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Best

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Director Peter Jackson's mandate was to make a great movie first and a literary adaptation second. Remarkably, he succeeds at both, creating a completely believable vision of Middle-earth, from the vast battlefields of Mordor right down to the Hobbits' hairy feet. This isn't just about nice scenery and special effects, though. Jackson understands that he's dealing with a serious drama, too, and his film resonates with J.R.R. Tolkien's themes of courage, nobility and friendship. The only truly bad thing about the movie is its abrupt ending, an unpleasant reminder that we have to wait a whole year for the next installment.

Monsters, Inc.

"Shrek" got all the attention, but "Monsters, Inc." is the one that doesn't need fart jokes and bad remakes of pop songs to get laughs. Instead, it taps into those childhood fears about monsters in the closet and turns them into a joyous adventure, full of clever sight gags and genuine, not-too-cloying sweetness. Although Billy Crystal and John Goodman provide ideal voices for the lead characters, the real standout is little Mary Gibbs, as the cute child who gets loose in the monsters' world. Casting a real toddler in the role is just another example of Pixar Studios' commitment to getting every detail just right, no matter how small it may seem.

Mulholland Drive

Never has being utterly confused by a movie been such a pleasant experience. David Lynch's head-tripping modern noir starts out as a pretty straightforward drama about an amnesiac (Laura Elena Harring) searching for her identity. As it progresses, though, it becomes a waking nightmare -- appropriately set in Hollywood --where dreams can rot and decay like the body whose discovery spins off the furious illogic of the film's conclusion. As Harring's would-be rescuer, Australian actress Naomi Watts pulls off so many transformations, it's easy to forget she's the same person throughout the entire movie. Then again, maybe she isn't. After a while, it doesn't even matter, and that's the fun of it.

Amelie

If "Mulholland Drive" is a nightmare, then "Amelie" is the dream that you wake up from smiling. Set in a glowing, magical Paris, Jean-Pierre Jeunet's comedy gives a star-making role to Audrey Tautou, whose charming smile and luminous brown eyes make her seem like a slightly mischievous angel. In some ways, that's exactly what the title character is, as her eccentric benevolence transforms the lives of those around her, and eventually her own. "Amelie" is a tribute to those unique souls who view the world with just a little extra imagination, and it inspires its viewers to do the same.

Memento

Most movies are designed to be enjoyed without a lot of mental effort -- you can read a book or take a nap and still not lose track of what's happening. While watching "Memento," on the other hand, it's tempting to follow the lead of its memory-impaired protagonist (Guy Pearce), who tattoos clues about his wife's murder all over his body so he won't forget what he's learned. Filmmaker Christopher Nolan tells the story backwards, forcing his audience to piece together the mystery while constantly pointing out how fleeting and unreliable memory can be. "Memento" is the antithesis of the popcorn movie, one that not only makes you think, but makes you glad you had to.

The Man Who Wasn't There

A.I. Artificial Intelligence

The Others

A Beautiful Mind

The Royal Tenenbaums

Worst

Tomcats

Some movies are so vile, so disgusting, so unrelentingly offensive, their very existence diminishes one's faith in humanity. "Tomcats" is worse. This alleged comedy is about a group of insufferable jerks who pledge to remain single, which would not be a problem if there were any justice in the universe. This being an insufferable-jerk fantasy, however, one of them ends up with Shannon Elizabeth. On the way to this "happy" ending, viewers are treated to such comic gems as an elderly dominatrix in action and a chase involving a diseased testicle in a cafeteria. The auteur behind this, Gregory Poirier, also co-wrote the execrable "See Spot Run." Someone please stop him before the muse strikes again.

Sweet November

What is it about dead chicks that people find so romantic? The whole subgenre is morbid and disturbing, yet watching an attractive woman waste away has been a staple of love stories for well over a century. (At least Edgar Allan Poe KNEW it was weird.) This time, Charlize Theron is the life-affirming corpse-to-be, a pretty bohemian type who convinces Keanu Reeves to move in with her for a month so she can make him a better person. Unfortunately, she can't make him a better actor, although to be fair, he has less to work with here than he did in, say, "The Gift." Or "Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey," for that matter.

The Musketeer

If filmmakers are going to hire Hong Kong fight choreographers to do the stunts for their movies, they should at least make sure the audience can see the action properly. If they shoot and edit everything as badly as the makers of this film, all they'll have left to entertain people is plot and dialogue. Let's just say that doesn't quite work out in this case. The only interesting thing about "The Musketeer" is Catherine Deneuve's stunning ability to outclass everyone within a 100-mile radius. But that's only diverting until you remember that she's in this mess in the first place.

Black Knight

There are apparently people in this world who think Martin Lawrence is a comic genius. They keep giving him starring roles in lousy movies, allowing him to continue the bug-eyed idiot routine that got old back when his TV show was still on the air. This time, Lawrence gets transported to Medieval England, where he becomes a popular court jester for the king, who is clearly very hard up for entertainment. Most of the supporting cast just stands around looking bored, with the exception of "In the Bedroom" star Tom Wilkinson, who will probably be leaving this one off his resume.

Head Over Heels

Someday, Freddie Prinze Jr. won't be cute and charming, and Monica Potter will stop reminding everyone of Julia Roberts. When that happens, both better hire new agents, because they just might have to start making decent movies. Potter plays another one of those "smart" career women who can't walk without tripping or string a coherent sentence together, while Prinze just grins and hopes no one will notice the utter lack of humor, chemistry or anything else worth watching in this film. Both of them are out-acted by their supermodel co-stars, who play Potter's roommates. Come to think of it, the sets give them a run for their money, too, and could probably have written a better script.

Out Cold

Valentine

13 Ghosts

Monkeybone

Jeepers Creepers