#1 Magnolia by P.T. Anderson

Magnolia. This movie will never move from first place. No matter how much I want to shock people when I say something has beat it I cannot bear to move it from it's mantlepiece. PT Anderson has proven time after time he is one of the most fired up and skillfull directors in hollywood, and after his huge acclaim for There Will Be Blood I think everyone knows that now. Yet, however technically awesome There Will Be Blood was and no more how enrapturing Daniel Day-Lewis was, it is Magnolia's heart, enormity, power, and passion that make it my number one film of all time and my number one PT Anderson film.

#2 Into the Wild by Sean Penn

Sean Penn has for years been an academy favorite as an actor and a critical failure as a director. This past year, however, Penn crafted one of the most assured, beautiful, and moving pieces of cinema to come along and shake the american psyche in years. In the tragic tale of a youth fed up with our culture and his parents we are delivered a shaking powerhouse performance by the young Emile Hirsch who carries us through to the end with such sincerity even though, as an actor he knows his character is doomed, he never lets his character know. We are swept up in the character of Christopher McCandless's passion and the passion by which Penn directs. There is so much power here and so much truth and America just needs to open up their eyes.

#3 Almost Famous by Cameron Crowe

In Almost Famous we see coming of age master Cameron Crowe at the tip-top of his game. We are presented with perhaps an unfamiliar story of a boy beyond his years touring the country with a band as a journalist, but for how unfamiliar that concept might be the concept of growing up is one we all know and we also all know the pains, frustration, and heartbreak that comes with it. If I had to rank my top performances by an actress Kate Hudson's performance in this would rank pretty darn close to number 1, if she wasn't supported by such a tremendous cast she would've downright stolen the show, but as it turns out there are many distinctly wondrous turns in this enthralling, engaging, and all together wonderful coming-of-age tale.

#4 American Beauty by Sam Mendes

Here is without a doubt one of the most acclaimed contemporary classics in American cinema that is bound to forever be a trademark in the "American tragedy" genre. In this film about a lonely man living a suffocating life, we see what is one of the most dysfunctional and sad families put on screen, and then we realize "my goodness...thats me" in some degree. At the same time the director gives us relief and release in moments of heartbreaking insight and heart swelling beauty. Truly a complex masterpiece of the American culture and cinema.

#5 V for Vendetta by James McTeigue

V for Vendetta is perhaps the strongest and most visionary dystopian film put to screen. It is helped along by strong visuals reminiscent of a Nazi Germany, and a tremendous performance by Natalie Portman as Evey. It is hard to explain why this film speaks so tremendously over others of it's type in previous years, perhaps it is cultural relevance that will pass with time, or it is because there is hope here. Because this film offers a large amount of hope when others feel the need to fight against the idea that we can change the world. In 1984 by George Orwell he mentions that the power is in the proletariat, but doesn't allow that vision to come through, but McTeigue and Moore give humanity more credit.

#6 Atonement by Joe Wright

Here is the next film on my list to derive from this previous year's amount of phenomenal films. Atonement is THE epic romance. It takes the passion of Titanic, the enormity and tragedy of The English Patient, and smashes them together adding a lot of its own flair and you have what is undeniably the most accomplished literary adaptation/love story/tragedy I can say I've ever seen. Truly remarkable is the turn of Saoirse Ronan as the youngest Briony, her ability to transform into that little girl is almost disturbing in a good way. Watch out for her in the future. Watch out for my Joe Wright because if he keeps getting better nothing will stop him.

#7 Moulin Rouge by Baz Luhrmann

With Moulin Rouge, director Baz Luhrmann's love child, we see an exuberant burst of visually elegant bombastic storytelling. When I said Chicago was one of the most brilliant stage to screen musicals this is the most brilliant musical on the silver screen. Based off of every romantic cliche and love story in history, using a large variety of contemporary love songs, this film is swept off its feet by the passion of its actors and director into an amazingly sincere and heartbreaking film that has yet to meet its counterpart. As Luhrmann moves into the production of Australia, his next film, I wait in anticipation to this viciously creative directors follow-up film.

#8 Lord of the Rings Trilogy by Peter Jackson

The Lord of the Rings trilogy belongs on every top 10 list in the world. This is a sure classic that years from now will still be phenomenal and every current teen will be showing their children as adults. What Peter Jackson has done with the rich source material by J.R.R. Tolkien is magical. He has crafted a thoughtful, visually stunning, epic masterpiece. This is surely one of those film sagas no one will dare touch even 75 years from now.

#9 Fargo by the Coen Brothers

While many will call No Country for Old Men the masterpiece of the Coens I would disagree. Fargo, while perhaps to not as masterful in all of its skill is a far more engaging, well paced, and ultimately touching meditation of life, greed, and happiness. What stands strong in all Coen movies is the use of dark humor and here we see it played out wonderfully with employing Buscemi as the loud mouth bad guy and Frances McDormand as the candy-sweet hearted officer Marge Gunderson. Both of these first-rate actors pull off astoundingly sincere performances in making their over-the-top characters into realistic portraits of the two sides of humanity. Here, I believe, is the Coen's true masterpiece.

#10 Amelie by Jean Pierre Jeunet

Welcome to the long delayed top 10. To kick it off we have the delightful bundle of love and joy Amelie. Straight to our shores from France this beautiful film is all about finding love, falling in love, and in some cases falling out. Always clever, never too much so, and a sheer delight for all the senses.

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