Send Help (2026)

This movie begins as a solid if conventional adventure, suspense, thriller. I spent the good portion of thinking this exact movie was probably made thirty years ago and then forgotten, but with the genders reversed. It was enjoyable seeing Rachel McAdams act like a goofball, and it was satisfying to see the chauvinists meet their various demises. The movie hints at a turn the first time she sees and discards a chance at a rescue, but it’s easy to chalk that up to a quirk of the character. The events leading up to the end, however, were quite shocking. I should have known Sam Raimi would bend expectations. The ending was excellent and I was honestly left questioning everything I felt about the characters met along the way. Gory and gruesome, every October requires at least one Raimi viewing.

808s & Heartbreak – Kanye West

For some reason, this was the lone pre-2016 Kanye album I had never heard. It seemed to review poorly, and Kanye obviously changed in distasteful ways—both musically and publicly—to the point where I figured I just might never get around to this after all. It eventually showed up on a project list I’m working through, so I figured I would give it a chance. The reviews were predictable: the album was fine, even accounting for the fact that his reputation has been tainted and it’s hard to listen to something retroactively without the additional context clouding my judgement. What struck me as the most interesting aspect now, however, is how much his follow-up stands out in the discography. This sounds like exactly what I would expect to come after Graduation, and Yeezus and The Life of Pablo continue that trend exactly. Meanwhile, smack in the middle of that output, comes Kanye’s masterpiece, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, which is genuinely unassailable in the genre. For this to be its predecessor really highlights the magnitude of that album. It’s not bad, but it’s also not special. If nothing else, it made for a nice night drive listen.

Pragmata (Xbox Series X)

I heard someone say this game would have felt at home on the Xbox 360. I must have been playing the wrong 360 games, because this felt fresh and new, and it clicked with me immensely. The combat is straightforward enough third-person action, but it takes on a different element when your robot partner is also manipulating enemies at the same time. This hacking is far more useful than the gun damage, so it winds up splitting the players attention in a neat way. Save for the final boss, I never found any combat encounters to be particularly difficult. This meant it was never a drag when entering into an arena between objectives, which is good since the puzzles and layout of the levels were also so enjoyable. If the combat didn't work, it would have ruined the pacing. Instead, I enjoyed it all the way through, exploring and fighting. The story worked enough, too, to make me believe what the characters had gone through. It doesn't necessarily need a sequel, but more people should play this one.

Good Boy (2025)

The first Spooktober watch of the year. This is a horror movie with one singular gimmick, but that gimmick really works. Generic supernatural entity affects a sick and dying man, but the sole character of any real focus is his dog. In fact, humans, or at least their faces, are mostly obscured the entire film. I was intrigued from the time I heard the premise, and it honestly delivered. The film is scary; the dog is cute. The scariness of the film is made all the better reading the making-of process after the fact. The dog’s behavior is impressive, but the behind-the-scenes make it sound like even getting 70 minutes was a miracle. I look forward to Indy’s long and meritorious acting career.

2312 – Kim Stanley Robinson

In science fiction, it’s easy to get lost in the unfamiliar, but what struck me in reading this novel was how much that was not the case. The story was completely set within our solar system, not venturing to other galaxies. Fine art and political superpowers were largely recognizable and not invented. The threat was AI and robotics, not some fantastical alien race. Even the mystery was being investigated by an inspector. The actual science fiction was engaging but not too dense. If we really are in the twilight of humanity (mostly kidding?) this was an excellent book to read for the end times.