2019, as often insisted on and to quote Frank Sinatra, was a very good year. Whereas in previous TOP 10 sometimes the bottom of the pan had to be thoroughly scraped in order to come up with a half-decent list, this year the TOP consists of bona fide masterworks, if not through and through, at least till about number 8 or 9, and the remaining 1 or 2 are also very good indeed.
Otherwise, Tinsetown still dominates (6 out of 10), there is only 1 woman director, more uncharacteristically, only 1 SciFi and 4 usual suspects, as you are about to find out. So on to the 2019 MacMahonian TOP 10:
Otherwise, Tinsetown still dominates (6 out of 10), there is only 1 woman director, more uncharacteristically, only 1 SciFi and 4 usual suspects, as you are about to find out. So on to the 2019 MacMahonian TOP 10:
10. High Life, Claire Denis – techno-grunge Nietzschean-apocalyptical SciFi from an unsuspected source, reviewed in these pages February 8th. 9. A Rainy Day in New York, Woody Allen – the usual stuff with increased polish, and proof The MacMahonian preferers quality to coolness, reviewed in these pages October 31st. 8. The Mule, Clint Eastwood – same as above and with coolness to boot, reviewed in these pages February 7th. 7. Transit, Christian Petzold – Samuel Beckett meets/misses Alain Robbe-Grillet in a timeless crypto-WWII interzone, from the (disavowing) head of the Berlin School, reviewed in these pages February 2nd. 6. Joker, Todd Philips – a decidedly non-DC origin story from an – again – unsuspected director and a tour de force from Joaquín Phoenix, reviewed in these pages October 9th. 5. Gisaengchung, Bong Joon-ho – only film on this list I didn’t get to review as I saw it as the year was coming to an end, quid pro quo comedy of manners with a blinding Marxist sub and super text, awarded with the Canes Palme d´Or, from a director The MacMahonian contritely admits having neglected, having totally loved his previous Madeo (2009) and Snowpiercer (2013). 4. Ahlat Ağacı, Nuri Bilge Ceylan – a lyrical film for nothing from the Turkish über-auteur who is also this year´s MacMahonian discovery, reviewed in these pages March 21st. 3. Dolor y Gloria, Pedro Almodovar – another swansong sounding masterpiece from a (relatively) old master, reviewed in these pages September 11th. 2. The Irishman, Martin Scorsese – departed (no pun intended) from orthodox practice as witnessed in streaming, a slow-burning but nonetheless staggering testimonial of the 20th Century America, by yet another old master, reviewed in these pages December 1st. …and the MacMahonian Best Film of 2019 is….: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Quentin Tarantino – don’t tell me you didn’t see it coming. If kicks are what counts in film watching (I´m not sure they are) then this delivers 3 or 4 a minute unfailingly and in crescendo for 161 (minutes). Samuel Beckett once wrote about James Joyce´s writing that it wasn´t about anything other than the writing itself. Tarantino´s cinema feels like that too. Commenting on this film, Cahiers du Cinema qualified it as Proustian, meaning, I think, something along the same lines. Reviewed in these pages August 17. |