Good Movies Are Good

and bad movies are also good

Happy December!

It’s been a while since I talked to you all about my recent movie watches. I’m currently 165 movies into 2024, which is much lower than previous years and I’m not happy about it. There’s been some good movies and some bad movies and many in between.

I’ve recently been thinking a lot about my life path and what exactly it is I’m doing with it. I’m about to turn 23 and I have no idea. While I think this is more than okay and completely normal, it doesn’t make it any easier when I’m up at night thinking about all the things I could be doing and I’m not.

This is a classic twenty-something experience and it feels like a rite of passage to go through this existential dread. I’m thankful to have this space to write about my life and movies and get some of those anxieties off my chest. Growing up is hard! Also, my frontal lobe hasn’t fully developed so I’ll check back in when I get that upgrade.

Whenever I’m feeling this dread clouding over me, I need to put on a movie. Exiting my world and entering a new one is the only way to get out of the constant downward spiral happening inside my brain. Some people may say that this isn’t healthy and that escaping your thoughts doesn’t stop them, it just puts them off for later, but I don’t care!! Sometimes silencing those thoughts is the hardest thing and movies do that.

For this post, I’m going to go through the best movies I watched in the months of September, October, and November. As usual, these lists will be in no particular order and I’m just going to do whatever I feel like since this is my blog.

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September

September!!!! Wow, this feels like a long time ago. I had just gotten back from a vacation in Portugal and I had a busy month enjoying the last of summer’s sweet warmth. Social events and work getting busy kept me from watching a lot of movies, but I still got to watch some good movies this month.

• All of Us Strangers (2023) directed by Andrew Haigh

I don’t have much to say about this movie other than insisting on how incredible it is and that it destroyed me. I made the silly mistake of watching this on the plane home and I was a blubbering mess. Incredible performances throughout, but wow, Andrew Scott is a powerhouse and quite literally breathtaking in this. Please watch!

Paul Mescal and Andrew Scott <3

• Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999) directed by Michael Patrick Jann

This is such a fun movie. The cast is amazing and everyone delivers a great performance. We follow the story of a beauty pageant in a small town and the crazy characters in it. As usual, the pageant moms are unique and their daughters all have issues because of it. This comedy is drenched in satire and does not stop making fun of the pageantry of it all. It’s so good and I love practically anything Kirsten Dunst has ever been in.

SO GOOD!

• Nashville (1975) directed by Robert Altman

I mentioned this movie in my Music in Film post as I had just watched it. I had previously tried to watch this a couple of years ago, but for some reason, I couldn’t get through it. I loved it this time around and I recommend it to anyone who hasn’t seen it yet. We follow the story of numerous characters in Tennessee who all exist in and around the country music world as their stories intertwine and fall apart. There’s drama and tragedy and comedy. What more do we need? Paired with some incredible performances and unreal vocalists, this movie is really something.

Honourable mentions in September with a one-word summary:

• Inside Out (2015) directed by Pete Docter - Crying?

• Blink Twice (2024) directed by Zoe Kravitz - Dark

• The Lost Boys (1987) directed by Joel Schumacher - Hilarious

• Twisters (2024) directed by Lee Isaac Chung - Tornadoes

October

Scary! October is kind of a silly month. Like, what do you mean we spend all month gearing up for one night of dressing up in costumes? It’s pretty odd but also basically the only holiday/tradition that I can get behind. This year, I tried to watch a bunch of 90s/2000s low-budget teen horror movies to get in the Halloween spirit. And boy, did it work! These movies are so hilariously awesome. I also watched normal movies so those will be here too.

Spooky Movies:

All of the movies below get an A+ from me. They are so campy and out there. I am so nostalgic (even though I wasn’t born yet ha ha) of the times when movies went all out in their devotion to being exactly what they say they are. Gather up some attractive '“teenagers” (read: mid-to-late-20s adults) and plant them in a creepy, moody town and who cares what happens! I’ll be watching regardless.

• Death Becomes Her (1992) directed by Robert Zemeckis

• Ginger Snaps (2000) directed by John Fawcett

• The Craft (1996) directed by Andrew Fleming

• The Faculty (1998) directed by Robert Rodriguez

• Disturbing Behaviour (1998) directed by David Nutter

The cast (importantly Josh Hartnett) of The Faculty (1998)

Normal Movies:

• Young & Beautiful (2013) directed by François Ozone

Very dark! Marine Vacth gives a heartbreaking and honest performance. The film tactfully discusses the topic of young women in sex work and the various shades of morality inherent to the field. Tough watch since it feels real, but also important and insightful to how a lot of young women feel today.

• The Substance (2024) directed by Coralie Fargeat

I’m usually not a body-horror type of girl, but this was sickening in a good way. Insane performances and such a disturbing piece of work. Margaret Qualley and Demi Moore are both incredible and believable and the casting was just perfect. I also appreciate and respect the use of special effects and prosthetics makeup, the team behind the looks are geniuses. Honouring the craft and not turning to CGI is an awesome thing to see. My only qualm is that it could have been a little bit shorter, but that’s how I feel about most movies these days.

• Tangerine (2015) directed by Sean Baker

This was good! Sean Baker is clearly obsessed with sex workers, which is slightly odd, but he does know how to make a good movie and doesn’t shame (or glorify) people in the industry. Give it a watch if you can.

Icons Alexandra and Sin-Dee

Honourable mentions in October with a one-word summary:

• Shampoo (1975) directed by Hal Ashby - Hair.

• Only the Brave (2017) directed by Joseph Kosinski - Sad :(

• Parachute (2023) directed by Brittany Snow - Relatable :/

• The Game (1997) directed by David Fincher - Karma

November

Finally. November was a strange month. Loneliness always sneaks its way in while you’re distracted by the cold. This month has felt like a lot of catching up and falling behind. Catching up with my goals of writing and reading and falling behind on my social needs. I need to work on getting outside when it’s pitch black after work- I clearly would rather watch a movie :D

• The Outrun (2024) directed by Nora Fingscheidt

Gorgeous, devastating, powerful, and inspiring. Saoirse Ronan delivers such a raw and open performance in this movie, it’s mind-blowing. This movie follows a young woman dealing with an addiction problem and starting her journey in recovery. She goes home to Scotland's Orkney Islands and tries to find herself again.

I have a deep love for movies that are based around highlighting the various shades of the human experience and don’t try to do too much in terms of story and all the other movie stuff. This movie feels so real and Saoirse’s performance opens a window into a life that I have not had to experience. Watching movies like this and seeing stories on-screen is the best way for people to learn and practice empathy. The movies where “nothing really happens” are so important to me!

I <3 Saoirse Ronan

• We Live in Time (2024) directed by John Crowley

CRYING. I’M STILL CRYING SO I CAN’T SAY ANYTHING ELSE JUST GO WATCH IT.

• Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (2015) directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon

Can’t believe I just watched this now! This movie is so earnest and hopeful and full of love. We follow the lives of a few high school kids, one who has cancer, as they figure out how to navigate the disease. It’s a good and heartfelt movie.

• Manchester by the Sea (2016) directed by Kenneth Lonergan

This movie is in my top 10 of all time. If you haven’t watched it, close this app and go do so, please.

One of the many amazing shots in this film.

Honourable mentions in November with a one-word summary:

• Martha (2024) directed by R. J. Cutler - Iconica

• My Old Ass (2024) directed by Megan Park - Endearing

• Saturday Night (2024) directed by Jason Reitman - Chaotic

• The Taste of Things (2023) directed by Tran Anh Hung - Mesmerizing

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Thanks for following along the many movies I have been watching. It’s been feeling quite rewarding recently to write and know that someone may put on a movie because of me. That is so cool and exciting.

Movies bring people together and can generate conversations that would otherwise be left unsaid. Even bad movies offer us the chance to come together and laugh or talk about their absurdity. Everything is at least a little redeemable and that’s what keeps us all going.

I wish you a happy and healthy holiday season, and you will hear from me soon!