TOP TEN MOVIES OF 2002:
1. "Road to Perdition" (Sam Mendes)
2. "Gangs of New York" (Martin Scorsese)
3. "Y Tu Mama Tambien" (Alfonso Cuaron)
4. "CQ" (Roman Coppola)
5. "Secretary" (Steven Shainberg)
6. "The Kid Stays in the Picture" (Nannette Burstein/Brett Morgan)
7. "The Cat's Meow" (Peter Bogdanovich)
8. "Kissing Jessica Stein" (Charles Wurmfeld)
9. "Adaptation" (Spike Jonze)
10. "Punch-Drunk Love" (Paul Thomas Anderson)
Honorable Mention: "Changing Lanes" (Roger Michell); "8 Mile" (Curtis Hanson); "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart" (Sam Jones); "Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" (Peter Jackson); "Roger Dodger" (Dylan Kidd); "The Rookie" (John Lee Hancock); "Signs" (M. Night Shyamalan); "Storytelling" (Todd Solondz); "Tadpole" (Gary Winnick); "24 Hour Party People" (Michael Winterbottom).
The Worst: "Bowling For Columbine" (Michael Moore); "Death to Smoochy" (Danny DeVito); "Full Frontal" (Steven Soderbergh); "Hollywood Ending" (Woody Allen); "Vulgar" (Bryan Johnson).
Movies That I'm Sure Are Excellent, But I Haven't Seen Yet: "About a Boy," "About Schmidt," "Auto Focus," "Barbershop," "Catch Me If You Can," "Chicago," "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind," "Far From Heaven," "Human Nature," "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," "The Pianist," "The Quiet American." I'll be writing a more in-depth Year in Review later this month, for American Dreamer.