Now that we have reached the half way point for 2007, I thought it would be a good idea to take a look back on the films that I have enjoyed the most.  As always my definitive Top Ten of the Year will appear on this site at the end of December, and it will be interesting to see what of the films mentioned below will still be present.

Shooter

Mark Wahlberg’s serious leading man star turn as an expert sniper, impressed me with its complex, twisting plot and a charasmatic hero, something I thought was beyond Wahlberg’s acting ability, until now.  A top-flight thriller with intelligence, humour and great action.

Pan’s Labyrinth

I was looking forward to this, and although its not quite the tolkien-esque fantasy I was expecting, this is a deep and imaginative fairy-tale meets war movie with real class – and is a joy to look at as well.  Once again, supreme visualist Guilermo Del Toro delivers.

V for Vendetta

Depsite mixed reviews, this comic-book adaptation is a cut above the usual super-hero fair and is a thought-provoking tale of a futuristic London under near-Nazi regime with a great lead performance from Natalie Portman, proving that Leon isn’t the only class job she’s had (and before you say anything…anyone could have played Queen Amidala in the new Star Wars trilogy). 

Rocky Balboa

This should never have worked.  An ageing Sylvester Stallone stepping back into the ring as the character that made him a super star seemed like a bad idea from the beginning.  But an intelligent, emotional script and some quality acting bring together a perfect swanson not only for a dead franchise, but also for the has-been Hollywood heavy-weight.

Mission Impossible 3

I have to admit to finding the Mission Impossible franchise a little over-hyped.  Tom Cruise has always been good action movie fodder, but the over-complex M.I #1 and the rather simplistic M.I. #2 haven’t exactly made for sure-fire popcorn brilliance.  That is until part 3 turned the whole franchise on its head, delivering a quality, gripping script and superb bench-mark action sequences that easily out-do anything the franchise has offered.  This was the M.I. film we were all waiting for.

Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning

Its not easy to highly-recommend horror in this day and age of the torture flick, and after the intelligence of the Saw franchise, many films of such ilk seem to be just poor imitations.  Yet the Chainsaw films have a gritty realism underneath all the grew, and this back story to the infamous Leatherface is every-bit as nasty and as stylish as you could want – with a powerhouse performance from Lee R Ermy that elivates it from your usual gore film to something much more disturbing.

28 Weeks Later

The sequel to Danny (Trainspotting) Boyle’s London-based shocker adds so much to the template and gives us some genuine scares as well as convincing characters – that this is more than just another zombie film.  This one really makes you think.  Loud, brash and utterly terrifying, and compliments the first film perfectly.

Now thats my general list of the best film I have seen this year so far.  I can see one or two disappearing before we reach the final ten, but what will replace them is purely speculation.  My money though is on Die Hard 4.0 being in there somewhere.