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David Ansen, Newsweek

1. Antichrist 2009 Though it's hard to deny the fierce purity of Gainsbourg's performance, Antichrist plays like an incoherent mix of Gothic horror claptrap and Bergmanesque power struggle. I was more bored and puzzled than shattered and provoked. full review
2. No End in Sight 2007 full review
3. Mission: Impossible III 2006 ...this snappy installment is a marked improvement over John Woo's surprisingly dull sequel, though the set pieces lack the elegance and visual coherence of the Brian de Palma original. full review
4. United 93 2006 full review
5. The Wind That Shakes the Barley 2006 The Wind that Shakes the Barley is dense, brutal, with moments of shattering emotional power, and the cast performs with fierce conviction. full review
6. My Summer of Love 2005 full review
7. Anger Management 2003 Unless you're 15 at heart, you may need anger management yourself after sitting through this aggressively crass comedy, which alternates between mean-spirited slapstick and arbitrary uplift. full review
8. Hollywood Homicide 2003 full review
9. Touching the Void 2003 Touching the Void leaves you emotionally and physically spent, and grateful it was only a movie, not a mountain, you had to endure.
10. Bloody Sunday 2002 Watching director Paul Greengrass's explosive Bloody Sunday, you have to remind yourself at moments that you're not looking at a documentary. full review
11. Bowling for Columbine 2002 full review
12. The Pianist 2002 In going home to tell Szpilman's story Polanski seems reborn: once again he's become a filmmaker who matters.
13. Punch-Drunk Love 2002 It's a romantic comedy on the verge of a nervous breakdown. full review
14. We Were Soldiers 2002 full review
15. Black Hawk Down 2001 full review
16. Gosford Park 2001 full review
17. Sexy Beast 2001 The talented Glazer keeps things crisp, clean and purposeful. The only flab on this film is around the waist of its sybaritic hero, a working-class crook who has finally gotten a taste of the good life, and doesn't want to lose it. full review
18. Vanilla Sky 2001 full review
19. Titan A.E. 2000 full review
20. Bringing Out the Dead 1999 Anyone with a taste for high-risk filmmaking won't want to miss it. full review
21. Snow Falling on Cedars 1999 If ever there was an example of a director's getting in the way of a story, this is it.
22. South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut 1999 South Park has a gag-to-laugh ratio even higher than the new Austin Powers. full review
23. Chasing Amy 1997 Instead of cool twenty-something irony, Smith startles us with raw emotional honesty. full review
24. Jackie Brown 1997 The tale is filled with funny, gritty Tarantino lowlife gab and a respectable body count, but what is most striking is the film's gallantry and sweetness. full review
25. Big Night 1996 full review
26. Citizen Ruth 1996 full review
27. Flirting With Disaster 1996 full review
28. Trainspotting 1996 full review
29. Dead Man 1995 full review
30. Clerks 1994 full review
31. The Crow 1994 It succeeds in bringing O'Barr's comic-book vision to life, but there's little else going on behind the graphic razzle-dazzle and the moody, ominous soundtrack. full review
32. Greedy 1994 full review
33. Hoop Dreams 1994 Hoop Dreams has shown us that the rules of the game are stacked against kids like Gates and Agee. Even better, it shows us how they fight back, with the inside moves of hope. full review
34. The Nightmare Before Christmas 1993 This cautionary fable (Be True to Your Ghoulish Self) may be a little too twisted for little kids but anyone 8 or older will spot the friendly glint behind jack's empty eye sockets. full review
35. The Piano 1993 full review
36. Ethan Frome 1992 full review
37. Incident at Oglala 1992 full review
38. Reservoir Dogs 1992 full review
39. Barton Fink 1991 Again the Coens take familiar movie tropes and twist them into something new. This may be their most haunting movie. full review
40. Frankie & Johnny 1991 full review
41. Sleeping with the Enemy 1991 full review
42. Terminator 2: Judgment Day 1991 For all its state-of-the-art pyrotechnics and breathtaking thrills, this bruisingly exciting movie never loses sight of its humanity. That's its point, and its pride. full review
43. The Hunt for Red October 1990 full review
44. Time Bandits 1981 full review