JEFF FROM THE CINEFILES: HALL OF FAME: FILE #0010: TO SIR WITH LOVE (1967)

Written & Directed By: James Clavall
Based on the book by: E.R. Braithwaite
Cinematography By: Paul Beeson
Editor: Paul Thornton

Cast: Sidney Poitier, Judy Geeson, Suzy Kendall, Christian Roberts, Lulu, Michael Des Barres

THE BRAVE ONE (2007)

Directed By: Neil Jordan
Written By: Bruce A. Taylor, Roderick Taylor & Cynthia Mort
Story by: Bruce A. Taylor & Roderick Taylor
Cinematography By: Philippe Rousselot
Editor: Tony Lawson

Cast: Jodie Foster, Terrence Howard, Nicky Katt, Naveen Andrews, Jane Adams, Mary Steenburgen, Zoe Kravitz

THE RUNAWAYS (2010)

Written & Directed By: Flora Sigismondi
Based on the book “Neon Angel” by Cherrie Currie
Cinematography By: Benoit Debie
Editor: Richard Chew

Cast: Kristen Stewart, Dakota Fanning, Michael Shannon, Scout Taylor-Compton, Alia Shawkat, Riley Keough, Tatum O’Neal, Brett Cullen, Robert Romanus

POOLHALL JUNKIES (2002)

Directed By: Mars Callahan
Written By: Mars Callahan & Chris Gorso
Cinematography By: Robert Morris
Editor: James E. Tooley

Cast: Mars Callahan, Michael Rosenbaum, Rod Steiger, Christopher Walken, Chazz Palmenteri, Glenn Plummer, Rick Schroeder, Alison Eastwood, Anson Mount, Peter Dobson

NOT ANOTHER TEEN MOVIE (2001)

Directed By: Joel Gallen
Written By: Mike Binder, Adam Jay Epstein, Andrew Jacobson, Phil Beauman & Buddy Johnson
Cinematography By: Reynaldo Villalobos
Editor: Steve Welch

Cast: Chris Evans, Chyler Leigh, Cerina Vincent, Lacey Chabert, Mia Kirshner, Jamie Pressley, Joanna Garcia, Eric Christian Olsen, Deon Richmond, Sean Patrick Thomas, Randy Quaid, Samm Levine, Sam hunnington, Eric Jungmann, Ron Lester, Ed Lauter, Mr. T, Paul Gleason, Samaire Armstrong

Big River Man - documentary of the year?

I will say, RIGHT NOW, that Exit Through the Gift Shop is one of my favorite films of the year. But I watch a documentary that caught my attention when it was playing at the IFC Center last year that I finally got to see on dvd. It's called Big River Man and IT.IS.INCREDIBLE!
This real life tale is about Martin Strell, the national hero of Slovenia and swimmer extrodinaire. And drunk driver. And, this last fact is pointed out, numerous times, by his son. Now his son is the narrator film and Martin's conscience (I believe). He explains Martin's behavior and try to explain the demons that drive Martin. And they drive him down RIVERS! As in HE SWIMS THE LENGTHS OF THE RIVERS OF THE WORLD! AND HE'S 53!!
They have footage of him swimming the Yangtze River, which happens to be the most polluted river in the world. To prove this, the video shows a body floating down the river. Chilling. It is said that Martin had to have his BLOOD washed daily. Insane.
And the insanity doesn't stop there. As Martin declares that he needs to swim the Amazon, he prepares so little for this arduous task that one almost thinks it's an elaborate prank (see Banksy). But no, he's just driven to heights that would cost most their life or (at the very least) their sanity. And, by the end of the film, it may have cost our protagonist his very mind.
For some unexplained reason, Martin only trust two men on this journey: his son, Borut, and Matt, a Wisconsin Wal-Mart employee (???). The day they take off, Matt is JUST learning to use a GPS, which will prevent them from getting off course on the Amazon.
I won't reveal all, but it's clear that some on this journey do their best Dennis Hopper impersonation from 'Apocolypse Now'. Some villagers great him at the river banks like a hero, some treat him as the harbinger of doom. Martin feels no need for nutrition or hydration. He won't stop swimming, even with Second Degree Burns (Borut compares his skin to beef jerky).
Finally, when one is dealing with utter exhaustion and mental retreat, maybe it's unwise to bring in the hotel priest and his hand puppets?

How Werner Herzog was not on this trip???

FISH TANK (2010)

Written & Directed By: Andrea Arnold
Cinematography By: Robbie Ryan
Editor: Nicholas Chaudergue

Cast: Katie Jarvis, Michael Fassbender, Rebecca Griffiths

STARDUST (2007)

Directed By: Matthew Vaughn
Written By: Matthew Vaughn & Jane Goldman
Based on the Novel By: Neil Gaiman
Cinematography By: Ben Davis
Editor: Jon Harris

Cast: Ben Barnes, Robert Deniro, Claire Danes, Michelle Pfeiffer, Charlie Cox, Sienna Miller, Henry Cavill, Mark Strong, Jason Flemyng, Rupert Everett, , Peter O’Toole, Ian McKellan, Ricky Gervais

A PERFECT GETAWAY (2009)

Written & Directed By: David Twohy
Cinematography By: Mark Plummer
Editor: Tracy Adams

Cast: Steve Zahn, Milla Jovovich, Timothy Olyphant, Kiele Sanchez, Chris Hemsworth, Marley Shelton

JEFF'S TOP 20 FILMS OF 2010

*Keep in mind i didn't get a chance to see films such as TRUE GRIT, LIFE AFTER WARTIME, 127 HOURS, FAIR GAME

Eric's 10 Best of 2010

Here we go and only a week later than New Year's Day... my faves of 2010 (in no particular order):

Exit Through The Gift Shop (d. Banksy?)

Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World (d. Edgar Wright)

Black Swan (d. Darren Aronofsky)

Winter's Bone (d. Debra Granik)

True Grit (d. Joel and Ethan Coen)

Four Lions (d. Chris Morris)

The Social Network (d. David Fincher)

The Kids Are All Right (d. Lisa Cholodenko)

127 Hours (d. Danny Boyle)

The Ghost Writer (d. Roman Polanski)


Honorable Mentions: Jackass 3D (totally serious about this one), Shutter Island, Restrepo, Waiting For Superman, Kick-Ass, Red Riding Trilogy (technically I guess this should be a 2009 pick but there you go).

Most Disappointing: Inception (allow me to clarify -- I think it's a good movie. But really overrated by a lot of people out there. That's all)

And there you have it. I hope you all get off on your New Year's resolutions.

PRETTY MAIDS ALL IN A ROW (1971)

Director: Roger Vadim
Written By: Gene Rodenberry
Based On The Novel By: Francis Pollini
Cinematography By: Charles Rosher Jr.
Editor: Bill Brame

CAST: Rock Hudson, Angie Dickinson, Telly Savalas, Kenneth Wynn, Roddy McDowell, James Doohan

SLIVER (1993)

Director: Philip Noyce
Written By: Joe Eszterhaus
Based on the book by: Ira Levin
Cinematography By: Vilmos Zsigmond
Editor: Willaim Hoy, Ricard Francis-Bruce & Bert Lovitt

Cast: Sharon Stone, William Baldwin, Tom Berenger, Polly Walker, Martin Landau, Colleen Camp, CCH Pounder, Amanda Foreman

NARC (2002)

Written & Directed By: Joe Carnahan
Cinematography By: Alex Nepomniaschy
Editor: John Gilroy

CAST: Ray Liotta, Jason Patric, Busta Rhymes, Chi McBride, John Ortiz, Stacey Farber

CARRIERS (2009)

Written & Directed By: Alex Pastor & David Pastor
Cinematography By: Benoit Debie
Editor: Craig McKay

Cast: Chris Pine, Lou Taylor Pucci, Piper Perabo, Christopher Meloni, Emily VanCamp

GAMER (2009)

Written & Directed By: Mark Neveldine & Brian Taylor
Cinematography By: Ekkehart Pollack
Editor: Doobie White, Fernando Villena & Peter Amundson

Cast: Gerard Butler, Michael C. Hall, Terry Crews, Amber Valetta, Kyra Sedgwick Alison Lohman, Logan Lerman, Ludacris, Aaron Yoo, Johnny Whitworth, Michael Weston, Zoe Bell, Milo Ventimiglia, John Leguizamo, Keith David, James Roday, Lloyd Kaufman

2010 HONORABLE MENTIONS

2010 HONORABLE MENTIONS until I get to my top of the year

WORST/DISAPPOINTING movies of the year

CADENCE (1990)

Directed By: Martin Sheen
Written By: Dennis Shryack
Based On the Novel “Count on a lonely Cadence” By Gordon Weaver
Cinematography By: Richard Leiterman
Editor: Martin Hunter

Cast: Charlie Sheen, Martin Sheen, Laurence Fishburne, Michael Beach, James Marshall, F Murray Abraham

PLAIN CLOTHES (1988)

Directed By: Martha Coolidge
Written By: Scott Frank
Story By: Scott Frank & Dan Vining
Cinematography By: Daniel Hainey
Editor: Patrick Kennedy & Edward M. Abroms

Cast: Arliss Howard, Suzy Amis, Diane Ladd, Seymour Cassel, Larry Pine, Jackie Gayle, Robert Stack, Abe Vigoda, Peter Dobson, Loren Dean, Harry Shearer, Max Perelich, Reginald Vel Johnson. George Wendt,

CINDERELLA LIBERTY (1973)

Directed By: Mark Rydell
Written By: Darryl Poniscan
Cinematography By: Vilmos Zsigmond
Editor: Patrick Kennedy

Cast: James Caan, Marsha Mason, Eli Wallach, Burt Young, Bruno Kirby, Dabney Coleman, David Proval

GIRL'S TOWN (1996)

Directed By: Jim McKay
Written By: Jim McKay, Denise Casano, Anna Grace, Bruklin Harris, Lili Taylor
Cinematography By: Russell Lee Fine
Editor: Alex Hall & Jim McKay

Cast: Lili Taylor, Anna Grace, Aunjanue Ellis, Asia Minor, Bruklin Harris, Guillermo Diaz

PUMPKINHEAD (1988)

Directed By: Stan Winston
Written By: Mark Patrick Carducci & Gary Gerani
Story By: Stan Winston, Richard Weiman & Mark Patrick Carducci
Based On A Poem By: Ed Justin
Cinematography By: Bojan Bazelli
Editor: Marcus Manton

Cast: Lance Henriksen, Jeff East, George Flower, Kimberly Ross, Mayam Balik, Devon Odessa