october
Spooky times and spooky movies.
Books
The Water Cure
Strange and compelling.
An Actual Star
I either learned a lot about Mayans or was sufficiently fooled. A fun romp in triple.
The Golden Enclaves
A solid ending to a very rad magic system and series.
Movies
Good Time
Post-Twilight Pattinson is such a bizarre and great actor. Every shot was so chaotic and the score ruled. Sadfies great at making stories about bad people.
Triangle of Sadness
Incredible. One of the funniest movies I’ve seen in a while. So many scenes and shots are going to stay with me.
Deadwax
Damn I want a record player now.
The Invitation
Not going to parties is the best choice, especially in LA. Kusama’s best.
The Strangers
Way too much screaming and I had to keep cranking down the volume because I live in an apartment.
Bros
No man with as much hair as Luke would wear a hat that much. Park fight had me cracking up. Every party has a Steve. Silly, cute, and heartwarming.
Inspector Ike
A little on the nose, but a neat little send-up/tribute to Columbo and the ilk.
Halloween Ends
Never my favorite horror series, but this was an ok ending, I guess.
Silent Hill
The child in this is upsettingly ADR’d. Also glad to know my ACAB feelings mean I don’t find the cop hot.
The Wailing
There’s probably a political message here, but also it’s a spooky time.
Dear Zachary
Fuck. It feels weird to “rate” this movie since it’s clearly very important, but also very unpleasant to watch.
10 Cloverfield Lane
Way less traumatic on rewatch than the first viewing. Other than the “locked in a house with a big guy” vibe this was a fun, weird film.
Villains
Real Skarsgård and Monroe month over here. Not too many surprises but entertaining.
We Need to Talk About Kevin
Reasons to never breed: 1-1000. Ezra Miller so good at playing a creepy nightmare person they continued in real life. Legitimately hard to watch,, but the emotional warfare it plays on the viewer is impressive.
The Night Eats the World
This likely feels different to watch than it would mid-quarantine, but it still feels a bit too real. Lie and Lavant are excellent throughout, with the latter playing a truly odd role well.
Revenge
Well-shot, but I don’t think the ‘woman gets revenge for sexual violence" genre is my thing. Like, hey, love the revenge, but the film is much more concerned with the men than I care for. Nothing in this feels new or important in any way, and it’s got the same gore-factor as an Evil Dead.
Wildlife
Oof. A pretty brutal look at having to parent your parents.
Barbarian
Went in knowing nothing but the cast and came out a bit freaked out and very impressed.
Personal Shopper
One of the saddest things was watching Kristen Stewart have to drink French coffee. A scene in this film is maybe the only time I’ve seen a cis woman portrayed like a trans woman wrt fetishization of dresses. No clue what to expect going in, but this was a great and unlikely pair for my other film of the evening.
The Uninvited
I hate an awkward lamb. I can see how this set the stage for quite a few haunted house movies but the pacing of 40s films still makes me yawn.
Decision to Leave
I’ll have to rewatch this to make sure I’m not judging the cinematography by a lot of the terrible films I’ve seen this year, but wow. A truly excellent movie about the weird ways feeling and truth intersect.
Significant Othe
This is a good year for Maika Monroe’s spooky films. Gorgeously shot, with some fun scares and nice concept.
Hellraiser
A gross, weird fun time. I’ve only seen the original but I always dig bizarre portrayals of demons.
Cronos
Why, upon finding a very ugly busted statue, would you keep it? An interesting, slightly spooky debut.
Jason Bourne
A waste of Vikander and Cassel, but better than the Renner one at least.
Rec#
Continuing my spooky month with a rewatch of a classic found footage film. I love how quickly this amps up.
The Man from U.N.C.L.E
nothing to write home about, but a fun, serviceable, action film.
The Descent
Every time I see this movie the scariest thing is the actual spelunking. Caves? No thanks.