Exclusives from Susan Wloszczyna, Eleanor Ringel, Maitland McDonagh, Jennifer Merin and others:

Susan Wloszczyna - USA Today

1. No Country for Old Men — Coen-heads across the land could be heard rejoicing, as their favorite genre-twisting geniuses returned to bloody form with this Western noir.

2. Ratatouille - Brad Bird and the Pixar crew built a fantasy Paree that looked almost as delicious as the cuisine. Extra points for employing Peter O’Toole as the snooty food critic.

3. Away From Her– A tale of old-age decline that moves instead of depresses. Months later it still haunts, especially each beautiful crease on Julie Christie’s face.

4.Atonement — Pride & Prejudice only hinted what storytelling magic Joe Wright could conjure by merely moving a camera. The artful audacity he shows this time is truly breathtaking.

5. Juno — I laughed, I cried, I wrote down the clever retorts so I could steal them. And I applauded Alison Janney’s portrayal of one of the rare loving stepmoms in movie history. This comedy even made me like Jennifer Garner for once.

6. Sweeney Todd — Despite that funny business going on in Sacha Baron Cohen’s too-tight trousers, this is Tim Burton’s most satisfying and mature triumph so far.

7. The Savages — Linney and Hoffman are an indie dream team. And they are so natural and in sync here, you sometimes forget they are even acting. Plus, kudos to Tamara Jenkins for not only finally doing another film, but also having the guts to really shoot in Buffalo. In the snow no less.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly — Julian Schnabel might be more interested in Julian Schnabel than anyone else. But darn if he did not find a way to make an incredibly uplifting and gorgeous movie out of a downer topic as well as re-invent the biopic.

9. Michael Clayton — This thriller is rated G — for grown-up. Bravo to Tony Gilroy for bringing back paranoid suspense and to George Clooney for bravely toning it down.

10. Enchanted — What Mary Poppins was to when I was an impressible lass, this gently mocking ode to Disney princesses is to today’s tweens. Hear, hear for major studio releases that aren’t afraid to put a female front and center ( at least The Golden Compass had its plucky Hayley Mills-like heroine going for it, too).

Kim Voynar - Cinematical.com

• The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
• Juno
• Zodiac
• No Country for Old Men
• No End in Sight
• Persepolis
• Sweeney Todd
• Away from Her
• War/Dance
• For the Bible Tells Me So

HONORABLE MENTIONS

• Once
• Darius Goes West
• Lars and the Real Girl
• King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters
• 3:10 to Yuma
• Lake of Fire
• Four Sheets to the Wind
• The Lookout
• Into the Wild
• Bourne Ultimatum

Anne Thompson - Variety

1. No Country for Old Men
2. 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days
3. There Will be Blood
4. Lust, Caution
5. Atonement
6. The Bourne Ultimatum
7. Sweeney Todd
8. The Savages
9. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
10. Juno

Shelli Sonstein - Q1043 AM

1. Into the Wild
2. No Country for Old Men
3. Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead
4. Away From Her
5. 28 Weeks Later
6. Charlie Wilson’s War
7. The Bucket List
8. Redacted
9. Introducing the Dwights
10. The Bubble

Eleanor Ringel

• The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
• Atonement
• The Boss of It All
• The Bourne Ultimatum
• The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
• The Golden Door
• The Host
• Juno
• Mafioso
• There Will Be Blood

The Best of the Rest:
• After the Wedding
• Black Book
• Deep Water
• Gone Baby Gone
• Hot Fuzz
• Into the Wild
• Michael Clayton
• The Namesake
• The Orphanage
• Persepolis
• Ratatouille
• Superbad
• Waitress
• Year of the Dog
• You Kill Me

Carrie Rickey - Philadelphia Inquirer

• Across the Universe
• American Gangster
• Away from Her
• Enchanted
• The Great Debaters
• Into the Wild
• Juno
• The Namesake
• No End in Sight
• The Savages
• The Lives of Others

Mary Pols - Contra Costa Times

1. No Country for Old Men
2. Diving Bell and the Butterfly
3. There Will Be BLood
4. The Savages
5. Zodiac
6. Superbad
7. Ratatouille
8. Atonement
9. Rescue Dawn
10. In the Valley of Elah

Jennifer Merin - New York Press - Documentaries.About.com

• Away From Her
• The Diving Bell and The Butterfly
• Eastern Promises
• 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days
• The Golden Door
• Into The Wild
• Nanking
• Persepolis
• Shoot ‘Em Up
• Sweeney Todd

HONORABLE MENTIONS
• Grbivica My Home
• I’m Not There
• Lars and The Real Girl
• The Savages
• The Wind That Shakes The Barley

Maitland McDonagh - TVGuide.com

• Antonia
• Atonement
• Away from Her
• Black Book
• Eastern Promises
• Michael Clayton
• Persepolis
• Private Fears in Public Places
• Shoot ‘em Up
• The Wind That Shakes the Barley

Joanna Langfield - The Movie Minute

1. No Country for Old Men
2. Atonement
3. The Diving Bell and The Butterfly
4. Sweeney Todd
5. Persepolis
6. The Savages
7. Ratatouille
8. Eastern Promises
9. Into the Wild
10. The Kite Runner

SPECIAL MENTIONS

The Assassination of Jesse James
The Hoax
The Namesake

Susan Granger - SSG Syndicate

• Atonement
• The Bourne Ultimatum
• The Darjeeling Express
• Juno
• The Kite Runner
• Michael Clayton
• No Country for Old Men
• Sweeney Todd
• The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
• There Will Be Blood

Cynthia Fuchs - Popmatters.com

• The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
• 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days
• The Golden Door
• The Host
• Killer of Sheep
• My Kid Could Paint That
• Nice Bombs
• Offside
• The Prisoner or: How I Planned to Kill Tony Blair
• There Will Be Blood
• Zodiac

Lexi Feinberg - Big Picture Big Sound

1. Juno
2. Away From Her
3. Sweeney Todd
4. Knocked Up
5. Atonement
6. Into The Wild
7. My Kid Could Paint That
8. Starter For 10
9. No Country For Old Men
10. Diving Bell And The Butterfly

Carol Cling - Las Vegas Review Journal

1. No Country for Old Men
2. Sweeney Todd
3. The Namesake
4. Away From Her
5. Once
6. Into the Wild
7. Talk to Me
8. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
9. Ratatouille
10. No End in Sight

Marjorie Baumgarten - Austin Chronicle

1. There Will Be Blood No movie this year was more rooted in the American soil than this powerful character study and origin story.

2. The Lives of Others The movie reminds us that goodness can exist even in the worst of times and that decency is a human, not heroic, impulse.

3. Persepolis This animated, feminist, coming-of-age comedy about the effect of Iran’s Islamic revolution is a true original and a shout-out to unruly girls everywhere.

4. No Country for Old Men The Coens’ movie renders evil disturbingly palpable, inscrutable, and immediate, while also returning the filmmaking duo to the top of their trade.

5. The Savages Without a hint of sentimentality or false emotion, this film finds the comedy, drama, self-delusion, and truth about ourselves as actors on the family stage.

6. Away From Her Sarah Polley’s excellent leap from actress to writer/director is all the more remarkable for the depth of her human understanding in someone so young.

7. I’m Not There As audacious and illusive as its subject matter, Bob Dylan, the film grabs what’s blowing in the wind and inhales. Deeply.

8. Sicko For just a moment there, Michael Moore had us all in indignant agreement that the American health-care system is broken and in need of fixing.

9. Atonement British period dramas usually set off my internal snooze alarm, but this captivating swoon of a story proved to be the exception.

10. Eastern Promises So dynamic, effective, and chock-full of memorable moments, Eastern Promises is an engrossing genre movie that is unique.

Thelma Adams - US Weekly

• Atonement
• No Country for Old Men
• Eastern Promises
• Knocked Up
• I’m Not There
• Sweeney Todd
• Hairspray
• Zodiac
• Juno
• A Mighty Heart

To see AWFJ Members’ 2006 Top Ten Lists, click here.