Derek Elley

Rarely has a book sprung so vividly to life, but also worked so enthrallingly in pure movie terms, as with Atonement, Brit helmer Joe Wright’s smart, dazzlingly upholstered adaptation of Ian McEwan’s celebrated 2001 novel.

Bright and sassy, The Full Monty is a treat.

Rarely has a veteran filmmaker rejuvenated his career to such startling effect as John Boorman with The General, a fresh-off-the-slab biopic of maverick Irish crime lord Martin Cahill that both challenges and entertains the audience at a variety of levels, as well as reviving the vitality of the helmer's earliest, mid-'60s pics.

A full-bore zombie romp that more than delivers the genre goods.

A treat, a delicious blend of perversity, playfulness and deadly passion concealed beneath the tranquil, moneyed surface of the Swiss bougeoisie.

This is upscale French entertainment at its best.

A superbly written loony-tunes satire, played by a tony cast at the top of its game.

Shallow Grave, a tar-black comedy that zings along on a wave of visual and scripting inventiveness.

A 10-course treat for the eyes and ears.

An exquisite reflection on personal bereavement.

Maverick director Wong Kar-wai manages to pour old wine into new jars with Happy Together, a fizzy chamber yarn about two gay Hong Kongers in Argentina that's as slim as a bamboo flute but is his most linear and mature work for some time.

From its opening shots, Butterfly Kiss exudes a confidence and distinctive feel that promises something rather special. Unlike its characters, the pic knows where it's going.

Tradition and informality collide -- and mutually benefit -- in the deliciously written and expertly played The Queen.

Direction, performances and lensing blend into an immensely satisfying, if almost uncategorizable, whole in Pawel Pawlikowski's My Summer of Love.

A stunning feature -- another hypnotic meditation on popular demagogy and mental manipulation.

Triad oozes a confidence that carries the viewer almost without pause to its shocking climax and ironic close.

A warm, often invigorating and ultimately moving ode to community values.

Shines like a freshly minted coin in Oliver Parker's adaptation.

Not so much a Hitler movie as a portrait of a totalitarian machine's spiritual and emotional collapse, Downfall is a cumulatively powerful Goetterdammerung centered on the last 10 days of the bunkered Fuehrer and those around him.

All of the promise that was evident in Scottish helmer David Mackenzie's flawed freshman feature, "The Last Great Wilderness" (2002), is richly achieved in his second pic, Young Adam, a resonant, beautifully modulated relationships drama.

A sustained genre parody that's equally funny but (maybe in deference to the genre) much more pumped up.

A handsome chunk of widescreen entertainment that's as nimble as its rakish hero.

A sprightly acted, warm and often extremely funny ensemble comedy.

Moves like an express train across almost 2½ hours without any sense of rush and with strong, empathetic characters etched en route.

The rare ability to make intelligent, entertaining cinema from hot-button current issues is beautifully illustrated by Lemon Tree.

Playful and sporty, with just a small twist of the knife, The Cat's Meow is good, uncomplicated fun.

Superbly cast drama… that looks to be a solid upscale attraction wherever the special chemistry of good writing and performances is appreciated.

A tightly constructed "dramatic thriller" in which the tension comes as much from what the characters are thinking as from what they end up doing, Jerichow again confirms writer-helmer Christian Petzold ("Yella," "The State I Am In") as a world-class talent who remains underappreciated beyond Germany.