Not so much a fearless prognostication as a tip sheet tilted toward the cinematic promise of the next dozen months, here’s a list of the 10 best movies of 2008. Some we’ve seen. Some we haven’t. Some are still being shot or edited. And some you may have to seek out on DVD. Neurotic zombies, samurai gunslingers, fresh-brewed weirdness from Charlie Kaufman, and the big-screen debut of singer Norah Jones, lensed by Chinese master Wong Kar-Wai, no less … hurry up and pass the popcorn, already.

“4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days” (January 25): Winner of the 2007 Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, director Cristian Mungiu’s harrowing tale of two college girlfriends, a seedy abortionist, and a terrible option in the fading days of the Ceausescu regime is the latest crest in a wave of new Romanian films (“The Death of Mr. Lazarescu,” “12:08 East of Bucharest”) shaking up that country’s cinematic orthodoxy.

“My Blueberry Nights” (February 13): Hong Kong cult favorite Wong Kar-Wai follows a well-trodden path for his first American production. He’s made a road movie. But unlike art-house demigods of decades past (Michelangelo Antonioni, Wim Wenders), this poet of prismatic desire is not likely to view the geographical expanse as a symbol of alienation. How could he when his leading lady is the pop singer Norah Jones, the Queen of Cozy? With its soulful soundtrack (featuring Ms. Jones, Cat Power, and Ry Cooder), rigorously choreographed kisses, and A-list costars (Jude Law, Natalie Portman), this could be the first chick flick a Tarantino geek can love.

“The Signal” (February 22): New life for the undead! A mysterious cable TV transmission turns a city of couch potatoes into an army of homicidal maniacs in this riotous riff on the zombie/end-of-the-world/viral madness movie. Working with friends in an Atlanta theater troupe, a trio of young directors (David Bruckner, Dan Bush, and Jacob Gentry) pay homage to David Cronenberg and George Romero, but offer plenty of fresh surprises and a low-budget ingenuity much truer to the 1970s horror spirit than overblown death-porn like the “Hostel” and “Saw” series. Get crazy.

“Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay” (April 4): Yes, that’s really the title. It’s a good sign that John Cho and Kal Penn, who scored a breakthrough for Asian and Southeast Asian comic actors with their first “Harold and Kumar” flick, are thinking subversively for the sequel — and not dialing in the stoner giggles. Arrested as terrorists when they try to sneak a bong on board a flight to Amsterdam, the anarchic duo gets a chance to add political satire to its multicultural critique.

“Religulous” (June 20) “Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden” (TBD): America’s sneakiest filmmaker, Larry Charles, bids to topple Michael Moore as the king of the agitprop documentary. The seasoned comedy director (“Borat,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm”) takes on the subject of God, with the decidedly unreligulous Bill Maher as a guide.

Meanwhile, fellow muckraker Morgan Spurlock (“Super Size Me”) is also back at work on a documentary tentatively called “Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden,” in which the mustachioed madman attempts (and word has it he’s come close) to one-up the world’s richest and most powerful military.

“Synecdoche, New York” (Summer): Philip Seymour Hoffman, an actor who can do no wrong, stars in the latest metamovie from writer-director Charlie Kaufman, whose imaginative, risky concepts can be hit (“Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”) or miss (“Adaptation”). As always, a main theme is the creative process, as Mr. Hoffman attempts to stage a play inside a giant replica of New York (perhaps inspired by the scale model at the Queens Museum of Art?). If all else fails, I’m just glad someone besides me thinks the title pun is funny.

“Where the Wild Things Are” (October 3): Spike Jonze (“Being John Malkovich”) adapts the Maurice Sendak children’s classic, with screenwriting help from Dave Eggers. So will we see the miscreants from “Jackass” cavorting in furry green creature outfits?

Not likely. The cast is all Oscar-caliber (Catherine Keener, Forest Whitaker, Benicio del Toro). But if anyone can capture the spirit of childhood anarchy and bestial yawp that animates the illustrator’s work, it’s that former skate-devil, Mr. Jonze.

“Sukiyaki Western Django” (TBD): Speaking of Quentin Tarantino, the “Kill Bill” director enjoys a cameo in Takashi Miike’s high-fashion horse opera: think “Deadwood” gone otaku. Gorgeously shot and art-directed, the film is an elegant departure for the auteur of such ultraviolent entertainments as “Tetsuo” and “Ichi the Killer.” Import DVDs should be available in February, with a shorter domestic edit on American screens by summer.

“Alice in Wonderland” (TBD): Word has it that Tim Burton is already at work on his version of the Lewis Carroll fable, the latest in a series of fanciful, grotesque adaptations (“Sleepy Hollow,” “Sweeney Todd,” “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”). Can’t wait to see Johnny Depp as Alice.

“Encounters at the End of the World” (TBD): Werner Herzog is on a roll. Festival buzz (from Toronto, Austin, and elsewhere) has followed this latest documentary, which finds the “Grizzly Man” director trekking toward the South Pole to capture the rarely seen vistas. More than an Antarctic travelog, the film compels audiences to consider the virtue of endless ice in an age of global warming.