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Linda Barnard, Toronto Star

1. 2 Days in New York 2012 It's time for Delpy to leave Marion in New York for good and head back to Paris. Besides, the sausage is better there. full review
2. Act of Valor 2012 While subtleties and pacing are MIA, the filmmakers know how to shoot action and they make the most of it in Act of Valor. full review
3. Beauty Is Embarrassing 2012 The doc meanders occasionally, but we're grateful when it comes back to White and his creations. full review
4. Brooklyn Castle 2012 Brooklyn Castle is inspiring stuff that grabs you by the throat and will leave you cheering - quietly of course. No shouting in a chess match. full review
5. Chasing Ice 2012 Considering the gravity of the situation there is very little preaching in Chasing Ice. Facts about global warming are presented then backed up with staggering visuals. An audience is invited to accept it as proof, or not. full review
6. China Heavyweight 2012 It stands as a fascinating look at a changing China and the courage it takes for those living there to punch above their weight. full review
7. Crooked Arrows 2012 It's an often-awkward niche film enlivened by impressive on-field action scenes. But those can't get it beyond a predictable sports underdogs-fight-back plot. full review
8. A Dark Truth 2012 A slog of a thriller that tries for relevance with an environmental message, A Dark Truth's biggest mystery is how so many "name" actors ended up in this torpid turkey. full review
9. Deadfall 2012 Looks great but sacrifices much in its charge towards a final showdown that's been telegraphed from the early going. full review
10. The Deep Blue Sea 2012 Hiddleston is good as the fickle playboy but Weisz, who smoulders as Hester, is better. full review
11. Detachment 2012 Detachment gets an A for enthusiasm but a C for execution. full review
12. Fat Kid Rules the World 2012 Punctuated by cartoonish fantasy scenes and some adult moments that take it to darker territory, Fat Kid Rules the World is simple stuff that offers a few surprises and a satisfying, if predictable, finish. full review
13. The Imposter 2012 This is edge-of-your-seat stuff and the difficulty is in the telling of the tale. To give any of this film away is a crime. You simply have to see it for yourself. full review
14. Indie Game: The Movie 2012 You may have never picked up a game console in your life, but there's universal access thanks to compelling stories in Indie Game: The Movie. full review
15. Jesus Henry Christ 2012 If it all seems a tad to quirky and twee, that's the overwhelming flaw in director Lee's obvious and lightweight homage to director Wes Anderson. full review
16. Jiro Dreams of Sushi 2012 It is as much a family saga as a visit to sushi nirvana, and that adds an unexpected and satisfying narrative to this visual stunner. full review
17. Meet the Fokkens 2012 The doc gives a rare look at the business of plying the world's oldest profession over the past 50 years in the famously tolerant city, but the directors are a bit too hands-off and the narrative wanders. full review
18. Mirror Mirror 2012 This rambling version of Snow White's tale is a pretty, spun-sugar confection, airy as a plate of Easter egg-coloured macarons and similarly devoid of substance. full review
19. The Moth Diaries 2012 While there's plenty of promise, there's no payoff with this would-be horror. full review
20. Nobody Walks 2012 The characters, especially Kolt's Italian tutor, demonstrate they have the impulse control of toddlers. full review
21. Oslo, August 31st 2012 The result is a superb exploration of loss, guilt and regret in Norwegian director Joachim Trier's often-unpredictable second film. full review
22. Payback 2012 The compelling human stories are often stalled behind a logjam of interviews with experts and intellectuals that are intended to add perspective but disrupt the movie's flow. full review
23. Pink Ribbons, Inc. 2012 Even pink ribbons have shades of grey. full review
24. Safety Not Guaranteed 2012 Safety Not Guaranteed rewards those willing to ditch cynicism for a playful world where anything is possible. full review
25. Tai Chi Zero 2012 Exhausting to watch, Tai Chi Zero is all flash and little substance. full review
26. Tyler Perry's Good Deeds 2012 A melodramatic slog riddled with laughable dialogue that wouldn't hold a made-for-TV-movie audience past the first commercial break. full review
27. Union Square 2012 The look is minimalist but the two lead actresses add pleasing layers to characters of estranged sisters who parted ways for reasons Lucy refers to only cryptically. full review
28. Albert Nobbs 2011 Albert is at the heart of it all and we see her through her own prism of vulnerability, resulting in a very human story about the search for love, acceptance and understanding of the self. full review
29. First Position 2011 If you have a yearning to feel awkward, inadequate and lazy, watching the whirling teenage (and preteen) talents in director Bess Kargman's First Position will do the trick. full review
30. Funkytown 2011 Some tales are more successfully told than others, but they can't elevate a cumbersome and distracted script from Steve Galluccio. full review
31. Hell and Back Again 2011 We're left to decide which wounds go the deepest, those from Afghanistan or those caused by the confusion and emotional barrages he continues to suffer in America. full review
32. Keep the Lights On 2011 Observing Erik face the inevitable, that loving a drug addict means always coming second to the substance, is heartbreaking and real. full review
33. Page One: Inside the New York Times 2011 A fascinating study of a newspaper doing its best to not just survive but to continue to do so with excellence while the world tilts beneath the venerable broadsheet. full review
34. Snow Flower And The Secret Fan 2011 [A] confusing time-travelling tale that uses Lisa See's 2005 bestseller of the same name to fuel cheap sentiment and a jumbled story. full review
35. Trishna 2011 This escalation of passions and Trishna's humiliation demands much of both actors, yet neither Pinto nor Ahmed is completely convincing and this is the main flaw of Trishna. full review
36. Wrecked 2011 As much as you want Wrecked to work because Brody is that good, it starts to drag and some may soon be sneaking peeks at their watches. full review
37. A Beginner's Guide To Endings 2010 The veterans - Keitel and Simmons especially - do what's required. But the other players are trying too hard to sell their roles. full review
38. Casino Jack 2010 Casino Jack is really two movies: a convoluted tale about the exploits of disgraced Washington super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff, coupled with a zealous-if-misguided performance from Kevin Spacey in the title role. full review
39. Casino Jack And The United States Of Money 2010 full review
40. The Company Men 2010 The cast does the heavy lifting here and carries the movie over the predictable bits, exploring the rising panic of families who face the devastation of job loss with disturbing realism. full review
41. Fubar: Balls to the Wall 2010 As with the 2002 movie that introduced us to the pair, director Michael Dowse (who co-wrote the script with Lawrence and Spence) makes it clear that these are loveable losers. full review
42. White Irish Drinkers 2010 It's hard to pinpoint the exact moment when the mediocre White Irish Drinkers goes off the rails. Maybe the problem is the predictable story just never leaves the station. full review
43. Amreeka 2009 Amreeka makes its points with gentle humour and engaging performances -- especially Faour, who makes Muna so likeable it's impossible not to cross your fingers and hope her luck is about to change. full review
44. Collapse 2009 It's only when he starts to weep for the future of a population that won't heed his warnings that Ruppert shows his humanity. It's made him abandon his cause and quit writing. full review
45. The Eclipse 2009 An above-average ghost tale elevated by its cast. full review
46. The Fourth Kind 2009 Without the true-story conceit, The Fourth Kind would be just another formula horror flick with a couple of passable jolts trying to hold a flimsy story together. full review
47. The Trotsky 2009 Tierny's script is smart and funny although some of the jokes are likely over the heads of a teen audience, who may not be up on their Russian revolutionary lore. full review
48. Bottle Shock 2008 Bottle Shock comes on too strong and sours once the cork is popped, despite a delightfully over-the-top showing by Alan Rickman. full review
49. The Tale of Despereaux 2008 . The plot is too convoluted and there are too many characters to keep track of. full review
50. Beaufort 2007 As long as soldiers have gone into battle they have struggled with the rightness of their actions and their purpose in the field -- no matter how firm their resolve at the outset. full review