Media Diet: September 2024

This month marked the return of my local film festival, VIFF! It’s one of my favorite times of the year when I see way too many films in two weeks. This year had some absolute standout films after a somewhat lackluster year in 2023.

📚 Senlin Ascends by Josiah Bancroft - Read for my Sci-fi & Fantasy Book Club. It started slow, but by the end, I was enjoying it. I’m looking forward to continuing with the rest of the series! (A-)

📚 For We Are Many & All These Worlds by Dennis E. Taylor - Continuing my sprint through the Bobiverse series, finishing what feels like a trilogy within the series in retrospect. It’s a fun series to read, and I flew through it. (A-)

📺 Severance Season 1 - I know I know, this show was incredible, I should have finished it when it first came out. It’s an impressive show and I am excited for season 2 to arrive. I promise to read this season in a timely manner. (A)

🎥 Chasing Amy (Rewatch) - I was taking my partner to a pre-screening of The 4:30 Movie, and she hadn’t seen any of Kevin Smith’s movies before, so I picked Chasing Amy as one to watch. It definitely feels a bit dated, but it still holds up! (A-)

🎥 The 4:30 Movie - We got to go to a pre-screening of the film hosted by Kevin Smith himself, with a Q&A that followed the film. It’s not a perfect movie, but it’s an adorable, fun ride. I’m also a sucker for coming-of-age films. (A-)

📺 The Grand Tour: One for the Road - I’ve been watching The Grand Tour, and Top Gear before it, for over a decade now. It’s hard to believe it’s come to an end. The Grand Tour era of the show had its ups and downs, but this was a solid special to finish off with. (A-)

📺 That 90s Show Season 2 - Nothing special but a light comedy show. Was fun to revisit the world of That 70s Show. (B)

📺 Industry Season 1 and 2 - I’ve been hearing about this show since it started airing a few years ago but just never made the time for it. I enjoyed the first two seasons! Fills the Succession shaped hole in my TV diet. (A)

🎥 The Wild Robot - My favorite animated film I’ve seen in a few years. It makes up for the things the recent Pixar films have been lacking. It was just short of becoming a film classic, though, just a few too many cheesy moments. (A-)

📺 The Perfect Couple Season 1 - I had heard many people talk about how fantastic this series was and was slightly disappointed. It’s a fine mystery series but nothing that special. (B)

🎥 Bird - Barry Keoghan as an unhinged English Dad is quite the time! Nykiya Adams is a fantastic lead with a bright acting future ahead of her. (B+)

🎥 Anora - Sean Baker’s films continue to be masterpieces. This may be my favorite of his films yet. Love seeing Baker getting bigger budgets and making even crazier films! So far it’s my favorite film of the year. (A+)

🎥 A Different Man - I left the theatre with mixed feelings. It feels like a play and is an impressive film, but it feels like it lacks something. (B)

🎥 Conclave - Behind the scenes of a dramatic election of a Pope full of backstabbing and nefarious characters? Count me in. It has a stacked cast with Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, and John Lithgow. (A)

🎥 Black Dog - Stunning cinematography in a stark landscape wasn’t executed perfectly. It was missing something to make it a film I’d remember and rewatch. (B+)