Top 10 Soundtracks of the 90's

And please note this is needle drop only. NOT scores. That is a different and, honestly, much more difficult list for me to make outside of the top 3.

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And for the lazy folks out there I made you a best of Playlist on Spotify. Complete with many songs seen here and some other random additions that just scream "90's Soundtrack"

Spotify 90's Soundtrack Playlist:
http://open.spotify.com/user/12440324/playlist/5fkdH8aMXMfOHAMYmlGA16

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Bonus Pick
#11) Trainspotting

Iggy Pop, Brian Eno, New Order, Pulp and more? Yes please. It also features my favorite song by one of my alltime favorite artists in Lou Reed's brilliant "Perfect Day"

1. Lust for Life - Iggy Pop 
2. Deep Blue Day - Brian Eno 
3. Trainspotting - Primal Scream 
4. Atomic - Sleeper 
5. Temptation - New Order 
6. Nightclubbing - Iggy Pop 
7. Sing - Blur
8. Perfect Day - Lou Reed 
9. Mile End - Pulp
10. For What You Dream Of -  Bedrock 
11. 2:1 - Elastica 
12. A Final Hit - Leftfield 
13. Born Slippy .NUXX - Underworld 
14. Closet Romantic - Damon Albarn

10) The Crow

I listened to this far too much to be able to omit it. Looking back, it wasn't nearly as good as I recalled but a number of standouts still exist. The Cure's "Burn", NIN's cover of Joy Divisions "Dead Souls" and one of my favorite STP tracks highlight the album. I also am still oddly driven to Jane Siberry's "It Can't Rain All the Time" which I remember listening to on repeat in my bedroom under a ton of blacklights. Yeeeeaaaah... Ahem.

1. Burn - The Cure 
2. Golgotha Tenement Blues - Machines of Loving Grace 
3. Big Empty - Stone Temple Pilots 
4. Dead Souls - Nine Inch Nails (Joy Division)
5. Darkness - Rage Against the Machine
6. Color Me Once - Violent Femmes 
7. Ghostrider - Rollins Band 
8. Milktoast - Helmet 
9. The Badge - Pantera
10. Slip Slide Melting - For Love Not Lisa 
11. After the Flesh - My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult
12. Snakedriver - The Jesus and Mary Chain 
13. Time Baby III - Medicine
14. It Can't Rain All the Time - Jane Siberry 

9) Jerry Maguire

Not as reminiscent of the decade but still full of older goodies to be found from The Who, Tom Petty and more. Aimee Mann's "Wise Up" (although better utilized in PTA's Magnolia) helped the cause in my list more than most would know. I also will forever be an apologist for Springsteen's "Secret Garden". Yep.

1. Requiem Again -The Durutti Column
2. The Horses - Rickie Lee Jones
3. I'll Be You - The Replacements
4. Momma Miss America - Paul McCartney
5. Singalong Junk- Paul McCartney 

6. Pocket Full of Rainbows - Elvis Presley
7. The Lonely Bull - Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass
8. Angel of the Morning - Merrilee Rush
9. Getting In Tune - The Who

10. Magic Bus - The Who
11. Something in the Way - Nirvana

12. For Those About to Rock (We Salute You) - AC/DC

13. Free Fallin' - Tom Petty

14. Neil Young – World on a String
15. Shelter from the Storm- Bob Dylan
16. Secret Garden - Bruce Springsteen
17. Bitch - The Rolling Stones
18. Wise Up - Aimee Mann

8) Gross Pointe Blank

First can we just all acknowledge now how underrated this flick is? Good, I agree. Another soundtrack that doesn't necessarily capture as much of the 90's but still strikes the right chord for the decade as a film in the process. It also helped catapult Violent Femmes back into the spotlight, a feat that deserves recognition alone. I also gave extra points for Faith No More and the addition of a top 25 track of all time in "Under Pressure"

1. Blister In The Sun - Violent Femmes

2. Rudie Can't Fail - Clash
3. Mirror In The Bathroom - English Beat
4. Under Pressure - David Bowie, Queen
5. I Can See Clearly Now - Johnny Nash
6. Live & Let Die - Guns N' Roses
7. We Care A Lot - Faith No More
8. Pressure Drop - Specials
9. Absolute Beginners - Jam
10. Armagideon Time - Clash
11. El Matador - Los Fabulosos Cadillacs
12. Let My Love Open The Door (E. Cola Mix) - Pete Townshend
13. Blister 2000 - Violent Femmes

7) So I Married an Axe Murderer


It was really hard to keep this just at 7 actually. Perfectly illustrates the 90's both in film and soundtrack including some of the most distinguishable tracks of the decade most notably with the Spin Doctor's "Two Princes". Throw in Toad the Wet Sprocket, Soul Asylum and a cheerful closing track in "There She Goes" and we have a perfectly balanced 90's soundtrack.

1. Brother - Toad the Wet Sprocket
2. The Break - Soul Asylum
3. Starve To Death - Chris Whitley
4. Rush - Big Audio Dynamite
5. This Poem Sucks - Mike Myers
6. Saturday Night - Ned's Atomic Dustbin
7. Long Day in the Universe - Darling Buds
8. Two Princes - Spin Doctors
9. My Insatiable One - Suede
10. Maybe Baby - Sun 60
11. There She Goes - La's

6) Forrest Gump

This easily could have been the top soundtrack of the 90's but I knocked it a few points for not having anything truly "90's" about it. Whats so great about this list for me is the time period it exemplifies and although this is one of the greatest music soundtracks of all time it does not have anything definable in it for said decade. Having said all that, Holy Hell is this an amazing soundtrack.

Disc One

1. Hound Dog - Elvis Presley
2. Rebel Rouser - Duane Eddy
3. (I Don't Know Why) But I Do" - Clarence "Frogman" Henry
4. Walk Right In - The Rooftop Singers
5. Land of 1000 Dances - Wilson Pickett
6. Blowin' in the Wind - Joan Baez
7. Fortunate Son - Creedence Clearwater Revival
8. I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch) - The Four Tops
9. Respect - Aretha Franklin
10. Rainy Day Women #12 - Bob Dylan
11. Sloop John B - Beach Boys
12. California Dreamin' - The Mamas & the Papas
13. For What It's Worth - Buffalo Springfield
14. What the World Needs Now Is Love - Jackie DeShannon
15. Break on Through (To the Other Side) - The Doors
16. Mrs. Robinson - Simon & Garfunkel

Disc Two
1. Volunteers - Jefferson Airplane
2. Let's Get Together - The Youngbloods
3. San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair) - Scott McKenzie
4. Turn! Turn! Turn! - The Byrds
5. Medley: Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In - The 5th Dimension
6. Everybody's Talkin' - Harry Nilsson
7. Joy to the World - Three Dog Night
8. Stoned Love - The Supremes
9. Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head - B. J. Thomas
10. Mr. President - Randy Newman
11. Sweet Home Alabama - Lynyrd Skynyrd
12. It Keeps You Runnin' - The Doobie Brothers
13. I've Got to Use My Imagination - Gladys Knight & the Pips
14. On the Road Again - Willie Nelson
15. Against the Wind - Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band

5) Singles


The second Cameron Crowe film to make the list which if you follow him close enough should be no surprise. As a whole, I feel that the power here is more in the bands themselves then the tracks but in the end you can't make a 90's list and not mention something that includes the likes of Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, Smashing Pumpkins, Soundgarden and more. Nothing exemplifies the grunge era better than this.

1. Would? - Alice in Chains
2. Breath - Pearl Jam
3. Seasons - Chris Cornell
4. Dyslexic Heart - Paul Westerberg
5. The Battle of Evermore (live Led Zeppelin cover) - The Lovemongers
6. Chloe Dancer/Crown of Thorns - Mother Love Bone
7. Birth Ritual - Soundgarden
8. State of Love and Trust - Pearl Jam
9. Overblown - Mudhoney
10. Waiting for Somebody Paul Westerberg
11. May This Be Love -The Jimi Hendrix Experience
12. Nearly Lost You - Screaming Trees
13. Drown - Smashing Pumpkins

4) Empire Records

Not as many individual standouts in terms of singles but it was an album I listed to on repeat for many years. There isn't a bad track on the album with some of the most definable 90's pop bands to be found. Gin Blossoms, Toad the Wet Sprocket, The Cranberries, Better Than Ezra and more. It's one of the first thoughts I have when I think of "90's Soundtracks" and for good reason.

1. Til I Hear It from You - Gin Blossoms
2. Liar - The Cranberries
3. A Girl Like You - Edwyn Collins
4. Free - The Martinis
5. Crazy Life - Toad the Wet Sprocket
6. Bright As Yellow - The Innocence Mission
7. Circle of Friends - Better Than Ezra
8. I Don't Want to Live Today - Ape Hangers
9. Whole Lotta Trouble - Cracker
10. Ready, Steady, Go by The Meices
11. What You Are - Drill
12. Nice Overalls - Lustre
13. Here It Comes Again - Please
14. The Ballad of El Goodo - Evan Dando
15. Sugarhigh - Coyote Shivers
16. The Honeymoon Is Over - The Cruel Sea

3) Can't Hardly Wait



A wonderfully balanced soundtrack with some amazing little known tracks from under-appreciated bands like Feeder and Matthew Sweet with huge hits from Blink and Busta Rhymes. Throw in some great older party mix tunes from the 80's in GnR and Run DMC and you have a winner from top to bottom.

1. Graduate - Third Eye Blind
2. Can't Get Enough Of You Baby - Smash Mouth
3. Dammit - Blink 182
4. I Walked In - Brougham
5. Turn It Up/Fire It Up - Busta Rhymes
6. Hit Em Wit Da Hee - Missy Elliott feat. Lil' Kim and Mocha
7. Swing My Way - K.P. & Envyi
8. Flashlight - Parliament
9. It's Tricky - Run D.M.C.
10. High - Feeder
11. Tell Me What To Say - Black Lab
12. Farther Down - Matthew Sweet
13. Can't Hardly Wait - The Replacements
14. Umbrella - Dog's Eye View
15. Paradise City - Guns N' Roses

2) Cruel Intentions

Two songs firmly had this planted on the top 3 without me even trying: The Verve's "Bitter Sweet Symphony" and one of my top 5 songs of the decade "Colorblind" by the never out of style Counting Crows. Throw in an amazing decade defining track from Fatboy Slim and some wonderful additions by Blur, Skunk Anansie and Marcy Playground and you have a fantastic soundtrack that unlike others on this list, better encompasses my current musical taste.

1. Every You Every Me - Placebo
2. Praise You - Fatboy Slim
3. Coffee And TV - Blur
4. Bedroom Dancing - Day One
5. Colorblind - Counting Crows
6. Ordinary Life - Kristen Barry
7. Comin' Up From Behind - Marcy Playground
8. Secretly - Skunk Anansie
9. This Love - Craig Armstrong
10. You Could Make A Killing - Aimee Mann
11. Addictive - Faithless
12. Trip On Love - Abra Moore
13. You Blew Me Off - Bare Jr.
14. Bitter Sweet Symphony -The Verve

1) Reality Bites

It just oozes 90's in every aspect and includes a wonderful mix of radio friendly pop hits like Big Mountain's "Baby I Love your Way" and the Knacks "My Sharona" with some of the edgier influential bands of the decade like Dinosaur Jr and the Posies. More importantly (and what puts this album over the top for me) it features two of my all-time favorite songs: The impeccable beauty Lisa Loeb doing two versions of her #1 hit "Stay" (including an acoustic version that still gets to me today) and one of the greatest unknown U2 love songs in the nearly 7 minute "All I Want is You". I can still listen to this from start to finish today and enjoy every minute of it just like I did as a HS Sophomore, which in the end is what allowed this to narrowly edge out the #1 spot.

1. My Sharona - The Knack
2. Spin The Bottle - The Juliana Hatfield 3
3. Bed Of Roses - The Indians
4. When You Come Back To Me - World Party
5. Going, Going, Gone - The Posies
6. Stay (I Missed You) - Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories
7. All I Want Is You - U2
8. Locked Out - Crowded House
9. Spinning Around Over You - Lenny Kravitz
10. I'm Nuthiin' - Ethan Hawke
11. Turnip Farm - Dinosaur Jr.
12. Revival - Me Phi Me
13. Tempted (94) - Squeeze
14. Baby, I Love Your Way - Big Mountain
15. Stay (I Missed You) (Living Room Mix) - Lisa Loeb
16. Ass It Up - Ethan Hawke
17. Confusion - New Order
18. Disco Inferno - The Trammps
19. Give A Man A Fish - Arrested Development
20. Fools Like Me - Lisa Loeb

Honorable Mention:

Pulp Fiction - Some of the most entertaining parts are the integrated sound bites from the movie leading into the music. Unfortunately those don't really count for me in the rules I went by here.

The Chase - Maybe the best Punk soundtrack *ever*. Sadly though a real "soundtrack" was never released so this is here because of that technicality. Artists include: NOFX, Bad Religion, Down by Law, Rancid, Rollins Band and more.

Angus - In some ways I am shocked this didn't make crack my top 10 here as I have nothing but fond memories of this on repeat driving around Tampa in my car. Greenday, Ash and (of course) Weezer highlight but tracks by Love Spit Love and Dance Hall Crashers also got plenty of run and rightfully so.

Phenomenon - More of a guilty pleasure for me than anything else but some solid tracks by Eric Clapton, Peter Gabriel, Marvin Gaye. Jewel and yeah, I said it: Aaron Neville.

The Matrix - Honestly I just got really sick of this (and still am 12+ years later). But it did have some standout tracks from Rage Against the Machine, Rammstein, Prodigy and more. It's worth noting too that (lamely) half the songs on the Soundtrack were not even featured in the film. Another point that frustrates me in a "Disturbing Behavior" level way. Which if you know what I am referring to right now are likely my friend for life. 

American Pie - The first album out of the top 11. A variety of fun tracks from bands like Blink, Third Eye Blind, Tonic and more with two excellent subdued counterparts with Bic Runga's "Sway" and her duet with Semisonic's Dan Wilson with "Good Morning Baby"

Cable Guy - It starts and ends with a top 25 track of the decade for me in Primitive Radio Gods hit "Standing Outside a Broken Telephone Booth with Money in my Hand". Throw in Filter's "Hey Man Nice Shot" and Rob Zombie's hit "More Human than Human" and you have another album that was tough to leave off the list.



Spotify 90's Soundtrack Playlist: http://open.spotify.com/user/12440324/playlist/5fkdH8aMXMfOHAMYmlGA16

Top 10 Songs Likely to be heard at the Doofin’s wedding

and in no particular order...


Jimmy Eat World – For Me this is Heaven 
second song that came to my head

Ryan Adams - Wonderwall 
because it's beautiful and the greatest cover of all time. A point we both agreed upon

Tonic – If you could only see
First song that came to my head

Guster – Satellite
I had to pick a Guster song. And although my guess is something like 'Either Way' would be a favorite, lyrically it made the least sense for a wedding.

Fall Out Boy – Grand Theft Autumn/Where is Your Boy
You know I must love you to have taken my time to find a Fall Out Boy song for this list. <3
And lyrically its a stretch but it works(ish)

John Williams - Jurassic Park Soundtrack - Main Theme
and it will be at my wedding too...



Decemberists – The Rake's Song
Can't make a list for my Doofin without some Colin. This was the obvious choice IMO

Randy Edelman- Last of the Mohicans Soundtrack - Promentory
You have to think of me at some point in the wedding. This addition should suffice

 

The Beatles – Eleanor Rigby  
I think we discussed this actually. Some lyrics might not fit but otherwise its perfect  

Pete Yorn – Just Another Girl 
 too many to choose from here. but to for me... this one is heaven (oh and see below)

Top 10 Songs with Whistling

10) Foster the People – Pumped Up Kicks
-2:49 mark-

9) Warren G ft. Nate Dogg - Regulate
-opening-

8) Rilo Kiley – Ripchord (written about Elliot Smith btw)
-1:45-

7) Ottis Redding - Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay
-2:30-

6) Guns N' Roses - Patience
-opening-

5) Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros - Home

-Opening and every Chorus-

4) Tom Waits - Green Grass 
-2:33-

3) Bobby McFerrin - Don’t Worry Be Happy 

-opening-

2) Andrew Bird – Oh No (but really this is for just about *any* Andrew Bird song) 
- :57 mark for the intro and sporadic after that-

1) Peter Bjorn & John - Young Folks 
-err... everywhere-

Honorable Mention:

They Might Be Giants - Whistling in the Dark

Only listed because its a song about whistling that has no whistling. Yep.

Top 10 Horror Films to prepare for Halloween that are currently available on Netflix Streaming

-in no particular order-

The Exorcist

 

Still creepy multiple decades later and the one film that the Baby Boomer generation regularly calls the scariest film of all time. It affected people in theaters all those years ago and still packs a pretty tight and well-paced story for the younger horror fans today. It’s a classic for a reason. Skip the edited version on AMC and check out the original un-cut masterpiece on Netflix instead. It also features a much better version of the "creepy stairs walk" that has been copied in films like The Grudge/Ju-On more recently

http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/The-Exorcist/14546619

Trick ‘r Treat

This was the first movie I centered on when making this list. A wonderful vignette of 4 interwoven stories all taking place on Halloween night that gradually builds to a rather interesting ending. It’s a fun homage to the Horror genre that nicely walks the line between camp and genuine fright.

http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/Trick_r_Treat/70060004?trkid=2361637

The Howling

I’d love to recommend Silver Bullet here but alas it is not available. The Howling is actually an edgier and gorier option but doesn’t have the camp in the Bullet Bite. If you want a good old-school Werewolf flick with some decent kills and special effects this is your choice.

http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/The_Howling/60020716?trkid=4434179

Them (Ills)

 

A riveting home invasion story with a twist. The French are the clear Horror winners of the decade and this is one of their gems. Not a gore fest like High Tension or Inside but just as creepy. Think ‘The Strangers’ with more atmospheric scares.
http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Them/70075470

Lake Mungo

 

Another top 25 for my decade list that centers around a ghost story told in a way you might not expect. This is a little gem that not many may have found but is well worth your time. 

http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/Lake_Mungo/70114970?trkid=2361637

Night of the Living Dead

The film that literally invented the Zombie we all know and love today and effectively changed the horror genre as a result.  Parents used to drop their kids off to watch classic horror films on Saturday afternoons where no one really got scared. That all changed with George A Romero. Still relevant and the political undertones speak just as loudly today. 

http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Night-of-the-Living-Dead/17017662

Ghoulies

80’s B-Movie camp at it’s best. I used to watch this over and over as a kid. Wonderful camp and just a damn good time all around. On a related note I *really* want this poster in my bathroom. I think I’m going to make this happen

http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/Ghoulies/70209222?trkid=4377176

Session 9

Brad Anderson’s psychological mind bender gets better and better by the viewing. Not typical “horror” per se but definitely creepy and one that will keep you guessing. This made the top 15 on my decade list for a reason. It’s brilliant.

http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/Session_9/60021401?trkid=496624

The Evil Dead

 

I did just tattoo this on my body. I’m guessing that means I think pretty highly of it. You just can’t go wrong with some classic Raimi that brings the casual and hardcore Horror fans together in something that is both funny and genuinely scary all in the same 90 minute punch.

http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/The_Evil_Dead/484369?trkid=2361637

The Awkward Double Bonus:

Santa Sangre

Not quite Horror in the traditional sense but just a mind bending fucked up bloody mess. One of my all-time favorites but I have to be in the mood for sure. If any of you partake any recreational activities during your horror viewings this would be the perfect fit.
http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/Santa_Sangre/70159609?trkid=4414868

Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer

Now this one might be a tougher for a few out there. Its graphic and displays the brutality in a very raw and uncensored format. With that in mind it really paved the way for some of the modern peeping tom style of Horror that is making its waves on the internet and if you find yourself intrigued by a Mockumentary like S&M Man than this is definitely your cup of tea. Which by the way is a creepy phrase to use in context here.

http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/Henry_Portrait_of_a_Serial_Killer/584120?trkid=4368101

Brainwash Your Face: The Top Documentaries of 2010

Typically I would reserve any specific genre list such as this for an end of the decade or similar compilation. But what we experienced over the past 12 months was and is something truly unique and unlike any year in recent memory. If truth is in fact stranger than fiction, it is also then more elusive and haunting, more provocative and absolutely less reprehensible. This point is revealed and then some within 2010’s remarkable documentaries. Even as the year’s fiction films toyed with timelines or conjured dreamscapes, a remarkable number of documentaries challenged basic assumptions about structure and representation, faith and truth. Those remarkable films I have had the privilege of watching and below are what I believe are the best of the best. Enjoy:

15) Catfish


Although over-hyped and poorly mismarketed we still find here a TRUE (yes, it is real) look at the human spirit and need for some people to find and feel a connection with someone, anyone and the lengths they will take to experience that. Now, I won't spoil Catfish's twists here, but the publicity strategy is frustrating. It gives the impression that the major thing going for Catfish is the element of surprise, when in fact, the craft of this film is uncommonly impressive. You could remove the mystery quotient altogether and Catfish would remain the rare ultra-low-budget personal hybrid documentary with an extraordinary visual logic, and an even more extraordinary sense of compassion for its subjects. Even, especially, when its subjects take a turn for the superweird. The ending drags a bit in a style Peter Jackson could only appreciate but it doesn't remove us from what is still an intriguing character study.

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BuE98oeL-e0


14) Gas Land


A film that exposes the "fracked up" truth about natural Gas and the families exploited in the process. One man, one idea with one camera begins to document something that is both frightening and enlightening. Its the type of doc that makes you a character as well exposing the ugly underbelly as we tread along attempting to light a match to the companies at fault. Although after the viewing don't be surprised if you find yourself lighting a match as well... under your own water faucet.

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZe1AeH0Qz8


13) Art of the Steal


Everybody likes a good art heist flick. But Don Argott's documentary The Art of the Steal is the rare heist film where we root for the art owners, not the cunning (and always attractive) thieves. The bad guys here are a powerful cabal of politicians, media entities, greed mongers, and massive public charity organizations, while the good guys are a scrappy bunch of art scholars. What are they fighting over? Control of a collection believed to be the greatest repository of Post-Impressionist and early Modern art, and is rumored to be worth at least $25 billion. And what takes place is no doubt a criminal act.

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMe3r9PLtpI


12) Cropsey


Cropsey is the pseudonym given to all the evil that lurks in the shadows of Staten Island. This urban legend, passed down to each generation, takes on many different guises: Cropsey is the crazed killer brandishing a hook for a hand, or maybe an ax, or the ever-popular butcher knife. But is Cropsey a manifestation of the fears of the young or a bonafide maniac tormenting the towns people? InCropsey, directors Barbara Brancaccio and Joshua Zeman seek to weave the urban legend with the real-life disappearances of young children on Staten Island. And while the legend isn't really the question in the end, the journey to get there and our own curiosity pushes us along to an entertaining look at a fine example of the rare suspense themed Documentary.

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJKPvaNEVjs


11) Winnebego Man


This is a fascinating journey into a strange, darkly funny story of internet legend Jack Rebney, a Winnebago salesman who achieved notoriety based on outtakes of a corporate video he shot in the 1980s. As the Toronto Star critic Gregg Quill aptly put it "Perhaps the most disturbing issue raised in Ben Steinbauer's fascinating and often hilarious Winnebago Man has to do with the Internet's awesome ability to reduce complex and apparently dangerous behavior to the level of banal spectacle." You laugh at him while also realizing how sad some of this has all become but in the end it has this redeeming subtlety that can't help but make you smile.

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtCRVUdaiyw


10) Best Worst Movie


How do you combat the burden of being an actor attached to Troll 2, the worst film of all time? If you’re Michael Paul Stephenson, you film a stunning documentary, Best Worst Movie, that chronicles the unexplainable phenomenon that has turned Troll 2 from a bargain bin film into a cult classic. Just a simple viewing of the original subject is entertaining enough but now with this eye opening documentary about the creation of this "masterpiece" you have what is one of the more rewarding and sincere looks at the movie making business and the dreams of those just looking for a break.

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tFgZ6DmXmw



9) The Lottery

If there's one political issue that should be simple, it's education. Everyone is for education; everyone agrees children deserve the best education possible. But trying to determine just how to give children that education is a sore subject, and that's where the problems begin. The troubling documentary "The Lottery" shows how just how many sides to a one-sided issue there can be. When you are talking about a child's future this is one time where winning really is everything.

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Khlm4fa-_cE


8) Marwencol


The moment of discovery is a complex thing for any artist working in obscurity. For the fascinating, unclassifiable subject of "Marwencol," it's also the most recent side effect of a brutal barroom beating. Director Jeff Malmberg's debut documentary is an intimate portrait of Mark Hogancamp, whose recovery from devastating trauma revolves around a world painstakingly created from dolls and miniatures. While it is tragic what happened to Mark, he admits that it opened a door for him. He is a new person, a person with a passion and a talent, and he is a person that you should get to know.

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNKPEp6aEqQ


7) Waiting For Superman


Waiting for Superman isn’t a solution to the education problem in America; it’s a call to action. Written and directed by Davis Guggenheim, filmmaker of The Inconvenient Truth, the documentary demonstrates how high-quality educational opportunities are largely inaccessible and how a child’s future often comes down to chance. Through the stories of five kids, Guggenheim presents the pitfalls of America’s education system—and the disheartening reality of their impact. I rated this slightly higher than "The Lottery" based on the emotional connection I had with the families and the straight forward commentary from superstar to be Geoffrey Canada. One story in particular really pulled at my evil set of heart strings.

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFN0nf6Hqk0


6) Inside Job

Despite the fact that it’s a trite truism that Wall Street is fueled by greed and “greed makes the world – or at least the markets – go round,” it’s merely the tip of the iceberg of moral depravity and social corruption that has been exposed on Wall Street in the new documentary by Charles Ferguson.The Inside Job is a version of the financial crisis for thinking people (as much as that’s possible on the big screen, anyway). And unlike Ferguson's first film No End in Sight we build a true narrative here not seen since one of my favorite corruption Docs, Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room. And just like that visceral film be prepared to be pissed at the world (although determined more here) by the time the credits roll.

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzrBurlJUNk


5) Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Elliot Spitzer


In a very different way, Client 9 insists on the ongoing performances of other participants in the financial crisis, as they dodge responsibility and seek exposure, claim legal rights and manipulate clients, constituents, and colleagues for a living. Alex Gibney’s film brilliantly points out how performance structures daily experience, as deception and also as principle. There is so much more to the story here than a sex scandal and in many ways the defiling of one of the great politicians of our time and the true cost it took in order to make this happen. Political agenda aside this is a fascinating look at the depths people will go in order to hide the truth.

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WldZazpFy7I


4) A Film Unfinished


Some movies are difficult to watch because they force us to confront the brutality of others. Some are tough to sit through because they bring us face-to-face with the this same force within ourselves. And some films, like A Film Unfinished, a new documentary that consists almost entirely of Nazi footage taken inside the notorious Jewish Ghetto of Warsaw, assault us on both of these levels. As Unfinished unspools, we are left shedding tears for the fate of millions of innocents, and to quietly worry about how we, as onlookers, would have responded were we on the outside of those grim walls in the years when this unparalleled evil fell over the Polish people. Beautiful yet Haunting this is not for the faint of heart.

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Khut0kKn-c8


3) The Tillman Story


The Tillman Story is about the frustrating lack of resolution. It opens with an poignant interview: Pat Tilman, of the Arizona Cardinals. He appears uncomfortable, a familiar figure but also self-conscious, his performance a function of the interviews limits, as well as the limited purpose, to promote the team, to sell product during the Holiday season. “If they knew anything about my son,” observes Mary Tillman, “They wouldn’t have done what they did.” With this injustice in mind, Amir Bar-Lev’s film takes up the case of the Tilman family, with visible and insistent outrage, demanding truth from the government and military that has made it its mission to repress truth, about the current wars and about Pat Tillman’s death.

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaMAVAqef7I


2) The Oath

The Oath begins as a portrait of former self-proclaimed jihadist and former personal bodyguard to Osama Bin laden, Abu Jamal, currently driving a cab in Yemen, parenting his young son and looking back on the fate of his brother, Salim Hamdan, detained at Guantánamo until the Supreme Court ruled against the Bush Administration in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld ('06). Laura Poitras’ extraordinary film turns into a series of reflections on possible truths, documentary subjects, and all manner of performances. It’s one of the best films of the year, never letting you forget the limits of its truth-telling, the performative genius and survival of its subject, the media imagery that creates and undoes him, the governments and war machines that deflect rather than reveal truth. What is "The Oath" and what secrets are Abu Jamal and his Bin laden ties hiding? The search for those answers is a rewarding one in what in many years would have been hands down the top documentary piece.

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFXLhJWDMXc


1) Exit Through the Gift Shop


Perhaps the cagiest version of these challenges within the Documentary field is offered in the perfectly named, superbly unfixed Exit Through the Gift Shop, which may or may not be “the Banksy film,” as it’s been wonderfully tagged. Looking sideways and a little ironically at how art is made and marketed, ETTGS undermines the very story it tells, asking you to doubt the subjects it produces (filmmaker-turned-street-artist Thierry Guetta, street-artist-turned-filmmaker Banksy) and their capacity to speak honestly. In reflecting on the authenticity of art and the value of politics, it maintains its complex indefinition in a way that a similarly themed film: the more visceral I’m Still Here, didn’t manage.

What is real and what is fake? Where does the joke begin and end... or is it even a joke at all? The clues exist both in the art and the subjects but in the end does it really even matter? There is no question the documentary here is real, the only thing left to wonder is what truly is being documented.

It's the best of its kind in 2010 for a reason; the truly great films never end when the credits roll.

Trailer:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0b90Yppqu



Honorable Mention - Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work, Restrepo, Collapse, Casino Jack, Last Train Home, Prodigal Sons, The Street Stops Here, The Most Dangerous Man in America Waste Land