Good movies I have seen this year

Tsotsi (South Africa) Brutal young man finds his humanity again after kidnapping a baby.

Something Like Happiness (Czech Republic) Czechs suffering after the end of communism

A Simple Curve (Canada) Kid made miserable by his American hippie, draft dodger, master woodworking dad. I love the scene where the kid goes off about carob not being a fit substitute for chocolate.

Sympathy For Lady Vengeance (South Korea) Woman gets revenge on a child killer, stylish and beautifully filmed

The Year I Became a Woman (Iran) Gorgeous, gorgeous. Filmed on an island in southern Iran. I want to go there, now!

Water (India) Sad story of Indian widows forced to beg for a living, some widows as young as 6 or 8.

Fire (India) India after British rule, during the split from Pakistan

Pan's Labyrinth (Spain) Spanish civil war. Shameless pro communist propaganda. Not much of a story, great visuals.

Calvair (Belgium) Creepy, creepy, creepy. nuff said

Aaltra (Belgium) Darkly funny, very funny.

Time of the Wolf (France) Life after Armageddon in France. Scary, realistic

Monster House (US) Great animation, funny good characterizations

The Good Shepherd (US) Fascinating.

Cache( France) Brilliant, tense thriller about race relations between Algerians and the French

Street Fight (US) Documentary about the Newark NJ mayoral race, I described in another column

I also had a Sean Bean-athon, pretty much watching every movie he's been in, some good, some not so.

And a Hellen Mirren-athon. The absolute worst movie I have ever seen was Shadowboxer, starring Cuba Gooding Jr and Helen. Playing incestuous mother and son assassins. Going at it like rabbits on Viagra. Cheesy, strange and just plain bad. It's worth seeing just for the nervous laughs and Cuba's cute butt. There is an incredibly shocking scene that I will not ruin for you.