The Year In Brief

Closer - 5 stars. Dialogue to die for. Direction from a master. The other Julia Roberts. The rest of the cast. Ideas. You'll talk about it afterwards for sure.

Sideways - 4 stars. Cack-your-dacks time.

The Motorcycle Diaries - 4 1/2 stars. Compelling, beautifully realised biopic that doesn't try to cover a lifetime (Ray).

Hotel Rwanda - 3 1/2 stars. The West's secret shame, a secret no more.

Milllion Dollar Baby - 2 1/2 stars. The first two acts are the stuff of sporting movie cliche, (watch Girlfight instead).

House of Flying Daggers - 2 stars. Half the film Hero is. Relies too heavilly on CGI.

The Life Aqquatic with Steve Zissou - 4 1/2 stars. The right amount of quirk, great jokes and a brilliant cast.

Guerrilla: The Taking of Patty Hearst - 3 stars. Not as good as last year's The Weather Underground, but bizarre and fascinating real events unfolding in front of the world.