JULY 2022 - FILMS + TV (HOME-VIEWING)

More than a touch of deja-vous.....

four ongoing series - three now finished, another one started and a couple of films

Taggart (1983-2010) - ITV Crime Drama - 27 series

Upto season nine so far. Enjoying the journey even if it's a slow one. I do like the dynamics of Taggart, the Biscuit, Jackie and the other fellah - the one who's name I can't remember. I'm enjoying seeing some familiar faces pop up on screen. Last seen the old hag who appears in Benidorm with the mobility scooter.

From Wikipedia...

Taggart is a Scottish detective fiction television programme created by Glenn Chandler, who wrote many of the episodes, and made by STV Studios for the ITV network. It originally ran as the miniseries "Killer" from 6 until 20 September 1983, before a full series was commissioned that ran from 2 July 1985 until 7 November 2010. The series revolved around a group of detectives initially in the Maryhill CID of Strathclyde Police, though various storylines were set in other parts of Greater Glasgow and in other areas of Scotland. The team operated out of the fictional John Street police station. Mark McManus, who played the title character Jim Taggart, died in 1994. However, the series continued under the same name.

The Last Detective (2003-2007) - ITV Comedy - Drama Series

Finally done and dusted and I enjoyed it, though it is another series I thought I would have been done with sooner. I like Peter Davison and still feel sad when I think of Sean Hughes. RIP. 

Still undecided about trying the books (Leslie Thomas if you're interested), I've got a gazillion I'll struggle to read as it is. Why buy something else to sit on a shelf doing nothing? So that's a maybe then....

From Google...

`Dangerous' Davies is one offbeat flatfoot who takes the stuff at the bottom of the pile - the cases nobody wants. In his usual comical way, Davies and good friend Mod help unfold events that usually end up in disaster, but somehow they still manage to nab their man. Maybe if Davies wasn't such a nice guy, his coworkers would take him a tad more seriously. The comedy-drama is adapted from the novel by Leslie Thomas.

The Righteous Gemstones Season 2 (2019) - TV Comedy - Drama Series

One of the funniest things I've seen on TV since Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Never a dull moment. Fingers are crossed for a third series.

From Wikipedia ....

Premise

The Righteous Gemstones depicts a family of televangelists and megachurch pastors led by widowed patriarch Eli Gemstone (John Goodman). Eli and his immature children, Jesse (Danny McBride), Judy (Edi Patterson) and Kelvin (Adam DeVine), lead opulent lives funded by church donations.

In the second season, Jesse and Amber partner with Texas megachurch leaders Lyle and Lindy Lissons (Eric André and Jessica Lowe) to develop a Christian timeshare resort. The family faces threats including investigative journalist Thaniel Block (Jason Schwartzman), Junior (Eric Roberts) an old friend from Eli's criminal past, and a mysterious group of motorcycle-riding assassins.

Wild Card (2015) - TV film

A taping of a late night film which sat in the recorded items for nearly a year. I reckon I've seen it before and it was okay. A little bit slow to start with, but it got better as it went along. I do like a Jason Statham action flick, though they do seem to be indistinguishable from other Jason Statham action flicks. You don't usually need a degree in rocket science to follow the plots. But hey I like them.

Stanley Tucci has hair in this one. Or more likely a hairpiece. He's another actor who I enjoy watching on screen.

From Wikipedia ....

Wild Card is a 2015 American action thriller film directed by Simon West and starring Jason Statham, Michael Angarano, Dominik Garcia-Lorido, Milo Ventimiglia, Hope Davis, and Stanley Tucci. Based on the 1985 novel Heat by William Goldman, it is a remake of the 1986 adaptation that starred Burt Reynolds. The film was released in the United States on January 30, 2015 in a limited release and through video on demand.

Wild Card received negative reviews and was a box-office bomb, making only $6.7 million worldwide against a $30 million budget.

*spoiler alert

Plot 

Nick Wild is a recovering gambling addict who takes odd jobs in Las Vegas as a "chaperone" (his version of a bodyguard) to support his addiction. After helping a client impress a woman, he accepts a proposition from a young man, Cyrus Kinnick, to show him around Vegas and provide protection while he gambles.

While eating at a diner, Nick's waitress friend Roxy hands him a message from a woman he knows, Holly, who wants him to stop by her house. Holly, a professional escort, explains she had a date the previous night at the Golden Nugget. Afterward, she was brutally raped and beaten by three unknown men in their hotel room. Holly asks Nick to find out who they are so that she can sue them.

Nick discovers that the man responsible for raping Holly is Danny DeMarco, a gangster, who had two of his thugs dump her in a hospital car park. Nick goes to the hotel to confront DeMarco and a confrontation develops, resulting in Nick overpowering DeMarco and his men, who are tied up. Nick calls Holly, who contemplates castrating DeMarco, who then breaks down and begs her forgiveness. Holly decides to just take the $50,000 from DeMarco's desk and leaves.

Holly splits the money with Nick and leaves Las Vegas. Nick takes Cyrus to a casino and whilst playing blackjack with dealer friend Cassandra, Nick goes on a huge winning streak with the next dealer, amassing over a half a million dollars. But when he goes to the cashier, he has a sudden anxiety attack and decides to keep on gambling, eventually losing all his winnings (as well as his original $25,000) on a single blackjack bet with Cassandra. The next morning, Cyrus, revealed to be a self-made millionaire, wants Nick to mentor him on being brave, but Nick declines. At the bar, DeMarco's men arrive to deliver Nick to DeMarco, but Nick fends them off.

Nick meets with Baby, the mafia boss of Las Vegas. Baby has received a complaint from DeMarco, who claims that Nick broke into his hotel room, pistol-whipped him, and killed two of his men – all to fund his gambling addiction. Baby takes Nick to a room with DeMarco, where Nick tells his side of the story: that DeMarco killed his own men, to save face after begging for his life, and that DeMarco bears a cut on his penis. Baby tells DeMarco to drop his pants to prove Nick wrong, but he refuses and leaves.

At the local diner, Cyrus offers Nick a check for $500,000 and a plane ticket to Corsica for what he has learned from Nick. DeMarco and his men appear in the diner. Cyrus shows his newfound manliness by singing loudly as a distraction so Nick can escape. Nick thinks about his sailboat and then kills the thugs and DeMarco with his utensils behind the diner.

Afterwards, Cyrus insists Nick take the check and the ticket, and Nick accepts. Nick then drives out of Las Vegas.

Blade Runner 2049 (2017) - BBC iPlayer film

I missed this when it came out in 2017 and I've never seen the original. I suppose I ought to make the effort at some point.

I liked this, even if I'm not a massive fan of science fiction/dystopian stuff. I'm unable to make a comparison to the original Blade Runner. Ryan Gosling is pretty good. I've enjoyed his performances in other films - La La Land in particular. Harrison Ford is always watchable.  

From Google...

K, an officer with the Los Angeles Police Department, unearths a secret that could create chaos. He goes in search of a former blade runner who has been missing for over three decades.

The Missing Series 1 (2014) - BBC Drama

Incredibly sad. I don't know how you could ever come to terms with the death of your only child. 

Well worth watching. I'm trying to twist my wife's arm to watch the second series. She's seen it before, I haven't.

From Wikipedia...

The Missing is a British anthology drama television series written by brothers Harry and Jack Williams. It was first broadcast in the UK on BBC One on 28 October 2014, and in the United States on Starz on 15 November 2014. The Missing is an international co-production between the BBC and Starz. The first eight-part series, about the search for a missing boy in France, was directed by Tom Shankland.

It stars Tchéky Karyo as Julien Baptiste, the French detective who leads the case, with James Nesbitt and Frances O'Connor as the boy's parents.