Films That I Saw: September 2013

The fall season is finally beginning as it’s often the time where the really good stuff comes in. Especially as I finished the summer being a bit burned out and needed some time off. Fortunately, that time off allowed me to rest and not think about films for a while. Once I took my week off and then came back, I knew that it was going to be the start of a very serious film season as I’ve been reading a lot of what happened in Venice and Toronto. I must say that the results of what happened in Venice was disappointing as well as who they picked to win the Golden Lion while the films that played in Toronto were far more exciting as I have to thank Movie Mezzanine, Cinema Axis, Defiant Success, and Ryan @ The Matinee for making the Toronto Film Festival coverage a joy to read.

In the month of September, I saw a total of 31 films. 23 first-timers and 8 re-watches. Kind of surprising considering that I even took a week off from watching films in the first week of the month though the lack of re-watches isn’t exactly a surprise since there were a lot of films on TV that I had already seen this year as well as the first-timers I had seen earlier this year. Of course, the highlight of the month is my Blind Spot assignment in Ali: Fear Eats the Soul. Here are the 10 best first-timers I saw for September 2013:

1. Winter Light

2. Ugetsu

3. Mon Oncle

4. Sweetie

5. The World's End

6. Le Havre

7. Summer with Monika

8. Smashed

9. Osaka Elegy

10. Don Jon

Monthly Mini-Reviews:

The Campaign

I don’t mind political comedies if it’s done right but this one wasn’t very good. Especially from someone like Jay Roach who has done some very good political-based films. The problem is that it’s another typical Will Ferrell comedy where he acts all crazy and shit that we’ve seen him do so many times while Zach Galifianakis is just not funny as his opponent. In fact, I’ve never liked Zach Galifianakis. I think he’s overrated and unfunny. He’s essentially Nick Offerman without the talent or humor. The only thing that is funny is the sequence where everyone tells the truth and such.

Ted

This was definitely one of the most hilarious films I had ever seen. A guy with a talking teddy bear who curses, smokes, drinks, and do all sorts of crazy shit. I don’t watch a lot of stuff that Seth MacFarlane did but this one floored me. Notably the stuff involving Sam Jones as Flash Gordon which was a riot as well as all of the antics that Ted did. It was outrageous and quite bawdy but I had a fucking good time watching this.

Parental Guidance

I like Billy Crystal, Bette Midler, and Marisa Tomei but man, this was a terrible film. Once again, my home city of Atlanta looks like a bland-ass postcard of a city which is totally false. While the film had some interesting commentary on the idea of modernism vs. old school methods, it is handled very poorly where Billy Crystal is subjected to some very humiliating moments. Bette Midler manages to have some great moments including a scene where she tells off a Russian violin instructor yet it just ends up being another bad mess courtesy of the guy who helmed one of my most hated-films ever in You Again.

Top 8 Re-Watches:

1. Lost in Translation

2. Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

3. Les Miserables

4. Game Change

5. Contagion

6. Partysaurus Rex

7. Brave

8. Outside Providence

Well, that’s it for September as October will largely be focused on various films relating to horror, suspense, and violence to celebrate Halloween. The filmmakers I’m going to watch for that month will be from the likes of Alfred Hitchcock, John Carpenter, Brian de Palma, Carl Theodor Dryer, and most of all, David Cronenberg for a two-part Auteurs series on him that will be on Cinema Axis. New releases slated for October will be Gravity, Enough Said, Captain Phillips, and The Counselor along with some possible art-house releases like 12 Years a Slave and Blue is the Warmest Color. Also happening in October at the Void-Go-Round will be some material related to Nine Inch Nails as I will be seeing them on the 24th of that month at the Phillips Arena with Godspeed! You Black Emperor! Until then, this is thevoid99 signing off.

© thevoid99 2013