What’s Been Watched This Month – September 2021

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Here’s what square eyed Mikey Wolfman been watching throughout September 2021.

The TV

* For All Mankind. Haha someone was ill and took a day off work sick. I signed up to AppleTV and managed to watch all of season one! 10 hours worth under the duvet in one sitting. Yep nuts I know! The story is an alternative vision of the space race where Russian cosmonauts land on the Moon first and how it effects NASA. I love all things NASA and space related so, of course, this was great. However, I do wish they wouldn’t, I hate to say the word, feel the need to be so w.o.k.e! They are so heavy handed with certain subjects that it feels like they inserted then with a hammer and sickle. It would of been nice to have devolved the story creatively without the need to preach so much. We are not imbeciles and I’m sure many of the viewers, who have taken the time to watch this series, are also intelligent. I totally understand it has to be done but surely it can be done organically without the high “ick” factor. Saying that the series is a melodrama and I’m out of the loop of watching that style of show. However the Moon, rockets and space effects are amazing. Another really clever part is the slight changes in history. The use of old footage with changes to President speeches and historical timelines. It had me hooked and I ploughed straight through season 2 which had a truly incredible final few episodes. Recommended.

* Coming soon! Netflix live action Cowboy Bebop! It’s gotta be awesome hasn’t it? Neo Noir Japanese Jazz Anime! Fingers crossed they don’t mess it up. I’ve gone back and started re-watching the OG series. The animated series is about bounty hunter Spike and his small crew of friends. It’s filled with cool style and music blended into a Blade Runner futurist world. It’s fantastic watching it in order as before I’d missed episodes and a few were out of context. The spin off film is amazing too and worth watching if you don’t have time for the series. Cowboy Bebop: The Movie (2001)

* First episode of Foundation in my eyes was beautifully superb. Felt like a film. The visuals and effects are absolutely stunning. Be warned if you don’t like sci-fi mumbo jumbo talk, ie mathematical psychohistory hehe, I’m sure you won’t like it. However it does feel plucked straight from the pages of Isaac Asimov’s source material even if they have re-imagined and molded different elements. (I haven’t read the Foundation series so I wouldn’t know what they have changed). David S Goyer has a good track record and he’s also the showrunner on the up and coming The Sandman series. Very excited for that and to see how Foundation pans out. I’m now up-to-date on the 3 episodes that have been aired. It has issues, some I agree with but honestly they aren’t effecting my enjoyment of the show. However I can see why people don’t like the slow pace. Something that is a bonus to me, to lose myself in the visuals and to see a story grow, rather than rush through action. I’m looking forward to seeing how it develops.

The Films

12 films this month and a total of 129 this year
1063 since the start of the blog in January 2017.

The Dark Man (1951) – Wolfman Rating 7.5 – IMDB Rating 6.3
A killer hunts down a witness to his identity. Will she be able to evade his murderous way. My review is here The Dark Man.

Bob Ross: Happy Accidents, Betrayal & Greed (2021) – Wolfman Rating 7.5 – IMDB Rating 7
Wow with that title I was really rather scared going into this. We’ve all grown up to the mellow tones of Bob’s beautiful tranquil voice and lush landscapes paintings. No one wants to hear bad things about this guy. Thankfully, rest assured, the good man Bob Ross name is still able to bring big smiles and his back catalogue isn’t being scrubbed from the internet as I write. Now we can wipe the sweat from our brow, this story is more about manipulating people around him. It’s sad to hear but also wonderful to see all the old footage of Bob and learn a little about his origins.

Rush (2013) – Wolfman Rating 8.5 – IMDB Rating 8.1
OK, yep I know! Why did it take so long to get to Ron Howard’s amazing Formula One drama about James Hunt and Niki Lauda? To be honest I knew the story well from past documentaries and even remember chatting about it in the school yard as a kid. Plus true be told I wasn’t bought on Chris Hemsworth being James Hunt. Ha, how wrong was I? Chris was superb and Daniel Bruhl completely smashed it out of the park as Niki Lauda. (Daniel should of got an Oscar I’d say). Anyhow I got there eventually and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was worth the wait. Brilliantly acted and filmed.

The BFG (2016) – Wolfman Rating 7 – IMDB Rating 6.4
Bit tired I sat heavy on the sofa and flicked the channels to see a weirdly strange image of Mark Rylance as giant CGI, well giant! A Big Friendly Giant in fact. This is the animated Steven Spielberg adaptation of the classic Roald Dahl story. I was happy sitting there and letting the family tale unfold. The animation of of Mark Rylance is wonderful and being that he’s a giant you don’t get that weird uncanny valley feeling, even though he looks just like him. The story does suffer from some overlong sequences but I’m sure every kid/adult is gonna laugh out loud waiting to see if the Queen is gonna blow-off and seeing her corgi’s fart like rockets around Buckingham Palace.

The Wolf of Snow Hollow (2020) – Wolfman Rating 5 – IMDB Rating 6.2
Went into this knowing it was one of the great Robert Forster’s last films. It looked a little like Fargo from the promo shots and hey, it’s got a Wolf! A few minutes in you could tell this wasn’t very good but it was short and I pressed ahead. To be fair actor, writer and director Jim Cummings has a lot on his plate. Some of the acting is rather bad but I remind myself this is a B-movie and if it was the 80/90s I’m sure it would of became a cult classic. I did struggle with it but the end last 5 minutes were very good.

Passengers (2016) – Wolfman Rating 7 – IMDB Rating 7
Had heard a few mediocre reviews for this and what what with the big pretty star actors of Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt I ended up giving it a miss. In mood for a sci-fi I noticed it on Netflix and bite the bullet. I actually enjoyed it. The difficult “dilemma” was well done I thought. Besides I did imagine it was gonna get a whole lot darker. All in all, very enjoyable. Loved the ship concept art and set design.

Hot Fuzz (2007) – Wolfman Rating 8.5 – IMDB Rating 7.8
The dream team of Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost teamed up for this hilarious and at times dark and twisted small town cop drama. It’s fantastic and filled with way too many famous British actors. From Billie Whitelaw to Edward Woodward to Timothy Dalton to Olivia Colman to mention just a few. This was an introduction with my daughter which we’d been meaning to see together for some time. It had also been a while since I’d seen it too. Many laughs and giggles were had.

Black and Blue (2019) – Wolfman Rating 6.5 – IMDB Rating 6.4
Popped up on Netflix and sounded like a good flick. It’s alright. Naomie Harris is excellent as the lead, a New Orleans police officer caught up with corrupt cops and being looked down on by black neighborhood for her choice of job. Tyrese Gibson does well in his part. However it just starts getting ridiculous and way OTT!.

Never Surrender: A Galaxy Quest Documentary (2019) – Wolfman Rating 7.5 – IMDB Rating 7.6
Everyone loves Galaxy Quest don’t they? It’s a perfect movie that really hits all the tick boxes. Action, comedy, emotion, friendship etc but it’s also filled to the brim with a pure heart. This documentary goes about reminding us how brilliant and much loved the film is. Lots of great insights and stories from all involved and other lovers of the film. It’s on Amazon.

Stallone: Frank, That Is (2021) – Wolfman Rating 7 – IMDB Rating 6.5
The first 5 minutes of this intimate doc on Sly Stallone’s brother Frank looked like it was gonna be just a love fest of famous people saying how fantastic he is. Then Sly comes on and had me howling when he described literally almost killing him every few minutes as his older brother. I enjoyed it whilst eating my dinner.

The Square Ring (1953) – Wolfman Rating 7.5 – IMDB Rating 6.3
A boxing drama from director Basil Dearden has to be good? Yeah course it is but do you want to know more? Here’s my review of The Square Ring.

Revolver (1973) – Wolfman Rating 7 – IMDB Rating 7
This was great. Was in the mood for a gritty 70s flick and Oliver Reed in a gritty drama from Italy popped up on Amazon. It’s all dubbed into English, even Ollie! Even though I kept thinking it does sound a little like Ollie? I find out after Ollie dubbed his own voice with an American accent. Revolver is about a prison warden who’s wife is kidnapped and finds himself getting caught up with gangsters and a pretty boy criminal, Fabio Testi. I haven’t seen enough of these Italian produced 70s dramas. Recommend away please.

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Thanks for popping on by my humble little movie site. Please stay safe.

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