Monthly Recap: August 2020

Remember when a month ago I said July had been very good to me and would probably be my favourite month of the year? Well, August outdid July as not only my health is still on track but Bayern won their sixth Champions League and their second treble on the 23rd and I'm still over the moon. I don't think the excitement is ever going to leave me. 

When I wasn't too busy being anxious about Bayern's games or stressed about working — dealing with people 6 to 8 hours a day, six days a week is exhausting —, I managed to study a bit of German too — my German is still very, very basic but I'm making some progress — and squeeze some yoga back into my life. 

However, it hasn't been all peaches and cream this month. I got drunk pretty badly last Friday and was a sick mess on Saturday, but nothing hit me as hard as the passing of Chadwick Boseman. He was such a talented actor but most of all a kind, inspiring and humble man. He was a real-life hero, and I still tear up at the thought that he is no longer with us.

Rest in peace KING. 

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I didn't do a lot of reading last month and I even managed to break my 210-day streak of reading at least 30 minutes each day, but at least I'm making progress with Joyce's Ulysses which I'm liking less with each page, and I've finally started Louisa May Alcott's Little Women — I've only read 30 pages but it has already amazed me how much Saoirse Ronan fits the character of Jo March. 

I didn't watch a lot of TV series in August because I've been busy mainly working and napping to catch up on sleep, but I'm halfway through season 4 of Arrested Development — this first Netflix season isn't as good as the original and Michael and Maeby are pretty much the reason why I'm still watching it — and I've just started season 3 of Brooklyn Nine-Nine — it was really nice seeing Bill Hader even though it was only for an episode. 

As for the films, I only watched eleven but I did something I never thought I would be able to do. Not only did I rewatch all of Iñárritu's films in a week in a half but I also wrote a piece for the filmmaker's birthday which I urge you to read as I'm pretty sure you didn't from the lack of comments. Anyways, these are the films

The Players [Gli infedeli] (2020)

Plot: it’s a series of vignettes that follows unfaithful husbands.

Not I’m really sure why I wasn’t expecting this film to be as bad as it is. It’s an Italian Netflix original, after all. I should have seen it coming. Anyway, there isn’t a single engaging nor funny segment here. The only upside to all these cheaters was that some of them were rather pathetic and miserable. Also, there’s one storyline where the husband (Riccardo Scamarcio) convinces his wife (Laura Chiatti) she is stressed and imagining things so he can have an affair and he goes as far as bribing the hotel’s staff. This is supposed to be a twist but I saw it coming as soon as it started. Also, I will never forget Netflix for making Scamarcio that ugly in another storyline. Rating: 1

Birdman (2014) - Review | Rewatch

Amores perros (2000) - Review | Rewatch

21 Grams (2003) - Review | Rewatch

Babel (2006) - Review | Rewatch

Biutiful (2010) - Review | Rewatch

The Revenant (2015) - Review | Rewatch

Her (2013) - Review | Rewatch

I wanted to give it a second chance but I yet again disliked the film immensely. Rating: 2

Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) - Review

Never Look Away (2018) - Review

We Are Young. We Are Strong. [Wir sind jung. Wir sind stark.] (2014)

Plot: A fictionalized account of the 1992 xenophobic Rostock-Lichtenhagen riots when racists demonstrated violently against the German immigration politics, it follows a group of young friends that are part of the riots as well as a Vietnamese immigrant who will find herself battling for her life. 

I've been meaning to watch this one for a while now having heard good things about it but it was a bit underwhelming. It's not by any means a terrible film but it doesn't reach its potential. The characters have some depth but unfortunately, they aren't particularly interesting and the same can be said for the story. The acting is good though and, if anything, this taught me a part of history I didn't know. Rating: 3