Films That I Saw: September 2025

 

Well, this country is going down the toilet as the idea that the United States of America might not make it to its 250th birthday. Our dumb-fuck dictator has managed to make things worse as well as make everyone around him look and feel dumber. The events that happened this month is insane where describing it as chaotic would understate what is happening. There was the assassination of some guy I had never even heard of, nor do I care to hear about him. Honestly, fuck him, fuck his family, and fuck all his dumbass followers as he was a hateful piece of shit. What it led was an onslaught of anyone who said anything awful about Charlie Kirk would be fired or some dumb shit. Jimmy Kimmel got suspended by ABC because of something that he said, and it was not even offensive. Yet, the FCC chose to go after ABC who made the decision to suspend Kimmel only to bring him back over the money that got lost. We are living in some dark times and if there is an alternate universe or a bunch of alternate universes. We live in the worst timeline.

There is so much happening here in America and around the world as it is overwhelming to keep up as I have become indifferent about the state of the world as there is just too much negativity. I try to watch a bunch of things to get away from all of that though I am always aware of what is going on. Lately, it has gotten hard as my output in watching films has decreased immensely as I do not have much time and energy to watch feature-length films. Instead, I have been re-watching the first few seasons of King of the Hill as the revival got me to go back to the seasons I have watched and then watch the seasons I never got to watch.

In the month of September 2025, I saw a total of 12 films in 9 first-timers and 3 re-watches with one first-timer being a film directed or co-directed by a woman as part of the 52 Films by Women pledge. A decent month that included a highlight in my Blind Spot in The Mother and the Whore. Here are the top 8 first-timers that I saw for September 2025:

1. One Battle After Another

2. Bird

3. Glaze of Cathexis

4. The Machine of Eden

5. Kumbha Mela

6. The Wold Shadow

7. Los 4 Golpes

8. Ballchewer

Monthly Mini-Reviews/What Else I Am Watching

Glaze of Cathexis



The first of three short films by Stan Brakhage that I saw on YouTube is a 3-minute short film that play into what an iris sees from its point of view. It is full of colorful imagery as it plays into the idea of what people see though everyone has a different view of what they see as it is among one of Brakhage’s finest short films.

The Wold Shadow



The 2nd short of Brakhage that I saw as this is one of two shorts I found on YouTube from the 1970s as it is another 3-minute short film. This time, it is set in a forest where it seems like an atypical Brakhage film because he shoots the forest as if nothing is happening. Then comes the shadows that would emerge where they add a sense of intrigue and suspense as they play into the many mysteries that is nature. Another great short film from Brakhage.

The Machine of Eden



The third and final short film from Brakhage that I found on YouTube that is also set in the 1970s is an unconventional short film though it is only available in its 8 ½-minute presentation instead of the original 11 ½-minute presentation. Still, Brakhage plays into the idea of a textile machine that would create nature. It is a daring and enthralling short film that also feature images of the Rocky Mountains as it is a must see for anyone interested in Stan Brakhage.

Los 4 Golpes



This obscure short film by Francois Truffaut that he made in 1962 and was considered lost for many years until it premiered in 2016 at a film festival in Argentina. It is a 3-minute short film that has Truffaut play a filmmaker trying to make a silent film about a hit where he plays the assassin. It is not one of his great short films, but it is still enjoyable and funny as it is surprising that it is now available for all fans of his work as it gives them one more film to finish his filmography.

Kumbha Mela



Originally shot in 1977 but was unreleased until 1989, Michelangelo Antonioni’s documentary short film about a traditional Hindu pilgrimage that takes place every 12 years. Considering Antonioni’s continuing observation of the overwhelming emergence of modernity, this short film highlights a tradition that is still happening amidst changing times. Antonioni also maintains his silence to let everything play out as millions of people gather at the River Ganges to cleanse themselves in the form of tradition before India would be swept away by the horrors of modernism. This is a true gem from one of cinema’s great masters.

Ballchewer



This 36-second short film from Paul Thomas Anderson made during the production of Punch-Drunk Love was originally filmed for Adam Sandler’s website in the early 2000s. It has Sandler’s pet bulldog Meatball playing a game with Luis Guzman while Emily Watson serves beer. It is a hilarious short by Anderson who was clearly just having fun with the cast and crew.

Wednesday (season 2, episodes 5-8)

The second half of the second season of the series plays into the return of Larissa Weems who becomes Wednesday’s new spirit guide much to Wednesday's dismay as it is so fun to watch Gwendoline Christie return as she is given a lot more to do. The series continues with more mystery as it relates to the dead body that Pugsley found and who that person is as it also relates to the character of Tyler Galpin and Galpin’s mother who was believed to have died. There is a lot of intrigue and suspense in the episode as one of the big standouts of the series is Evie Templeton as Agnes DeMille as a Wednesday fangirl who can turn invisible as she proves to be more than helpful for Wednesday as her dance routine with Enid to the new Lady Gaga song is great.

The highlight of the series is episode 6 in which Wednesday and Enid accidentally switching bodies as the respective performances of Jenna Ortega and Emma Myers are phenomenal. The first minutes of that episode killed me with absolute hilarity as the idea of Wednesday Addams dancing to Blackpink will never leave my head. They would show that moment again, yet it is Wednesday as Enid’s own reaction that made it even funnier. I absolutely will wait for the third season as it shows that despite Wednesday’s anti-social attitudes. She does care about those who are close to her as it also relates to what Enid has become and the dangerous situation she is in.

Top 3 Re-Watches

1. Lost in Translation

2. Coco

3. Blinded by the Light

Well, that is all for September. Next month will be devoted once again to horror as well as suspense and other dark films since it is Halloween season. The next Blind Spot film I will watch is Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Cure while I have made a list of the films I hope to watch for the month. My Auteurs essay on Robert Eggers did hit a wall though I do hope to finish in October and then a take a bit of break to do James Gunn as it is likely that I will have Rebecca Miller set for the end of the year. Then I will get to Ari Aster and Damien Chazelle for the next year along with David Lean. As far as new releases are concerned, I am unsure what I will watch as I hope to watch Guillermo del Toro’s adaptation of Frankenstein on the big screen.



Before I bid adieu, this month has saw the passing of several notable figures with one towering above everyone and that is Robert Redford. Redford is the last of his kind in terms of the great movie stars as there are not a lot of that in today’s popular culture. Yet, Redford did more than just be this great presence in films as he also directed some amazing films as well as be an important figure for American independent cinema with the Sundance Film Festival. Without his part in creating that festival, I am sure American cinema would not be as interesting and who knows what careers would have been launched. Redford was also an environmental and an activist who always tried to fight for what was right even if he lost. The man was unlike anyone as well as someone who remained humble despite his fame. Thank you, Mr. Redford, we will miss you.



Another notable figure we lost this month is one of the greatest figures of Italian cinema in Claudia Cardinale who is truly one of the most beautiful women in the world and an actress that will never be replicated. While she achieved her greatest fame in the 1960s, she never stopped working until the 2000s as she remains this revered figure for world cinema. In the films she made as well as the great filmmakers she worked with, she was truly one-of-a-kind in terms of beauty and gracefulness. No matter what genre she was in, she delivered in every way as she will be missed. Grazie Claudia.

Other noted figures that passed away this month include filmmaker Henry Jaglom, Stuart “Stuey” George who was a roadie for David Bowie, film producer Ron Silverman, filmmaker Jorgen Leth, activist Assata Shakur who was 2Pac’s godmother, Silu Seppala of the Leningrad Cowboys, Sonny Curtis of the Crickets, Scottish DJ JD Twitch, music video director Diane Martel, Pat Crowley, Stephen Luscombe of Blancimage, Viv Prince of the Pretty Things, Swedish actor Per Mattsson, songwriter Bobby Hart, Polly Holliday aka Flo “Kiss my grits”, production designer Stuart Craig, Rick Davies of Supertramp, Mark Volman of the Turtles and Flo & Eddie, screenwriter Scott Spiegel, Graham Greene, and one of the greatest figures of fashion in Giorgio Armani. We will miss you all. This is thevoid99 signing off…

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