L’enfant (The Child) A punch-in-the-gut of a movie.  Not one false moment.  A harrowing tale!  What other quotable bites can I come up with?  Leaves you shaken. Pure cinema. (Some criticize that the baby in the film is the quietest, most well-behaved infant in the world; I'm, like, whatEVer.)

The Queen Even a badly-behaved 42nd Street audience at a midnight show could not stop me from thoroughly enjoying this superb piece of work.  I can’t remember a better Stephen Frears film.  It’s become popular to single out all praise to Helen Mirren’s performance; sublime though she is, don't forget that the film itself is also pure gold.

Babel Though serious and weighty, it was extremely refreshing to be drawn into a totally believable and frightening world.  And I SO appreciate filmmaking that does not over-decorate and over-emphasize itself with music.  In many ways, it’s the film that last year’s fourth-rate “Crash” wished it could have been.

Cars Another Pixar movie too good to simply call "Best Animated Film." Not as good as “Little Nemo,” but way better than “Toy Story” or “Monsters, Inc.”; maybe tied with “A Bug’s Life” (although that film was a little more human).

Click Go against your “Adam Sandler? You Can’t Be Serious” instincts and give this wonderful gem a chance.

The Departed For those who insist on being in the hands of a master when they watch a film, it's hard to top Martin Scorsese.  This one may be ultimately "unimportant," but it's pure pleasure to behold.

The Good Shepherd Matt Damon scores a double (with The Departed) in this extremely well-made story of CIA paranoia.

Heading South It’s hard not to like a film about older white women flying down to pre-AIDS Haiti for sex with the local black men.  Oh yes, and it also has substance.

Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakstan Is good, yes?

Jackass Number Two It was wrong to like it.  I feel deep shame for bestowing any kind of praise whatsoever upon it. But I can’t remember ever having more of a roller coaster of an experience watching a movie; squirming, involuntarily screaming out loud, violent physical reactions.  Allowing yourself to enjoy it was “like a crack high,” as one friend said.

Akeelah and the Bee It’s a by-the-numbers formula, but it has genuine heart.  I loved the resolution.  As I watched the scenes with the mother, I thought, “Where did they find this superb actress?  What a great career break for her!”  Duh – it was Angela Bassett (still, I didn’t realize she was THAT good).

Apocalypto When you buy your ticket, they give you this totally awesome “I willingly gave my money to Mel Gibson” button, perfect for synagogue.  But as reprehensible as Mel the public persona might be, it’s rather nice that the country could collectively put aside their personal feelings about the Holocaust denier’s homophobic son and judge his art on its own merits.  Also, please note that, unlike “The Passion of the Christ,” it is totally unnecessary to smoke a joint before viewing.

The Aura A thoroughly engaging South American heist film, and so much more.

The Devil Wears Prada The proper way to tell someone whether or not you liked this film:  (a) If “Yes, I liked it,” immediately change facial expression to serious awe, drop voice and say, “And she was wonderful”;  (b) If “No, I didn’t like it,” register your best However I’m Not Crazy facial expression, raise voice and say, “But she was wonderful”;  (c) if indifferent or undecided or if you do not wish to reveal your opinion of the film itself, use either of responses (a) or (b), dropping the word “And” or “But,” respectively.

Find Me Guilty A virtually unrecognizable Vin Diesel in his best film since “Boiler Room.”

Flags of Our Fathers An excellent examination of the making of an iconic image and the selling of a war.

An Inconvenient Truth A must-see for every American.  Global warming is for real; we’ll discuss evolution later.

Jesus Camp Having been forced to attend in my youth what one of the proselytizing children in this film would call a “dead church,” I would have much preferred the spirited energy and speaking-in-tongues of the Pentecostal church documented in this film.  Whatever else you think, there is no denying that the kids are having some kind of profound experience;  if you believe in God, do you truly have the right to claim that they’re not experiencing God energy flowing through them?  But, of course, it is the fact that all of this goes hand-in-hand with far-right-wing politics, intolerance and the willful teaching of ignorance that makes it scary and objectionable.  Highly recommended.

Half Nelson Gritty, pungent, raw and truly independent.  And I will always cherish the joke about the interrupting cow.

Happy Feet The artsiest mainstream film of the year.  Oh, and:  Ha ha!  Right wing neocons were tricked into dropping their kids off to an environmentally conscious, gay-friendly film (never mind that the gay penguin is made to be straight).

Mission: Impossible III (a.k.a. Mi3) Much better than the lame Mi2 (never saw Mi1);  and for high adrenaline, macho fantasy action pictures, infinitely better than the lame “Casino Royale.”

Monster House Totally awesome in 3D!

A Prairie Home Companion A Robert Altman film I could enjoy, with only minimal amounts of his signature overlapping dialogue (my hearing condition makes most Altman films unwatchable and severe-headache-inducing).

Sophie Scholl:  The Final Days (Sophie Scholl – Die letzten Tage) It's easy to be quickly over-saturated with Nazi films, but this is about the trial of a college student protester, with a screenplay comprised almost entirely from court transcripts.  Es ist sehr gut und ist un remindren auf der importanz fur der freege speechen.

Who Killed the Electric Car? The perfect (and perfectly timed) companion piece to “An Inconvenient Truth.”  Bragging point:  I know people seriously committed to the resurrection of the electric car who appear in this film (ever so prominently in the background), and have had the pleasure of riding in electric cars several times.  Bonus!:  Mel Gibson looking pretty fucking weird and scary just being himself.

Wordplay I had always wondered what kind of people make up crossword puzzles, and how they make them up.  Thanks so much for the enlightenment, Film Called “Wordplay.”

Little Miss Sunshine Before you get bent out of shape, I’m NOT saying I didn’t like this film.  Is that clear?  It’s a searing and entertaining portrait of American obsessions and I enjoyed it.  Now go ahead and get bent out of shape when I say these things:  (a) it’s not THAT funny;  (b) it’s not THAT insightful;  (c) it’s not THAT great; (d) it certainly should not have been nominated for best picture; and by the way, (e) it doesn’t mean that you care about independent films.

Army of Shadows (L’armee des ombres) Originally released in 1969 in France, but the first time it has been shown in America.

Letters From Iwo Jima Part of the problem is that I became ravenously hungry during the screening, and my attention was split between the film and trying to eat a bag of peanuts without making too much noise from the crinkly bag.

Children of Men There was a curmudgeon sitting next to me during this screening who was openly and actively sneering at the film, which affected my viewing experience.  So it was hard to tell if it was a good film that I was being pushed to think less of because of the adjacent churl, or if it was a bad film which I was giving too much benefit of the doubt and taking too seriously in an effort to retain my own opinion.  Whatever the case may or may not be, it was definitely an honest attempt to make a serious film, which is more than can be said for most mainstream releases.

Miami Vice SO completely awesome and engrossing on the big screen;  SO completely trivial and unimportant on video.

Something New A pretty good interracial love story.  Not great; not bad; not important; not unimportant.  Maybe it should have been called “Something Neutral.”

This Film Is Not Yet Rated As “Wordplay” quenched my years-long curiosity about crossword puzzle writers, this one quenched my life-long curiosity concerning the process of how films are rated; and what an insane, unfair, imbalanced system it is.  Kudos to the filmmaker – as a result of this film, changes are actually being made to the rules and regulations of the MPAA.  (Note: the previous sentence represents the first time I voluntarily used the word “kudos.”)  Still, not a totally satisfying viewing experience.

Clean Good acting, yeah, okay, fine, whatever.  I seriously do not need to see another movie or read another book about someone’s story of drug or alcohol recovery.  Real or fictional.  And please let me make this clear: I mean, like, ever.