Suspenseful, tightly-woven, and eventful, 'Slumdog Millionaire' brings real empathy to its characters without a wasted scene. Jamal is one question away from a huge fortune on India's version of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" as authorities interrogate him about his unprecedented success as an uneducated contestant. Harrowing flashbacks and romance add to this superb movie experience.

Recent Pixar release 'Wall-E' is short on words, but big on meaning. As a lone inhabitor, the titled robot finds solace in old 'Hello Dolly' videotapes when he becomes smitten by EVE, an alien visitor who changes his world and the humans occupying her space station forever. Love does indeed conquer all. (In other hands, this film could have [as was the case with 'Heartbeeps'] been a disaster.)

Besides a worthy Oscar nominated portrayal by Melissa Leo, 'Frozen River' is a suspenseful drama of social import. Ray (Leo) is conflicted as she is enticed to use her vehicle to transport illegal immigrants with a Mohawk woman across the Canadian border to make ends meet after her gambling addicted husband leaves her to raise two boys alone.

Don't let the deliberate nature of the movie fool you: It's steadiness from horror to pensive reflection are what make it memorable. Not relying on pop-out scare tactics, Swedish vampire movie 'Let the Right One In' draws from tenderness and terror when a young misfit falls in love with a vampire friend who moves into his apartment building.

Besides a superb, Oscar-winning performance by Sean Penn, this biopic of city supervisor, Harvey Milk, is tightly knit and has a true-to-life feel to it.

Blending unique animation with a riveting script, the narrator tries to piece together memories of his service in the Israeli army during the war with Lebanon during the early to mid-eighties. 'Waltz with Bashir' is a powerful and transporting animated flick.

A worthy 2007 Oscar winner for Best Foreign Picture, 'The Counterfeiters' features some quietly measured scenes, recounting a harrowing moral dilemma that grapples between individual and group survival during the Nazi Holocaust. (Although a 2007 film, it was made mostly available in the U.S. this year.)

The real life exploits of daredevil Phillipe Petit are richly provided for in this riveting documentary about how he and his friends planned to train and set-up his harrowing high wire act between the now defunct Twin Towers. Suspenseful and delightful to watch.

Heartwarming and memorable, 'The Station Agent' director, Richard Jenkins presents another off-beat tale about a widowed professor who meets a foreign couple after an opportunist has rented his NYC apartment to them during a lengthy absence. Real-life believable performances give real heart to the thematic proceedings about immigration and neighborly love.

Beautifully drawn and spoken with finesse by Jim Carrey and Steve Carrell, this fine adaptation of Dr. Seuss's 'Horton Hears a Who' is a terrific, family film for all ages. Remarkably, neither the characterization nor the worlds of big and small ever clash, but blend smoothly with the story.