Kim Morgan

Though Michael Winterbottom's Wonderland appears as gritty as they come, it uncommonly has a romantic heart.

It's a fascinating look into what Spielberg truly loves, but it's not so much a masterpiece as a nice milestone. [2002 re-release]

No matter how many times you've seen it, you marvel at how terrifying, gorgeous and surreal the jungle, the yellow napalm and, finally, the disturbed face of Martin Sheen lying under a swirling fan appear on the large screen. This is indeed, a dream.

It easily is the most beautiful picture released in America so far this year, perhaps one of the most beautiful films ever made.

Almodovar loves the human flesh -- indeed, one of his films is titled "Live Flesh" -- and with the quietly subversive Talk to Her, he utilizes it not just as mere decoration but weaves with it textured themes of powerlessness, love and obsession.

Builds into a moment of such gorgeous rocking that you truly lose yourself in some musical otherworld you never dreamed you'd reach in current films.

Aronson's intriguing, complicated and well-filmed documentary will keep you talking for days.

Plods and frustrates, but forgivably, it is a deeply felt picture.

Filled with wonderful performances, especially by Hedaya and Walsh, Blood Simple remains a tight, beautifully ugly, neo-noir classic.

Funny, irreverent and moving, the unconventional Shrek may mock fairy tales, but in the process, creates its own.

The "Citizen Kane" of rat movies makes for a terrific overhaul in this wonderfully entertaining and, yes, touching take on that terribly confused man/child named Willard.

You have to experience the thing to understand its simultaneous recklessness and care, its humor and sadness in the name of failure, its playful but dismal take on formulaic Hollywood endings.

One of the purest instances of indie cinema this year. "Pure" meaning that in every aspect of filmmaking and intent this picture is peerless, so truly real, funny, poignant and sexy that it almost feels like a watershed cinematic moment.

A picture so powerfully harrowing, its slight shortcomings are forgettable compared to the entire film's cumulative effect. It's that searing.

Effectively thrilling.

Though you get caught up in the criminal element (you really want these people to get away with it), you're also fascinated by who to trust. It's an unusual dance between the awkward and plain that becomes romantic and thrilling -- a subtly impressive feat to say the least.

Doesn't give off the same happy feel of the Indian arranged-marriage movie "Monsoon Wedding." Rather, it poses hard questions and leaves them unanswered.

She (Cho) can tell a joke, mimic, offer commentary, play cute, play ugly and be so hilariously absurd that tears will run down your cheeks.

With its eye-popping color, bold personality and snazzy tunes, Chicago is a breathtaking experience.

A coming-of-age movie that stands apart from the rest.

Daring work of genius.

Little spectacle but much bittersweet sensitivity.

A vibrant, multicharacter film that entertains, disorients and enlightens.

A profoundly anxious picture that from its first frame holds you, clenched, never able to let go, even after its unresolved coda.

You will be surprised by the film's poignancy when the winner is announced. You may even get choked up. You will care that much.

Panic never lets you forget that Donald Sutherland can be one of America's greatest actors.

Frustrating, tedious and yet often compelling.

The film is still a wonderful lark filled with an ingredient most summer blockbusters lack -- likability.

With understated skill and absolute authenticity, the film builds with enough layers that by its powerful ending, you'll feel as if you have been kicked in the stomach.

Seems deeply influenced by American film noir, the Western fairy tale (in this case, mermaids) and the works of Alfred Hitchcock in particular.

Watching the teachers whip these kids into Wilder recitations is especially intriguing, particularly when their personalities come out during the sometimes-arduous process.

About how women see themselves in terms of bodies, age and careers, but without all the "you go girl" tripe crammed into so many other movies of this ilk.

A witty, frightening, well-acted picture with near-perfect cinematic timing.

The newest, and probably first, true cheerleading movie.

A funny, puzzling movie ambiguous enough to be engaging and oddly moving.

It's a remarkable, thoughtful achievement that will make you want to watch it twice. You should.

It's almost numbingly sad, but you won't regret watching -- and you'll surely never forget it.

Appropriate music, lovely cinematography and stellar performances by both a subtly moving Neill and a likable, barrel-chested super-American Warburton.

A lovely film that requires a leisurely sit to think, Shower is not so much a shower as a bath, and a refreshing one at that.

Rich in detail, gorgeously shot and beautifully acted, Les Destinees is, in its quiet, epic way, daring, inventive and refreshingly unusual.

A funny and sometimes substantial movie that in real life would never have a happy ending.

An achievement of accomplished filmmaking and superb acting, L.I.E. puts you in the tough spot of unraveling how you feel about what you've viewed.

An affable, entertaining and poignant experience of the sort not normally afforded by space movies.

Once you lose yourself in Ruiz's stunning achievement -- a wonderfully acted, beautifully realized vision of Proust -- you'll be enchanted.

It's a first love story that goes beyond many simplistic notions as to why people fall for one another. If it weren't true, no one would believe it.

An erotic mystery of sorts, the film works because it's laconic rather than talky and its actors are all up for the material.

A family film, but it's a wonder if kids will really enjoy it. The picture is geared for older folks, people who'll be heartened by the message that sometimes, you can return to your passions.

It is aided both by fine performances by Auteuil, Aumont and Depardieu and by wonderful pacing.

A slow burn. A portrait of the mundane humor and horror of everyday life, it scalds nerves you may have never thought existed. And yet the film is funny, almost hilariously at times.

One of the most aggressively ambiguous pictures of the year. There is a certain power to that.

Quiet, sexual, disturbing, often beautifully melancholic, Rain, as seen through the eyes of a precocious girl, recalls a parental split-up with sobering accuracy. It reminds us why so many teen-agers go through a sullen phase -- and sometimes never shake it off.

Takes the typical detective-hunting-a-serial-killer story and twists it into a creepy, enigmatic bit of psychological terror that by its final ambiguous scene leaves you truly chilled.

In its own slightly disturbing way, this psychological thriller serves as an absorbing diversion without sapping brain cells -- almost the perfect summer movie for smart people.

Owning Mahowny may at times feel futile in its colorless, disheartening subject matter, but that's the point -- to see how barren Mahowny's life becomes. Hoffman gives the film relevance.

It's not afraid to be funny, tragic and decidedly female.

It's a shame director Care didn't take more time with his characters, even making the film a bit longer to deepen the connections between them. Still, The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys is a keen slice of teen angst and peril.

A hilarious, sad and sometimes-inspiring documentary directed by Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato, the film is an all-out Tammy valentine -- campy, dramatic and, of course, makeup-smeared. And better than any melodrama you'll see this year.

Engrossing and unusual.

It's not an art film. The movie is as mainstream as it gets -- which is just fine; the picture is both great fun and gently satirical.

Not just love, but maybe an escape from a wretched world. We're not sure, but that's what makes Heaven so inexplicably, intriguingly soulful, even in its most remote and architectural instances.

A movie that will wear you out and make you misty even when you don't want to be. It's a gushy, sometimes-maudlin, often-charming movie that highlights the importance of little things.

Manages to be a solid, though not exceptional, heist movie with a good-looking cast and -- maybe -- even better-looking cars.

A film that merges cocaine, Ivy League, college applications, the Asian American experience, dark comedy and high school drama while maintaining a personal tone and likable lead characters is just too impressive to knock.

Intriguingly puts two distinct, strong women together as if to pose the question, just what is a strong woman? By the film's end, that question is tough to answer.

On face value, The Flower of Evil is pure Chabrol, but it lacks the power he brings to human relations and social classes, where often violent, masochistic themes are explored. But that doesn't mean he's done as an artist.

Has many puff-piece moments to it and barely touches the controversy surrounding Tupac's death or that of rival hip-hop impresario Biggie Smalls. But it's engaging nonetheless.

Waddington's wonderfully textured film is an unforced work of naturalism.

The best-looking, best-scripted and funniest of Smith's pictures, it's also Smith's sharpest.

The film seems to resonate even for people who aren't Jewish or gay, as there are so many people touched by homosexuality and religion.

You get to know each person just well enough to compare them, allowing you to judge as you like; the film, nicely, refrains from moralizing.

A tough picture to wrap your brain around.

The film is tangled but not chaotic, thoughtful but not terribly deep. Still, it's intimate, entertaining, and most impressive, genuine.

If you simply love Vogue magazine, you'll love 8 Women just as much as the cinematically educated. This breezy entertainment often feels like an exquisitely photographed fashion layout come to life.

Every once in a while a picture comes along that captures not just love, but romance in all its fear, yearning, fantasy, eroticism and unexpected epiphanies. German filmmaker Tom Tykwer's The Princess and the Warrior is one such film.

Has its cheesy moments but it's bolstered by interesting performances and a final scene not typical of a mainstream movie. Though no "Fatal Attraction," Unfaithful nevertheless is an interesting and worthy film.

There's more to this movie. Like Pitt at his best, it's pretty, gritty, engrossing and fun.

There's something refreshingly and truly girlish about the picture's musings and epiphanies that makes its R rating baffling.

It's creepy, but it's not horrifying. Still, the movie has its distorted, haunting moments that will stick with you, and it's stunning to look at.

Exciting, gory, funny and, like much of anime, a bit cheesy.

Finding Forrester achieves a distinct success few Hollywood movies can even dream of: It overwhelms and inspires with understatement.

This is a beautiful, moving picture about a love affair between two very different Chinese men.

Works like a funnier "Austin Powers" -- you laugh just enough to want to see the whole thing again.

Really a vehicle for Dunst, which would be fine if only the vehicle were more inspired.

Utterly thrilling and enthralling, a commercial film that paces itself wonderfully, never allowing the action or romance to outweigh its story and characters. For mainstream adventure fare, that's quite an accomplishment.

Compelling and superbly acted.

A spare, internally emotional movie like One requires something called screen presence. Its two leads have it.

Delivers the oft-trod subject of boys' sexuality with intelligence and freshness.

Beautifully acted, the film is touchingly human and, thankfully, devoid of any vapid, ironic kitsch.

A bit of exotic neo-noir, clunky in parts and long, but often engaging and artfully atmospheric as well.

Though moving, Together needed more opera to send us where great music frequently goes -- nearly over the edge.

A lyrical, exciting adrenaline rush.

Entertaining, well-acted and hopeful about a world in which sexual orientation isn't a big deal, Big Eden is a pretty picture -- it just tends to be a little too perfect and cute for its own good.

It's fun, albeit a little messy, under the frequently punchy direction of Peter Berg.

It works for the most part, though some scenes come off contrived or directed without flavor. But thanks to the likable, rough-hewn crew and Forster, the film flows along gruffly and with eloquence.

Alas, the movie just isn't bouncy, fresh or funny enough. It's just not blonde enough.

Understands that extreme feelings bring out weird reactions. Tension and sadness will occasionally be interrupted by humor -- even slapstick.

Entertaining, disturbing, sad, outrageous and often hilarious.

This is a movie where you can just sit back and revel in it, warts and all.