What I'm Into: October 2021

Here’s a look at What I’m Into this month in the world of music, movies & television:

Halloween (2018): It wouldn't be #SpookySzn without a good, old-fashioned horror movie making the cut. The 2018 re-boot of the Michael Myers classic hits this list because it's actually fantastic. Read that again, as horror movie re-boots are notoriously dumpster-fire cash grabs that have little-to-no merit in terms of their quality as a film. That is not the case with this one. Jamie Lee Curtis reprises her role from the original and Halloween (2018) picks up as if this was the one-and-only Halloween sequel. I will say, my expectations were low for this one but it absolutely blew them out of the water. The aesthetic and pacing were incredible and the film respects the original while building in the right modern ways.

The Green Knight: This was one of the films that had a trailer release pre-COVID that I was really excited by: Dev Patel in an A24, re-imagining of a classic poem (Sir Gawain & The Green Knight). It doesn't take long to realize this is an art house film. It wanders in the right ways and blurs the lines of what's reality for Sir Gawain as he embarks on his quest. The artistic freedoms taken really underscore questions of courage, meaning, and legacy in interesting ways (perhaps most of all, the double-entendre of the film's title). The movie does drag at times and does raise the question "what exactly am I watching?" at others. However, the more time that passes between me and my viewing, the more I really like the artistic choices that were made in telling this tale.

Boy Meets World: There are some shows that just don't stand the test of time. Shows that sometimes are great during the first watch, but upon re-watch, they just seem to fall apart. This is not that show. Boy Meets World is an all-time favorite for me. I remember watching Boy Meets World for the first time with my brother growing up and Cory Matthews was just the most relatable character on TV for me at the time. Emily and I have re-visited Boy Meets World a few times since we got married and each time I'm astonished with how well it holds up. Now that it's on Disney+, there's no excuse if you've never given it a try.

Spectre: This month marked the end of an era with the release of Daniel Craig's final Bond movie, "No Time to Die". Upon the release, I realized that I was a film behind on the series. Spectre had been one that I kept putting off and eventually just forgot about. However, in preparation for "No Time to Die", I was finally able to give this one my full attention. There's something about a Bond film that just lands with me -- perhaps it's the endless amount of Goldeneye my brother and I played on N64, or the Thanksgiving theater trips in which we'd catch Pierce Brosnan's final portrayals. Either way, this one was a ride worth taking.

Playlist of the Post:

Track Listing:

1. Call Me Out - Sea Girls

2. Who's Laughing Now - Durry

3. How Big Is Your Brain? - Super American

4. RIP Jeff - Super American

5. Not Dead Yet - Lord Huron

6. Send My Love to the System - Will Varley

7. Sleepless in Seattle - Noah Gundersen

8. Atlantis - Noah Gundersen & Phoebe Bridgers

9. Lovin' Me (feat. Phoebe Bridgers) - Kid Cudi 10. DON'T TELL THE BOYS - Petey