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Eleanor Ringel Gillespie, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

1. An Inconvenient Truth 2006 Like an inventive and engrossing lecture by your favorite eighth-grade science teacher, making it an engaging movie, whatever your politics. full review
2. Keeping Up With The Steins 2006 There's not much new here, but the engaging cast ... keeps the formula reasonably fresh. full review
3. The Wind That Shakes the Barley 2006 The Wind That Shakes the Barley isn't interested in being a straightforward or romanticized history lesson. Rather, [director] Loach offers an examination of the very nature of rebellion, as filtered through the particulars of the Irish troubles. full review
4. Brokeback Mountain 2005 Brokeback Mountain is a love story, but that's not all it is. In some ways, the movie is as much about the way we were as the way they are. full review
5. Casanova 2005 This is easily the liveliest Hallstrom has been in almost a decade. full review
6. Factotum 2005 At times, the picture recalls Jim Jarmusch at his very best, with all the self-indulgent parts cut out. full review
7. Lassie 2005 Here's what a classic family film should be -- intelligent without being smart-alecky, heart-warming without being smarmy and exciting without relying entirely on CGI. full review
8. Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man 2005 It's just a privilege and a pleasure to spend time with this material... and this man. full review
9. The Lost City 2005 Somehow simultaneously too much and not enough. At 143 minutes, it well overstays its welcome as a movie, but with a little more fleshing out it might have worked as a miniseries. full review
10. Nine Lives 2005 Some parts are stronger than others, but as a fleshed-out artistic vision, Nine Lives works remarkably well. full review
11. The Producers 2005 It's not all it was on stage and it's not all it could be on film. The result is a often jolly, highly-polished compromise, which can't be what anyone intended. Or wanted. full review
12. Sophie Scholl: The Final Days 2005 Sophie Scholl's is a story well worth telling, and this movie is one well worth checking out. full review
13. Sweet Land 2005 Sweet and low-key, Sweet Land is a movie that likely will leave you wishing you liked it more. full review
14. After Innocence 2004 Eye-opening. full review
15. Big Fish 2004 Mostly confined to bed throughout the film, Finney pulls us to him with a flawless combination of theatrical skill and movie-star radiance. full review
16. Following Sean 2004 Character-driven and full of tender contradictions, the film is reminiscent of a Chekhov short story. And as such, it touches on a universality that transcends VW buses and Bush-era politics. full review
17. Hotel Rwanda 2004 Cheadle gives one of the best performances (if not the best) of last year -- an Oscar-worthy portrait of a man who kept his head clear and his humanity intact in the midst of a man-made hell. full review
18. Me and You and Everyone We Know 2004 July, who also wrote the script, is a keenly observant filmmaker. full review
19. The Good Thief 2003 Nolte is perfectly cast as this charming loser. The problem is, he knows it. full review
20. In the Cut 2003 In a sense, it's a Rorschach test of what it's like to be single, 40ish, female and living alone in New York City. full review
21. Swimming Pool 2003 A delectable and daring psychological drama. full review
22. Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress 2002 [A] tribute to the transforming power of books. full review
23. The Hours 2002 It never fails to engage us. full review
24. Igby Goes Down 2002 In its own floundering way, it gets to you. Just like Igby.
25. Lost in La Mancha 2002 Bitterly funny and oddly poignant. full review
26. The New Guy 2002 Never gets on the good foot. full review
27. Nicholas Nickleby 2002 If you really want a taste of this classic, rent the video of the RSC production. But if you're only looking for a charming time passer, this movie is just the thing. full review
28. The Pianist 2002 In creating his one-man epic, Polanski takes us beyond the horror of evil or the banality of evil. He takes us into its hideous absurdity. full review
29. Punch-Drunk Love 2002 It is quite a vision. full review
30. Treasure Planet 2002 It just may inspire a few younger moviegoers to read Stevenson's book, which is a treasure in and of itself. full review
31. Bully 2001 A needy movie made by a needy director, peopled with actors who come off as mindless blanks. full review
32. Malena 2000 Makes something wistful, enduring and even optimistic out of humanity's basest instincts. full review
33. Memento 2000 Christopher Nolan's extraordinary film is a brainteaser and a heartbreaker. full review
34. The Tigger Movie 2000 The dialogue is kid-level funny and the animation often has the manic energy of Alice in Wonderland. full review
35. Titan A.E. 2000 Likely to be more tiny than titanic. full review
36. Bringing Out the Dead 1999 Scorsese has delivered a film that's both savage and sorrowing. full review
37. The Muse 1999 Perversely amusing! full review
38. Ride with the Devil 1999 A sublime contemplation of the American character at a particularly revealing time in our struggle to become a nation. full review
39. Waking the Dead 1999 It's a good fit for anyone who loves fine acting. full review
40. Becket 1964 The picture is being re-released in 30 cities around the country before finally appearing on DVD after years of online foment from fans.The DVD is due in May, but try to catch it in theaters first. It's worth it. full review