis. Also critics see a lot of movies that they normally wouldn’t, while Mainstream audiences attend a movie screening because they are already sold.

#3 Since the average education of a movie critic/journalist is higher than the average movie-goer (who usually skews towards High School age), films with more depth and intelligent are usually more highly rewarded.

Can we see some examples of this Critic/Mainstream Audience Divide?

Here are some of the ones with larger gaps:

• The Nines (8.2 on IMDB 67% on RT)
• Lust, Caution (8.1 on imdb, 64% on RT)
• Once (7.9 on imdb, 98% on RT)
• Hairspray (7.8 on imdb, 92% on RT)
• The Host (7.1 on imdb, 92% on RT)

A couple of these are against the usual stereotypes and conventions: Audiences loved Ang Lee’s dramatic war thriller, but for Critics just didn’t take to it. And Critics fell in love with a sci-fi monster movie, while mainstream audiences weren’t as impressed.

Why isn’t Box Office Included in the equation?

Because this list (like most year end lists) has to do with Quality, and not money. Just because a Britney Spears album sells more than a Weezer CD, doesn’t mean that Britney made a better product.

What is the Biggest Shocker?

The King Of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters is the second best movie of 2007 (according to this list), one of the best received documentaries of all time both critically and by mainstream audiences, yet the Academy has announced that they are not considering the film for the Best Documentary Oscar. A travesty.

Note: /Film is not associated with IMDb or Rotten Tomatoes. Stats provided from both sites were accurate as of December 22nd 2007.