Movies

Best Movies of the Year

12. 300
Easily the best comic film adaption to date, we can only hope Watchmen turns out as well.

11. Knocked Up

10. Live Free or Die Hard
Truly, an updated take on the Die Hard franchise, this film showed us that John McClane still has some life left in him. It'd be higher on the list if it didn't eventually derail into bombastic action sequences.

09. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

08. Grindhouse

07. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

06. The Great Happiness Space: Tale of an Osaka Love Thief
A dark but heart-wrenchingly real look at "host clubs" in Japan and their staff: young men who sell their emotions to women who are just as damaged as them. Watch it with a friend: this isn't the kind of darkness you want to experience alone. Simply brilliant.

05. Superbad

04. The King of Kong
The best documentary of 07, hands down. It's easy to make something like World War II, McDonald's fast food, or even baseball compelling. But to make Donkey Kong compelling? That's an entirely different feat.

03. Ratatouille

02. The Bourne Ultimatum

01. Hot Fuzz
By all accounts, Hot Fuzz should not have been this good. There was no way it was supposed to be better than Shaun of the Dead, yet it was. But as the dust settles on 2007, it is the movie we remember with the most fondness. Maybe it was the fact that it wasn't a sequel. Maybe it was the because of the spot-on delivery in a genre we love. Maybe it's because this shit just got real.

Worst Movies of the Year

04. Beowulf
If you didn't see this in 3-D, we here at Mediocre Minds officially feel sorry for you. Even if you did, you'd know how horribly mediocre this film was.

03. Ghost Rider
If Ghost Rider used his trademark Penance Stare on me, my personal hell would to watch this film on continual loop for all of eternity.

02. Alien vs. Predator: Requiem

01. DOA: Dead or Alive
I love bad movies, and I love video game adaptations (which are usually a subset of the former). This one was almost unwatchably bad - despite Jaime Pressly's best attempts to lend some personality, the movie was adrift in an ocean of bad acting, nonsensical plotlines, and desperate but failed attempts to please fanboys.

Television

Best Television Shows of the Year

10. Heroes
While season 2 definitely marked a decline in quality, we still watched every episode. The introduction of new characters like Elle and Adam give us hope that season 3 (whenever it airs) will pick up the pace. It'll have more Sylar for sure which is definitely a step up.

09. The 4400

08. Monk

07. Prison Break

06. Psych
Psych continues to amaze all of us here at Mediocre Minds...in fact we find ourselves looking forward to the adventures of Shawn and Gus more than Adrian Monk. We're funny like that.

05. The NBA on TNT Post-Game Show
Yes, seriously. This is by far the most entertaining sports show on TV. The team of Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, and Kenny Smith is insightful, funny, and keeps me tuned well past the final buzzer.

04. Chuck

03. Dexter

02. House

01. The Office
Even though the season was cut short due to the writer's strike, this season of the Office was still awesome. We got a lot more action outside the office this time but characters like Michael, Dwight, Ryan and even Jim and Pam have changed quite a during this latest season.

Worst Television Shows of the Year

05. The Dead Zone

04. Moonlight

03. Drive
Not even Nathan Fillion could propel this show past the 4 episodes that aired. At least we'll always have the theme song (Can't Stop the World) from Gavin Rossdale.

02. Cavemen

01. Bionic Woman
I'm afraid of the Bionic Woman too, but for entirely different reasons than the people she fights...

Shows We Can't Decide Are Good or Bad

01. Journeyman
Not only can we not decide, but neither can NBC since they didn't even bother showing the full season of this series.

Video Games

Best Video Games of the Year

15. Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure (Wii)

14. skate (Xbox 360)

13. Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars (PC)

12. Team Fortress 2 (PC)

11. Hotel Dusk (DS)
A noir adventure game that used various features of the DS. The characters and plot are what makes this stand out in a sea of brain dead DS games.

10. Virtua Fighter 5 Online (Xbox 360)

09. Sam & Max: Season 1 (PC)
If this is any indication of what episodic gaming is like, sign me up. An awesome plot and great characters make this game a gem in the Sam & Max franchise. Look for season 2 in 2008 to hopefully continue this tradition.

08. Crackdown (Xbox 360)

07. Ace Attorney: Phoenix Wright 2 and 3 (DS)

06. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)
Probably the best sequel in 07, Mario Galaxy proved that the Mario franchise isn't running out of steam despite its age. The game feels as revolutionary as Mario 64 and features a number of old school throwbacks bound to frustrate newcomers to the Mario franchise. Missing a platform while jumping can result in instant death? Whaa?

05. Assassin's Creed (Xbox 360, PS3)

04. Mass Effect (Xbox 360)

03. Bioshock (Xbox 360, PC)

02. Portal (PC)

Yes, the cake is a lie. Now that that's out of the way, if you haven't played this awesome yet short "first person puzzle game" then you need to do so. The plot and gameplay has to be experienced first hand.

01. Rock Band (Xbox 360)
Despite the fact that it costs $170+ and takes up a significant amount of space, Rockband truly is a game for everyone. Nothing can describe the amusement and hilarity that occurs when you get a full band together. It's even better if your parents are some of your band members. This is one game that (like Portal) has to be played in order to fully understand its greatness.

Worst Video Games of the Year

04. Soul Calibur Legends (Wii)

03. Lair (PS3)

02. The Golden Compass (every platform known to man)

01. SNK vs. Capcom Card Fighters (DS)

This game has a bug that prevents the player from finishing it in the 2nd play through. It was actually RECALLED and replacement copies were (and still are) being sent out. No other game on this list can claim an actual recall.

Music

Best Music of the Year

01. Trapped in the Closet
R. Kelly is a genius. He created a new musical genre, after all: hip-hopera. And while the new episodes of Trapped in the Closet may not have been as revolutionary as the first few, they show that R. Kelly is a very smart man who can sell pretty much anything to the masses and still have it work out. Oh, and the plot is still hilarious!

Worst Music of the Year

01. Trapped in the Closet
R. Kelly is a genius. Don't worry, I'm not going to copy-and-paste what I wrote above. All I've got to say is that this is the same music that has the phrase "fish with titties". Straight talk, R. Kelly. Straight talk.

Comics

Best Comic Book Moments of the Year

01. The Death of Captain America
Yeah, it was controversial but the Death of Captain America made national news. Not only did Colbert comment on it, but so did actual papers and news shows across the country. While we all know he'll be back (signs seem to indicate Bucky taking up the mantle) it IS possible Steve Rogers is dead for a while and this will definitely be remembered... or at least until the inevitable resurrection. Who knows, maybe Steve Rogers will be like Uncle Ben and stay dead?

Worst Comic Book Moments of the Year

02. Spider-Man: One More Day
In any other year where we didn't have Countdown to Final Crisis, this would be #1 by a wide margin. Let me just give you a quick rundown: Aunt May is dying and Peter Parker strikes a deal with Mephisto to save her life - in exchange, history is changed so he and Mary Jane are no longer married and Harry Osborn is alive. Peter and MJ's stillborn child never existed. Presumably, neither do Venom and Carnage. If you're wondering what the hell kind of dumbass retcon plotline this is, you're not alone.

01. Countdown to Final Crisis (and the infinite tie-ins/crossovers)
DC gets a special award for Infinite Tie-Ins to Final Crisis. From 52 to Countdown to Salvation Run and Death of the New Gods, at this point I don't even care if it's "the last crisis" or if the multiverse is back or not back or whatever. Just hurry up and cash in already, because one you make a comic mini-series about Alternate World (Elseworlds included) Supermans/Batmans/Wonder Womans fighting each other (Arena), you're pretty much done with artistry and knee deep in pandering to fanboys.

People

People of the Year

09. Vladimir Putin

08. 5-year-old descendant of Davy Crockett kills a 400+ pound bear
Also winner of the 2007 Mediocre Minds "Most Redneck Act of the Year"... "I was up in the stand and I seen the bear."

07. Sylar
People say Peter Petrelli is a pimp, but Sylar not only murdered Maya's brother Alejandro but hooked up with her moments after. If that isn't pimp, I don't know what is!

06. "Don't Taze Me Bro" guy (Andrew Meyer)

05. Annoying celebrities who can't go 2 months without whoring themselves out or landing in jail

04. Sanjaya Malakar

03. Al Gore
I guess we have to recognize a former Vice President of the United States winning an Oscar and a Nobel Peace Prize in the same year. Pshhh... "real accomplishments".

02. Michael Cera
Clarke and Michael. Superbad. Juno. This was Michael Cera's breakout year as his projects and films found success across all demographics and markets. Here's hoping 2008 sees more hilarious comedic projects with him.

01. Kristen Bell
We were crushed when Veronica Mars was finally cancelled. But Kristen Bell managed to take that series and spin it into greater stardom, with a great role on Heroes, voiceovers on Gossip Girl, and movie roles in Fanboys and Forgetting Sarah Marshall. That's 2 movies and 3 TV series in one year! I guess we're fans.

Events

Events the Year

10. Crappy movies rake in at the box office
The #1 comedy for 2007 was Wild Hogs. Films like Ghost Rider, Alvin and the Chipmunks, and Norbit raked it in too. The Apocalypse can't come soon enough.

09. The television writer's strike

08. The Simpsons movie finally gets made

07. iPhone

06. iPhone bills

05. Attack of the Internet memes
From 300's "Madness!" to "Don't Taze Me Bro" to various Britney Spears-related videos, this year was all about the proliferation of Internet memes.

04. Futurama returns with Bender's Big Score direct-to-DVD film

03. American Gladiators returns
The only positive thing to come out of the writer's strike is the fact that production on this show was ramped up. I only hope it survives and becomes a new reality institution.

02. Capcom shows they can count to 4 (Street Fighter IV announced)

01. "Dick in a Box" wins an Emmy
Who would've thought Justin Timberlake and Andy Samberg would win an Emmy, and it would be for this? Probably the top viral video of 07 as well, even the local news reports showed clips of this.