I'll use this space to elaborate on my Top 10 choices:
1. Frost/Nixon
At first you're struck by how Frank Langella doesn't resemble Nixon, and thereafter you marvel at how he does. Dubbed "Rocky for Journalists," it speaks volumes about the Q&A as war.
2. The Dark Knight
Christopher Nolan has actually begun speaking to the human condition through a superhero. Heath Ledger breathes psychotic life into a tired villain. But Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent/Two-Face is another revelation.
3. Changeling
Angelina Jolie's movie-star voltage lifts this tale of old-school LAPD corruption and a mother's nightmare into a story of indomitable spirit. Director Clint Eastwood once again shows a sure filmmaker's hand.
4. WALL-E
CGI comes closer to fulfilling its potential with this razor-sharp, sentimental, post-apocalyptic, robot love story. Meanwhile, human frailty is showcased by the obese, immobile off-Earth humans who must return to their debased planet to save themselves.
5. Let The Right One In
A Swedish vampire story and a childhood love in one bloody bundle. It's horror told the way Swedish filmmakers tell things -- slowly, with lots of atmosphere, gloom and snow. It's an approach North American horrormeisters could do well to absorb.
6. The Band's Visit
A rich and dryly funny story of a beleaguered Egyptian police band that literally misses the bus on a goodwill tour of Israel and ends up in the boondocks. The lesson: loneliness may be the glue that holds us all together as human beings.
7. Kenny
Whereas it was a hit in Oz, fact is you, me and the rest of the Canucks who have seen this sweet Australian mockumentary about the life of a porta-loo dealer could probably fit in a phone booth. A movie that speaks, hilariously, for everyone who does dirty-work for a living.
8. Iron Man
A superhero movie that struck exactly the right note, courtesy of Robert Downey Jr., whose natural trenchant humour kept the adventure from taking itself too seriously. If the cards are played right, it could mark the beginning of Marvel's golden age in movies.
9. The Strangers
A no-frills horror movie fuelled by crackling claustrophobia and terrifying randomness. This first effort by director Bryan Bertino was like the lead-up to the Manson murders as told by the victims.
10. JCVD
Can we even tell the difference between fantasy action and the real thing anymore? Jean-Claude Van Damme played himself, courageously, in this wry redemptive story of a world-weary has-been named Van Damme, just as helpless against guns as anyone else.
