We don’t go to the movies as much as we used to and I guess this is somewhat due to the rise of the digital media and the accessibility to more choice in the comfort of your own home, but we have been enticed out to see a couple of recent blockbusters:
Sue went with her sister and mother to see this at a
lovely local independent cinema and thoroughly enjoyed it weeping all the way
through it. I did not fancy it myself but I had seen the stage show many years
before and was not that fussed about that either.
Sue and I went together to see this at the local
cinema just before Christmas mid week when they have a two-for-one deal there
and at a local Italian restaurant if you are on a particular mobile phone
network. We enjoyed the film a great deal, even Sue who does not have the same
interest as I do in the fantasy genre, and we thought it was a well paced story
in keeping with the other LOTR films.
Again Sue and went to this at the local cinema and it
was a first for Sue who has not had much interest in the Bond phenomenon other
than catching glimpses of the odd re-run on TV at Christmas times. She was pleasantly
pleased with the film and we both enjoyed the action and humour. I thought it
was not quite a ‘standard’ Bond film, but then there have been a few diversions
from the earlier film’s paths in recent times, perhaps to try and capture more
of the audience that might otherwise be attracted to other action movie
options.
On the TV we have spent much of the winter catching up
on recordings we have made:
We have been enjoying this Danish political drama and
as the second series started here we quickly ploughed through our recordings of
the first one. You do lose a little in translation I am sure with the subtitles
but we still felt drawn into the characters and stories and enjoyed them revelling
in the subtle cultural differences that cropped up that gave us an insight into
another country’s point of view on issues that our own government struggles
with.
This not one for Sue and as of yet I have only seen
the first episode, but I am hooked on the quirky almost surreal story that
seems to be being set up. As with all good conspiracy stories the audience does
not know what is going on along with many of the key characters, but it has
something to do with a graphic novel of the programmes name, a sinister all powerful
secret organisation, a handful of odd ball out casts, an enigmatic heroic figure.
The story plays on the fear of many that we might be being manipulated be some
unseen force and the accompanying website with its ‘game’ where you analyse how
much of a trail you lay for those who might want to track you down, only
increases these fears.
There is a plethora of period dramas out at the moment
that may be riding on the back of the success of Downton Abbey and of these we
have been watching Call the Midwife and Mr Selfridge. Ripper Street is another
new detective series based 6 months after the Ripper murders and is quite
exciting and atmospheric. A gentler proposition is the Blandings based on the
PG Wodehouse stories and has a lighter and more comfortable feel to it.
I continue to enjoy The Big Bang Theory as I am sure I
can see many of my friends in the characters played. I also enjoy Misfits, an
odd supernatural dark comedy about trouble makers with not-so-super powers. Another
supernatural dark comedy set to return soon is Being Human which has had its
ups and downs of the last few series but I am still looking forward to it now
that Vampire Diaries has taken a break and the teenage angst and remarkable
body count has left our screens for a while.
A new show we have started to watch is The New Normal
about a gay couple and their surrogate that has a very un-PC grandmother and a
quirky daughter of her own.
The second series of Suits the legal comedy is just
about to start and we continue to enjoy the lighter police procedural comedy Death in Paradise, which is likened to Midsummer Murders in the sunshine.
