It’s ages – two and a half months – since I did one of these, and I’ve had a busy time watching things, including three theatre trips which I’ve reviewed at length separately:
THEATRE
The Motive & the Cue – by Jack Thorne. John Gielguid directed Richard Burton in Hamlet on Broadway in an acclaimed production in the 1960s – this is the story of how the production reached the stage. Mark Gatiss is Gielguid, Johnny Flynn warms as Burton with Tuppence Middleton as Liz Taylor. Now transferring to the West End – GO!
Patriots – A dark comedy about oligarch Boris Berisovsky and the rise of Putin by Peter Morgan. Tom Hollander and Will Kean were brilliant.
The Pillowman – by Martin McDonagh, starring Steve Pemberton, Paul Kaye who both shone and Lily Allen who I was less taken with. A difficult subject – I couldn’t say I enjoyed it a lot.
TV
Ted Lasso – (apple tv)I will miss this series and will have to rewatch the entire thing soon. I cried big-time during the last couple of episodes.
Silo – (apple tv) from the books by Hugh Howey which I’ve not read – fab dystopian SF in a post-apocalyptic world (or is it?)!
Dead Ringers (Prime) – Rachel Weisz plays the gynaecologist twins – much blood, gore and twisted horror. I can’t remember the original David Cronenburg film with Jeremy Irons well enough to compare.
We Hunt Together – (BBC2) – Such an odd murder series but totally addictive. Eve Myles and Babou Ceesay are the chalk and cheese cops on the trail of serial killer Freddy and her boyfriend Baba. Very dark, very good.
Strange New Worlds (Prime) – Star Trek classic series prequel with young Spock, Captain Pike and Number One. Glossy and fun.
Annika (BBC1) – Nicola Walker – need I say more! She’s a Norwegian police detective with the marine investigation branch based in Glasgow (I think). You either love or hate it when characters break the fourth wall – I loved it.
Staged – series 3. (BBC2) STOP IT! The first two series were so good – this third one of Sheen and Tennant being self-caricatures was tedious.
Hijack – (apple tv) – Unravelling in real time – we’re halfway into the hijacked flight from Dubai to London. Idris Elba is on board and will save the day, with help from pilot Ben Miles, with Max Beesley, Eve Myles and Zahar Gahfoor on the ground. Thrilling!
FILM
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry – at the cinema. A tear-jerker based on the book by Rachel Joyce and adapted by her for the big screen. Who else but Jim Broadbent and Penelope Wilton could play Harold and Maureen. Wilton in particular really got Maureen’s pent-up anger, and why hasn’t Broadbent been knighted yet?
Air (Prime)- about Nike/Michael Jordan – Matt Damon is the Nike exec who is determined to widen their sales by targeting basketball, and meeting his match in Jordan’s mum! A surprisingly enjoyable film for a sports/business movie.
The Sisters Brothers (DVD) – I finally got around to watching this film of one of my favourite novels. Set during the goldrush, John C Reilly and Joaquin Phoenix are the guns for hire, with Jake Gyllenhaal after them. Does the book proud, and has a fab soundtrack
Magnolia (DVD) – why have I never seen this before! Tom Cruise was magnetically repulsive as the motivational speaker. I liked John C Reilly as the shy cop in particular in this ensemble cast.
The Whale (Prime) – Sad. I can see why Brendan Fraser got his Oscar.
Living (Prime) – Bill Nighy is the civil servant with a terminal diagnosis in Kazuo Ishiguro’s retelling of Akira Kurasawa’s Ikuru . However, it was quite ponderous in parts, and Nighy is sooo restrained except in a few scenes, that it was difficult to love.
What have you been watching lately that you could recommend?
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