Lou Lumenick

Jonze seems to be heading for a far quirkier ending than the one he actually delivers, but he does tap into the zeitgeist with his unlikely romantic fable.

Chomet's wacky tale is so crammed full of eye-popping images, it's impossible to forget afterward.

The acting is solid, especially Whaley, whose nasty variation on Norman Bates is his showiest role since he memorably played Kevin Bacon's assistant in "Swimming With Sharks."

The various witnesses tell contradictory tales that turn this into a real-life “Rashomon." The fact that two of the principals — Sarah and Michael, who delivers touching and eloquent on-camera narration that he wrote himself — are accomplished actors adds another level of confusion and interest that help make this compelling storytelling.

Haunting is the best word for Waltz With Bashir, a striking animated documentary - not an oxy moron, despite how it sounds - from Israel.

As hip, funny and truthful a sleeper as has ever flown under Tinseltown's radar.

A blackly funny provocation.

This spectacularly great reboot is surprisingly owned not by Hardy, who is fine, but by Charlize Theron.

Isn't as sharply directed as "Jessica Stein," but it's still a formidable crowd-pleaser.

All hail the great Helen Mirren, who after her triumph in HBO's "Elizabeth," delivers the performance of a lifetime as that monarch's frumpy, 20th century namesake in Stephen Frear's witty, touching and engrossing The Queen.

Essentially a weird series of nonsequiturs. I'd rather be watching a sequel to the much-maligned "Little Nicky" -- a Sandler film that was at least trying to do something interesting -- than this failed experiment in fusing high and low culture.

An astonishing re-creation of the Londonderry massacre of January 1972.

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."

Summer hasn't even started, but you won't likely find a better catch this season than Finding Nemo, a dazzling, computer-animated fish tale with a funny, touching script and wonderful voice performances that make it an unqualified treat for all ages.

Being John Malkovich, which contains not a frame of extraneous footage, is more than a must-see movie: It's a must-see-more-than-once event.

A spectacularly rendered tale of a family of superheroes, takes the art form to a whole new level.

An unqualified triumph, the year's best movie so far.

It's a long, brutal and honest look at a shattering event some Americans would apparently prefer not to see depicted - but also a respectful, inspiring one that's in no way exploitative or emotionally manipulative.

An unforgettable and complex portrait of a nuclear family in meltdown.

Audacious, thought-provoking and ruefully funny.

The skillfully acted and directed The Lives of Others is a timely warning about governments that seek to repress dissent.

The movie equivalent of a 12-course feast crammed with unforgettable images and mind-boggling stunts.

Engrossing and exhilarating documentary.

I can't wait to see Borat, which has twice as many laughs as all of this year's other movie comedies combined, for a fourth time.

The role of William is a perfect fit for Red West, a well-weathered member of Elvis Presley's Memphis Mafia who has served as a bodyguard as well as a stuntman and bit-part actor.

Mostly it's worth seeing Alien, which established Scott as an A-list director, in a theater because his brilliant and often expansive visuals have always worked better on a big screen than on video.

Literally the kind of movie they just don't make anymore, Michel Hazanavicius' French-sponsored charmer The Artist is a gorgeous black-and-white love letter to silent Hollywood with old-fashioned English intertitles and just a single line of audible (English) dialogue.

Taken together, Eastwood's masterworks - two of the best films of 2006 - may be Hollywood's last word on World War II.