31. 'The Ides of March'

Political movies aren't usually very riveting, but 'Ides' breaks the genre with a stellar cast (George Clooney, Ryan Gosling, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Marisa Tomei, Evan Rachel Wood) and an intelligent script. The film removes the polished sheen that normally covers campaigning for political office and exposes the oft-ugly machinations spinning underneath. And c'mon, let's face it, we know this is just a preliminary taste of Clooney and politics, so we'd better get used to it. -- C.J.