Buddy films. They're an interesting breed of cinema. Instead of finding success in a niche, they appeal to the masses. With buddy flicks, you're served a variety of time periods, races, genres, laughs, and scenarios. If one doesn't appeal, the next is sure to come -- all tapping into the goodness of friendship and camaraderie.

And snuggled nicely into that sector of cinema are the buddy cops. They've made the careers of a few big stars, like Mel Gibson and Eddie Murphy. But I don't want to give you something quite so obvious as Beverly Hills Cop or Leathal Weapon. Since this is all due to my recent purchase of Hot Fuzz, I give you that plus an ol' '80s classic -- Running Scared.

It's only a working title, but it will do to wind us up for now. Edgar Wright gave a hint as to what will complete the three-flavored Cornetto Trilogy begun by Shaun of the Dead -- rather appropriately, it will be The World's End.

The Guardian caught Wright at a London press conference, where the director announced a two-film deal with Working Title Films -- World's End with Pegg, and a separate action thriller currently titled Baby Driver.

Wright wouldn't give up much on what genre it would be, but admitted it might be a doomsday sci-fi piece. "It's kind of going in that direction." Sci-fi does seem to be an appropriate choice for the mint chocolate chip Cornetto that is supposed to appear. (The Cornetto theme is a tribute to Krzysztof Kieslowski and his Three Colors series, and a different flavor has appeared in Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz.

It was a damn fine year for movies, 2007. It's hard enough picking 10 top flicks from the crop after a just-decent year, so the task was especially tricky this time around. (At least at Moviefone we're able to pick the 50 best.) That's why I'm thankful for the unwritten critics' rule that Top 10 lists can start with a tie, so long as there's common thematic bond between them. Here are my 11 10 favorite movies of the 007.

10. Tie: Dan in Real Life / Grace is Gone (Widower Special)
What can I say, I'm a sucker for widowers. Some critics found the loving family in Steve Carell's poignant dramedy Dan unrealistic. I feel sorry for some critics. Plot contrivances aside, it succeeds both in capturing the dynamics of a large clan and telling a helluva love story. In a career-best performance in Grace, John Cusack is a flag-waving father of two whose wife is killed in Iraq. This tear-jerking drama might be misconstrued as a political statement, but finally it's a heartrending tale of human loss.

9. Hot Fuzz
Yes, this hilarious send-up of (tribute to?) Bruckheimer schlock tops Shaun of the Dead, the brilliant debut from Brits Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Edgar Wright. Whereas Shaun's first hour is pure bliss, it loses some steam in the third act. Fuzz gets better as it speeds along, offering up surprises and side-splitters in equal measure. Really, who would've thought anyone would ever pay homage to Bad Boys II?

8. No End in Sight
As you can surmise from the title, this ain't exactly a sunshiney look at the Iraq War. But it's the most thorough, eye-opening detailing of the mega-blunders made the Bush Administration in planning and executing the war to date (so THAT'S where the insurgency came from!), with nary a Michael Moore stunt in sight. Prepared to be educated, maddened.

7. Ratatouille
Like I've been saying it for a while now: The machines at Pixar appear to be challenging themselves more and more with each release: "What DON'T audiences think they'll fall in love with? How about a rat who cooks? Better yet, a French rat!" And of course, after 111 minutes of Pixar magic, most of us left with a newfound respect for rodents. (Reminds me of '91 when I saw Beauty and the Beast; haven't been afraid of beasts since.)

6. Superbad
Forget Knocked Up. Forget Walk Hard. This deliciously raunchy buddy comedy/love story will stand the test of time and prevail as the most influential Apatow movie of '07, defining a generation like Dazed and Confused and Fast Times at Ridgemont High did before it. Here's hoping Christopher Mintz-Passe (a.k.a. McLovin) will ever be able to convincingly play another character, though I wouldn't mind more McLovin.

Last week I listed my five worst theatrical experiences of 2007. It was a difficult thing to do, because as a former proud and happy employee of the theater industry, and as a huge supporter of going to the movies over home viewing, I hated to showcase cinemas and exhibition formats in a bad light. But how else to encourage improvements in movie going if not by pointing out unsatisfactory experiences? Part of my interest in the theater industry has always been to help make improvements where needed, whether it was back when I worked as a theater manager or now when I merely comment on theater practice and procedure. I not only want people to go to the movies; I want them to enjoy going to the movies as much as possible.

I've gone to a great number of movies over the past year, some of which were free and some of which cost too much, and aside from those five experiences listed last week and a few others that were more affected by minor or nitpicky problems. Otherwise I've had a lot of fun going to the movies in 2007. I've seen old movies on the big screen, new movies as they premiered, I've sat among other critics in comfy yet popcorn-lacking press screenings and most enjoyably I've sat with regular audiences in regular cinemas. It's difficult to pick the best kind of theatrical experience, but it wasn't too hard to pinpoint five specific experiences that stood out in my mind as being the best of my theatrical experience in 2007.

Theatrical Experiences of 2007 Part II: The Best

The Darjeeling Limited at Cerrito Speakeasy Theater, El Cerrito, CA -- 12/26/07

Everyone always tells me I have to experience the famed Alamo Drafthouse(s), but I feel the Speakeasy cinemas are probably just as cool. And until or if I experience better, the Speakeasy in El Cerrito is my new favorite place to see a movie. Unfortunately, it's across the country from where I live. It combines three of my favorite things: great movies, restored old cinemas and beer. Also the owners are delightful, the chairs and couches are comfy, they often show old movies, some of which are free, and the popcorn is delicious. I'd already seen The Darjeeling Limited once, but I think it was a better experience this second time, mainly due to the more chill atmosphere in which it was presented. Most important: I'm not that enthusiastic about major chains charging extra for relaxed, living-room-style viewing with wait service (I will be writing about this problem soon), but when it's only $6, like at the Speakeasy (or 2 for $6, as it is there on Wednesday nights), it's absolutely perfect. I wish I could fly back in two weeks to check out The Maltese Falcon there.

Here's one of the great disappointments of 2007: Hot Fuzz only earned $23.6 million in the U.S. despite being one of the best reviewed and most hilarious comedies of the year. Now, here's something even more tragic: the Wayans brothers are set to make a similar movie, one which will probably be a huge hit, easily doubling or tripling the box office of Hot Fuzz. According to Variety, Keenan Ivory Wayans, Marlon Wayans and Shawn Wayans will parody cop actioners in the same way they spoofed horror films in the first two Scary Movie installments (3 and 4, which the brothers hate, were made by David Zucker). The main difference with this project, though, is that most of the gags and send-ups will have to reference relatively old movies. Unlike the Scary Movie franchise, which attempts the most timely of horror allusions, this new project won't have as many contemporary releases in the cop action genre to make fun of.

Well, there are at least two old movies the Wayans have to joke on: The Last Boyscout and Bulletproof, both of which starred their formerly better-known brother Damon. No matter what, though, the Wayans' cop movie (probably to be titled "Cop Movie") will not be as funny as Hot Fuzz. It may not even be as funny as Loaded Weapon 1, unfortunately. But it will likely share the same type of replication-as-parody sequences as that 1993 action spoof. The only thing that can keep one from being too cynical is that the Wayans did give us a lot of brilliant comedy on In Living Color, and we can always hope for a return to that talent despite our having put up with White Chicks and Little Man. This time around, the Wayans brothers will be making comedy gold at Paramount rather than at Scary Movie's Dimension, with Keenan Ivory Wayans once again directing. Whether or not this will affect their involvement with the Munsters movie is unknown.

Fans of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz (i.e. pretty much everybody) rejoice! The stars of those films, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are teaming up again for a movie called Paul. Pegg and Frost are writing the screenplay, but this one will not be a full Shaun/Fuzz reunion, as director Edgar Wright is not involved. The director for Paul has yet to be chosen. Pegg tells MTV Movies Blog the film is "a road movie about two British geeks in America," and it will be shot here in the U.S. Sorry, I know that doesn't tell you much! The film will not have the usual Pegg-ripping-on-Frost dynamic they've perfected. Pegg says, "No, it's different actually. I'm the bitch in this one. This time Simon's the bitch!"

For my money, Pegg is not quite as hilarious as his British comedian compatriots Ricky Gervais (I bow to The Office) and Steve Coogan (just now getting into It's Alan Partridge and loving it), but he does make me laugh. He's becoming a major player in the states, starring in the new romantic comedy Run, Fat Boy, Run (you can read James' not-quite-a-rave-but-not-quite-a-pan review here), and co-starring in the upcoming How to Lose Friends and Alienate People. I loved Shaun, and was on the fence with Hot Fuzz until the glorious shoot-em-up finale made me a believer. Speaking of Pegg and Frost, does anyone have any idea how to get their television program Spaced on DVD here in America? I know it's online here and there, but I detest watching anything longer than two minutes on my computer. Thanks!

Back when Pulp Fiction came out, Quentin Tarantino began publishing lists of his favorite movies in various interviews. To a film buff, these were something of a small revelation. Tarantino had not been so much influenced by the usual Citizen Kane or Hitchcock as he was by a plethora of semi-forgotten, underappreciated trash movies. Suddenly movies like Brian De Palma's Blow Out (1981), Jack Hill's Coffy (1973) and Jim McBride's remake of Breathless (1983) gained in respectability; they had influenced a new American classic, and so there must be hidden greatness within their second-rate frames. Likewise, Tarantino helped breathe new life into already established classics like Howard Hawks' His Girl Friday (1940) and Jean-Luc Godard's Band of Outsiders (1964). He created a film-buff smorgasbord.

Flash forward 13 years to 2007. Tarantino has a new movie out, the bottom half of Grindhouse, in which he sings the praises of a cult road movie called Vanishing Point (1971) among other titles. And yet, for some reason, I had absolutely no urge to rent that movie when Grindhouse had finished up. Perhaps it's because Tarantino's passion had turned into something a little more dutiful. Rather, my cinematic slaverings had turned elsewhere, to a relative newcomer that had been recently initiated into the Tarantino camp with the inclusion of his Grindhouse trailer: Edgar Wright. His exciting, hilarious, and enthusiastic Hot Fuzz (164 screens) had got me thinking about the veiled merits of its buddy cop double bill: Kathryn Bigelow's Point Break (1991) and Michael Bay's Bad Boys II (2003).

2007 is now one-third over, and four movies have broken $100 million: 300, Wild Hogs, Ghost Rider and Blades of Glory. Eddie Murphy's Norbit is creeping up on a $100 million score as well. Only Blades of Glory is interesting in the slightest. It's a poorly-directed, uneven comedy, but with plenty of laughs, all thanks to Will Ferrell. I guess I could waste time wondering why people are paying good money to see these so-called movies, but the fact remains that they all opened on more than 3000 screens, and were available for just about everyone in the country to see.

Despite these duds, the year in movies hasn't been so bad so far. I'd rather focus on some of the year's really good entries, the ones that will probably be forgotten eight months from now when the list and awards season starts all over again. I haven't been able to see it yet, but Syndromes and a Century (1 screen) from Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul should be enlightening. His Mysterious Object at Noon (2000), a beautiful combination of documentary and storytelling, is on my personal list of the best films of the past ten years. His amazing Blissfully Yours (2002), among other things, rolled the credits right in the middle of the movie, and his Tropical Malady (2005) had a gay romance far more tender and engrossing than the more widely celebrated Brokeback Mountain.

Last week, evilone1414 and isaac showed the power of being eeeevil by scoring a perfect 16 points in our weekly prediction game. (Sorry to lump you in there, isaac, but your name doesn't have anything I can make fun of.) Will Master of Evil Anthony Hopkins show similar devilish luck -- sorry, skill -- this weekend?

Fracture
What It's About: Wiley coyote Anthony Hopkins shoots his wife and then cops to it -- so why can't hotshot prosecutor Ryan Gosling slam this case shut?
Why It Might Do Well: You've got an Oscar winner (Hopkins) and an Oscar nominee (Gosling) going mano-a-mano in a psychological thriller that's getting largely positive reviews. And while the movie's targeting serious adult moviegoers, Gosling's got plenty of female fans, too. (Oh, Sir Tony, you know the ladies love you.)
Why It Might Not Do Well: Remember what I just said about the movie targeting "serious adult moviegoers"? With rare exceptions, these types of movies don't tend to finish first at the box office. And neither actor is a guaranteed box office draw.
Prediction: $12 million

Vacancy
What It's About: A squabbling husband and wife (Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale) undergo an extreme version of couples therapy when they check into a dirtbag motel, only to find they've been cast as the leads in the staff's next home-movie snuff film. Umm, congrats?
Why It Might Do Well: Horror sells, and this one's got an interesting and original premise. Also, Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale? Pretty.
Why It Might Not Do Well: It's rated R, so it'll lose some of its intended audience to the more teen-friendly Disturbia. And unlike the rest of the Frat Pack, Wilson has proved curiously incapable of building on his Old School success.
Prediction: $14 million

Although it sounds odd, Hot Fuzz is like watching a classic Agatha Christie novel stuffed into a semi-automatic weapon, and strapped to the side of some of the best comedic talent working today. While you'll see the words 'satire' and 'spoof' mixed in to the majority of reviews, make no mistake -- Hot Fuzz is in no way, shape or form the Scary Movie of buddy-cop action flicks. It is, however, an adrenaline-fueled, balls-to-the-wall cup of simmering tea, served up to resemble everything you love about those big-budgeted run-and-gun movies, but with enough British flavor to have this Yank itching for more.

If you're aware of writer-director Edgar Wright and his creative partner Simon Pegg, then the first question out of your mouth will probably be: Is Hot Fuzz better than Shaun of the Dead? The short answer is, no. But let me explain: Back in 2004, Wright and Pegg followed up a stint on the successful UK TV show Spaced with, hands down, one of the best horror-comedies of this generation, Shaun of the Dead. Though Shaun immediately put the boys on the map across the pond, it took awhile for the film to find a fanbase here in the States. The Brits -- with their devilish dry humor and subtle satire -- often have a hard time generating interest over here. (Case in point: Ask around to see how many folks actually watched the British version of The Office, and you'll most likely find people don't even know one exists.) Well, if there's ever a time to try on a new pair of pants, it's now -- because Wright and Pegg are creating the type of content that we, in America, so desperately need.