It's getting to the point where one could make a list of the "Top 100 Movie Lists Released in 2007," and still have some left over. Yet another one hit the net this weekend, "The Online Film Community's Top 100 Movies." Here's how the list was formed: over 50 movie website writers (you can see the list of participants on the site) were asked for an unranked list of their top 100 movies. The list could include any feature-length film, in any language, including documentaries. From there, the list of nominees was narrowed to 502 films. Then all the contributors were sent the nominee list, picked and ranked their top 100 choices, and those choices were "scored according to placement on each list as well as factoring in the amount of lists it appeared on." Got all that? The final collection they came up with skews a bit more modern, a bit more "genre film" heavy, and a lot more action-packed than most similar lists.

The major change here is that, for once, Citizen Kane is not the highest ranked film. The Godfather is in the number one spot here (don't worry Kaners, it's #2). No documentaries made the cut, and foreign films are in fairly short supply. The only two animated films on the list are Pixar -- Toy Story and The Incredibles. We all love the classics, but what sets this list apart is how many oft-neglected recent films made it. I would imagine that is due to the younger age of the average online writer. On the action side, it's great to see films like Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Heat, Aliens, and the glorious Die Hard make the grade. As far as comedies go, happy to see Back to the Future, The Big Lebowski, Groundhog Day, Ghostbusters and Ed Wood get some love. As for dramas, hooray for L.A. Confidential, Blue Velvet, Do the Right Thing, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. I've got some grievances, of course. Fight Club a better movie than Goodfellas? Ridonkulous! Run Lola Run superior to Unforgiven? Unforgivable! But it's a really solid collection, and one I'd imagine will find more support from Cinematical readers than, say, the AFI's recent ranking.

Well, I know what I'll be doing tonight! The American Film Institute is announcing its new "100 Years...100 Movies" list this evening, and as much as I tend to disagree with their annual lists, I can't wait. The special airs at 8PM on CBS, and will be hosted by...you guessed it, Morgan Freeman. Yes, they already did this list once before, in 1998. Tonight's special marks the 10th anniversary, and there was an entirely new vote conducted this time out. The previous list caused quite a controversy because of what it included (British films on an American list?) and what it left off, specifically films by black or female directors (the snub of Do the Right Thing still stings). 1998's top ten were as follows: 10) Singin' in the Rain, 9) Schindler's List, 8) On the Waterfront, 7) The Graduate, 6) The Wizard of Oz, 5) Lawrence of Arabia, 4) Gone with the Wind, 3) The Godfather, 2) Casablanca, 1) Citizen Kane. It's hard to imagine tonight's top ten list will change drastically, although I'd expect Schindler's List to drop a few spots.

As limited in scope as these lists can be, I eagerly look forward to every one. I can recall excitedly printing out the 1998 list and seeking out the few I hadn't seen. The lil' film fans of today need this sort of thing to know where to start with an appreciation of American film. The AFI intends to "refresh" the list once a decade -- 43 newer movies are in contention this time that weren't last time around, including The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Finding Nemo, L.A. Confidential, Fight Club, Spider-Man 2, Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Brokeback Mountain, Chicago (Oh please), Crash (Oh please!), and Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (Oh, puh-leeeeease!!!). Over at AFI.com, you can watch videos of stars talking about their favorite movies, as well as download a ballot for yourself, select your favorite 100, and see how well you match up tonight.

It might be hard to believe, but Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs turns 15 today. Now, before you haul out the abacus, you've probably noted that 1992 + 15 = 2007. Reservoir Dogs premiered in October of 1992 the last time we checked, and it seems like only yesterday there was much fanfare over the tenth anniversary edition of this film (which was released in 2002), complete with five different covers for the same DVD ... collect them all! Perhaps 14 just wasn't as sexy of a number, and of course Lionsgate wants you to double dip when the HD-DVD version comes out at some point, so that leaves us with a 15th anniversary edition a year early. Although if you want to get extremely technical with the dates, Tarantino actually workshopped some of the scenes from Dogs at Sundance in 1991, so is this the date they're shooting for?

At any rate, the packaging alone is pretty cool on this release. They've housed the DVD in a metal case that looks like a gas can, and when you slip the interior packaging out, it is in the shape of a huge matchbook from "Uncle Bob's Pancake House," which is where Steve Buscemi tells everyone "I don't tip" as Mr. Pink. The whole package is sort of a gruesome reminder from one of the scenes in the movie. When the tenth anniversary DVD came out, Lionsgate sent out fake foam rubber ears announcing the release, which have become highly collectible among fans. I guess they like reminding us how violent the torture scene in this movie really is.

Tarantino's now cult-classic film opened the door for ultra-realistic violence in films, but it also helped usher in a new era of non-linear storytelling. After this movie came out, writers and directors began to play with the concept of time a lot more often, using flashbacks and flash-fowards to help make a simple story a lot more interesting, to show it from different angles and perspectives, and to flesh out character development. Tarantino didn't pioneer this technique, but he made such extensive use of it that you can still the effects of it in movies today.

The film also helped establish Tarantino's visual "look," from the black suits with the skinny ties, to the minimal sets with dialogue-heavy scenes. It also showcased his love for vintage and 70s music through "K-Billy Super Sounds of the 70s," on the radio throughout the movie, and DJed by deadpan comedian Steven Wright. Additionally, he took chances on B- and sometime C-list movie stars who had either fallen from the limelight, or had not worked in quite some time, which is something he continues to do -- reviving the careers of John Travolta, Robert Forster, Pam Grier and others.

Tarantino is a self-proclaimed cinephile, and in this movie he has lifted several scenes and plot elements directly from other films, particularly from Ringo Lam's excellent City on Fire which stars Chow Yun-Fat. If you haven't seen it, rent it some time and you'll see how similar the two films are, down to exact scenes. They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and while Dogs isn't a direct ripoff, it comes close at times. Tarantino has claimed that he steals from all of his favorite movies, and if that's the case, then Dogs is no different.

Today also sees the release of the Reservoir Dogs video game (featuring the voice and likeness of Michael Madsen), which promises to bring the same ultra-violence to your home gaming systems. It seems an odd choice to make a game out of this film, given the extreme violence and open and closed plot, but we've also seen Scarface and The Godfather made into games as well recently, so stranger things have happened. Just don't look for Jackie Brown: The Game anytime soon. We hope. ...

Al Pacino, one of Hollywood's most successful, versatile and talented actors can now add AFI Lifetime Achievement Award winner to his list of distinguished accomplishments. According to coming soon, the announcement was made today by Sir Howard Stringer, chair of the AFI Board of Trustees, that the Institute would give the Lifetime Achievement Award to Pacino at a tribute dinner in Los Angeles on June 7th. The AFI Lifetime Achievement Award is the highest honor for a career in film and has been given out 34 times since its inception in 1973 -- Pacino's award will mark the 35th anniversary.

During the announcement, Stringer referred to Pacino as "an icon of American film" whose "career inspires audiences and artists alike." In response to hearing he had won the award, Pacino said "I am moved and honored to be considered for such an award." Some past recipients of the AFI Lifetime Achievement Award include last year's winner Sean Connery, Tom Hanks (who doesn't seem old enough to be getting a lifetime achievement award yet), Martin Scorsese, Kirk Douglas and 1973's winner, the great director John Ford.

Pacino's career has spanned over thirty years with many memorable roles in films such as Michael Mann's Heat, ...And Justice for All, Serpico, Brian DePalma's Scarface and, of course, his star-making turn as Michael Corelone in Francis Ford Coppola's classic The Godfather. Pacino is also an eight-time Academy Award Nominee for his roles in film such as Glengarry Glen Ross, Dick Tracy and Dog Day Afternoon. He won the Best Actor Academy Award for playing Lt. Colonel Frank Slade in director Martin Brest's Scent of A Woman, opposite a young Chris O'Donnell and the very cute Gabrielle Anwar.

Some of Pacino's recent work includes turns both in front of and behind the camera on projects such as Two for the Money with Matthew McConaughey, Steven Soderberg's Ocean's Thirteen, 88 Minutes opposite Heat co-star Amy Brenneman and the docu-drama Salomaybe?, which he directed. This is a great honor for Pacino and one he very much deserves. I guess now that he's won a "Lifetime Achievement Award," we can let him off the hook for being in The Godfather: Part III.

What's your favorite Al Pacino movie?

Just about every big-budget mega-movie gets its very own video game tie-in, from Harry Potter and Narnia to Spider-Man and Lord of the Rings. Used to be that 92% of these movie-license games were grade-A certifiable crap, but we've come a long way since then. (Nowadays it's only about 55%.) One of the newest (and lovably geekiest) trends in video games is the "retro" approach, which is what I call it when someone says "Hey, you know what old movie would make for a great video game? Mannequin!" before heading off to design a video game in which you're required to collect hundreds of dismembered mannequin parts while avoiding the affections of a harrowingly annoying homosexual stereotype and thwarting the nefarious schemes of a bizarrely prissy James Spader.

Fortunately, nobody's gotten it into their head to make a video game out of Mannequin, but there have been some really slick video games based on some really cool "old" movies. But let's get one turkey out of the way first: