A decent month's viewing with a bit of big screen, small screen and a stage musical thrown-in.
 |
| Martin Sheen starring as a bereaved parent, continuing an 800-mile walk-cum-pilgrimage in memory of his son across France and Spain. His son Emilio, has a small role as his son. Estevez also wrote and directed it. Very good. James Nesbitt also stars. |
 |
| Birthday outing for my daughter. Superb feel-good musical based on the Roddy Doyle book of 30-odd years ago. I'm minded to track down a copy of the film, something which I have also enjoyed in the past. Great night out had by the birthday girl, my wife and myself. |
 |
| 3 part TV drama starring Ray Winstone and Amanda Redman. Ray is Jimmy an ex-con just out of prison, trying to reconnect with his wife and grown-up kids. A situation not helped by one of his grandkids being involved with a small-time drug dealer who owes money to their supplier. Good, not great. I was disappointed with the ending - a bit contrived, a bit unlikely. |
 |
| Following on from Shane Meadows's excellent film This is England set in 1983, this 3 or 4 part TV drama picks up with our skinhead gang a few year's later. Difficult themes explored in this excellent series. Friendship, loyalty, racism, drug-use, love.......and lots more, with the back-drop of Thatcher's Britain. Excellent cast, excellent music - some absolutely haunting music adding poignancy to some emotional scenes |
 |
| Watched with the family. Ok - crude, rude and funny, but not a patch on the first one! Not the worst film I've ever watched. |
 |
| Superb film about a group of friends and aspiring musicians absolutely determined to get to a legendary Stone Roses gig on Spike Island. Excellent sound-track as you might expect with a film heavily influenced by the Roses. After 3, everybody sing........I want to be adored.... |
 |
| Cinema trip with my wife to see this one based on the first Barney Thomson book by Douglas Lindsay. Hysterically funny, totally absurd, black, dark and rude. Loved it. A bit more Ray Winstone, some Emma Thompson and Robert Carlyle who also directs.......recommended. Best film ever about an inadvertent serial-killer Glaswegian barber! |
 |
| DVD time at home with the family. Enjoyable romp, probably aimed at the YA market. There's a second one out just now in the cinema, which I'll probably watch in the future on the small screen! |
 |
| 5 part TV drama which we were watching as a family, until the rest of the gang decided to watch the third one without me, at which I got the mega-hump and refused to watch the last two out of principle. A couple of work mates didn't rate it after the mid-point and felt it tailed off. I'm still sulking. It was about a family doctor who suspected her husband of cheating on her. Said husband was carrying on with someone half his age and got her pregnant. Who knows what happened after? |
 |
| Another family DVD and one we all enjoyed. Quite heart-warming as a father eventually re-connects with his son and possibly his estranged wife and gets his career back on track after a hilarious social media meltdown. |
 |
| Boom, just got my breath back after the emotional roller coast of TIE '86 and back into the fray with the 88 mini-series. Darker than before. Sexual abuse and consequences. Amazing! |
Sounds as though you had lots of solid viewing, Col. I'd have liked to see The Commitments, myself! And the TIE series sounds excellent, too.
ReplyDeleteMargot - The Commitments would be right up your street, given your passion for music. This is England was a real emotional roller-coaster. We've just finished the 88 series and the 4 latest episodes set in 1990. Haunting.
DeleteCol, "Chef" is the only film I have watched and I didn't like it all that much; maybe because it didn't live up to the pre-show hype.
ReplyDeletePrashant, I remembered your review, which probably lowered my expectations, but it was much better than I had hoped!
DeleteI read the Commitments and saw the film a long time ago. Good to know the musical is keeping up the good work. I LOVE The Way - when I first saw it I kept telling myself it is too Hollywood-ish, but I just love it anyway. Some members of my family (not me!) have done the walk (one of them many times) so it is very nice to keep up with them...
ReplyDeleteI only taped THE WAY on a spur of the moment. I quite like Martin Sheen. I can't say doing the walk appeals to me TBH.
DeleteLOL Moira I feel the same way about THE WAY - like I should hate its American-ness but can't bring myself to. I suspect that is something to do with Martin Sheen - who I think I could watch read the phone book.
DeleteI'd like to do the walk - a friend and I have talked vaguely about doing it on our retirement - I figure I won't mind so much if it kills me at that point :)
Good luck on that one Bernadette - you can definitely take one for the team there.
DeleteI actually like all the Sheen clan, including Emilio, though I preferred Charlie back in his film days with Platoon rather than 2 1/2 Men, though it has its moments.
there are few things we can be certain of in this life, but I think one of them is that I may watch The Way several more times, but I will never be doing the walk myself....
DeleteNever say never...
DeleteI bet The Commitments was a lot of fun. Most of the rest of it I have not heard of.
ReplyDeleteIt was fantastic Tracy. We also went midweek which wasn't a sell-out so our seats got upgraded to ones far better than what we could have afforded. We were on the 11th row of the stalls - close to the action!
DeleteHave been pondering watching This is England...I noticed the first season rather cheap on DVD locally and think you might have convinced me. I've only seen the original film but none of the TV shows ever aired here (at least not on the free TV that I have - perhaps one of the pay channels)
ReplyDeleteWell worth a look in my opinion, though it gets very dark. My family really enjoyed it though they had trouble getting to sleep after some of the episodes, which were quite uncomfortable to watch. Thought-provoking rather than gratuitous though, I think.
DeleteTHE WAY is a wonderful movie. – The TV program, THE TRIALS OF JIMMY ROSE, sounds good.
ReplyDeleteA lot of fans of THE WAY, I liked it but probably wouldn't have it in my list of top 50 films (not that I have such a list). I enjoyed the JIMMY ROSE drama - Ray Winstone is very charismatic on screen. Loved it 95%, hated the ending 5%.
Delete