...And don´t lets forget 2019 was also the end of the decade (actually no, it will be 2020, but everyone reckons this way, so…) so the MacMahonian hereby publishes its list of the top 10 best films of the past decade. Quick stats:3 non-Hollywood, 3 SciFi, 2 westerns and about half usual suspects. Perusing other TOP 10 lists in cyberspace I found occasional references to about half of the films here listed, so The MacMahonian’s views can this time considered to be relatively mainstream. I also found a couple of films I´d like to include on the list, e.g. Jonathan Glazer´s 2012 Under the Skin, but seen as a top 10 only accommodate 10 I guess I´ll just have to learn to live with that.
And the decades´ MacMahonian Top 10 films are:
And the decades´ MacMahonian Top 10 films are:
10. True Grit (Coen Bros, 2010) – I waxed lyrical on more than one occasion about the last decade just possibly witnessing the return of the Western as a household genre. It didn´t, but a steady supply, in quality rather than quantity, did keep addicts out of rehab. True Grit was also arguably the last Coen Bros great, their output since then, if estimable, having somewhat lost traction. 9. Slow West (John MacLean, 2015) – ...and another Western, this time from an absolute beginner, selected as MacMahonian best film of the year 2015. 8. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol II (James Gunn, 2017) – New Hollywood left a mark on my teen years with the likes of Star Wars (George Lucas, 1977) and Raiders of the Lost Ark (Steven Spielberg, 1981). The genres/formulas dominate the industry´s box office to this day, although by the early 90s the trend had gone stale, with the odd exception (e.g. JJ Adams 2011 Super 8), the several Marvel/DC franchises fatiguingly irksome. But as I always say, formulas don’t get exhausted, talent does, and to prove it and entertain us came GoGII, reviewed in these pages May 11 2017. 7. Dolor y Gloria (Pedro Almodovar, 2019) – Recent memory, like some say absence, may make the heart grow fonder, so there´s more than the due share of 2019 films in this decalogue, but I´m not gonna lie. Reviewed in these pages September 19 2019. 6. The Irishman (Martin Scorsese, 2019) – Ditto, at least like this I don’t get the order wrong. Reviewed in these pages December 1st 2019. 5. Interstellar (Christopher Nolan, 2014) – Sci-Fi of protean heights and depths, reviewed in these pages December 1st 2014. 4. Inception (Christopher Nolan, 2010) – Double ditto, from the only director twice listed, this time time travel replacing space travel till one comes back where one started to find one getting ready to leave. 3. Bir Zamanlar Anadolu’da (Nuri Bilge Ceylan, 2011) – A murder story Dostoevsky would have killed to write, reviewed in these pages April 1st 2019. 2. Tabu (Miguel Gomes, 2012) – Jorge Luis Borges meets Hugo Pratt on screen in a magical tale of love and sorrow. …and, in The MacMahonian’s view, the best film of the last decade is… 1. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (Quentin Tarantino, 2019) – That´s right, and enough said. Future years and decades will provide ample time for revisionism. |