MONTH OF TV SHOWS - 2021!

Finally getting caught up on some of my writings for the end of 2021!  As has been the case with most people, I was too busy dealing with the holidays but also most importantly with the growing concerns over the pandemic and the latest variant.  This did not stop me from my watching habits as October was my Month of TV Shows!  Just to put everything into perspective, I was only able to view nine series during the month, but they were a mixed bag indeed.

 

Let’s start off with the animated series that I viewed.  I was finally able to catch up with the Pacific Rim spin-off series Pacific Rim: The Black (Season 1), which was better than I expected.  The series managed to bring the fun and adventure of the live action films to an animated series that is post the events of the films.  This series opens the world that was only hinted at in the films and will appease both fans of the films and fans of more mature animation. 

Next up was my viewing of the final season of the amazing Castlevannia (Season 4), which is one of my favorite animated series from Netflix.  I’m glad this series was able to be given a proper send off and able to close out the story.  I’m not a fan of vampire stories and I haven’t played the original game in decades, but this series was directed and executed like a live action film with some of the best cinematography I’ve ever seen.  I’m sad to see the series come to an end but I’m glad that the series was able to see a proper finish.  The next series on my list was the first chapter in the Transformers: War for Cybertron trilogy “Siege” which was a blind watch as I had never heard of the series and knew nothing about it before I watched it.  (Again) Based on a video game (one in which I have never played) I really enjoyed this series and thought it was immensely better than the live action films and had a better (and more cohesive) story.  The final series that I watched was Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal (Season 1), which I learned quickly was not for young audiences but nevertheless is one of the best animated series I’ve seen in the last decade.  It was a brave and innovative series in terms of story and animation style.  This month ended up being a very good month for me to view animated series!

 

In terms of live action series let’s start off with Black Summer (Season 2).  I loved the first season of the show and there is a lot to enjoy with this show especially with the winter setting but for the most part it still has the same flaws of the initial season which are the characters do too many dumb actions and decisions and the jumping back and forth in time does not benefit this zombie themed show.  The best episodes were those that focused on a small selection of characters.  The other thing that might deter some viewers is that The Walking Dead has done a lot of the things in this show better despite the fact that this show has fast moving zombies.  Next up is the limited series The Five based on the novel by Harlan Coben.  Coben’s work is a hot commodity with Netflix and this is one of the better adaptations.  Although I think they could have cut an episode or two this was still an enjoyable mystery thriller that will delight and appease Coben fans.  Last up is the dramatic period show Downton Abbey (Season 6).  I’ve come to this series late and have binge watching the entire series as it is truly a phenomenal ensemble series with a diverse group of characters.  It is also having some amazing writing and directing but most importantly the cast is one of the very best in an ensemble series. 

 

The last two series that I managed to view were of the comic book variety (as there seems to be plenty of these on offer from generally everywhere).  Since I’m not particularly a fan of MCU shows, I look to the DCEU for inspiration through Doom Patrol (Season 2).  I was trying to catch up with the series since the third season was just released.  This is one of the very based comic book series currently produced as it is made up of a diverse group of characters that don’t even want to be heroes; they are just trying to survive from day to day, which is one of the best aspects of this series.  Unlike the MCU shows (where every character seems to have to have a need to be a hero) these characters are misfits and a dysfunctional family.  The last show I will mention and was part of this month’s viewing is the exceptional Amazon series The Boys (Season 1), which I started on a whim, and which became another instant favorite.  This show features the very worst in super powered characters where the vigilante humans are the real heroes.  This show displays a different type of world where being a superhero is nothing more than profit points and popularity.

 

Since October, I’ve finished all of Downton Abbey and The Boys and Part 2 of the War for Cybertron series.  I’m hoping to see future seasons of Primal and Doom Patrol and even Black Summer, since I did like the way, this season ended and am looking forward where they will take the series from where it ended (if the series is given that chance).  Unfortunately, there are just so many series on offer out there, and I hope to catch up with a lot more that I managed to miss this year in 2022!

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN 2021!

Normally, I love to try and watch at least thirty-one new horror films during October in celebration of Halloween but October 2021 I was not able to do this as I was also watching a bunch of TV shows during the month as well (I actually enjoyed this more than catching up with the horror films that I had missed throughout the year).  So, I am a little disappointed that I was only able to watch about fifteen horror films during the month but some of these films were the very best I’d seen all year.

 

I’d like to first take a look back to some of the older films I viewed during the month.  The only film I had already seen was The Wraith (1986) which was one of my favorite films of the ’80s and which still holds up extremely well today.  I still love this film!  I also (finally) got around to watching Buried Alive II (1997).  I had already watched the first film earlier in the year.  These were films I just never got around to.  I also watched Nightflyers (1987), The Ladies Club (1986), and Deadly Games (1982).  I generally hated the recent TV series of Nightflyers and this ‘80s film was just a derivative but at least it wasn’t drawn out like the series.  I just did not like the story which is based on a sci-fi novella by G.R.R. Martin.  It did star Catherine Mary Stewart which is the only plus in my opinion.  Deadly Games was completely forgettable and derivative of other ‘80s horror films but it was The Ladies Club which was the big surprise.  The Ladies Club, which is more a thriller, was actually better than I expected as it is a smart and provocative thriller whose themes of rape and abuse are still relevant today for women.

 

The oldest film that I happened to view is the 1976 film Schizo from director Pete Walker, one of the directors whose films I was watching in October and November.  This happened to be the only horror film of his that I ended up viewing as I was catching up with his sex comedies (which he also did a lot of).  Walker is one of those unusual directors whose filmography is mostly horror films and sex comedies – two genres on opposite sides of the spectrum.  I love his style of film-making and this is just as good as other films in his filmography.

 

I caught up with some more recent horror films Voice From the Stone (2017), Gwen (2018), Downrange (2017), Still/Born (2018), and Superdeep (2020).  Voice From the Stone was a pretty average film but it was Emilia Clarke that was the true standout and made it worthwhile whereas Downrange had a pretty basic plot that was made better by the cinematography and suspense as it was a non-stop film in the tradition of thrillers like Joy Ride (2001), Duel (1971), and Breakdown (1997).  Gwen was another mediocre film but it had a lot of atmosphere and strong performances for a slow burn folk film.  Still/Born wasn’t much better as I ended up with a lot of ambitious horror films that had a lot of atmosphere and great cinematography but were not always all that good.  On the other hand, Superdeep was a fun and entertaining Lovecraftian horror film that took a lot of its inspiration from John Carpenter’s The Thing.  Although not a great film it was entertaining and engaging.

 

I do want to take a few moments to make comment about the lost George A. Romero film The Amusement Park (2021) which audiences finally get to see.  This is not entirely a horror film but it is a mindfuck of a film that more a David Lynch film in the tradition of Romero’s early films Season of the Witch (1972) and There’s Always Vanilla (1971).  If you’re a fan of these early films then this film will be a great treat but if you’re not familiar with Romero’s less popular films then this film may leave you wanting more. 

 

The last group of films that I want to include is one of the best horror trilogies put out in a long time and they were released weekly via Netflix.  Fear Street Part 1: 1994 (2021), Fear Street Part 2: 1978 (2021), and Fear Street Part 3: 1666 (2021). Utilizing the same cast members in various roles, the films do an amazing job of linking multiple characters and timelines in a story that’s both entertaining, suspenseful, and at times horrifying.  I was never bored and watched all three in a single day.  The performances from the young cast are exceptionally well done as are all other production elements.  These films are some of the best horror films released in ’21.

 

I did catch up with two TV series this month – Black Summer (Season 2) and Holliston (Season 2).  Black Summer has some amazing production value and the winter setting was a great touch but the show is just too fragmented due to the frequent cutting back and forth between so many characters and so many stories.  The best episodes were character episodes where there were just a handful of characters.  This show has the same problem that The Walking Dead has where the character episodes are better than most other episodes in general.  The show also suffers from characters who repeatedly make dumb decisions and most of the characters are not likable or even interesting.  Holliston, on the other hand, was a vast improvement over the first season as you can tell that the writers finally knew how to tell the stories (and jokes) that best fit the actors.  This was a strong second season and I wished that the show had been able to do a third.

 

This is all for my viewing habits for October 2021!  Not as many as I would have liked and I saw a lot of mediocre films but watching horror films during October is never a bad thing!  Can’t wait until October 2022!