As far as cinemagoing went, 2007 felt like a much more lacklustre year than the previous one, and yet it kicked off with strong non-Hollywood fare like This is England
The latter was one of those rare European subtitled films that become a massive hit with the cinemagoing public and are immediately slaughtered by critics who spend the rest of the year chiding the cinemagoing public for not watching European subtitled films.
At Edinburgh I was lucky enough to catch the moving And When Did You Last See your Father?
Comedy of the year, though, had to be Hot Fuzz
Just as funny and intelligent (although the latter quality passed most critics by) were Knocked Up
In a more serious vein, The Bourne Ultimatum
But for me the film of the year was Atonement, a beautiful British film that took the heritage template and dared to experiment with it, to the point where it was like watching Brief Encounter directed by Julian Temple. It had more guts and balls than any present-day so-called-realist film out there and out-arted the arthouse industry whilst playing to the great unwashed of the multiplex crowd. A sure sign that you can make challenging, thoughtful, self-referential cinema without disappearing up your own arse.
Having said all that, the really challenging, relevant drama and comedy in 2007 was mostly to be found on the TV screen, even though I felt like I was only scratching the surface of the overwhelming output of drama from the US.
Jericho was a missed opportunity and only ever fulfilled its dark promise in a couple of episodes. Likewise with 24 season 6
But Entourage
But the two stand out series came from the sci-fi arena. Heroes
But far and away the greatest drama of the year, in any genre, was Battlestar Galactica
At times it had me falling to my knees, Homer Simpson-like, yelling 'How can one insulated cable bring so much happiness!?'