Sci-Fi/Fantasy:

28 Days Later: Suspenseful, creepy, intelligent, makes you squirm. Not just a run-of-the-mill zombie movie.
Alien: A masterpiece of tension. Ridley Scott rules here.
Aliens: An excellent follow-up to the first Alien chapter.
Blade Runner: It has to be the director's cut. One of the few movies I enjoyed more than the book it was based on.
La Cité des enfants perdus (The City of Lost Children):  Jean-Pierre Jeunet's visual and creative masterpiece left me dumbfounded in the theatre. I was captivated from the first scene.
Children of Men: A look into what our world might look like when women are unable to get pregnant anymore. Scary and tense and thought-provoking.
Dark City: A cross between sci-fi and film noire. An original film.
Dark Knight: Best Batman ever (so far).
The Empire Strikes Back (Star Wars Episode V):  I enjoyed the whole Star Wars franchise, but some more than others. This is my favourite episode, for the plot and darkness of the story.
Hancock:  Love the superhero movies with a twist.
Iron Man:  Good, solid superhero movie. It achieved a balance between humour and suspense.
Jurassic Park:  When I first watched this, I felt like I was watching real dinosaurs. Effective suspense.
The Matrix:  This blew me away in the theatre. Revolutionary.
Pan's Labyrinth:  This movie is so haunting in its imagination and shocking violence.
Primer:  Take a very low budget, some unknown actors and the most well-thought through storyline ever, and you've got the best 'time travel' movie I've seen so far.
 

Action/Crime/Thriller:

Charlie's Angels:  Fabulous, fun, female-power.
Charlie's Angels - Full Throttle:  See above. Part 2.
City of God:  Shocking, horrific story of growing up in the slums of Brazil.
Deep Blue Sea: It features genetically-engineered sharks! Need I say more?
Fight Club:  Twists, turns, and social commentary on male aggression.Watch for subliminal images.
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang: A strong cast in a seemingly typical storyline soon reveals it's so much more than what you expect.
Kiss Or Kill: Not your average lovers-as-criminals-on-the-run story. I admire this movie's ability to create tension and emotions without a single note of music. Very impressive.
Kung Fu Hustle: Martial arts meets 1940s gang genre. A creative action-comedy - violent but not gruesome and with a comedic edge. The over-the-top special effects work here.
L.A. Confidential:  It's always impressive when a large ensemble cast works well together.
The Last Seduction:  Linda Fiorentino is so bad-ass in this!
Layer Cake:  What makes this standard crime drama not so standard are the subtle plot twists (more like revelations or discoveries) and strong ending. And the soundtrack gets thumbs-up too.
The Limey:  I loved the simple story (vengeance) and human characters.
The Machinist:  Creepy, bizarre, claustrophobic. It's a solid "what the hell is going on here?".
Memento:  It requires you to actually think. Don't blink or you'll miss something.
The Others:  Downright creepy but a good payoff in the end.
Out of Sight: I suspect this was overlooked by many. Solid story and performances.  I was surprised I liked it as much as I did?
Pi: Paranoia, conspiracies, and using math to figure out the universe.
Scream: I loved this clever, slasher flick. The only horror film I've been able to watch over and over.
The Sixth Sense: I was terrified and shocked. I didn't know what hit me.
Thelma and Louise: A Ridley Scott chick-flick, so to speak. Kick-ass ending. Perfect.
The Usual Suspects: The plot twist blind-sided me, its effect comparable to The Sixth Sense.

 

Comedy-Drama and Dark Comedy:

American Beauty: Fantastic on so many levels (cast, dialogue, story, twists, endings).
American Splendor: A very original blend of reality and fiction. Paul Giamatti is perfect as bitter, quirky Harvey Pekar.
Being John Malkovich:  I love these fantastical movies that ask you to just accept certain mind-stretching concepts.
Bend It Like Beckham:  Dreams, love and friendship on the football field for a young woman who is also dealing with her traditional Sikh family.
Big Night:  I love food, and I love Stanley Tucci's work. Look for the amazing, one-shot scene at the end.
Double Happiness: See a young Sandra Oh. My mother and I laughed out loud in the theatre at the Chinese-cultural inside jokes.
Ed Wood: Another great Burton-Depp film.Who can resist Johnny in angora sweaters and heels?
Everything is Illuminated: The supporting cast surrounding Elijah Wood's central character is both hilarious and touching.
Happiness: An extremely dark, black comedy. You need to be in the right mood to watch this. It's pretty offensive and horrific, but so well done/executed.
Harold & Maude: Bittersweet. Excellent performances. Watch for the subtle scene with Ruth Gordon's tattoo. Perfect ending.
The House of Yes: Funny but dark story about family love.
It's All Gone Pete Tong: Even if DJs and rave-culture aren't really your things, this movie tells a great tragic tale.
Kicking and Screaming: This one follows young college grads as the navigate through the real world. Sarcastic, off-beat, and sweet.
The Last Supper: Beware of dinner invitations from young liberals.
Living In Oblivion: I love Steve Buscemi! Here he's at his neurotic best.
Me and You and Everyone We Know: It's all about making connections to those around us.
Moonstruck: I've seen this movie so many times now.Not your typical romantic-comedy.It has an edge.
Muriel's Wedding: So good.Everyone finds love and discovers their true self eventually.
Shallow Grave: Brilliant dark comedy.Killer soundtrack too.
The Slums of Beverly Hills: How crazy-neurotic can a family be? I love the "Luck Be a Lady" underwear number.
Smoke Signals: A story of loyalty and loss, with a Native American reservation as the backdrop.
Spanking the Monkey: Not for everyone, since it deals with some taboo subject matter. But I thought it was hilarious in an uncomfortable way.
The Squid and the Whale: Yes, divorce sucks. And Laura Linney and Jeff Daniels (and Noah Baumbach) do a superb job showing how horrible 1980s suburbia marriage breakdown can be.
Strictly Ballroom: Love is in the air.Fun and uplifting.
The Sum of Us: Sad yet funny. I think it's Russell Crowe's best role.
The Young Poisoner's Handbook: I think this was partly based on a true story? Who knew that murder and poison could be so much fun.

Drama:

Birth: The mind can convince us of anything if we want it to....
Blue Crush: Surfer chicks who kick ass.
Boogie Nights: A movie about rising to the top then fading out (in the porn industry).
Brokeback Mountain: Gay cowboys aside, it's about love.
(Nuovo Cinema Paradiso) Cinema Paradiso:  A beautiful love story, with an Italian movie theatre as the backdrop.
Edward Scissorhands:  See it, if just for Johnny Depp's heart-wrenching facial expressions.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind:  Would you erase your memories of a failed relationship? This movie is a gem.
Gods and Monsters:  Ian McKellen shines as real-life "Frankenstein" director James Whale. Sensitive and sad.
La Haine (Hate): Angry. Violent. Brilliant, shocking ending that left me breathless until the credits were rolling and theatre lights were on.
Hana-bi (Fireworks): Takeshi Kitano is incredibly multi-talented. The use of silence (i.e. non-speaking) is eerie. And another brilliant ending.
The Hanging Garden: Poor Sweet William.I love the use of colour, amongst many other things.
Heavenly Creatures:  Check out what Peter Jackson was up to before Lord of the Rings. And see what happens when young school girls take their fantasies too far.
Henry Fool: Only watch this if you appreciate dialogue-heavy films. But two of the best scenes (Henry purging the espressos, Simon puking in the supermarket) contain minimal words. A real, independent gem.
The Ice Storm: A suburban mess, told by the multi-talented Ang Lee.
Johns: A peak into the often depressing world of male hustlers with a heart-wrenching (and disturbing) ending.
Kissed: Love. Death. Loving the Dead. Beautifully done.
Last Night: Spending the countdown to the end of the world with Don McKellar is a crazy ride.
Lawn Dogs: You know that something bad is going to happen....
Legend of 1900: Tim Roth is perfect as the abandoned baby '1900' who grows up to be a first-rate pianist on the cruise liners. Truly magical film-making.
Little Children: Not just your run-of-the-mill story about messed-up suburbanites. This one is gritty and nerve-wracking at times.
Love and Death on Long Island: Stuffy widower (John Hurt) falls for young, movie star (Jason Priestley).
Ma Vie En Rose: Touching story about a young boy who insists on behaving like a girl and doesn't understand why people around him disapprove.
P.S.: Death. Rebirth  Older. Younger. Second chances.
Sideways: A real character film. And a perfect ending.
The Straight Story: One man's cross-country journey on a tractor  David Lynch's finest work.
The Sweet Hereafter: Tragic, touching and anything-but-simple Canadian cinema.
Thirteen: Girls gone wild, in the really scary sense for a parent.
Track 29:  A bizarre tale of model trains and confused identities.
The Woodsman: Everyone deserves a second chance, right?
You Can Count On Me: Family drama with great acting (the brilliant Laura Linney).
 

Documentary:

Better Living Through Circuitry: An exploration into electronic dance ('rave') culture. I saw it in a packed theatre on Granville with many party-kids. It was a riot.
Dark Days: Explores an underground community (literally) in New York.
Dogtown and Z-Boys: Amazing 1970s skateboarding footage.
Madonna: Truth or Dare:  Madonna at her best.
March of the Penguins: Nature is unbelievably amazing.
Modulations: A serious study about the evolution of electronic music.
Murderball: Edgy, no-holds-barred look at quadriplegic wheelchair rugby competitions.
Riding Giants: Breathtaking scenery of surfers catching the ultimate waves.
Spellbound: Kids competing in a national spelling bee competition. Simple and charming.

Animated:

Howl's Moving Castle: I was blown away by the imagination and each scene kept me guessing what would be happening next.
The Incredibles: A family of super-heroes that fights as a team stays together.  Remarkable animated sequences.
Spirited Away: Such magical originality.
Toy Story 2: A sequel that I enjoyed more than original - this one has heart, soul and laughs.
WALL-E: Beauty and love discovered in a wasteland, and experienced by robots.