malpasc-391-915380 Reviews

Good Luck to You, Leo Grande (2022)

A gorgeous film

[10/10 · 23 May 2024]

I LOVE this film. Its just beautifully written - funny, tender, occasionally sad.

A 60-something widow of two years, who never had an orgasm throughout her 31 year marriage hires young sex worker Leo Grande to catch up on the sex life she never had during her marriage.

Emma Thompson as Nancy plays her role perfectly, of someone who has never been fulfilled in that way sexually and how awkward she feels desiring these experiences whilst conflicted about hiring a young and handsome sex worker. Like many older people she is also insecure about her body and her looks.

Rather than the entire film being about Leo and Nancy getting it on, we see them build up a trust, almost a friendship, with heartfelt and raw conversations in the surroundings of the hotel room Nancy has booked her appointments with Leo. In fact the vast majority of the film takes place within these walls. At the beginning it feels like the room reflects how Nancy feels - isolated, alone, closed, but it eventually becomes a space of discovery and pleasure.

We see Nancy and Leo's time together as 4 separate bookings that Nancy had made, and in that time you see growth in both characters - Nancy accepting her body, herself, and embracing sexual pleasure, whilst Leo (this isn't his real name by the way) becomes more open to his family about his career, rather than hiding it away.

By the end of the film it feels like both main characters have grown, especially Nancy who realises that she isn't too old to enjoy herself, and the final scene we see her get fully naked and accept her body and herself. Emma Thompson has said this was the most difficult scene for her to film, and whilst I am not a 60 something woman who has had children, I and many others can probably empathise with this, as well as how Nancy feels about her body, that we aren't as young or as thin and toned as we once were, but that all bodies, shapes and sizes can be beautiful, sexual, sexy.

An absolute pleasure of a film from start to finish.

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (2023)

I really enjoyed this prequel

[8/10 · 5 April 2024]

I really enjoyed this prequel to the original series of Hunger Games movies. I liked the world building aspect, showing us where the Panem of the original movies came from and how Coriolanus Snow became who he ended up being.

I will say I did find The Ballad of Songbirds And Snakes slightly too long, and some parts of the movie did feel like they dragged - almost too much in the way of exposition and scene setting.

Things I loved - the aesthetic of the film, the way that the filmmakers showed this was Panem before The Hunger Games we all know from the original movie series, and gave it a kind of 1950s Americana-meets-post-war-Eastern Europe look was a great way of visualising we are seeing the past in this universe. The Panem we know in original Hunger Games is definiely futuristic but not a million miles away from our own world, so putting their past into a visual style we could relate to worked brilliantly. My theory on this is that after civilisation collapsed and those left began to build Panem relying on items and records that were left from the "old world" to develop their technologies which is why some things look like an almost pastiche of what we know from our civilisation.

Anyway, moving on, I think Rachel Zegler and Tom Blyth were perfectly cast in their roles. Lucy Gray is a character you can kind of root for but she isn't entirely innocent, and the young Snow is almost likeable and you feel sympathy for him at certain points in the movie, even though we all know what he will eventually become. The musical parts with Lucy Gray singing, in some ways almost made parts of the movie feel like a musical, but actually I found it really worked, though I am aware many others hated those parts.

Supporting roles were well defined, and I enjoyed the nod to the original Hunger Games movies with characters like Lucky Flickerman who clearly must me an ancestor of Caesar Flickerman. In fact perhaps he is the one the high chair is for that Lucky mentions on the phone at one point in this film!

The actual Games we see in this movie are a much less slick and polished version of what we have come to know. They've only been running for 10 years, and with the Capitol rebuilding still after the Dark Days there are none of the huge and realistic arenas, themed on certain environments and climates etc. They're literally thrown into what looks like an old sports arena and have to make do with what is there. The violence is much more perhaps primative because there isn't the technology or quite as much manipulation from gamesmakers as we're used to.

At nearly 3 hours this film does feel over long, but the story is interesting, its visually very striking and the soundtrack is great. Overall I really enjoyed it, though I can understand the mixed reactions of others because it isn't quite like the original movie series. I'd love to see a sequel to this prequal, though we would have to wait for another book first.

Dumplin' (2018)

Accepting yourself

[8/10 · 25 March 2024]

Movies about the theme of self-acceptance and being accepted by others are nothing new. Dumplin's message is definitely not something completely original.

This does not stop Dumplin' being a really sweet and funny movie to watch. Danielle Macdonald, who in the UK we probably know more as Jamie Dornan's partner in love and action in The Tourist, plays Willowdean "Dumplin" Dickson, a bigger girl who's own mother Rosie was the winner of a local beauty pageant as a teenager. Rosie is too busy with her beauty pageant activities to really pay much attention to Willowdean who has mostly been brought up and supported by her aunt Lucy. Prior to the present-day of the movie Lucy passes away. Rosie finds it hard to relate to Willowdean and Willowdean feels judged by her mother for her weight. She and two of her friends decide to take part in the town's upcoming beauty pageant, partly as a way of rebelling against the more typical conventions of beauty pageants. One friend, Millie who again is a bigger but sweet and enthusiastic girl, and Hannah, who is most definitely a radical feminist.

I won't spoil the plot, but it actually goes against a lot of what this type of movie would normally portray. Nobody is nasty, there's no sabotage going on (A la Drop Dead Gorgeous) and no mean and pushy pageant moms. Everyone is actually very supportive and positive. The message of self-acceptance is delivered without coming across as preachy. The added bonus is the wonderful Dolly Parton soundtrack. I love Dolly anyway, and she's definitely someone who is confident in herself inspite of what people might think of her busty blonde appearance. She's also always been someone who is on the side of those who maybe different or not always accepted for who they are.

I have very little to criticise in this movie at all. The story is well paced, and there is plenty of laughter as well as some quite sad moments. None of it feels uneven. My one tiny personal gripe is that Danielle MacDonald is in her 30s. Even when Dumplin' was made she would have been in her mid to late 20s, and does not look like a teenager. However, this is one tiny "blip" for me and doesn't spoil the movie at all. The cast are all great, especially Jennifer Aniston who always manages to impress me with how I don't see her as Rachel Green from Friends in everything.

Watch this for a sweet feel-good treat.

The Handmaid's Tale (1990)

Nothing like the TV series in some good ways

[6/10 · 30 December 2023]

We all know the TV series goes WAY past the book in terms of storyline, whilst this 1990 version gets to about the same point as the book but the ending is slightly more "hopeful" if one can be happier with the world of Gilead, which anyone in their right mind cannot be.

The premise is the same - after a civil war the former United States has been taken over and is now governed as a theocracy based on the Old Testament. Women no longer have a status in Gilead other than to be wives and servants essentially.

It starts pretty much like the TV series but this time the protagonist is called Kate rather than June and is again caught trying to escape to the border with her husband and daughter. We don't see them again and Kate being found to be one of the 1 in 100 women in this world who is still fertile, is sentenced to work as a Handmaid.

This film goes through the process of her being forced into this role very quickly, going from the Red Centre to being assigned to her commander and his wife Serena Joy. In a way it's good that this happens quickly as we are spared a lot of the brutality shown to these "fallen" women as depicted in the TV series.

Whilst in the TV series Serena Joy is shown to be as nasty as the men in many ways, her character in the movie played by Faye Dunaway is almost sympathetic - more neurotic and anxious as opposed to cold and vicious in terms of trying to have a baby via Kate (now Offred) and her fertile womb. Again we are spared a lot of the brutality on screen, though of course ritualised rape is still rape and we do see a small scene depicting the "ceremony".

Kate/Offred in the film also doesn't seem to be as affected or traumatised by what has happened to her compared to the TV series. Yes she's angry and only wants to get back to her daughter and husband, but doesn't seem to be so almost completely hypnotically angry as she is played in the show. This is probably a mix of the script and how Natasha Richardson interpreted the character for the film. Kate here in some scenes especially with the commander almost seems to be happy and though not equal to him in status, talks to him almost like an equal. Trauma can have profound effects on people.

Visually this film is totally different too. Whilst Gilead in the TV show is dark, often raining and cold, Gilead here is almost like a twisted version of Stepford - very brightly lit, mostly sunny, and the costumes of the women almost match this look. It's actually visually very striking and something I really quite liked as it is so different to what I've known about this story due to the TV series.

The downsides to the film are generally that everything happens incredibly quickly and a lot of the awful world of Gilead is almost completely skirted over and very much implied rather than seen. Obviously this happens because of time limitations - you can't have the same level of exposition in a 100 minute film that you would expect in a TV show that is about to have its 6th and final season. What happens to Offred with Chauffeur Nick happens very quickly and seems to be over almost as soon as it began. In many ways the speed of the story in the film works favourably because we are spared a lot of the awful things depicted in the TV show. In fact the TV show is so slow as to be glacial and seems to relish focusing on the misery rather than moving the story forwards, especially in the first 3 seasons or so.

When the ending of the film comes it again happens very quickly and again doesn't take the same ending as the book, giving it in a way a much more final style.

To sum up for me, I quite liked this film. Obviously it's depicting a world most of us never want to see or experience ourselves, with women subjugated and subject to incredibly awful things, but for me as a piece of work this film has a lot to like in terms of visuals, there is almost some dark humour at times, and it goes along at a pace, whereas the TV show I have always said is something to be endured rather than enjoyed.

I'm glad I've watched this.

The Good Ship Murder (2023– )

Tripe, but watchable tripe

[5/10 · 5 December 2023]

This show is absolute tripe. Predictable, ridiculous, cliched, with acting at a level seen in village halls across the country. But it is quite watchable because its a very easy watch with nice scenery, and a good bit of humour along with the lightweight drama. You'll work out who the murderer is in every case way before our two onboard sleuths do!

Most of the main actors are basically soap opera level. You're not going to see any of them getting an Oscar put it that way. Claire Sweeney kind of stands out as quite good, because she seems to play her role with tongue firmly in cheek which adds a bit more humour to proceedings.

The worst performance comes from Catherine Tyldesley who plays First Mate Kate. She just comes across as very wooden and delivers her lines with no emotion or conviction. Also I'm not sure where her character is from because the accent she puts on for this veers from Made in Chelsea to Coronation Street and back again!

Apparently this show is "based on an idea Ben Frow had" or something like that according to the opening credits. I can just visualise the meeting he had with other Channel 5 management members for that..

I can't imagine this show cost an awful lot to make seeing as though no studio sets were needed (thanks to being on an enormous yet seemingly mostly empty cruise ship) and all the land-based scenes were shot on Malta which seems to be Channel 5's favourite stand in for any European location their shows "based on ideas by Ben Frow" seem to take place.

If you like lightweight, predictable, sunny drama then this is a good watch. It even makes Channel 5's other lightweight sleuthing series The Madame Blanc Mysteries look like an episode of Cracker.

Its good in a so bad its good kind of way.

Victoria Wood (1989)

Not Victoria's best

[5/10 · 3 July 2023]

In my eyes Victoria Wood could do no wrong. I own pretty much everything she ever did and can watch her shows over and over again - including this series.

Whilst this isn't Victoria Wood's best work this series of playlets where she plays a fictionalised version of herself in different modern life situations - a health farm, video dating (remember this was made in 1989!), package holidays, walking holidays, society parties, daytime TV, does have some very funny moments. My personal two favourite episodes are Mens Sana In Thingummy Doo Dah and We'd Quite Like to Apologise which have great supporting turns by performers Victoria Wood used in many of her shows - Celia Imrie, Anne Reid, Meg Johnson, Julie Walters.. All 6 episodes have very funny moments but the series as a whole is not her finest work. Victoria Wood herself even said she hated filming this series (a lot of which was done on location without a studio audience) and that she felt she shouldn't have been in every episode.

I do recommend this series to anyone who is a Victoria Wood fan, but don't expect it to reach the heights of As Seen on TV or Dinnerladies.

A Town Called Malice (2023)

Not bad, possibly axed too soon

[7/10 · 13 June 2023]

Sky seem to have a thing about producing glossy and quite clearly expensive productions that don't quite deliver in terms of overall quality or a second series. A Town Called Malice is another one of these.

I don't get the really negative reviews of this show. I thought it was good, especially the 80s soundtrack - get used to characters bursting into song and dance routines at random moments, and the costumes were great. Everything of this show when set in Spain is so colourful and glamorous, which is how we tend to see the 1980s, although in reality it wasn't quite like this. I was 12 when the 80s ended so do have some real life experience of what they were like. All the characters were well drawn, although my favourite was Kelly Lord played by Daniel Sharman - very easy on the eye and at first he sort of comes across as a reluctant gangster in this, gentle almost, compared to the rest of the Lord family, but does show his truer colours as the series goes on.

Unfortunately we aren't going to see whether the Lords manage to build their holiday resort with their ill-gotten gains as Sky announced the how's axing in April 2023. Whilst this wasn't the best show I've ever watched I think it is a shame we won't get any more episodes.

Old (2021)

Bad, bad, bad

[1/10 · 8 June 2023]

This movie has recently dropped on to Netflix here in the UK and it seems me and all my friends watched it at more or less the same time and had more or less the same opinion. This film is BAD

I won't go through it point by point as most people know about this film but my observations are that the dialogue is written in a way that nobody would speak in the real world and the one dimensional characters (literally they all only have one feature each - museum curator, life insurance assessor, therapist, doctor, nurse, annoying child) all react to the situations taking place - deaths and the super-quick and super unrealistic aging, in ways that no person would in the real world.

The acting is universally one-dimensional and incredibly wooden. Even the usually brilliant Gael Garcia Bernal seems completely at a loss as to how to act in this film.

Much as I wanted to switch off about 10 minutes into this mess of a movie I couldn't and watched the entire, far too long, thing. Unsurprisingly this got a "not for me" when I rated it on Netflix.

Bad, bad, bad.

Dropping the Soap (2017)

Hit and miss

[5/10 · 12 January 2023]

Spoofing American daytime soap operas and what goes on behind the scenes should be a very fertile ground for humour - the soap storylines being often ridiculous and the actors thinking a huge amount of themselves.

This show does have some laughs in both of those aspects, but it's kind of inconsistent and sometimes the jokes fall a little flat.

As a British person a lot of the cast aren't recognisable, and it looks like the show was shot on a relatively low budget. Although the soap scenes look great in that "soap opera" look in terms of the lighting and the video quality.

Also in the UK the 10 episodes have basically been tacked together into a 90 or so minute "movie" as opposed to the series it was shown in the US as.

If you want a funnier soap opera spoof and are British and of a "certain age" watch Victoria Wood's Acorn Antiques. Dropping the soap is a 90 or so minute distraction and it does have funny moments, but it is inconsistent and feels like it needs more energy and humour put into it.

Man Up (I) (2015)

A fast and funny endearing romcom

[8/10 · 22 August 2022]

At first I wasn't sure I was going to like this film. The initial set up of single, unconfident Nancy (played by Lake Bell who manages to BE British even though to my surprise I found out she's American) attending a friend's engagement party kind of screams romcom cliche, but once she leaves that situation the film comes into its own.

Nancy takes a train to attend her parents' 40th wedding anniversary and ends up sitting opposite Jessica, a relentlessly positive girl going on a blind date and bringing along a self help book so that her date (Jack, played brilliantly by Simon Pegg) will recognise her when they meet under the clock at Waterloo. However she leaves her book for Nancy who takes it with her and ends up inadvertently meeting Jack because of the book and "steals" Jessica's date. The audience is then treated to a whirlwind tour of some London bars and venues as Jack and "Jessica" have their date. The script is fast and fizzes along at a pace and it's fun to watch.

Of course eventually it's found out that Jack is actually not on a date with Jessica but with Nancy and that they're both covering up a lot of insecurities and sadness. There's a particularly funny scene of them dancing to Duran Duran's The Reflex whilst having an argument. Eventually both go their separate ways with Jack attending the date he should have been on all along and Nancy making her way to her parents' party.

I won't spoil the ending but the whole film is a joy to watch. It's fast paced with just enough silliness. Both the leads utterly charm in their roles. Simon Pegg isn't typical romantic male lead material but he is great in this, and Lake Bell does brilliantly as the quirky yet unconfident Nancy. The supporting roles are also pretty perfectly cast. Give this film a look if you enjoy romcoms and fancy something a little quirkier than average but still completely endearing.

The Midwich Cuckoos (2022)

Loses momentum

[5/10 · 1 July 2022]

The first episode of The Midwich Cuckoos is genuinely eerie - the sunny, pretty village setting bathed in sunlight followed by a blackout is genuinely unnerving and atmospheric. The atmosphere of mystery and paranoia is completely palpable and brilliantly executed. However, after the opener the series does fall into a more formulaic sci fi/Dr Who kind of tone. The younger children in the early episodes (set 5 years before the present day of the series) are far better at pulling off the other worldly look and feel compared to when they've grown up a little.

It's not a bad show as such, and the performances of Keeley Hawes and Max Beesley are really good throughout but it feels like the whole show runs out of steam by around the third episode. The ending is completely predictable, dragged out and not particularly satisfying given the premise.

Julia (2022–2023)

Really enjoyable

[8/10 · 18 April 2022]

Like a lot of biography series/films there are some fictionalised elements, but this doesn't stop Julia being an enjoyable show to watch. The casting is great. Sarah Lancashire (from Oldham, UK) seems like an unusual choice to play the main role, but she does it really well. Since seeing Julie and Julia I've always had an interest in Julia Child. That film goes into how her book was written whereas this series goes into how she got on to television.

I don't know just how much is fictionalised in this series but it looks great and manages to mix comedy and serious very well. I binged the first 4 episodes in a day and am really looking forward to the next one!

Young Hyacinth (2016 TV Movie)

It isn't the same

[4/10 · 22 March 2022]

Keeping Up Appearances is a true British classic sitcom - exported all over the world, loved by many people, especially in America. It also generated huge audiences in the UK and is often repeated. Whilst the plots were pretty much constantly recycled (Hyacinth wants to arrange a social occasion, but her friends and family hamper her efforts) and you could see the jokes coming a mile off it managed to be consistently very funny. Thanks largely to an almost perfect cast, led by Patricia Routlege who could convey so much just with a facial expression and provided incredible physical comedy as well as delivering the script brilliantly.

Unfortunately Young Hyacinth didn't work in the same way. The farcical elements were missing, and whilst it was nicely shot, it didn't have anything like the feel or charm of the original. However, Kerry Howard who took on the role of Hyacinth as a young woman in the 1950s was great in the role she was given - managing to get the voice and mannerisms of Hyacinth as played by Patricia Routlege.

As a one off show this was ok, raised one or two smiles but not the belly laughs of the silly and over the top original.

New in Town (2009)

Cute, but predictcable

[7/10 · 17 March 2022]

This movie covers pretty much ALL the romcom tropes and cliches, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. I love a romcom, and even if I can see the entirety of the plot from a mile off it doesn't put me off watching.

Its a pretty straightforward story of woman from big city being sent out of her comfort zone to a small town in the middle of nowhere, where the faces a lot of opposition and challenges along the way, but learns that the locals she is now amongst are charming, hardworking and not the hicks she thinks they are early on.

Renee Zellweger puts on another great performance as businesswoman out of her comfort zone, and Harry Connick Jr. Plays the love interest pretty charmingly.

You aren't going to be challenged by this movie at all, but you might well be charmed by its good humour and sweet story.

Gavin & Stacey (2007–2024)

Brilliant from start to... Finish?

[10/10 · 15 March 2022]

Not many people can't have heard of Gavin and Stacey - it was a massive sleeper hit for the BBC during its original run, and won the Christmas day ratings for its return special in 2019.

All the characters are fantastic in this show, but my overall favourite is Ruth Jones as Nessa - she just steals every scene with her deadpan remarks along with the myriad of (unseen) events, relationships and adventures she has had in the past and talks about to the other characters. The main characters of Gavin and Stacey are just perfectly drawn and brilliantly played by Matthew Horne and Joanna Page. At the beginning we see all the sparkle of new love, and then it changes into the reality and the difficulty of trying to sustain that relationship at long distance, two different countries, and within two different families. It's played both movingly and also quite hilariously at the same time.

There is no single off character or storyline, and everyone plays it perfectly. After 3 series the show came to a pause which felt quite natural as we had seen everyone get to a happier ending. The return in 2019 saw us all back in Barry Island to catch up with everyone, and to see a continuation of the other love story that flowed through the series - of Smithy and Nessa, which they left again at a brilliant cliffhanger. I'd love to see the show come back one more time so we can find out whether Smithy said yes, and whether the Wests and the Shipmans are still as lovely and funny as before.

Rovers (2016)

Raving about Rovers

[8/10 · 15 March 2022]

This show is fairly typical of Craig Cash in as much as it is quite low key in terms of action. Not much really happens which is in the vein of Early Doors and the earlier episodes of The Royle Family That said, it's warm, funny and relatable.

A group of diverse characters who all support their local non-league football team gather in the club house bar managed by Doreen (played by the brilliant Sue Johnstone who Craig Cash played alongside in The Royle Family) to talk about life, love and football.

Every character is brilliantly drawn and the dialogue is engaging and funny in a gentle way. You can imagine these people existing in the real world rather than then being exaggerated sitcom characters.

This again is just a single series of 6 episodes, which at the time was something Sky seemed to have quite a few of. Looking at that it could seem they just weren't commissioning shows that people wanted to watch, and that could be true to a degree, but this one works as a completely self contained story that comes to a natural end. It's a lovely, sweet "small" show that doesn't do anything too ambitious or wacky, but just shows us a group of people who are friends because of their love of their local football team. Even a total non football fan like me could enjoy this. I've watched the entire series maybe 4 or 5 times now and it's just as enjoyable as when I first saw it broadcast back in 2016.

Parents (2012– )

One series wonder

[5/10 · 15 March 2022]

This show tries to kind of fit the mould of a family sitcom with a modern edge about it. In some ways it worked but in most it didn't. Sally Phillips is normally someone you can rely on to make a comedy part brilliantly funny, but I think she is let down in this by writing that makes her come across as completely self centred and unsympathetic. The best parts are probably the grandparents played by Tom Conti and Susie Blake. Although the kids are actually not too irritating for sitcom kids.

Parents was only on for one series. It didn't catch on with the viewers and I think it's because it thought of itself as a modern riff on the average British middle class family sitcom, but unfortunately just wasn't funny or edgy enough to carry it off fully.

After Hours (2015)

Lovely series

[10/10 · 15 March 2022]

I've just re-watched After Hours and it's just as great as when it was first shown back in 2015. The main story is of 18 year old Willow whose girlfriend has just dumped him, and how he finds happiness and friendship with Lauren and Ollie who make an internet radio show called After Hours from a canal barge in the small town they all live in. There are other storylines that weave their way through the 6 episode series too.

This show features a brilliant soundtrack that totally works with the stories of friendship, family and love. It's rare I would give anything a 10 out of 10 but After Hours has it because it's just perfect as what it is.

Screen One: Pat and Margaret (1994) Season 6, Episode 3

Brilliance from Victoria Wood

[10/10 · 8 March 2022]

Victoria Wood was a huge comedy talent and is sorely missed.

This 1994 TV film is absolutely fantastic and features many actors she often liked to use in her productions - Julie Walters, Celia Imrie, Duncan Preston and so on. They just work brilliantly with the characters and scripts Victoria wrote.

For those who haven't seen Pat and Margaret, the story follows motorway services waitress Margaret Mottershead who goes with her colleagues and friends on a trip to London to watch a "Surprise Surprise" style TV show. Little does she know that she is going to get the surprise of her life when she is called down from the audience to be reunited with her long lost sister, a glamorous soap star from the US, Pat Bedford.

At first Pat rejects Margaret and even denies that they are related. As the film goes on details of a tough and unloving childhood come out, as well as the reason Pat ran away in the first place. This might sound quite dark and serious, but Victoria Wood's excellence in comedy writing manages to lighten the mood. The film flows really well and has some amazing comic scenes away from the main plot. Thora Hird is one to look out for in some of these scenes which she manages to steal with a look or just a few words. The ending of Pat & Margaret is wonderful and actually quite uplifting.

For those who know Victoria Wood's work well, you'll notice the beginnings of what perhaps was the influence for her later BBC sitcom Dinnerladies - many of the same cast, and a fairly similar kind of location and setting.

Victoria Wood was known to be a perfectionist, and for good reason - she produced outstanding comedy and drama. This is no exception.

Miranda (2009–2015)

What I call a great sitcom

[9/10 · 7 March 2022]

Miranda was a bit of a "Marmite" sitcom in UK parlance when it was first shown - you either loved it or hated it.

I am on the love it side. Every scene and episode has me laughing or crying.

The concept is nothing out of the ordinary. Miranda, a 30 something woman who is considered too tall and too large, exploring life and trying to find love with her old university friend Gary, often hampered by her friends, her overbearing mother and her own lack of confidence and social awkwardness, whether that is when out shopping, going to the gym, on dates, and trying to fit into what everyone around her sees as how she should live. What's brilliant about it is although these issues are shown in a very over the top and farcical way they are completely relatable. What is also nice is that Miranda often triumphs in the face of this adversity.

When I'm feeling down I will put this show on and I know I will feel better. It's such a warm and funny show. It also shows that in particular, women don't have to be perfect - not the perfect size, not the perfect girlfriend, not in a perfect career, and they can still win. There was a Christmas special show made where the cast all spoke about their time on the show, as well as contributions from real people talking about how Miranda had made them feel better - women of different sizes, women with depression, women with confidence issues.. That's quite a powerful thing for a sitcom to do. Miranda was a show written by a woman, starring mainly women and that is still unfortunately quite unusual.

At its heart was a wonderful love story about two people perfect for one another, and whilst there were numerous setbacks across 3 series and 2 specials, eventually the love won.

Miranda was deliberately shot in a very traditional sitcom style - Infront of an audience, on sets, and featured a lot of pratfalls and farce elements. In a time where a lot of sitcoms were being made without a studio audience in a single camera set up this makes it stand out.

All the supporting characters are perfect. Patricia Hodge as Penny, Miranda's overbearing mother is just wonderful and often gets the best lines, whilst best friend Stevie played by Sarah Hadland is the perfect foil being more ambitious, confident and seemingly more put together and sorted than Miranda. Tom Ellis is gorgeous of course, and plays Miranda's old university friend and love interest Gary who loves her just the way she is and doesn't need her to change for him. Their courtship is played over the entire 3 series and you the audience, as well as all the other characters know they should be together and try and fail many times to get them to see it for themselves.. the 2 part series finale won't disappoint in how it ends.

Heartwarming and hilarious are my two words to describe this show.

Kath & Kimderella (2012)

Not Grayshhhh

[2/10 · 5 March 2022]

To give it a Prue & Trude-ism this film isn't grayshhh.

The original 4 seasons of Kath & Kim as well as Da Kath & Kim Code special are all brilliant. Hilariously funny and give a comedic look inside the world of Australian suburbia. There almost isn't a single bad episode.

But by the woine toime season 4 had come the show had pretty much done everything it could without risking going stale or taking it all too far.

Unfortunately this 2012 outing is stale and does take the premise too far. I can see where the idea comes from, taking the foxymorons from Fountain Lakes and putting them in another country is an obvious but sounds good on paper culture clash comedy idea, but it just doesn't work. The fun of Kath & Kim was seeing them in their suburbia, living their suburban lives. Sticking them in Italy with a loose fairytale storyline doesn't work, and definitely did not work in this film.

The TV series was noyce, different, unewwsual. This film is none of those things.

A Knight's Tale (2001)

Rock and roll and jousting

[8/10 · 5 March 2022]

If you're looking for a historically accurate Chaucer tale you've come to the wrong movie. Although it does feature Chaucer as a character.

However if you're looking for fun, action and romance you can't go wrong. This film is a great romp set in the middle ages.

At the core of this movie is the message that no matter where you came from you can change your life. Heath Ledger is again brilliant (when wasn't he?) in the role of William Thatcher, a poor boy who dreams of becoming a knight.

The jousting scenes are full of energy and you can feel the sense of danger and the pain of being flung from a galloping horse. The rock and roll soundtrack featuring the likes of Queen and David Bowie whilst a total historical inaccuracy works brilliantly here. My particular favourite is the dance scene set to David Bowie's Golden Years. The way the anachronistic score is explained is actually brilliant. It's to show the people of today how people of those times would have felt about their own music - that their own musicians and tunes were big pop hits to them. Modernising the music makes modern audiences understand that better.

The love story between William and Jocelyn is very sweet too. There's also a nice mixture of outright comedy along with some quite sad and moving scenes, particularly between William and his father, both in flashback when William was left with another knight as a child to seek his fortune, and when he returns triumphant as a knight.

Don't come to this movie for a true historical retelling. Come to watch it and be uplifted by a great fun movie.

10 Things I Hate About You (1999)

Late 90s teen classic.

[9/10 · 4 March 2022]

The late 1990s saw a resurgence in high school comedies, in the vein of those from the mid 1980s. Some of them were generic and forgettable, 10 Things I Hate About You is one of the highlights of this period.

Everyone is cast perfectly, in particular Heath Ledger and Julia Stiles who have amazing chemistry as the two "outcasts". Ledger as Patrick brings total charm to his role, especially when he serenades Kat on the school football field. The supporting cast all perform brilliantly. Larisa Oleynik and Joseph Gordon Levitt as Bianca and Cameron are very cute. Alison Janney as the school counsellor isn't in many scenes but she's hilarious.

There isn't a single bad scene in this film and the script fizzes with great and often hilarious dialogue.

I'm nearly 44 now, which puts me at around 20 when this was in the cinema and I still love it.

Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009)

Could have been better

[4/10 · 4 March 2022]

This isn't a bad film. I think some of the charm of the original novel gets lost. For those who have read the book it's set in London with British characters and reads more like a Bridget Jones story. Moving the film to America has made it much more like a goofy cutesy romcom.

That said, Isla Fisher and Hugh Dancy play the roles they're given quite well. The plot is fairly simple to follow - woman with massive shopping habit and in the debt associated with that lands a job at "Successful Saving" magazine and tries to cover up that she is being chased by a debt collector due to an unpaid store card whilst at the same time trying to charm her handsome British boss and come across as a relatively serious journalist. It's fairly predictable as to how the story flows to its ending. Though is maybe around 20 minutes too long and does feel a little muddled in places.

All in all its one of those films that is easy enough to have half an eye on, and it will make you smile in places, but I do think it lost something taking it out of the original setting and writing it in a more goofy/wacky way than the source material. Not the worst, but could do better.

Carry on Camping (1969)

How do you review a Carry On film?

[7/10 · 28 February 2022]

How do you review a Carry On film? They're so quintessentially British in terms of humour and situation, and basically everyone in the UK knows what a Carry On film is and what you expect from them.

I'd say this ranks pretty highly in the series - 31 were made altogether and this would definitely be in my top 10. Not my absolute favourite (that's Carry On Matron) but it has all the bits that make Carry On films what they are - a lot of the "classic" core cast, a fairly simple plotline, and double entendres galore. The main plot is basically Sid Boggle, played by Sid James, and his friend Bernie Lugg see a film about a nudist camp called "Paradise" and decide to take their somewhat straight laced girlfriends to it. Of course not all of it goes to plan and we end up with some fairly predictable but still gently funny scenes that we see in most Carry On films.

If you like Carry On films you'll like this, and will no doubt have probably seen it as it plays on ITV3 pretty regularly.

It was after "Camping" that the series perhaps began to wane, other than for a couple of exceptions, and through the 1970s there were a few real duds made and then the series stopped until 1992's not-that-great Carry on Columbus.