The Films That I Saw: October 2013

The fall film season is definitely heating up as is the Oscar race as there’s now a lot of new contenders into what might be the film of the year. If anyone checks out my list, it’s definitely becoming a very tight race as the remainder of the year is going to be very crazy. In the meantime, I’m definitely starting to look ahead for some ideas on what I’m going to do next year as I’ve already selected the films that I’m going to do for my Blind Spot Series next year as well as the Auteurs profiles for the next year. I will make an official announcement on what films and filmmakers I will be doing for 2014 in mid to late December.

In the month of October, I saw a total of 42 films, 28 first-timers and 14 re-watches. Definitely up from last month as I spent a lot of time watching horror and horror-related films as today is Halloween. The highlight of course is in my Blind Spot assignment in Battle Royale. Here are the 10 best first-timers I saw for October 2013: 

1. Vertigo

2. 12 Years a Slave

3. Gravity

4. Un Chien Andalou

5. The Phantom Carriage

6. Knife in the Water

7. The Brood

8. Spirits of the Dead

9. Captain Phillips

10. Sisters

Mini-Reviews

The American Dream: The Dusty Rhodes Story

I’ll admit that things in the WWE as far as booking and storylines have been pretty damn terrible. Yet, with an angle pitting the Cody Rhodes and his older brother Dustin aka Goldust against the Shield and the Authority is actually the highlight of the year so far. I watched the WWE doc about their father that was made some years ago as it was great to watch to showcase the American Dream’s career from his work in Florida Championship Wrestling to having one of the great careers during his time with the NWA and Jim Crockett Promotions in the 1980s that included a classic rivalry with Ric Flair. There’s no question about this man’s legacy as it’s great to see his two sons doing well as it’s very likely that Cody will soon follow in his father’s footsteps in becoming a World Champion.

Road Warriors: The Life and Death of the Most Dominant Tag Team in Wrestling History

While the Rhodes Brothers along with the Shield, the Prime Time Players, the Real Americans, and the Usos do make the WWE tag team division somewhat interesting. They’re nothing compared to the brilliance that are the Road Warriors/the Legion of Doom that features Hawk and Animal. This is definitely one of the great WWE documentaries that showcases the duo’s dominance from their days in the AWA and NWA in the 80s to their numerous runs in WWE and WCW in the 1990s. Though Hawk sadly passed away in 2003 after a period of struggling with some personal demons, there is no question that they were one of the best tag teams in professional wrestling.

Oz: The Great & Powerful

I love The Wizard of Oz, it’s one of the greatest films ever made though the idea of a prequel is interesting though I have heard mixed things about Sam Raimi’s new film. The result is an OK film that features some pretty good performances from Rachel Weisz and Michelle Williams though James Franco is a bit uninspired as the Wizard. I wasn’t a fan of Mila Kunis in the film as I thought she went a bit over-the-top while some of the visuals had some moments but a lot of it wasn’t very good. Count me as one of those not interested in the sequel if it ever comes.

Toy Story of Terror

Pixar has been going through a creative slump as of late with their feature films though this new entry in the Toy Story series is a very inspired one. Especially as it is this simple horror story where Woody, Buzz, Jessie, Mr. Pricklepants, Mr. Potato-Head, Trixie, and Rex are stuck in a motel with something terrifying. It is a very fun little TV special that I hope becomes a regular staple for every Halloween as it has something that appeals to kids but also includes material that appeals to the hardcore Pixar fans as well as film buffs.

Top 10 Re-Watches:

1. The Birds

2. The Fly

3. They Live

4. Repo Man

5. The Goonies

6. Riding Giants

7. Rumble Fish

8. A Knight’s Tale

9. The Hunger

10. In Her Shoes

Well, that is it for October. Next month as I will spending part of my time assembling and writing my multi-part list for the Most Anticipated Films of 2014 which will be released in December. There will be a lot of films to cover from new releases like Thor, Blue is the Warmest Color, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Dallas Buyers Club, and All is Lost to the films of Jim Jarmusch for the Auteurs series as well as films by Luis Bunuel, Billy Wilder, and maybe some Yasujiro Ozu along with some recent releases from the past few years. Until then, this is thevoid99 signing off and… hey, what are you carrying that knife? Are you really going to fucking kill me? Are you… AHH… OH FUC……

© thevoid99 2013