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Joe Baltake, Sacramento Bee

1. Big Fish 2004 A most companionable, personable film, and it marks Tim Burton's return to form. full review
2. Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind 2004 Carrey is essentially the straight man, yet he's rarely been funnier. And Winslet is perfect as the model of an unstable woman who's bad news but irresistible. full review
3. The Passion of the Christ 2004 Working with premier cinematographer Caleb Deschanel, Gibson effectively hurls us into Christ's living nightmare, creating a mesmerizing twilight zone that is creepy and utterly unforgettable. full review
4. Vanity Fair 2004 Few other young actresses can jut out their jaw in ambitious determination as charmingly as Witherspoon -- and remain sympathetic. full review
5. Vera Drake 2004 Mike Leigh, who seemingly has single-handedly revived kitchen-sink realism in modern British movies, hits something of a career high with the marvelous Vera Drake. full review
6. White Chicks 2004 As affectionate as it is witty. full review
7. 21 Grams 2003 Dripping with cinematic style. full review
8. Anger Management 2003 It's the perfect mating of two of the screen's best 'bad boys.' full review
9. Bad Boys II 2003 This film, whose nonplot seems to be motivated by a contempt for humanity, takes violence and turns it into a new form of pornography. full review
10. Gigli 2003 This is not a great movie, but it isn't a bad one, either. full review
11. The Good Thief 2003 Jordan has made a film that is both traditional enough to hold those moviegoers who don't catch its kickiness, and cinematic enough to hook those in thrall of 'camera art.' full review
12. Hollywood Homicide 2003 Hollywood Homicide is one of those smooth formula jobs that always seems to attract the services of an actor of a certain age looking to extend his box-office power, and a fresh-faced newcomer who's all too willing to play protege to the vet. full review
13. The Hunted 2003 A thoroughly mediocre action movie. full review
14. Identity 2003 What's terrific about Mangold is that he doesn't slavishly clone other, earlier films but actually tries to bring something fresh to the familiar. full review
15. In the Cut 2003 Plays like a lurid, sexed-up Lifetime movie. full review
16. The Machinist 2003 It would be easy to accuse Bale of a warped kind of egomania if his performance wasn't so mesmerizing. full review
17. The Missing 2003 [A] fine film. full review
18. Mona Lisa Smile 2003 May not be the personably 'serious' movie it sees itself as -- and it may miss its mark by aiming too intently at its target -- but it still manages to work on other, more simplistic levels that are nevertheless valid. full review
19. Primer 2003 It's different, that's all, and it's good because it's different. full review
20. Radio 2003 It's bad enough that the film's unimaginative narrative can barely hold our attention, but we have the added distraction of seeing the estimable Harris, Winger and Woodard frittering away their talents playing banal, cardboard characters. full review
21. S.W.A.T. 2003 Despite the usual macho posturing and testosterone poisoning that are the hallmarks of such projects, S.W.A.T. finds some room for a comfortable lived-in quality among a small, likable cast that exudes terrific chemistry. full review
22. Something's Gotta Give 2003 While there's a lot to be said for a serious deep-think piece, and a raw, independent film can be invigorating, nothing quite matches a slick, gleaming Hollywood production when it's done right -- and when it's smart. And this one twinkles with smarts. full review
23. Swimming Pool 2003 Rampling and Sagnier play women for whom danger means different, opposing things, women who become unlikely allies in a tidy little mystery. Inspector Durvell -- and Alfred Hitchcock -- would approve. full review
24. Tears of the Sun 2003 The film may have been inspired by The Seachers, but it's worlds away from John Wayne. full review
25. Touching the Void 2003 Touching the Void is one of those rare movies that prove that fact is indeed stranger than fiction. full review
26. Bloody Sunday 2002 The film transports us back in time. full review
27. Bowling for Columbine 2002 Gutsy, mandatory viewing. full review
28. The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys 2002 Works as pretty contagious fun. full review
29. Equilibrium 2002 A dull, somnambulant exercise in pretension whose pervasive quiet is broken by frequent outbursts of violence and noise. full review
30. The Hours 2002 The film manages to be cinematic and transporting even though we generally spend most of our time listening to people talk to one another (and themselves). full review
31. Lost in La Mancha 2002 Plays like a doomed love story, a film about a love ultimately unfulfilled. full review
32. Nicholas Nickleby 2002 Like its title character, this Nicholas Nickleby finds itself in reduced circumstances -- and, also like its hero, it remains brightly optimistic, coming through in the end. full review
33. The Pianist 2002 This material means something to Polanski and, because of this, he brings personal details that might have evaded another filmmaker. full review
34. Punch-Drunk Love 2002 In the end, Punch-Drunk Love is one of those films that I wanted to like much more than I actually did. Sometimes, that's enough. full review
35. Rollerball 2002 The new film looks as if it were made in 1975, while Jewison's 27-year-old movie seems like up-to-date state-of-the-art. full review
36. Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams 2002 With Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams, however, Robert Rodriguez adorns his family-film plot with an elegance and maturity that even most contemporary adult movies are lacking. full review
37. The Sum of All Fears 2002 The film -- based on one of Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan novels, published in 1991 -- is excellent, both intelligent and thoughtful in its approach to a touchy subject and not the least bit exploitative or opportunistic. full review
38. Treasure Planet 2002 A perfectly competent and often imaginative film that lacks what little Lilo & Stitch had in spades -- charisma. full review
39. The Trials of Henry Kissinger 2002 Jarecki's film is jampacked with information -- both fact and opinion -- utilizing news and interview footage, archival photographs and talking heads. full review
40. We Were Soldiers 2002 In the end, his We Were Soldiers works as a new hybrid -- the war film as a tearjerker. full review
41. Windtalkers 2002 One thing that should be taught in Film Criticism 101 is that a fascinating subject does not necessarily guarantee a fascinating movie -- and the new film Windtalkers would be an excellent case in point. full review
42. XXX 2002 Diesel makes poor Pierce Brosnan, the current James Bond, seem not only middle-aged (which, of course, he is) but also fussy, effete and sadly out-of-date. full review
43. Black Hawk Down 2001 Black Hawk Down sees its job as putting us in the center of combat, and it never lets up. It remains visceral and raw until the very end, impressively so. full review
44. Along Came a Spider 2001 Freeman makes everyone look good. full review
45. America's Sweethearts 2001 A film that manages the frustrating feat of being pleasant and misguided at the same time. full review
46. The American Astronaut 2001 A movie so goofy and affable about its willful, second-rate cheesiness that anger becomes a waste of time. You either go along with it or you don't go at all. full review
47. The Animal 2001 full review
48. Atlantis - The Lost Empire 2001 You've seen this film before, only not in animated form -- and not done so exquisitely. full review
49. Bully 2001 A sad, bracing -- and often great -- film. full review
50. Gosford Park 2001 At its best when it is about nothing. full review
51. Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back 2001 A desperate attempt by Kevin Smith to pay homage to himself in a self-consciously left-handed way. full review
52. Lagaan - Once Upon a Time in India 2001 The most deliriously entertaining movie of the summer. full review
53. The Musketeer 2001 full review
54. Pootie Tang 2001 full review
55. Rat Race 2001 A comedy like Rat Race works only when viewers can -- or want to -- identify with the underdogs on screen. full review
56. The Safety of Objects 2001 This film is an acquired taste, but its fine ensemble of actors makes it easy to empathize. Very easy, in fact. full review
57. Scary Movie 2 2001 This outing doesn't seem to understand that any attempt to parody a parody tends to negate any potential laughs. full review
58. Sexy Beast 2001 Just the latest film to illustrate that filmmakers from TV and videos not only know what they're doing, but do it a whole lot better than we'd like to admit. full review
59. Lara Croft - Tomb Raider 2001 The miracle is that Lara Croft: Tomb Raider is no stunt. Somehow, they made a genuine movie out of it. full review
60. Tomcats 2001 full review
61. Vanilla Sky 2001 Terminally silly and pretentious. full review
62. Gossip 2000 full review
63. The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle 2000 Looms as the Howard the Duck for the new millennium. full review
64. Blow Dry 2000 Blow Dry, the British comedy opening today, has a cast to die for, but that's about all that it has. full review
65. Bread and Tulips 2000 Leisurely paced and very easy to watch. full review
66. The Gift 2000 It's like a play that's been 'opened up' for the screen, expanded and filmed on real locations but retaining all of the carefully worded stage dialogue. It never sounds 'real,' and I suppose that's the point. full review
67. Hamlet 2000 It may work only in fits -- as an experiment usually does -- but you also can't deny that this is a true, fresh adaptation. full review
68. Happy Accidents 2000 Its rampant oddness is certain to polarize audiences. full review
69. Malena 2000 Like so many movies these days, Malena is a jumble of ideas from earlier films. full review
70. Meet the Parents 2000 De Niro delivers. full review
71. Memento 2000 Nolan is a breath of fresh air as a filmmaker. full review
72. Our Song 2000 A humbling, poignant alternative to the movies about teenagers we usually see. This one isn't about a party. It's about life. full review
73. Quills 2000 The most entertaining and appallingly funny anti-censorship movie since Milos Foreman's The People Vs. Larry Flynt. full review
74. Scream 3 2000 Breathlessly inventive and hip. full review
75. Shaft 2000 full review
76. The Taste of Others 2000 An alert, unusually observant comedy of manners that is often very funny and cynical about human foibles but also comes with a melancholy underlay that's pensive and tender. full review
77. The Tigger Movie 2000 full review
78. Titan A.E. 2000 full review
79. Traffic 2000 Traffic is the kind of movie that will probably age rather quickly, but right now, in the first month of the new year and the second year of the new millennium, it resonates in the present tense. full review
80. But I'm A Cheerleader 1999 full review
81. Double Jeopardy 1999 full review
82. The General's Daughter 1999 full review
83. In Too Deep 1999 In Too Deep isn't special, but it's well done and coherent. full review
84. Joe the King 1999 full review
85. Kadosh 1999 full review
86. Man on the Moon 1999 Milos Forman's biopic Man on the Moon is volatile and active -- and, frankly, doesn't make too much sense. full review
87. The Muse 1999 full review
88. My Life so Far 1999 full review
89. Plunkett & Macleane 1999 full review
90. Ride with the Devil 1999 full review
91. Runaway Bride 1999 Immensely likable! full review
92. Snow Falling on Cedars 1999 full review
93. Teaching Mrs. Tingle 1999 A good mix of the nostalgic and the brand-new! full review
94. A Walk on the Moon 1999 full review
95. The War Zone 1999 full review
96. Another Day In Paradise 1998 Another Day in Paradise is one big pleasurable wallow in grunge noir as only Larry Clark could have concocted it. full review
97. Black Dog 1998 full review
98. Disturbing Behavior 1998 full review
99. Following 1998 full review
100. Godzilla 1998 full review
101. High Art 1998 full review
102. Kurt & Courtney 1998 full review
103. Little Voice 1998 full review
104. Mercury Rising 1998 full review
105. Next Stop Wonderland 1998 full review
106. A Night at the Roxbury 1998 Not the rock-bottom worst of the SNL skit-derived films, but pretty darn close... full review
107. Nightwatch 1998 full review
108. Primary Colors 1998 Primary Colors doesn't even attempt an answer. It's content just going along for the ride. It's too busy having fun. full review
109. The Red Violin (Le violon rouge) 1998 full review
110. Relax ... It's Just Sex 1998 full review
111. Shakespeare in Love 1998 Paltrow and Fiennes make an irresistible team. full review
112. Species II 1998 full review
113. Velvet Goldmine 1998 full review
114. Very Bad Things 1998 A scabrous black comedy like no other I've ever seen... full review
115. 8 Heads in a Duffel Bag 1997 full review
116. The Apostle 1997 full review
117. As Good As It Gets 1997 As artificial as it is, "As Good As It Gets" is a winning entertainment. full review
118. Breakdown 1997 An example of what happens when a new filmmaker comes along with a fresh perspective and manages to squeeze some life back into a by-now formula plot. full review
119. Chasing Amy 1997 In-your-face with an attitude that's as tactless as it is honest. full review
120. The Devil's Own 1997 full review
121. Face/Off 1997 ...it is as elegantly made as it is violent, mating movie mayhem with bits of poetry, opera, psychology and the abstract. full review
122. Good Will Hunting 1997 Van Sant makes Good Will Hunting a lot livelier than it might have been. full review
123. Gridlock'd 1997 full review
124. Home Alone 3 1997 full review
125. Jackie Brown 1997 A great actor's movie. full review
126. Liar Liar 1997 Essentially, the actor is miscast here. Unlike [Robin] Williams, he isn't good with children. In fact, you don't even sense that he likes his child co-star. There's no apparent rapport. full review
127. Mimic 1997 full review
128. The Peacemaker 1997 full review
129. Private Parts 1997 The film is often as witty and articulate as its subject. full review
130. Red Corner 1997 full review
131. She's So Lovely 1997 full review
132. A Smile Like Yours 1997 full review
133. Switchback 1997 full review
134. Trekkies 1997 full review
135. The Wings of the Dove 1997 full review
136. Year of the Horse: Neil Young & Crazy Horse Live 1997 Much like the subject himself, Jarmusch's film is decidedly not smooth and mellow, but it has the kick of a mule. full review
137. 101 Dalmatians 1996 full review
138. Basquiat 1996 full review
139. Big Night 1996 full review
140. Bottle Rocket 1996 Works on its own modest, limited terms and, despite the obvious fun involved, never feels self-indulgent. full review
141. Citizen Ruth 1996 full review
142. The First Wives Club 1996 full review
143. Flirting With Disaster 1996 full review
144. Jingle All the Way 1996 full review
145. The Pallbearer 1996 full review
146. Sling Blade 1996 Sling Blade does homage to Psycho without slavishly imitating the memorable parts. full review
147. Trainspotting 1996 You stop cringing and start smiling, laughing even, and these kids, who seem like aliens at first, grow on you. They're weirdly likable. full review
148. Trees Lounge 1996 full review
149. Walking and Talking 1996 full review
150. The Crossing Guard 1995 full review
151. Cry, the Beloved Country 1995 full review
152. Dead Man 1995 full review
153. The Doom Generation 1995 In terms of filmmaking, point of view and oddball sense of humor, Araki's film is better than both [Kids and Natural Born Killers]. full review
154. A Month by the Lake 1995 full review
155. Sister My Sister 1995 full review
156. Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead 1995 full review
157. Unzipped 1995 full review
158. Dirty Dancing 1987 Turned out to be one of those films that had something for everyone. full review
159. The Last Emperor 1987 One of those irresistible movie entertainments that works on so many different levels and offers so much for the senses to savor that it is likely to intimidate some people even more than it did 11 years ago. full review