What Are You Watching..?

[iansums]

I've watched the last 20 mins of the latest episode 5 times already. It will be keeper on Sky+.

[iansums]

The Game ended last night, very good although difficult to follow at times for a thicko like me.

[dubai_phil]

Ouch.

Well the rape scene caused Politicos to up their arms a few weeks ago.

Last weeks battle with the White Walkers was stupendous TV.

And then this week.

Yes it has obviously been coming for a while but Episode 9 contained possibly THE most heartbreaking/wrong/horrific thing I have ever seen on a TV show. Dear God, that was hands to face time, in fact I'd say it was true horror that no slash flick has ever achieved.

And then we had the ending.

Wow.

 

Fly.

 

What a final line. And SO much in those last minutes, including a way to go Tyrion.

 

It is going to be a LONG time until next April once we get past the season finale.

 

Who's going to make it through to Episode 6?

 

Will it ever be possible to create a TV series better than GoT? Tell you what, I hope I am around to see it!

[sadoldgit]

After last week's episode with the White Walkers I wondered how they could top that for the last 2 episodes. Last night was even more enthralling probably because you know that anyone could die at any time so you aren't safe in expecting a happy ending. Next week's finale is unmissable and the Old Gods and the New only knows how they can top the last 2 weeks. Best TV ever.

[sadoldgit]

Not read anything about the GoT rape scenes but did see the woman from the Sissors Sisters get uppity about the fact that some scenes have been changed from the book and some rapes put in. She failed to mention that many of the characters in the book are under 16 and have sex and that they have been made older in the TV adaptation which is a good thing. Seems to me that Martin is using the TV adaptation to build on what he created (assuming he is involved) and to make changes to the plot that improve the original. The simple fact is that the dark and middle ages were very brutal times and people did get raped. She didn't seem to mind the fact that people got their eyes popped out or their heads crushed.

[LVSaint]

She didn't seem to mind the fact that people got their eyes popped out or their heads crushed.

 

I wonder what she thought about This?

 

[sadoldgit]

Needs some mustard!

[iansums]

I don't normally watch Thronecast after GOT but I did last week as Carice van Outen (sp) otherwise known as Melisandre was on. Oh my!

[sadoldgit]

Thronecast used to be rubbish but has upped its game in Series 5 and is well worth watching now. Not sure why they bring the actors on though because they clearly cant give any of the forthcoming plot away so most questions are a waste of time. They often do a five best of and the 5 best Tyrion quotes were awesome.

[fish fingers]

Finally finished Sons of Anarchy, became a bit of a struggle in the end.

 

Moved on to Bloodline, decent first three episodes. Enough to keep me interested. But strange hearing Coach Taylor say F###

[View From The Top]

That scene in episode 9 was one of the worst things that I've ever seen/heard. It was utterly awful. Brilliantly done and utterly, utterly awful in equal measure.

[LVSaint]

That scene in episode 10 was one of the worst things that I've ever seen/heard. It was utterly awful. Brilliantly done and utterly, utterly awful in equal measure.

[sadoldgit]

So, no more Jon Snow. Characters dropping like flies and every time you think you have got a handle on what could happen it all changes. It will be a long wait for series 6.

[norwaysaint]

I think he'll be back, even though the actor has said he's dead. Remember the red priests have form for resurrecting people and Mel arrived back at Castle Black just a moment before the assassination. That's not coincidence. Dead, yes, but he'll get better.

 

 

Finished watching House of Lies season 3 on Canadian Netflix. After a disappointing season 2, season 3 is by far the best season of the show so far, it's elevated a fairly average show up to be one of the best.

 

I also saw that season 4 of Suits is available, but then discovered I never even finished season 3. So working my way through those now, excellent series.

 

I saw a bit of Sense8 and it was simply terrible.

[View From The Top]

I don't believe for 1 minute that Jon Snow won't be resurrected.

[Winnersaint]

Me neither. Mind you Caitlin Stark was supposed to be resurrected by now as Lady Stoneheart. Seems like she was but came back in the wrong programme according to my wife who watches all manner of TV guff such as this.

http://variety.com/2014/tv/news/game-of-thrones-actress-michelle-fairley-joins-abcs-resurrection-1201267806/

[swannymere]

Is anyone else watching Banshee on SKY? Its got to be the most brutal tv around at the moment, great cast, decent storylines, and some very, very hot women who seem to spend their time being naked or extremely violent. Now on Series 3 but definitely worth a catch up from the start.

[CHAPEL END CHARLIE]

I would hope than anyone who saw the documentary; 'The Met: Policing London' on the BBC last night will share with me the same sense of just how appalling the seemingly never-ending waste of young life is on the streets of our capitol. We may have seen this same type of programme a hundred times before, London's murder rate may be little different from what it ever was, but if the time ever comes when the sheer pity of seeing a 17 year old boy stabbed to death by a 16 year old - all over some miserable £90 theft - fails to move us anymore ... well then I think a part of our own humanity must have died too.

 

How can we make our children wise beyond their years? Can we somehow gift them the wisdom many so obviously lack so that they might comprehend the awful consequences of their actions before they destroy not only their own lives, but someone else's too - like the young killer is this devastating programme did?

 

I well know that there is no easy 'pat' answer to this age-old question and that some kids who are brought up badly will often in turn behave badly during their adolescence. These children have been damaged by those who are supposed to have cared for them. Even more worryingly for anyone who genuinely cares about their children, it seems to me that some kids raised in a stable loving environment will also turn out to be dangerously anti-social because there is just something inside of them that makes them so.

 

It is perhaps our base nature that makes us what we are, and for one reason or another humanity is always destined to suffer from violence because for some of our young there is alas no prospect of a 'short cut' to maturity I'm afraid.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b05zt9kp/the-met-policing-london-episode-3

[swannymere]

True Detective, is it me or is it over-reaching? It's trying too hard for me and not succeeding so far.

[CHAPEL END CHARLIE]

Storyville: Last Days in Vietnam. http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b062mbng/storyville-20142015-25-last-days-in-vietnam

 

A - stunningly good I think - documentary that deals with the death of South Vietnam and what was perhaps the USA's greatest humiliation until 9/11. All that I can remember of this story (as a mere 12 year-old boy at the time) was the indelible image of 'Huey' helicopters being dumped into the China Sea and those iconic scenes from the US Embassy rooftop in Saigon. But there is of course much more to it than that. For instance, I didn't know that a more orderly and effective evacuation would have been easy possible but for the stubbornness of the US ambassador - a man who refused to contemplate the possibility that South Vietnam was about to fall until it was far too late. Neither had I recalled that President Ford had attempted a 'last ditch' measure to save South Vietnam from communism - only for Congress to block him. Ford's bitterness at this political betrayal was made quite apparent.

 

One of this programme's strengths was that many of the key players in this tragedy were found and interviewed - from the helicopter pilot who flew the first evacuation mission into the embassy compound to the very last US Marine off the roof. Most pitiful of all was the story of the last 400 Vietnamese refugees who had been solemnly promised that they would be rescued from the embassy but were in fact abandoned to the 'mercy' of the enemy by their erstwhile allies. Strong stuff.

 

An object lesson in the death of nations and on how history should be taught on television.

[sadoldgit]

True Detective, is it me or is it over-reaching? It's trying too hard for me and not succeeding so far.

 

Thought series one was great. Not seen any of series two yet. New characters I believe?

[LVSaint]

Thought series one was great. Not seen any of series two yet. New characters I believe?

 

Just watched season one over a couple of weeks. Really great TV, especially towards the climax. Got started on second season and I can't be bothered with it. Different vibe, characters, etc. I know it's up to episode five now. Is it any good?

[CHAPEL END CHARLIE]

It's mid summer and there's not exactly a glut of decent TV out there at the moment. But I do rather like the new French (subtitled) crime drama 'Witnesses' - C4 Wednesday.

 

Two 'Surete' detectives are tasked with investigating a bizarre case that involves the corpses of recently deceased people being unearthed overnight and then carefully posed into pseudo 'happy family' groups at unoccupied show houses. It soon becomes very apparent that another French detective - a rather enigmatic man with his own dark secrets - is at the centre of this disturbing mystery.

 

A densely plotted French series that shows a clear 'Scandinavian Noir' influence I think - and all the better for it perhaps.

 

[CHAPEL END CHARLIE]

Not what I've been reading this time, but rather what will Russian students NOT be reading in future because one of my favourite modern historians - Anthony Beevor - has just had his books officially banned in Putin's Russia. The reason for this drastic move? Well believe it or not Beevor's 'crime' is that in his (splendid) book 'Berlin: The Downfall' he dared record the veritable campaign of mass rape that so many Red Army soldiers committed in Soviet occupied Germany during 1945.

 

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/aug/05/banning-book-russia-past-holocaust-red-army-antony-beevor

 

There is of course no serious dispute that these crimes are an historical fact, indeed so many German girls and women ''from 8 to 80'' were raped that some committed suicide and many never fully recovered from their terrible ordeal. However, as far as modern Russia is concerned they would much prefer to pretend that none of this awful business happened.

 

An attitude that kinda stinks frankly - not to put too fine point on it.

[CHAPEL END CHARLIE]

Twin Towers: The Missing Evidence (Channel 5 Friday)

 

A rather interesting programme this I thought in which a new theory is put forward to explain the sudden and unforgettably dramatic collapse of the two World Trade Centre towers on the awful day back in 2001. Put simply, the steel structure of the towers should not in theory have been weakened sufficiently by the post impact fire in the hour (or so) before they collapsed to fully explain what happened. Therefore, official explanations as to what exactly occurred in the towers on 9-11 are inadequate.

 

The programme postulates that what occurred is that 30 tons of melted aluminium (from the crashed airliners) seeped down to a lower floor and came into contact with pooled water from the towers' sprinkler systems, causing a violent explosion which precipitated the collapse - molten aluminium and water in combination are apparently highly reactive. This theory nicely explains the numerous eye witness reports of explosions occurring moments before the towers fell.

 

It must be stressed however that I'm no scientist and this idea remains very much a theory at this time because no evidence has yet been found to prove it beyond doubt. US officialdom also rejects the idea, claiming the aircraft wreckage was far too scattered to cause this effect. Nevertheless, I for one found this theory to be a persuasive one, and one that may well be lot closer to the truth than any of the inevitable conspiracy theories out there are.

 

http://www.channel5.com/shows/conspiracy-the-missing-evidence/episodes/twin-towers-the-missing-evidence

[whelk]

Narcos. $60 million a day was pretty impressive. .

Annoying not all concluded in one series.

Lead me on to Sins of My Father which was also interesting

[LVSaint]

Fear the Walking Dead is nicely filling the void of how we got to the post apocalyptic world of the Walking Dead. Well scripted, acted and paced. Three episodes in and I'm preferring it to the regular series. Hope it lasts and stays fresh.

[CHAPEL END CHARLIE]

Beck: Buried Alive - BBC iPlayer

 

More Scandinavian crime drama (I just can't get enough) this time featuring the adventures of the Swedish detective Martin Beck. A leading District Attorney, and then the leader of a 'Hells Angels' style biker gang, are murdered, their (suffocated) bodies discovered in crude wooden coffins after they were buried alive. Other corpses soon turn up and as Beck investigates the case the unknown serial killer contacts him - but the only clue offered as to the motivation behind his frightful crimes is the enigmatic message that he intends to 'add sense to the punishment' ...

 

I'm starting to wonder if one of the reasons I enjoy so much this veritable wave of Euro crime drama that is starting to appear on our screens is that the very act of reading the subtitles actually helps me concentrate on the plot sometimes and thus become more immersed in the story. Be that as it may, although somewhat derivative, this is typically well crafted, dark and highly satisfying Scandinavian TV with some very nice plot misdirections thrown in that show a distinct 'Silence of the Lambs' influence I think.

 

There are apparently quite a few of these 'Beck' stories out there, and if they are nearly as good as this one is then I'm in for a treat.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b06chkmk/beck-buried-alive

[CHAPEL END CHARLIE]

Some recent TV I have have seen and enjoyed this week:

 

An Inspector Calls - BBC1 Sunday.

One of those old stories that you already well know, but like so much you are quite prepared to see retold. In this new version of J. B. Priestley's famous morality tale (the screenplay adapted by 'The Suspicions of Mr Whicher' writer Helen Edmundson) the key role of the parents went to the ever reliable Ken Stott and Miranda Richardson - and very good they both were in all their smug upper middle class Edwardian pomp & pomposity. David Thewlis too was suitably determined and sombre as the 'Inspector', although I must say that those familiar with (the quite wonderful) Alastair Sim performance might miss that unique sense of almost spectral 'unearthliness' that only he could bring to it. The proverbial 'tough act to follow' if ever I saw one.

 

Would I Lie to You? - BBC 1 Friday

A frequently 'laugh out loud' funny and never less than entertaining panel show that seems to improve with every single series. It goes without saying that the bedrock of this series ongoing success is the easygoing relationship the 3 regular cast members have now formed together - indeed it is hard now to imagine this show without Lee Mack, David Mitchell and Rob Brydon. Having said that, I seem to recall that Angus Deayton was the original host when the series started - when compared to Rob Brydon I think it safe to say that Deayton is not much missed.

Why is it that the BBC is so very good at producing genuinely funny panel shows (HIGNFY, QI, Mock The Week ... etc) but can't buy a decent Sketch or Sit Com any longer for love nor money?

 

Desert Car Kings - Quest Thursday.

One of those cheap imported US 'reality' shows that fill up time on obscure channels. This one is not quite as awful as most of the type are - indeed I must admit that I rather like it. The format here is that a huge Arizona car scrap yard is pillaged to restore battered examples of classic US cars from the fins and chrome era of 'America's Glory'. Naturally this all has to be done against the clock for some reason and the usual BS personality clashes are manufactured to spice up the action. Nevertheless, there are worst ways to waste a hour I suppose.

[CHAPEL END CHARLIE]

Building Cars Live - BBC2 this week.

 

A entertaining look at the many processes involved in manufacturing a modern British car - broadcast mostly from BMW's huge 'Mini' factory on the Oxford Ring Road. Fronted by James May, this ambitious two part programme attempted to follow one particular Mini from its 'birth' at what is known in the business as a 'Body-in-White' stage, right through the entire production process until the completed car finally left the production line ready for delivery to its new owner.

 

Unfortunately being a live broadcast (with some pre-filmed inserts added) we hardly ever got to see our one particular red Mini progress down the line as the problem of co-ordinating a live TV broadcast with the variable speed of the production line proved too difficult a problem to overcome. Our Mini was unfortunately often just out of 'camera shot' at the critical moment - such are the perils of live television!

 

Nevertheless, if you wanted to gain a brief insight into how modern cars are so well and efficiently constructed - an achievement attained in no small part thanks to robotics and the motor industry's (Japanese inspired) 'Just in time' and 'Continuous Improvement' philosophies - then this was a very interesting and worthwhile effort I thought.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p033zfvw/building-cars-live-episode-1

[Batman]

unforgotten

 

6 part crime type thingy on ITV. episode 3 was on last night

pretty good

[CHAPEL END CHARLIE]

Stuff that has found its way onto my TV of late:

 

River - BBC1

The USP of this series is that Detective Inspector River (the excellent Stellan Skarsgard) is quite literally a haunted man. The unanswered question here being whether the dead people who constantly follow him around, and whom only he can see of course, are actually supernatural spirits or just figments of his imagination.

As with much modern TV drama the 'production value' on display here is of cinema quality. The scripts are unusually literate, the acting performances on offer top class. My problem with this series is that much of our hero's depression and sense of isolation seems to transfer to the viewer somehow, making watching this series a rather miserable experience.

 

Worth seeing if you are in the mood, but not a series I much enjoy to be honest.

 

Fargo - Channel 4

If like me you liked the original Coen Brothers film, or indeed Noah Hawley's first TV series staring our very own Martin Freeman (broadcast only a year or so ago I think) then you will surely enjoy this latest incarnation too because it is very much the same mix of banal everyday existence in the American North contrasted with extreme violence. This reluctance to change a highly successful formula is both a source of strength and weakness for this series.

 

I can only say that this viewer is not yet at all bored with this frozen 'Coenworld' of the imagination - I doubt I ever will be.

 

Blackadder - Freeview

Back on our screens yet again I've seen EVERY single episode from each different series so many times now that I know all the lines and jokes off my heart. And you know what - I don't give a hoot because this wonderful old sitcom (it somehow seems to be more than a mere sit com) is still among the funniest television you'll ever see. Name me a better scripted comedy than this ... only Fawlty Towers, Porridge and Dad's Army at their best even come close I think.

 

A series that cannot be repeated too often

[CHAPEL END CHARLIE]

Film 2015 - BBC1

 

I guess that 'Film' must be one of the oldest series on British television that is still in production. So unquestionably a successful concept then. But this series has always been handicapped somewhat by the terrible late night time-slot the BBC habitual give it. Nevertheless, I was (like most other cinema fans I guess) a regular viewer back in its Barry Norman era. But for some reason I fell out of this habit when Jonathan Ross took over from the great man. A case of 'big shoes to fill' perhaps.

 

However, I've recently rediscovered the programme in its new format and I must say it has become again an utterly unmissable part of my TV week. In the old days Barry would simply show you a clip from the film he was reviewing and then tell you what he thought of it - and being Barry Norman whole generations of movie-goers would trust in his opinion implicitly. Now the series is fronted by Claudia Winkleman and while she may lack some of Norman's remarkable perception and unmatched wit, she is ably supported by two other professional film critics on the sofa with her. It is this interaction between three articulate and passionate film critics - who naturally very often completely disagree - that gives this series its rediscovered sense of vigour. It veritably 'sparkles' off the screen now.

 

This week for example, Winkleman had (the hugely likeable) Danny Leigh and Peter Bradshaw from the Guardian with her. Leigh had a nice interview with Steven Spielberg - surely the world's greatest living film director - and the three of them polity disagreed about the latest (and final) instalment of the Hunger Games franchise 'Mockingjay Part 2' and the erotic drama 'Love 3D'. But it really all 'kicked off' when they finally got around to 'The Dressmaker' - a new Australian film starring Kate Winslet.

 

This last film is clearly a rather err 'strange' effort and while Winkleman and Leigh kinda found at least something likeable in its offbeat oddness, Bradshaw hated it with a passion! Indeed, he opined that being forced to endure this film even once more would be akin to eternal damnation to some satanic hell-hole. His fury in turn provoked a strong outraged reaction from the other two. 'Twas all great fun I thought ... but watch the programme and find out for yourself.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b06qc6l8/film-2015-episode-10

 

PS - Man love may be an embarrassing thing to admit on a football forum, but I worship Danny Leigh as if he were a God on Earth.

[LVSaint]

Stuff that has found its way onto my TV of late:

 

River - BBC1

The USP of this series is that Detective Inspector River (the excellent Stellan Skarsgard) is quite literally a haunted man. The unanswered question here being whether the dead people who constantly follow him around, and whom only he can see of course, are actually supernatural spirits or just figments of his imagination.

As with much modern TV drama the 'production value' on display here is of cinema quality. The scripts are unusually literate, the acting performances on offer top class. My problem with this series is that much of our hero's depression and sense of isolation seems to transfer to the viewer somehow, making watching this series a rather miserable experience.

 

Worth seeing if you are in the mood, but not a series I much enjoy to be honest.

 

Fargo - Channel 4

If like me you liked the original Coen Brothers film, or indeed Noah Hawley's first TV series staring our very own Martin Freeman (broadcast only a year or so ago I think) then you will surely enjoy this latest incarnation too because it is very much the same mix of banal everyday existence in the American North contrasted with extreme violence. This reluctance to change a highly successful formula is both a source of strength and weakness for this series.

 

I can only say that this viewer is not yet at all bored with this frozen 'Coenworld' of the imagination - I doubt I ever will be.

 

 

Enjoying both of these too, especially the latter, the latest episode I'm about to sit back and watch with a beer. I didn't think they'd be able to top the first season but I'm absolutely loving this. No other tv series can end an episode to the music of Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds.......

Edited 24 November, 2015 by LVSaint

[Batman]

Been watching (all of) a new US docu-series on Netflix called Making a Murderer. 10 parter

 

excellent to view. Shows incredible flaws in the local (and probably the wider US) justice system

 

Highly recommended to all

Edited 2 January, 2016 by Batman

[CHAPEL END CHARLIE]

Some Crimbo and New Year telly I liked and disliked:

 

And Then There Were None (BBC 1)

A splendidly entertaining 3 part adaptation of Agatha Christie's famous old mystery yarn. Wonderfully cynical, very hard-edged in the modern style and usually faithful to the source material too. In a very strong cast Charles Dance was in quite superb form I thought.

 

Dickensian (BBC 1)

A rather strange concoction where various Dicken's characters, such as the inevitable Ebenezer Scrooge and Miss Havisham for example, are taken out of their original context and lumped together in a new (but very derivative) Dickens style melodrama. A badly misconceived idea I think - at least it really didn't work for me anyway.

 

The Last Journey (Talking Pictures)

A ancient - 1935 - black and white relic of the British film industry where a deranged steam locomotive driver finally goes completely mad and attempts to crash his train because he is being forced to retire and he also suspects that his wife is having it away with his fireman! Great fun this - full of fascinating period detail and kinda like a proto 1970's 'disaster' style film made a mere forty years before its time.

 

Sherlock (BBC 1)

Set for once back in its proper Victorian setting I so wanted to like this as I'm a huge Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle fan. Unfortunately, despite its great cast, try as I might I really couldn't warm to it at all. Just like recent episodes of Doctor Who, the producer (Steven Moffat) seems much more interested is being self consciously 'clever' than he is in simple storytelling. A utterly wasted opportunity.

 

Downton Abbey (ITV 1)

A overdue farewell to a old fashioned series that was once nevertheless very watchable - but perhaps, like a Xmas guess who lingered too long, made the grave error of outstaying its welcome.

[bridge too far]

Similar viewing from us Charlie. Absolutely loved Sherlock. Might have to watch it again as, although we picked up on many subtle references and jokes, I'm sure we missed a load too. And the Agatha Christie was mesmerising. Charles Dance was phenomenal I thought. Struggling a bit with Dickensian but slowly getting into it.

 

I happened upon a channel called London Live and currently they're broadcasting a load of Ealing Studios movies. Not necessarily comedies. Nothing pleases me more than watching old black and white movies and then going on to the IMDB page to see the cast lists.

 

Didn't ever watch Downton so didn't miss anything there. In fact last night's offerings were so abysmal that we ended up listening to BB6 for a couple of hours of soul music

[Winnersaint]

Band of Brothers is being rerun on Sky Atlantic. As great today as it was 15 years ago. Would also like to see The Pacific again.

[Snopper]

Sat through Archipelago on BBC late Thursday night. I waited for nearly two hours for something to happen but it never did. Has to be the most turgid film ever made but I enjoyed the scenery - it was filmed on Tresco on the Scillies and took me back to an enchanting visit there too many years ago.

[CHAPEL END CHARLIE]

Made by the lovely old ''British Transport Films'' organisation, I saw again this fascinating 1961 short on the Talking Pictures channel the other day:

 

[video=youtube;fx_lUCgC-Jo]

 

Although admittedly to modern eyes it does look a bit 'staged' in parts, it nevertheless may not be too much of a exaggeration to claim that 'all Human life' is depicted here as a unending tide of humanity passes in and out of London's Waterloo Station. The Director of this film - John Schlesinger - went on to enjoy a successful Hollywood career by the way.

[Snopper]

Just seen `Tunes of Glory` on Talking Pictures - one of the best `military` dramas ever made, capturing the reality of the politics of the officers` mess in an infantry batallion. Starred the late John Mills, the late Alec Guinness, the late Denis Price, the late Gordon Jackson.....most of the rest of the splendid cast are probably also late as well, although it was Susannah York`s first film. But then it was made in 1960, the same year I was called up to do my National Service which is probably why I identified with it so much.

[CHAPEL END CHARLIE]

Hitchcock - Film4 Wednesday

 

Being a huge fan of both the great Director himself and his most famous film, any movie (somewhat loosely) based around Alfred Hitchcock and the making of Psycho could have almost literally been made for me - indeed I don't quite know how I missed it in the cinema!

 

Although the back story of the making of the Psycho features strongly of course - all those battles with a skeptical Paramount and a official censor appalled that something as crude as a toilet should dare be depicted on a US cinema screen - the primary focus here is more on the difficult relationship that existed between Hitchcock (Anthony Hopkins in top form) and his long suffering wife and creative partner Alma Reville (played with equally skill by Helen Mirren). Hitchcock was a utter genius of course, but like many truly gifted Human Beings he was also burdened with more than his fair share of obsessions and jealousies - worth the trouble but certainly not a easy man to live with for poor Alma.

 

 

Not having seen this film before I was at least five minutes into it before I suddenly realised that it was Tony Hopkins playing the lead role - the 'Prosthetic' effect is quite brilliant. Hopkins also captures Hitchcock's unique vocal style and delivery almost flawlessly. Supporting those two stalwarts of British cinema is Scarlet Johansson playing the Janet Leigh role - an actress well known for her looks of course but, when blessed with a good script, can offer far more than mere 'eye candy' methinks.

 

Like Psycho itself this film too is enviably quite dark in places - it could perhaps have done without those metaphysical conversations between Hitchcock and real life serial killer Ed Gain - but it is nevertheless a highly entertaining effort I think. Indeed, it's been a long time since I saw a film that I enjoyed quite this much.

 

9/10.

[Snopper]

Hitchcock - Film4 Wednesday

 

Being a huge fan of both the great Director himself and his most famous film, any movie (somewhat loosely) based around Alfred Hitchcock and the making of Psycho could have almost literally been made for me - indeed I don't quite know how I missed it in the cinema!

 

Although the back story of the making of the Psycho features strongly of course - all those battles with a skeptical Paramount and a official censor appalled that something as crude as a toilet should dare be depicted on a US cinema screen - the primary focus here is more on the difficult relationship that existed between Hitchcock (Anthony Hopkins in top form) and his long suffering wife and creative partner Alma Reville (played with equally skill by Helen Mirren). Hitchcock was a utter genius of course, but like many truly gifted Human Beings he was also burdened with more than his fair share of obsessions and jealousies - worth the trouble but certainly not a easy man to live with for poor Alma.

 

 

Not having seen this film before I was at least five minutes into it before I suddenly realised that it was Tony Hopkins playing the lead role - the 'Prosthetic' effect is quite brilliant. Hopkins also captures Hitchcock's unique vocal style and delivery almost flawlessly. Supporting those two stalwarts of British cinema is Scarlet Johansson playing the Janet Leigh role - an actress well known for her looks of course but, when blessed with a good script, can offer far more than mere 'eye candy' methinks.

 

Like Psycho itself this film too is enviably quite dark in places - it could perhaps have done without those metaphysical conversations between Hitchcock and real life serial killer Ed Gain - but it is nevertheless a highly entertaining effort I think. Indeed, it's been a long time since I saw a film that I enjoyed quite this much.

 

9/10.

 

Thanks for that. I `taped` it last night and will watch it when I can. I always enjoy Anthony Hopkins` films - right back to `International Velvet,` which introduced me to the glories of the Flete Estate in south Devon as a result of which we`ve `holdayed` there lots of times since first seeing that film one Boxing Day afternoon. Btw - I guess people don`t `tape` things any more....but you know what I mean.

[LVSaint]

Netflix's Winter on Fire documentary following the 2014 EuroMaiden uprising is very good. Amazing frontline footage of the bloody way the protesters were dealt with by Yanukovych's 'special police' thugs. Sickening and moving.

[CHAPEL END CHARLIE]

The ''Really'' channel specialises in cheap (and often not very good) TV that it mostly imports by the yard from the USA. Indeed, I sometimes think that a question mark should be included in this channel's title so dubious is much of its programming. But, against all the odds, I may just have discovered something that is worth watching amid all the dross - a series called: ''The Ghost Inside My Child''.

 

Before you dismiss this as just more supernatural rubbish of the type this channel specialises in, instead of the proverbial ''things that go bump in the night'' TV you often see nowadays this series recounts the stories of young children - some little more than toddlers in fact - who seem to recall intimate details of ''past lives'' it seems highly improbable they could possibly have come to know about ordinarily. For example, one little boy recalls being a naval aviator in WWII who was killed in action while serving aboard an obscure warship. When the details of this little lad's story were checked out by his sceptical parents a perfect match was found with a actual airman who died in the Pacific campaign - the boys previous name, the ship he served on, even the type of aircraft he flew could all be matched with a real person with some basic research undertaken. Furthermore, when taken to meet the long deceased pilot's still living sister this (normally somewhat shy) young boy seemed instantly at ease with the old lady that he'd never met before - almost as if he knew her.

 

There are plenty of children's stories featured in this series just like that one. The connecting factor between them seeming to be that the ''past lives'' the children appear to recall all ended in very traumatic circumstances. Many of these children also appear to be suffering adverse psychological effects as a consequence of these difficult ''memories'' they are unable to cope with. So the obvious question is then, do these accounts amount to evidence that reincarnation may be a reality?

 

Well some young children certainly do exhibit very active imaginations (think of all those so-called ''imaginary friends'' some of them have) and plonked down in front of a TV for hours on end who knows what their immature brains soak-up and what effect it has on them? We might also suspect that some of the parents involved here may have their own, less innocent, agendas to promote. People also do (frequently) lie of course and the cynic in me suspects that there is money to be made from selling such stories to the media. But when you watch these accounts it certainly does make a chap think more deeply about the subject and start to question perhaps his own perception of the true nature of what our lives really are.

Edited 27 January, 2016 by CHAPEL END CHARLIE

[CHAPEL END CHARLIE]

They say that travel does broaden the mind but I'm too poor and can't be bothered anyway. So here be two travel programmes that I have much enjoyed recently - from the comfort of my armchair:

 

Greece with Simon Reeve http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p03gk743/greece-with-simon-reeve-episode-1

The presenter may be annoyingly young and handsome but this programme is nevertheless a rather good effort. Greece of course has been in the centre of the news recently as its ongoing economic disaster is now rivalled by its new status as ''Europe's front line'' in the current immigration crisis. Both subjects feature strongly here of course as the appalling state that many poor Greeks have now been reduced to is graphically depicted. Some unfortunates are now reduced to living in old shipping containers and scavenging from rubbish tips in order just to survive - like millions of poor Africans do I suppose but it's something of a shock to see this situation pertaining in modern Europe. The bizarre juxtaposition of wealthy tourists enjoying the outstanding natural beauty of the Aegean islands alongside hordes of desperate Syrian refugees attempting to flee their situation is also powerful, and indeed, heartbreaking stuff.

But strangest of all perhaps was the (oddly backward) island of Crete, where a very un-european USA style gun-culture is in unchecked existence and a wartime hatred of Germany and the Germans seems almost undiminished by the passage of time. A island lost in time it seems.

 

Great American Railroad Journeys http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b06zzfy5/great-american-railroad-journeys-1-manhattan-grand-central-to-broadway

Gentle and rather undemanding 30 minute ''travelogue'' television it may be, but often a surprisingly humorous and informative series methinks. Our genial host, ex Tory politician Michael Portillo, has for once abandoned the British railway network and his beloved ''Bradshaw's Guide'' in favour of the grandest of all awaydays out to New York State in the good old US of A.

It turns out that New York - both city and state - is in places a remarkably beautiful and historically interesting place that looks well worth visiting if you can. Especially impressive was his trip to the notorious World Trade Centre site in Manhattan where, alongside the utterly splendid new tower that has replaced the fallen structures, Michael also discovered a brand new transport interchange hub under construction that must be quite the most stunning building of its type to be constructed anywhere this century ... oh and the old Grand Central Station ain't too shabby either!

 

[CHAPEL END CHARLIE]

I see that Sally Wainwright's gritty crime drama ''Happy Valley'' is back for a second series. That has to be a good thing because the first series was dynamite and already it looks like this new story too will prove to be a ''cut above'' the usual standard for this type of thing. And what a refreshing change it is to see a such a strong cast - led by the wonderful Sarah Lancashire - full of relatively ordinary (i.e. real) looking people rather than the collection of inordinately handsome male and female actors who normally dominate our screens so. This series methinks may well be the best drama airing on our screens at the moment - so whatever you do don't miss it! http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p03fvwrr/happy-valley-series-2-episode-1

 

Speaking of great TV, did anyone else see ''Earth's Greatest Spectacles'' on BBC2 yesterday? This outstanding natural history programme charted a year in the life of the remote Svalbard Islands in the Arctic Ocean. For nearly half the year these islands are left in utter darkness as the tilt of the earth's rotation denies them the sun. Even during these unbelievably harsh and desolate conditions wildlife still somehow endures - as it seems to almost everywhere on Earth. The sight of a great Polar Bear patiently awaiting its prey - immovable like some statue - over a hole in the frozen pack-ice will long remain with me. And then the sun returns and these once bleak islands miraculously explode into abundant life.

 

How utterly beautiful our fragile little planet is, and how utterly terrible it would be if mankind ever ruined it all ... http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b070p5yw/earths-greatest-spectacles-2-svalbard

 

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Edited 14 February, 2016 by CHAPEL END CHARLIE

[Snopper]

I see that Sally Wainwright's gritty crime drama ''Happy Valley'' is back for a second series. That has to be a good thing because the first series was dynamite and already it looks like this new story too will prove to be a ''cut above'' the usual standard for this type of thing. And what a refreshing change it is to see a such a strong cast - led by the wonderful Sarah Lancashire - full of relatively ordinary (i.e. real) looking people rather than the collection of inordinately handsome male and female actors who normally dominate our screens so. This series methinks may well be the best drama airing on our screens at the moment - so whatever you do don't miss it! http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p03fvwrr/happy-valley-series-2-episode-1

 

Speaking of great TV, did anyone else see ''Earth's Greatest Spectacles'' on BBC2 yesterday? This outstanding natural history programme charted a year in the life of the remote Svalbard Islands in the Arctic Ocean. For nearly half the year these islands are left in utter darkness as the tilt of the earth's rotation denies them the sun. Even during these unbelievably harsh and desolate conditions wildlife still somehow endures - as it seems to almost everywhere on Earth. The sight of a great Polar Bear patiently awaiting its prey - immovable like some statue - over a hole in the frozen pack-ice will long remain with me. And then the sun returns and these once bleak islands miraculously explode into abundant life.

 

How utterly beautiful our fragile little planet is, and how utterly terrible it would be if mankind ever ruined it all ... http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b070p5yw/earths-greatest-spectacles-2-svalbard

 

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Thanks for posting that and I absolutely agree with your comments. I too watched `Earth`s Greatest Spectacles` and was captivated not only by the `story` of Svalbard`s year but also by the hugely impressive photography - I`m already looking forward to the rest of the series.

[CHAPEL END CHARLIE]

The People v O.J. Simpson. - BBC2

One of those historical and newsworthy events you remember well and seem to recall happening quite recently, but actually occurred twenty years ago ... oh the perils of getting old! Anyway, this new series started well and promises to be a rather interesting take on how the modern obsessions of crime, race and celebrity culture can collide with such dramatic effect. Cuba Gooding Jr is fine playing the monstrous OJ, but in the back of my mind somewhere is the constant thought that he just doesn't seem tall enough to play a professional football player.

 

Rolling Home - Talking Pictures TV

A very old (1935) musical comedy starring the once famous but now virtually forgotten Scottish Music Hall entertainer/singer/film actor Will Fyffe - if he is remembered at all a performer best known now perhaps for his drinking song ''I belong to Glasgow''. Our hero plays ''Mack'' a permanently drunken ship's engineer who gets himself into all shorts of maritime mischief before arriving at the inevitable happy ending.

About as silly as it could be, extremely old fashioned and hopelessly sentimental too - I enjoyed it no end of course but don't be expecting any serious insight into the myriad social problems associated with working class Scottish alcoholism!

 

QI - BBC2

It would be rather churlish I think not to mark the fact that certified ''national treasure'' Steven Fry has decided to leave my beloved QI long before this ever entertaining stroll down the alphabet comes to a natural end. Fans of the series will doubtless miss the great man, but methinks the decision to bring in Sandi Toksvig as his replacement is probably a wise one. Therefore, I fully expect QI to survive this great upheaval in its line-up - at lease I hope it does anyway because I can hardly imagine my TV week without this splendid series.

[CHAPEL END CHARLIE]

I saw 'Maigret Sets a Trap' yesterday starring Rowan Atkinson in the title role - ITV's latest offering in their long running feature length crime drama habit that started all those years ago when Inspector Morse first caught the 'Last Bus to Woodstock'. A serial killer is stalking the streets of the Montmartre area of Paris killing young women. So the pressure is growing on the cerebral Chief Inspector Maigret to identify the attacker before he strikes again ...

 

I really wanted to like this because the premise is interesting enough and I've always admired Atkinson. However, the whole thing fell rather flat for me as our hero delivered a glum, low key (to the point of being monotone) performance that failed to inspire this viewer with any sense of the 'thrill of the chase' or even welcome outbreak of humour to lighten proceedings.

 

Many comedians go on to make fine 'straight' actors as long as the audience can learn to see past their comic roots. But on this evidence it seems that Atkinson may be a exception to that rule - or maybe a rather lacklustre script just didn't give him very much to work with. I must also add that, although filmed in France, this almost entirly British production lacked much in the way of a authentic Gallic flavour that might have set it apart somewhat from all the other detective series that clutter our screens today. A French TV adaption of these stores may have proved to be more satisfactory I suspect.

 

Be that as it may, I see that ITV have more episodes 'Maigret' in the pipeline. We can only hope this series finds its feet soon because this first story was a bit limp.