What are you watching

[G-G]

Watched it last night. Think I would have found it hard going at the cinema but enjoyed it curled up on the sofa with the dog and a cup of tea. Started watching it the other night but nodded off ( not because I was bored but because it was late) so read up on the history behind it all before rewatching it properly. Growing up in Birmingham one of my favourite places was the Museum and Art gallery which was full of Pre Raphaelte paintings so I’ve always loved them. I wish there could have been a follow up film of her life with Millais. What a strange, complex character Ruskin was.

I did a bit of research after watching it- never realised Millais was responsible for a lot of the paintings he did. I love looking at art - National Portrait Gallery one of my favourite places on the planet, but admit to knowing very little about it. Ruskin was 'different'- very surprising in a way that he had a career at all but obviously of his time.
Thought the cast generally bore a lot of resemblance to the real life people they were portraying looking at pictures of the main protagonists.

[moe]

Maybe Emma Thompson realised her husband looked like Ruskin and decided to make a film about him! It reminded me a lot of the relationship between Lewis Carrol and Alice Liddell. The Victorians had strange attitudes towards children but, then again they also invented childhood. When we were sans dog for a year we did a bit of travelling to places we hadn’t been able to go to before and I got very emotional about going to Oxford and being in the very sweet shop that Alice Liddell used to go to.

[jinnyj]

Just been to see the Dream Alliance film this afternoon. It was actually pretty good on the whole except they made Philip Hobbs into a rather snooty individual when he’s anything but. The racing scenes were a bit staged and there were a fair few liberties taken but I enjoyed it and thought they did a good job. Certainly a feel good film.

[Euronymous]

Onto the last season of The West Wing now. I think the quality was consistent from the get go. Really enjoyed it.

Line of Duty I will finish tomorrow. The last couple of seasons have lacked the quality of the first four.

I'm towards the end of season 2 of The Crown. I've really enjoyed this and the lass who plays the young Queen has been excellent

West Wing finished. Awesome show. Lower end of the top ten all time for me.
Line of Duty bit disappointed. Quality went down the last couple of seasons. Outside the top ten now
The Crown finished all four seasons. Enjoyed it, Olivia Coleman was immense, made the show. Her face when she was with Thatcher. Perfect acting.

I'm on Peaky Blinders now. Near the end of Season 3. Not bad. The older brother Arthur, he was deffo lined up to be gay at the end of season 1. They must have bottled it.

Films:
Rocketman 6/10. Not bad. Decent cast, maybe a bit long. Rob Stark probably too good looking to be the dodgy manager.
Breathless 8/10. So stylish, dates really well. Jean Seburg was some beauty. Love French cinema.
The Judge 7/10. I liked this for all courtroom dramas have been done to death. Downey Jnr is quality as is Duval. They were good together

[G-G]

West Wing finished. Awesome show. Lower end of the top ten all time for me.

Another fan - yeeay! Totally awesome, didn't want it to end. Think Santos would have made a different kind of President to have made enough story lines, plus Josh as COS and Sam back, although Rob Lowe probably only agreed that it was only for what it was, after flouncing off half way through before.

Shouldn't have been Santos winning, end re written after John Spencer died.
Toby would never have done what he did either if Sorkin still been in control.
Was telling someone at work the story told by Abbie in the episode written for after 9/11. He never knew that - I said see entertainment and educational at the same time.
Love re-watching them. Still don't know how they filmed Requiem - must have been so hard.


Downey Jnr is class. Chaplin should have got him an Oscar.

[jinnyj]

Downey Jnr is a brilliant actor and yes agree about Chaplin. I think his widely reported problems (now diagnosed as bipolar so explained why he was as he was) and subsequent jail time did not help his reputation.

Peaky Blinders...love, love, love! One series not so good as the others IMO (the Russian one) but just pure class acting, script and storylines. Helen McCory will be much missed as Aunt Polly, a role she just nailed. And Tom Hardy is superb too. Can’t wait for the next series.

[Desert Orchid]

Another fan - yeeay! Totally awesome, didn't want it to end. Think Santos would have made a different kind of President to have made enough story lines, plus Josh as COS and Sam back, although Rob Lowe probably only agreed that it was only for what it was, after flouncing off half way through before.

Shouldn't have been Santos winning, end re written after John Spencer died.
Toby would never have done what he did either if Sorkin still been in control.
Was telling someone at work the story told by Abbie in the episode written for after 9/11. He never knew that - I said see entertainment and educational at the same time.
Love re-watching them. Still don't know how they filmed Requiem - must have been so hard.

Not just a brilliant series but some outstanding stand-alone episodes too, Requiem just one of several.

I'm now into series 6 of The Mentalist (for the third time, I think). Very lightweight (which I find I now need to keep me sane) but well-made and every case based on genuine cases. I reckon I'm secretly in love with Lisbon.

[G-G]

Chaplin is a brilliant film. Hopkins got the Oscar that year but think RDJ was robbed. Many years ago there was a documentary about the making of the film, really fascinating to watch the process of how it was made, no CGI used for the crowd scenes either. Not sure if it can found anywhere but was a good watch. Attenborough was a genius.

[Euronymous]

Shouldn't have been Santos winning, end re written after John Spencer died.
Toby would never have done what he did either if Sorkin still been in control.

Yeah I didn't buy Santos winning, wasn't realistic for a two term liberal to be followed by someone even more to the left.

Agree with Toby. It was completely out of character.

Peaky Blinders...love, love, love! One series not so good as the others IMO (the Russian one) but just pure class acting, script and storylines. Helen McCory will be much missed as Aunt Polly, a role she just nailed. And Tom Hardy is superb too. Can’t wait for the next series.

Yea, that's the one I'm on now. Villain wise Paddy Considine isn't as good as Sam Neill and the plot seems a bit vague.

[Grasshopper]

It's probably not everyone's cup of tea, and I'm possibly a little late to the party, but Hank Azaria's 'Broderick' - about the trials and tribulations of an alcoholic baseball-stadium announcer - is a proper riot.

[Colin Phillips]

Where the hell have you been, Grass?

Haven't spotted you on Twitter either.

[Grasshopper]

Greetings, Col bach.

Eh, it's the summer, pal.......and I'm usually posted-missing from here for long periods as a result of the shabby and inferior racing that prevails.

Have losy my Twitter mojo for the moment.

[Colin Phillips]

I know you're allergic to the flat but with the absence on Twitter I was getting worried.

[Frankel]

TIME is superb.

Just watch it.

[G-G]

[QUOTE=Frankel;757926]TIME is superb.

Just watch it.[/QUOT

Yes it is. Sometimes uncomfortable to watch but have to do through eyes have closed"

[jinnyj]

Watched the final episode last night. Superb performance by both lead characters but in particular Sean Bean. His understated angst on how to get through his “time” with as little aggro as possible and his understanding that he had to be punished was I think one of his best ever performances.

I think although a difficult subject it was portrayed beautifully and the full impact of life inside conveyed so well.

[moe]

Looking forward to watching it. There was a very good Mark Lawson interview with Jimmy McGovern on BBC 4 the other night: must be the best interviewer around and a fascinating insight into what makes McGovern such a good writer.

[G-G]

I started to watch it, it's a repeat as didn't include Time obviously , but found it one of Lawson's worst actually. McGovern seemed to spend a lot of time repeating himself.
Time was superb. Bean very restrained and pulled it off. Stephen Graham always good value, and his wife in it is his wife! She had to audition, bless her!

[Tout Seul]

Time is well written and extremely well acted. Sean Bean and Stephen Graham both deserve awards.

[Grasshopper]

If you like baseball, you might like the documentary ‘The Battered Bastards of Baseball”, which tells the story of the minor league Portland Mavericks; a team owned and built by Bing Russell (father of Kurt), and how they went about upsetting the MLB establishment in the early 70’s.

In fact, you should watch it even if you’re not a fan of baseball.

Also, correction to my earlier post. The Hank Azaria vehicle is called ‘Brockmire’ and not ‘Broderick’ as previously advised.