We count down this year's best films
By MSN Movies Contributors

Welcome to the first annual MSN Movies' Top 10 poll. Although we aren't quite the Village Voice, we're much less pretentious and we don't let just any wannabe film critic vote for the best films of the year (OK, did that last part sound pretentious?).

In a nutshell, this is how it works: I asked nine of our contributors to vote for their favorite films of the year, and then I added my own ballot to the mix. Each vote received points based on how high it ranked on the list -- a No. 1 film received 12 points, No. 2 received 9, and so on. We then sent this out to an accountant for tabulation, because it's a known fact that film critics can't count, and this consensus for the best films of the year is what came back.

Three interesting things happened. First, 49 films received votes, proving that this year's Oscar race is WIDE open. Second, this isn't something a cranky critic writes very often, but 2007 was a damn fine, rich year for movies. In fact, although we're only highlighting the top 10 films here, 15 to 20 films came within a point or two of making the list. Third, despite this year's abundance of great films, one title steamrolled the competition for the top slot, earning 106 out of a possible 120 points ... but we're getting ahead of ourselves.

At the end of the list, we've included links to either send us an e-mail with your own list of top films or sound off on our message boards. Ultimately, we hope this list inspires you to check out these terrific films. -- Dave McCoy, Lead Editor, MSN Movies

Next: #10 movie of 2007

See each writer's ballot