BIGGER, STRONGER, FASTER* (US, Chris Bell)
These "top 10" lists of mine are becoming pleas to check out the underrated or overlooked films that catch my eye each year. So you won't see The Dark Knight or WALL-E here, though I thought they were okay. But you will see - hopefully - this documentary about steroids, which is actually a study of American competitiveness and vanity. It's smart, funny and enlightening.

MR. LONELY (US, Harmony Korine)
Typically oddball fare from former enfant terrible Korine is a strangely poignant surrealist drama about a group of celebrity impersonators who have formed their own commune in Scotland. The film is filled with eccentric moments that may delight some viewers and turn away others. It's not for everyone. But Samantha Morton is radiant as a Marilyn Monroe wannabe.

REPRISE (Norway, Joachim Trier)
The honest, funny drama Reprise, about two young novelists in contemporary Oslo, didn't show up on any critic's 2008 list because it was probably seen by most of them in 2007. But its American release wasn't until 2008, and that's why I'm including it here. Being half-Norwegian, I may be biased; still, I think it perfectly captures the snarky, nerdy spirit of Norway's people.

THE FALL (India/UK/US, Tarsem Singh)
Former music video director Tarsem's adventure yarn has all the wild visuals, costumes and production design of his debut feature, the Jennifer Lopez flop The Cell, but a stronger story, better acting, the charming presence of 5-year-old Catinca Untaru, and absolutely stunning locations across the world but mostly in India. Love it or hate it, you won't deny that it's a feast for the eyes.

HAPPY-GO-LUCKY (UK, Mike Leigh)
Many didn't go for Sally Hawkins's goofy optimist Poppy in Leigh's latest slice of life, but I think he's made a very important film about the responsibility we all have in making the world a better place, even when everybody around us thinks misery is the only reality. Eddie Marsan is more memorable as a fury-filled driving instructor, but Poppy is the hero of the year.

LET THE RIGHT ONE IN (Sweden, Tomas Alfredson)
Forget Twilight: this adolescent vampire movie, set in a Stockholm suburb during a bleak 1982 winter, is already a cult classic, and Alfredson's highly creative direction and moody atmosphere would make this a standout film even in a great year for cinema. As it is, Let the Right One In was one of the true finds of 2008, proof that movies still have the power to surprise and amaze.

DEAR ZACHARY: A LETTER TO A SON ABOUT HIS FATHER (US, Kurt Kuenne)
A devastating documentary, which Kuenne made entirely alone, that both warms the heart and chills the blood as it tells the story of Kuenne's childhood friend Andrew Bagby, murdered by an insane girlfriend who then escaped to Canada and gave birth to his son. Few films will ever wrench your emotions like this one.

BLINDNESS (Canada/Brazil/Japan, Fernando Meirelles)
I love it when a film comes out that nobody likes but me. Critics panned Blindness. Audiences stayed away in droves. But this latest from the exciting Brazilian director Meirelles (who also helmed City of God) is a gripping thriller about a virus that strikes the whole world blind, save for one woman (Julianne Moore). I believe it will be better appreciated later, but appreciate it now.

TIMECRIMES (Spain, Nacho Vigalondo)
Director/costar Vigalando's spooky, low-budget time travel movie may not be a classic, but it is highly original and very well-directed. A middle-aged man, after a misadventure in the woods involving a creep in a pink head bandage and a naked woman, happens upon a time travel machine that sends him back... one hour into the past. Lots of nice twists in this satisfying genre picture.

WENDY AND LUCY (US, Kelly Reichardt)
At first, I didn't think much of Wendy and Lucy, a minimalist film about a homeless girl (Michelle Williams) stuck in an Oregon town en route to Alaska when her car dies and her beloved dog disappears. But damn it if it didn't stay with me for days. This is a haunting film, a character sketch filled with mystery, and a "what would you do?" reflection of life on the economic outskirts of America.