1. Being John Malkovich
It's no coincidence that for the second year in a row, my favorite film is a light comedy. Light comedy is devastatingly difficult to bring off.
2. Mr. Death: The Rise and Fall of Fred A. Leuchter
Errol Morris's documentary about a death machine manufacturer who testifies in favor of a Neo-Nazi.
3. The Blair Witch Project
The most original film of the year was something I haven't experienced in many years, a genuinely scary movie.
4. American Movie
Chris Smith's funny, sad documentary about a burn-out Milwaukee film auteur is stunning.
5. Felicia's Journey
Bob Hoskins gives the year's best performance.
6. Limbo
John Sayles at nearly the top of his form.
7. Earth
An exceptionally good film about the partition of India and its effects on her people.
8. The Winslow Boy
David Mamet's skillful handling of Terrence Rattigan's classic drama.
9. The Matrix
The Matrix makes the kind of visceral connection with its audience that The Phantom Menace doesn't because, ironically, it cashes in on much of what made the original Star Wars Trilogy a success.
10. God Said, "Ha!"
Julia Sweeney's one-woman show about her family's efforts to care for her dying brother's last days and the complications of living under the same roof as her parents.
10. Election
Though less edgy and more raunchy than in Citizen Ruth, Alexander Payne remains hilarious.