World Series Champs
	1.	Slumdog Millionaire
		There have been a number of films that feel like Slumdog Millionaire - I'm thinking specifically of City of God - but none of them had Millionaire's heart. Truly moving, incredibly suspenseful, entertaining, smart...just an all-around great film.
	2.	The Dark Knight
		I'd post analysis here, but literally every single person in the world has seen this film twice. The direction, the writing, the story, the idea, the Heath. Everything works.
	3.	Tell No One
		As gripping a mystery as I've seen in years, this French thriller by Guillaume Canet is part romance, part action, part everything else you can name.
	4.	The Wrestler
		The performances - not just Rourke, but Tomei, Evan Rachel Wood, hell, even The Necro Butcher - are all perfect. Equally magnificent is the direction. Just misses being the best film of the year, but it might be the most striking.
	5.	Milk
		Penn's performance is the main event, and he's the reason to buy a ticket. Still, the film is a solid and compelling biography, much better than the recent slate of biopics.
	6.	WALL•E
		Pixar's strongest and most emotionally resonant film since Finding Nemo. About as good a pure romance as we're likely to see for a very, very long time - and it's about robots. Think about that for a moment.
	7.	Let the Right One In (Sweden)
		An absolutely haunting, chilling horror film - but more of a love story, really. Let the Right One In only gets more and more disturbing as you delve more deeply into it.
	8.	Revolutionary Road
		About a dozen lines of questionable dialogue away from being great. Still very, very good; nothing that hasn't been done before, but effective, engaging and beautifully shot. A collection of fine performances, as well.
	9.	Frost/Nixon
		The performances are like worlds colliding - this one should've taken home Best Cast at the SAGs. Howard's direction is a bit obvious, but not without merit. Very strong and compelling.
	10.	Doubt
		While the directing is so-so (playwrights and film directors are very different people,) Doubt is an acting tour de force that creates some very intriguing, dynamic characters.
	11.	Iron Man
		The Dark Knight and Iron Man in the same year? Truly, this is the year that comic books have taken over the cinematic world. Spider-Man and X-Men just paved the way.
Made the Playoffs
	12.	Burn After Reading
		Well, it wasn't No Country for Old Men or anything. But the Coens turned in a solid comedy with some interesting things to say about cause and effect. Often laugh-out-loud funny.
	13.	The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
		It was a little too light to live up to the hype, but still an enjoyable night at the movies. The stars handled complex material gamely, with chemistry to spare. Ultimately, a very large film about very little, but there's nothing wrong with that every once in a while.
	14.	In Bruges
		There are some problems here - mostly around the so-so direction - but McDonagh's brilliant writing shines through. It's not as strong as his plays, but it's a start.
	15.	Forgetting Sarah Marshall
		Not the strongest thing to come out of the Apatow camp, but Jason Segel makes us love him, and his movie. Also, vampire musicals = money.
	16.	Recount
		Feels a bit soul-crushing at times. Nevertheless an excellent, engaging look at just how horribly we messed up the 2000 election, and how there really is no way to know what happened. Not for those disinterested in politics.
	17.	W
		There's nothing particularly timely or relevant about Oliver Stone's fictional what-if about Bush's life. But it's an interesting, well-made father and son movie nonetheless.
	18.	Quantum of Solace
		Silly, confused directing drags this one down a bit, but Craig is great as Bond with no control over his emotions. A worthy successor to Casino Royale.
	19.	Changeling
		For a while good but kind of cheap, then good but kind of unnecessary. It added up to good in the end, but never really amounted to much or found its rhythm.
	20.	Zack and Miri Make a Porno
		Kevin Smith's ode to love and porn isn't a return to Clerks/Dogma form, but it's pretty damn funny and genuinely heartwarming. While Rogen is overexposed lately, he finds more emotional fuel here than he did in Knocked Up.
	21.	Cloverfield
		The problem with Blair Witch? Shirking all cinematic convention is only okay if you have a point. Here, the unstable camera adds realism to a dying genre. Worth a look, and a second look.
	22.	Vicky Cristina Barcelona
		Didn't add up to much, and Woody's presence hangs over the whole thing a little too closely. Still, enjoyable and worth watching.
	23.	Get Smart
		Somewhat forgettable, very formulaic. But Steve Carrell makes it work. Come for the slapstick, stay for the deadpan wit.
	24.	Tropic Thunder
		It was a bit of a mess, and the script was less than inspired (unless Robert Downey Jr. was talking.) Still, genuinely funny and enjoyable.
Put In a Solid Effort
	25.	Run Fatboy Run
		Not as inventive and hilarious as Shaun of the Dead or Hot Fuzz, but a solid romantic comedy.
	26.	Hamlet 2
		Less a straight comedy than an exercise in how ridiculous they could get away with, Hamlet 2 is a curiosity. The musical numbers at the edge push it into positive territory.
	27.	Be Kind Rewind
		Another movie for grown-ups structured like a movie for kids, the innocent sincerity of Be Kind Rewind makes it thoroughly enjoyable. Jack Black carries it.
	28.	Hellboy II: The Golden Army
		Like Pan's Labyrinth, this is just a grown-up fairy tale. It's not nearly as good, but still inventive. del Toro's vision carries the film.
	29.	The Incredible Hulk
		The desperate reboot of the series benefited from Edward Norton and skipping ahead of the expected origin story. Not good enough to bother with a sequel, but satisfactory.
	30.	Mister Lonely
		A brilliant premise and a healthy playfulness make Harmony Korine's latest minimalist effort worth seeing; some of his trademark cruelty knocks it down a few notches.
	31.	Man on Wire
		Certainly very careful and creative, and the subject matter is fascinating. But in focusing on the crime, our attention is turned away from the real story - our protagonist, and his disregard for those that love him.
	32.	The Pineapple Express
		Pineapple Express failed to live up to the promise of its perfect trailer, or of Superbad and Forgetting Sarah Marshall. It was funny, but probably not quite funny enough. Franco and Rogen were great, though.
	33.	Seven Pounds
		The performances are very strong, and it ends big, but misdirection and failed mystery drag Seven Pounds way down.
	34.	Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist
		A quick indie-soaked romance, Nick and Norah felt pretty good despite being repetitive and a bit self-indulgent. Bonus points for the most accurate portrayal of an 18-year-old drunk girl ever.
	35.	Just Buried
		Dark Comedy should definitely be funnier than this. Still, a few laugh-out-loud moments and a great setting make it more than watchable - and it's always good to see Jay Baruchel.
	36.	The Strangers
		The plot had a bit of "it's all been done before" to it, but the strong atmosphere and brutality of the film made it worth a look in a horror-strapped summer.
Finished Below .500
	37.	Australia
		Muddled, dull, overly long, and ultimately pointless, Baz's grand epic could never stand up straight, let alone move anyone.
	38.	Quarantine
		Some films use the shaky camera verite thing well; some throw it in unnecessarily. Quarantine was the latter. An okay concept, but the film would've been far scarier if I could just see what the hell was going on.
	39.	Baby Mama
		Tina Fey and Amy Poehler are great, but they couldn't make this Screwball in Generictown work.
	40.	Lakeview Terrace
		Had the makings of an effective little drama; turned into a big melodramatic mess.
	41.	Hancock
		When it was the movie shown in the preview, it was good. When it was a century-old angry love story, it was somewhat intolerable.
Rebuilding Season
	42.	The X-Files: I Want to Believe
		Too late for a meaningful entry in the franchise, they tried to capture the original appeal of the early seasons. They missed.
	43.	Diminished Capacity
		Hey, did you know that the ravages of Alzheimer's are, in reality, just the makings of a lovable story about baseball cards? Blech.
	44.	Mirrors
		Genuinely frightening atmosphere is wasted on a dreadful script. Note to screenwriters: it's a good idea to go all the way through to that second draft.
	45.	Midnight Meat Train
		We'll always be plagued with generic horror. Midnight Meat Train contributes nothing new and drowns us in shaky subway cameras - you'll be far too irritated to accept the ridiculous twist ending.
	46.	Religulous
		Self-indulgent, angry, bitter, holier than thou (ironically enough.) Biased enough to make Farenheit 9-11 look positively objective. Not worth your time.
Fire the Manager. Actually, Just Sell the Team.
	47.	Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
		An utter failure of a script and an insult to the franchise. Can we rip out George Lucas's heart yet?
	48.	The Reader
		Just bad, frankly. Winslet deserves all the credit in the world for being the only one to try to make sense of this mess - it's still one of the year's best performances, accidentally - but a pretentious, illogical collection of unmotivated action and dull melodrama besides.
	49.	Four Christmases
		One of the thinnest ideas ever stretched into a whole script, with no chemistry between the leads and one good scene throughout.
	50.	Mamma Mia!
		When the best part of your film is the music of ABBA, you've got a bit of a problem there.
	51.	The Happening
		Shyamalan's decision to save big on the budget by making a horror movie without a villain did not pan out too well. Coming soon: M. Night sells the scent of his own farts as a fine fragrance.
	52.	Jumper
		I saw this at a drive-in, and think I paid more attention to the couple in the next car than the film. Closer to a Sci-Fi Channel original movie than a feature film.

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