10 months down. 2021 has been a really great year, and we've got two months left to make it even better. Thankfully, we're riding a great deal of momentum over the last two months, with September providing a few great albums to listen to, and October's film releases keeping me in AMC theaters all month. While I'm definitely sick of seeing the trailer for Jackass Forever and Nicole Kidman's disappearing trench coat, I really enjoyed my time at the movies this month, so let's see what stood out most!
What I Listened To
Knocked Loose - A Tear in the Fabric of Life In between their highly-successful headlining run and a tour in support of metal behemoths Gojira, Knocked Loose released their "What I Did During Quarantine" project: a new EP, accompanied by an animated film that follows the concept behind the EP. While the music itself is some of Knocked Loose's most pummeling songs yet, it's the attention to detail and the creative risk-taking that are on display here that allows KL to continue to stand out as one of the best bands in their scene (or any scene, for that matter), and a torchbearer for the future as well.
Circa Survive - A Dream About Love While I may be among the most biased writers of all time when writing about Circa Survive, the band whom I've considered my favorite for half of my life now, I feel confident in assessing their new EP as one of their most readily-accessible releases. While their last two full-lengths Descensus and The Amulet have strayed deeply into progressive-rock songwriting, A Dream About Love is a course adjustment into a more stripped-down, intimate style. While it's true that comparing these songs to an album like Blue Sky Noise could trick listeners into thinking they're listening to two different bands, their identity as a band who is fearless in its approach to their sound is still very much intact. A quietly-announced signing to Rise Records likely indicates that we've got more songs on the way; whether or not it'll more in line with A Dream About Love is yet to be seen, but Circa Survive has proven that if this truly is their new path, it's one people should be excited to travel down with the band.
Every Time I Die - Radical I was about ready to call the FBI in hopes that they'd travel to Buffalo and force the members of Every Time I Die into a lockdown, where the only way they'd be able to exit is with their new album ready to be released. Fortunately, I never had to take such drastic measures, and the band have rewarded the patience of their fans after the five-year wait between 2016's Low Teens and Radical. It goes without saying that this band has aged well. Of course, they've become more and more musically talented with each release, but the hunger, the rage, and the depth of Keith Buckley's songwriting and vocal delivery have stayed the same, as if he were still a young revolutionary. Radical is the band's most openly politically-charged record to date, and it's something that so many of us who have been frustrated by the state of the world over the last few (hundred?) years will cherish as an album that captures a place and time. A timeless record from a timeless band.
What I Watched
Venom: Let There Be Carnage This is not a movie that will win awards of substance, but if you were a fan of the first one, even if you only liked it a little, it's likely you'll love this. Tom Hardy continues to go above and beyond to make Venom the most unexpectedly lucrative franchise of this decade. Woody Harrelson is exactly the kind of actor who can go toe-to-toe and be as over-the-top as Hardy, so the scenes where the two of them are riffing off of each other work well. Michelle Williams is there, again, but left with even less to do than the first entry in the franchise, while Naomi Campbell's October box office takeover started in earnest, as she played a cartoon-esque version of Shriek. I'm not going to pretend I loved this movie, but I'd be remissed to point out that there are some genuinely fun moments in here.
No Time To Die Part two of Naomi Campbell's October Box Office Takeover arrived a week later, as the Daniel Craig era of James Bond comes to an end. No Time to Die promised two excited new additions in Lashanna Lynch and Ana De Armas, and while I'm sure there's going to be plenty of 007 films for those two to helm, it would have been nice for each of them to get even more time. Same goes for Rami Malek, who could have proven to be an especially memorable Bond villain if he had a greater opportunity. Despite the peculiar budgeting of time, and a few egregious plot holes that pop up, this was a two-and-a-half-plus hour movie that breezed right along, and gave Craig the sendoff he's longed for from the franchise in style--which is all you can ask for in these movies.
Halloween Kills The first of two announced sequels after 2018's Halloween revived the franchise, Halloween Kills was a movie that feels like a bridge between two more thought-out films. While the first movie focused on bringing the audience up to speed on Laurie Strode's been up to, this one wants to give you a progress report on the other survivors of Michael Meyers's initial attack--whether you cared about them in the 1978 movie or not. In the year's biggest case of the trailers not selling you the movie that you end up watching, Jamie Lee Curtis spends the entirety of the movie locked in a hospital while these other characters take their best shot at the Boogeyman before Halloween Forever gives us the showdown the trailers for Halloween Kills promise. In the end, this just feels like a filler episode of a TV show. Let's hope they stick the finale.
The Last Duel It's so rare that I get hyped for a movie and have that movie deliver so perfectly, but that's what The Last Duel has accomplished. Another addition to Jodie Comer's heater, as she continues to establish herself as one of the most talented actresses alive, pacing Ridley Scott's movie with an entrancing performance. The performances from Adam Driver, Matt Damon, and Ben Affleck are each on par with their actor's pedigree, but it's truly Comer's show to steal. I was also a huge fan of how the film was structured, as Scott's storytelling frames this true story in a unique and memorable way.
Dune Speaking of movies that are obviously set up to be sequels, we finally got a look at Denis Villnueve's Dune, a sprawling epic that spoils the secret of its predetermined sequel before the opening credits have completed. While it's obvious that Villnueve will need more time to develop the story of Timothy Chalamet's Paul Atreides, the point in which the story breaks for Part 2 feels like a very odd one. Even at the movies 150-plus minute runtime, there are parts of the story that feel rushed. However, it's still beautifully shot and well-acted, and Villenueve himself has stated that he felt that he had to do a lot of heavy storytelling to build the world, and now he's ready to play with it. That's a great sign, and we're certainly in good hands, even if this initial entry feels a little lacking at times.
Last Night in Soho Everything I just mentioned about the hype I had going into The Last Dueland the level the movie ended up being applies to Last Night in Soho. While it feels easy to take two of the best up-and-coming actresses in the world (JoJo Rabbit's Thomasin Mackenzie and The Queen's Gambit's Anya Taylor-Joy) and put them in a suspenseful horror-thriller, we've seen well-intended movies set up similarly and fail spectacularly. Luckily, Mackenzie and Taylor-Joy have Edgar Wright, whose writing and direction will define the movie, at the helm. Thanks to two great performances turned in by the aforementioned budding superstars, and a third turned in by Doctor Who alum Matt Smith, and a phenomenal twist at the end, Last Night in Soho is a rare one-and-done horror movie that proved to be wonderfully stylish and entertaining throughout.
Antlers Another movie that felt like it took forever to come out, Antlers pushed its Spring 2020 release date all the way to the heart of Spooky SZN, and has finally emerged from purgatory. Scott Cooper uses lighting to create the mood throughout the entire film, and builds suspense perfectly throughout as well. Keri Russell and Jesse Plemons end up as the leads for the most part, as their brother-sister relationship is explained but never fully resolved. Antlers does a great job setting up the mythology of its monster, a clear sign that producer Guillermo Del Toro's influence was felt in the conception of the film. This wasn't the best movie I've seen all year, but it was a solid, original horror idea that carries you through its suspense well.
Looking forward to Next Month November continues to loom large in the film industry, as we get our next MCU entry in Eternals this week. The assumptive Oscar-buzzy movie House of Gucci will see its release over Thanksgiving weekend, along with the first two episodes of Marvel's next series Hawkeye. Perhaps I'll be watching more TV shows this month, as Netflix's Big Mouth is slated to make its return as well. There aren't too many albums I have my eyes on that are dropping this month, but that may help me discover some new bands like this Snail Mail album that seems to be getting a lot of buzz, and the new album from IDLES, which is a band who've been growing on me recently. As always, looking forward to all this, and hopefully a few surprises along the way.
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