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Develop satisfying projects, like re-writing your 200-book-long TBR list in order of preference, or training your eyebrows into a different shape with artful plucking.
...or, you notice the forest where your eyebrows used to be, and decide to stop looking in the mirror/not cut your fringe after all.
Experience extreme irritation if the shower gel has been put back in the wrong place (and have arguments with other household members about who committed this crime).
Consider taking the two-minute walk up to local shop... if you can be bothered to go. Because it means putting on boots, and a coat, and finding that damn mask, and... on the other hand, it is an outing.
Consider putting on make-up for the occasion then realise that there is no point because the mask will cover most of it and the eyebrow-hiding fringe will cover the rest.
Dance to the music the washing machine plays at the end of its cycle.
Start revving up in anticipation of a new picture on the calendar, from about the 26th of each month.
Have still not read all those books you thought you would have time for.
Are super-chatty to the Asda delivery man,
to the extent that he has to say, 'Well, I'd better let you get on."
Have a purse full of notes that have been there for at least six months. Sometimes you look inside, see coins, and say, "Well, darn it, I wonder what those little bitty things are for?"
Consider rearranging your bookshelves in colours of the rainbow.
Get excited about your new tea towels arriving from M&S.
Order more things you don't really need because it's so lovely to get packages.
Discover what your real hair colour is.
Looks at your lipsticks with a tearful nostalgia. That's the trouble with those damn masks... oh, Mac Ripened and Kinda Sexy, how I miss you!
Develop peculiar preferences for domestic objects; for instance, a favourite butter knife. I have a favourite spoon for transferring the coffee from cannister to cup, and am pleased when I find it in the drawer, rather than still unwashed from the last cup. On the other hand, I do have a back-up second best. Now, let me tell you about my favourite spoon for transferring small amount of Flora Plant Butter from butter dish to vegetables in colander. Only when it's spring greens, carrots and asparagus, mind...
Are convinced it's Sunday, even though the calendar tells you it's Thursday. What if you've been forgetting to tear the pages off, though? How would you know?
Have long ago stopped listening to the current lockdown rules, and just assume you can't go anywhere or do anything.
Get excited about a trip to Waitrose, and try on different scarf/jacket/earring combinations.
Look at your high heels and wonder how you ever wore them. More to the point, why.
Feel like the characters on The Walking Dead or whichever series you are currently watching are actually your friends.
... and PayPal has become an online friend.
Develop little routines that must be adhered to. I am only one step away from having a checklist of things that must be done before bed, order of business for the morning before I start writing, etc.
Have already bought all suitable items from the 'loungewear' section of M&S Online, and eagerly await the spring collection
Notice that the week-per-view diary, which used to include lunches with girlfriends/reminders to book trains/hotels/all manner of appointments, etc., now reflects how Alexei Sayle described a leaflet that came through his door entitled 'What's On In Stoke Newington': 'A big sheet of paper with 'fuck all' written on it.'
(....no, scrap that, I just saw a diary entry for Thursday! Oh...it says 'wash towels'.)
Thank you to my sister, Julia, for her contributions!
(Please note: I realise that there are far more serious issues connected with the prolonged lockdown. This is just a bit of fun, to lighten up a dull Monday morning... or is it Wednesday?)
The latest in my series of mini TV reviews, with trailers and 'where to watch'. If you have trouble finding where any show/film is available, try typing 'where can I watch *name of show*' into whatever search engine you use.
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.
Please note the subtle difference between half star ratings; a 4.5 might be rounded up or down, depending on what I thought of the programme.
Film: Sound of Metal (Amazon Prime)
5* plus ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Riz Ahmed stars as Ruben, a thrash/hardcore punk metal drummer who loses his hearing. Also stars Olivia Cooke, as his girlfriend. It's about his path to acceptance of his new silent world, which sounds worthy but not that thrilling, but it's fabulous. Heartbreaking in parts, but never ever schmaltzy. Ahmed is terrific. Awesome film.
For TWD addicts - features Lauren Ridloff, playing a deaf teacher!
Series: The Affair - Seasons 1-5 (Now TV, Amazon Prime)
5* plus ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Noah Solloway (Dominic West), Brooklyn teacher and novelist, spends the summer in Montauk where his rich in-laws live; his wife is Helen (Maura Tierney), and they have four children. At a diner, he first lays eyes on Alison Lockhart (Ruth Wilson), who is married to Cole (Joshua Jackson). Noah and Alison fall in love, which sets off several chains of events that will affect both families for many, many years to come. Bit of background: Alison and Cole's four-year-old son, Gabriel, drowned two years before she meets Noah, and Noah has felt emasculated by Helen and her parents throughout their married life.
I watched the first 3 seasons when they came out, but decided to watch them again, before I watched #4 and #5. Each episode is seen from the points of view of two or more of the main characters; often, the same period of time is played over twice, but it doesn't become tedious, because it's so well done. I was thoroughly gripped by this all the way through all five seasons - the unexpected happens all the time, and just when I was wondering if #5 would become drawn out, over-egging the pudding, it was given a fabulous twist by taking us into the future, to 2053, seen from the point of view of one of the children, now an adult.
There's a bit too much graphic shagging in it (I said to my husband, 'I'm getting fed up with seeing Dominic West's arse going up and down'), but it's about love and passion, after all, and I think the fact that I watched all five seasons one after the other, several episodes a night, made it seem more excessive than it might have otherwise.
Some characters I loved, some I didn't like, and some I changed my mind about a lot. If you've seen it, I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!
Characters I loved: Alison, Cole, Vik, Nina (Noah's sister).
Characters I liked: Anton, Martin, Juliette, Eddie, Cherry (Cole's mum).
Characters I was up and down about: Noah, Helen, Joanie, Sierra, Colin, Janelle, Bruce and Margaret, Robert.
Characters I detested: Ben, Whitney, Furkat, Sacha Mann, Audrey, Eden.
What I wanted most was for Alison to end up with Cole, run the Lobster Roll together, and carry on living in their lovely house by the beach....
Limited Series: The Serpent (BBC)
5* ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Eight episodes: drama about the true story of Charles Sobhraj, a gem trader and violent killer who preyed on travellers in the early 1970s. Posing as the sociable, helpful and friendly Alain, he and his sidekick Ajay and girlfriend Monique (Marie-Andrée) would poison their guests, then offer them 'medicine', which was more of the same. They would then steal their belongings and passports, and murder them. Tahar Rahim and Jenna Coleman star. Fascinating, shocking and gripping, highly recommend.
Documentary: How Deep is Your Love: The Bee Gees (HBO Max)
4.5* ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Documentary about the career and personal lives of the Bee Gees from childhood to now. I'm not a particular fan, but I loved this. Many interviews with all three of them; I liked Maurice the most. I found the insight into their relationship most interesting, how Robin was secretive and difficult, how he and Barry had many battles of will about who would sing which song, while Maurice was the mediator. I wondered if it was anything to do with Robin not being blessed with the film star good looks of Barry. After Maurice died, Robin and Barry saw very little of each other.
Most sad of all was Barry Gibb at the end, saying that he would give up all the hits to have his three brothers back (Andy died in 1989, Maurice in 2003 and Robin in 2012).
Something I didn't know: their mother was called Barbara Gibb. Mine was Barbara Gibbs. 😁
(Below, for the ladies, Barry Gibb in the Staying Alive video. Phwoooooarrr...)
Mini Series: The Pembrokeshire Murders (ITV Hub)
4* ⭐⭐⭐⭐
True crime drama, in which, in 2006, detectives solve murders from the 1980s when they link an artist's impression of a suspect to a contestant on Bullseye. The murderer is particularly abhorrent. Good. Three episodes.
Film: The Song of Names (Amazon, Fandango, Vudu)
4* ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Tim Roth and Clive Owen star in this slow-paced drama about a chap searching for a Polish boy taken in by his family just before the start of World War II. The boy in question was a genius-level violinist, who disappeared just before a concert; he was also a Jew.
The boy's story is linked to the search for his parents, who he suspects were killed in the concentration camps. It's good, and most emotive near the end, but there was less drama and tension than I had thought there might be. It's more of a human drama/mild tearjerker.
Film: The Little Things (Amazon, HBO Max)
3* ⭐⭐⭐
Fairly standard serial killer plot starring Rami Malek as a young, ambitious cop, Denzel Washington as the standard jaded-older-cop-with-baggage-and-secrets-who-can't-let-an-old-case-go, and Jared Leto as the psycho. With those actors it should have been great, but it was just okay. Certainly watchable, but it lacked that ingredient X that makes a film memorable.
Film: Narrowsburg (Amazon, iTunes, Vudu)
3* ⭐⭐⭐
Documentary about a small town in New York state, when a moderately well-known actor and his wife move there to start an independent film festival, and to make a film, promising that many of the townspeople will act in it. Alas, it's all a scam, and the people of Narrowsburg fall for it.
It's billed as being 'stranger than fiction', and I actually thought it was a 'mockumentary' at first, except it wasn't funny. Just weird. The interviews with the actor and his wife when they're older show them as being complete fantasists, narcissist and sociopaths. I'm still not sure it's real...
The latest in my series of mini TV reviews, with trailers and 'where to watch'. If you have trouble finding where any show/film is available, try typing 'where can I watch *name of show*' into whatever search engine you use.
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.
Please note the subtle difference between half star ratings; a 4.5 might be rounded up or down, depending on what I thought of the programme.
Series: Vikings - Season 6B (final season) (Amazon, Channel 5)
5* ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Outstanding, as ever. Fabulous battle scenes. Sad that Ivar died, and Harald, but most of all I'm glad that Ubbe and Torvi had a good ending, and that we saw Floki again. Only one complaint - I wanted to see what happened to the mad man of Greenland!
If you've never seen it you've missed a treat, and I envy you having it all to watch from the start :)
Series: Next - Season 1 (Fox, Hulu, Fubo)
5* ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
About the emergence of an artificial intelligence that teaches itself how to surpass its creators and control us all. Much to think about in this one, and it's action packed, a convincing plot, etc etc. Stars John Slattery (Mad Men). Alas, I've just read that it's been cancelled (why do they do this, but keep utter shite on??!), but it's so worth watching this one season, anyway.
Film: Greenland (STX, HBO Max, Amazon Prime)
5* ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Loved this! Ticked every post-apocalyptic box. Gerard Butler stars as John Garrity, an engineer living in Atlanta with his wife (Morena Baccarin: Jessica Brody in Homeland, Firefly). People are excited to watch the near-earth passing of an interstellar comet, but it fragments, and pieces start hitting the earth, with catastrophic results. Garrity and his family are some of those 'selected' for emergency shelter, but of course this is fraught with problems, too, as fires break out all over the world and society collapses. Top stuff!
Film: Run Hide Fight (Apple TV, The Daily Wire)
3* ⭐⭐⭐
According to IMdb, 1551 people thought this film was terrific (10/10*), and 98 thought it was dreadful (1/10*). For me, it had elements of both.
Basic plot: school shooting, Nebraska, which the shooters make sure is live streaming. Troubled 17-year-old Zoe doesn't want to just escape, she wants to bring 'em all down. When it started, I thought, oh, this is good. The suggestion that something bad was going to go down was subtle and sinister, the shooters' arrival was shocking, the action was bold, terrifying, the sense of inescapable menace riveting.
Alas, it then morphed into another 'feisty teen saves the world' film. From about halfway, it went steadily downhill. There was no more stark, bold, horrifying action. The sense of menace simmered down as the cracks in the shooters' plan crumbled away, in the face of 'Zoe the Feisty Teen with Lessons of Her Own to Work Through with Help from the Ghost Of Dead Mom'. You know the sort of thing.
Could have been terrific, but was just okay, and forgettable.
Series: Tin Star - Seasons 1, 2 and 3 (Amazon, Now TV, Sky Atlantic)
4.5* ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Former undercover cop Jim Worth (Tim Roth) starts a new life as a police chief in a small Canadian town, along with his family. During the locals' conflict with North Stream Oil, his shady past catches up with him. The first season is brilliant - 5 stars all the way, and Tim Roth was fabulous, as always. Season 2 centres around a religious community with which Worth's daughter gets involved, and cocaine trafficking. It's good, though not as good as Season 1. Season 3, however, was a disappointment. It's set in Liverpool, as Jim and his wife and daughter go back to England to face his deadliest and oldest enemy. Became clichéd and like a parody of itself, with the three suddenly morphing into Ocean 11 type characters.
I'd say watch the first two, for sure, but skip S3.
Film: Made in Britain (Prime Video)
4.5* ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Needed a bit more Tim Roth after finishing Tin Star, so I watched this again. Roth in his first role, in 1982, as 16-year-old skinhead Trevor and his conflict with the authorities. In the same mode as other films of the time, like Scum. V good indeed.
Film: Rocketman (Amazon, Now TV)
4* ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The life of Elton John - Taron Egerton is v good in the main role, as is Jamie Bell as Bernie Taupin (and who would have thought the lad from Billy Elliot would grow up so hot???!!). Also stars Richard Madden (Game of Thrones and a whole bunch of other UK stuff over the past couple of years) as John's calculating manager and lover.
Like many biopics about the rich and famous, this does an excellent job of showing the tormented reality behind the image presented by the people who are making the money out of and manipulating the celebrity. The film is part musical, which I didn't think I'd like, but it's not over the top, and blends with the rest of it very well. Also, lots of photos at the end so you can compare the film version with the real thing - something I always like!
Film: Shirley (Amazon, Hulu)
4* ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Elisabeth Moss stars in this biographical drama based on the novel of the same name by Susan Scarf Merrell: a 'largely fictional story' based around part of novelist Shirley Jackson's life. Michael Stuhlbarg (Arnold Rothstein in Boardwalk Empire) plays her husband, college professor Stanley. Odessa Young and Logan Lerman play Fred and Rose Nemser, a young couple who stay with them while Fred works under Stanley.
Comparisons with Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf are inevitable as Shirley behaves appallingly in the company of guests, fights with Stanley, drinks far too much, as misunderstandings and impulsive behaviour deepen existing problems in the claustrophobic domestic set-up.
nb, Jackson's son criticised the portrayal of his parents, and the Nemsers are fictional.
Film: Fatima (Amazon Prime)
4.5* ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Based on a true story. In 1917, a young shepherd and her two cousins claim to have seen a vision of the Virgin Mary in the village of Fatima, Portugal. As news of this vision spreads, many religious pilgrims travel there, and witness what became known as the Miracle of the Sun. The claims are disbelieved by many, though some sceptics change their minds as time goes on.
Very good; almost had me believing!
Series: TWD World Beyond - Season 1 (Amazon)
4* ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Still not finished this, have two episodes to go, but it seemed to suddenly pick up in episode 7 (which was, incidentally, directed by Michael Cudlitz) and 8, with some interesting developments re Silas and Huck. I found myself enjoying it much more; actually wanted to watch it rather than just thinking, I'd better watch this because it's part of the whole story and will tie up with the Rick Grimes films, etc. I suspect it will only get better, now the characters have a bit more meat to them.
Film: Archive (Amazon Prime, iTunes, Google Play)
3.5* ⭐⭐⭐
A scientist tries to develop AI beyond the scope of human intelligence, his true motive being to bring his wife back from the dead. Good, worth a watch, but nothing outstanding.
Series: Lucky Man - Season 1, a bit of Season 2 (3 seasons available on Now TV)
3* ⭐⭐⭐
James Nesbitt stars as a London cop who receives the power to control his own luck. In the first season, the supernatural element fits in fairly well with the fairly standard action-crime-murder plot about those who are trying to wrest this superpower from him; it's fairly low-key. I would have given Season 1 3.5*, but when we started watching Season 2, we decided it had become too silly, and abandoned it.
Series: The Stand (CBS All Access, Starzplay in UK)
3* ⭐⭐⭐
Have watched the 6 episodes currently showing. I thought it was going to be great, but it's ... not. Far more attention is paid to the Dark Man (Alexander Skarsgård) and Mother Abigail (Whoopi Goldberg) than in the book, with the characters having dreams and visions every five minutes - and we all know how tedious dream and hallucination sequences are in TV series and films. In the book, as far as I can remember, the fact that it is about good versus evil is subtle, so you can make up your own mind; for a long time, it's just the story of travels and interpersonal relationships during a pandemic. In this, though, the God vs Devil side is somewhat rammed down one's throat.
I like how it's structured, going back and forth between timelines so that a picture of each character is built up, and some of the characters - Owen Teague as Harold Lauder, James Marsden as Stu Redman, Jovan Adepo as Larry Underwood spring to mind - are great. Unlike Goldberg and Skarsgård.
Worth watching (ish), but I actually got a bit bored in the most recent episode. Like, 'oh good, there are only fifteen more minutes of this tripe' sort of bored.
Documentary: Suzi Q (Amazon)
4* ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Documentary about Suzi Quatro. Lots of interviews with the lady herself and those who know and have worked with her. Also her sisters, with whom she started out on her musical career, one of whom clearly had 'issues' about Suzi being the successful one. Suzi seemed great, really down to earth, practical and versatile.
I find music world documentaries fascinating, in particular the early days - and it's surprising how many of them seem to follow the same pattern. The starting out, disappointments and failures, then the slow rise, when everything is going well, which often seems like the happiest part. Then comes the 'making it', and a few years of life at the top, which very soon goes sour when the record companies/managers become demanding, the band has 'differences', they have to make the decision whether to follow their creative inclinations or 'sell out', and the sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll lifestyle causes everything to come crashing down. Next comes a dark patch, then a resurgence.
This is a good one; whether you're a fan of hers, or of 70s music, or just like watching these documentaries, generally, it is most interesting.
In line with my Walking Dead obsession, from December 2019, I decided to do a 'happy birthday' tweet for every member of the TWD cast, past and present. I couldn't find all the birthdays online, but I managed most.
If you would like to see all of them, click here: #TWDBirthdays
A few of those mentioned not only actually saw the tweet 😲, but were kind enough to thank me, or acknowledge in some way, which, of course, thrilled me to bits! Here are their responses:
I wasn't as active on this blog as usual in 2020 - only 37 posts all year. Here are the ten published last year that were viewed the most, with a countdown to the most viewed, because it's more fun! I promise, for the non-believers, that they're not all Walking Dead related; only 4 of them!
If you would like to look at any of the posts, just click on the title :)
The latest in my series of mini TV reviews, with trailers and 'where to watch'. If you have trouble finding where any show/film is available, try typing 'where can I watch *name of show*' into whatever search engine you use.
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.
Please note the subtle difference between half star ratings; a 4.5 might be rounded up or down, depending on what I thought of the programme.
Limited Series: The Queen's Gambit (Netflix)
5* ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
You've probably already watched and loved this - it seems to be universally liked. Girl in orphanage in the 1950s turns out to be a chess genius, but her emotional life is a mess. Seven episodes, great drama, totally engrossing. Stars Anya Taylor-Joy as the not very likeable Beth Harmon, with whom you may sympathise nevertheless. Though I did hate her for never getting back in touch with the janitor from the orphanage who taught her how to play. And for not giving him back the money he lent her to get started. But it's still terrific.
Series: Deep State - Seasons 1 & 2 (Amazon Prime, Epix)
5* ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Mark Strong stars as former M16 agent Max Easton who is forced to go back into the field for one more job. Cliché, I know, but it does tend to work every time. Also stars Joe Dempsie as his estranged son, Harry; theirs is not an easy relationship.
Season 2 features Max Easton only in reference, with the main character spot taken over by Walton Goggins, another favourite of mine, as a former CIA operative, and Joe Dempsie in a more prominent role. Thrills and spills, tension and murder. Loved it. Look forward to S3.
Series: Temple - Season 1 (Sky One, Spectrum)
4.5* ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
More Mark Strong in this one - no complaints here! This time he plays London surgeon Daniel Milton, who, with prepper Lee Simmons (Daniel Mays), runs an illegal clinic situated below the underground. Also stars Carice Van Houten (Melisandre in Game of Thrones) as the scientist Milton was shagging behind his wife's back, and Catherine McCormack (Murron in Braveheart) as the 'dead' wife (you'll see!). They have one daughter who, though the progeny of two sharp-featured, dark-haired parents, is that 'transparent eyelashes' sort of ginger-haired, and has a face that is as far removed from theirs as one could imagine.
Very good, plenty edge-of-seat tension. Looking forward to more.
Film: Mank (Netflix)
4.5* ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Fictional account about screenwriter Herbert Mankiewicz, played by Gary Oldman, who co-wrote Citizen Kane. It's made in the style of the film itself, which is most effective, and covers the period of time when Citizen Kane was being written. Orson Welles is played by Tom Burke. I liked it very much, but might have done so even more if I had seen Citizen Kane, which I am ashamed to say that I had not, though this was soon rectified.
Film: Muscle (Amazon Prime)
4.5* ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Dark and grisly film set in Newcastle, though the characters are all roughy-toughy southerners - Essex and London. Simon (Cavan Clerkin), bored and unsuccessful in his telemarketing job and with a stale marriage, starts going to a gym, where he meets Terry, an ex-army personal trainer played horribly well by Craig Fairbrass. The changes this brings to Simon's life lead to the end of both his job and his marriage - which allows Terry to insinuate himself into every corner of his world. Simon soon finds himself completely out of his depth, and his life spirals downwards in every way possible.
It's sinister, tawdry and quite depressing, but very, very good. Made in black and white. Violence and very graphic sexual scenes (erections and people having sex, though not throughout, only during one event). Would have given it 5* apart from the fact that I was a little disappointed in the ending, and the sort of people in it make me shudder!
Series: The Crown - Season 4 (Netflix)
4.5* ⭐⭐⭐⭐
This is one of those shows I know is a bit crappy, made for the American market and not historically accurate, but I find utterly engrossing (a bit like The Tudors!). Olivia Colwell is excellent as HRH. There have been many criticisms of Gillian Anderson's rather Spitting Image/pantomime-like portrayal of Margaret Thatcher, though she does get some aspects (such as her walk) absolutely spot on, and Thatch did used to seem like a parody of herself, half the time. Denis Thatcher is particularly good.
The farce that was Charles and Diana's marriage is quite brutally portrayed, and one can't help feeling sorry for Diana, who was dealt a marked card from the word 'go'.
I've read that there will be a Season Five, though it may end in 2006 to avoid the tricky 'controversy' surrounding the death of Diana. I felt the question of her being bumped off was hinted at in conversations between her and Princes Philip and Charles in later episodes during S4; we will see. You can see a picture of Elizabeth Debicki, who will play the older Diana, below the S4 trailer. I am sure you will agree that she looks more like her than younger version Emma Corrin, though I did find Corrin more convincing than I thought I would. Imelda Staunton is to play the older Queen, with Jonathon Pryce as Prince Philip.
Documentary: Rise of the Warrior Apes (Animal Planet, Amazon Prime)
4.5* ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Documentary made by a group of naturalists/anthropologists who spent 20 years studying a tribe of apes in Ngogo, Uganda. Over this time they got to know them so well, naming them and recognising their personalities, observing the societal changes and power struggles within the tribe as it grew and developed. Definitely worth watching.
Dark Comedy Series: The Flight Attendant - Season 1 (HBO Max)
3.5* ⭐⭐⭐
Dark comedy/thriller about an alcoholic flight attendant, Cassie (Kaley Cuoco), who has a one night stand in Thailand with a bloke played by Michael Huisman (lucky her, I hear you say), and wakes up in the morning to find him lying in a pool of blood. It's entertaining, but Cassie's constant 'zany' behviour and impulsive actions started to get on my nerves after a while, and the whole getting drunk thing became a tad depressing (btw, have you noticed how on TV, nobody ever drinks spirits with mixers?). Also, there are frequent imaginary scenes in which Cassie talks to her dead lover, which get a bit tedious after a while. But it's not bad. Worth a look if you like this sort of thing.
Series: Departure - Season 1 (Universal TV, Global TV)
3* ⭐⭐⭐
A UK drama series with familiar faces from other UK drama series, I felt that this was trying to be 24-esque and failing. It's a plane-mysteriously-gone-down thriller-mystery, one survivor who may hold the key if only she could remember, etc. The plot itself is interesting, and it's fast-moving, etc, but even actors like Christopher Plummer and Dougray Scott couldn't take it above mediocre. The dialogue is pretty dire - wooden, with every cliché in the book; good actors can't make characters more than one-dimensional if they have little to work with.
To sum up - it was okay, quite good, and got better as it went on, but the fact that I didn't give a stuff what happened to any of the non-characters meant that it failed to be compelling.
Film: Tenet (Amazon Prime, iTunes, Google Play)
2.5* ⭐⭐
Super big action thriller starring John David Washington and the bloke who was in the vampire stuff (Robert Pattinson). CIA agent Washington gets told his mission is to stop World War 3. I thought it was going to be great, but when we were given the BIG REVEAL about what this worse-than-nuclear threat is, alas, my husband and I both laughed. Spontaneous reaction from both of us. Yes, it was that daft. Too much information all the way through that was hard to take in, though some terrific action scenes. I admit to falling asleep before the end.
Film: Run (Hulu)
2* ⭐⭐
Another one that I thought was going to be great, but was pretty dire. Sarah Paulson stars as Creepy Mom with Munchausen's by Proxy; I can't imagine why an actor of her calibre would agree to the script in the first place. Both her and the girl who plays the daughter are good, but neither could do much with this badly-written piece of moderately entertaining trash TV.
Series: End Game (Amazon Prime)
1.5* ⭐
And so we come to the other end of the spectrum of series about people who play chess. This is a sort of comedy-not-comedy crime thriller about a Russian chess coach with agoraphobia who can't pay his bill in the posh hotel he lives in, but gets lured into solving crime mysteries for a fee, using his chess students and knowledge of canny moves to help. IMDb promises it gets better after the first couple of episodes, but it was such rubbish we couldn't even get through them.
