Certified Fresh 2000-2009, a list by dave Miller

7.1

/40674/

72

/921/

72

/847/

3.4

/54205/

81

/145/

74

/1441/

67

/32/

3.5

age 16+

A rebellious teenager, future Beatle John Lennon lives with his Aunt Mimi in working-class mid-1950s Liverpool, England. Mimi's husband suddenly dies, and John spies his mother Julia at the funeral. Despite Mimi's misgivings, John intends to have a real relationship with his mother. Julia introduces him to popular music and the banjo and, though a family conflict looms, young John is inspired to form his own band.

73

66

7.1

/7650/

71

/83/

67

/78/

3.3

/3343/

95

/62/

76

/127/

71

/18/

Iranian musicians Negar and Ashkan look for band members to play at a London concert ... and the visa that allows them to leave Tehran to do so.

64

32

6.3

/133/

45

/6/

47

/11/

3.5

/287/

89

/375/

76

/762/

Mutantes sheds light on a feminism that was little talked about in France. This documentary comprises of a series of interviews conducted in the USA, Paris and Barcelona, and documents from the archives about the political action of sex workers, queer activists and post-pornographic performances.

73

6.8

/2988/

68

/38/

67

/63/

3.6

/3760/

91

/58/

61

/80/

76

/17/

3.5

Grégoire Canvel has everything a man could want. A wife he loves, three delightful children and a stimulating job. He's a film producer. Discovering talented filmmakers and developing films that fit his conception of the cinema-free and true to life-is precisely his reason for living. Yet his prestigious production company, Moon Films, is on its last legs. Too many productions, too many risks, too many debts. Storm clouds are gathering. But Grégoire ploughs on at all costs. Where will his blind obstinacy lead him?

79

7.2

/98448/

71

/1788/

69

/1135/

3.6

/39781/

90

/212/

76

/4993/

83

/32/

4.0

age 17+

When reporter Jean Craddock interviews Bad Blake—an alcoholic, seen-better-days country music legend—they connect, and the hard-living crooner sees a possible saving grace in a life with Jean and her young son.

77

7.5

/121568/

74

/2415/

73

/1619/

3.9

/107282/

86

/196/

81

/3821/

77

/35/

3.0

age 17+

Set in Los Angeles in 1962, at the height of the Cuban missile crisis, is the story of a British college professor who dwells on the past and cannot see his future. We follow him through a single day, where a series of events and encounters ultimately lead him to decide if there is a meaning to life after the death of his long time partner, Jim.

74

7.3

/173248/

73

/4676/

72

/4267/

3.4

/107427/

76

/238/

75

/6971/

74

/34/

3.5

age 12+

Newly elected President Nelson Mandela knows his nation remains racially and economically divided in the wake of apartheid. Believing he can bring his people together through the universal language of sport, Mandela rallies South Africa's rugby union team as they make their historic run to the 1995 Rugby World Cup Championship match.

72

7.2

/267994/

71

/8098/

70

/4133/

3.7

/181106/

74

/216/

68

/8200/

64

/33/

3.5

age 16+

A father and his son walk alone through burned America. Nothing moves in the ravaged landscape save the ash on the wind and water. It is cold enough to crack stones and, when the snow falls, it is gray. Their destination is the warmer south, although they don't know what, if anything, awaits them there.

75

7.1

/38275/

69

/837/

67

/464/

3.5

/12411/

90

/158/

75

/1566/

77

/32/

3.5

age 17+

Will Montgomery, a U.S. Army Staff Sergeant who has returned home from Iraq, is assigned to the Army’s Casualty Notification service. Montgomery is partnered with Captain Tony Stone, to give notice to the families of fallen soldiers. The Sergeant is drawn to Olivia Pitterson, to whom he has delivered news of her husband’s death.

72

7.2

/13239/

71

/307/

66

/160/

3.4

/2651/

78

/129/

76

/439/

64

/32/

3.5

age 17+

The lives of three women have a commonality: adoption. Karen is a physical therapist who regrets that, as a teenager, she gave up her daughter for adoption. Elizabeth was an adopted child and is now a successful lawyer, but her personal life lacks warmth. Lucy and her husband have failed to conceive and now hope to adopt a baby to make their family complete.

82

7.6

/73443/

76

/2158/

74

/1320/

3.8

/32244/

98

/47/

88

/495/

3.5

age 17+

The story of two men on different sides of a prison riot -- the inmate leading the rebellion and the young guard trapped in the revolt, who poses as a prisoner in a desperate attempt to survive the ordeal.

79

7.3

/120264/

73

/2776/

73

/1719/

3.7

/141572/

92

/239/

76

/21/

78

/36/

4.0

age 17+

In Harlem in 1987, Claireece "Precious" Jones is a 16-year-old African American girl born into a life no one would want. She's pregnant for the second time by her absent father, and at home she must wait hand and foot on her mother, an angry woman who abuses her emotionally and physically. School is chaotic and Precious has reached the ninth grade with good marks and a secret – she can't read.

68

6.3

/55106/

63

/1775/

62

/817/

3.3

/97022/

86

/104/

63

/1931/

73

/18/

3.0

A young college student who’s struggling financially takes a strange babysitting job which coincides with a full lunar eclipse. She slowly realizes her clients harbor a terrifying secret, putting her life in mortal danger.

80

7.2

/140644/

71

/2228/

69

/1389/

3.5

/82618/

93

/198/

80

/4687/

85

/34/

4.0

age 15+

Despite her sheltered upbringing, Jenny is a teen with a bright future; she's smart, pretty, and has aspirations of attending Oxford University. When David, a charming but much older suitor, motors into her life in a shiny automobile, Jenny gets a taste of adult life that she won't soon forget.

68

7.1

/31986/

72

/814/

66

/638/

3.5

/13379/

71

/143/

74

/1059/

62

/31/

2.5

While standing in the doorway of the video shop where he works, Bazil is inadvertently shot in the head. Now homeless and jobless, he is taken in by a troupe of misfits who live in a giant mound of trash. There Bazil begins his quest for revenge against the people who produced the gun that shot him.

77

7.2

/42954/

72

/1706/

71

/959/

3.5

/29644/

81

/182/

82

/7984/

67

/32/

4.0

age 10+

A compilation of interviews, rehearsals and backstage footage of Michael Jackson as he prepared for his series of sold-out shows in London.

75

7.1

/121087/

69

/3453/

70

/2536/

3.7

/325407/

93

/76/

76

/1292/

72

/18/

3.0

Three teenagers are confined to an isolated country estate that could very well be on another planet. The trio spend their days listening to endless homemade tapes that teach them a whole new vocabulary. Any word that comes from beyond their family abode is instantly assigned a new meaning. Hence 'the sea' refers to a large armchair and 'zombies' are little yellow flowers. Having invented a brother whom they claim to have ostracized for his disobedience, the uber-controlling parents terrorize their offspring into submission.

78

7.7

/2495/

72

/71/

73

/44/

3.6

/969/

96

/56/

90

/135/

75

/18/

3.0

"The Most Dangerous Man in America" is the story of what happens when a former Pentagon insider, armed only with his conscience, steadfast determination, and a file cabinet full of classified documents, decides to challenge an "imperial" presidency – answerable to neither Congress, the press, nor the people – in order to help end the Vietnam War.

71

60

6.9

/3204/

67

/55/

64

/68/

3.5

/1592/

82

/55/

69

/67/

82

/13/

Véronique Chambon (Sandrine Kiberlain), a single schoolteacher and Jean (Vincent Lindon), discover an unexpected bond that causes them to question the direction of their lives. They move in different social circles but their relationship develops and their lives begin gradually to unravel.

68

59

6.6

/4343/

65

/87/

61

/90/

3.3

/1307/

82

/66/

68

/127/

72

/24/

A chambermaid and a former cop meet at a speed dating event and a romance develops. But during a romantic getaway things suddenly take a turn for the worse when her mysterious past is revealed.

66

60

6.6

/7016/

65

/132/

59

/82/

3.4

/2198/

80

/80/

62

/319/

67

/26/

In Cairo on her own as she waits for her husband, Juliette finds herself caught in a whirlwind romance with his friend Tareq, a retired cop. As Tareq escorts Juliette around the city, they find themselves in the middle of a brief affair that catches them both unawares.

73

6.9

/6351/

71

/258/

66

/101/

3.4

/4355/

94

/83/

69

/1051/

72

/27/

3.0

age 14+

An exposé of comic proportions that only Chris Rock could pull off, GOOD HAIR visits beauty salons and hairstyling battles, scientific laboratories and Indian temples to explore the way hairstyles impact the activities, pocketbooks, sexual relationships, and self-esteem of the black community.

74

41

7.2

/718/

65

/12/

76

/18/

3.7

/1023/

87

/54/

74

/28/

A film by Frederick Wiseman following the ins and outs of 7 ballets by the Paris Opera Ballet.

78

7.0

/157187/

69

/3578/

67

/2265/

3.9

/208424/

89

/221/

68

/5000/

88

/38/

4.0

age 17+

It is 1967, and Larry Gopnik, a physics professor at a quiet Midwestern university, has just been informed by his wife Judith that she is leaving him. She has fallen in love with one of his more pompous acquaintances Sy Ableman.

77

7.5

/660298/

76

/29885/

72

/12867/

3.5

/1071530/

89

/256/

86

/25677/

73

/31/

3.0

age 17+

Columbus has made a habit of running from what scares him. Tallahassee doesn't have fears. If he did, he'd kick their ever-living ass. In a world overrun by zombies, these two are perfectly evolved survivors. But now, they're about to stare down the most terrifying prospect of all: each other.

67

34

6.5

/124/

58

/17/

73

/7/

2.8

/1081/

81

/407/

69

/115/

A short film from the Pop Life: Art in a Material World exhibition at London's Tate Modern museum. It stars Kirsten Dunst dancing through the streets of the Akihabara district in Tokyo dressed as a colorful princess, singing a cover of the Vapors' "Turning Japanese".

75

6.9

/12259/

67

/255/

65

/230/

3.6

/4470/

90

/108/

72

/375/

85

/28/

3.5

During the First Lebanon War in 1982, a lone tank and a paratroopers platoon are dispatched to search a hostile town.

68

6.5

/1377/

62

/26/

60

/24/

3.3

/890/

83

/40/

71

/46/

68

/7/

3.0

Hildegard von Bingen was truly a woman ahead of her time. A visionary in every sense of the word, this famed 12th-century Benedictine nun was a Christian mystic, composer, philosopher, playwright, poet, naturalist, scientist, physician, herbalist and ecological activist.

82

7.8

/80977/

75

/1389/

74

/1097/

4.2

/79186/

85

/146/

79

/1747/

84

/34/

4.0

An aged tailor recalls his life as the schoolteacher of a small village in Northern Germany that was struck by a series of strange events in the year leading up to WWI.

74

6.9

/7181/

71

/150/

65

/134/

3.4

/1565/

85

/79/

75

/164/

74

/25/

3.5

An intricate thriller about an ordinary man thrust into the biggest theft of Soviet information of the Cold War. Right after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. A French businessman based in Moscow, Pierre Froment, makes an unlikely connection with Grigoriev, a senior KGB officer disenchanted with what the Communist ideal has become under Brezhnev. Grigoriev begins passing Froment highly sensitive information about the Soviet spy network in the US.

74

6.9

/29564/

66

/557/

66

/472/

3.7

/29509/

83

/173/

69

/1417/

81

/34/

3.5

age 12+

In 1818, high-spirited young Fanny Brawne finds herself increasingly intrigued by the handsome but aloof poet John Keats, who lives next door to her family friends the Dilkes. After reading a book of his poetry, she finds herself even more drawn to the taciturn Keats. Although he agrees to teach her about poetry, Keats cannot act on his reciprocated feelings for Fanny, since as a struggling poet he has no money to support a wife.

68

6.5

/69578/

64

/2119/

61

/949/

3.3

/47776/

80

/226/

44

/5556/

66

/37/

4.0

age 15+

A rising star at agri-industry giant Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), Mark Whitacre suddenly turns whistleblower. Even as he exposes his company’s multi-national price-fixing conspiracy to the FBI, Whitacre envisions himself being hailed as a hero of the common man and handed a promotion.

79

7.7

/6913/

74

/238/

72

/105/

3.6

/1844/

83

/42/

83

/352/

71

/15/

4.0

From the acclaimed director of American Movie, the documentary follows former Los Angeles police officer turned independent reporter Michael Ruppert. He recounts his career as a radical thinker and spells out his apocalyptic vision of the future, spanning the crises in economics, energy, environment and more.

71

64

6.9

/3901/

63

/72/

66

/82/

3.7

/4128/

91

/43/

69

/99/

71

/9/

In order to escape her isolation, wheelchair-bound Christine makes a life changing journey to Lourdes, the iconic site of pilgrimage in the Pyrenees Mountains.

80

7.3

/67888/

71

/1490/

69

/907/

3.8

/94887/

91

/151/

79

/1320/

81

/31/

4.0

age 17+

Fifteen-year-old Mia is in a constant state of war with her family and the world around her. When she meets her party-girl mother’s charming new boyfriend Connor, she is amazed to find he returns her attention, and believes he might help her start to make sense of her life.

71

6.6

/84129/

63

/1864/

61

/1217/

3.6

/61345/

86

/152/

57

/3489/

69

/32/

4.0

age 18+

Terrence McDonagh is a New Orleans Police sergeant, who receives a medal and a promotion to lieutenant for heroism during Hurricane Katrina. Due to his heroic act, McDonagh injures his back and becomes addicted to prescription pain medication. He then finds himself involved with a drug dealer who is suspected of murdering a family of African immigrants.

72

7.2

/42301/

72

/690/

68

/569/

3.6

/27333/

73

/59/

74

/371/

76

/20/

3.0

In Hamburg, German-Greek chef Zinos unknowingly disturbs the peace in his locals-only restaurant by hiring a more talented chef.

75

46

7.4

/884/

66

/30/

64

/13/

3.4

/372/

95

/64/

85

/75/

75

/21/

The story of lawsuit by tens of thousands of Ecuadorans against Chevron over contamination of the Ecuadorean Amazon.

65

6.3

/17663/

60

/506/

59

/337/

3.0

/4329/

77

/97/

50

/820/

69

/31/

3.5

age 17+

A car magnate watches his personal and professional life hit the skids because of his business and romantic indiscretions.

72

7.4

/44496/

71

/1214/

70

/554/

3.6

/17275/

74

/184/

74

/2733/

61

/36/

3.5

age 14+

Michael Moore comes home to the issue he's been examining throughout his career: the disastrous impact of corporate dominance on the everyday lives of Americans (and by default, the rest of the world).

75

7.5

/3407/

74

/205/

71

/113/

3.8

/7946/

71

/52/

80

/233/

70

/18/

3.5

By the mid-1980s, the fabled animation studios of Walt Disney had fallen on hard times. The artists were polarized between newcomers hungry to innovate and old timers not yet ready to relinquish control. These conditions produced a series of box-office flops and pessimistic forecasts: maybe the best days of animation were over. Maybe the public didn't care. Only a miracle or a magic spell could produce a happy ending. Waking Sleeping Beauty is no fairy tale. It's the true story of how Disney regained its magic with a staggering output of hits - "Little Mermaid," "Beauty and the Beast ," "Aladdin," "The Lion King," and more - over a 10-year period.

67

46

6.6

/1607/

66

/53/

62

/28/

3.2

/656/

83

/48/

63

/159/

66

/22/

Follow the Manhattan-based Beavan family as they abandon their high consumption 5th Avenue lifestyle and try to live a year while making no net environmental impact.

77

7.2

/6755/

72

/122/

70

/87/

3.6

/2026/

97

/68/

81

/220/

82

/22/

3.0

Ajami is an area of Tel Aviv in Israel where Arabs, Palestinians, Jews and Christians live together in a tense atmosphere. Omar, an Israeli Arab, struggles to save his family from a gang of extortionists. He also courts a beautiful Christian girl: Hadir. Malek, an illegal Palestinian worker, tries to collect enough money to pay for his mother's operation. Dando, an Israeli cop, does his utmost to find his missing brother who may have been killed by Palestinians.

76

7.1

/2056/

71

/106/

68

/43/

3.8

/2841/

80

/51/

79

/170/

69

/15/

4.0

In 1999, Internet entrepreneur Josh Harris recruits dozens of young men and women who agree to live in underground apartments for weeks at a time while their every movement is broadcast online. Soon, Harris and his girlfriend embark on their own subterranean adventure, with cameras streaming live footage of their meals, arguments, bedroom activities, and bathroom habits. This documentary explores the role of technology in our lives, as it charts the fragile nature of dot-com economy.

72

7.0

/8180/

72

/240/

65

/115/

3.6

/8385/

83

/112/

71

/840/

69

/28/

3.0

A documentary chronicling Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour's preparations for the 2007 fall-fashion issue.

72

56

7.0

/1982/

63

/24/

70

/40/

3.7

/1752/

86

/63/

72

/107/

A Korean woman leaves her two young daughters with her sister-in-law to search for their estranged father.

86

7.8

/106760/

77

/2185/

76

/1668/

4.2

/85545/

96

/163/

89

/2109/

90

/31/

4.0

Sentenced to six years in prison, Malik El Djebena is alone in the world and can neither read nor write. On his arrival at the prison, he seems younger and more brittle than the others detained there. At once he falls under the sway of a group of Corsicans who enforce their rule in the prison. As the 'missions' go by, he toughens himself and wins the confidence of the Corsican group.

71

6.8

/42032/

67

/1421/

66

/633/

3.4

/27544/

88

/117/

67

/2254/

69

/24/