Jinn's 100 Films of the 2010s

78. The Ghost Writer (2010, dir. Roman Polanski)





The better conspiracy films make the allure of the "inside" very attractive, and not simply for obvious gratification. What's intriguing here is the question of whether a conspiracy is worth exposing, which you may not know until it definitely is and now you're complicit. This film isn't a nailbiter or a shoe-stomper, but it is a charming/not-so-charming reminder that we (as McGregor's writer is our surrogate) don't really know what we don't know, but we do know that someone doesn't want us to know it. The final shot is a doozy.

Videodrome was so fun to watch.

Ranking this ahead of Mandy was the correct choice.

77. Shame (2011, dir. Steve McQueen)





I might be more inclined towards the intersections of sexuality and psychological dysfunction than some viewers. It's not the most exciting type of film, and certainly not the most erotic. They neither turn me on or bleak me out, but the ones that can navigate the cracks of the facade to show real human reflection are the ones that might offer some balance between intimacy and performance.

76. The Wolf of Wall Street (2013, dir. Martin Scorsese)





And this is so shameful. An undeniably electric flick with piss and vinegar that's also a testament to the most obnoxiously exploitative tendencies we can collectively muster as a quote-unquote culture. It's here on my list. Great f#cking movie. I'm a little sick of it by now as it has defined our current Trump appropriation. I'd rather stick that pen in Jordan's neck like Pesci in Casino. I wish people had seen this as a warning.

75. A Ghost Story (2017, dir. David Lowery)





It's the story about a house, basically. But it's really about space, specific spaces. Existential, not horrible. The film glides through time much as one walks through a home. I admire the brass. The commitment. The only part that didn't work for me was the overly verbal segment with Will Oldham which is just the kind of hipster drain this film should have avoided.

74. Shutter Island (2010, dir. Martin Scorsese)





(caveat: in B&W)


I thought that this thriller was pretty good on release, but I'm terminally committed to watching it in monochrome, as this provides the preferable splendor for my own private screenings. I'm not mad.

It's a mobius aesthetic that connects the pole between the B-movie matinee and late night television.

I really, really liked A Ghost Story. Quite a lot, actually.

Shutter Island, like most Scorsese, really missed the mark with me. Meh.

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A brilliant comedy. One of the best of the decade.

Totally agreed; for all of Aster's auterist pretensions with, Hereditary really did often feel like the work of a Horror hack in the end, if you ask me.Don't forget the painfully obvious telegraphing:

Absolutely, and while some people might defend the larger revenge fantasy of Basterds by pointing out how Holocaust survivors have said that watching it did more for them than years of therapy did (a response I'm not criticizing in the slightest, for the record), I think assuming that kind of catharsis was Tarantino's main intention (or even just his partial) with that film would be giving him way too much credit, given his track record. And, even if it was, it still doesn't rectify the fundamental hollowness of the experience, at least not for me.

My two friends (husband and wife) and I saw this in the theater and have never been able to understand why more people don't appreciate this film. We, all three, thought it was on par with at least the better half of Cronenberg's work.

You could not have put that much better.

Damn. If this movie is better than Mandy, then I'm not going to see Mandy.
For all the wonderful visual and sonic flare of this movie it was still narratively poor enough that I probably will never watch it again, at least not in its entirety. I was deeply disappointed, deeply.

I was really excited for this film based on the previews and the cast. I thought it was very good but fell a bit short of its mark.

Yeah, I know.

I mostly agree with Rock's take (if I'm understanding him correctly):

I felt like it was a bit too calculated, for lack of a better word. On paper "Nic Cage heavy metal revenge flick" pretty much sells itself, but the finished product didn't make much of an impression on me. It was like Elevator Pitch: The Movie. I was onto their game as soon as I saw the trailer with the "it's...crazy...EVIL!" line. "Come watch Cage Cage the bleep out!"
(and I didn't even hate it, by the way)

Black Rainbow is undoubtedly a mess and I'd be lying if I said I remembered what it was about but watching a director aim high and fail is more interesting to me.

As long as Jinn doesn't screw up and rank Colour Out of Space above both of these I'll be ok.

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Captain's Log
My Collection

I love this movie so much. I recently registered for a short story contest and when I was designated to have to write 'political satire' (and having zero idea how to do that) this was what I turned to for guidance. What I learned from it was that for satire to really bite, it needs to graciously toe the line between condemning what is on screen and playing along with it. Those Muppet-esque performances may seem to soften their evil doings at first glance, but this ultimately only deepens the horror and absurdity of their actions, thus exposing the machine that allows these sorts of personalities to both fester and thrive.



As a result, I have no doubt the story I submitted will be considered as being pro-facism and immediately disqualified, even though all I wanted to do was write an allegory about my cats.