Some weeks are a wasteland. Others are an embarrassment of riches.

Welcome to one of the latter, with a handful of releases that were among the best, most intriguing or most talked-about of 2008. At the top of the list is Rachel Getting Married, director Jonathan Demme's masterful family drama featuring the Oscar-nominated performance by Anne Hathaway as a chronic mess of a recovering addict, and an even better one by Rosemarie DeWitt as her sister, the titular Rachel. And Sally Hawkins' terrific work as an indominatably cheerful London teacher in Happy-Go-Lucky stands up to both of them. Or if you're looking for a standout male acting performance, there's Sean Penn's Oscar-winning work in Milk.

Then again, if you're looking for creepy, there's the Swedish vampire thriller Let the Right One In. And if you're looking for mind-bending philosophical musings on the passage of time, don't miss Synecdoche, New York. That should keep you busy through the weekend.