{"id":6652,"date":"2026-11-10T15:10:24","date_gmt":"2026-11-10T14:10:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/radishthegreat.com\/blog\/?p=6652"},"modified":"2026-11-11T15:11:04","modified_gmt":"2026-11-11T14:11:04","slug":"the-shortest-october-movie-post-yet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radishthegreat.com\/blog\/2026\/11\/10\/the-shortest-october-movie-post-yet\/","title":{"rendered":"The Shortest October Movie Post Yet"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

All my free time was taken up with the Milwaukee Brewers winning the World Series \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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October 29, 2026
4:30 a.m.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Turbo<\/a> (2013)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Netflix, original English<\/em>
Both Mr Radish and I remembered seeing this one–also on Netflix–when I still lived in Indianapolis, but we’d forgotten just about everything except (spoiler alert) the titular snail wins the Indy 500. (Not really a spoiler; it’s a kids’ film and the main character always wins in kids’ films. Which might explain a few things about the world today, eh?)

It’s cute. The snails’ work at “the plant” had me giggling so hard I nearly spilled my beer. For the adults, there are copious references to the Fast and Furious<\/em> franchise (I am told; I’ve never seen any of them) and Ricky Bobby<\/a>. The human protagonists represent different cultures found in contemporary Los Angeles in an organic way, which was refreshing.

I also enjoyed the animation. Humans avoid the Uncanny Valley by being obviously CGI, but the backgrounds were realistic. It might be a time capsule, the plot and character development rely heavily on the technology and social mores of the era, most of which have been discarded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Try explaining this to someone born after the film was released<\/em>…not just the phone, the radio with physical buttons for your favorite FM stations.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Starman<\/a> (1984)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Netflix, original English<\/em>
Definitely a time capsule, as the protagonists drive an orange Mustang that actually looks like a unique sports car and not like every SUV<\/a> on the road. *cough* Jeff Bridges is an alien who lands in Wisconsin, shapeshifts into a dead dude, and forces his widow to drive him to a meetup point in Arizona, conveniently near the giant meteor crater). Meanwhile, the US government is hot on their trail, eager to do stuff they deny doing<\/a>.

I can’t decide if I like this one or not; I probably should have seen it when it was fresher (Mr Radish liked it when he was a teen). Good mix of practical effects and CGI, decent acting. But during the chase sequence, I lost my suspension of disbelief when the pair managed to blow right around a roadblock in the desert–everyone saw you going around, guys. Also, possibly because I have encountered actual hay, the sex scene felt contrived. Yes–it’s an alien film *and* an enemies-to-lovers road trip film, and I think that’s the only way it could be made these days.

If you’re interested in this sort of thing, Jeff Bridges and Karen Allen made a music video<\/a> inspired by a scene in the opening act with some footage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Time in a capsule.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2864,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6652","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-radishflix"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t