American Hustle (15) It is a brave film that spends its opening minutes with its overweight paunchy, balding superstar acting lead perfecting his comb-over. Christian Bale put on 40 lbs to play Irving Rosenfeld, a small-time Bronx hustler who gets caught by the feds and offered immunity if he helps them in a big scam Read More
Category: Film & TV
Another visual stunner from Luhrmann
The Great Gatsby – directed by Baz Luhrmann The moment that Tobey Maguire as Nick Carraway finally met Gatsby, when Leonardo Dicaprio turned around and smiled that smile, my heart did a little leap, and it confirmed for me that he was perfect for the role, and that this film was going to be totally Read More
Benedict, you’re a very baaad man!
I couldn’t wait! Just back from the first screening (bar last night’s midnight one) at my local cinema of Star Trek: Into Darkness, the second outing for the young classic Trek crew. I’m not going to tell you any of the story except that Benedict Cumberbatch, with a spectacularly basso profundo voice, was truly wonderful Read More
Sci-Fi Sound Effects
BBC Sci-Fi Sound Effects (Vintage Beeb) Having built up a few reviews on Amazon, a couple of years ago I was lucky enough to be invited to be a reviewer for Amazon Vine. I get to pick items from lists they send out of all sorts of things. Usually I stick to books, but just Read More
Who’s your Doctor?
Doctor Who: Dreams of Empire by Justin Richards We will get to the book eventually, but first I want to talk about Doctor Who a bit. Things are hotting up for the 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who, and the memorabilia stakes are high. The Royal Mail have issued a set of eleven stamps with the Read More
Half term movies
I’ve been to the pictures twice this half-term – two very different films and two gooduns. First, I went with my daughter to see Tim Burton’s new stop-animation film, Frankenweenie. Inspired by Frankenstein, natch, it’s the story of a boy and his dog, and like all the best classic horror films, it’s in black and Read More
It brings it all back …
I’ve waxed lyrical about my favourite musicals before – Oliver! in particular. It still is, I think, but the musical that lead me into a rockier direction was Jesus Christ Superstar. I’ve been sparked off to post about it because, belatedly, I’ve started watching Superstar – Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s current TV search for a singer to Read More
Beryl on the box & big screen …
Today, I offer you a survey of Beryl’s work for TV and film, with as many links to clips as I can find… During the early part of her career, Beryl was an actress. In 1961, she famously appeared in one episode of Coronation Street as the peace-protesting girlfriend of Ken Barlow. See BB in Corrie. She wrote Read More
Character forming – Book then Movie or Movie then Book. Discuss:
There have been many posts about the merits of which order to do things in for novels that have been made into movies (or TV series). These tend to concentrate on the differences in plots made to give films the required conclusions, and the excising of large chunks of plot and/or characters in the novel Read More
Book v Movie: Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (republished into its original place in the time-line from my lost post archive) I went to see the film Salmon Fishing in the Yemen this afternoon based on the brilliant 2006 book by Paul Torday. I read the book last year and loved it, (review here), so I was crossing my fingers that Read More
Another quirky fable of men and their work
A Cruel Bird Came to the Nest and Looked in by Magnus Mills Don’t you just love the cover of this book? Having just finished reading it, I love it even more, as it encapsulates the kingdom within its pages perfectly. I can identify its buildings including ‘The Cake’ – the dome-topped concert hall (middle Read More
He’s not the Messiah, he’s a very naughty boy!
Had to write a short post on the BBC4 drama Holy Flying Circus which aired this week, it was a mostly marvellous 90 minutes of real Pythonesque homage. It followed the life of the Pythons around the time that Life of Brian was released in the cinema (1979), the TV ‘debate’ between Cleese and Palin v Muggeridge Read More
A handful of old movie reviews from 2010/11
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy On Friday afternoon I went to the cinema by myself for the first ever time, and I sat in front of the screen with roughly twenty other moviegoers to see Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy on the day it opened. I didn’t need company, for I was totally engrossed for a full 127 minutes by this Read More
Book vs film: Too much Julie, not enough Julia?
Julie & Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously by Julie Powell This was the July choice for our book group, which gave those who didn’t read the book time to watch the film instead. I managed to do both, and they are quite different animals… Julie Powell and husband Eric hail from Texas. They live in Read More
Entirely bonkers! But all the best people are.
Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland As you would expect of a Tim Burton film, this was such a visual treat, spectacular to look at from start to finish. We begin with young Alice having nightmares, then cut to nineteen year old Alice on the way to a garden party, where the toothsome fop Hamish will ask Read More
Up, up and away…
I missed the latest Pixar animation, Up, when it was in the multiplexes – a friend of my daughter’s had a movie party to see it, so I didn’t get to take her to that one. I couldn’t wait to watch it when the DVD arrived, so on this dull half-term afternoon we snuggled up on the Read More
Brothers under the skin???
I will get back to writing about books very soon, but an off-duty photo I saw yesterday of Twilight hunk Robert Pattinson in my daughter’s kids’ newspaper ‘First News’ gave me a jolt – for the delightfully chiselled Robert is looking rather like the handsome younger brother of the comedy demi-god that was John Belushi! Read More
An evening with Alan Titchmarsh
The people of Abingdon had a treat tonight. Another national treasure came to visit in the body of Alan Titchmarsh, gardener supreme, broadcaster, chat-show host and great favourite of ladies of a certain age. I don’t count myself as one of them yet, but he is responsible for encouraging me into gardening during his stint Read More
Now Titchmarsh is coming to Abingdon!
We’re getting all the big names in Abingdon now. Next to visit is the gardening everyman megastar Alan Titchmarsh. The event promoted by Mostly Books is on Friday September 25th. The venue is being finalised, but tickets are on sale at £6 from the bookshop (01235 525880). Alan has a book to promote (naturally!). I Read More
The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood – were they really desperate?
In the same way that I adored watching Rome and am enjoying The Tudors, I also loved Desperate Romantics which recently finished screening on the BBC. All of them are generally utter tosh historically, but great entertainment to watch – and of course everyone looks marvellous; (Rome also wins prizes for being the most creatively potty-mouthed programme Read More
Moviewatch – Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince
Yesterday was our first available day to go and see the new Harry Potter film. I checked out the times, and asked my daughter “Shall we go for the quarter past one showing, or go earlier?” … So there we were at the cinema for the 10am showing along with just ten other people in Read More
Boldly Going …
There are lots of great programmes on the TV at the moment celebrating the 40th anniversary of landing on the moon. I was nine when it happened, and remember watching the landing on the telly and being entranced by the whole event. I will still watch anything about space and I have many books on Read More
Moviewatch: An American city girl in the English countryside is not good for one’s stiff upper lip!
Easy Virtue This adaptation of a Noel Coward play was great fun. It was full of great performances from an all-star cast, and some brilliant set pieces – involving a chihuahua, the can can, and a fabulous tango from Colin Firth, but I digress … The roaring twenties are in full flow when John Whittaker Read More
A Cinematic treat for readers of all ages…
The Invention of Hugo Cabret: A Novel in Words and Pictures by Brian Selznick This book has a fascinating concept. It’s a chunkster of over 500 pages that can be read in just a couple of hours for over half the pages are pictures – black and white pencil drawings mostly. But it’s not a Read More
Boxwatch: GW goes TG
GW for the uninitiated stands for Gardener’s World – the much loved and very long running programme on the BBC that’s recently had a makeover and new presenter. TG stands for Top Gear – the hilarious boys’ own car programme with Jeremy Clarkson and co, one of the most un-PC things on telly, also beloved Read More
Moviewatch – Burn After Reading
The latest film from the marvellous Coen brothers is another of their darker than dark comedies, a tale of dorky folk who all get caught up in a stupidly bizarrely circular chain of events . Burn After Reading has very few laugh out loud moments, but there are plenty of corner of the mouth secret Read More
Did they actually learn any science?
A new series started on BBC last Friday called ‘Rocket Science’. I don’t shout at the telly much, but I did watching this. An ‘inspirational’ science teacher who loves practical physics and chemistry takes a bunch of typical 13 year old kids who hate the subject and tries to convert them over a period of Read More
I’m not going out on Tuesdays now (unless I get back early!)…
Last night saw the return of one of my favourite TV series from last year – the second season of Mad Men started, and it looks just as good as ever. Everything about this show is so stylish, they put an immense amount of research into getting it exactly right for the period at the Read More
Do the Hustle
The new series of Hustle started on the BBC last night, and as always it began with style, panache and tongue in cheek. Mickey Stone (Adrian Lester) was in Sydney being chased so he dives into the opera house, picks up a naval Commander’s costume and finds a limo waiting outside waiting to take him Read More
Oliver Postgate R.I.P.
I was so sad to hear of the death on Monday of Oliver Postgate. My childhood TV viewing was full of gems from him. Sadly, I was just beyond the age for the ‘Watch with Mother‘ lunchtime slot when Bagpuss came along, but I have always loved the Clangers … Some years ago, when my Read More
