Killers and Champions: the Best of October at good.film
They say oil and water don’t mix. We say - try them on the big screen. Here’s the drum on all of October’s best releases, including a masterful tale of injustice in the oilfields, and a stunning story of courage in the open ocean.
good.film
a year ago
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Impact Films Coming to Cinemas
For millions of movie lovers, a new film from the venerable Martin Scorsese is a clear-my-calendar, hold-my-calls event - and Killers of the Flower Moon will be no exception. Now 80 years young, the esteemed director of Raging Bull, GoodFellas, The Departed and The Wolf of Wall Street delivers a new opus focused on one of the most despicable and bloody chapters in America’s history.
The film centres on the Osage Nation Reservation in 1920’s Oklahoma - land that was granted to the First Nations peoples because it was considered worthless. Guess who struck oil? Shamefully, their lucky find led to the murders, poisonings and other suspicious deaths of a recorded 60+ wealthy Osage at the hands of racially-fuelled, corrupt white local officials (although researchers believe the true death toll was in the hundreds).
There’s plenty of filmmakers who could do justice to a Western-tinged story of mistrust and murder - Jane Campion won an Oscar for her own version, The Power of the Dog, just last year. But we’re not sure anyone could tell it better than arguably the greatest living American director working today. We’ll find out in a few short weeks.
If you’d rather swap dry land for the open ocean, pull on your swim caps for the incredible story of Diana Nyad, who decided at the age of 60 to attempt her life-long dream: to swim non-stop, without a cage, from Cuba to Florida. That’s 177 kilometres, in case you want to try it out yourself.
We love a great sports underdog at the movies, but there are so many other intriguing layers to this real-life empowerment story: Nyad’s age, the skeptics who questioned her GPS data, and her stunning determination (which Nyad attributes in part to her anger and desire to overcome the sexual abuse she experienced as a child).
The film also marks a splashy return (sorry) for four-time Oscar nominee Annette Bening, who trained for a year to pull off the gruelling physical role. Early word is saying it’s one of her best ever performances. Could Nyad be the movie that finally brings Bening the gold?
Back on the home front, we’re proud to be supporting one of the year’s most impactful Australian documentaries. The Healing is an eye-opening account of a revolutionary program that brings together former first responders and military veterans… with traumatised ex-racehorses. Through their connection, they help rebuild each other - and find their lives transformed.
good.film is proudly partnering with Staunch Films, the producers of The Healing, to roll out the film in an exclusive nationwide cinema tour beginning in late October. Every ticket sold for The Healing helps support Horse Aid, a charity providing mental health help for veterans and first responders through the healing power of horsemanship.
By watching the film - and being part of the conversation - you’ll be helping to raise awareness about the urgent support needed for veterans and ex-racehorses alike.
Killers of the Flower Moon and Nyad both arrive in theatres on October 19.
The Healing is exclusively touring Australian cinemas from October 30.
Find a screening near you and buy your tickets here.
October’s Best Social Impact Streaming
We’re always on the lookout for fun & fascinating new shows with a healthy social message - and here’s three of the best about to hit our screens. If you like streaming that makes some noise for female empowerment, racial equity or environmental care, you’ll want to keep your eyes peeled for these new titles dropping in October.
Female Empowerment: Lessons in Chemistry
Streaming on Apple TV+ from October 13
Starring Oscar-winner Brie Larson. In the 1950s, Elizabeth Zott’s dream of being a scientist is challenged by a society that says women belong in the domestic sphere. She accepts a job on a TV cooking show and sets out to teach a nation of overlooked housewives way more than recipes.
Racial Equity: Silver Dollar Road
Streaming on Amazon Prime Video from October 20
A Black family in North Carolina battles decades of harassment by land developers trying to seize their waterfront property, in this searing documentary by Oscar-nominated director Raoul Peck (I Am Not Your Negro).
Earth & Environment: Life On Our Planet
Streaming on Netflix from October 25
From executive producer Steven Spielberg and narrated by the God of narrators himself, Morgan Freeman, this is the story of life’s epic battle to conquer and survive on planet Earth. Using the latest technology and science to bring long extinct creatures back to life, this docuseries reveals the incredible story of life on our planet.
Review of the Month
Shoutout to good.film user @tiahnaparis who posted a fantastic review of the fourth-wall breaking, Hot Priest lusting, brilliantly British comedy series Fleabag. @tiahnaparis kicked off her review of Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s sparkling sitcom by saying:
“Fleabag is striking to me in the way that it feels truly by women, for women, the feminine experience in all its messy depravity… It's so real, and this is equally heartbreaking and healing.”
You can read all of @tiahnaparis’s top reviews right here, and share your own thoughts too! What have you been watching lately that deserves to be seen?
Our Guides Have Got You
You know that sinking feeling when a trip to the movies turns out to be a dud? Don’t waste your dough - get the good word early with our good.film Guides. We bring you the best in cinema every week, from heartfelt cross-cultural romantic dramas like Past Lives, to independent family flicks like Scrapper that’ll leave you grinning. No matter what you’re into, our Guides have got you.
Keep your eyes on your inbox. Our Guides to meaningful new films like Iranian survival story Shayda and Scorsese’s First Nations epic Killers of the Flower Moon will be heading your way in October.
Trailer time
Rotate that mobile and check out the latest trailers for stuff you won’t want to miss. There’s the deliciously debauched follow-up from Promising Young Woman Oscar-winner Emerald Fennell, a new A24 oddity that looks as mind-bending as Being John Malkovich, and the hotly anticipated latest from one of the greatest in the game, David Fincher.
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