Happy October, everyone! Remember I said ‘buh bye Summer’ in my last post? Well, as it turns out, September was pretty much a carbon copy of August, temps were so hot up until yesterday (mid-80s Fahrenheit!) that I put off updating my closet to Fall wardrobe, ahah.
I am looking forward to Fall movies, so in case you missed it, check out this list of 15 most anticipated Fall Movies last month 🍁🍂 I’m also excited for The Twin Cities Film Fest, head over to this post to get a glimpse of its exciting lineup.
Anyway, here’s what I watched last month:
NEW MOVIES
(films indicated with * are directed by women)
Beetlejuice 2
Multiplicity
My hubby and I LOVE Michael Keaton and Multiplicity is one of our favorite comedies of all time. We decided to rewatch it after seeing Beetlejuice 2 and it’s still as hilarious as ever! Four Keatons are definitely better than one 😀
Sight
Rebel Ridge
A Different Man
Lee*
Megalopolis
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story
review upcoming
Wolfs
I was curious to check this out mostly because John Watt is directing this after working on three highly successful Spider-Man movies. It doesn’t hurt that we get a George Clooney and Brad Pitt reunion as two rival fixers who cross paths when they’re both called in to help cover up a prominent New York DA’s mishap, played by the always-excellent Amy Ryan. The movie takes place over a single night and it’s an undemanding watch that’s mildly entertaining. Clooney and Pitt didn’t exactly stretch their acting muscles, pretty much just coasting on their charm. I’m quite impressed by Austin Abrams as the kid who unwittingly got involved in some nefarious drug-dealing fiasco.
Killer Heat
I saw this movie pop up on Amazon Prime and the Crete scenery looks enticing enough that we ended up watching it. Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays a damaged detective, Nick Bali, who’s called in to investigate a murder by Penelope Vardakis (Shailene Woodley). Bali is still haunted by his past [yawn] that’s overplayed in a series of flashbacks. Scottish Richard Madden can pass as Greek I suppose, those cut-glass cheekbones make me believe anything, ahah. He plays twin brothers caught in a love triangle, and you can see the twist coming a mile away.
Director Philippe Lacôte uses practically every noir trope in his storytelling, relying on voice-over narration that feels more clichéd as the movie progresses. At least the Greek scenery makes it a pretty worthwhile watch.
Child Star*
I have to admit I don’t know anything about Demi Lovato, I can’t even tell you any of her songs. I appreciate that instead of making this documentary about her, she and co-director Nicola Marsh opted to deconstruct the highs and lows of being a child star. It’s illuminating to see fellow child stars like her who grew up in the spotlight and how their ascension to fame, riches, and power affects their futures. She interviewed other well-known former child stars like Drew Barrymore, Christina Ricci, Raven-Symoné, and SNL’s Kenan Thompson (who I didn’t know was a child star).
The documentary is engaging throughout even for someone who never watched the Disney Channel or Nickelodeon, and the interviews were well-staged. The conversation between Lovato and her former Camp Rock‘s co-star Alyson Stoner is particularly eye-opening, which shows that a seemingly simple gesture can make a huge impact on someone who’s dealing with a mental breakdown. This is a pretty damning film for companies like Disney that profit off kids, turning them into brands to market products.
I watched only two movies #directedbywomen, which brings the tally of the year so far to 49. So 3 more movies to go until I hit the yearly goal. For sure I’ll get it completed in October thanks to TCFF!
In case you missed it, here’s my list of 10 best movies directed by women I saw in the first half of 2024.
TV SERIES
ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING – S4
Only Murders in The Building has become one of my favorite comedies in the past decade, so I’m glad it kept getting renewed! Two episodes in so far and I’m enjoying this, which adds a fun twist when the trio of podcasters are being turned into a movie.
It’s the starriest season yet with plenty of new faces: Molly Shannon, Eva Longoria, Eugene Levy, Zach Galifianakis, and Kumail Nanjiani, but thankfully none of them outshine the original trio. Oh, Paul Rudd is back too, sporting a hilarious Irish accent. I just love the rapport of Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez, they’ve proven to be the best TV comedy trio since Three’s Company!
September 2024 MOVIE OF THE MONTH
This is easily my favorite and the most tear-jerker film I saw last month. I’ve written my review which’ll go up later this week.
So what did you see in September, and which one(s) are your favorites?
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FLIXCHATTER FILM BLOG 
My favorite film of last month is The Insider as I couldn’t believe how relevant it is in comparison to today’s news culture. Truly one of Michael Mann’s best films.
I LOVE The Insider!! If I saw it for the first time last month, it would definitely be my fave film of the month, too!
I haven’t found my fun stride with Only Murders in The Building.
I keep trying, but it just doesn’t make me laugh. That’s obviously me, as it is massively popular.
Also, the stars are terrific. I’m crazy about Eugene Levy.
Child Star sounds cool. I’ll be giving that a watch.
I look forward to your review of Super/Man. Reeves’ story is a heartbreaker.
When he was in a wheelchair, they did a remake of “Rear Window”, one of my Fave Hitchcock films. I keep wanting to watch it, but haven’t gotten up the heart, yet.
Fab month, Ruth!
I hear ya! I got to Only Murders in The Building a bit late, probably S2? I didn’t know how I’d feel about it but I like Martin Short and Steve Martin and somehow I find their dynamic with the very young Selena Gomez amusing.
Eugene Levy is so cute, I even watched a few episodes of The Reluctant Traveler because of him.
I’ve written the review of Super/Man to go up this weekend when I’m back from my trip. Be sure to pack tissues when you watch it, it’s heartbreaking but also uplifting at the same time. I still haven’t seen the Rear Window remake he starred in either. The reviews aren’t great but I’m still curious to check it out. I also want to see In the Gloaming which he directed that has an all-star cast!
Thanks for stopping by, dear Resa!!
My pleasure!
Great monthly recap, Ruth.
Have fun wherever you are headed! xo
I did not like Wolfs at all, it looks it’s a film student project that Watts probably wanted to make when he’s in film school. A story that should be 30 minutes long but got stretched out to almost 2 hours and stars 2 big named actors. Now I see why Apple didn’t want to release it wide in theaters. It would’ve tanked. Lol!
Another movie I saw last month that’s probably the worst one I’ve seen was Jackpot. Everyone who’s involved in that movie should be ashamed of themselves.
Rebel Ridge was the movie of the month for me. But another new to me movie that I really enjoyed was Jennifer Lawrence’s No Hard Feelings. A raunchy comedy that would’ve been a huge hit had came out back in the 90s and 2000s. Raunchy comedies aren’t that popular anymore.
Ahah, well a student project wouldn’t have Pitt and Clooney, but I hear ya, it’s rather pedestrian. I’m surprised what drew them into this movie as it doesn’t really give them much to do and Clooney looks bored most of the time and Pitt seems amused by his curmudgeon attitude.
Oh I almost watched Jackpot as I like John Cena, but glad I dodged that bullet, ha!
I LOVE Rebel Ridge! I hope Netflix realized how popular it is and made it a film series, that Aaron Pierre is amazing (and I’m not just talking about his eyes, he..he..) I quite enjoyed No Hard Feelings too! Jen Lawrence was terrific and that kid was good too, I was planning to do a mini review with The Idea of You but haven’t got around to it.
I think Watts had the idea of Wolfs back in college but of course he couldn’t make it until now. I think Pitt and Clooney appeared in it because Watts proved himself with all those Spider-Man movies. Of course, Apple paid both of the stars like $40mil each helped too. Lol!
I’m sure Jackpot sounded great when they they came up with the idea of it. But the actual movie was trash. Everyone involved in that project should be ashamed of themselves.
When I tweeted @Jeremy Saulnier about how much I enjoyed Rebel Ridge and hope to see more adventures of Pierre’s character, Saulneir liked my tweet! With Stephen King also praised the movie, I’m sure Netflix will gladly turn it into a franchise.
Great month of September. Keep the review train rolling👏
Hey thanks! There’ll be plenty of reviews coming in October for sure with TCFF!
TCFF, that’s right! I look forward to hearing about that.
I’ll be posting movie recommendations tomorrow for TCFF. Perhaps you should come visit Minneapolis, the weather is really nice and not cold yet, ha..ha..
Awesome – I look forward to your coverage. My October is slammed; I must rely on your eyes and ears from afar. Sounds like a really neat festival.
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