My good pals at indieWIRE asked friends and bloggers (I barely count in the latter category anymore!) for top 10 films of 2007. You can see my list there, or here:

1. "The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford"
2. "Hold Me Tight, Let Me Go"
3. "Once"
4. "Eastern Promises"
5. "In The Shadow Of The Moon"
6. The pre-war part of "Atonement"
7. "Control"
8. "In Search Of A Midnight Kiss"
9. "Tell No One"
10. "Superbad"

(I don't know whether to base my choices on US release dates, UK release dates, or festivals. But these are the films I loved this year. Still haven't seen some big ones like "No Country" and "Michael Clayton.")

AND an update -- I have now seen Michael Clayton, thankfully it was still in cinemas in NC after being long gone from London. That would easily go in my top 10. What a script, and Tilda and George were great.

Also, forgot to list some other faves in my top 10 -- The Host, Lake Of Fire (even though I saw it at Raindance 2006) and My Kid Could Paint That.

So I've been having lots of daydreams lately about quitting journalism and going to culinary school or opening a gastropub or something farfetched like that. That means I'm especially envious of my acquaintance Matt in Durham, NC, who is opening his own fabulous new restaurant this week. Great concept and great food (and wine) that I hope to sample when I'm home for Xmas. If you're anywhere in the Triangle check out Six Plates.

Meanwhile, I will have to pretend to have cooking skills at my post-thanksgiving dinner party this weekend. I plan to introduce my Brit friends to cornbread dressing, southern style!

Only one thing has inspired me to break my blogging silence of more than six months: Iceland. Wow. I got a last minute invite for the Reykjavik Film Festival, and figured why not? (I know, I know, I should never complain about my job again). I have to say that Iceland is probably the most amazing place I've ever visited in my wide-ish travels. It's like nowhere on earth, and that's something rare these days (the more I travel, the more towns and cities all start to look the same...even Hong Kong has 7-11s on every corner!)

Iceland is still wonderfully idiosyncratic. The people are cool and friendly and funny, the music is good (and I saw the Sigur Ros film and one of the band guys in a supermarket! Anyway I can recommend the film, Heima, if you are a fan of their music.), the landscape looks like nothing else. And I got to go visit hot springs (the fab Blue Lagoon - even if it was a bit gross that there was a couple shagging in there) AND dive bars (a shout out to Sirkus), saw a Viking settlement and avoided eating boiled sheepshead. Oh yes and I saw some good films, met some nice filmmakers and got to see Aki Kaurismaki across the bar. If you ever get a chance, Iceland will rock you. I am ready to go back and do a full tour outside of Reykjavik!

I was lucky enough to see Danny Boyle's Sunshine last night -- and it might just be the most visually stunning piece of cinema I've ever seen. Plus I got to see it at Fox's screening room with top-notch digital projection. Wow, I sat with my mouth open most of the time. Don't know about my overall judgments on the film yet, need to let the story settle in for a few days (and it's hard for me to take Cillian Murphy too seriously). I think I was expecting some low-key British sci-fi with spaceship interiors, but man the effects and design of Sunshine are incredible. It feels huge but also idiosyncratic, and you can see the kind of energy he brought to 28 Days Later. There are a bunch of Sunshine trailers on various websites and if you go to You Tube you can see the US and UK versions. I quite like this US version.

And I'll leave you with that while I get packed for Hong Kong Filmart!

I have recently come to firmly believe that the English have the best comfort food in the world. Americans (and maybe the French...or indeed the rest of the world) have made fun of English cuisine for decades, but there are some things the English excel at: fish and chips, Cadbury's chocolate, curries, and some comforts to warm up the rainiest winter day: beans on toast, Sausage and mash, fish cakes, cottage pie, fish pie, chicken and leek pie (I obviously have a thing for pies).

And every Sunday in every decent pub, you'll find roast lunch. A sort of mini Thanksgiving every week: roast meat (chicken, lamb, beef, and nut roast for the vegetarians) with stuffing, roasted potatoes, roasted carrots and parsnips, ladled with gravy. And another essential ingredient that I finally tasted today: Yorkshire Pudding. We were at my great local, the Red Lion in Ealing, and Neil's eyes lit up when he realised I was experiencing my first Yorkshire Pud. Wonderful little light doughy thing - crispy edges and a slightly soggy (in a good way) eggy bit at the bottom. I even found myself mopping up the gravy on Neil's plate with it (it's a good thing he loves me enough to put up with such behavior). Cue the Sunday afternoon nap!

I guess it's like an American popover, but Americans don't get to eat popovers every Sunday. Learn more here. (This recipe is from Delia Smith, grande dame of English food and a strangely rabid football fan.)

My blogging hibernation ends to tell you about Mr. Joe Angio's How To Eat Your Watermelon In White Company (And Enjoy It). It's showing on IFC in the US tonight at 9 EST and again at 5:30am, so tune in or tape/TIVO it. I was one of the many clueless masses who didn't know much about Melvin Van Peebles other than Sweetback and parenting of Mario. But this film shows what a unique, inspiring man he is. Even if you aren't a Van Peebles fan (yet), this film is so well crafted that you'll be drawn in regardless. Really, it's one of the best biopic docs I've seen in years. And Joe didn't even pay me to say that!

So while I'm posting, I hope to break the world's record for the latest-posted best films of 2006 list. Just what the world needs on Feb 15, 2007 I think:

Top Seven Films

The Queen
Not just about royalty and scandal, but about the kind of great inner turmoil that it's rare to see done well on the big-screen.

Old Joy
Perhaps even better because this quiet story of male friendship struck me as slight at first but about a year after my first viewing it looms as a masterpiece.

Red Road
The highlight of Cannes thanks to its stylish execution and great performances.

Tristram Shandy/A Cock And Bull Story
So smart and funny that I'm kind of cheating to put this on my 2006 list after I had it on my 2005 list for its UK release!

Brothers Of The Head
Why why why didn't people flock to this, if not for the soundtrack alone? I thought it was great fun. Hopefully will become a cult hit on DVD.

Casino Royale
Confession time, I've never seen an entire Bond film from start to finish, so this was my first. Daniel Craig kicks ass. Turns out that even if you are a great actor it only makes Bond better. That Chris Cornell song needs to go, though. Neal and Brenda Mitchell also gave it two big thumbs up, and we never agree on films!

Lake Of Fire
A three-hour documentary about the abortion debate in the US, which was so engrossing I wanted another few hours. No matter what your beliefs on the topic, this film will make you rethink your views. So powerful.

And Top Three Moments from other films that weren't quite top 10 material for me:
the NYC subway scene in Borat
the pageant sequence at the end of Little Miss Sunshine
the final goodbye in Candy

I just got back from Berlin, but in my capacity of industry reporter for a daily trade, there's not much time to see films. I did manage to see two: Lady Chatterley (much to admire although the 3-hour running time did make me think 'TV miniseries' a few times) and Irina Palm (I'm not a fan, I'd better leave it at that). The other highlight of Berlin was the band of Danish teenagers playing Robbie Williams and hair band medleys at the Trust Film party. I had been in a super cranky mood and they cheered me up immensely. I think the band's name is Tennis if you know your Danish pop groups.

A short note to call attention to two great songs I've discovered playing over film credits: I saw Zach Braff in the remake of The Last Kiss, which I mostly enjoyed. And even though Mr. Braff and his namecheck of The Shins in Garden State made me shudder, the guy does have decent taste in music. The Snow Patrol song Chocolate fits perfectly with the mood of the film, and during the end credits there’s a really beautiful song called Star Mile by Joshua Radin (evidently a Friend of Braff). It’s a little Garfunkel-y, a bit Elliott Smith-y and just lovely.

And then last night I saw Stranger Than Fiction (Will Ferrell gets serious...and even gets me to shed a tear. Recommend this one definitely). And not only does the film open with a Spoon song (The Way We Get By), but Spoon frontman Britt Daniel helped with the music on the entire film. And during the closing credits there is a Spoon song that I don’t think I’ve heard before…something with a title about writing something -- anyone know?…and it might just be good enough to make my year-end CD if I ever get to hear it again!

Lastly, I don’t have anything to say about the music in The Queen, but I will say it might be the best film I’ve seen so far this year. Not just for Helen Mirren’s impeccable performance but for the complex emotions at the heart of the film – you may not think you want to see a movie about the monarchy after Princess Di’s death, but trust me, you do.

A few weeks late, here's a recap of my trip to the 60th Edinburgh International Film Festival. I'd been to the city before (really quite stunning views when the weather's clear) but never to the fest, so I was glad to make it up for Shane's last year as artistic director.

The best film I saw was probably Jindabyne, Ray Lawrence's follow-up to Lantana which stars Laura Linney and Gabriel Byrne. It's set in a small town in Australia, where a young woman is murdered and the discovery of her body changes the lives of several couples. For the first hour or so I thought it was near perfect (very slow and moody), and definitely onto one of those top 10 films of the decade lists. It lost it a bit for me as it went on, but still a film you should investigate.

I also liked this new buzz film London To Brighton, which will be at Toronto -- a low budget yet nicely slick British thriller about a prostitute and a young runaway girl on the run from some criminals.

Other films I give a thumps up to include Little Miss Sunshine (actually very good - I was scared it would be this year's Happy, Texas); Stephanie Daley (excellent performances by Tilda Swinton and Amber Tamlyn); and Life & Lyrics (a sort of softer, British 8 Mile which is a good thing).

I missed Soderbergh's Q&A (which was said to be really great), but I did see Charlize Theron drinking whiskey on stage. And I went to a party at the National Gallery, where I saw festival patron Sean Connery at a party, he seemed like a nice chap, is taller than you'd expect, and looks great for his age and also appears that he hasn't had any work done (hurrah). Or maybe that's just me after a few whiskeys myself. They were also serving bacon sarnies inside the art gallery...nice touch.

Away from the festival, I didn't have much time to explore Edinburgh again. I ate sausages at Monster Mash (what a great idea for a restaurant) and saw a lot of binge drinking (as in four people who were so drunk pre-10 pm on a Friday night that they fell down in the street. I'm happy to say they weren't film fest folks.)

Assorted thoughts/links:

They're making a film of one of my all-time favorite books,

The Mysteries of Pittsburgh. And at first I was having a hissy fit thinking they were casting Siena Miller as the awkward Phlox. But I was wrong about that and I thikn Mena Suvari can pull it of. Sarsgaard as Cleveland is a really good sign…but cutting out gay Arthur is a really bad sign so we'll see what happens.

I actually know two male converts to Bloke Coke so I guess the marketing is working. Tastes fab.

Pigs in a blanket are making NY Times headlines. About time.

London Underground is going to start selling Oyster cards overseas. Oyster cards are great -- like a thicker NYC MetroCard. But they cost about 8 times as much. So maybe they're not that great. Still, if you're planning a trip to London…

Some guy's made a
film of people vomiting. I think I'd rather sit through the equally nauseous Garfield Two: A Tail of Two Kitties.

This week's playlist: "Cherry Lips" by the Archie Bronson Outfit, "Better" by Regina Spektor, and "Made Up Love Song #43" by Guillemots

Today's YouTube discovery is a hidden easter egg frame in the Apocalypto trailer. If you download any version of it there seems to be a shot of Mel Gibson at about 1:46 in. You won't see it if you play it through, only if you watch it frame by frame. I hope it's Gibson being crazy (or drunk?) and not him trying to start some viral marketing campaign that I've just contributed to.

For legitimate work reasons, I’ve been investigating the Snakes on a Plane internet phenomenon. And looking at the fan frenzy on the web before the film’s even out. I’m hoping it’s our first excuse to have the word “motherf#%*ing” in a Screen headline. Anyway, among the many web promos for the film was a contest for bands to submit a song to appear on the soundtrack. This is the winner, and while I admit the song is extra catchy, this video is completely ridiculous. In a good way. I like the guy doing the running man through the fire superimposed on the snake image. Subtle.