BEST OF THE YEAR

I really don't see enough new films each year to do a "Top Twenty" of the year's releases so I'm following the example of THE LAND OF CERPTS AND HONEY and making a list of the films I have seen during the year for the first time and enjoyed most. The list is not in order of preference - it's not in any order.

1. MILLION DOLLAR BABY (2006) Clint Eastwood's female boxing saga which turns out to be
not the film you are expecting.
2. THE HAPPENING (2OO8) Not Night's best movie by a long way but odd enough to keep him
in my sights as one of the most interesting directors in Hollywood.
3. MILK (2008) Gus Van Sant's biographical drama about activist Harvey Milk featuring a
deservedly oscar winning performance by Sean Penn.
4. GRAN TORINO (2009) Clint Eastwood again takes our expectations to the limit and then
whips the carpet out from under us.
5. DEATH PROOF (2007) Minor but ridiculously enjoyable trash from Quentin Tarantino.
6. SOMMARLEK/Summer Interlude (1951) Early Bergman winner.
7. SANTO Y BLUE DEMON CONTRA LOS MONSTRUOS (1965) Bizarre, colourful, engaging
nonsense from the Mexican fantasy factory.
8. CHANGELING (2009) Clint Eastwood's disturbing child abduction drama.
9. AND STARRING PANCHO VILLA AS HIMSELF (2006) Bruce Beresford recreates one of
the most bizarre events in film history.
10. FROST/NIXON (2009) Reconstruction of the David Frost/Richard Nixon interviews with
two great actors - Langella and Sheen - going head to head.
11. THE AVIATOR (2004) Scorsese 's biog of Howard Hughes.
12. APPALOOSA (2007) A classic Western that ticks all the boxes.
13. TAKEN (2008) Pierre Morrel's kick arse thriller.
14. LAT DEN RATTE KOMATA IN/Let the Right One In (2008) Brilliant Swedish horror
that sets new standards.
15. JUDEX (1963) Georges Franju's recreation of the classic Feuillade serial.
16. LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA (2008) Clint Eastwood yet again with the famous battle
seen from the Japanese viewpoint.
17. PLANET TERROR (2007) Robert Rodriguez's homage to the zombie flick.
18. AMERICAN GANGSTER (2008) Another great movie from Ridley Scott.
19. THE SARAGOSSA MANUSCRIPT (1963) Strange Polish surrealist fantasy .
20. THE DEPARTED (2008) Martin Scorsese's crime drama.
21. DESERTO ROSSO/The Red Desert (1964) Great but undervalued Antonioni.


Runners Up : THE MONSTER (1925), SERVICE DE LUXE (1938), POOL OF LONDON (1951)
HELL'S ANGELS (1930).



Dustbin : ROCKNROLLA, 3.10 TO YUMA, THE SPIRIT, CASTLE FREAK, THE DA VINCI CODE, AUSTRALIA, ANGELS AND DEMONS.

CLINT EASTWOOD

With no less than four titles

in my top twenty

I declare

DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR

Never expected that...well did ya, punk?