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Monday, 6 August 2018

JULY 2018 - FILMS + TV

Pretty rubbish month numbers-wise, with a holiday in the middle of it, the World Cup and some continuing DIY and house arranging projects interrupting one of my leisure pursuits ....

The Handmaid's Tale Season 2 

 Scary as anything and we are only up to about the fourth episode as life interfered with viewing. Hopefully we'll get it all viewed during August, with less distractions pending. I'm intrigued about what is going to happen. I've got a copy of the book for a read at some point, as I'm always interested in comparing one format to the other. I don't know if the book covers both series or if this is an original departure. Either way, it's compelling viewing.

 From Wikipedia...,

 The Handmaid's Tale is an American dystopian drama web television series created by Bruce Miller, based on the 1985 novel of the same name by Margaret Atwood. It was ordered by the streaming service Hulu as a straight-to-series order of 10 episodes, for which production began in late 2016. The plot features a dystopian future following a Second American Civil War wherein a totalitarian society subjects fertile women, called "Handmaids", into child-bearing servitude.

 The first three episodes of the series premiered on April 26, 2017; the subsequent seven episodes aired on a weekly basis every Wednesday. In May 2017, the series was renewed for a second season which premiered on April 25, 2018.

 The Handmaid's Tale has received widespread critical acclaim and its first season won eight Primetime Emmy Awards from thirteen nominations, including Outstanding Drama Series, becoming the first series on a streaming service to win an Emmy for Outstanding Series.It also won Golden Globe Awards for Best Television Series – Drama and Best Actress for Elisabeth Moss.

 In May 2018, Hulu announced that the series had been renewed for a third season.

World Cup 2018

Football, football and more football. France were worthy winners, though I was rooting for Croatia in the final. England did well without setting the world on fire. Was I the only one who though Harry Kane was anonymous in the knockout stages? As per usual Gary Lineker was smug and annoying, I think I find only Jonathan Ross, Jimmy Carr and Russell Brand more irritating. Oh and Jack Whitehall ....


Wheelman (2017)
I did initially wonder if this was based on a Duane Swierczynski book from a decade or more ago, though after viewing it I don't believe so. None of the title credits reference it and my hazy recollection of The Wheelman is of a different plot and characters. This wasn't amazing but I did enjoy it. Most of the action takes place in the car and Frank Grillo is pretty good at catching and holding your attention. Best film ever? No, but I was happy enough and entertained for 90 odd minutes. I've seen Grillo before in The Grey with Liam Neeson and my kids have seen him in one of the Purge films.

From IMDB......

A getaway driver for a bank robbery realizes he has been double crossed and races to find out who betrayed him.
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10 comments:

  1. Anonymous6 August 2018 at 04:15

    I'm glad you've been taking some time to watch The Handmaid's Tale, Col. What's really scary about that story is how close to reality (and possible reality) it actually gets...

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    1. col29106 August 2018 at 05:05

      Margot, it is more frightening insofar as it's not beyond the realms of possibility.

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  2. noirencyclopedia6 August 2018 at 08:59

    Hm. Must have a look for Wheelman. Is it a sort of companion piece to Drive and Baby Driver, I wonder . . .

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    1. col29106 August 2018 at 09:19

      I watched it on Netflix, it's one of their originals. I've only seen half of Drive (shamefully) and nothing of Baby Driver - the title alone put me off for some reason. I ought to overcome that shortsightedness.

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  3. TracyK6 August 2018 at 21:26

    Glad you enjoyed the World Cup games. I don't know if I will ever watch the Handmaid's Tale.

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    1. col29107 August 2018 at 22:39

      The football was very entertaining so I didn't really mind not watching too much other stuff. I wouldn't put you off watching The Handmaid's Tale, but it might be out of your comfort zone.

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  4. Clothes In Books9 August 2018 at 06:35

    I watched more football this World Cup than in the preceding ten years put together! I very much enjoyed the general atmosphere of sunshine, and everyone putting life on hold till the inevitable happened and we were knocked out.

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    1. col29109 August 2018 at 08:51

      I was disappointed Ireland never made it to the finals. I did of course back England in their games, without ever getting totally carried away with the fact that they were ever going to win it.

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  5. Elgin Bleecker10 August 2018 at 17:59

    Col – I watched England-Croatia and Croatia-France, too. Enjoyed both. The sport is coming on strong here. A couple weeks after the World Cup, Liverpool played Manchester United in the University of Michigan stadium and packed the place with 105,000 spectators.

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    1. col291014 August 2018 at 22:14

      Elgin, there were some excellent games in the tournament. I did read something about the Liverpool-Man Utd game over here which seemed to be the exception attendance wise. I think a lot of the high profile friendlies in the US were played out in half empty stadiums. I think the US public wasn't prepared to watch mostly second string teams at the prices being charged.

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