October 2025

 Hope you are all having a good fall. Our son is doing very well, but our attempts to adjust his routine to help prepare him for a different schedule when we return to work has not gone great—we are hopeful for November. It will be our last month with him, and it will also be our busiest month as we come down to Utah and Arizona to visit many of you! I am hopeful that some time with family will revitalize my spirit, and I can't wait to show Hector the desert. 

Bit of a slow month, only 26 films. Here are some of them:

The King of Comedy [1982]

Maybe the best De Niro has ever been. Hadn't even heard about this Scorsese movie before a week ago, and for that reason I will say that it is criminally underrated. Taxi Driver [1976] without the arthouse, The Joker [2019] without nihilism. Such an uncomfortable film, but I already want to see it again.

    9.5/10

Kanehsatake, 270 Years of Resistance [1993]

Watch, as the canadian government / police / army lie & commit acts of violence against the Mohawk nation on camera, without any fear of repercussions. And then watch as the Mohawk just tries to live the way they always have despite it all, asking for nothing more than the freedom to do exactly that.

All for a fucking golf course.

    10/10, LAND BACK

Heat [1995]

Thematically perfect, but not enough people talking about the fact that Al Pachino is genuinely unhinged in this movie & how hilarious it is!

I love watching something and being able to tell it was made in the 90's. Studi & Trejo spotted. RIP Val.

    10/10

I Dream In Another Language [2017]

I knew I was going to like this movie just by the way the world sounded, but then it turned into this incredible film about resentment, colonialism, belief, & love.

    9/10

Grave of Fireflies [1988]

As an older sibling / father of a newborn / human with a beating heart, I’m fucking devastated. 

    9.5/10

    Beaux Score: "Oof (ouch, our fireflies)”

Being John Malkovich [1999]

The first hour: “Okay, so this one woman’s weird kink is going to ruin the lives of this couple, and the real life actor John Malkovich”

The second hour: “MALKOVICH MALKOVICH MALKOVICH MALKOVICH IS THIS REAL LIFE MALKOVICH MALKOVICH MALKOVICH”

    8/10

Devil in a Blue Dress [1995]

 

"All you got is your friends."

Saw this at the recommendation of Ryan Coogler: there is no way in hell that Stack in Sinners is wasn't inspired by the firecracker that is Mouse! Really solid noir, Don Cheadle was incredible, what a vibe!

    8/10

    Beaux Score: "Get a friend like Mouse”

The Double [2013]

Put him down as a "maybe".

An Orwellian nightmare that makes you feel like you're existing the wrong way and everyone knows it and you're stupid and wrong for asking questions or making suggestions—it's a wonder we even tolerate you.

Beautiful score and lighting though!

    8/10

Fantasia [1940]

There is something so pure about this piece of work—the artists having the creative freedom animate some extraordinary scenes for the time—it makes me long for the world where Disney didn't sell their soul to capitalism. There is magic in this film.

Also every time the composer was on screen, I reverently whispered "Leopold!" to literally no one lol

    9/10

Hunger [2008]

"There is no such thing as political [starvation], political [imprisonment] or political violence. There is only [starvation], [imprisonment] and [other state sanctioned] violence."

     —Margaret Thatcher quote, edited by me because fuck that bitch, I hope hell is real but just for her, Hitler, and Andrew Jackson

Oh and hey here's a protip when watching a movie about a hunger strike: DO NOT LITERALLY BE EATING A MEAL LIKE MY DUMBASS DID

    8/10

Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance [2002]

We should all remember who the real enemy is in the class struggle to come, and it probably shouldn't be you're local electrical engineer. Park Chan-wook is on some other type shit man, but I liked this one a lot more than Oldboy. Incredibly bleak film that just kept hitting, over and over.

    7.5/10

Warlock [1989]

Maybe the funniest piece of camp I’ve seen in a long time. The shots of the Warlock just standing around are gold! Ridiculous gore, shitty cg flying, the book that can undo god—incredible.

    6/10, but I genuinely recommend it

    Beaux Score: "Uncannily bad, and uncannily good”

Natural Born Killers [1994]

Gonna be real with yall, I decided to check out this one entirely because of the main characters glasses. Normally I like going into a movie blind, but I needed prep for this one. Moments of pure cinema amidst a sea of violent, psychedelic filmmaking decisions. 

I never really know how to feel about oversaturation of themes as a methods of storytelling; no rating because what even is a movie

    (●__●)

    Beaux Score: "They could cast this guy and give it the same hook except it should be about a symbiote.”

Lady in the Water [2006]

The most eye-rolling magical realism I’ve seen in a while, but maybe I just wasn’t in the mood for its very innocent content. Giamatti is great, it was very well shot, but it also felt kinda batshit.
Her name is Story, guys.

    4.5/10

Dracula [1958]

Lots of changes to the original story, and there was not nearly enough Dracula, but it was nice to see more of Cushing's Van Helsing. I guess this was the first in color Dracula, so a lot of the wow factor has to do with just that.
And if my watching of this movie has caused any of you to become upset despite me not knowing of your uncommunicated expectations, I would like to formally apologize to whomever that may be.

    5/10

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead [2007]

That transition effect really started to piss me off. Somewhere in the second act it solidly gained my interest (Hoffman & Hawke are certainly to blame being talented actors). But between the weird score, the script, and the climax / ending, I just couldn’t get into this melodramatic nonsense. 

The title doesn’t make any sense!!

    4/10

    Beaux Score: "Watch this if you want to watch a boring movie where things don’t stop happening.”

The Transformers: The Movie [1986]

YOU GOT THE TOUCH

YOU GOT THE POWWAAAAA

YEEAYUUHHHH!

I can absolutely see how Bay was inspired by this: No regard for pacing, with a world-ending plot that plays out over scene after scene of chaotic destruction. The constant 80's rock in the background felt like it was the only thing they could do to justify the breakneck speed, unfortunately for the tone. Still, Transformers shit do be happening.

    5/10

    Beaux Score: "You’ve got the touch…”

Spanglish [2004]

The way my mom would have murdered that white lady for messing with her kid lmao

I liked this movie, but it's a little messy. Maybe messy is exactly what it should be, considering it is about a clash of cultures, and the impacts of that. I understand why my parents love it so much, and if it had focused on just that, I think I would have liked it more. But it also tries to be this movie narrated as a college application essay about clashing cultures AND immigration, a child's self-body image, infidelity, mentally ill parents, white comfort—it's too much, even for the filmmakers. 

    6/10

Huesera: The Bone Woman [2022]

Told a couple people I was watching this film before I did and they were all worried for me after reading its description 😅
Not as much of a horror film as I had expected it to be, let alone a birth horror film. However, the element of psychosis here (especially surrounding childbirth) is still pretty spooky—there's a scene where she's just trying to get some sleep that freaked me the fuck out.

Feel like it would've spooked harder if I had never wanted children or if I was afab, but it was still a great addition to Mexican horror.

    7/10

Venom [2018]

The fact that this movie exists is pretty much a dream come true for my inner child (he's a Spider-Man nerd). Eminem plays with toy cars during the credits.

    8/10

    Beaux Score: "Portrait of a Lady on Fire for bros”

Venom: Let There Be Carnage [2021]

I like Hardy's take on Brock and I like Harrison's take on Kassady, but they do not have good chemistry. Still a childhood dream come true (10/10 Carnage), but not as good as the first. It's also the gayest romcom I've ever seen.

    6/10

    Beaux Score: "They should remake this but they should really devote more to the love story.”

Venom: The Last Dance [2024]

Dialogue that wants to make me tear my ears off. Clearly not even supposed to be a good movie, but it’s certainly the most Venom.

    3/10

    Beaux Score: "Great romance of our time.”

It Follows [2014]

My middling rating is a result of strong feelings in both directions, not mediocrity. A strong opening scene, really spooky tension throughout despite its simple premise, and I LOVED the synthy soundtrack—for much of the film, I was convinced I was going to give this a higher rating.

But then after its second act it took a nose dive: the idiot teens get a gun, the monster failed to live up to its promise, and it becomes more and more clear that nothing is going to happen.

I did like its vibe, just disappointing that It-did-not-Follow through!

    5/10

    Beaux Score: "Always use protection (gun)”

Over the Garden Wall [2014]

A mysterious and compelling piece of animation that I cannot recommend enough to those who haven’t seen it. It feels like something that aired sixty years ago while still having the charm of modern story telling. It is as macabre as it is gentle, holding your hand as it takes you through every horrifying moment.

Sometimes—when my yearly viewing of it catches me in a melancholy state of mind—old feelings of being a depressed teen trying to figure it all out for the first time resurface, mostly the feeling that I let my little brother down. No other piece of media does that like this does for me.

    10/10, Happy Halloween folks

    Beaux Score: "Oh my god, 10/10”