I didn't see every movie. In fact, I didn't see most movies. But TV spots and trailers give away enough about movies these days that I think I saw pretty much every movie I wanted to see this year. So, really, without any introduction or further ado, I give you the top nine movies of 2002. (Why nine? Because 10 is obvious, and now more and more people are doing 11. I wanna be different, dammit!)

9. Blade II. Better than the original. Full of non-stop, vampire killing action, cool political intrigue, and a villain much more sinister and dangerous than that lame Blood God that marred the end of the first Blade outing. Wesley Snipes is perfect as Blade, and even though it was a dumb, comic book resurrection, I was glad to see Whistler back in action.

8. Spider-Man. Great adaption of the comic. My only real complaint about this flick is that sometimes it gets a tad too cheesy (especially in the beginning), but more than makes up for that later. Willem Dafoe does a great job as the Green Goblin, and he should get an Oscar nod just for the one scene when he's talking to himself in the mirror. And I was blown away by the ending. Peter's refusal to enter into a relationship with MJ was not only powerful, but more true to the spirit of Peter Parker than the comics!

7. XXX. James Bond, eat your heart out. This is a great update of the action/spy genre. Vin Diesel surprised me with his ability to carry a movie. But what impressed me most of all is that there were some awesome, awesome stunts in the movie, but the script was tight enough that they didn't seem superfluous--they actually served a role in the plot.

6. Insomnia. Great performances by the entire cast, especially Al Pacino and Robin Williams. But the best part of this movie wasn't the acting, the setting, or the morally ambiguous aspects of the story, as a lot of critics said. No--the best part of Insomnia is that it repudiated the age-old cop cliche that it's okay to bend the rules in order to bring down the bad guys. Here, Al Pacino realizes at the end of the movie that planting evidence to convict somebody was wrong, even though he knew the guy was guilty. (And we in the audience are left not doubting that, either.) It's a long overdue slap in the face of cop flicks, where cops breaking the rules, endangering innocent lives, brutalizing suspects, and taking the law into their own hands is regarded as a good thing.