From doomed old west outlaws for Russian mobsters, to freaks and geeks it was a good year, says Geoff Pevere.

In American movies, bummer endings made something of a comeback in 2007, and it couldn't help but warm the withered heart of this soon-to-be ex-movie critic.

It was a great year to be a critic, says Peter Howell in compiling his best movies of 2007.

In 1968, the Sunday Times of London sponsored the first solo, non-stop boat race to circumnavigate the globe. Nine sailors joined the race, including a 36-year-old father of four, Donald Crowhurst, an amateur sailor and financially troubled dealer in marine electronics.

If Tom Cruise is concerned at the clouds of controversy swirling around his decision to portray the heroic German leader of an unsuccessful plot to kill Adolf Hitler, he is showing no signs of it.

It was Back to the Future in more ways than one as the Library of Congress chose the 1985 comedy that helped introduce the world to product endorsement and advanced special effects as one of the 25 films added to the U.S. National Film Registry.

Thousands of Oscar nomination ballots were mailed out in December to 5,829 Academy members, heralding the official start of Academy Awards season.

The year's best horror picture is also one of the simplest. The Orphanage makes little if any use of digital tricks to present its numerous terrors.

The story of paralyzed Elle editor Jean-Dominique Bauby''s journey lets us share his terror and liberation

The embalming process begins early in The Bucket List, a comedy about the pre-coffin hijinks of two cantankerous coots.