Ryan’s premise is that the 1990s were the last, best decade of truly good cinema in America and he discusses the reasons why and his picks for the twenty-five movies that made it so (plus some runners-up.) He includes standards like “Goodfellas,” “Pulp Fiction,” “The Shawshank Redemption” and “Magnolia” as well as choices that might not be as expected like “Citizen Ruth,” “Clueless,” “To Die For” and “The Birdcage.” He also implores today’s filmmakers to take risks, be serious AND make us laugh, push boundaries and make movies using actual film.

I love books of lists, especially those about pop culture so this was right up my alley. The author is a good writer and he also includes a few interviews of participants in a few of the subject movies, which were interesting. I very much enjoyed this and would seek out books by this writer in the future (oh, and his “Reality Bites” beach towel is everything.)

Oh my heart!! "The Last Decade of Cinema" by Scott Ryan brought back such incredible memories and imprinted this key decade on my life. I was 15 to 25 in the 1990's and what a decade to grow up in, let alone that we had some of the most incredible movies!

Ryan discusses how the superhero movie has saturated the market in the noughties an I am wint to agree. I have reverted to South East Asian cinema/ TV and streaming of classics on the very and I mean very rare occasion that I watch a film these days as the conent is just not grabbing my heart in the same way (Hence my immense advocacy for books)

Talking of which, back to the book. Although I may disagree with Ryan's opinions of what the best film was of the 90s, he does feature some absolute belters which can still be watched over and over again. Not only is this a great read, it is a fantastic reference book!

A must for all Gen X who like movies and by eckers, for anyone of any age who appreciates film as art not a corporate endeavour

Thank you to NetGalley for this Epic eARC. This review is left voluntarily

Loved, loved this book. Great look back at 90s cinema with thoughtful comments Highly recommend