Jinn's 100 Films of the 2010s

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Peanut chutney, btw. I don't have time for tamarind.



84. The Forbidden Room (2015, dir. Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson)





Guy Maddin has always made film to his distinct visual proclivities, usually emulating silent-era techniques to achieve a fantastic realm where dream and memory blur. Here, he pulls out all of the stops, the full kitchen apparatus of tools at his command, and the tools of his collaborator Evan Johnson, to create an intricate, inscrutable and intoxicatingly other-worldly, prismatic journey of tales within tales, images within dreams, dreams within images.


HM: Keyhole (2011) is Maddin's other feature of the decade, closer to the strictly silent-era pastiche of his better known films like My Winnepeg and The Saddest Music in the World.



I think Forbidden Room is my preferred Madden. I've definitely got to be in the mood for him. He either captivates or annoys me, which are both probably a good things to corner the market on if you're an artist.



83. Animal Kingdom (2010, dir. David Michod)





A devastating crime drama from Australia that sports a riveting cast (Ben Mendelsohn, Jacki Weaver, Joel Edgerton, Guy Pearce and James Frecheville) and assured direction from Michod in his debut. Captures the duplicity and paranoia of criminal life quite well, without the flashy trappings of most post-Goodfellas attempts. Just stark, unapologetic realism, with an astonishing finale.


(For whatever perverse reason, this was turned into an American TV show that decided to make it cool and sexy, missing the mark by miles. Avoid it with prejudice.)


HM: Michod's The Rover (2014) is almost a good, and just missed the cutoff for this list.



I think Forbidden Room is my preferred Madden. I've definitely got to be in the mood for him. He either captivates or annoys me, which are both probably a good things to corner the market on if you're an artist.
There is a credibility gap that I have with him where I can admire his attempt to make a film like bygone films but is still so obviously a modern film, not from nitrate with filters and high-contrast lighting. Once I can get over the, what I see as obvious, artifice, then I can start to appreciate it on its own terms.



Peanut chutney, btw. I don't have time for tamarind.
Peanut sauce is great. Shoot it into my veins.



82. The Eyes of My Mother (2016, dir. Nicholas Pesce)





If we judged quality horror on how sheerly disturbing a film is, then this must be one of the best recent examples. Spiritually, it's more akin to Eraserhead or Reflecting Skin, a film that quietly, unsettlingly, draws the viewer into a curdled post-traumatic sickness. It isn't repulsive in terms of shock and gore, but in behavior. And as effective as the film is in conveying its sickness, the film's primary achievement is in the compassion it provides to Francisca, or the pitiful mercy in which she believes she's acting. Powerful and emotionally exhausting film, all without seemingly ever raising its pitch above a whisper.



81. Cosmopolis (2012, dir. David Cronenberg)




Speaking of DeLillo, and supposedly unfilmable novels, this one comes mighty close to succeeding. Set mostly in the limosine of a young rich Wall Street fund manager while he sits in traffic around Manhattan, the apocalypse looming outside, and within as well, as our scion is eaten with thoughts of suicide and cancer. The film is a mean indictment of certain culturally craven priorities. Robert Pattinson is terrific as the spiritually spent shell of a perhaps once promising prodigy. The only real flaw that I can find is that the film isn't as funny as Scrooged.

HM: Maps To The Stars (2014) is the other Cronenberg film of the decade, and it has moments, as mean a satire of empty modern American disposable culture as Cosmopolis, but I demarked a couple of points for that, um, bit by the pool. It's not a substantial complaint, but the kind of careless FX that Cronenberg should really know better than to let slide.



82. The Eyes of My Mother (2016, dir. Nicholas Pesce)





If we judged quality horror on how sheerly disturbing a film is, then this must be one of the best recent examples. Spiritually, it's more akin to Eraserhead or Reflecting Skin, a film that quietly, unsettlingly, draws the viewer into a curdled post-traumatic sickness. It isn't repulsive in terms of shock and gore, but in behavior. And as effective as the film is in conveying its sickness, the film's primary achievement is in the compassion it provides to Francisca, or the pitiful mercy in which she believes she's acting. Powerful and emotionally exhausting film, all without seemingly ever raising its pitch above a whisper.
Great pick. Lovely atmospheric arthouse horror.



The trick is not minding
81. Cosmopolis (2012, dir. David Cronenberg)




Speaking of DeLillo, and supposedly unfilmable novels, this one comes mighty close to succeeding. Set mostly in the limosine of a young rich Wall Street fund manager while he sits in traffic around Manhattan, the apocalypse looming outside, and within as well, as our scion is eaten with thoughts of suicide and cancer. The film is a mean indictment of certain culturally craven priorities. Robert Pattinson is terrific as the spiritually spent shell of a perhaps once promising prodigy. The only real flaw that I can find is that the film isn't as funny as Scrooged.

HM: Maps To The Stars (2014) is the other Cronenberg film of the decade, and it has moments, as mean a satire of empty modern American disposable culture as Cosmopolis, but I demarked a couple of points for that, um, bit by the pool. It's not a substantial complaint, but the kind of careless FX that Cronenberg should really know better than to let slide.
I haven’t watched Cronenberg since Eastern Promises (which itself needs me to remedy) but this and A Dangerous Method are two films I’ve been meaning to catch up on.
I liked EP ok enough, even if I had problems with Watts as a Russian, and I’m in the minority of not liking A History of Violence at all.
It’s strange. I watched a lot of his 80’s work, skipped his 90’s work, watched his output during the aughts, and skipped the past decade.
I need to catch up on him.



Takes on others on your list:

97. I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House---Although I agree that Oz Perkins can be good with the dollops of atmospheric horror, ultimately I prefer films that can deliver the steak with the sizzle. And ultimately, this fell short for me.
WARNING: "" spoilers below
The story took a wrong turn early on that drains suspense
and it’s not helped by Ruth Wilson’s insistence on speaking every line slowly (otherwise, her performance is fine).

Under the Shadow is a better example of atmospheric horror that worked. Its setting of placing it in Iran facing a war works both as building dread and in giving additional challenges to the protagonist (who faces lashes for daring to run out of a building with her daughter without proper head covering). Its decision to play things closer to the vest keeps you in suspense until the final reel. That one is well done.

90. The Place Beyond the Pines---That film by Cianfrance almost feels like it could fit in with the works of Jeremy Saulnier if you substitute its quiet contemplation for noisy messiness. It puts you in the plight of Ryan Gosling’s stunt rider character who is so desperate to provide for his wife and young son that he’s willing to break the law for them. Good performances all around in this saga of how things that occur years before can affect people years later.

86. The Babadook---Much like Under the Shadow, this works by never fully revealing what the Babadook is and whether its real or just due to pressures building up in Essie Davis’s character’s head. Plus, it features an arc showing her son moving from problem to trying to rescue her. And you’re right in that it does tap into a potent place for horror on whether what a mother can do for their child will be enough.

85. Snowpiercer---The story kind of slid some in the final act, but this heady mix of science fiction, action and drama manages to stay captivating thanks to some nice visuals and solid performances. Director Bong Joon Ho manages to feature a breathtakingly brutal fight between masked soldiers and a group of people from the lower class regions of the train. Plus it has Tilda Swinton having her picture taken with a shoe and a creepy sequence featuring Alison Pill as a teacher that seems to have seen way too much Fox News.



I haven’t watched Cronenberg since Eastern Promises (which itself needs me to remedy) but this and A Dangerous Method are two films I’ve been meaning to catch up on.
I liked EP ok enough, even if I had problems with Watts as a Russian, and I’m in the minority of not liking A History of Violence at all.
It’s strange. I watched a lot of his 80’s work, skipped his 90’s work, watched his output during the aughts, and skipped the past decade.
I need to catch up on him.
Definitely catch Crash if you haven't, and Naked Lunch is wonderful but you may need to have some prerequisite appreciation of William S. Burroughs to fully get into that one.



The trick is not minding
Definitely catch Crash if you haven't, and Naked Lunch is wonderful but you may need to have some prerequisite appreciation of William S. Burroughs to fully get into that one.
Those two, existenz and Dead Ringers are firmly in my sights. Dead Ringers is available on Amazon streaming so I’ll be hitting that up sooner.
I haven’t watched his pre 80’s films yet, either. I wonder how those hold up?



80. Beyond The Black Rainbow (2010, dir. Panos Cosmatos)





As I said with Mandy, Panos Cosmatos is a richly evocative filmmaker with a heart of bile. This film, his debut, is visually stunning, from the opulent colors to the geometric compositions to the vintage stock grain. As Cosmatos has said, he intended to create the perfect 1983 videocassette that he wasn't allowed to watch at that age. But this is no nostalgic funfest, but a psychotechno nightmare that makes the viewer worse for the wear in how it oozes into focus. Be careful with the potency here.



Those two, existenz and Dead Ringers are firmly in my sights. Dead Ringers is available on Amazon streaming so I’ll be hitting that up sooner.
I haven’t watched his pre 80’s films yet, either. I wonder how those hold up?
Dead Ringers is classic Cronenberg.


Of the 70s, Shivers and The Brood are your best bets.



80. Beyond The Black Rainbow (2010, dir. Panos Cosmatos)





As I said with Mandy, Panos Cosmatos is a richly evocative filmmaker with a heart of bile. This film, his debut, is visually stunning, from the opulent colors to the geometric compositions to the vintage stock grain. As Cosmatos has said, he intended to create the perfect 1983 videocassette that he wasn't allowed to watch at that age. But this is no nostalgic funfest, but a psychotechno nightmare that makes the viewer worse for the wear in how it oozes into focus. Be careful with the potency here.
This used to be on my watchlist, but after Mandy I haven't felt the urge to see more from Cosmatos. Maybe one day I'll give it a go even though my expectations are low.
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The trick is not minding
Dead Ringers is classic Cronenberg.


Of the 70s, Shivers and The Brood are your best bets.
Got it. Thank you.
I think I can find those two on streaming as I recall.



79. The Death of Stalin (2017, dir. Armando Iannucci)





I've heard some complaints, most notably from those who suffered under the Curtain, about the possible sweetening of horrific history by essentially turning these monsters into muppets, which is about what they amount to here. I don't see, really, how this makes any of these horrible men any more lovable, rather just stooges that are prime for mocking. That's my take anyway, and I found this film to be hilarious and I would never want to meet a one of them. Buscemi's Khrushchev stands out to me as an especially giddy worm.