FINDING NEMO (US, Andrew Stanton)
I have never seen such a mediocre year for cinema as 2003. Even bad years (such as 2000) had some standouts. But out of the 75 new features I caught in theatres this year, I couldn't come up with ten that I thought were truly "great." But all the films on this list are at least worthwhile, including Finding Nemo, the latest in Pixar's unstoppable output of commercial and artistic hits.

SPELLBOUND (US, Jeffrey Blitz)
One film that is truly great is this little documentary, a thoughtful, suspenseful and humorous look at eight brainy adolescents headed towards the national spelling bee championships. That all the kids hail from radically different ethnic and economic backgrounds only enhances the film's ruminations on America's ideals of success, and how these ideals affect the young and the gifted.

CAPTURING THE FRIEDMANS (US, Andrew Jarecki)
Another notable entry in a good year for documentaries is this dark portrait of a quiet New York family that was torn apart when the father and youngest son were arrested for molesting several children in the 1980s. Nobody seems to know - or speak - the whole truth, and so the film raises more questions about ethics, sexuality and the American legal process than it even intended to.

THE GOOD THIEF (Ireland/France/UK, Neil Jordan)
Almost forgotten by other critics, this intriguing remake of the French crime thriller Bob le Flambeur is something of a meta-remake, as Jordan, knowing there's no purpose in redoing a classic note-for-note, wryly fills his movie with doubles, copies and forgeries instead - along with great performances (led by Nick Nolte, who I don't usually like and who gratefully underplays his role).

ELEPHANT (US, Gus Van Sant)
Van Sant's return to his low-budget roots was a two-fer deal in 2003, with Elephant winning most of the attention for its depiction of an ordinary high school in the hours before and during a Columbine-like massacre. Graceful, haunting and finally horrifying. Say what you will, Elephant is a reminder that the true purpose of movies is to leave us feeling something as we walk away from the theater.

GERRY (US, Gus Van Sant)
Van Sant's other 2003 offering, even slower and quieter than Elephant, the plodding Gerry is a test of patience and I may never want to see again - at least not on a TV screen. But its non-story about two guys (Matt Damon, Casey Affleck) who get lost in the desert while on a hike stayed with me for days, and felt genuinely like an art film. Beautifully spare cinematography and music.

CITY OF GOD (Brazil, Fernando Meirelles and Katia Lund)
Stunning action picture about teenage gangs in 1970s Rio de Janeiro combines slick, stylized camerawork and editing with realistic performances by a cast of unknowns and an honest, slice-of-life storyline following a parade of colorful characters who live and die in the unpredictable gangland arena. Brutal at times, but so brisk and energetic that the violence serves the film's vitality.

BIG FISH (US, Tim Burton)
Surprisingly sentimental film from Burton about a fantasist (Albert Finney, Ewan McGregor in flashbacks) whose bitter son demands he tell him the real stories behind all the fanciful lies. The regular Burton pop-surrealist moments are all here, but this time he finally chose a strong script and a cast that is up to the task. I'm not sure if it's one for the ages, but it's undoubtedly entertaining.

SHATTERED GLASS (US, Billy Ray)
Another story about a fabulist, this fact-based drama about Stephen Glass (Hayden Christensen), a young reporter for The New Republic who in 1998 fabricated the majority of his articles, is not played as a biopic but as a detective film, where his unpopular editor (Peter Sarsgaard, the real star) has the daunting task of digging up the truth and firing the magazine's favorite son.

JAPANESE STORY (Australia, Sue Brooks)
I end this list with this slow, delicate, but heartfelt romantic drama about a plainspoken Australian woman (Toni Collette) who is hired to show a young Japanese businessman around the Western Australia desert and winds up becoming emotionally involved with him, in some surprising ways. The barren Australian landscape makes a compelling backdrop in this beautifully-shot, Japanese-inspired film.