1. Amelie - An ideal mix of Jeunet's surrealistic style and an interesting yet refreshingly insignificant story. My pick here has nothing to do with the fact that Audrey Tautou is cute as a Dickens. I still would have liked this film if Camryn Mannheim played Amelie.

2. Royal Tenenbaums - Just irreverant enough to overcome the cuteness factor, just visionary enough to overcome the geek factor and just tender enough to overcome the trendy factory.

3. Together - Marxist commentary and co-op living flashbacks made this a nice surprise. Plus, you can't beat the kids' game "I wanna Pinochet."

4. Baise Moi - Sure, it's two cumshots away from being an official porno, but it is very responsible with its politics. Also, it proves yet again why France will always be better than the U.S., not just for their whole "no death penalty" thing, but this puts "Thelma and Louise" to shame.

5. Ocean's 11 - It's cool, it's crisp, it made me smile. Plus, the fact that a fun movie like this is made by the director of "Schizopolis" reinforces why Soderbergh is the best around.

6. Monster's Ball - This movie would have been higher on my list if the sex scenes lived by the "less is more" ethic. Normally, I'm not opposed to sex scenes in films, especially when they involve Halle Berry, but they broke the nicely-constructed tension and painfully-necessary political statement.

7. Made - Finally, a few more minutes of that "Swingers" back and forth banter with a few cool NYC scenes added for good measure.

8. Chain Camera - Finally, the real-life "American High." Few white people and no "My 16th birthday present doesn't have a leather interior" complaints.

9. Shrek - I had fun, plus, I like the concept that, deep down inside, Cameron Diaz is really an ogre.

10. A Beautiful Mind - Standard biopic, but it's mature and true treatment of mental illness is the best I have ever seen in a film.