Terry Tyler's Blog, page 5

April Colours

 

One of those days when I thought I couldn't be bothered to go for my walk  but was so glad I made the effort!

In the three years or so that I've been taking regular walks in this park, I have never seen anyone sitting on the 'Happy to Chat' bench.  Plenty of people chatting away on all the others, though.


Really must wash these trainers...

Lately I've Been Watching

My latest mini TV and film reviews, with trailers and 'where to watch'.  

If you have trouble finding where any show/film is available in your country, this is a good site: Justwatch.  Just put the name of the show into the search, and choose your country further down, from the drop-down menu.  It shows where you can stream, buy or rent.  

If you can't find what you're looking for, try putting 'where can I watch (name of show)' into your search engine

If you would like to see more posts, please click here: Lately I've Been Watching.  If you get as far as the bottom, 'Older Posts' will take you to more.

Film: Living (2022)

5 stars plus ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

(UK & US Rent/Buy: Amazon, Google, Apple)  

A truly beautiful film - funny, touching, sad, though it never felt designed to tug at the heart strings; it just did.  Adapted from the 1954 Japanese film Ikiru, which was inspired by Tolstoy's novella The Death of Ivan Illiych, it's set in London in 1953 and tells the story of Rodney Williams (Bill Nighy), a senior official at London County Council, who discovers he only has six months to live.  It is at this point that he realises he has not been truly alive for many years, and sets about changing this.  In the wrong hands it could have been horribly schmaltzy, but this most definitely isn't. 

I adored the 1950s feel, the snapshot of an age gone by - and the opening titles sequence, in the style of a film produced in that era.

Watch it. Please!

(btw, my other favourite Bill Nighy performance was as ageing rocker Ray Simms in Still Crazy (1998).  Must have seen it about ten times!)

Series: The Last Of Us - Season 1
5* ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
(US & UK: HBO max; buy Amazon, Apple)
I waited until this was over before watching it all over 2 nights.  If you're a 'perilous post-apocalyptic journey' addict, like me, you'll love it.  Actors all great, story convincing, etc.  I very much liked how much time was taken up with the side stories of how certain situations came to be - they were every bit as good as the main one, and it showed the post-apocalyptic world from different points of view, which is always welcome.  Bit of a weak ending, but I really, really liked it.  And was still sad about Joel's daughter, right up until the end; she was so lovely.

Documentary: Paula

4.5*⭐⭐⭐⭐

(UK: All 4)

Two episode doc about dazzling super-flirt Paula Yates, who had huge charisma, was witty, sharp, amusing, entertaining, immensely likeable and always looked fab.  I liked how this documentary put paid to all the nasty stories about her during the time when she left Bob Geldof for Michael Hutchence, the love of her life - and afterwards, when he died.  RIP Paula.

Dark Comedy Series: Beef 

5* ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

(Netflix)

Glenn is back!  Great to see Steven Yeun slaying it in these excellent ten episodes with Ali Wong, equally as first rate.  Starts off with a road rage incident between the two of them and escalates into all manner of domestic horror.  It's extremely funny in places, so well-written (by Lee Sung Jin), the acting is spot on and the send-up of privileged Californians is perfection.  Loved it, highly recommended.  

(Also, TWD lovers, Steven can sing up a storm, play the guitar as a pro, and his acting has matured so much!)

Series: Vikings: Valhalla - Seasons 1 and 2

4.5* ⭐⭐⭐⭐

(Netflix)

Takes place a hundred years or so after the story of Ragnar Lothbrok, Rollo, Loki, Bjorn and Ivar the Boneless.  I love it, but my husband thinks it's a lukewarm follow-up to the original with rubbish characters; I think his words were 'Thank God that's over', when it was.  Guess I'll be watching S3 on my own, then.  I do actually know what he means, in a way (in that Travis Fimmel has nothing to worry about) but I still thoroughly enjoyed it.  So there.

Film: Sunshine (2007)

4* ⭐⭐⭐⭐

(UK: Disney+.  US & UK: Rent/Buy: Apple, Amazon) 

Dire warning about what happens when you try to play God with the weather.  Fun futuristic sci-fi, entertaining, definitely worth a watch.

Film: Sharper (2023)

4* ⭐⭐⭐⭐

(UK & US: stream Apple+)

Enjoyable film about conmen and women.  Kept one on one's toes, working out who was conning whom.  Very much enjoyed it, but a bit of a rubbish ending.  Stars Julianne Moore, John Lithgow, Sebastian Stan.

Film: Fall (2022)
3.5* ⭐⭐⭐⭐
(Netflix)
Becky and Hunter are Extreme Climbing hobbyists.  Becky is traumatised by an event of a year ago, and has not left terra firma since it happened; she is a total wreck, drinking too much, etc.  Hunter, meanwhile, has monetised her sport by becoming 'Danger D' (or something) on You Tube, and doing her climbs in low cut tops.  Hunter persuades Becky to face her fears and do another climb with her - this time, up a disused TV signal tower.  3000 ft.  Of course, lots of terrifying stuff happens, none of which I will list here because spoilers.
This film is not for the faint of heart - sometimes I was actually forced to look away, and I love scary shit!  A definite 10/10 for suspense, special effects, etc.  So why only 3.5*?
Here's why:Neither actress looked as if they spent their time doing anything more physical than clubbing, and certainly didn't have the sort of muscle that would have built up if constantly doing this sort of thing.If Becky had been out of practice and on the piss for a year, why would she or Hunter think it might be a good idea for her to 'conquer her fears' with a dangerous, unresearched climb?  Especially as she clearly wasn't emotionally ready for such a feat.  Which leads me to... Surely the people who do this sport do a risk assessment first?  Yeah, I know that doesn't make for an edge-of-your-seat film, but .... something?The consumption of something I won't name (spoilers) by one of the girls near the end apparently turned her into Superwoman.  I think it would have been more likely to make her severely ill.The end was really, really weak.  Worthy only of a 1980s B movie.  No twist, no surprises (though there was an excellent twist in the last quarter of the film - totally unexpected!), felt like scenes were cut.ON THE OTHER HAND!!!  Becky's lovely lovely father is played by lovely lovely Jeffrey Dean Morgan, so what else can I say but 'go watch it now'??!!

Cartoon Series: South Park - Season 26 eps 1 - 6 

4* ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

(Paramount +)

I thought the first episode was weak, but the second one was the enjoyable piss-take about the Markles; since then, Season 26 has continued to be good.  Not brilliant like some other seasons, but good.  With a show that's gone on as long as this one, there are bound to be highs and lows.  

Documentary: Jared from Subway: Catching a Monster

4* ⭐⭐⭐⭐

(Discovery+, YouTube)

Living in England as I do, I had never heard of Jared from Subway (an obese, reclusive young man who lost stones on his Subway sandwiches diet, and became a national hero) until I saw the South Park episode about him, made before his paedophilia was exposed.  This 4 part documentary features the woman who first discovered the truth about him, and also the two girls who suffered as a result of their mother meeting Russell Taylor, Jared Fogle's great friend and the director of the 'Jared Foundation'.  

It was intricate in its detail, but I felt it was spun out for too long; could have easily told the story in 3 or even 2 episodes.  There was a bit too much foreshadowing that gave the wrong impression of what was to come.  Prepare to be grossed out.

Film: Boston Strangler (2023)

4*⭐⭐⭐⭐

(US: Hulu.  UK: Disney+)

Story of the (clue's in the name) in the late 1950s.  Stars Keira Knightley and Carrie Coon.  Good, I'd recommend, though not particularly memorable.  Interesting seeing, at the end, what happened to the real life journalists played by Knightley and Coon.

Series: Mayor of Kingstown - Seasons 1 and 2

4.5* ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

(US & UK: Paramount +.  Buy Apple, Amazon)

"Mayor of Kingstown follows the powerful McLusky family, power brokers in Kingstown, Michigan, where the business of incarceration is the only thriving industry. Tackling themes of systemic racism, corruption, and inequality, the series provides a stark look at their attempt to bring order and justice to a town that has neither."

Liked this a LOT.  Co-created by Taylor Sheridan, who does lots of other good stuff like Yellowstone and Tulsa King.  

Series: Your Honor - Seasons 1 and 2

4.5*⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

(Amazon, Showtime, Paramount+, Now)

Judge Michael Desiato (Bryan Cranston, hurrah!) has his life crumble in an instant when son Adam kills the son of local gangster Jimmy Baxter (Michael Stuhlbarg, hurrah!) in a road accident, and flees the scene.  This leads to all manner of disaster, ruining the lives of so many.  

I watched the first season when it came out and thought it was excellent; watched it again before seeing S2, and felt that in the second series the story was a little dragged out, and the impact lost.  However, it's still jolly good.  Definitely recommend

Film: Most Dangerous Game (2020)
4.5* ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
(Amazon)
This was thrilling, edge of your seat stuff, all the way through.  Chap with terminal health and money problems (Liam Hemsworth) is offered the chance to be the prey in a human hunt.  The hunts are arranged by a shadowy group, as recreation for jaded billionaire psychopaths.
The financial pay-off for Hemsworth's character is great.  Even if he gets killed, his pregnant wife will still earn handsomely.  If he survives 24 hours of being pursued throughout Detroit, he gets to enjoy his winnings, too.

Also watched the 2023 series of the same name, same principle, same smooth Miles (excellently played by Christopher Waltz) offering another young man with severe money problems the chance to make them all go away.  Boxer Victor's game is set in New York.  Each episode is short, often less than 10 minutes.  Works just as well as the film, hope there will be more!





Series: Da Vinci's Demons - Season 1

4 * ⭐⭐⭐⭐(US: Amazon, Starz.  UK: Disney+)
Ridiculous fiction loosely based (and I mean loosely) on the life of Leonardo da Vinci.  Lots of action, much about the political state of Italy at the time, lots of really good-looking people performing amazing feats.  Works best if you see it for what it is - not so much a historical drama as a Renaissance Romp.  Most entertaining.

April 4th - Early Spring :)

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Coming soon - Book #1 of my new series #CoverReveal #TuesdayBookBlog

It's almost a year since I last published - I'm not slacking (!!), I'm working on a 3-book series about a rage virus.  My plan is to have the first two ready to go and the third underway before I publish Book #1.  

Hoping to publish Infected on June 25th, and Book #2, Darkness on the same day or very shortly afterwards  

~ The Blurb ~

'Every time someone gets bitten, that's one more ofthem and one less of us.'

 SFV-1: a virulent virus that sends its hosts into a stateof extreme rage and ravenous hunger.  When it attacks the UK, 127 peopleare infected within the first hour.

 London wife and mother Cat is takingpart in TV reality show Year Out, on a remote Scottish island.   Herworld turns dark when the TV crew fail to arrive for the monthly health check—herone lifeline to her family is now broken. 

 Completely absorbed in the commission of a lifetime, artist Norah ignores what is taking placeoutside the safety of her studio, until the virus reaches her hometown and ashocking event jolts her back into reality.

 Lion, a stressedout marketing consultant, is enjoying a month away from his hectic online life innorthern Cumbria when he encounters a worrying sight in a nearby village.  Is it some kind of zombie?  It can't be, can it?

The books are shorter than my usual novels; my other publications are all around 90-105k words, but Infected is 53K and Darkness around 62k.  Book #3, working title Reboot, is my current work-in-progress, still on the first draft. Though a continuing story, each part depicts distinct phases in the characters' lives, and I will provide a 'story so far' piece in Books #2 and #3, as I always do.

Coming soon (early summer I hope) - Book #1 of my new series #CoverReveal #TuesdayBookBlog

It's almost a year since I last published - I'm not slacking (!!), I'm working on a 3-book series about a rage virus.  My plan is to have the first two ready to go and the third underway before I publish Book #1.  The SFV-1 series is a continuing story rather than three stand-alones, so the '9 month gap while I write the next book' practice wouldn't work in this case.  

Can't give a date yet, or even a definite month, but I'm hoping to see this on Amazon in late May or early June: 

I haven't started work on the blurb yet, but here's a brief, spoiler-free summary:

The SFV-1 virus is discovered amongst a rare species of primate in the Amazon rainforest, and is assigned the name simia furens - 'raging monkey'.  It is proved to be zoonotic just before it gets out; no governmental targeted depopulation plots with this one (as I've written about before, in Tipping Point), just good old-fashioned human error. 

Infected centres around three main characters:

Norah Wood (on the cover).  Norah is an artist working on the commission of a lifetime, the artwork for a major exhibition at her town's central museum.  Unwilling to accept that the exhibition won't take place, she ignores the news, social media and the increasing concern of her live-in boyfriend, until shocking circumstances force her to accept what is happening outside the safety of her studio.

London wife and mother Cat is taking part in TV reality show Year Out, in the hope of winning a cash prize large enough to change the lives of her family.  As a contestant, she is spending a year alone on a remote island, with a monthly visit from the show's production team.  During the third month, Zenith TV's helicopter fails to arrive...

Lion, a stressed out marketing consultant, is enjoying a month away from his hectic online world in northern Cumbria, with girlfriend Zephyr and several members of her family.  Always something of a loner, he finds his loyalties are tested when the extent of the catastrophe becomes clear.

Then there is virologist Paul Locke and online motivational guru Julian Sweet, whose lucrative career is cut short when the internet becomes history.  Can the skills that made him so successful be employed elsewhere?

Infected is in its final stages, while Book #2, Darkness, is in progress.  The books are shorter than my usual novels; my other publications are all around 90-105k words, but Infected is 53K and Darkness around 60k.  Book #3, working title Reboot, is still in my head and note form!  Though a continuing story, each part depicts distinct phases in the characters' lives, and I will provide a 'story so far' piece in Books #2 and #3, as I always do.

More later! :)

Lately I've Been Watching

This month's mini TV and film reviews, with trailers and 'where to watch'.  

If you have trouble finding where any show/film is available in your country, this is a good site: Justwatch.  Just put the name of the show into the search, and choose your country further down, from the drop-down menu.  It shows where you can stream, buy or rent.  

If you can't find what you're looking for, try putting 'where can I watch (name of show)' into your search engine

If you would like to see more posts, please click here: Lately I've Been Watching.  If you get as far as the bottom, 'Older Posts' will take you to more.

Film: The Banshees of Inisherin

5* plus ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

(UK: Disney+.  Buy: Amazon, Apple.  US: HBO Max, Directv, Rent: Amazon, Apple)

Marvellous film; I believe it is/was nominated for various awards, and rightly so.  Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson star as Pádraic and Colm, two friends living on the Irish island of Inisherin in 1923.  This dark tragi-comedy is based around the outcome of a dispute between them.

The scenery/cinematography is magnificent, the sense of place and time is like a glimpse back into a different world, and the acting is poetry.  Kerry Condon (Clara in S4 of The Walking Dead, Mike's daughter in Better Call Saul) also stars as Pádraic's sister, and Barry Keoghan (Chernobyl, Dunkirk) as local boy Dominic.

Can't recommend too highly.  

Limited Series: American Gigolo
4.5* ⭐⭐⭐⭐
(US: fubo, Roku, Showtime.  UK: Paramount +)
Eight part series based on the 1980 film of the same name, with Jon Bernthal playing male escort Julian Kay.  The episodes delve into the character's past, so we understand more about why Kay ended up with the life he didn't really choose.  
I'll watch anything with Jon Bernthal in it, not only because he is top totty but also because he's a terrific actor (for TWD fans: in this he comes over very much as Season 1 Shane Walsh!).  I also love Gretchen Mol, who plays his one true love, Michelle Stratton (she was exquisite as glamorous, delusional narcissist Gillian Darmody in Boardwalk Empire).  Clever of the producers to choose a beautiful woman of fifty instead of someone younger, I thought - and to have the same actor playing the young Julian Kay and also Kay's son, later in the show.  I couldn't remember what happened in the film because I haven't seen it for decades, but the pain and love in Stratton and Kay's relationship oozes from the screen, and I so wanted an HEA for them!
Rosie O'Donnell is great as Detective Joan Sunday (male detective Joe, originally) - she's the stereotypical world-weary, the-job-is-everything, emotionally screwed up TV detective who makes some serious mistakes but gets it right in the end, but she brings a certain je ne sais quoi to the role that makes Sunday more appealing than I'd anticipated.
It's jolly good.  And you get to look at Jon Bernthal for, like, hours.  

Limited Series: Clickbait

4* ⭐⭐⭐⭐

(UK and US: Netflix)

Eight episodes about the kidnap and murder of loving husband and son Nick (Adrian Grenier - Entourage).  Each episode is shown via the point of view of one of the main characters - Nick's sister, his wife, one of his sons, the detective working the case, etc.  Most effective.  

More than anything, Clickbait (clue's in the title) explores the way in which people can develop whole relationships online, without having a clue who they're talking to.  I guessed some of the outcomes earlier on (like the woman who considered a fake online profile to be her 'boyfriend', and spoke of him thus, but didn't reveal to anyone that she had never actually met him), though the end was a total surprise.  It's good.  Kept me interested all the way through.

Series: Tulsa King - Season 1

4* ⭐⭐⭐⭐

(UK and US: Paramount+)

Liked this more and more as it went on - Sylvester Stallone stars as New York gangster Dwight Manfredi who gets released from prison after 25 years, only to be sent by the 'family' to Tulsa, Oklahoma - which is the equivalent, in their world, of being banished to Siberia.  Except that he makes a go of it.  He falls foul of the FBI and an brutal biker gang headed by Ritchie Coster (Head Reaper 'Pope' in The Walking Dead), but soon gathers a new crew around him.  It's violent, but very funny in places; there's some great dialogue, particularly for Stallone.  Definitely recommend!

Series: Falling Skies - Seasons 1-5

First shown from 2011 - 2015

4.5* ⭐⭐⭐⭐

(US: HBO Max.  UK: Buy on Amazon/Apple)

Five seasons of alien invasion on Planet Earth.  Husband described it as 'the Happy Shopper Walking Dead' which I thought was about right, though I did enjoy it!!  Stars Noah Wyle as Tom Mason, a history professor turned inspirational and fearless military leader.  Sadly, the Mason family are largely unlikeable (with the exception of middle son Ben - Connor Jessup), being self-righteous or just a bit bland and irritating.  Certainly no Rick/Michonne/Glenn/Carl/Carol vibe going on here.

The Daryl/Merle character (every apocalypse show needs one) is John Pope, expertly played by Colin Cunningham, and my favourite character in the show.  At various points through the episodes he becomes Negan or Pope of the Reapers, depending on how annoyed he is with the self-righteous Mason.  Will Patton plays Hershel Greene - sorry, I mean Dan Weaver - the old-timer with lots of sound, old-timerish advice.

It's a very fast-paced show, with never a let-up in the action/disaster/potentially lethal danger, give or take the odd pause for profound philosophical observations and kissing bits, though at the same time it's a bit repetitive, but I didn't really mind that.  The special effects are great, as are the destroyed city settings.

Featured in Season 5 are the Pathetic Sharks of the military, who made me think of the UK police force chasing up people who tweet offensive words, but ignoring actual crime.  In Falling Skies, this outfit is more concerned with catching human collaborators than fighting the real enemy - indeed, when Mason asks them to help in a battle against the creatures who are trying to, like, destroy humanity, their Commander says no because she wants to keep her soldiers safe.  It is at this point that it occurs to Mason and Happy Shopper Hershel that the Commander might have ulterior motives.

If you like gun battles and things being blown up, death and destruction and aliens that speak perfect English with an American accent, you will love this.  It missed that X Factor that made it memorable, but mostly I enjoyed it all the way through; I looked forward to getting back to it each evening throughout its duration :)

Here are some cool clips featuring Colin Cunningham as Pope, also Mason and Hershel/Weaver:   Good Stuff!

Film: Into the Storm (2014)
4* ⭐⭐⭐⭐
(UK: Amazon.  US: HBO Max, Directv)
Enjoyable weather disaster romp starring Sarah Wayne Callies, just post-Walking Dead, and various other recognisables playing documentary teams and storm chasers as they surviving freak earth-shattering tornadoes.  Also Alicia from Fear The Walking Dead.  Fab special effects.  I love disaster stuff, especially when lots of people get their ticket punched in unusual ways, so this was right up my rue; if it is also up yours, I recommend this as a worthy use of 2 hours of your life!

Film: M3gan 

3.5* ⭐⭐⭐

(Rent: Apple, Amazon)

YA type horror film about an AI controlled doll that develops a mind of her own.  It's a pleasant enough way to spend a couple of passive entertainment hours!

Documentary: Unseamly

4* ⭐⭐⭐⭐

(Discovery+)

Four part documentary about chain store clothing design billionaire Peter Nygård (the 'Polyester King'), discovered to be a sexual predator of the most monstrous kind.  Up there with Savile and Epstein, though some describe him as the worst of the lot.  Gross and horrifying.  And that's just his hairstyle.

Film: Under The Silver Lake (2018)

3* ⭐⭐⭐

(Showtime, Amazon)

Andrew Garfield plays a young, aimless 30-something in LA, who becomes involved in the disappearance of a girl with whom he spent one night.  As his search brings him into contact with more and more strange characters and peculiar scenarios, it became more and more biazarre, seemingly for the sake of being bizarre.  According to Wikipedia: Under the Silver Lake polarized critics; while its originality, direction, soundtrack, cinematography, and Garfield's performance were praised, some found the screenplay confusing, too cryptic, and lacking the substance and depth the film was aiming for.

Series: The Rig - Season 1

3* ⭐⭐⭐

(UK & US: Amazon)  

Crew on a dilapidated oil rig - led by Iain Glenn with Martin Compston as chief communications chappie - are stuck there because of oddly unusual bad weather.  An organism from pre-history appears and does all sorts of weird shit. People die and stuff.  The mutinous member of the crew (every similar show has one) reveals his honourable side after he and Iain Glenn, in a life or death moment, discover they have personal tragedies in common. I was waiting for Iain Glenn to say, 'You're one of my best crew members, apart from when you're being a pain in the arse.  Are you with me?', and he nearly did but not quite.  

Along comes Mark Addy as the bloated red Face of Corporate Evil.  Then people fly off in a helicopters but we don't know where to.  End of Season 1.  Sorry, meant to say 'spoiler alert'.

Despite being about life/death and off-shore engineering problems, The Rig manages to carefully tick the PC boxes with far higher percentage of women working on an oil rigs than actually do (I looked it up), a gay male mixed race couple and a lesbian doctor, plus the token white heterosexual couple.  Though she's American and he's Scottish so still makes a nod towards mixed race.  Lol.

Not long now :) #Spring #Flowers #MondayBlogs

 

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Have All Your Friends Disappeared From Your Twitter Timeline?

 

I've seen stacks of people complaining about this recently, and have found a sort-of solution.  It won't make them all come back again, at least until the Twitterly algorithms sort themselves out, but it's something I've found that works well for me now.

I'm talking about Twitter Lists - I've never fully understood their usefulness before.  Now I do!  You can make a list of all your favourite profiles and use that as your timeline instead, if you wish.  Here's how:

(Please note: I only use a laptop, don't know how it all works on a phone.)

1. Go to the list on the left side of your page, and click 'More'.

2. You will then see this.  Click 'Lists'.

3. That takes you to this screen.  Click on the little rectangle with the two lines, top right (new list).

4. You will now see the screen below, where you can create your list.  Give it a name, a description if you wish, and make it private if that's what you want to do.  Click 'next' in the top right hand corner.

5. You are then given the option to add people to your list

6 ...you do so by using the search facility - click 'add' for everyone you would like to be on this list.

7. Keep adding, and you will now have your list of people whose tweets you don't want to miss.  Here is mine; you can keep adding to it as you wish.  If you don't make it private, others can follow it too.

The link to it is HERE

8.  You can now follow the initial procedure to go to your list every day - there you will see all your friends' tweets and nothing else :) 

 

9. Now ... once you start using your list, you may find that you don't want to see stacks of retweets, from people (like me) who retweet a lot.  Might be too many book promos, or just stuff you don't want to see, generally.  In order to see your friend's personal tweets but not their retweets, go to their profile page, where you will see three little dots at the top.  

10.  Click on the three dots and you will see this - the first option is to turn off retweets.  Click!

Hope that's easy to follow and is a help!  Do pass on to anyone else you think might find it useful :) 

Lately I've Been Watching

The latest in my series of mini TV and film reviews, with trailers and 'where to watch'.  

If you have trouble finding where any show/film is available in your country, this is a good site: Justwatch.  Just put the name of the show into the search, and choose your country further down, from the drop-down menu.  It shows where you can stream, buy or rent.  

However... I've found it to be not absolutely up to date at all times.  Sometimes I've had better results simply putting 'where can I watch ***' into the search engine, or going to the programme's own site, if it has one.

If you would like to see more posts, please click here: Lately I've Been Watching.  If you get as far as the bottom, 'Older Posts' will take you to more.

Limited Series: A Spy Among Friends

5* ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

(UK: ITVX, britbox.  Britbox in Aus, not available in US)

Big favourite of mine Damian Lewis produced and stars as government agent Nicholas Elliott, alongside Guy Pearce as Kim Philby. This 6 part series is proper good telly, made the way TV dramas used to be, with no sensational Hollywood-esque stuff and only a few fictional additions, all of which were quite inoffensive.  It dips back and forth in time between Elliott being debriefed after his visit to see his old friend Philby before he defected, and snapshots of the two men's lives since they met in the 1930s.

The sense of the era was perfectly captured, even down to little turns of phrase that have faded out of common use; Lewis as Elliott said a few things that made me think, oh, I remember my mother saying that when I was a child.

Something that made me feel very old - an elderly Adrian Edmondson as Sir Roger Hollis, a world away from Vivian in The Young Ones!

Loved it.  Excellent.

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Limited Series: George and Tammy

5* ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

(UK: Paramount +  US: fubo, Showtime, Directv)

I have no interest in Tammy Wynette generally, and had never heard of George Jones, the country singer who became her third husband, but I saw that he was played by the ever-fabulous Michael Shannon and I love biopics, so I was champing at the bit to see this.  Shannon is marvellous, as is Jessica Chastain as Wynette - the attraction when they met was instant, the sort of grand passion that has to be acted upon whatever the consequences; all those feelings just burst off the screen.  I think I was in love with Michael Shannon's George all the time I was watching it, too!

The way in which his alcoholism destroyed their marriage was heartbreaking, as was her growing dependence on her next husband: her manager George Richey (excellently and horribly played by Steve Zahn, though they could have found him wigs that didn't look like joke ones from a fancy dress shop), a grade A asshole who kept her dependent on prescription pain killers to increase her dependency on him.

Also stars another favourite of mine, Walton Goggins as Earl 'Peanut' Montgomery.

This was based on a book written by Georgette Jones, their one child, which I now want to read, of course!

....and here is the real life version 

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Series: All Of Us Are Dead - Season 1

5* ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

(Netflix)

Korean, dubbed into English.  Having seen Train to Busan a short while ago, I reckon the Koreans have this fast-zombie thing totally nailed.  This was riveting, just like TOB.  A science teacher makes a testosterone-heavy serum that will, he thinks, make his craven son fight back when horribly bullied at school.  Yes, it goes wrong and gets out.  The show centres round a high school as the virus quickly spirals out of control, and leaks out into the rest of the city.

The zombies are like those in Black Summer rather than The Walking Dead - the victims turn as soon as they've been bitten, and the only escape is to run very fast, and hide.  It's great.  We watched in silence, totally gripped!

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Series: Kaleidoscope

5 * ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
(Netflix)

Loved this!  It's a heist story, starring Giancarlo Esposito, Rufus Sewell and others.  But it's more than that.  The eight episodes each cover a different period of time, from 24 years before the heist, to six months afterwards.  The gimmick is that each one is give a colour (the violet episode, the orange episode, etc), and you can watch them in any order, because separately they all fit together as a whole, a sort of televisual jigsaw.  Each one is almost a complete story; we did not watch them in chronological order, but it absolutely worked.  Totally addictive stuff, highly recommend.

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Film: Cinderella Man (2005)
5* ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
(US: Roku, Starz.  UK: Disney+)
What an amazing story - if it was fiction you'd say it was too unbelievable, but it's not, it's about the life of boxer James Braddock (Russell Crowe) who rose to fame, was injured, fell from grace and, with his wife Mae (Renee Zellwegger) and three children, suffered dreadful hardship during the 1930s Depression. With the help of his former agent (Paul Giamatti), he fights back.
Without being schmaltzy, it's a story about being determined to write your own future, about not giving up, about doing the decent thing even when it's the harder choice, about the love and support of friends.  Never mind all those cheesy 'feel good' films - watch this, because it really happened.  

🥊🥊🥊

Limited Series: 1883

4.5* ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

(Paramount +)

One of the spin-off prequels to Yellowstone; completely absorbing, and you don't have to have watched the main series to enjoy this one.  It covers the period when the first John Dutton set off on a wagon train, one of the pioneers going west, with all the danger and adventure this entails.  Ends with him settling in Montana, after much death, grief and disappointment along the way.  

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Film: Don't Look Up

4.5* ⭐⭐⭐⭐

(Netflix)

An all star cast in this darkly comedic film about scientist Dr Mindy (Leonardo di Caprio) and his PHD student (Jennifer Lawrence) who discover a comet that will hit and destroy the earth in approximately six months.  The two take their findings to the president (Meryl Streep) who does not appear too bothered apart from turning it into a campaign winner for the mid-terms.  Mindy gets sucked into the whole media buzz about it when interviewed on a ghastly daytime chat show by predatory presenter Cate Blanchett.  Enter Mark Rylance as a narcissistic tech genius psycho type (I'll let you make whichever comparisons work for you!) with frighteningly white teeth.  He was excellent, but my favourite character was a young chap called Yule, a devoted Christian disillusioned with life who falls in love with Jennifer Lawrence, played by Timothée Chalamet.

It's a clever comment on the godawful state of the trash soundbite media/social media and the influence it has on all our lives, but it did also seem to be pushing other messages, too - the comet-sceptic resembled Trump supporters, with their red baseball caps!

The ending is great.  Really funny.  Good one!

☄☄☄

Film: The Menu

4* ⭐⭐⭐⭐

(Uk: Disney+.  US: HBO Max, Directv)

Crazy weird film in which a small group of cash rich but morally bankrupt, willing to pay ridiculous amounts of money to do the latest hip thing, congregate on the private island of the most esteemed chef in the world (Ralph Fiennes), to experience his culinary concept theatre.  Except there isn't much food, and the themes of each course become more and more ... odd.

Anna Taylor-Joy (in every third film one watches, these days), Janet McAteer (Helen the scary lawyer in Ozark) and a fair few others who will make you think 'damn it, what was he in?' make for a fine cast of diners.  Janet McAteer's character is particularly amusing - she's a ghastly pretentious food critic who has used her poisonous pen to bring down many a restaurant.

A good, extremely dark comedy horror romp!

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Film: Amsterdam

4* ⭐⭐⭐⭐

(Disney+)

Christian Bale, John David Washington and Margot Robbie star in this low key thriller with a whisper of the darkly comedic, set in New York in 1933, with flashbacks to an idyllic period the three of them spent in Amsterdam shortly after the First World War.  Back in 1933, they unite to uncover the murder of a retired US General and his daughter.  Also features Michael Shannon (who I think was born to play roles set in this period), Taylor Swift, Mike Myers, Anna Taylor-Joy (duh-uh), Rami Malek and Robert Di Niro.  And others you'll recognise.  

I loved the scenery; the backdrops to each scene in New York were particularly exquisite.  The characters were all completely convincing, the plot interesting, but it slightly missed for me.  Not as memorable as it should have been, but it's still a jolly good film.

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Series: Alice in Borderland - Seasons 1 & 2

4* ⭐⭐⭐⭐

(Netflix)

Japanese dubbed into English.  Arisu, a young man obsessed with video games is fed up with his family pushing him to get a job.  On a busy summer day, having fun and creating mischief, he and his friends hide in a public toilet from the police.  Then all the lights go out.  When they go outside again, everyone has disappeared.

In the vein of Squid Game, they and others who remain are forced into a series of games, in which to lose is to die......

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Limited Series: Black Snow

4.5* ⭐⭐⭐⭐

(Aus Stan original)  

Travis Fimmel stars as a detective from Brisbane who works on cold cases, and goes to Ashford in Northern Queensland to investigate the unsolved 1994 murder of 18-year-old Isabel Baker.

Rather than say more, I'll let Travis tell you about it (and yes, he's still alarmingly hot even when not being a Viking).

...and the trailer

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Series: Shantaram - Season 1

4* ⭐⭐⭐⭐

(Apple TV+)

Back in New Zealand, paramedic and former heroin addict Dale Conti (Charlie Hunnam) pleads guilty to a murder he didn't commit, and is sentenced to many years in jail.  He escapes and makes his way to India, where he assumes the new identity of Lin Ford, and finds a new life as a medic in the slum.  He is constantly battling against the feeling that he needs to atone for his sins.  Also, certain developments make him realise how fragile his freedom is; all it takes is one photograph.

I'm in favour of Charlie Hunnam, generally (because which living, breathing, heterosexual woman isn't?), but he irritated me a bit in this, and his NZ accent is more or less non-existent.  It's more like Northern Irish most of the time, with a few hints of Geordie thrown in (he's from Gateshead).  But I still really enjoyed this, and loved the insight into Indian culture, the sense of community amongst those who have so little ... 

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Documentary: The Real Anthony Fauci

4.5* ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

(watch via Robert Kennedy's site, Here)

We have Robert Kennedy Jnr to thank for this exposé.  Shocking and somewhat depressing that we live in a world where these few self-serving sociopaths have control over the health and lives of everyone on the planet.

My New Year's Resolutions

In 2023 I will....
Waste less of my life playing Spider Solitaire and use that time to do ... almost anything else.  Warning: do not start playing Wordle.  It is, as my friend Rose Edmunds said, the gateway drug.  I dipped my toe in the water last year, and found she was right - two months later I was on 10 games of Sudoku a day.  When I got to Super-Duper Grandmaster I tried to quit, but an even bigger challenge beckoned and before I knew it I was right back there, chasing that next level.  Just Say No, I beg you.
Stop clicking on trending Twitter hashtags about the Markles and other pointless 'celebs'.  It's too easy to lose a whole hour of precious time browsing down the 'She's both stunning and brave, an inspiration who dared to speak out against The Firm' versus 'She's a Grade A narcissist making a career out of slagging off the Royal Family and if she is so glad to be free of them why does she keep yakking on about them and calling herself a Duchess' arguments.  Few activities are more pointless.Remember to thank God on a daily basis for the invention of the Robovac.

Stop eating biscuits.But ... on a date yet to be decided, buy a pack of 4 Morrisons' giant Belgian white chocolate and raspberry cookies and eat them all myself without feeling guilty.  I've been considering this for years, and have vowed that this is the year I will make it happen.  Got to reach for the stars, right?

Really be in The Walking Dead (I mean actually IN IT, that world, not the TV show), and be in Rick's group.  I know this can be achieved if I set my mind to it, because I've seen all those motivational pictures of sunsets on Twitter saying 'You can do anything you want.  Be anything you want.  Just Breathe', and stuff like that.

Stop telling people about the Great Reset/vaccine injuries/Klaus Schwab, etc etc, unless they ask me about it.

...but, should they give me the slightest hint of an 'in', make sure they know all about the Great Reset, specifically CBDC, the social credit system, transhumanism, mandatory chips, the green energy con, the next pandemic, etc, so that they too understand that our days of joy, freedom and carefree happiness are numbered.  Lol.

Watch fewer documentaries about the Great Reset, etc, and more episodes of The Mighty Boosh and South Park.

Clean more stuff.  Generally.  Anything.  Just clean more stuff.Ignore emails alerting me to Desigual's latest sale.  I do not need any more clothes.  I DO NOT NEED ANY MORE CLOTHES.  Same goes for lurking around rails in actual real clothes shops on the way to the supermarket.

Be more careful.  Remember to do a recce of the flat before putting Rasmus to work (Rasmus is the Robovac), so that he doesn't eat wires, rugs, etc.  Do not attempt to move furniture without first removing breakable items place precariously upon. Stop engaging in dumb-ass activities like kneeling under my desk and lifting it up with my back (because I wanted to put some coaster things under the legs to raise the back legs slightly).  I spent Christmas Eve in great pain; I am always hurting myself doing stuff like this.  You know when people say, 'I don't know my own strength'?  I'm the opposite.  I think I am much stronger physically than I am.  In fact I don't even think, I just do things.  Like the time I severely sprained/fractured some bones in my foot and assumed it was all better the very next day, shoving it into a high-heeled boot.  That was in 1999, and it never knitted together properly, becoming a lump that shouldn't be there.  This has given me gip ever since, and has now teamed up with arthritis. 

Either that night or one very close to it!!!

Get one of those time-turner things like they had in Harry Potter so that I can read all the books I want to read, maintain my Walking Dead obsession, go to all the places I want to go to, etc etc.  Without one, I haven't got enough time left.  Which brings me back to the beginning again....

Stop being judgmental.  People can be, do and say whatever they like, and if they want to be total douchebags, it's no business of mine.Say the word 'verisimilitude' without sounding as though I'm jolly pleased with myself for having got it into a sentence.Use the word 'verisimilitude' in a novel without sounding as though ditto.Finish and publish three books of new series.  Book #1 is at final go-through stage, while Book #2 is 21K words into first draft.  So excuse me while I go and get on with it.  Though I'll just have a quick game of spider solitaire first.  It's not 2023 yet!

Happy New Year!