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There's plenty of Best Picture buzz these days about "Slumdog Millionaire," director Danny Boyle's tale of an unlikely game-show champion in Mumbai.

Reviewers are raving in Palo Alto, too. All three of the Weekly's main film critics, Jeanne Aufmuth, Tyler Hanley and Susan Tavernetti, put "Slumdog Millionaire" on their lists for the top 10 movies of 2008.

Although no other movie is on all the lists, two out of three critics agreed on several films, including "Milk" and "Rachel Getting Married." There's lots of Oscar humming here as well: Sean Penn for Best Actor? Anne Hathaway (who had quite a year) for Best Actress?

Then there are the more unusual pronouncements. Many reviewers loved Clint Eastwood's "Gran Torino," but Aufmuth put it on her Worst Movies of 2008 list. And Hanley called "Iron Man" — not your emblematic Oscar pick — the second-best movie of the year.

Does Oscar agree with our critics? We'll get an idea on Jan. 22, when the award nominees are announced, and find out for sure at the awards ceremony on Feb. 22.

The winsome robot WALL-E also gets some ink in this week's paper: Hanley has chosen him as one of 2008's best cinematic heroes. Go to page 28 for his list of the top heroes and villains.

• Jeanne Aufmuth's top films

• Tyler Hanley's top films

• Susan Tavernetti's top films

• Do-gooders and evil-doers

— Rebecca Wallace