#10- Daddy's Head
[Watched on Shudder]
Here in the top 10 there are (at least) three movies that absolutely shocked me with how much I enjoyed them;
Daddy's Head is one of those three. With a movie like that you think it would be a movie on an adult site or something, but no, this is a really effective monster movie with a shapeshifting (some say alien, I'm going fae) creature who wants to take a mourning child to its lair. I think this movie is fascinating because the creature (while clearly being "evil") feels less like a malicious demonic entity and more like an animal doing what it does to survive. It's certainly out here being creepy and crawling through vents and being manipulative, but it's in a way that feels like it was out here looking for food rather than trying to corrupt the youth or whatever. Sure, not a great defense I know, but still, I found that interesting. Does the monster represent grief like every monster in a horror film since the mid 2010s? Yeah. Does it still work as a creepy creature and have elements in the movie that are super strong? Also yeah. This is the third in a row I don't want to give too much away because yeah, I think it's worth a watch.
#09- Your Monster
[Watched in theaters]
If you liked
Lisa Frankenstein earlier this year (like I did) I think
Your Monster is 100% up your alley. This is basically the next Pokémon evolution of that movie anyway and I do mean that in the best way. Melissa Barrera is great here and is consistently popping up and proving herself as a modern horror icon between the
Scream V and
VI (I'll not forgive Skydance for firing her from the series) as well as
Abigail and now this. This movie is certainly more of a rom-com than it is a horror (though there are horror elements throughout), but what I liked about it most is despite the romance between Barrera's character and Tommy Dewey's monster, the movie is more about loving yourself and that's a message I can always get behind.
This movie is surprisingly funny (though please don't watch the trailer, the best moments are given away there) and it's a shame it seems to have come and gone with almost no fanfare. I didn't see any of the big channels review it, it's not showing in my theater anymore after its two weeks there, it's too bad. If you get the chance,
Your Monster is a good time and I recommend checking it out.
#08- Smile 2
[Watched in theaters]
Another crazy surprise for me, I expected almost NOTHING out of
Smile 2. I'm kind of not a fan of the first
Smile film, like, it's fine but I don't get all the hubbub about it. I found Kevin Bacon's daughter to not be a great protagonist, the jumpscares felt forced in some moments, and I just didn't get scared from it. That said, I went into
Smile 2 and was blown away by how much better this movie is than its predecessor. This is like the
Evil Dead II to
The Evil Dead or
Terrifier 2 to
Terrifier, it's such a leap up in almost every capacity that the first just feels like a tech demo (I still love you
The Evil Dead).
Naomi Scott is freaking incredible in this and her commitment to this role is 100% what makes this movie work as well as it does. Without her commitment, I genuinely don't think this movie would've worked even half as well. Her performance mixes with the absolute insane f*ckery (gonna see how many times I can say it at this point) that is going on around her. While the first movie had moments of you questioning what's real and what isn't, this movie takes that to like twelve million percent and it's perfect for that.
Smile 2 is the rare sequel (and even rarer horror sequel) that just one ups the first movie in every single way. Go see it.
#07- Rumours
[Watched in theaters]
If
The Bad Guys: Haunted Heist was a movie not at all made for me,
Rumours is a movie crafted almost exclusively for me and me alone. I can 1000% see a world in which I stand alone on an island defending the movie with self-pleasuring bog mummies serving a giant brain in the woods as they terrorize the most powerful people in the free world under the command of an AI program and if that doesn't sound like a movie you'd enjoy, you're probably right. For me though, this was so ridiculously weird and out there that I couldn't help but love it and that's kind of all I have to say about it. It's weird, it's crazy, it's funny, and it's just a movie written and filmed for me alone. The best part is Charles Dance playing the president of the USA and not dropping his British accent AT ALL. Very funny.
#06- Saturday Night
[Watched in theaters]
Saturday Night was one of my most anticipated movies of the year and it unfortunately is probably among my most disappointing of the year. That's not to say the movie is bad, it really isn't, but for the hype it was getting and the real-time element it had going for it, I feel like it dropped the ball in the third act. The performances were pretty strong, especially for Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd's performers, but that's kind of where the excellence begins and ends. The first two acts were fun high-octane fast-paced moments, but that third act takes a nosedive into absurdity and kind of lost me. I still had a good time with it, but this has slipped out of my top 10 of the year and all the way down to #6 in October, forget the rest of the year and I can honestly see it slipping further back as the year goes on. If you're an
SNL fan, I think it's worth the watch and again, I did enjoy it, but not as much as I really wanted to.
#05- Piece By Piece
[Watched in theaters]
I remember when LEGO announced their next film was about Pharrell Williams my flabbers were ghasted because what the actual hell do they mean by that? Once I got into the theater though, this movie absolutely blew away every minute expectation I had for what it is and that is the greatest compliment I could give this movie.
Piece By Piece does things with color and movement that you couldn't do outside of LEGO and I don't think the movie would be even a fraction as good if it hadn't been done in this seemingly harebrained way. The movie also absolutely picks on the fact it has to be PG because LEGO is a children's toy and they wouldn't go any higher than that and gets away with a lot more than I thought LEGO would let them get away with. LEGO is famous for not depicting anything or commenting on social issues like religion, politics, race issues, etc. but this movie has depictions of all of that from LEGO BLM protests to LEGO church sequences with a choir to LEGO Kendrick Lamar rapping, it was shocking how much rope LEGO gave them. We even get a scene with Snoop Dogg (famous for... partaking) that is genuinely the funniest scene I've seen all year in the movie theater. I and the mom sitting near me were both cackling while her kid who sat next to me had no idea what we were laughing at so he was laughing too, it was really really a good time. If this is still showing near you, I recommend going to see it because it's crazy how good it ended up being.
#04- Terrifier 3
[Watched in theaters]
I'm not a fan of the original
Terrifier film, it felt like it was gore for gore's sake and was kind of malicious and sexist and all of that other stuff people accused it of being. I don't mind gore (hell, I've praised movies for their use of it earlier on this list, though usually as pulpy cheap fake blood) and while my limit is pretty high up there, I felt sick by the first movie, not from the images but from the mean spiritedness. That's all from when I was a big baby because holy **** I had so much fun with
Terrifier 3.
This is a franchise that I 100% understand and respect is just too much for some (most) people with the overly cruel kills and violence towards literally anyone and everyone including kids. If this movie seems to be or is too much for you, I fully respect that and you're probably a better person than I am for holding those standards, but for me, this was crazy kills, overindulgence, and one of the best killers in the game. Seriously, move over Jason and Michael Myers, you're boring silent killers compared to how great Art the Clown is. He's become an icon in his own right and I think it's deserved, especially after this film. That said, I didn't 100% love this, I'm kind of over the lore already.
Terrifier 2 introduced lore to the universe and
Terrifier 3 expands on it, but I think that's the worst part. I'd kind of rather just have Art doing his thing than this whole Hell embodiment of evil thing they've got going on. The final 20 minutes of this movie (while still brutally fun) are just a bit lore heavy for me and while I'm certainly a lore guy, I don't think this franchise requires it. Still, if you're into this type of thing, I think
Terrifier 3 is the best one so far, and if you're not, good for you, you're a better person than me.
#03- The Apprentice
[Watched in theaters]
My favorite part of this movie is that my whole audience didn't understand this movie was pretty firmly anti-Trump and they were all VERY angry upon leaving the theater.
Obviously,
The Apprentice is a movie that I think will be pretty divisive and depending on the outcome next Tuesday, we're either gonna see it showing up more in conversations for acting awards or it'll fade away into obscurity and I don't think there's any other way about it. I don't want to get too political here (though I don't think my politics are really hidden well, just look at my review of
Reagan [I KNOW I'M SORRY I HAD TO BRING IT UP ONE MORE TIME]) but neither does this movie. The movie isn't about politician Donald Trump, it's about businessman and real estate mogul Donald Trump and his rise to the top amongst wealthy New York elite. It shows the scummy things he did back then while hinting at things he would go on to do in the future but I think it was done overall pretty fairly. It certainly doesn't idolize him, but it also doesn't dehumanize him, quite the opposite. We see a portrayal of a broken man with a neglectful father, a junkie brother who he loves, a terrible role model, and a wife who he truly loves (until he doesn't.) I think it's important to humanize figures like Trump who have gone on to become larger than life and to bring them down a peg, republican or democrat. I think overall, this movie is effective at what it seeks out to do and for that I give it props. I enjoyed the performances, I enjoyed the cinematography, and I enjoyed what the movie set out to do.
#02- The Remarkable Life of Ibelin
[Watched on Netflix]
Going from a divisive film that will pit people against each other to a unifying film about how an online community and people all over the world can be positively impacted by one person and that's what we get with this doc. This is a complete tear jerker about a guy with muscular dystrophy who is relegated to a wheelchair and spends almost all of his time gaming. The doc starts with his parents talking about how sad it was he'd never have friends or love or community and it's really dark and depressing, but then we get into his second life online in World of Warcraft and it's super sweet to see how important and beloved this guy was. It also doesn't paint him as perfect, he rubs people the wrong way, he womanizes, he gets into and starts fights, but its about his presence and how he and everyone else in the community help one another in game and it affects their lives outside of it. Throughout I found myself thinking about this community and how there are similarities; most of us have never met but we all know one another and communicate frequently and I'm sure in some way many of us have been impacted by the people here positively. It shows the good side of the internet where so much shows the negative side. I do recommend tissues when watching though.
#01- Conclave
[Watched in theaters]
We're at the point of the year where the Oscar-bait movies are coming out and I apologize in advance as they start taking up the slots near the top of my monthly lists. Still, I was really into
Conclave despite the fact I'm typically not into religious films or films set in the church (Catholic childhood trauma and all, you know) but this one was super engaging. It reminds me of movies like
The Post with this thrilling intrigue that just really stuck with me. The performances from the legendary Ralph Fiennes and Stanley Tucci are phenomenal, the cinematography may just be the best of the year so far with some insane shots, and the story and mystery are so good. The reveal at the end does come out of left field and I did have a man stand up and walk out during it, but it worked for me and actually showed the beauty and purpose behind religion with the acceptance of all people of all walks of life should they find and embody faith. Yes, it's Oscar-bait and yes, I get why not everyone loves those movies, but I really enjoyed
Conclave.
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Alright, so into November we go and holy **** do we have some BANGERS coming out. Some of my most anticipated movies of the year are dropping including
Anora, Heretic, and
Gladiator 2 but we also have potential hits like
Red One and
Wicked and interesting ones like
Moana 2 which I have no idea where to place.
My first movie of the month will be the hard to find
Juror #2 followed immediately by the equally hard to find
Anora so I suspect this month will hit just as hard. I can't wait to see it all!
That's probably why I'm as unsympathetic as I am towards Florence's selfishness regarding the competition stuff haha.