1. "No Country for Old Men" (Joel and Ethan Coen)

Have you ever seen a flawless film? "No Country for Old Men," the Coen brothers' new masterwork, is nothing less. The film mixes an ingenious cocktail of the finest elements of moviemaking - majestic photography, dramatic tension, peerless performance, symbolism and a just plain unforgettable story - into a single, momentous work that stands tall and strong over everything that came out last year. Of all the great movies this year, and there were many, it's the Coen brothers' opus, blistering and merciless, that has stayed in our hearts, minds and stomachs. This was without a doubt 2007's best.

BLAKE GOBLE

2. "Superbad" (Greg Mottola)

Three high school friends try to get beer for a party. That's it. But that's all that's required for the film to exceed even the best of the high school hijinks genre, "Fast Times" and "Dazed and Confused" included. Facilitating its achievement is Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg's brilliant script, which alternates between disgusting, hilarious and actually, kind of sweet. And let's not forget the passing of the catchphrase torch from Borat's "Very nice!" to Fogel's "I am McLovin'!" In the year of Apatow, there is no film more representative of his creative infiltration of Hollywood than this instant classic.

PAUL TASSI

3. "Atonement" (Joe Wright)

Perhaps the most traditional prestige movie on this list is also one of the most complex. It plays like a snapshot of elite filmmaking - a morality play and a lecture on war, a performance showcase and an aesthetic triumph - but with its postmodern take on perspective, it complicates and reinvents the conventions of those narratives. Drenched in loss and an aching desire to rewrite the past, Joe Wright's adaptation of Ian McEwan's novel spans decades to tell the story of a 13-year-old girl (Saoirse Ronan), the fatal mistake she makes and the lifetime it takes to make it right.

JEFFREY BLOOMER

4. "Eastern Promises" (David Cronenberg)

David Cronenberg has proven himself to be an incredibly versatile and nonconformist filmmaker over the years, and "Eastern Promises" may well be his crowning achievement. A flawlessly acted and constructed thriller, it's both his most accessible film and his most artistic. At its center is Viggo Mortensen (with whom he also worked on the masterful "A History of Violence"), turning in what is arguably the best performance of the year. He'll be brushed aside at ceremonies thanks to a certain other, towering leading man, but Viggo - though less showy - is the far more nuanced and fascinating of the two.

BRANDON CONRADIS

5. "There Will Be Blood" (Paul Thomas Anderson)

More than a film cementing Daniel Day-Lewis's iconic status, though it does that with astonishing force, "There Will Be Blood" shows a keen maturity that has developed in the work of Paul Thomas Anderson. After his feature debut, "Sydney," Anderson wrote and directed "Boogie Nights," "Magnolia" and "Punch-Drunk Love," emotion-driven films ranging from disparate-but-somehow-connected tales to a quirky character study starring a maudlin, blue-suited Adam Sandler. In "There Will Be Blood," Anderson takes his most assured steps as an auteur, crafting a haunting, sadistic masterpiece of an oil man (Lewis) and the legacy he burns for himself. NOAH DEAN STAHL

6. "Once" (John Carney)

Not too many movies on this list can really be considered "heartwarming." An oil tycoon, a hitman, a doomed romance - not exactly a good pick-me-up. "Once" is unique in that regard, and it's the most uplifting film of the year, if not the last few years. The story of an Irish street guitarist and his female musical counterpart, their whirlwind week spent playing, recording and almost, almost falling in love.

PAUL TASSI

7. "Michael Clayton" (Tony Gilroy)

Quiet, disturbing and yet perhaps the most riveting film of the year, "Michael Clayton" isn't always easy to follow. Symbols, gestures and seemingly nonsensical asides form the engine driving an energetic, forceful plot to a natural (if predictable) climax. Unlikely dark performances by George Clooney, Tilda Swinton and Tom Wilkinson power a film at once more and less than it first appears to be.

IMRAN SYED

8. "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead" (Sidney Lumet)