Movies and TV Shows

Film

• Letter From Siberia (1958) - a fascinating, charmingly whimsical documentary now as intriguing for its distance in time as much as in location.
• The Fearless Vampire Killers/Dance of the Vampires (1967) - which I have always had a soft spot for. Very much of its time, but I continue to enjoy it.
• Life of Brian (1979) - I have always felt that the whole speech impediment section was out of place among the rest of the humour and that feeling was even stronger now. Oh yes, and the blackface in scene 1 really leaps out too. Otherwise, brilliant.
• You Won't Be Alone (2022) - thoughtful and beautiful folk horror on the theme of how to be human.

TV

• Penda's Fen - a Play for Today from 1973, very daring for the time. A coming of age tale with some wonderful combinations of ideas and imagery.
• Ghosts - the original UK version. I caught up with season 5 and the Christmas special and finale. I'll miss the characters - especially Robin - but good that it has ended before outstaying its welcome.
• Slow Horses - end of season 3 and looking forward to the next. Evidently S5 has been given the go ahead too. It continues to shine.
• Big Door Prize - just started. Not sure where it is going, but looks as though it has some potential.
• Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) - the original 1969 version. I have seen most of the episodes before, but my SO hasn't and I still enjoy them.

I was definitely in a mood yesterday.

Imitation Game with Bendlydoodle Cuddlefish and Kiera Knightley, the story about Alan Turing and breaking the Enigma code. A must watch for anyone who has used a computer.

Second was On the Basis of Sex, a biopic of Steven Hawking stating Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones. A very heartweenching story that always brings me to tears.

Sticking with Felicity (probably my favorite actress when I'm in the sad as hell mood) and finally watched Last Letter from your lover, and man was that a stupid movie. Beat you over the head with "hey look, this guy right here is a bad husband. Don't you see how bad he is? He's really bad guys". And Shailene Woodley just bugs me. The entire thing just felt like it was written by an 8th grader. Still, Felicity makes it bearable.

TV

• Monarch
  • Juvenile writing IMO, unfortunately. Not sure they had a good reason for the show to exist, apart from the prequel parts which seem to me much more compelling.
• For all Man Kind
  • A slow burn of a season, especially in the beginning, but it has come through for me in the end (though it hasn't finished). It does feel like they're dragging the idea for this season out ... I feel like I can see them stretching time for the budget or something.
  • Otherwise, whimsically hoping the show low-key transitions into basically being a prequel to the expanse.
• Started Loki S2
  • Really liked S1. S2 seems a bit shaky so far. Waiting for it to pick up.
• My partner is watching Boston Legal for the first time (yes, from the naughties).
  • I watched it at the time. And, from bits and pieces I'm seeing ... I'm finding it surprisingly enjoyable and interesting to reflect on the era.
  • I'd be curious to know if equivalent TV exists today ... that's comical and fun (and even a bit "edgy" by today's standards) but uses a legal drama as a vehicle to talk about issues of the week (eg, guns and the environment).
  • In another piece of whimsical head canon ... it's now very clear to me that Denny Crane is actually Cpt Kirk's final story after he gets transported to the past at the end of Generations and, without any recourse, decides to live it up according to the morals of the era without any need to worry about consequences as he knows the (and our) era is fucked anyway and he may as well have fun. Unfortunately he does get mad cow disease and doesn't quite know how to handle his demise especially not being able to share his true life history with his friends. It fits the character and show surprisingly well.

Movies

• Poor Things
  • Generally I liked it. The sex did seem excessive to me overall especially given that there other things the premise could have provided. I've heard some critiques of the film and I'm not sure I find them convincing either.
  • Emma stone kills it. Ruffalo ... I found awful and he nearly ruins the film for me.
• Indiana Jones (Dial of Destiny)
  • Why? More than anything other film I've seen ... this felt like a poor cover band doing a poor cover that didn't need to exist.

I watched the first three episodes of the recently released Percy Jackson series.

The book series was a big part of my childhood, and I was mildly excited for the TV series (read: hoped that it was better than the film series).

I'm still debating if I should finish the TV series. I found a particular detail in the third episode that convinced me that I am not the show's target audience:

Oldboy. The original Korean version. That was fucked-up, wasn't expecting that until right before the reveal.

No One Will Save You. Pretty standard alien invasion/abduction movie. But with only 2 or 3 lines of dialogue in the entire movie, the actress absolutely killed it showing how scared she was.

I recently bought 4K DVD of John Wick (I've seen it plenty). Looks gorgeous on my set. So, I've streamed JW2 & JW3 the past couple nights.

Foundation season 2. I like how good it is despite they are still building their world and characters and it feels like the plot has not even set yet.

Once Upon A time In The West, Strange Brew, Tropic Thunder, Patton, all 3 ninja turtles from the 90s

I just started rewatching Brooklyn Nine-Nine. After Andre Braugher died in mid December I decided it'd be my next show after I finished up Scrubs. B99 cracks me up. The whole cast is just phenomenal, there's not a weak link in the chain. Hell, even the recurring characters like Kevin Cozner, Doug Judy, and Adrian Pimento are brilliantly cast. And in the case of Adrian Pimento, I think that's super impressive because I've never liked Jason Mantzoukas in anything apart from the podcast "How Did This Get Made".

Some ones that jump immediately to mind:

Reacher Season 2 - Watched the first 3 episodes and not enjoying it as much as the first season. Alan Ritchson is still a great Teacher, just the story this time is a bit of a departure, will still see if through as it's not bad.

Justified - Working my way through the 6th season before I watch City Primeval, it's definitely formulaic but Goggins and Olyphant are excellent. Especially enjoying Crowder as an antagonist.

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters - Pushing through because of the kaiju, but the series makes the same mistake as some of the modern western Godzilla films and has way too much human drama. Will probably finish it at some point but won't continue if there's any future seasons unless the reviews are any good.

Finishing The Equalizer Season 3, the Queen Latifah one