The Lion in Winter
Superb on every level.
I watched this grisly holiday fare for two reasons:
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I am a connoisseur of bad movie spin-offs from British sitcoms;
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I wanted to see if it was as bad as everyone says it is.
My conclusions after viewing:
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Even my tolerance for these things was sorely stretched.
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It is indeed as bad as everyone says it is. Grim and grubby.
An absolutely splendid 1999 black comedy, with Reece Witherspoon absolutely outstanding as the precocious, overachieving, unpopular and rather obnoxious high school student Tracy Flick, standing for election to the student body. Almost as good is Matthew Broderick as the popular social sciences teacher, who tries to sabotage the election because he dislikes Tracy so much. It all backfires on him of course, when his attempt to destroy some ballot papers voting for Tracy is discovered.
That a film as witty and as beautifully-acted and written as this bombed on its release in 1999 is a grave injustice, even its critical reception was warmer than warm. Wholeheartedly recommended.
I’m sure it’s been mentioned many times but I’ve just watched Parasite and knew very little about beforehand. Only one word description needed and that’s ‘Brilliant’ !
Just watched Dr Sleep. Not bad, but wished they’d stuck with the book for an ending, rather than revert to The Shining MkII.
Haven’t read the book, will do so, I thought it was a neat tidy film.
One of the things I really liked about the Harry Potter films was how they stuck to the books (other than the last half of the final film)
It is a reflection of a grim and grubby time
Another TV sitcom big screen spinoff, this time a more gentle, sentimental one. This follows the characters from the popular Sunday tea-time ITV comedy of the late 1960s/early 70s (which I used to love as a little kid). Idealistic, ineffectual but popular teacher Mr Hedges (John Alderton) persuades his colleagues at Fenn St school to let him take his class, the unruly 5C (supposedly teeangers, but of course played by actors in their 20s) to a nature camp for a couple of weeks - with predictable results; mayhem ensues, but the day is won, eventually, for the loveable Fenn Streeters.
It’s not really that funny, but it is a great big warm snuggly nostalgic blanket, which is almost as good as an uproarious comedy in these strange times…
One of my pet hates! As a long time Tolkien fan, I was so disappointed when the films strayed from the books (especially The Hobbit). No amount of ‘artistic explanation’ by Jackson ever convinced me it was necessary. I thought Dr Sleep marked a welcome return to form for Stephen King.
Argh, I still haven’t recovered from the abomination that was Return Of The King , I was reasonably happy with the first two films - though the Battle Of Helms Deep and the dwarf tossing …
As for the Hobbit, a shameless rip off featuring masses CGI and little Tolkien
A sententious and rather sappy disaster flick, made in 1998 and directed with a heavy touch by Mimi Leder. The decent cast - Morgan Freeman, Robert Duvall, Tea Leoni etc – is wasted in this poorly-scripted tale of a comet colliding with earth. Once again, in that uniquely cloth-eared way in which Hollywood covers global catastrophe, the rest of the world is completely ignored; in fact, with all the treacly moralising, you actually quite fancy the comet putting the world (especially America) to end once and for all. The FX are pretty good though.
My wife and I spent several hours binge watching Bridgerton on Netflix on Wednesday night using the recently installed new projector (an optoma bought in the summer when on offer to replace the projector that died a year ago). Fabulous- very pleased indeed. Not a 4K projector but I cannot fault the quality.
I am not quite sure what it is about it but I love a projector and am very happy that I got one rather than a big telly which would have been simpler to implement
And not only that but now Inspector Rebus will forever be a dwarf with a big nose!
Yesterday’s early evening watch
Just finished watching SOUL via my son’s Disney+, and thought it was excellent. If you liked Inside Out this goes a step further. Character design is particularly strong, animation is amazing, and the story heartwarming. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross scored the music along with pianist Jon Batiste.
Glad you enjoyed it . We’ve just started watching Up. It’s really good so far , Pixar a good tonic for the times 
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Loved that movie. “Stephanie change color.”
Hope my American accent came out authentic.
I was just fondly remembering Short Circuit too yesterday, i saw it in the theater when i was still a little droid. 
@TOBYJUG was watching WALL-E though, which is a wonderful movie too!