What’s Been Watched This Month – October 2020

Here’s what square eyed Mikey Wolfman been watching throughout October 2020.

Time flew this month. Had my daughter back for a week from Uni which was awesome and I got mashed up un-Covid related sick. So I didn’t get hardily any reviews in but I watched a ton of TV and documentaries. So here goes

The TV

Raised by Wolves. No wolves though! I do love me some science fiction. “Androids are tasked with raising human children on a mysterious planet.” It has Ripley Scott and his son Luke’s name attached. I really enjoyed this. Loads of new tech, ideas and a different take on sci-fi events. Religion and atheism wars and end of civilisation kind of stuff. It’s not perfect. The human groups wander around the land like crusaders from The Holy Grail. They just needed coconut shells for their invisible horses! The series takes some curve-balls, a few really bonkers but I went with it and marched right through the series in a few days. Father android is the best and he tells Dad jokes, what’s not to like about that!.

Ted Lasso! Well I saw it was getting very good reviews. Read the premise. Laughed. There’s no way that’s working! Watched two episodes and was completely hooked. “American Football coach Ted Lasso heads to the UK to manage a struggling London football team in the top flight of English football.“. Ted Lasso is played by Jason Sudeikis. Ted is the most loveliest guy you could meet. He’s gonna get ripped to pieces by the UK press and devoted fans. Yep you guessed it he’s so nice that each problem he encounters gets dealt with in the Lasso way. It’s mellow, sweet-natured and hard not to really like it. Plus the Shame Nun (Hannah Waddingham) from Game Of Thrones has a totally killer body!

High Score a mini documentary series on Netflix about “The history of classic video games from the inventors to the players.” was a brilliant watch over the month whilst eating my dinner. So nostalgic looking back at all the games and consoles I loved so much as a kid.

My daughter was back for a week, “reading week” they call it! Recover from 6 weeks of non-stop drinking and partying week more like! As it was Halloween and she’d been wanting to introduce me a brilliant little mini animated series called Over The Garden Wall for sometime. “Two brothers find themselves lost in a mysterious land and try to find their way home.” It’s an amazing fairy-tale like story. Dark, surreal, deep, funny and perfect for the Halloween season. Check it out if you get a chance.

The Films

20 films this month and a total of 194 this year
909 since the start of the blog in January 2017.

Requiem for a Heavyweight (1962) – Wolfman Rating 9 – IMDB Rating 7.8
A powerhouse drama with a more than a knockout punch. Anthony Quinn is Mountain Rivera in Twilight Zone creator Rod Serling written play. I did a review. Pop over here to have a read if you fancy knowing more.

Red River (1948) – Wolfman Rating 8.5 – IMDB Rating 7.8
John Wayne and Montgomery Clift in a big cowboy cattle drive picture from director Howard Hawks. My review can be found here.

Midway (1976) – Wolfman Rating 7.5 – IMDB Rating 6.8
I enjoyed this Pacific WW2 sea battle movie. Big cast with Charlton Heston and Henry Ford to name a few but doesn’t quite live up to the grander it should of done. Plus side was the portrayal of the Japanese general’s. The film featured a very grounded view and showed the subject much respect. Much better than the new 2019 retelling that was pure CGI MEH!

Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001) – Wolfman Rating 7.5 – IMDB Rating 6.9
Mrs Wolf, Louise, was just about to start this on Disney Plus and I remembered liking it at the time. I stood there watching the beginning and before I knew it was sitting watching it all. One of the lesser known Disney’s but it’s a good one. Old school adventure, a good cast and crew, the lost City of Atlantis and the great voice of James Garner. Very enjoyable Saturday afternoon watch.

Sands of Iwo Jima (1949) – Wolfman Rating 7.5 – IMDB Rating 7.1
I’d not seen this WW2 film before. I wasn’t so sure at first because of the amount of moral monologues that kept being added in the script. However when it gets going it’s really brutal and authentic looking. John Wayne stars as Sgt. John Stryker a man haunted by personal demons. He was excellent in it. Brave, conflicted and cold-hearted but you can see why. Could of been much more but Wayne did make the film.

Bad Day at Black Rock (1955) – Wolfman Rating 8.5 – IMDB Rating 7.7
Amazing film. Such a brilliant performance by Spencer Tracy. This was recommended to back in Jan 2017 when I first started the film blog. It was a perfect time to revisit again, this time introducing it to my son Kofi. A great time together.

The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020) – Wolfman Rating 8 – IMDB Rating 7.9
Courtroom drama centered around the charge brought before the seven activists caught up during riot troubles at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Really good historic drama with a great cast. On Netflix and really well worth checking out.

Borat 2 (2020) – Wolfman Rating 8 – IMDB Rating 6.9
Sacha Baron Cohen is back as our lovable reporter Borat. This time with his daughter Tutar (Maria Bakalova) in tow. Yep a riot of crazy pranks are exactly what you get. Most people not liking it as much as the first. Of course they are right but I still found it extremely silly and funny. It’s different to the first, it got a story arc and is actually sweet-natured. And yes Sacha gets a few good “gets” in there though it does feel more set up this time. Star of the show? The actress Maria Bakalova who plays his daughter is off the charts bonkers, loved her. Not for everyone but made me giggle.

Peppermint (2018) – Wolfman Rating 6.5 – IMDB Rating 6.5
Was on Netflix. Thought I’d give it a go, give my subs their due. Jennifer Garner goes pure Charles Bronson, with better looks of course, Death Wish style. It’s not bad to be fair. She is surprisingly good in the action role. It’s really a rip off of the Punisher story but then that’s not really original either. If you like your action non-stop and brutal with not much brain then its worth a go.

The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) – Wolfman Rating 8 – IMDB Rating 8
Not the greatest Matt Damon fan I have to say though I liked the Bourne series best from his work. Well that and Team America World Police! I’d seen the trilogy when they first came out. Sat there wondering what to watch then Netflix dropped the lot. I might go back and watch the first two but decided on Ultimatum. Really enjoyed it the second time. Quality action film.

The Bourne Legacy (2012) – Wolfman Rating 7 – IMDB Rating 7.2
Another of those films that I’d heard didn’t get great reviews and decided against watching. Then it popped up on Netflix. So I went with it. No Matt Damon, could be a bonus, hehe. Jeremy Renner stars as the Bourne type assassin with Rachel Weisz as a scientist caught up in the events. Follows off from Ultimatum actually pretty well I thought. I found myself liking it a lot. Had a different vibe to it. More traditional action route but not a bad thing. I was high praising it right to the very end when they stuck a middle figure right in my face and shafted me and everyone. If they had finished the story arc it would of been superb. Instead they left it stupidly hanging with no sequel to be made. Disappointing but I liked it apart from that.

The Wandering Earth (2019) – Wolfman Rating 7.5 – IMDB Rating 6
Yeah you guess my usual next words “I do love a bit of science fiction“. The Wandering Earth was on Netflix and I was sat under the duvet with my finger on the play button. It’s NUTS! Chinese science fiction taken to the extreme. The effects are incredible. The scale and scope is off the charts. Move the Earth with a gigantic planet rocket into the orbit of a new star system. All done within a 2500 year journey. Most the time you don’t know what the blazes is going on but I enjoyed sitting watching shit happen for two hours straight. It’s relentless. I enjoyed it but then I was tripping my tits off on painkillers LOL..

Independence Day: Resurgence (2016) – Wolfman Rating 5.5 – IMDB Rating 5.2
OK I always thought I’d never see this sequel. Heard it was real bad. Yes it is. But you know what dudes? I went with it knowing it was gonna be a turkey and actually found myself kinda of enjoying the silly ride.

64 Day Hero (1986) – Wolfman Rating 8.5 – IMDB Rating 7.2
“Documentary about the life of Randolph Turpin who in 1951 defeated the legendary Sugar Ray Robinson to win the World Middleweight Title.” I got obsessed with this tragic but incredible story of boxer Randy Turpin and his family. Were the doc might be dated it didn’t take away my fascination with it. I wrote a review of 64 Day Hero here.

• OK some poor little boy was ill and sat watching five documentary films in a row on Netflix in one day!

David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet (2020) – Wolfman Rating 10 – IMDB Rating 9.1
Sir David Attenborough has to be our greatest living Britain and will forever be our national treasure. The film is David’s witness statement and a powerful first-hand account of humanity’s impact on nature and a message of hope for future generations. Essential viewing.

My Octopus Teacher (2020) – Wolfman Rating 9 – IMDB Rating 8.4
Simply beautiful. Very recommended. A filmmaker makes an unusual friendship with an octopus living in a kelp forest. Just float along with it.

Secrets of the Saqqara Tomb (2020) – Wolfman Rating 7.5 – IMDB Rating 7.3
“After unearthing a tomb that had been untouched for 4,400 years, Egyptian archaeologists attempt to decipher the history of the astonishing find.” Like an Indiana Jones dig in real life. It was very exciting to see inside the tombs as they dug away. It was a little dragged out and you looked on at some bits thinking archaeologists from around the world are gonna be out of their minds watching how they went about the dig. However, sat their on the couch, feeling sorry for myself, watching mummy stuff was cool.

The Social Dilemma (2020) – Wolfman Rating 7 – IMDB Rating 7.7
“Explores the dangerous human impact of social networking, with tech experts sounding the alarm on their own creations.” I knew most the stuff to be honest. I do try to limit my phone use. Won’t look at my phone until I’m at work in the morning, might as well get paid to look at it. Plus I put it on charge at 9pm in the evening and won’t look at it till the morning. The reenactments are unintentionally hilarious. The three FB artificial intelligence twins were jaw dropping bad! However it does get the point over that social media/phones are a problem.

For the Love of Spock (2016) – Wolfman Rating 8.5 – IMDB Rating 7.6
A personal, and for the fans, look at the life journey of Leonard Nimoy and his beloved portrayal of Spock written and directed by his son, Adam Nimoy. Featuring loads of family footage, interviews and of course many chats with Star Trek actors new and old. It’s a wonderful tribute to one of science fiction’s greatest characters and legends.

• Bonus watch. I’m gonna add it to the films as it was two hours and a real journey.

Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of The War of the Worlds
This was a real a treat for me. I love the War Of The Worlds. The book, the 50s film and throughout my teens the Jeff Wayne musical concept album of the story. It was part of my life growing up. Still got the double album with it’s amazing artwork booklet. I listen to it in full at least three times a year. It was made into a onstage musical with fantastic effects and full orchestra. I’ve always wanted to go see it but it was always too expensive. Well they only go and give us a free one off showing on Youtube last week. I was so excited. A true event for me. My speaker system is behind me with my comfy couch smack in the middle. I cranked the volume up to eleven and sang along for two hours. I was in annihilation heaven.

The chances of anything coming from Mars are a million to one they said!!! I’ve been here for 47 years mo-fos!!! 

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Just reading my statement from last month below! It’s the same this time around to be honest. I did do one Western film and the Boxing tale. Hopefully I’ll get to the others this month.

“There’s a few extra films this month I’ve seen which I really want to do reviews on so I’ve held them back. Two westerns, a film noir, a VHS memories one, a war film with a twist, a cult classic, a boxing tale and a Cold War Hopefully over the weekend I will have a new one out. Hope you can join me.”

Any goodies in there you have seen and liked? Thoughts, recommends etc always welcome if you fancy too.

Keep watching the screens. Thanks for having a look to see what’s been watched. All the best……… The howling one, Mikey