Midway through 2007 - The Best of so far

It is midway through 2007 and I decided to put together a list of what I think is the best of so far. This is an informal list. I am going to have three categories - film, actor and actress. It is in more or less the order that I saw the films and I am combining lead and supporting actors/
actresses together. After I see all of the 2007 films that I want to see (which will be sometime in the early part of 2008) I will have a more official best of list.

At the beginning of 2006 I made up a list of my most anticipated films of that year. I didn't do that this year because some of the films I put on my 2006 didn't come out that year. Case in point is Goya's Ghosts. The film will be released in two weeks and I am definitely going to see it.
However, at the end of August or the beginning of September I will post my most anticipated films for the fall/winter awards season.

Here are my picks for the best of 2007 so far:

Films

Amazing Grace
The Namesake
The Namesake
The Hoax
The Wind That Shakes the Barley
Black Book
After the Wedding
Red Road
Paris je T'aime
Away from Her
Jindabyne
Once
Pierrepoint
The Golden Door
Lady Chatterley
A Mighty Heart
Vitus
Ten Canoes

Actors

Chris Cooper - Breach
Robert Downey, Jr. - Zodiac
Irfun Khan - The Namesake and A Mighty Heart
Ioan Gruffud - Amazing Grace
Richard Gere - The Hoax
Alfred Molina - The Hoax
Mads Mikkelsen - After the Wedding
Cillian Murphy - The Wind That Shakes the Barley
Ben Gazzara - Paris je T'aime
Sergio Castellitto - Paris je T'aime
Steve Buscemi - Paris je T'aime
Gordon Pinsent - Away from Her
Glen Hansard - Once
Gabriel Byrne - Jindabyne
Timothy Spall - Pierrepoint
Jean-Louis Coullo'ch - Lady Chatterley
Bruno Ganz - Vitus

Actresses

Tabu - The Namesake
Carice von Houten - Black Book
Kate Dickie - Red Road
Marion Cottilard - La Vie en Rose (great performance in an uneven film)
Miranda Richardson - Paris je T'aime
Gene Rowlands - Paris je T'aime
Laura Linney - Jindabyne
Julie Christie - Away from Her
Olympia Dukakis - Away from Her
Juliet Stevenson - Pierrepoint
Marina Hands - Lady Chatterley
Angelina Jolie - A Mighty Heart
Vanessa Redgrave - Evening
Toni Collette - Evening
Imelda Staunton - Freedom Writers

I must say something about the outstanding directorial debut of Sarah Polley. She is mature beyond her years and she has now proven that she is not only a great actress but also a great director and screenwriter.

Also, the films I have listed are all feature films. Ratatouille is a marvelous animated film. And Sicko, Michael Moore's documentary, is a film that everyone should see. These two films are at the top of their categories.

And, lastly, I saw a powerful film entitled Invisibles at the Tribeca Film Festival. It is produced by Javier Bardem in conjunction with Doctors Without Borders. There are five short films that show us desperate people that we have never heard of. The are "The Invisibles." Unfortunately, the film hasn't had a regular release in the US so it is hard to find. But if you see
it you will feel like you have been punched in the stomach.