February 8, 1999 -- I've waited a little longer this year to come out with my top 10 list in hopes of seeing a few more of the top movies that did not make it to Laramie. Thanks to some screeners from the kind folks at Miramax and October films I saw more art films than I would have otherwise, and some of them made this list.

As usual, a lot of the year's top films did not make it to Laramie, including "Pleasantville," "Zero Effect," "Out of Sight," "The Opposite of Sex," "Simon Birch," "Hilary and Jackie," "A Simple Plan," "The Celebration," "High Art," "The Big One," "The Butcher Boy," "Life is Beautiful," "The Spanish Prisoner," "Waking Ned Devine" and "Pi," but I managed to see all of those films on tape, or in theaters in Denver, Fort Collins or Cheyenne.

I was unable to see other top films such as "American History X" (which was in Laramie for a one night stand on a night I had to cover a city council meeting), "Little Voice, "The Mighty," "Gods and Monsters," "Down in the Delta," "Happiness," "Hurly Burly," "Nil by Mouth, "Affliction," "Central Station" and "Hitman Hart: Wrestling With Shadows."

With that caveat, here is my first run at the top 10 films for 1998: