1) There Will Be Blood No movie this year was more rooted in the American soil than this powerful character study and origin story.
2) The Lives of Others The movie reminds us that goodness can exist even in the worst of times and that decency is a human, not heroic, impulse.
3) Persepolis This animated, feminist, coming-of-age comedy about the effect of Iran's Islamic revolution is a true original and a shout-out to unruly girls everywhere.
4) No Country for Old Men The Coens' movie renders evil disturbingly palpable, inscrutable, and immediate, while also returning the filmmaking duo to the top of their trade.
5) The Savages Without a hint of sentimentality or false emotion, this film finds the comedy, drama, self-delusion, and truth about ourselves as actors on the family stage.
6) Away From Her Sarah Polley's excellent leap from actress to writer/director is all the more remarkable for the depth of her human understanding in someone so young.
7) I'm Not There As audacious and illusive as its subject matter, Bob Dylan, the film grabs what's blowing in the wind and inhales. Deeply.
8) Sicko For just a moment there, Michael Moore had us all in indignant agreement that the American health-care system is broken and in need of fixing.
9) Atonement British period dramas usually set off my internal snooze alarm, but this captivating swoon of a story proved to be the exception.
10) Eastern Promises So dynamic, effective, and chock-full of memorable moments, Eastern Promises is an engrossing genre movie that is unique.
NEAR MISSES: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The Namesake, Michael Clayton, Into the Wild, Red Road
MOST OVERRATED: Juno, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
MOST UNDERRATED: Joshua, Black Snake Moan, The Hoax
ACTING KUDOS (MALE): Daniel Day-Lewis (There Will Be Blood), Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men), Viggo Mortensen (Eastern Promises)
ACTING KUDOS (FEMALE): Cate Blanchett (I'm Not There), Julie Christie (Away From Her), Ellen Page (Juno)
BEST DIRECTOR: Paul Thomas Anderson (There Will Be Blood), Joel and Ethan Coen (No Country for Old Men), Tamara Jenkins (The Savages)
BEST SCREENPLAY (ORIGINAL): The Savages (Tamara Jenkins), I'm Not There (Todd Haynes), Ratatouille (Brad Bird)
BEST SCREENPLAY (ADAPTED): The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Ronald Harwood), No Country for Old Men (Joel and Ethan Coen), Away From Her (Sarah Polley)
BEST REVIVAL: Killer of Sheep
WILD CARD: The Last American Movie Taboo – the Scarlet A: Pregnant lasses in Knocked Up and Juno conveniently sidestep the divisive "abortion" option, finding comedy gold in unwed moms.
