Before I start the newsletter in earnest, here are the movies I caught up with in September:
(Because of TIFF, it was a particularly extensive month for movie watching)
It's hard to imagine we are in October already, but here we are. Halloween has often held a special place for me— I’m fond of the spooky season fun. Decorations are up and pumpkins have all been put into place. It’s also the time that studios start releasing the bulk of their prestige movies. That would typically be the case, but Taylor Swift is launching her concert film on October 13th, and everyone is getting out of her way. That leaves Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon, The Exorcist: Believer, and Five Nights at Freddy’s as the marquee titles. Not exactly the big month October has traditionally been, but at least fans of scary movies have plenty of time to catch up.
Some of the horror movies I might watch in October:
The Blackening
Talk to Me
No One Will Save You
Skinamarink
Scream VI
Traditional Favorites:
Halloween ‘78
The Thing ‘86
Bride of Frankenstein
The Wicker Man
It Follows
Some of the best places to watch horror movies this October are streaming services like Shutter and Criterion Channel. Shutter is the headquarters for quality horror movies and their slate this October is as solid as ever. In addition to all the classic movies that Criterion Channel offers, they usually add some Halloween treats in October and this year is no different. Whether you plan on watching some horror movies at home or venturing to the Taylor Swift concert film, there’s still plenty to watch this month.
The movie featured at the top of this newsletter is the iconic concert documentary, Stop Making Sense, which received a remaster for its 40th anniversary. Directed by the late Jonathan Demme and featuring a performance from The Talking Heads, the concert film is widely considered the best of all time. I was happy to watch it on the IMAX screens featuring a newly remastered sound mix. I’m going to be honest, I don’t think I like concert films! But if you’re going to watch one, you should watch this one.
Mini-Review: Flora and Son
There’s something joyous about settling in for a new movie from director John Carney. Having previously directed Once, Begin Again, and Sing Street, there’s a formula that has been developed that simply works. In the case of his latest movie, Flora and Son (B-), a musical connection is at the heart of his story. Flora (Eve Hewson) isn’t able to adequately provide for her teenage son, Max (Oren Kinlan). She does what she can by working as a house cleaner and providing a safe home for her son, but she can’t connect to him. One day she comes across a guitar and decides that music might be the answer she was looking for. After Max quickly rejects her gift, Flora decides to take up guitar on her own. She isn’t quite sure what she’s hoping to get out of it, but perhaps she’ll make her ex-husband Ian (Jack Raynor) jealous of what he left behind.
Flora takes up guitar lessons through the internet from a former artist named Jeff (Joseph Gordon-Levitt). Jeff never really made it famous, but he’s more than capable of playing guitar so he gives lessons to people around the world. Through the guitar lessons, Jeff and Flora begin to have a connection, but she becomes less involved in Max’s life in the process.
I’d probably put Once and Sing Street above Flora and Son, but that’s not to say Flora and Son is a poor film. It has a few original songs and Eve Hewson is terrific in this movie. It’s a great vehicle for her (music runs in her family as she’s Bono’s daughter) and despite having appeared in a number of films in the last decade, this one really feels like an arrival for her talent. If you’re interested in checking out Flora and Son for yourself, it’s now available on Apple TV+.
Links
May December, the new movie from director Todd Haynes, opened the New York Film Festival over the weekend (Watch the trailer here). While Cannes had the honor of premiering the feature in May, NYFF represents the North American premiere of the movie. That means there are new reviews from critics who watched it for the first time over the weekend including Vulture’s Bilge Ebiri.
Alan Siegel for The Ringer did an Oral History of Stop Making Sense, talking about how the production came together and how it captured that specific moment in Talking Heads history.
If you are looking for a movie that mixes comedy and horror in equal measure, this latest list from Bethy Squires for Vulture gathers a substantial list of comedy and horror gems to choose from.
The WGA Strike came to an end last week and the writers were quite pleased with how it turned out. If you’d like to read more about what was agreed upon in the new contract, this explainer from Mary Harris at Slate is a worthwhile read.
The Late Night talk shows are back on the air. I really enjoy Last Week Tonight with John Oliver so I’ll probably be watching that one, but The Late Show with Stephen Colbert is also back and you can read about his return from Jennifer M. Wood at The Daily Beast.