By Luca Newton
Wow.. the month is already over? Damn okay, well here's the next monthly post about what I watched over the last 30-31 days!
This month I intended to post more, and obviously I don't typically post that frequently.. However, this month I started my Superherology podcast, which I've managed to release 2 episodes of! The current plan going forward is to try to do weekly blogs. I'll try to be more consistent. Anyways, October has been an interesting month for what I've been watching, so let's not waste any time.
The Guilty
To start my month, I watched Netflix's The Guilty, an American remake of a Danish film, starring Jake Gyllenhaal. By the cast alone, I was interested, and it sounded interesting how it was all from the perspective of Gyllenhaal's character on the line to people. I would like to see that original version, because maybe it was more interesting than this. I don't know why, but I was bored to death with this film. Gyllenhaal's performance wasn't even enough to carry this. I love talky movies, and I don't mind when a film is a one-man-show, but besides this really being pointless, and boring - I didn't like it.
Chronicle
On the exact opposite end of the spectrum, I finally got around to watching Chronicle as I saw it on Disney+, and absolutely adored it! Josh Trank is now infamous for his absolute failure of a Fantastic Four movie, however his roots were in this film. Starring Dane DeHaan, Alex Russell and Micheal B Jordan, Chronicle is about a socially inept teen who films absolutely every aspect of his life, finally gaining the guts to go to a party, where he finds a mysterious ditch, which leads to a weird energy source that knocks them out and causes them to gain the powers of telekinesis. It is a found footage film, and absolutely the top of that genre. What it truly excels at is making these kids feel very real. When you watch it, you can believe real teens given these abilities would do something like. Chronicle is very funny and charming in the first half. However, it gets kind of tragic in its second half. Man, this film goes from fun to something I was genuinely distraught by the end. In a good way, mind you. I don't think we give Dane DeHaan any credit after The Amazing Spider-Man 2, but he is great in this for sure. Heavily recommended from me if you have a chance.
The Boy With The Striped Pyjamas
I had heard lots from this - both as a book and a movie, yet I had never read or watched it. All I knew was that it was very sad. However, after finishing Sex Education (an incredible show btw), I found out Asa Butterfield was actually in The Boy with the Striped Pyjamas. I took it upon myself to watch it. Let me tell you, it's heart-breaking. The ending is just one of the most tragic endings I've seen in any film, and it was so effectively built up to as well. The only issue I had with it was that the film before that ending was only decent. I will say that Vera Farmiga's character was the standout before that ending, and even in that ending, and the film overall is definitely really good.
Black Widow (Rewatch)
Well, since my post about Black Widow, my opinions have changed a bit. While I don't dislike Black Widow, I think it's just okay now. While I still agree that the side characters and family dynamic as well as the darker tone really elevate the movie for me, the other elements like Dreykov's absurd plans and Taskmaster's uselessness and the stupid logic jumps you have to constantly have to take have really taken this film down a notch for me. But I still enjoy it, honestly.
Zodiac (Rewatch)
In the wake of the Zodiac Killer supposedly being finally found, I took it upon myself to rewatch the Fincher film. I'd only saw this once and didn't score it as highly as others. My Dad had also not seen it yet. It was as good as it was the first time I watched it. What I really love about Zodiac is the perspective. When making this, nobody knew the truth, and so the focus of the film is the obsession over finding the truth, and how far people are willing to go. We see through Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr and Mark Ruffalo 3 different ways of dealing with desperation - depression, lack of will to continue and the unhealthy obsession and determination. The showcase of the murders as well being recreated on film really adds to the immersion.
The Lighthouse
Miraculously, The Lighthouse was added to Netflix in the UK last month, which meant I could finally check out the film. I had heard loads of good things from it since 2019, including my own film teacher suggesting it. After having seen it, it was definitely worth the hype. The Lighthouse is insanely unique and weird - very very weird. Starring Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe, 2 of the greatest actors of our generation, this movie was genuinely disturbing, and equal parts confusing, and absolutely stunning to look at. I can't even begin to tell you what the ending means, because I don't really truly know. All I do know is that it's good.
Good Time
The Safdie brothers directed Uncut Gems in 2019, which is - pun intended - a gem. So a friend recommended me their other film before that called Good Time and I had a good time.. ok, I'll stop now. Robert Pattinson again starring in this, anyone calling him a bad actor need to watch more movies. I think Good Time is a film better experienced blind, so I won't say much more, but I can say that it's an absolutely wild ride worth your time.
The Silence of the Lambs
Another film that has been long in the running for me, but I finally got the opportunity to watch The Silence of the Lambs and wow. It's so incredibly chilling and excellently crafted. It is a bit slow, and I think some of the messages it's putting across can seem as a little outdated, but it's just an example of a film that is carried by performances. Jodie Foster is a great protagonist, but Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal is just completely chilling and scary, he stole every scene he was in completely.
Interstellar
Subsequently another film that was on the backburner for way too long, Interstellar was a Nolan film I really needed to see but just hadn't. A space epic starring Matthew McConoughey, with the mind behind the masterpiece Inception, I had big expectations. They weren't let down, Interstellar is great. The reason it's great is because of the emotional core it sets itself around. When you have this absurdist concept that Nolan often does, having that human emotion to it grounds it, and is always important to me. Interstellar is probably the most emotional and personal Nolan movie due to that core relationship between Matthew McConoughey's character and his daughter, and the tragedy behind it. It's not about space travel as much as it is about that. I don't think it's the best of Nolan, but it's honestly a great movie I'm glad I watched.
Wes Anderson Binge + The French Dispatch
As you know, Wes Anderson's brand new film The French Dispatch released this month, and in preparation I chose to fill in the blanks of Wes Anderson films I had never seen; Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, The Darjeeling Limited and Isle of Dogs. I will do a ranking of these in a blog soon, where I'll give my full opinions on these as well as the ones I had already seen. As for The French Dispatch, I will just say that I really liked it; loved it even. Look out for that blog in about a week or two from now.
Dune
As very highly anticipated, Dune from Denis Villeneuve finally came out this month, and I went to an IMAX cinema just to see what all the fuss was about. The combination of an incredible director in Villeneuve, which I like very much, and a book that is very highly respected; I went in with high expectations. Unfortunately, I found it to be mediocre. As a film it's incredible in terms of direction, performances, visuals.. it just bored me to death. I go into more detail with it in my previous article on this page, so check that out.. and don't kill me. Hopefully after Part Two, this film will be more for me.
Train to Busan
In the lead up to Halloween, me and my Dad decided to start watching some thematic films, and we started with Train to Busan, the Korean zombie drama. It was something on my radar for a very long time, and boy does it live up to the hype. I absolutely loved this film and hold it in much higher regards than most zombie films I've seen, because it really goes hard on the drama aspect. They build these character you ultimately end up genuinely caring about deeply. The action was also incredible. It's the perfect mix. And also Don Lee is absolutely badass. Another heavy recommendation by me.
An American Werewolf in London
Continuing this trend of horror films for Halloween, I decided to watch An American Werewolf in London because of the premise of it sounding interesting. It's a more comedic take on the horror genre, and some of the effects have AGED, but overall it's still a really good film, and I absolutely love the build-up over the course of the movie, and how it abruptly ends. It keeps within its tone. It simultaneously has the most scarring transformation and hottest kiss scene in a horror I've personally seen - but I haven't seen many actual horror films to be fair.
Alien
Yeah, I hadn't seen this before. But I am very glad I have now because holy CRAP, it's worth the praise. An absolutely spectacular thriller set in space about an alien who takes an entire crew after coming out of hyper sleep. It's always tense, it has perfect aesthetics and tone. Ripley was a compelling protagonist and I can't wait to see Aliens. Everything good about this movie has been said time and time again, which I'm very glad about, but I don't need to say anymore, you already know.
Cars 2 (Rewatch)
Well I decided to finally start back up my Pixar binge and this is the only one that could fit this month. Yeah it's unequivocally terrible..
Halloween (1978)
What better film to include my Halloween horror film marathon than Halloween itself. The classic John Carpenter film with the iconic Micheal Myers. I honestly thought the film was enjoyable but only above average until the final act, which was absolutely incredible and definitely let this film be above mediocre for me. I highly respect it, and definitely have interest in watching more from the franchise.
They Live
I'm sorry.. people LIKE this? I am convinced people only like They Live due to the fact John Carpenter directed it, but I'm sorry it's absolutely terrible. Like COMPLETELY terrible, I didn't expect it to be this bad. It's slow and uneventful, until it actually becomes eventful, then is absolutely ridiculous and horribly dumb. The sad thing is that the core concept of the film with aliens having infiltrated Earth is a great idea, but it is put in an absolutely terrible film with absolutely no redeeming qualities. I don't know why people like this.
Army of Thieves
I went into Army of Thieves with very low expectations, and for the first half of it, I thought it was solid. Unfortunately, it loses its way in the second half. As a prequel to one of my least favourite movies of the year starring one of the most annoying characters in the film, I expected to despise this. It isn't terrible, it is actually a lot more bearable than Army of the Dead is with actual charm, and fun moments. Unfortunately it is burdened with a terrible script and screenplay that was predictable and uninteresting. But Nathalie Emmanuel's character was a certain surprise, as she was the only character I cared for. It's not terrible, but I didn't like it.
The Time Traveller's Wife
Now, honestly I wanted to watch this, but the reception is middling for it. I still wanted to watch it though as a sucker for romance movies and love for time travel concept films. This one even starred Rachel McAdams, who was in About Time, a time travel romance film I adore. This wasn't as good as that, but I actually really liked it. It truly charmed me in a way that many would roll their eyes or throw up. It is INSANELY cheesy and sappy, but I embrace that. I got very invested in that love story. I think as it goes on, it just got better and better, and it's quite tragic too as all love stories tend to be. But definitely watch About Time if you've not because that's freaking BRILLIANT.
That's a wrap on October, I have like 3 articles in mind for hopefully this mind, so I hope you look forward to them. What did you watch this month?
Thanks for reading.
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