1. American Splendor - The strange, downbeat life of comic book author Harvey Pekar (Paul Giamatti) gets a suitably weird treatment in one of the year's best films.
2. Thirteen - Catherine Hardwicke's film is an unflinching look at one girl's shaky passage into adolescence. Tough stuff, but just what parents need to know.
3. Secondhand Lions - A boy (Haley Joel Osment) gets dumped into the custody of great-uncles (Robert Duvall, Michael Caine) who don't want him. Manipulative but effective family entertainment.
4. Once Upon a Time in Mexico - Antonio Banderas returns as El Mariachi, but Johnny Depp steals the show as a strange CIA agent in Robert Rodriguez's violent sequel to Desperado.
5. Matchstick Men - A con artist (Nicolas Cage) deals with a tough sting and a curious daughter (Alison Lohman) in a sprightly caper from director Ridley Scott.
Upcoming Releases
Sept. 26: Lost in Translation; Duplex; The Rundown; Under the Tuscan Sun
Oct. 3: Out of Time; School of Rock
Oct. 10: Kill Bill, Volume 1; Mystic River; Intolerable Cruelty; Good Boy!; The House of the Dead
