Did this year seem a little cinematically emaciated? Regardless, here are my takes on the Big Five from worst to best: Atonement Ian McEwan's Atonement is a wonderful novel. From the opening paragraphs, the character of budding novelist Briony Tallis is a true marvel. Through a vivid imagination deeper than her understanding, Briony makes a serious mistake with catastrophic consequences, and for which she spends the rest of the novel (or, let's say, the entire novel, if you know what I mean) atoning. Turning this novel into a movie of thwarted love is moronic. This is a film that never should have been made. Michael Clayton Sure I enjoyed it while I was watching it, but it left me as soon as I exited the theater. Even while watching, I wondered: Why is one murder done so skillfully so that no trace can be found, while the next murder attempt involves a very showy car bomb? A well-made trifle. No Country for Old Men I didn't read the Cormac McCarthy novel this was based on, but I have to Read More...