Seen: October 2024

My monthly watch list

Awards season draws nigh, and I’ve been dutifully filling my screen time with as many of this year’s contenders as I can get. There’s still a lot of movies to see, but it’s been fun to catch more movies in theaters this month, and I’m getting excited to see some streaming selections as well.

This is the gist of everything I’ve seen this month.

As a reminder, this is not a complete list of every movie or show I’ve seen over the course of a month. Occasionally, I’ll watch a scene of something here or there, or I’ll watch an episode or two of a specific show. My personal Rule of Thirds dictates that if I’m not sold on a movie by the end of the first act or a TV show’s first three episodes, I’ll turn it off. I have yet to walk out of a movie I’ve seen in theaters, but the Rule of Thirds applies for theatrical releases, too. If I’m watching a TV show over the course of a few months, or if I’m watching something that releases one episode per week, I’ll write a little blurb about it when I finish the final episode of the season.

Below is a list of all the complete movies and TV seasons I’ve watched over the course of the previous month. This is my version of director Steven Soderbergh’s annual roundup, although Hunter Harris also provided a lot of inspiration. 

Without further ado, here’s what I watched in October:

MOVIES

Conclave (2024)

New Release - Seen In Theaters

Read my wine and movie pairing here. This is probably the awards season movie I was most excited to see, and it did not disappoint. A handsomely mounted, technically gorgeous film with a taut screenplay. The third act twist must be seen to be believed.  

Disclosure (1994)

First Time Watch

Nope, not Disclaimer* (although it’s definitely on my to-watch list). Enrico’s “Summer of Legal Thrillers” has evolved into “The Demi Moore Appreciation Film Festival”, which I am totally thrilled about. Also, Donald Sutherland and Dylan Baker are at their creepy best here. 

Saturday Night (2024)

New Release - Seen In Theaters

Read my cocktail and movie pairing here. What a whirlwind of a movie. This is my favorite Original Screenplay so far this season; it’s a fast-paced script that still finds moments to relax and appreciate the surroundings, which is very reminiscent of pre-show energy. It takes a late night bandleader to nail the SNL sound, and Jon Batiste’s score is pitch perfect. 

The cast and crew of Saturday Night (2024). (Photo Credit: Hopper Stone/Sony Pictures Entertainment)

Sideways (2004)

Re-Watch

Read my wine and movie pairing here. Revisiting this movie after last year’s well-deserved accolades for The Holdovers reinvigorates my appreciation for Paul Giamatti as an actor. Is the movie a relic of its time that laughs in the face of the Bechdel Test? Yes, absolutely. Does it still have a lot to say about wine enthusiasts and hobbyists of all types? Oh yes. Leave the spitoon, take the Merlot.

The Substance (2024)

New Release - Seen In Theaters

Read my wine and movie pairing here. Wow. I still don’t know what I was expecting out of this feminist Faust/Dorian Gray tribute, but I definitely wasn’t prepared for how much this movie would change my brain chemistry. Coralie Fargeat has a sharp directorial eye that feels like a wink and a “yes, and” to Almodóvar. My world hasn’t been this rocked by a movie since Promising Young Woman.