Month: October 2020

Media Diary (October 2020)

Some things I’ve experienced lately, in no particular order, and not necessarily only recent stuff:

David Byrne’s American Utopia (Movie): Wildly brilliant 🤩

A Wilderness of Error (TV): Fascinating, and great to see Errol Morris in front of the camera!

Big Rad Wolf (Quibi): Good night “sweet” prince, this was one of your best

Last Looks (Quibi): Great format and interesting stories

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (Movie): I mean the father/daughter dance scene alone 😮

Fargo (TV): No idea where the crazy nurse storyline is going, but I’m on board

50 States of Fright (Quibi): These generally goofy stories were enjoyable across both “seasons”

Murder Unboxed (Quibi): Also an interesting short-form concept

American Murder: The Family Next Door (Movie): Totally gripping (and horrifying)

Seduced: Inside the NXIVM Cult (TV): Just when I mourned the end of one NXIVM doc, another presents itself 🎁

The Expecting (Quibi): Generally not bad, but the ending felt weak

Console Wars (Movie): Obviously

The Right Stuff (TV): I’m enjoying this, and fully owning the fact that it’s 100% a “dad show” 🚀

Wireless (Quibi): An interesting concept with so-so execution

The Assistant (Movie): They nailed the atmosphere, but it left me wanting a little more on the storytelling side

Song Exploder (TV): As a fan of the podcast, I loved how it was adapted for the screen

Kingdom of Silence (Movie): What a sad story, and I had no idea about his past embedded Bin Laden work 🤯

How To With John Wilson (TV): Just started this, but I’m super into his vibe

Rebecca (Movie): I’ve actually never seen the Hitchcock original (😱), but generally enjoyed watching this with my wife and (over Zoom) sister-in-law

The Comey Rule (TV): Basically what I expected (and tbh kinda wanted) it to be

Archive (Movie): Decent, not life-changing

Let’s Get Freaky

As if the upcoming election (and its inevitable aftermath) isn’t terrifying enough, we’re also approaching Halloween! 🎃👻🕷️

In the event that you’re looking for yet another excuse to hide under the covers, I present this list of fifteen terrifying and/or disturbing movies for your “second half of October” viewing pleasure:

Farewell, Facebook

Facebook has been a problematic dumpster fire for a long, long time, and while I’ve rage-deactivated my account several times in the past (then masochistically gone back for another punch in the face), I’m hoping that this time the dead will stay dead.

In parting, I took a few more “friends of the church” screenshots this week. May they serve as a dystopian memorial service slideshow of sorts:

While Twitter and Instagram (the latter unfortunately owned by Facebook, but pick your battles 🤷‍♂️) certainly have their issues as well, neither has come anywhere close to Big Blue in terms of negative effects on my real-world friendships (ranging from disappointment to outright loss of all respect). As a former journalism student, I also have some pretty strong feelings about their algorithmic news feed.

Anyway, if you’ve been having similar feelings, I have a few suggestions (take or leave ’em):

  • Deactivate your Facebook account: You can still use Messenger even if you do so, and (as I sadly know too well) you’ll always have the option to come back again. If you’re just in the market for uplifting kid and pet photos, most people you know are already also posting on Instagram, where you can view their stuff (for the most part) without simultaneously drowning in propaganda memes and Breitbart screeds.

You’ve got this! 💫