I am the worst critic. I always find something wrong about a movie and let it bug me. Even movies I would give two thumbs up and recommend friends see, seem to be loathed by rereading my comments. Oh well. Plus I get bored writing about the movies I like.

Royal Tennenbaums – Owen Wilson is my current favorite actor, although it was Shanghai Noon, not this, that earned this notation. He rules this flick. Wes Anderson's use of soundtrack was a little too familiar, not the same sounding songs as Rushmore but similar incorporation. Full of favorite gags, but I think the dramatics of this family are just as enjoyable. Such a wickedly off the wall script, plus I am a huge fan of Franny and Zooey by Salinger to comparison's can be drawn.

Together – Hot dogs and Pinochet. Plus the kid getting even by tossing his father's porn into his parents' bed. I love this film. So many gut busters, like the girl in the kitchen without any pants. Even the sadness of separated wives, lonely old men, and frustrated love manages to turn out all right in this film. I think only the pudgy kids' Dad is the only loser in the whole film. I like the happy endings.

Lord of the Rings – Having read the trilogy in the months prior to this flick, I was primed. I enjoyed this movie until the credits rolled. Who noticed it was long? Not me. The CGI and New Zealand were amazing. Christopher Lee was amazing. There was some book readers wishes that didn't make it to the screen. The monsters were creatively gruesome. The battles were fierce. Waiting with baited breath for The Two Towers is an understatement. I am not positive why my gut wouldn't let me place this first – I guess because it felt like a third of a fantastic epic rather than a complete film.

Chopper – One of the best character studies of a bipolar psycho ever. The Aussie accents and inside jokes can keep the average viewer at a bit of a distance from getting all the dialogue. Some unexpected experiments in story telling are welcome in this tale.

Amelie – Is it possible for a movie to be too cute. Sort of losing you breath from being tickled. So much fun but eventually I just wanted her to be bold and up front.

Waking Life – Fun Rules.

Gosford Park – Wow. I thought this was going to be a goofy Agatha Christie but it was an incredibly detailed mosaic of characters. How many names of different lords, actors, maids, butlers, valets, and cooks am I supposed to remember, but what is incredible is that each is unique. It could have been a stuffy period piece, but Altman makes a fast flowing river (plot) riddled with developed streams (subplots).

Memento – The first 5/6ths of this movie had me on the edge of my seat – literally. I love puzzles. I love trying to logically perceive what will happen next, or in this case before. In the end though, I felt that the director left it vague on purpose which smacks to me of inability to close the loop. It was like a lap dance – no payoff sorry HBO had some stripper special on earlier. I agree with Marc though, I can't believe I haven't seen it again. There is still too much for me to review and guess at to feel confident to place it accurately on my "like it" meter.

The Man Who Wasn't There – The cigarette crackling, oddly angled facial close-ups, dry cleaning performance (I forgot this high hat actors name), and plenty of other cool details has the Cohen Brothers thumbprint of unique skill. Why the UFO though at the end, I didn't get it. I kind of wish I had seen more movies to place this out of my top ten.

Ali – First I have to say that Will Smith is great. Second, this movie feels great in almost every scene; the songs, costumes, hairstyles, and settings are all nailed. Third, Jamie Foxx was great as Bundini. Fourth. Voigt not bad as a more subdued Cosell. BUT a movie with five fights, at least three music videos, and not enough behind the scenes Ali dialogue really hurts the film. Ali taunts and poems are easy to grab audiences but I would love to see some extended day-to-day conversation with the Champ. I really disliked the way they chose to demonstrate his winning of the championship – as soon as he wins it, Michael Mann decided to show him telling his wife to get out of his life.

Durian Durian – Strange movie about a Hong Kong hooker that goes home to China after her visa runs out. She returns to the isolated frozen Chinese town where she studied to be ballet star unable to tell her large group of admiring friends and family that she was forced into twenty tricks a day to earn money. The confusion and deception makes the character almost unrecognizable between Hong Kong and the mainland. The "two different worlds relationship" between the protagonist and dishwater's daughter is not as interesting as intended, a little schmaltzy.

Snatch – Another VCD in Laos. I was surprised I liked this movie but than again I was drinking Lao Lao, the local whiskey that they give you for free as long as you buy a coke or orange soda.

Blow – The early scenes were harmless and charming. The Colombian scenes were bold. The bloated and grasping for straws ending was pathetic. Depp was good, but the only way this movie would be great is if it were a documentary with real footage. Otherwise, it is too cartoony.

Japanese Devils – Pretty frightening documentary of Japanese war actions against the Chinese pre- and during WWII. I would say crimes but none of those interviewed were punished for their behavior; it was standard practice. Just completely brutal accounts: officers being required to chop off the head of a prisoner with a samurai sword before taking their troops, soldiers practicing bayonet drills on living men and women, scientists releasing smallpox into rivers upstream, accounts of mass burials of medicinal experiments, and voracious rape. The stories tended to blur as each man told similar accounts, but the pride in some eyes and the severe misgivings in others, taught me a lot about soldiers' devotion to orders.

Enemy at the Gates – No movie has ever suffered so much for such bad accents.

Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles – on the plane to Japan. It was by far the best choice. I think every other film in English starred Freddy Prinze Jr.

Jurassic Park III – Only movie with subtitles Oa and I could find in Bangkok. Before the film, a slow motion pictorial history of the king plays on the screen while the audience stands and sings the national anthem. And the popcorn comes with this shrimp salt taste that was delicious. I finished the whole bag.

Hannibal – saw a VCD of this in Phuket, Thailand in the apartment of my friend Far. They were all chatting away while I could barely make out the movements of this film because the glare on the screen was so bad. Why do I hope that a movie like Hannibal will one day shock the audiences by catching and killing the "monster in the first 45 minutes?

Mummy Returns – Got out of work one morning, kind of like a field trip. With 15 minutes to go in the flick, the CEO UGO.com turns to me and tells me he has to leave, but I should tell him how it turns out. How it turns out? What a bonehead.

3,000 Miles to Graceland – I don't think I saw this, but I promise I never want to see it.

Planet of The Apes – I saw this movie practically the week it was released even though I was in the middle of Laos. One of the bars in town that shows VCD – like DVD – had a bootleg. It took about 45 minutes for me to realize it wasn't a brave choice of Burton's to have a very narrow focus of action. The bootleg basically only showed the bottom 2/3 and left a lot off the sides. Basically the whole movie was chins and breasts, ape breasts. I left when they switched discs to buy some postcards to write during the second half. Why does the monkey show up at the exact moment Marky hits the desert? I hated this movie.

Can't be in the list but since everyone else is talking about it…

In the Mood for Love – I tried to watch this movie on the plane to Japan on an individual seat monitor, but it was too dark to make out what was going on. Too claustrophobic for the teeny-weeny screen, a lot of people say it great.

#1 movie title of the year, obvi — Pootie Tang

#1 disappointment of the lists – no one saw the Ron Jeremy Documentary