ALICE IN WONDERLAND (USA 2010) ****
Directed by Tim Burton

Those familiar with the Lewis Carroll books will be surprised to note when viewing Tim Burton’s ALICE IN WONDERLAND, that quite the few liberties have been taken with the classic tale.  For one Alice (Mia Wasikowska) is now a teenager.  But the tactic works for two reasons – the film is more adult and the fantasy magic is left intact especially with familiar characters like the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp), the Cheshire Cat (Alan Rickman) and the White Rabbit (Michael Sheen).

UN PROPHETE (France 2009) ***** Top 10
Directed by Jacques Audiard

UN PROPHETE (A PROPHET) is a powerful and moving portrait of Malik (Tahar Rahim), a nobody serving 6-year imprisonment for the beating up of a cop. 

BROOKYLN’S FINEST (USA 2009) **
Directed by Antonio Faqua

Director Antonio Fuqua gets more ambitious in the familiar cop/hood/drug territory of TRAINING DAY with BROOKLYN’S FINEST.  The film tells three separate tales of 3 of the city’s cops with an ending that calls for the three to converge on a common location for the climax.

ZOOEY & ADAM (Canada 2009) **
Directed by Sean Garrity

Canadian Sean Garrity (LUCID, INERTIA) is a director of small films.  But ZOOEY & ADAM, like the previous LUCID and INERTIA concerns a minimal number of people.

THE GHOST WRITER (UK/France/Germany 2010) ****
Directed by Roman Polanski

Hand it to master Roman Polanski.  This is his other closest Hitchcockian thriller after FRANTIC that is sinister delight!