Smiling more than in all of his movies since "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" combined, Penn goes way deep and soulful in a highly ingratiating performance that's the one to beat for the Best Actor Oscar.

It takes a world-class storyteller and a great yarn to rivet your attention for nearly three hours. This very classy, old-school movie - employing cutting-edge technology that will make your eyes pop - did it for me.

Whip-smart, sexy and delightfully twisty romantic thriller.

An exquisite work of cinematic art that also happens to be the funniest, most touching, most exciting and most entertaining movie released so far this year.

The androgynous Dobroshi is in nearly every scene. She has an exceptional screen presence that brings authority to her portrayal of a woman seeking redemption. As for the Dardennes, they prove yet again that nobody does human frailty the way they do.

May not have the starry casts of the Coens' more recent films, but it has plenty of heart and soul.

One of the year's best films and so tapped into the zeitgeist that it's positively scary.

Nolan blurs the distinction between dreams and reality so artfully that Inception may well be a masterpiece masquerading as a summer blockbuster.

Quite possibly the first truly great fact-based movie of the 21st century.

This eye-popping, inspired and often-demented (in a good way) cross between "The Red Shoes" and "All About Eve" channels horror maestros David Cronenberg, Brian De Palma and Dario Argento.

Like all great movies, 127 Hours takes us on a memorable journey. Which is not easy when 90 percent of the movie takes place with a virtually immobile hero in a very cramped setting.

Old-school filmmaking at its best.

Whether Tiny Furniture is a mumblecore movie is an open question. It has many of the tell-tale signs of that ill-defined genre; although improvised dialogue, a mumblecore staple, is minimal.

Getting a small cohort of humanity dead right is an impressive artistic achievement, but Mike Leigh's beautifully modulated English drama Another Year advances even farther.

Deep, disturbing and funny.

Everything a summer blockbuster should be but rarely is - a whip-smart, slam-bang piece of entertainment where we deeply care about the fate of the central characters.

Expertly mixing tears and laughs with the sort of alchemy not seen since "Terms of Endearment," this superbly written, directed, acted, and yes, Oscar-friendly movie perfectly captures the blackly comic insanity that can overtake a family forced to confront an impending death.

It's not a knock on Steven Spielberg to say he is history's finest maker of children's movies. His capacity to evoke simplicity, awe, beauty and unconditional love are his genius, and his vision of the children's story War Horse is a gorgeous, majestic fable about a boy who yearns to be reunited with his steed.

A sumptuous masterpiece by one of the greatest moviemakers of all time.

As we face yet another summer of brooding superheroes, it's Magic Mike to the rescue! He's got the civilian alter ego and the acrobatic skills to rival Spidey or Batman.

The best reason to wade into this (let's be honest) challenging but hugely rewarding film is Quvenzhané Wallis.

Christopher Nolan's dramatically and emotionally satisfying wrap-up to the Dark Knight trilogy adroitly avoids clichés and gleefully subverts your expectations at every turn.

The actors in Compliance perform with thorough and chilling sincerity.

A blue-chip Oscar contender that's also a rousing popcorn movie, Ben Affleck's Argo offers plenty of nail-biting thrills as well as funnier scenes than you'd ever imagine possible in the grim context of the Iran hostage crisis.

The very sex-positive The Sessions treats intimacy with an explicitness and honesty that's very rare in movies. It may be the first film that doesn't turn premature ejaculation into a punch line.

Like the fictional Clarice Starling in "The Silence of the Lambs,'' Maya is a consummate professional who brilliantly performs her job in an often hostile work environment.

All great films have imagination; this one also has the sense of experience.

Petzold raises questions of honor and builds the romance with an absolutely rigorous lack of sentiment, moving Barbara to a sweeping finish as emotionally satisfying as any this year.

56 Up is as good a point as any to get hooked on the magnificent half-century series of documentaries, beginning in 1964 with "7 Up."

Such is literature’s power that the cast is more at ease portraying ancient Romans than speaking as versions of themselves.

Pablo Berger’s Blancanieves is the purest, boldest re-imagining of silent cinema yet.

Making a movie this warm, funny, and rigorously truthful about lovers trying to remain partners is even harder.

Without any preachiness, this magically beautiful film urges us to take better care of the bees, and honor the irreplaceable things that they do for us.

Powerful, provocative and often surprisingly funny, this may be the year's outstanding documentary.

This wonderful party of a movie, as totally original as its hero, stamps on a smiley face that will linger for hours.

Not a film for all tastes, but it's a considerable artistic achievement.

This is a beautifully acted chamber piece --especially by the magnificent Blake, who is married to Norris in real life.

Polarized world views from the mouths of babes -- unfortunately does little to mitigate this depressing image, but much to humanize both sides.

Altman and Rapp skirt the fine line between satire and caricature, stopping just short of ridiculing the women who pack Dr. T's office.

The marvelous Burtonic gothic/nightmare production design -- scenery, weaponry, costumes, etc. constantly pleases the eye without ever distracting you from the plot.

The kind of stand-up-and-cheer movie Hollywood is supposed to have forgotten how to make.

Uses the compelling true story of the triumph of the Enigma code-breakers as background for an invented but believable story of love, betrayal and heroism.

Packs a dramatic wallop that makes it one of the year's best movies.

Refreshing and surprising, the way independent movies are supposed to be.

Cannily weaving cross-cultural comedy with we-can-do-it humor in the spirit of "The Full Monty," the film builds to a rousing climax.

Revels in the sensual pleasure of music while capturing brilliantly the tension that grips any theater company before the curtain goes up.

Rarely since the tale of the Corleones has a movie presented such a compelling, sympathetic portrait of a criminal lowlife.

An ideal antidote to the big-budget bores that studios put out in late summer, The Tao of Steve is a charming, funny and refreshingly smart Gen-X romantic comedy in the tradition of "When Harry Met Sally" - with the bonus of an engagingly laid-back Southwestern flavor.

A real high in a season filled with unfunny comedies.

More than lives up to its clever positioning as the first movie of the new millennium.

The ideal date movie for the Passover-Easter season and beyond, guaranteed to keep audiences rolling in the pews.

An expertly crafted, deeply moving film.

The movie that deserved to win the Oscar for foreign-language film, and one of the best movies ever made about life behind the Iron Curtain.

Plot and dialogue take a back seat to a series of inventive sight gags that unspool with effortless charm. An ensemble cast of talented amateurs is in top form.

The most devastating spoof of reality TV since Albert Brooks' 1978 "Real Life."

So joyous it can actually shake viewers out of a bad mood.

A remarkable accomplishment. It takes one of the century's vast tragedies...and makes it heart-rendingly real and intimate.

Such astounding computer-generated effects you'll suspend disbelief and root for the hero, a 3-inch talking mouse.

A triumph of low-budget filmmaking.

A crowd-pleasing ensemble piece, whose story goes exactly where you want it to.

Perfectly captures the cultural and emotional wasteland that is suburban Jersey.

Makes the most of its wintry settings and never insults the audience's intelligence -- no mean feat for a family film. It's a real crowd-pleaser.

There have been many documentaries about the Holocaust in recent years, but this one really stands out.

Easily one of the year's best movies.

This bizarre, original and brilliantly crafted documentary about the Sex Pistols is funny and at times moving -- despite all the ugliness and stupidity it depicts.

A delightful, fresh dark comedy.

Morris' most gripping film since "The Thin Blue Line," is the year's scariest movie.

Makhmalbaf finds room for moments of humor and humanity.

"The Sixth Sense" was no fluke. Unbreakable, writer-director M. Night Shyamalan's dazzling reunion with Bruce Willis confirms he's one of the most brilliant filmmakers working today.

Exceptionally intelligent and powerful contemporary adaptation.

Cheerful, slightly cheesy entertainment that uses the latest special-effects techniques to breathe life into a venerable film tradition.

Expertly directed, acted and written crowd-pleaser.

Gripping and stylish thriller.

Lacks the humor and charm that fills the book and makes it so much more than a catalog of suffering.

Just as spectacular as seeing the view from Everest or other natural wonders caught by the IMAX technology.

It is an important, thoroughly bewitching work of art.

It's an even rarer pleasure to see a film that combines exciting action with a smart, well-informed script and vivid yet restrained performances.

Less grim than it sounds, Southern Comfort ends on a note of triumph for its endearing, gender-bending hero.

The cast is amazing -- two of the lead actresses are first-timers.

Davis, a hugely underrated actress..., is deadpan perfection as Joyce, wearing oversized glasses and a wig that makes her look like an older version of Thora Birch's character in "Ghost World."

Smart, funny and ingeniously detailed with terrific vocal teamwork.

For some reason, the people who make modern musicals don't like to let you watch dancers dance -- there are still too few moments when you get to enjoy choreography from a dancer's hands to her feet.

A head-clearing, mind-blowing blast from the past - one of the year's best.

So smooth and satisfying it makes the similar "Ocean's Eleven" look like a game of three-card monte.

Despite its shock value, Thirteen rises above dysfunctional-family-drama cliches, thanks to the truthfulness of its script and the keen eye of a sympathetic director.

There's style and panache to spare. Mournful jazz adds to the mood.

A terrific work of political and social satire set in a Nebraska high school that has the intelligence of (the less coherent) "Rushmore," while painting a much darker picture of politics and human relationships.

His (Friedkin) very lack of subtlety is both the strength and weakness of The Exorcist in the 21st century.

Like some of Hitchcock's films, the story - adapted from a novel by Charlotte Armstrong, an American mystery writer of the '40s and '50s - can be accused of stretching credibility and coincidence almost to the breaking point.

Splendidly spectacular, intelligent and very well-acted.

A haunting, superbly made film. But it's also an unrelentingly sad and depressing experience.

Vastly superior to the small and independent films that have come out during the last six months.

I was laughing so hard, tears were streaming down my cheeks.

A reminder of just how good Hollywood storytelling can be.

The faint of heart might want to leave early. If you elect to stay, remember: You were warned.

It is not only an amazing technical accomplishment, it's also the wittiest and best-voiced animated movie to come along in years.

A civics lesson about integration very artfully - and entertainingly - disguised as an upbeat family sports movie.

Toy Story had a simpler, stronger story and the advantage of being the first of its kind. But it's quickly apparent that TS2 represents a major step forward in computer-animation artistry.