NOVEMBER 2021 - FILMS + TV (HOME-VIEWING + CINEMA)

Only one cinema outing in the month and only a bit of TV watched at home. 

I blame my eldest daughter. You don't realise what a disruption a wedding can cause!

Angela Black (2021 - ITV Drama series

Either a 4 or 6 part drama can't honestly remember. I was a bit bored by it at the mid-point. I wasn't really vibing some of the storyline. Stuck with it and it got a bit better. Uncomfortable viewing - domestic abuse.

From Google...

Angela Black seems to be living her best life. She is married to a hard-working family man, has two sons and lives in lovely suburban London. However, Angela's picture-perfect life is hiding a terrible truth: she is suffering daily abuse from her controlling husband Olivier, and cannot escape him. Angela is then approached by a private investigator, Ed, who reveals all of Olivier's sinister secrets to her. She must decide to either endure her husband's abuse or trust Ed, and fight for her freedom.

The Handmaid's Tale Season 4 (2021) - Channel 4 TV Drama

A few months after it aired we got around to finally watching it. Very harrowing in places, I mean how much shit can one person put up with? Boring in a few other places, especially when the focus shifted to some of the minor characters that I wasn't really bothered about. There was a comeuppance and a reckoning for some of the 'villains' but not all of them. Elisabeth Moss is pretty darn good and has been throughout.

I don't have the stomach for a fifth series and hopefully this saga is finished.

From Rotten Tomatoes ...

1. Pigs

An injured June and the fugitive Handmaids find refuge at a farm; an imprisoned Lawrence tries to avoid a death sentence; Aunt Lydia reels from the loss of 86 children on Angels' Flight; the combative Waterfords learn of June's feat.

2. Nightshade

June plots revenge at the local Jezebels, before she and the Handmaids plan to leave the farm for the next safe house; Moira deals with the fallout of June's choices; Serena and Fred are bound together by a miracle.

3. The Crossing

Captured by Gilead, June faces a vengeful Aunt Lydia and endures a tortuous interrogation; Nick and Lawrence collaborate to protect June; in Toronto, Luke struggles with how to help June and Hannah.

4. Milk

June takes a harrowing journey; Janine remembers a stressful experience in her past; Serena tries to manipulate Rita.

5. Chicago

June goes on the hunt for more active rebels within the Chicago war zone; Janine attempts to help her fit in with the new group of survivors; Moira embarks on her first field aid mission.

6. Vows

June contemplates the possibility of freedom.

7. Home

June contends with joy, pain and rage as she acclimates herself to vastly changed circumstances.

8. Testimony

June confronts a painful reminder of her Gilead past; Lawrence presents something helpful to Aunt Lydia.

9. Progress

Luke and June work as a team to rescue Hannah, reaching out to Lawrence and Nick for assistance; Serena and Fred greet unexpected visitors from Gilead.

10. The Wilderness

June draws on all her resources and risks everything to ensure her own kind of justice.

Hit! (1973) - TV Film

A near fifty year old crime drama that we recorded and watched. Not amazing, quite gritty, but the story was a bit of a stretch to be honest. Overall I liked it. Interesting seeing a young Richard Pryor on screen. It was weird seeing the scenes in Marseilles conducted totally in French when the locals were on screen. No dubbing, no subtitles. I supposed they were going for an authentic vibe. Won't rush out to grab a copy so I can watch it again in the future, but at least I won't die wondering. More to enjoy than not.

From Google...

A U.S. federal agent named Nick Allen (Billy Dee Williams) goes rogue after his daughter Jeannie (Tina Andrews) dies of a heroin overdose and he is prevented by bureaucratic red tape from legally going after the dealers. He organizes his own clandestine operation, though, comprised of tough-as-nails strangers whom he trains into a fit fighting force. The group travels to France, where the heads of the drug syndicate control operations, and Nick unleashes his savage revenge.

Last Night in Soho (2021) - Cinema Film

Our one cinema outing and an absolute belter of a film, with a weird double-timeline vibe which was superbly acted and filmed. Highly recommended. 60s Soho looked a seriously creepy and dangerous place. Matt Smith and Terence Stamp were both pretty damn good.

From Google...

An aspiring fashion designer is mysteriously able to enter the 1960s, where she encounters a dazzling wannabe singer. However, the glamour is not all it appears to be, and the dreams of the past start to crack and splinter into something far darker.

The Great Wall (2016) - TV Film

An enjoyable action filled romp with Matt Damon battling some monsters. An enjoyable couple of hour's viewing.

From IMDB...

In ancient China, a group of European mercenaries encounters a secret army that maintains and defends the Great Wall of China against a horde of monstrous creatures.

Freaks (2018) - Netflix Film

My monthly penance - a horror film with the family. I liked it, though struggled to recall what it was about when typing the title. God bless Wikipedia.

From Wikipedia (with spoilers) ....

Seven-year-old Chloe Lewis has spent her entire life confined inside an abandoned house with her father Henry, who forbids her from leaving under the threat of being killed by "the bad men". Despite her father's warnings, Chloe longs to experience the world outside her home and desires a maternal figure in her life, due to never meeting her deceased mother Mary. To help Chloe have a normal life, Henry seeks to educate her on general social behavior so she will one day be able to pose as a member of the neighboring Reed family. Chloe observes strange occurrences in the house, such as Henry expelling blood from his eyes and a ghost-like female figure in her closet. Over time, she learns about "abnormals", individuals with superhuman abilities who are hunted by the government's Abnormal Defense Force (ADF) and contained in an underground facility known as Madoc Mountain.

When Chloe eventually manages to leave the house, she discovers her own abnormal power of telepathy at the prodding of an elderly ice cream truck driver. The ice cream truck driver reveals himself as Chloe's maternal grandfather Alan, who believes his daughter is still alive, and Chloe realizes that the "ghost" in her closet is actually Mary being held captive at Madoc Mountain. Henry and Alan are also revealed as abnormals, identified by their bleeding eyes, with Henry using his time-altering powers to cause only a few months to pass outside of the house during his seven years with Chloe. Upon discovering that Chloe left the house and has been in contact with Alan, Henry brings her to the Reeds, only to be turned away when Chloe uses her abilities on the Reed matriarch Nancy. Nancy subsequently contacts the ADF to deal with Chloe and her family, but Chloe tricks the agents into believing the Reeds are abnormals and they kill Nancy.

Using her telepathic abilities, Chloe begins to help Mary escape from Madoc Mountain, but is hindered by the arrival of ADF Agent Cecilia Ray at the house. When Henry and Alan attempt to deal with her, the agent reveals to Henry that she knows the truth about him and his daughter and a drone strike will be ordered on the house if they kill her. Ray offers to place Chloe under governmental care, but upon realizing Henry and Alan are stalling, a scuffle ensues that leads to Ray killing Alan and mortally wounding Henry before she is killed by Chloe. Henry manages to delay the ADF agents long enough for Chloe to ensure Mary's escape, then uses his abilities to manipulate time and carry his daughter out of the house as it is destroyed by the drone.

After Henry succumbs to his injuries, Mary arrives using her flight abilities and kills the remaining ADF agents. Mary promises to keep Chloe hidden at a new location, but Chloe refuses to continue hiding, believing that no one can stop them from living wherever they want. Moved by her daughter's confidence, Mary agrees and flies off with Chloe.