Well, this month is going to seem like all I did was watch movies — which is definitely what it felt like — how did I ever find the time to get any work done?! With covering 2 festivals back-to-back in the month of September for me — Toronto International Film Festival and Urbanworld Film Festival — I saw a lot of great stuff (it was fun, but boy am I tired)…and honestly, Letterboxd didn’t even have all the films I saw listed so I’ll try and slide those in this post as well.
I saw 70+ films (and a few shorts this month) all of which were 1st time watches (that’s definitely a record for me lol).
I’ve been on an Alain Delon kick ever since I came across him a couple of months ago on Criterion Channel (they currently have a 12-movie collection of his on there now and I’ve only got one more of those to watch). So I watched “The Girl on a Motorcycle” recently…it was way too trippy for me. I prefer Delon as more of a criminal type or tragic lover…I wasn’t sold on his bookish professor character here lol. And that was my first introduction to Marianne Faithfull…not sure what the fascination is. The pyschodelic scenes were too much and I barely made it through this one SMH.
Does Nicholas Cage only play crazy, manic, over-the-top characters now? (“Pay the Ghost”)
Make sure to catch the reviews for “Waikiki,”“Charm City Kings,”and “Farewell Amor.” Be on the lookout for “Death of Nintendo” (I really enjoyed this one) and “The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain.”
Really enjoyed “Any Number Can Win” (another Delon film)…that ending was everything! “The Assistant” got a lot of hype…I thought it was overrated. “Summer of 85”was cool…“Scars” was well-done (check out my interview with the director over at WLE)…Everyone should see “Beans” (amplify diverse/underrepresented voices)…“Fauna” was over my head…
Man…finally saw “Snakes on a Plane”...bananas…“The Invisible Man” was so predictable and disappointing…I watched “Paradise Hills” because I liked French actor Arnaud Valois in “Spring Blossom”…but this movie was not good (Emma Roberts always does weird shit)…Everyone should watch “All In: The Fight for Democracy” but it will make you mad!…“True Mothers”was beautiful and heartbreaking…the director of “Spring Blossom,” at only 20 years old, Suzanne Lindon has so much potential, keep her on your radar.
“Another Round” grew on me and was an enjoyable watch in the end (its more than what it seems on the surface)…when I tell you the accents in “The Devil All the Time” took me all the way out…“Underplayed” was a cool doc about the unsung stories of female DJs…“Shadow in the Cloud” was insane, genre fun…definitely could have done without “Good Joe Bell” and Mark Wahlberg‘s redemption film…
Everyone should check out “The Social Dilemma” just so you can be really cognizant of the consequences of our social media usage…“Concrete Cowboy” was a little disappointing…as was “Falling” and “Mr. Jones”...nothing new to see in “MLK/FBI”…although getting a lot of critical praise, “New Order”just didn’t do it for me but I’ve been told if you’re more familiar with Latin American political history, you’ll understand it more…“Quo Vadis, Aida?” is one of the best films I’ve seen all year — have the tissues ready…same with “A Good Man” (interview with Soko and Noémie Merlant coming soon)…“Gaza Mon Amour”was a cute love story
“Simple Passion” was unwatchable and boring to me (it stars the “bad boy of ballet” Sergei Polunin)…“Inconvenient Indian” is a MUST WATCH for everyone…“Monday” left me a little disappointed (and I love me some Sebastian Stan…but this wasn’t it)
Finally watched “All Quiet on the Western Front”…“Love, Guaranteed” was straight Hallmark…love William Powell and “Lawyer Man” (very creative title lol)…“Cuties” was great, the controversy comes from folks who haven’t seen it and want to silence diverse voices and perspectives SMH
“Primal” was another crazy Nicholas Cage film…“The Real Inglorious Bastards” was an interesting doc…“Vivarium” was a little out there…
I also saw “The Duchess,” the British series on Netflix…it was hilarious…I love these types of comedies! “I’m Thinking of Ending Things” was a little too meta for me LOL…“Enola Holmes” was a fun watch…
And I also saw all the Urbanworld Film Festival films…check out the recap here.
Musings of A Streaming Junkie 