Reader Ratings

How did your picks fare? This scorecard tells you how readers voted for 50 of the year's most popular movies. After tallying the ballots, we averaged the star ratings to come up with rankings, rounding to the nearest half-star. This resulted in many ties. Only two films received four stars (and one of them is nearly 60 years old!). The "total" represents the number of ballots marked for each film.

EVALUATION SYMBOLS

Rating Meaning

++++ Excellent

+++1/2 Very Good

+++ Good

++ 1/2 Average

++ Fair

+1/2 Poor

+ Worst

AVG. STAR

RATING MOVIE WITH TITLE

++++ 4 Gone With the Wind (re-issue)

++++ 4 Saving Private Ryan

+++1/2 3.5 The Wizard of Oz

+++ 3 Antz

+++ 3 Everest

+++ 3 Ever After

+++ 3 Grease

+++ 3 The Horse Whisperer

+++ 3 Madeline

+++ 3 The Mask of Zorro

+++ 3 Meet Joe Black

+++ 3 Mulan

+++ 3 The Parent Trap

+++ 3 Pleasantville

+++ 3 Rush Hour

+++ 3 Simon Birch

+++ 3 A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries

+++ 3 The Spanish Prisoner

+++ 3 There's Something About Mary

+++ 3 The Truman Show

+++ 3 The X-Files Movie

++1/2 2.5 Beloved

++1/2 2.5 City of Angels

++1/2 2.5 Hope Floats

++1/2 2.5 The Last Days of Disco

++1/2 2.5 Lethal Weapon

++1/2 2.5 The Man in the Iron Mask

++1/2 2.5 The Negotiator

++1/2 2.5 The Object of My Affection

++1/2 2.5 Out of Sight

++1/2 2.5 Paulie

++1/2 2.5 A Perfect Murder

++1/2 2.5 Primary Colors

++1/2 2.5 Return To Paradise

++1/2 2.5 The Siege

++1/2 2.5 Six Days Seven Nights

++1/2 2.5 What Dreams May Come

++ 2 Armageddon

++ 2 The Big Lebowski

++ 2 Deep Impact

++ 2 Dr. Dolittle

++ 2 How Stella Got Her Groove Back

++ 2 Lost in Space

++ 2 Practical Magic

++ 2 Small Soldiers

++ 2 Snake Eyes

++ 2 U.S. Marshalls

++ 2 The Waterboy

++ 2 The Wedding Singer

+ 1/2 1.5 Godzilla

+ 1/2 1.5 Godzilla

Note: Movies such as "a bug's life," "Enemy of the State," "You've Got Mail," "Elizabeth," and "Thin Red Line" were not released in time to be included in this poll.

READER FAVORITES

We asked readers to name the film they enjoyed most this year and briefly tell why. Responses were sometimes surprising, but always thoughtful and enthusiastic. Here's a sampling of what you told us.

EVER AFTER

Clever Cinderella remake - light, humorous, whimsical, beautifully photographed.

- Cindy Sheltmire

Columbia, Mo.

GONE WITH THE WIND

First time seeing the entire film. Wonderful story and characters even after 60 years.

- Bob Hurley

Trumbull, Conn.

THE HORSE WHISPERER

Romantic and beautifully photographed. I got lost and truly "away" in its depth and beauty. Redford still has it!!

- Debby Thurlo

Orono, Minn.

PLEASANTVILLE

A poignant film for the 1990s. At a time when there are factions in society that feel the past was better than the present, this film brings to light that fallacy. Today we can value and appreciate diversity of people and cultures, instead of suppressing them and leading people to believe one culture is superior over another.

Doug Christensen

Boise, Idaho

PRIMARY COLORS

I thought of it over and over during our president's troubles.

- Jane Morgan

Minneapolis

RUSH HOUR

My favorite star in my favorite genre: Jackie Chan/action. Finally a good script with a good co-star made to American movie standards. Fun humor, clean entertainment.

- Gretchen Rivas

Hollywood, Calif.

SAVING PRIVATE RYAN

Helped me confront my feelings about war (and) share these feelings with my son (age 14).

- Jed Appelman

Berkeley, Calif.

A must-see. Difficult to watch, but like "Schindler's List" [an] essential portrayal of extremes of the human condition, and an historical document of a very significant aspect of the 20th century.

- John D. Wegmann

Port Angeles, Wash.

THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY

So funny I had tears rolling down my cheeks and my sides hurt.

- John Hopkins

Athens, Ga.

(But "Garbage all the way. No redeeming value at all," said Janet Lovelady of Prescott, Ariz.)

THEY NEVER GO TO MOVIES

Thank you for letting me voice an opinion. I used to love the movies, but we never go any more because we are so tired of four-letter words, violence, and constant bedroom scenes. The movies have certainly done their part big-time in the "coarsening of America." So sad! P.S. Are we really alone in these feelings?

- Nancy and Richard Ehrick

Rochester, Minn.