summer blockbusters combined.

2. The Wrestler
Mickey Rourke delivered a smackdown of a performance as down-at-heel wrestler Randy ‘The Ram’ Robinson in Darren Aronofsky’s shamelessly old-fashioned picture.

3. Let the Right One In
Chilly and affecting this Swedish story of a bullied boy and his vampire friend was the perfect antidote to ‘Twilight’ fever.

4. Up
Jules Verne-style adventure met mediations on age and loss in Pixar’s most moving film to date.

5. Wendy and Lucy
The spirit of Italian neo-realism lived on in this simple but profound tale of a homeless woman and her dog.

6. Bright Star
This lyrical, swooning depiction of the romance between poet John Keats and literal girl next door Fanny Brawne signalled a dazzling return to form for Kiwi director Jane Campion.

7. Frozen River
Two desperate single mothers join forces in a people smuggling operation on the Canada / US border with nerve-shredding results in a thoughtful drama.

8. Broken Embraces
Another Almodóvar, another multi-layered and exquisitely realised masterpiece, with a wonderful central performance from Penelope Cruz.

9. Fish Tank
UK director Andrea ‘Red Road’ Arnold continued to impress with this involving and woozy portrait of a troubled council estate-dwelling fifteen-year-old.

10. Three Monkeys
A noir-ish and stunningly-rendered family drama from Turkish master Nuri Bilge Ceylan.

Television:
1. Mad Men
The second series of this superlative drama - set among the advertising executives of the early 60s on Madison Avenue - took the existential ennui of the first and twisted it into new and unusual directions.

2. Iran And The West
Superb three part documentary looking at Iran’s rocky relationship with the West which had just about all the key players contributing ranging from former US President, Jimmy Carter, to Queen Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran’s wife.

3. Peep Show
The sixth series of this sitcom about two flatmates was among the very best and helped cement the fact that this is the best British comedy of the last ten years.

4. The Thick Of It
Armando Iannucci’s farcical political satire served up a teetering New Labour as their spin machine (in the shape of the fearsome Malcolm Tucker) finally started to become unhinged.

5. Charlie Brooker’s Newswipe
The Guardian columnist turned his acerbic eye onto how the TV channels decide on which news agenda they should follow with hilarious and truly enlightening results.

6. Red Riding
A dramatic trilogy based on the David Pearce novels set in the 70s and 80s. Taking place “oop North” – and with it’s determinedly grim characters and settings – this was like The League Of Gentlemen but without the jokes.

7. Stewart Lee’s Comedy Vehicle
Some of the sketches were a bit iffy (some were inspired), but Stewart Lee’s stand-up routines are still some of the sharpest around.

8. Desperate Romantics
Was merely on nodding terms with the truth, but this bawdy (and funny) drama showed the 19th century Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood romping around London to good effect.

9. Micro Men
Deft and funny drama that highlighted the clash between Sinclair and BBC microcomputers back in the early 80s when Britain was at the forefront of such technology.

10. Ghost Hunting with The Happy Mondays
We didn’t actually watch this, but it deserves its place for the title alone that edged us closer to Alan Partridge’s ‘Youth Hosteling With Chris Eubank’ than ever before…

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