What Are You Watching

[kinuta]

The Secret - ITV

Finished watching this true crime mini series.

It takes quite a lot to creep me out but James Nesbitt's portrayal of the evil double murderer gave me the chills.

The hapless, idiotic parter in crime was also convincingly acted.  Haunting and sickening, it reminded me of 10 Rillington Place.

[A Lark Ascending]

3 hours ago, kinuta said:

The Secret - ITV

Finished watching this true crime mini series.

It takes quite a lot to creep me out but James Nesbitt's portrayal of the evil double murderer gave me the chills.

The hapless, idiotic parter in crime was also convincingly acted.  Haunting and sickening, it reminded me of 10 Rillington Place.

Watched the first two episodes but I don't think I'll take it further. Found it unpleasant - one of those series where I find myself asking 'why am I watching this?'

Tried a 6 part comedy series with Olivia Coleman called Flowers but had to give up after half an episode - about a oddball dysfunctional family. Seemed a bit Harry Potter without the spells (I'm not a Harry Potter follower so it's more how I imagine Harry Potter). However, before I get too 'look how unimpressed I am everybody' I started watching another comedy series called 'Love, Nina' about a young Leicester girl going to work as a nanny in London in house full of luvvies - that I did like. Like a lot of UK comedy, works off the clash of class. 

Finished 'Follow the Money' last night - excellent series all round. Some of the bad guys got their comeuppance, the nice people survived (I loved the hapless car mechanics) but there was enough 'worm in the bud' there to keep you unsettled - the key female character who you warmed to throughout yet who was up to her neck in the fraud; and the king pin and hit man who lived another day.

'Blue Eyes' reaches its conclusion this week - another winner from the Nordic lands (could have done without the rather graphic knifing in the last episode, however). Looks like there's another Danish thriller to follow it - "Dicte: 'Front Page News" .  Also "Magnifica 70" ["A stylish, sexy, South American series about desire and repression. Set in 1970, Brazil.] Music should be good at the very least! 

Edited May 23, 2016 by A Lark Ascending

[A Lark Ascending]

Never seen this before. Beautiful. What a wonderful, life-affirming film. Like 'Brassed-Off', more than a little sentimental, but my does it warm the cockles of your heart. 

[Shawn]

 Daredevil - season 2 (Netflix).  Not quite up to the level of the first season, but still better than anything comics related on broadcast or cable.  They nicely set up the character of The Punisher for his own series. 

Edited May 24, 2016 by Shawn

[A Lark Ascending]

Boris v Dave: The Battle for Europe (Channel 4) - Rumour has it that this going to be made into a musical. Probably renamed "Entitlement!" (I can already hear the signature song). 

Episodes 1 + 2. What a contrast. 

[kinuta]

The Tunnel Season two

Gripping, head and shoulders above the overpraised Blue Eyes.

[A Lark Ascending]

"When Pop Went Epic: The Crazy World of the Concept Album". (BBC4)

Nice little documentary, mainly about the 60s/70s but also mentioning more recent examples (Lady Gaga, apparently). A bit superficial but enjoyable. I much prefer Rick Wakeman as a TV presenter to his records - he nicely takes the p**s out of his own grandiloquence in the 70s whilst still standing by the music he made. 

'Peaky Blinders' continues to enthral, constantly heading off down unexpected turns. Read yesterday it's been commissioned for two more series. Also 'The A Word' will have another series. BBC apparently really upping its drama focus as a way of meeting the 'distinctive' criteria arbitrarily demanded by the government. So maybe the recent 'crisis' has unwihittingdalely had positive consequences.      

[kinuta]

War & Peace - Tom Harper BBC (2016)

Excellent, great cast and sumptous production.

Recommended.

[Jazzmoose]

Caught this on Amazon last night.  Nothing breathtakingly awesome, but a lot of fun if you're an SF nerd.  Pardon me, imagineer.

[duaneiac]

A fairly good documentary about The Goon Show including interviews with the 3 men most associated with it Spike Milligan, Peter Sellers and Harry Secombe.  There's even an interview with the man who was the inspiration for the voice of Bluebottle (and he really did talk like that!).

Edited May 28, 2016 by duaneiac

[A Lark Ascending]

Episode 3 - Lol's attempted suicide. Harrowing. I thought I was getting an Episode 4 but it turned out to be out-takes and interviews - more interesting than I expected. Never realised it was shot in Sheffield. Surprised I've never bumped into the cast when I'm out getting wasted on a Saturday night. 

[A Lark Ascending]

OK film that kept me engaged but I get the impression it just skimmed the book. Hard to compare as I read it 35 years ago. I do remember a TV serialisation that had a profound effect on me - this just seemed like a rather sad story.

Last episode of 'Blue Eyes' - very much enjoyed the series but was confused by the ending. Got the gist that in the end everyone was compromised in the interest of their careers. But with so many political characters stretched over ten weeks I'd forgotten who was who so when names were mentioned I couldn't keep up with who was being referred to. 

Seems to be in the nature of many of these long series where things develop from episode to episode but when you stand back it's hard to see the narrative whole (very much the case with things like 'The Good Wife' (which I love) - assume they are written as they go along, picking up on strands as they emerge). Rather different from more taught three or four episode series ('Happy Valley' comes to mind).

Maybe multiple 13 episode series are the prog-rock of TV. Stand-alone 30 minute TV programmes must be just around the corner.  

Edited May 29, 2016 by A Lark Ascending

[jazzbo]

Went to see this with Lucy yesterday. Quite a nice movie! Entertaining, well acted.

[A Lark Ascending]

7 hours ago, jazzbo said:

Went to see this with Lucy yesterday. Quite a nice movie! Entertaining, well acted.

On my list for the next couple of weeks - I don't think it's out here yet. 

This afternoon:

Very enjoyable, tense thriller in Le Carre's latter-day spying amongst the jet set style (as opposed to his 60s spying amongst dowdy, bad-tempered ex-public school boys style). Release nicely timed with the release of The Panama Papers - London as the money-laundering capital of the world. 

[jazzbo]

On to Season 3 of "The Larry Sanders" show. Hey now!

[jlhoots]

Orange Is The New Black - season 3

[A Lark Ascending]

Icelandic thriller broadcast a few months back but just got round to episode 1 last night. Enjoyed it although it's not really got going yet. Must congratulate it for having even worse weather than 'Shetland'.  

Edited May 30, 2016 by A Lark Ascending

[jazzbo]

Watching AMC's "Preacher." Wasn't really going to, then saw that Ruth Negga is in it and decided to, I really like her, think she's beautiful and she can act. (It's not surprising she's in this as she and the lead actor are an item). It's an ultraviolet irreverent show, I'm enjoying it so far.

 

[kinuta]

Peaky Blinders

Tom Hardy steals the show as Alfie Solomons.

[Jazzmoose]

I finally picked up a new computer (the last one wasn't quite BNBB days, but it was close!) and have discovered that streaming video actually work.  I've been binge watching Bosch today.

 

Edited June 4, 2016 by Jazzmoose

[A Lark Ascending]

Excellent. Spent most of it wondering where I'd seen Miranda (Jessie Buckley) before...turns out she was Marya Bolkonskaya in the recent BBC War and Peace. Also D.I. Thursday (Roger Allam) from 'Endeavour' as Prospero. 

[A Lark Ascending]

Ultimate Rome: Empire Without Limits

Four part social (mainly) history of the Roman Empire - very good with stunning photography from Northumbria to Judea. Worth it just to watch Mary Beard ripping a pizza apart in order to illustrate what happened to the Empire when it got too big to manage from Rome alone. Beard reminds me of my Anglo-Saxon history professor at uni (she taught Anglo Saxon history, she wasn't an Anglo-Saxon).  

Edited June 5, 2016 by A Lark Ascending

[jazzbo]

Larry Sanders Show, "Season 4"

Edited June 7, 2016 by jazzbo

[jlhoots]

Joan Baez 75th birthday special on PBS

[duaneiac]

Season Six still manages to be "literally" LOL funny for me!