This seemed like an off year for cinema. How bad was it? Well, I write a column for a women's monthly, and some months I couldn't even find one movie to recommend wholeheartedly. As usual, there were plenty of in-your-face junk flicks to wade through, but things like "Van Helsing" or "Catwoman" were just no fun.

Adding to the woe were numerous misfires from directors we've come to love: the Coen brothers' strained remake of "The Ladykillers"; Wong Karwai's opaque "2046"; Samira Makhmalbaf's clumsy symbolism in "At Five In The Afternoon"; Zhang Yimou's disappointing final act in "House of Flying Daggers." And then there were the totally disastrous forays into art-minimalist tedium by Gus Van Sant ("Elephant," "Gerry") and Vincent Gallo ("The Brown Bunny").

And yet, my Top 10 list filled up pretty easily. I would suggest, however, that the drop-off between "best" and "eminently missable" is quite precipitous. But let's not wallow in despair: Half the films listed are debuts, with another four representing strong sophomore efforts, so there is plenty of new talent on the rise.