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Going from number nine to number eight you'll realize you're not in Kansas anymore, courtesy of Neil Gaiman. Gaiman wrote the screenplay for Mirrormask, a beautiful surreal story about a young girl who is transported from her unhappy reality to a magical world where nothing is what it seems. If you're thinking it sounds similar to last year's Coraline, well that was based on a book by Gaiman, but this story from the graphic novelist is very different and much more complex, in addition to being stunningly beautiful to watch. At times charmingly funny and very dark and creepy, Mirrormask is one of the best fantasy films of the decade. Why do Tim Burton's lackluster efforts make hundreds of millions of dollars when there are films like this that get ignored?

At number seven is another film that would have been a big hit with audiences had it gotten a wider release and better advertising. As it is, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang will have to settle for being one of the films that helped jumpstart Robert Downey Jr's career, in addition to being a delightful black comedy. Downey plays Harry, a convict who is pretending to be an actor, tagging along with a cop as research for a role. When he runs into his childhood girlfriend things get even more complicated. Downey is delightful in Shane Black's hilarious twist on the cop comedy, which also features some delightful narration and a hilarious performance by Val Kilmer as "Gay Perry," the cop who is saddled with training Harry. Just writing this paragraph makes me wish I was watching this movie instead of writing this article.

The only thing keeping me writing is my number six film, which stars dreamy-eyed Daniel Bruhl. The Edukators is the kind of unique comedy that would never be made in America, but that Europe is known for. Bruhl stars as the leader of a group of anarchists who break into the homes of rich people to rearrange the furniture and leave strange messages on the walls. When they run into the owner of one of the houses, they kidnap him. While the trio holds the man hostage in a cabin in the woods, we begin to see the human side of this villainous character, and he even develops a bond with his captors. An insightful and touching film, The Edukators is another film that scared audiences off with its subtitles, but is definitely worth checking out.

You probably haven't seen my number five movie, but the landscape of modern film is very different because of it. Layer Cake was the directorial debut of Guy Ritchie's producer, Mathew Vaughan, who went on to direct Stardust and the upcoming Kick-Ass. This British action flick stars current James Bond, Daniel Craig. Craig is fantastic as a drug dealer who gets in over his head when he is given two impossible assignments by his boss and has two find a way to live through them. Less cutesy than Ritchie's films, Layer Cake is tough and gritty but still a whole lot of fun to watch.

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