1. Amelie. I admit I was completely routed by this movie. Amelie kicked my heart up and down a flight of stairs and still embedded into me a boundless romanticism. It was the movie whose plot and characters you yourself desired: the innocent wish to be a part of Amelie’s world.

2. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of The Rings. All the hype, all the hoopla: justified. This movie was a force and I did have to reckon it. A fantasticalous cinematic wonder.

3. Royal Tenenbaums. Although I still stand by the dictum that Bottle Rocket and Rushmore surpass Tenenbaums, Wes Anderson is a genius and his work is always stellar.

4. Brotherhood of the Wolf. It came out in France in 2001, so even though I’m cheating again, I won’t allow Brotherhood to slip through the cracks. Good times, my friend.

5. Memento. Although you should all see Winters Sleepers, Memento packed a helluva scriptwriting punch. It was so long ago though, perhaps I should see it again, and again and again?

6. A Beautiful Mind. It’s really hard to stop Crowe from doing a good film and although Ron Howard didn’t put his brother (Clint Howard: King of Cameos) into this movie, Jennifer Connolly’s bravura performance picks up the slack.

7. Amores Perros. Ok, I’m cheating, sue me. This baby came out in Mexico in 2000 but got to the states in 2001. Three stories,
intertwined and all revolving around dogs
dictates that love really is a bitch.

8. 101 Reykjavik. This Icelandic slacker film made a fraction of what the new “slacker” film that opens this week will. ‘Tis a shame, the uproarious 101 hero makes a day of Grand Theft Auto 3 and catnaps seem “productive.”

9. Scratch. A documentary has snuck into a top ten list? Yes, that’s how bad this year was. Scratch aptly chronicles the intriguing birth and rise of the “deejay.”

10. Vanilla Sky. I went into this thing ready to hate it. But thanks to a tidy and thorough Cameron Crowe “wrap up,” I walked out feeling happier and prettier than Tom Cruise. Vanilla just managed to sneak into this top ten, based on the fact that I have no idea what the hell is going on in Mullhulond Drive.