#1 - Y Tu Mama Tambien Alfonso Cuaron's masterpiece is the best film of 2002 because it effortlessly succeeds on a half dozen different levels at once. Most films struggle to succeed on even one. Y Tu Mama Tambien is a touching coming-of-age film about two boys on the precipice of adulthood; it's a funny, bawdy road trip movie; it's a lusty and real portrayal of the complexity of sexual attraction; it's an often sad glimpse of the socioeconomic turmoil pulling Mexico apart from within; it's a film about the preciousness we miss in life until faced with our own mortality. And it manages to be all of those things without ever feeling scripted -- the images and performances are so real as to make the viewer feel like an eavesdropper. It's rare that a filmmaker even attempts something as tricky as this; that Cuaron pulls it off with such grace is a minor miracle.
#2 - Adaptation Adaptation invites the viewer to decide what exactly is going on, so for the record, here's my version: A blocked screenwriter imagines a twin version of himself to personify his inner struggle between Hollywood cliche (and likely success) and artictic integrity. The two halves collaborate on a screenplay that is about their collaboration as well as the source material. The film we see is that screenplay performed. It's a brilliant premise, as are the countless other interpretations supported by the script. Charlie Kaufman's work has deservingly catapulted him to a position as perhaps the first screenwriter to be considered the true auteur of his films. But I don't think enough credit has been given to Spike Jonze for tying the extraordinary, convoluted package together. As in Being John Malkovich, Jonze expertly balances every nutso plot point with gimmickless camera work and a feel for character nuance.
#3 - Talk to Her A touching, lyrical, disturbing story about the friendship between two men caring for their comatose lovers -- it's doubtful this concoction could have sprung from any mind but Pedro Almodovar's. The bittersweet tale is framed by scenes of artistic expression -- a dance, a bullfight, a silent film, a haunting Spanish lullaby -- that echo the passions of the four main characters and highlight the most emotionally arresting movie I saw all year.
#4 - Chicago The best time I had at the movies all year. I had a smile on my face from beginning to end and felt like applauding after every song and dance routine. Rob Marshall's master stroke was staging the 'musical' portion of this musical almost entirely within Roxie Hart's mind. The cross-cutting between reality and fantasy gives the film its own infectious rhythm, and every performer more than meets the challenge of his or her dual role.
#5 - Catch Me If You Can Steven Spielberg has become a more interesting filmmaker over the past few years, but for my money this is the first great film he's made since Schindler's List. Leonardo DiCaprio finds his perfect role as the con man with a heart of gold whose cat and mouse game with Tom Hanks' federal agent is really about his need for a father figure. Sharp, fast-paced, fun and ultimately moving -- Catch Me If You Can is even brighter than its star power.
#6 - Punch-Drunk Love One of the few true artists working in film today, Paul Thomas Anderson delivers the year's strangest, sweetest film by casting Adam Sandler in a twisted fairy tale of a romantic comedy that captures the tumultuous sickness of the heart and head known as falling in love. Anderson milks every aspect of the medium from sound design to color palette, costume design to score. The result is a tone poem that sometimes jars and often uplifts and finally leaves you wishing for more.
#7 - Far From Heaven Todd Haynes' meticulous recreation of a 1950s 'women's picture' certainly succeeds on those camp terms, but it ranks as one of the best films of the year because of its genuine emotional impact. Credit for that goes almost entirely to Julianne Moore, who is always great but outdoes herself here. Dennis Quaid, too, turns in a surprisingly vulnerable performance as Moore's closeted gay husband. The emotional anchor provided by the actors allows the pristine production design, cinematography and score to serve as symbols of the restrained society in which these characters are trapped.
#8 - Sunshine State John Sayles has a genius for dropping the viewer into the middle of a community and convincing you within minutes that you are witnessing people who have lived these lives in this place for generations. He does it through dialogue that is clever and wise, but never "movie" clever and wise. He does it through the casting of extraordinary character actors who look and behave like real people (Edie Falco's work here, in particular, is among the best acting I saw all year). This time out, the setting is north Florida and the themes are daughters vs. parents, progress vs. tradition, the future vs. the past. It lacks the mythic quality of Lone Star but is just as smart and moving.
#9 - Kissing Jessica Stein The sweetest, funniest romantic comedy I've seen in quite some time. Jennifer Westfeldt at times seems to be channeling Diane Keaton (or Annie Hall, at any rate) but nevertheless delivers a wonderful performance as the neurotic, romatically confused title character. The film's best performance, though, is given by Tovah Feldshuh as Jessica's mom, Judy. Their front porch scene in which Judy acknowledges and accepts Jessica's same-sex relationship is beautifully honest and touching. As a bonus, the film contains the world's funniest When Harry Met Sally homage ("You are an affront to all gay people, and I am a gay people!").
#10 - Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers It probably won't be until next Christmas, when Return of the King is released, that Peter Jackson's extraordinary accomplishment is truly recognized, and I don't mean simply in terms of year-end awards. Jackson has said all along that he is crafting not three individual films but one nine-hour epic -- an epic that will undoubtedly go down as one of the great artistic achievements in this still-young medium. These films have an organic quality rarely found in big-budget movies, even as they break new ground in special effects. There is no better example than Gollum, a digital creation with all the pathos and potential of a living human being.

Other movies I've seen... (in order of preference)
11. Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
12. Frida
13. Igby Goes Down
14. Real Women Have Curves
15. Roger Dodger
16. Nine Queens
17. The Bourne Identity
18. Monsoon Wedding
19. Comedian
20. The Quiet American
21. Brown Sugar
22. Blue Crush
23. About a Boy
24. Frailty
25. About Schmidt
26. Minority Report
27. Spider-Man
28. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
29. 8 Mile
30. Insomnia
31. 25th Hour
32. Changing Lanes
33. Road to Perdition
34. Bowling for Columbine
35. The Rookie
36. Die Another Day
37. Undercover Brother
38. Barbershop
39. Gangs of New York
40. Enigma
41. Panic Room
42. Signs
43. xXx
44. The Count of Monte Cristo
45. Thirteen Conversations about One Thing
46. The Sum of All Fears
47. 40 Days and 40 Nights
48. The Cat's Meow
49. Star Wars: Episode II -- Attack of the Clones
50. The Rules of Attraction
51. Big Trouble
52. Hollywood Ending
53. Sweet Home Alabama
54. My Big Fat Greek Wedding
55. Men in Black II
56. The Time Machine

Movies I want to see...

Narc
The Pianist
Solaris
Storytelling
The Mothman Prophecies
Unfaithful
Lovely and Amazing
My Wife is an Actress
Tadpole