What’s Been Watched This Month – October 2021

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

The TV

Squid Game Like most of the world, I too went on this traumatic ordeal of childhood games of death. Watched it all over one weekend. Netflix struck gold with this South Korean tense pool of death and thrilling drama, akin to Battle Royale. The marbles episode totally broke me!

Mr Inbetween Creator and star Scott Ryan has put together one brilliant character in Ray Shoesmith with his trademark toothy grin. He juggles his life as hit-man, with being a caring father, a new relationship, caring for his ill brother and life in general. It’s filled with dark comedy and brutal violence but it’s also very touching and emotional. Each episode runs in at a tight 25 minutes making them killer episodes each time. This Australian series is a pure gem and when I first saw it back in 2018 it blew me away. If it had been on Netflix or Amazon rather than Hulu I’m sure it would of been huge, however, it’s now starting to gather the traction it so rightly deserves.

The Films

14 films this month and a total of 143 this year
1077 since the start of the blog in January 2017.

The Guilty (2021) – Wolfman Rating 7 – IMDB Rating 6.3
This is a remake of a Danish film of the same name which was made in 2018. Antonie Faqua directs with Jake Gyllenhaal giving it everything and the kitchen sink as the lone call dispatch office having a breakdown. He then receives a distress emergency call as he tries to pull it together. It’s good and very suspenseful but if you can, watch the original as it is better. The Guilty (2018)

The Magician (2005) – Wolfman Rating 6.5 – IMDB Rating 6.8
See Mr Inbetween in the TV section above. This is Scott Ryan’s first take on the character Ray Shoesmith. It’s a low budget, dare I say, almost student film. It’s a great companion piece to the series and to see how the series would become crafted and developed from it. I would say watch the series first and drop into The Magician as if it was a bonus feature.

Dave Chappelle: The Closer (2021) – Wolfman Rating 7.5 – IMDB Rating 8.1
Dave Chappelle is back with another stand-up special on Netflix. Not as good as his last one, Sticks and Stones (2019) but it kind of follows on from that one. If anyone knows his comedy it’s always provocative, controversial and will of course ruffle a few feathers. So best stay away if you don’t know his style. To be honest this special is more Dave having a platform and venting rather than straight out comedy routine but there’s plenty of laughs and he also shoehorns a twist in the tale at the end.

The Public Enemy (1931) – Wolfman Rating 8.5 – IMDB Rating 7.7
Hey I managed a movie post this month!!! The 1931 gangster drama featuring James Cagney. It’s a full-on spoiler review of this 90 year film so only have a look if you have seen it or really don’t mind. My The Public Enemy Review Here

Zombieland: Double Tap (2019) – Wolfman Rating 7 – IMDB Rating 6.7
The first Zombieland (2009) was a wonderful fresh take on the fatigued endless barrage of copycat zombie films. It really stood out up with the best of them with it’s funny action packed take on the genre. Zombieland 2 really only suffers because it’s a smaller retread of that film. It can only live in it’s own shadow. TBH I don’t think anyone even expected a sequel after 10 years. Yet it still features many laugh out moments and hilarious ideas. For me it’s worth it alone just for my sweetheart Rosario Dawson. OH! and remember to stay for the legend at the end credits.

Sam Morril: Full Capacity (2021) – Wolfman Rating 8 – IMDB Rating 7
Nice passion project documentary from NY stand-up Sam Morril called Full Capacity. Made from the beginning of the pandemic through to now and the opening of clubs. Mainly filmed at the Comedy Cellar, where Louis CK filmed his superb show Louie (2010). It features intimate little chats with comics talking about how they dealt with not going on stage, small crowds, outside gigs, heckers, depression and trying to find the funny again. So many great faces from Mark Normand, Jessica Kirson, Dave Attel, Todd Barry to name a few. Might be of interest if you, like me, love stand-up comedy. It’s on YouTube Here.

Eagle Eye (2008) – Wolfman Rating 6.5 – IMDB Rating 6.6
My goodness, this could of been a good film if it wasn’t for the most OTT ridiculous and un-plausible scenes you could ever imagine. The electric tower death on the dirt road might be the worse! If it had calmed itself down and just went for the surveillance angle it would of worked better. Like it was directed by Michael Bay’s apprentice who told him to tone it down. To be fair it’s full on action with Shia LaBeouf and Michelle Monaghan running all over the place followed by total carnage. It also has my GF Rosario Dawson, oh, and Billy Bob Thornton was good too.

Dillinger (1945) – Wolfman Rating 6.5 – IMDB Rating 6.5
Lawrence Tierney with his good looks hiding that pent up rage of a killer is of course gonna be a great casting for Dillinger. Starting life as a pretty rubbish petty thief to growing into the mastermind of his gang of bank robbers. The poster tells it in it’s tagline “His story is written in bullets, blood and blondes!“. It’s a good way to spend an hour 10 minutes but it’s not a classic.

Murder at the Gallop (1963) – Wolfman Rating 7 – IMDB Rating 7.3
I’ve always love seeing Margaret Rutherford on the screen. She just cracks me up. She’s also the most different take on Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple you could imagine and all the better for it imho. She’s feisty, determined and always ready to jump right in to solve a murder case. I’d seen these as a kid and having so much fun revisiting them now. Murder at the Gallop is the 2nd one after, Murder She Said (1961). Dame Margaret did four films as Miss Marple. The other two were Murder Most Foul (1964) and Murder Ahoy (1964). Recurring characters are Chief Insp Craddock (Charles Tingwell) and Margaret’s real life husband and rock, Stringer Davis who plays Miss Marples friend, he’s like Sherlock’s Dr Watson in someways.

Truly Miss Marple: The Curious Case of Margareth Rutherford (2012) – Wolfman Rating 7 – IMDB Rating 7
A delve into the true life story of Margaret Rutherford who’s most famous role might be considered to be Agatha Christie’s amateur detective Miss Maple. I’ve always had a fondness for her dotty, sweet and funny ways so I was excited to learn more about her. Truth be told it’s all very sad and I kinda wished I hadn’t. However there are some great retelling of stories from elderly friends which did bring a smile to my face.

The Siege (1998) – Wolfman Rating 6.5 – IMDB Rating 6.4
Denzel Washington is his usual great self and there’s also a superb performance from his FBI partner Tony Shalhoub. The film centers around a wave of horrific terror attacks within New York City as Denzel and his FBI team try to uncover the reasons. The CIA get involved with Annette Bening being more a hindrance. As the situation gets worse Bruce Willis brings martial-law to the City as the army take control. I recalled liking it more back on it’s release. The first half is really good but then it starts to get a little silly. The scary thing is that it foreshadowed terrible times to come for the City in real life.

Dune (2021) – Wolfman Rating 8.5 – IMDB Rating 8.3
Family event off to see the most awaited big screen showing of Denis Villeneuve’s Dune. Man I was so excited and had, by some sort of miracle, managed to have not seen a single promo from it. Apart from Timothee Chalamet I had no clue to whom was in adaption of Frank Herbert’s science fiction masterpiece. And WOW was it an amazing cinematic experience. Truth be told I did let out a groan when the opening titles revealed it was “part one!”. Villeneuve doesn’t have a track record for doing sequels plus it’s Dune! No one ever really finishes it do they? hehe. So it was fantastic to read that he revealed a few days ago that he will do the next part for 2023! It had all been dependent on the reception, which seems to be wholly positive. It now has an IMDB entry. Fingers crossed DV stays as the director and wraps it up to perfection. If anyone can, it’s that man. The sound, visuals and soundtrack are incredible. The worlds and the universe building were beautifully achieved. The armour shields were so cool and actually believable future tech. Loved all the costume design which featured an excellent way to mix different cultures through time. The different ship designs are so unique too. From the gigantic galaxy crossing oval shaped mega ships to the mining craft to the original looking dragon fly transport. It’s hard to say if it’s a masterpiece yet, lets see how part two pans out. If he pulls it off then it sure will push my rating up. I can’t wait to watch it again. I’ll be waiting patently and of course very excitingly for it’s release. OK I just had to go watch David Lynch’s version straight after.

Dune (1984) – Wolfman Rating 7.5 – IMDB Rating 6.4
It could be near on 35 years since I’ve watched David Lynch’s version of Dune on VHS rental. After all this time so many of the rich visuals remained in my mind but what I hadn’t remembered was how close to the story he was. Well truth be told I’ve never read the book but going off Denis Villeneuve’s brand spanking new version the first hour and a half is exactly the same. Scene for scene, word for word. And actually visually stunning in my eyes. I’d always thought Lynch had run completely wild with it. OK puss man Baron and his ginger cronies are a bit too much! The fetus in molten lava was one thing and then there’s the alien looking blob folding space and time and firing it out of his rectum was hysterical. (Twin Peaks fans, was it just me or did David Lynch recreate something similar to that scene for the 2017 revisit series? I’m sure he did?) But what holds firm is the sets, costumes and even the sand-worms look fantastic. I now know on watching it, that the second half of the story is crammed into the last 40 minutes and it really suffers for it. I’m so glad I went back and re-watched it.

Babylon (1980) – Wolfman Rating 10 – IMDB Rating 7.4
Had the most amazing Daddy Day with my Daughter on Friday. Took the day off, the sun was shining. We went on a walk around Poole Park before heading to the shopping center. Had coffee and chatted, went to a few record shops before setting off around and Baiter Park. Picked up a big box of KFC and watched one of my favourite films, Babylon. Yeah of course this isn’t a straight TEN to all but for me, well you can see why it is on my Wolfie Write Up Here

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Sorry for the lack of film posts. I have 6 or more started but finding it hard to find the time to give them the full attention they deserve.

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