As per last time, I guess that this covers TV as well as movies, so…
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TV Parlement season 2 - this French EU comedy was a gem in season 1. about 4 episodes in S2 hasn’t captured quite the same spirit, but it is still enjoyable.
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TV Father Brown - the 2013 series. I had not seen any of this version before - but vaguely recall the 1974 Kenneth More series, and have heard a couple of the Andrew Sachs radio adaptations, and read a few of the original tales. After the first episode, I am not really that taken by Williams’ portrayal. I know that many people think that More’s version was the ‘definitive’, but I prefer Sachs’ version - which seems a little more beatific and contemplative. Don’t know whether we will continue with this or not.
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TV Surface - just one episode of this one too so far. I think that I may have seen too many amnesia stories by now. This one took a while to engage, but did pick up. I will give it another episode anyway.
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TV Truelove - this one is all about Lindsay Duncan’s performance, really, and she carries it convincingly - which is just as well, because the actual plot mechanics certainly don’t. The whole basis of the tale is that between them Duncan and Peters character have the skills to euthenase their aging friends and cover it up but then Duncan’s character makes multiple glaringly attention-attracting choices for no good reason that completely undermine the character’s supposed experience. To enjoy this, you just need to ignore those, I guess.
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(short) Film - Krysar/The Pied Piper (1986) - a glorious 55min Czech animation of the classic tale. You have to think that the expressionist style of this had some influence on Tim Burton.
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Documentary - When Blondie Came To Britain - a BBC doc looking back to the '70s & '80s tours of the UK by the band with some great moments from fans, crew and the band themselves. It hit the spot and hit it well.
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Film Groundhog Day (1993) - inevitably. In fact I think that this is only the second time that I have seen the whole film: the first was when it came out. I think that I enjoyed it more this time, overall - with more developed understanding of Buhddism, stoicism, redemption etc etc.
I’m too lazy to type, so here’s a screenshot of a handy app I use. :-) The golden rule is, if there’s a purple spot, you can find the review on my blog.
Just started watching “Giri/Haji”. Crime drama co-production between BBC and Netflix and features a Japanese cast. It received universal acclaim. I’m just on the first episode and it does look to be very good. I’ve been itching for some noir shows because True Detective hasn’t been all that great so far.
