TIME OUT (France, Laurent Cantet)
Eerie film about a man who loses his job and hides the truth from his loved ones to the degree that he becomes addicted to lying and starts cynically scamming those close to him - because he can. A haunting experience, thanks to Aurelien Recoing's subtle performance and an open-ended story of a man who may be a sociopath, losing his mind, or just reacting to a shut-up-and-do-your-job society.

LILO & STITCH (US, Dean Deblois & Chris Sanders)
A smart, highly enjoyable cartoon about a feisty Hawaiian orphan girl and the even feistier - downright destructive, in fact - alien monster she befriends. Fanboys slammed the story for ripping off The Iron Giant, but this is a sweeter, more visually beautiful presentation, and no less thoughtful. Great use of Elvis Presley songs, a gratifying change from the usual mushy Disney soundtracks.

CHICAGO (US, Rob Marshall)
The second of several American studio pictures to make my list of favorites in 2002, Chicago is great entertainment with catchy songs, swingin' dance numbers, a slick re-enactment of 1920s Chi town and fine performances from stars I don't usually like. The ventriloquist number ("We Both Reached for the Gun") showcased actors doing what they should be doing: channeling a film's ideas.

THE QUIET AMERICAN (US/Australia, Phillip Noyce)
An overlooked big-budget drama about the perils of the U.S. involvement in Vietnam, reflected in the love triangle between a British journalist, an American aid worker and a Saigon taxi dancer. Unflinching in its indictment of Western foreign aggression, it's no wonder a skittish Miramax buried it. Michael Caine puts in a knockout performance and the cinematography is seductive.

INTACTO (Spain, Juan Carlos Fresnadillo)
One-of-a-kind thriller about a group of loners who find that they have in common anincredible, even supernatural amount of good luck. Aware that their gift has a dark side -they can suck away whatever good luck we ordinary mortals have - they use their powers theonly way they know how: by high-stakes gambling. A dark, twisted film that deserves moreattention. My favorite "genre" picture of the year.

FAR FROM HEAVEN (US, Todd Haynes)
Haynes's touching postmodernist tribute to the lush '50s melodramas of Douglas Sirk, bringing Sirk's dainty suggestions of racism and homophobia right up to the surface, this perfectly captures an era while also quietly reminding us that maybe we haven't progressed as much in the last 50 years as we think we have. Spot-on performances by Julianne Moore, Dennis Quaid and Dennis Haysbert.

BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE (US, Michael Moore)
Imperfect but inarguably engaging and invigorating film essay about America's obsession with guns, which documentarian Moore eventually redefines as America's obsession with fear. Funny, sad and scary. Moore can be a blowhard at times, but he certainly knows how to pull an audience's strings, and for that I'm grateful. The U.S. is in desperate need of more left-wing agitprop.

WHAT TIME IS IT THERE? (Taiwan, Tsai Ming-Liang)
Slow-moving but original (and kinky) meditation on loneliness follows a troubled young man in Taipei who fantasizes about a woman he only met once, who purchased his late father's watch before moving to Paris for undisclosed reasons. Cutting back and forth between the woman and the man, between Paris and Taipei, a love story starts to form between two people who never knew each other, and never will.

PUNCH-DRUNK LOVE (US, Paul Thomas Anderson)
Though not without its faults, this surreal romance between Adam Sandler and Emily Watson offers at least three unforgettable movie moments - Sandler rushing through the maze of Watson's apartment building, trying to score a goodnight kiss among them - and I tell you, such moments are hard to come by. So for that I give kudos to writer/director Anderson, whose previous work I can't stand.

ABOUT SCHMIDT (US, Alexander Payne)
Let's set Jack Nicholson's cast-against-type performance aside and look at this movie for what it is: a heartbreaking document of the cultureless wasteland that Middle America has become, as seen through the eyes of a freshly widowed retiree who finds his whole life meaningless. As such, it is a cry for help, and a perfect counterpart to Time Out, nicely closing out this little list.